Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The flight landed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Ronald was not used to this flight time. Most of the time, he always traveled between New York and Los Angeles. In fact, he rarely came to Chicago, the Midwest, and the Deep South. Ronald's impression of these places that occupied most of the American population was limited to the places he looked down from the plane and flew over.

"Put on this," Little Bud, who accompanied him, took out a coat from his bag and put it on Ronald.

"Thank you"

Chicago's winter is very cold, much colder than New York, not to mention the warm Los Angeles. Ronald put on the tweed coat and exhaled a breath of white air.

"The latest news is that the famous Hollywood director Orson Welles died of a heart attack at his home in Hollywood. Welles had planned to go to UC to participate in the work of drama directing that day and record the Merv Griffin talk show in the evening. His driver found him unconscious at home.

Orson Welles was interviewed a few days ago. Let's take a look at the last time he appeared on TV."

At the luggage carousel, Ronald and his agent Niceta were waiting for their luggage and accidentally saw the breaking news on TV.

Ronald licked his lips. This talented director who had a good chat with him a few years ago actually died just like that.

"I really shouldn't work in Hollywood. Hollywood is a big market, and the market often goes against artists. If those Hollywood producers don't like your work, then you're in trouble. You have to spend a lot of time and energy. In my case, I spent the second half of my life trying to convince them that their feelings are wrong. I can make movies that take both art and the market into consideration."

"I don't believe in compromise, and I won't compromise. There is no truth in compromise, unless you are a politician. But film is an art of compromise, and to some extent, making movies is like doing politics. You have to learn to compromise, so I don't belong to the movie."

Looking at these heartfelt words from Orson Welles, Ronald believed that perhaps this 70-year-old man had foreseen that he would soon die, so he told the truth.

He was a little emotional, and went to the counter to buy a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, and handed one to Niceta and Little Bud, and the three of them started smoking at the exit.

They were all people in the film industry, and they all felt sorry that Orson Welles' genius had no chance to be used.

Little Bud went to the Hurd car rental counter to pick up the reserved car, and the three drove to the set, speechless all the way.

"The Color of Money" was filmed in Highland Park in northern Chicago. This is a wealthy area in Chicago, about 25 miles from downtown Chicago. There are old buildings, quiet environment, and luxury houses everywhere.

There are less than 30,000 residents in total, and it is the seat of Chicago's upper class.

Paula Wagner came out of the set and gave Ronald and Niceta a visitor's badge each.

"Be careful, Marty is in a bad mood."

Ronald put on the badge and walked into the scene with Niceta and Paula.

"Cut!"

Martin Scorsese shouted at the time. It was still the rehearsal stage, but he was used to directing in the terms of formal shooting.

"Ha..." Tom Cruise ran to the trailer as soon as he heard the call to stop, running fast all the way, and kept rubbing his hands and breathing to keep warm.

Sitting in the trailer was the superstar Paul Newman who co-starred with him.

"Kid, you still have a lot to learn." Newman handed him a cup of hot tea, "Did you audition in the summer and decide on the costume?"

"Ha..., yes." Tom Cruise took the hot tea and took a sip to warm himself up.

"Always, always remember, you have to ask clearly when the shooting will start and what the local climate is like." Paul Newman, wearing a coat with a fur collar, taught Tom Cruise comfortably.

"Hi," Ronald saw Tom, nodded to him, and then went to director Martin Scorsese.

"Marty," Ronald stepped forward and hugged Scorsese.

"Ronald," Scorsese also hugged him. He has been in better health recently, and he is not as prone to coughing in winter as before, but Scorsese is still wearing thick clothes.

"Have you heard about it? About Orson Welles?"

"Yes, I saw it at the airport. Why is it so sudden?"

"Hey, I like his black and white movies the most. I have watched them countless times when I taught you students at New York University."

"Are you here to visit the set this time?" Scorsese finished the greetings and asked Ronald why he came.

"It's like this, my producer wants to reshoot some scenes, so I'm begging you to lend Tom some time."

"What scene?"

"There are only two scenes of ambiguous bed scenes, which can be finished quickly. I promise not to delay your filming."

"Oh, that's impossible."

Martin Scorsese rejected Ronald's invitation outright.

"My movies are all works of art. I don't like actors to cross over. My time is very tight, and I don't know how to shoot many places. The actors must immerse themselves in the role to have a chemical reaction. Many times I rely on the two male protagonists to improvise.

You know, Ronald, this kind of chemical reaction is difficult to get into. You let Tom go to play the ambiguous scene, and he has to find the feeling again when he comes back. I have at least three to four days to face a Cruise who is not in good condition.

Or you can postpone it and wait until I finish shooting."

