Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"The land opposite is a natural pond, and our garden is facing it. Although the land does not belong to you, Director Luo, it does not prevent us from directly seeing the scenery of the pond from the garden. The essence of Jiangnan gardens is Design according to natural scenery.”

"First have the natural scenery, and then design the building?" Ronald and Mr. Wang, a garden designer from China, stood on a hill behind the house where they bought the land where "The Godfather" was filmed, looking at the garden. design diagram.

"Yes, this is a tradition of Chinese culture. For example, our Temple of Heaven, look at this photo..." Mr. Wang handed Ronald a photo of the Temple of Heaven from National Geographic magazine, "This Temple of Heaven follows the Western The architectural aesthetics are not profound enough. But the photographer of the photo understands the Chinese culture very well and took the picture of the blue sky above the Temple of Heaven. This makes the whole building appear very harmonious and integrated with nature. This is the unity of nature and man. Thought……"

"So, what you mean is that we don't need to buy that land. As long as we build a garden here, the scenery over there will naturally become part of the garden, right?" Ronald listened for a while and understood the garden design. concept.

After the sales revenue from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack and video tapes entered Ronald's bank account, Ronald's long-decided garden project also began to speed up progress.

It turned out that Ronald had a very simple idea. He bought a quick land to build a garden for his own entertainment and to entertain his friends. But as the process progressed, I discovered that although America is a supposedly free country, land sales may be the least free of all tradable commodities and are subject to the greatest control by states and towns.

First of all, except for local snakes like Douglas Hanson Jr. who have been entrenched in the local area for more than a hundred years, new land sales rarely adopt the "free siple absote" type used during Lincoln's time as commander-in-chief.

This kind of land contract, which was only possible before the Civil War when the land was vast and sparsely populated, was the most liberal type for landowners. The owner can permanently own the property rights of the land, and if he does not build a house, he does not need to pay property taxes. Moreover, the use of the land is completely free. You can dig it however you want, use it for farming, or build houses and factories.

But after the economy developed, land was divided into more detailed areas by local governments. In addition to the expiration date of land property rights, there are also usage restrictions. Different uses of land come with different fees and taxes.

In addition, there are some compulsory collection and special protection provisions. If the people on the land vote to absolutely expropriate the land for public development or to create a park, the government can set a price to compulsorily expropriate the land.

If there are wild animals on the land, or any protective relics with historical commemorative significance, it can be designated as a protected area by legislation, and no reconstruction is allowed.

The large piece of wasteland that Ronald is interested in has a pond, and many migratory birds will stay here for a few weeks every year when they migrate. Therefore, the owner of the land is willing to sell it, and Ronald is willing to buy it, but the municipal government The Ministry of Finance informed that this transaction needs to be approved after an environmental protection assessment.

Douglas Jr., a veteran landowner, told Ronald's Creek that assessment could take more than a year. Ronald, who couldn't wait any longer, asked Huaguo's design team to come over and build a small garden first.

"Then we dig a creek from here and bring in live water..." Mr. Wang, the garden designer, continued to introduce.

"You should contact my lawyer, Miss Lindsay Dole. I have a new movie to shoot, so I'll leave it to you."

"Ronald, here's your phone number. It's from Richard." Shan Bao received the call from his agent.

"Richard, it's me, what's the result?" Ronald knew that Richard was so anxious to find him, he must have been nominated for the Directors Guild's Best Director Award. This most influential director award before the Oscars has always had a high overlap rate with Oscar nominations.

"Sorry, Ronald. We don't have much influence in the Directors Guild... Although this is the precursor to the Oscar nomination for Best Director, it does not coincide 100% every year. We can still look forward to the Oscars, and there is still one day tomorrow. During the voting time, the nomination list will be announced the day after tomorrow.

Mr. Ovitz has issued an order that among all agents in CAA, all clients with voting rights will do public relations for you. "

"It's okay, that's it." Ronald hung up the phone. The Directors Guild Awards and Oscar nominations are closely tied. Many directors who have the right to vote probably fill out their voting forms for both awards. I'm afraid there won't be much difference... Sigh...

Ronald felt a little depressed. I have made a lot of psychological preparations for the Oscars. They all say that the Oscars focus on qualifications, and young directors who perform well often only get nominations, and then they don't win the award because of their young age. If you really want to win the award, you may have to nominate for a second or third time and be punished.

But now it would be embarrassing if there was no nomination.

By the end of the night, Ronald received the list of films nominated by the Directors Guild.

The Directors Guild's five nominees for Best Director this time include, in addition to the much-anticipated Bertolucci of "The Last Emperor", James L. Spielberg.

