Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Why is it you, Bozo?"

On the plane to New York, Ronald unexpectedly discovered that the pilot was Lloyd Abel (call sign Bozo), the fighter pilot who flew over the tower in the F-14A Tomcat fighter during the filming of "Top Gun". The two met again.

"I have to save some tuition for my daughter to go to college. The salary of cargo plane pilots is not high. I will play a guest role as a business jet pilot if there is a chance. This time they said it was you, and I took the initiative to ask for it." Bozo did not hide it.

Bozo retired not long after filming Top Gun. Maybe because of his personality, he did not go to civil aviation to fly passenger planes, but found a job as a cargo plane pilot.

"Ah, it's really unexpected. I'm so happy to see you. How are the stunt team back then?"

When Ronald negotiated to borrow Sony's business jet this time, he was told that Jon Peters, vice president of Columbia Pictures, wanted to use it, so he could not lend it to him.

Peter Gubel's business partner, because the two senior vice presidents introduced by Ronald went to Sony Columbia, but did not get the president position he wanted, I don't know if it was because he had established a firm foothold, so Ronald was blocked this time.

Ronald couldn't complain to Sony's chairman Ohga for such a small matter, so he found a commercial flight leasing company and temporarily borrowed an old version of the Gulfstream III.

The aircraft was a little cramped compared to the latest model, but it was great to see an old friend.

"Scott is still flying, I heard he is going to participate in the astronaut selection..."

Among the members of the stunt team at that time, only one is still serving in the Navy. Bozo and Ronald reminisced about the past and went to the cockpit.

"Oh, business jets really make people feel uncomfortable... not as comfortable as civil aviation." Yang Yanzi was used to sitting on large civil aviation planes, and the feeling of a small plane taking off was uncomfortable.

"It's okay once you get used to it."

Ronald covered himself with a blanket and went to sleep as usual.

"Tonight, I declare to you America's policy. Our attitude towards terrorists will not change. Terrorism is not a political statement. Those who want to use terrorism to make a statement, your good days are over."

Ronald dreamed of a large hall with hundreds of tables covered with white tablecloths. Many people were listening to the speaker's speech in the magnificent hall.

It looks like the Kremlin?

Ronald knew that such shots usually refer to the Kremlin, regardless of the core of the alliance and what the inside is like.

In his speech in Moscow tonight, the President directly declared war on terrorism.

But the question is still unanswered, what consequences will such a bold declaration have.

The camera immediately switched to an airplane, and the voices of news comments from various TV stations alternated.

Ronald recognized that the person playing the President was Harrison Ford, but the plot was very strange. The presidents of the United States and the Soviet Union actually cooperated to jointly fight a terrorist in Central Asia. Why do the United States and the Soviet Union seem to be a partnership in the movie?

However, Hollywood has always had a big brain hole, which is not surprising.

"Air Force One, ready to take off, thank you for your hospitality, Moscow." The pilot pushed the joystick, and a special plane took off... typical camera language.

"Ah ah..." Suddenly the camera changed, the plane seemed to have an accident, and many people suddenly fell forward. There was also gunfire.

"Ah ah..."

Ronald was awakened by Yang Yanzi's cry. The plane they were sitting on was also unstable, and it was shaking up and down.

"What happened?" Ronald rubbed his eyes.

"We encountered air currents and may feel some turbulence. Please keep your seat belts fastened until we fly out of this area. Don't worry, I will take you to New York safely..."

Bozo's voice came through the loudspeaker, and Ronald felt relieved, tightened the blanket and continued to sleep.

"Ah ah..." The air current came again, and Yang Yanzi screamed again.

"Don't scream, the pilot used to fly naval fighters and take off and land on aircraft carriers, what are you afraid of."

"I feel so safe in your plane..." After the plane landed, Yang Yanzi ran to specially pull the pilot Bozo to take a photo with her. He stabilized the plane in a few moves, and there was almost no bump when landing. It was hard to remember that he was a pilot who landed fighter jets on aircraft carriers.

Ronald also smiled and took photos with them, and exchanged contact information with Bozo. Speaking of which, he could indeed buy a business jet. It would be much more convenient to have his own business jet for the business expansion of Daydream.

It’s just that you need to wait in line to order a new Gulfstream, and it will take at least one or two years to get it. Ronald wondered if there was a second-hand one to buy, and then he would dig Bozo to fly the plane for him.

…

There were many itineraries in New York this time, and fortunately Yang Yanzi arranged them properly.

More than half of AngLee’s Pusher had been filmed, and Helen Slater’s scenes had been filmed. Ronald went to pick up Helen and check the progress of the filming.