"This?" Ronald didn't expect Scorsese to be so ruthless, "Then when will you finish shooting?"

"Next March."

"No, I don't have time. The film was originally scheduled to be released in May. I have to re-edit, cut the negatives, test screen, modify, and then make more than a thousand copies. There is no time at all."

"This is your problem!" Scorsese's face fell, "Paula, Paula..."

Paula Wagner ran over quickly.

"I don't agree with Tom's cross-play. You said Tom wanted to be a real actor. Is this how he treats this profession?"

Paula's face was very ugly, and she pulled her husband to discuss it.

Ronald's face was also very ugly. It was originally a matter of two or three days to shoot, why did Scorsese seem so unkind.

"Let's wait a while, Paula said Marty was in a bad mood recently."

"Oh..." Ronald listened to Niceta's persuasion, and the two found a place to sit down at the filming location. Ronald poured two cups of wolfberry black tea, and the two slowly drank while waiting.

It was already dark, and Ronald came up to talk to Scorsese when he saw him announce the end of today's rehearsal.

"Ronald, are you still there?" Martin Scorsese patted his arm.

"Sorry, I was in a bad mood just now. When I think that no one is investing in the movie I want to make, and I can only make a sequel to this old movie from decades ago, my blood pressure rises."

"Hey, I understand." Ronald waved his hand and took out a Marlboro and handed it over.

Scorsese, who usually has poor lungs, took a cigarette and lit it on the match handed over by Ronald.

"Ahem..." Scorsese coughed twice, and slowly puffed out smoke with Ronald.

"You know, teacher. I saw the last interview video of Orson Welles at the airport today."

"Oh, what did he say?"

"He said he regretted it. He didn't have the talent to compromise. His movies had to be made according to his intentions. If he compromised, his movies would drop from good movies to third-rate bad movies. He hoped that he could compromise with the producers, help them make a few hit movies, and then make the masterpieces he wanted to make."

"Ah..." Scorsese sighed, "We artists all face such problems."

The two men calmed down, and Ronald didn't mention the matter of borrowing Cruise. The master and apprentice chatted.

It turned out that what Martin Scorsese wanted to make the most was a movie about Jesus Christ that he had been preparing for a long time. But because of the controversial subject matter and story, no one was willing to invest.

Since the last movie "The King of Comedy" failed at the box office, Scorsese even fell to filming a few episodes of TV series.

Finally, the agent sent this film, a collaboration between Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, to Michael Eisner through the relationship between Niceta and Paula, and got the investment from Touchstone and Screen Fund.

This was equivalent to an unprecedented compromise he had made as a director. In order to shoot the story of Jesus that he wanted to shoot, he first helped the production company shoot a commercial film.

"You know, Ronald. I am of Italian descent. My father opened a laundry shop. When I was a child, I grew up next to the electric irons of my mother and relatives. They told me stories from the Bible. I have been a Catholic since I was a child, but I am not so devout. I have been divorced several times."

"I understand that this story of Jesus is the movie you dreamed of." Ronald understood that this was the obsession of teacher Scorsese since childhood.

"Yes, you still understand me. Directing a star is not the same as directing an actor. Even Paul Newman is difficult to deal with. You will soon taste this. I am in a bad mood, so..."

Ronald did not speak. Scorsese seemed to want to confide in him, but it was a bit awkward.

"Actually, I'm in a bad mood, and there are other reasons, and it's related to Isabella."

It turns out that Scorsese's ex-wife, Isabella Rossellini, soon entered the modeling circle after divorcing him. She debuted at the "advanced age" of 30. She resembled her mother Ingrid Bergman's temperament and quickly attracted the attention of many big names. She soon became the spokesperson for Lancome.

Not only that, she also found a model, Widman, and gave birth to a daughter, Ingrid. Later, she broke up with Widman, and recently fell in love with director David Lynch.

As a Catholic, Scorsese did not let his ex-wife make his own movies. Who knew that after the divorce, Isabella was thriving, giving birth to children, being a model, and making movies. She did everything that Scorsese didn't let her do before, and she did it very well.

"Recently, Lynch asked her to make a movie, Blue Velvet, where she played a very controversial dancer, with a lot of nudity scenes, and... scenes. I called her, but she refused to listen."

Ronald pouted. He couldn't interrupt such things. On the one hand, she is his university teacher, and on the other hand, he and Isabella are also friends.

"Listen to me, Ronald, never let your girlfriend act in nude scenes in the future. What's worse is that she finds another director to act in the movie. You won't like this feeling."

Scorsese thought it over, threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out with his foot.

"I can let Tom reshoot your movie, but I can only give you one day. You can do it on the weekend and don't take up my time."

"No problem," Ronald happily threw away the cigarette, "one day is one day."

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