Taking up Ronald's nomination slot is a big dark horse. Lasse Hallström from Sweden. The director's semi-autobiographical film, "The Dogface Years," was released in America in the middle of last year.

It tells the story of a child in Sweden in 1958 who is sent to live in the countryside because his mother is seriously ill. There, he encounters a quirky town and learns about love, sexuality - and himself.

It should be said that it is not surprising that Ronald was squeezed out by the Swedish director. Because this Swedish movie is a very weird movie. Not only is the plot of the movie relatively undramatic, but the movie was released in America with the original Swedish sound and English subtitles.

Just such a movie, relying solely on word-of-mouth, has grossed more than 8 million at the box office in North America, arousing praise from film critics. The main audiences of this movie are in big cities, mainly college students and young people.

This plot of self-discovery can easily resonate with young people. Even the director himself did not expect the film's results. He soon gained the favor of Hollywood producers and was ready to come to Hollywood for development.

Ronald had a copy of the movie fetched and watched it himself. Although "The Dog-Faced Years" was filmed with full emotion and skillful technique, I still felt uncomfortable being robbed of a nomination by a Swedish-language film.

Is it true that, as is said in the industry, young directors must be ranked based on their seniority in order to be nominated? The Oscars are not all judged based on the strength of the films of that year. Sometimes there is also the factor of repaying a debt of gratitude. For example, the director should have been nominated a few years ago but did not get it because the competition was too strong.

Or like Lasse Hallström, who made this medium-production movie with a small budget and a very literary theme. Hollywood has always been open to European talents.

Another possible reason is that Ronald's previous films were all commercial films, and there was not much innovation in directorial techniques or the ability to inspire actors to perform breakthroughs. Many directors with voting rights may not have seen "Moonlight". man,” simply voting based on their impression of Ronald’s past.

"Ronald, Ronald, are you going to Manhattan?" my aunt called downstairs.

"I'm not going." Early the next morning, Ronald was still lying in bed unwilling to get up.

"Then you come and have breakfast first. I made a sandwich that you like."

"I'm a little tired, let's talk later."

Ronald rarely stayed in bed. He couldn't bring himself to cheer up the next day. He called the crew from bed and decided not to go to the scene or watch the actors prepare today.

"Ronnie, you go for a walk, the sun is so nice. An award is nothing special, the audience likes to see it." Aunt Karen brought breakfast into the room.

"Hey..." Ronald had no choice but to get up, finish breakfast, put on his coat and take a boat to Manhattan.

Wandering aimlessly, Ronald came to the entrance of the New York Art High School, the prototype of the school that was "famous all over the world". After the place was redesigned and renovated, it was renamed LaGuardia Art High School.

The stone building at the entrance has not changed, except that a bronze plaque is embedded in the stone wall of the new school entrance. Under the name of the school, a row of small characters "Famous throughout the world was filmed here" was engraved in small letters.

Today happens to be a holiday, and many students who are interested in applying for art colleges came to visit the school. They all end up taking a group photo under that bronze medal.

"Did you know? This was a famous filming location back then, and many actors were art students." A girl said to her friends. She had an outstanding voice, and she might be taking the singing exam.

"I didn't watch the movie at that time, I only watched the TV series adapted from the movie..." Her companion was a little taller than her and looked more like a dancer. Maybe he was applying for the dance department.

"Actually, this is not a filming location, but it is true that the actors are students." Ronald couldn't help but interrupt and corrected them.

"Huh, what do you know? When Gene Anthony Ray was interviewed, he said this was his alma mater. He is the only movie protagonist who continues to act in TV series."

"Haha, is that so?" Ronald heard this name that he hadn't heard for a long time. His black younger brother continued to play the same role in the TV series adapted from the same name. America Today once reported that he abused alcohol and drugs, but he and the crew denied it.

The TV series ended last year, and several of their characters finally graduated from high school in the show. Gene was later selected to star in the musical adaptation of Stephen King's novel "Carrie." It closed on Broadway after only 21 days.

However, in the minds of these little girls who grew up watching his TV series, they still remember that handsome black dancer.

Ronald turned the corner and walked toward uptown Manhattan. The area around Central Park was quiet, and in the upper-class neighborhoods, only boutiques and some yoga studios were open.

Ronald saw one of the karate halls, and there were some children wearing Taoist uniforms and black belts, imitating Daniel LaRusso's Crane Kick on the tatami.

"Sir, do you also want to come to our gym? We have training for adults and children." A staff member saw Ronald standing outside the transparent glass floor-to-ceiling window and came out to greet him.

"Nothing, I just took a look..." Ronald nodded and left.

