Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The Directors Guild awards were presented in late February.

The day before Ronald went to attend the awards ceremony, the attention of all Americans was occupied by the situation in Kuwait.

The air strikes that began in January have lasted for more than 30 days, and the public has gradually become bored with the news in the Gulf.

The ratings of CUU have dropped a lot since the beginning of the air strikes. Every day, the night sky is green, and nothing can be seen clearly. Even viewers who are interested in military and international politics feel that the US military's news control is too good, and they can only watch CUU commentators every day to understand some in-depth content.

Moreover, the air strikes in the past few days are not all good news. The madman in Iraq also launched an attack on Saudi Arabia, where the US military base is located, which makes people a little worried.

However, everything changed this evening. The boring remote connection was interrupted, and the screen cut to the White House. The door of the Marine One helicopter opened in the night, and old George walked off the plane flexibly and hugged and kissed Barbara who was waiting on the lawn.

The host also announced that the President had just returned from a vacation at Camp David, where he had a telephone conversation with Mikhail, the President of the Suvil Alliance.

The CUU director was very capable. When he saw that the speech would take about half an hour, he immediately cut into the various videos that had been prepared long ago.

"Let's first connect with the political historian, Michael Beschros. Michael, you are an expert in studying the President. In your research scope, are there such moments?"

"I don't think so. You know, every President has a decisive moment. If we build the George Memorial Library in the future, I can guarantee that the next few minutes will definitely become the most important collection in his memorial library. I can guarantee that this speech must have been drafted a few months ago, and then revised several times. The final version..."

"Huh?" Ronald felt that this conversation was a bit wrong. Why did they start discussing the historical status of the President?

"Does the commander's return from the resort indicate anything?"

"I have the same idea as Michael. This speech must have been revised and finalized over the past few months. I think if a ground offensive is launched, Cairo, Damascus, and Riyadh will welcome it. In the past period of time, the madman has sent them a clear signal that he doesn't care whether you are an Arab country..."

"Are we really going to launch a ground offensive? Will it be another Vietnam War?" Diane saw Ronald's solemn expression and came to listen to the news. Suddenly, she heard the words "ground offensive" and was also shocked.

Ronald didn't say anything, because CUU started to play a documentary about Iraq's armed forces next.

"The Iraqi National Defense Force is very strong. They have Soviet-made tanks, anti-tank weapons, and ballistic missiles. There are also various bunkers and anti-tank trenches that have been repaired. In short, ground combat is not an easy task.

In addition, in addition to the National Defense Force, Iraq also has a more elite Republican Guard, which is the most trusted force of their madman and the best-equipped force."….

The screen shows various cannons, tanks, helicopters, and countless soldiers running forward in a neat rhythm.

"Good guy, isn't this much better than Vietnam?" Ronald sighed. The Vietnamese army that made the US military so anxious back then only had a rifle and at most some small artillery. It really can't be compared with the madman's equipment.

The screen switched to a Soviet major general, and the subtitles said that he was an expert in Soviet war history.

"They are very good soldiers, because they have good equipment, and they have rich experience, and they are fighting on their own land. They have the courage to fight for their motherland..."

"There are 500,000 national defense forces on the front line. They are experienced veterans, mixed with conscripts. There are some Kurds among them, who may not support the madman. Behind them are 180,000 Republican Guards, who are professional soldiers with good training and equipment..."

"Is this starting to count as military strength?" Ronald felt that they must be fighting. CUU must have special information channels.

"Hey, I have it too?" Ronald remembered that he also had a channel, and immediately called George Jr., but he couldn't get through. He had to call Douglas Jr.

"George Jr. just called me. In order to avoid his friends' inquiries, he had unplugged the phone line and only called a few of us to tip off. He said that this was an action that had been prepared for a long time, and his father was very determined. I didn't ask anything else."

"Is that so? Is there...?" Ronald thought about it. If he had inside information, would he have a chance to make some quick money in the financial market? There is no need for earth-shattering news. As long as you know it one hour earlier than the market, you will definitely benefit a lot.

"I have already talked to Donna... Hey... Wait a minute, Donna wants to tell you..."