On Staten Island, the scenes in the protagonist’s room had been filmed, and the crew was now filming some shots outside.

When Ronald came, they were filming an outdoor scene. He watched from the cordon next to him with Helen, Yang Yanzi and others.

"A!"

Long Xiong and Wang Lai, two old Chinese actors, performed with great skill. Ronald, even Helen, who didn't know much Chinese, felt that they had a deep foundation. Yang Yanzi's eyes lit up.

"I don't have many relatives there, only a few nephews are still there. Going back to be a money-giving boy? I was still very young when I left forty years ago. Anyway, my level was not up to par, and I couldn't make up for anything. I couldn't say anything. In short, it was not right."

Wang Lai sat on a chair and Long Xiong was massaging her.

"The capital has changed, and the way you talk has changed. Mrs. Chen, when I hear you talk, I feel a sense of intimacy..."

"Oh, really?"

The two characters were brought together by their children in America. In short, they wanted to get rid of the big burden of the elderly. If they could live together, they wouldn't have to live at home with their parents whose habits and culture were not suitable.

"Cut!"

A child's voice came from the scene, calling cut.

This stunned everyone, not knowing what happened.

The child was stared at by everyone and was stunned. Such scenes made the children start to get scared. It is the director's privilege to call cut on the set, and what about the wasted film?

Ronald looked and saw that it was a Chinese child. This might be because someone didn't explain it clearly, and the child didn't understand, so he might just imitate the director and call it. So he walked over and touched the child's head, "Why did you call cut?"

"I...", the child came back to his senses a little, "I saw a plane in the sky, weren't you recording at the same time? The noise was too loud and it entered the radio, so we had to start over, so I called it..."

"Oh? Hahaha, you are still an expert..."

"I said it, right, I didn't do anything wrong, did I, Dad?" The child seemed to have come back to his senses, ran to hug AngLee's thigh, and called out.

"So it's your son..." Ronald laughed, as expected, like father, like son.

"It's my eldest son, A-Mao. We couldn't find a young actor. His skin is a bit white, and he can pass for a mixed-race person if his hair is dyed blond."

"Let's do it again...Auntie Wang, Uncle Lang, I want a feeling of being unspoken. Chinese people don't express their emotions as openly as foreigners." AngLee went up to ask the two old actors.

"He's improving very quickly, he's a genius..." Helen whispered to Ronald, "At the beginning, Wang Lai was very unhappy, but later he took the initiative to ask her how to act and what effect she wanted, and she became happy. It's fun to communicate with Chinese people."

"Very good, does he dare to guide you?"

"I didn't dare to do it at first, but later I did. Chinese people respect their predecessors and the relatives who brought in investors...hahaha."

Helen also said that AngLee didn't arrange too many scenes for her at the beginning. Later, James Shams couldn't stand it and took the initiative to remind AngLee that if Ronald's designated heroine was arranged like this, there would be no second movie in Hollywood.

In order to give Helen more scenes, many lines of the plot were rewritten, and many layers were added to the role of the daughter-in-law played by Helen... and many close-ups were added.

"It is true that more scenes should be added. You are the guarantee of the box office success of this Pusher in the American market. Without you, I really doubt how many American audiences will go to see a Chinese story."

"Hehehe..." Helen liked to hear this kind of compliment the most. She leaned her head on Ronald happily and almost laughed out loud, but was recorded again.

That night, the Pusher crew packed Helen Slater's scenes and held a banquet. They specially found a restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown to cook.

Ronald saw that many Chinese workers in the American theater and film circles came to participate. These people came to toast AngLee one by one and congratulated him for being able to shoot a theater movie with Chinese as the main cast in Hollywood.

"Congratulations, this is really the common dream of our group of people."

A young man with black-framed glasses and long artist hair also came to congratulate AngLee.

"Wayne, let me introduce you to my benefactor, Ronald." AngLee saw that it was his friend Wayne Wang, and came over to introduce Ronald.

"This is Wang Ying, whose English name is Wayne. She is also a Chinese director from Hong Kong."

"Hello, nice to meet you. Yan Zi... Yan Zi, come here, this is another director." Ronald shook hands with him and immediately introduced him to his assistant Yang Yan Zi.

"Ah, Wayne, hello. I am Yan Zi. Do you have any filming plans recently?"

Yang Yan Zi was very tactful and came over to chat with Wang Ying immediately. He didn't feel neglected at all. This gathering of Chinese filmmakers has all kinds of talents. With a sponsor like Ronald, it seems that some good projects will start to operate.