Little Douglas has been discussing this matter with Donna.

"The general analysis on Wall Street now believes that the Suweir Alliance will let it go. It is estimated that the intensity of the battle with Persia before Iraq will still take some time to kill all the inventory equipment of their army, so that if the Suweir Alliance does not replenish them, we can win."

After a discussion, everyone decided to spend some money and start speculating. After the war begins, certain futures prices will fluctuate violently up and down, and when the war has staged results, there will also be opportunities for speculation.

For Ronald, these small sums of money are just an investment in a low-cost movie, but speculative futures trading is highly leveraged. If you lose, it won't hurt your health anyway, but if you win, you can make a lot of money from a big-selling movie.

However, Ronald was more worried about the impact of the war on the mentality of the American people. The film industry at that time was hit by the anti-war trend. Some genres that used to thrive, such as Westerns, have completely become unwatchable.

The number of right-wing actors like John Wayne also shrunk rapidly after the Vietnam War, and there were not many new actors who upheld a patriotic stance.

"Good evening. Since yesterday, after discussions between me and senior defense advisers, and a large number of calls with allied leaders, the madmen in Iraq have been given one last chance to unconditionally withdraw their troops from Kuwait in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations Security Council. But unfortunately, the last time has passed..."….

The commander-in-chief on TV wore square glasses and appeared tiredly in front of everyone.

"I have ordered the frontline commander, General Schwarzkopf, to use all possible forces, including ground forces, to attack the Iraqi occupying forces until they are expelled from all of Kuwait...

Now, countless allied soldiers on the front lines, especially American soldiers, are risking their lives to contribute to justice. Let us pray for them. God bless the front-line soldiers, and God bless America..."

…

Ronald didn't want to watch the news anymore. He called several friends in the circle. Everyone was deeply worried. After all, the last ground war had a profound impact on America.

The previous commander-in-chief made several quick combat plans, but they always sent bombers to drop bombs. This time, everyone thought that the bombing would cause the madmen to withdraw their troops. Unexpectedly, he still went to the ground attack. If you attack on the ground, people will die.

"Welcome, Jonathan, and congratulations..."

The next day, Jonathan Demme happened to be back from Berlin. Although the Golden Bear went to Italian director Marco Ferreri for "The House of Smiles," Demi still won Berlin's Silver Bear for Best Director for "The Silence of the Lambs." The Germans still have to give Hollywood some face.

The Berlin Film Festival still gave European filmmakers the highest award in recognition. However, the reporters and fans at the scene were very dissatisfied and thought it was a scandal that Silence of the Lambs did not win the Golden Bear Award.

"Smile House" tells the story of an old woman with a lot of mess at home and her twilight love affair with an old man in a nursing home. However, the rhythm of this drama is not good, the overall performance is mediocre, and the ending also makes a big mistake, giving the audience the feeling of a bad ending.

You’re not afraid that moviegoers won’t understand a movie, you’re just afraid that they will compare it to other movies. The shock of "Silence of the Lambs" is obviously not comparable to that of mediocre productions such as "Smile House".

Even Berlin audiences who cannot read English can feel the fear brought by the movie and the joy of getting rid of the threat through subtitles and images. Therefore, Jonathan Demi came back this time, even though he was defeated. Even more than he won the Golden Bear, he was able to win news pages.

Now audiences all over Europe know that there is a Hollywood masterpiece that was wrongly treated by the Berlin Film Festival and was only awarded a Silver Bear.

"Samsung Pictures and I have already discussed that we will do our best to win an Oscar for you at the end of the year." Ronald promised Demi.

"Thank you..." Jonathan Demi doesn't really believe in the role of going all out for prizes. After all, by the end of the year, it’s a question of how many judges will still remember The Silence of the Lambs.

But he accepted Ronald's intention. Moreover, with the controversy over the awards and the continued ranking of No. 1 at the box office, Jonathan Demme already knew from his agent that his status as a director has obviously been upgraded.

Many producers took the initiative to send scripts, or asked him to come up with his own scripts for filming. With a blockbuster movie, more big productions will come to you. Once a film is recognized by critics and awards, more scripts with award potential will come to the door. ….

Jonathan Demme can be said to have achieved both fame and fortune.

"By the way, this is a gift that the Chinese actor brought to you." Demi handed a large box of Poria cakes to Ronald's hand.

"It's hard for you to bring it. It's been a hard journey." Ronald took it and put it away. "I think you already know, right? Big news."

"Yes, why did we start a war? Ground attack is not a good thing. I still remember when we were drafted by lot. Many people fled to Canada."

The two chatted and both felt that this was a big deal. But the two of them are just film directors. Faced with something of this level, they can only pray like ordinary people for the war to end as soon as possible.

Another day later, the Directors Guild Awards were presented at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

This is an award established to recognize the directors of all TV series, movies, and TV commercials in the past year. Voted only by members of the Directors Guild.

Because New York is the center of TV dramas and Hollywood is the center of movies, the award ceremonies are also held in both places. Film awards are awarded in Los Angeles.

All the nominated directors are big names. In addition to Martin Scorsese and Kevin Costner, there are two Oscar-winning directors. Coppola, who directed "The Godfather III", and Barry Levinson, who directed "Avalon".

Everyone talked about the ground offensive of Operation Desert Storm that had just been launched. Which of these directors has not filmed or written anti-war scripts? There are still many voices of opposition to this, fearing that they will fall into the same quagmire as the Vietnam War.

All the directors were dressed in formal clothes and brought their families to attend. This awards ceremony is not as entertaining as the Oscars, but more of a gathering of professionals.

Diane happened to chat with the Coppola family. She was very familiar with Coppola's wife Eleanor. Ronald chatted with Coppola's daughter. When they had dinner at Coppola's house, Sofia was still a little girl.

"I'm really fed up. Those film critics are targeting me." Sofia Coppola looked very admiring to Ronald and said a lot of things about her role in Godfather III that were criticized.

"I remember your father said that film critics are all... Don't take them too seriously."

"I like movies, but I don't like this feeling. It's like I'm a commodity, placed in the window and reviewed by people."

"Then you can try to work behind the scenes."

"Can I be a director?"

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. You can start with a home video recorder..."

While chatting, the host over there announced the Best Director Award for Music and Commemorative Events, "Ronald Lee, the 62nd Academy Awards."

"Hahaha..." Friends at the scene all laughed. Ronald's Oscars last year broke the ratings record.

"Thank you, I didn't expect that my first Oscar-related director award would be this..." Ronald waved the award certificate in his hand.

One by one, the awards were presented, and in the middle and late stages, the Directors Guild Best Director Award was finally presented.

"The winner of the Best Director Award for Film is..."...

Ronald, like everyone else, looked at Martin Scorsese. There is a very high voice for him to win an Oscar this year...

"Kevin Costner..."

With a swish, everyone turned their heads and looked at Costner on the other side.

"Thank you, everyone..." Kevin Costner himself might not have expected that he came here as a debut director to enjoy the pleasure of being recognized by his peers in the industry. Unexpectedly, the union actually gave him the award.

"I will keep this award certificate well. I need this recognition. Thank you for liking my first cinema movie..."

There was a lot of joy here, but Scorsese was silent. Coppola was talking to him, as if to comfort his friend.

Ronald thought about it and didn't say anything. After the award ceremony, he found Scorsese in the parking lot.

"Are you being targeted by someone in the union?" Ronald got straight to the point.

"Hey, it's all damn Jude..." Scorsese said halfway and then shrank back.

Ronald knew that there were too many people and too many eyes. The directors nominated for the Guild Award this year, except for Barry Levinson, a Jew, and Kevin Costner, a descendant of Puritans, are all of Italian descent.

In addition to the two that Ronald is familiar with, there is also Giuseppe Tornatore, who was born in Palermo. He was nominated for Cinema Paradiso.

Like other professions, the proportion of Jewish directors is not low. Barry Levinson's film Avalon was a box office failure and the reviews from critics were average. So Costner's award was also a bit of a coalition.

"Do you think I don't fit in with the award?" Scorsese lost confidence a little.

"Not at all. The Oscars are voted by all members, not just by directors like nominations."

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