Ronald turned around and continued to communicate with the two actresses. One is Zhou Caiqin, the sister of Zhou Tianna's ex-husband who was infected with the virus. The other is Lu Yan, a friend of Director Huang whom Ronald had met in Xujiahui before.

"I heard that Tianna Zhou almost caused trouble and had people attack your movie?" Zhou Caiqin was not very impressed with this former sister-in-law who had a colorful private life.

"It can't be blamed entirely on her. There were other people who were playing tricks..." Ronald laughed. "Have you been performing on Broadway recently? Why haven't you made any movies?"

“Where are the Chinese roles?” Both actresses sighed. There are not many Asian roles in Hollywood, and most of them are taken by young and beautiful actresses. They only have a few supporting roles.

“Hey, Director Huang wants to invite Gregory Peck to act in a movie, and he agreed. You can come too... There are relatively few good scripts for Chinese people. I will invest if there is a chance. You must come to act in it.”

“Ah, Director Luo, if you say so, we will definitely act in it. I am so happy.”

As they were chatting, Yang Yanzi pulled Wang Ying over again.

“Ronald, Wang Ying has a good project. Are you willing to invest in it?”

“What project? Tell me about it…”

“Hello, I know the Chinese female writer Amy Tan. Her novel The Joy Luck Club in 1989 was a bestseller. At that time, I told her about my idea of ​​remaking it. But it is difficult to find investment for such Chinese stories…”

This “Joy Luck Club” is a story about four Chinese female immigrants in America. It was quite popular when it was published. Ronald also asked someone to ask, but later heard that the author Amy Tan wanted to adapt it into a script by herself and was unwilling to sell the copyright.

Unexpectedly, after so long, the project still has no progress. Now it is mentioned again by this director named Wang Ying.

"The Joy Luck Club?" Zhou Caiqin and Lu Yan's eyes lit up. There are elderly characters in this novel.

"I can't promise anything, you go buy me a copy of The Joy Luck Club, and Director Wang Ying..."

"You can call me Wayne, my father is a fan of John Wayne, and he gave me the name." Wang Ying answered immediately.

"Well, Wayne, give me a copy of what you have filmed before, so I can see your level."

"Okay, I'll go get the video tape right away." Wang Ying agreed quickly. He had approached several film studios before, but others gave up when they heard about the Chinese story. Ronald is a rare producer who is willing to listen to his sales pitch.

Although the sales pitch seems to be not very effective.

"Don't be upset. Director Ronald is a busy man in Hollywood and the winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Picture. He usually shoots with actors of Kevin Costner and Tom Cruise's level.

Recently popular directors Amir Adolino and Amy Heckerling are both invested by him. Chris Columbus, the director of Home Alone, is also promoted by him. People are willing to give you time, which is the greatest affirmation of you."

Yang Yanzi came over to explain to Wang Ying immediately, making Wang Ying feel that Ronald is really the most friendly producer to Chinese Americans in Hollywood and the first talent scout. The whole person's spirits were lifted, and he drove to get his videotape without eating.

Ronald didn't care about these trivial matters. He was chatting enthusiastically with several old Chinese actors, eating some delicious dishes at a round table. Many people have immigrated to Hong Kong recently, many of whom have gone to Canada, and some have come to New York, which has raised the level of Cantonese cuisine here to a higher level.

In addition, this kind of family gossip and the unique cultural atmosphere of Chinese Americans made Ronald feel very comfortable. He chatted with them about various gossips in the Chinese American film industry and was very happy.

"Ronald, this is the videotape of short films and feature films directed by Wayne, and this is a book of the Joy Luck Club." Yang Yanzi is very capable. When the dinner ended and Ronald and Helen were about to leave, she took the opportunity to come up and give Ronald a bag.

"Thank you for your hard work... You are really good. I will let Daydream follow up on this movie. If you are interested, you can start as a producer from this movie."

Ronald always gives opportunities to people with ability. It just so happens that such talents are scarce in Daydream.

"Well, I will talk to Wayne and let him make some preparations. I said I will give him a chance to impress you in Los Angeles. If he performs well, the project can be established." Yang Yanzi really knows how to motivate talents.

With this, Wang Ying's motivation is sufficient.

"Well..." Ronald nodded with satisfaction. In fact, the ability of Chinese Americans to do business is not worse than that of Jews.

"Oh, there's one more thing." Ronald stopped Yang Yanzi, "I just heard from Wang Lai from Hong Kong that there's a Chinese director named King Hu who's running around to make a movie about the Chinese workers who built the railroad across America, called The Blood and Tears of the Chinese Workers. You should learn about this movie, I'm very interested."