"You are welcome to come here often. We also have peripheral products authorized by 'Longwei Boy', including the kind of headscarf made by Master Miyagi. Children like it very much."

Ronald then moved downtown, gradually approaching Chinatown. The street shops here were much busier than uptown, and many of the customers were whites, blacks, and Latinos who came to buy food and cheap goods.

"One, two, three, four... five, six, seven, eight... two, two, three, four... dance..."

On the second floor of a narrow porch, the voice of dance commands came.

Ronald looked up and saw a small dance studio teaching Mamba dance. Outside the stairs leading up to the first floor, a Latino-looking woman was handing out promotional materials.

"Have you ever seen Dirty Dancing? We teach this kind of dance here, and it's easy to learn. Do you want to try it?"

"I don't have a partner..." Ronald declined, but his mood gradually improved. Although he lost the award from the Directors Guild, the movies he shot did change America a little bit.

Going down further, it's a no-man's land with poor security. Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Latino concentrated area.

A group of Latino guys were spraying incomprehensible graffiti on the wall with paint cans. In the corner of the wall was a dual-cassette loudspeaker recorder. Accompanied by rap music, several young people in sweaters were imitating Michael Jackson's moonwalk and practicing breakdance.

"Boom... Boom..." A burst of motor sounded, and on the other side of the road, a woman wearing leather clothes and leather pants sat on a motorcycle, looking like the heroine in "Night of the Comet".

"Boom..." The female gangster started the motorcycle and rushed towards Ronald.

"Shxt..." Ronald saw that he was coming to rob something, so he turned around and ran away from the crossroad. He left behind a few Latinos who were ready to cooperate with the sneak attack and cursed.

After running four or five blocks, Ronald stopped. He felt very good. The effect of his daily exercise was still there, and he didn't run out of breath after running for a short time.

The blood circulation brought by running was smooth, which brought back Ronald's fighting spirit. He put his finger in his mouth, blew a loud whistle, and stopped a taxi, "Go to Fifth Avenue."

"Mr. Li, there is a message for you."

When he arrived at the lobby, Ronald was stopped by the butler, who took out a note from behind the counter and handed it to Ronald.

"It's a call from a man from Niceta. He called you several times but you were not there. Please call him back as soon as possible."

"Oh..." Ronald felt his body and found that he was in a bad mood. He didn't bring his bag and pager with him.

"Hello, this is Ronald." After he got to the room, Ronald called Niceta.

"Oh God, where have you been? We have to hire an assistant for you. I'm so anxious that I can't find you."

"What's the hurry?" Ronald asked.

"You've been nominated for the Oscar for Best Director. It will be announced tomorrow. We have arranged for several important media to interview you. I can confirm the time when you show up. Richard, Richard, hurry up and report to Hollywood and call the reporter from Variety..."

"Oh yeah? Hahaha..." Ronald laughed out loud. CAA's agent is still very powerful. He actually made the nomination of the Directors Guild go wrong. With the votes of the Film Critics Association, he turned the tables and got the nomination for the Oscar for Best Director.

After so many years of debut, he finally got nominated for an Oscar again. Unlike the Best Original Song last time, this time it's the Best Director, one of the five major awards.

"You're also nominated for Best Picture (because Ronald is the producer)" Nicita also laughed over there.

"In total, your Moonlight has also received Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, a total of six nominations."

"Hehe..." Ronald laughed very happily. Getting six nominations is a treatment only for blockbusters. Which star in the circle will dare to look down on him in the future?

"It's not over yet. Your 'Dirty Dancing' was also nominated for Best Original Song."

Nicita talked about the nominations. The other films that received multiple nominations are all old acquaintances along the way.

Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" has nine nominations, "News on the Road" has seven, Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun", Adrian Lane's "Fatal Attraction", and "Moonlight" all have six nominations.

"So the director of that Swedish film wasn't nominated? Did they give him the Best Foreign Language Film?"

Ronald felt much more relieved. After all, the Academy Awards are Hollywood awards, so why not let Hollywood insiders nominate themselves to promote a foreign language film? Since it's a foreign language film, the Best Foreign Language Film Award is where it should go.

"Are you confused? Ronald, foreign language films released in mainstream theaters in America compete for normal awards. Lasse Hallström won the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for Dog Face Years."

"Ah? He's still there? Then who was squeezed out?" Ronald heard that this Swedish director was still on the Best Director nomination list. Which unlucky guy was nominated for the Directors Guild Award but didn't get an Oscar nomination? "

"It's Steven..." Nicita's tone also changed, "He was squeezed out by John Boorman, the director of the British film "Hope and Glory." "

"Spielberg didn't get a Best Director nomination? ", Ronald didn't know what to say when he heard the news.

"Yes, it wasn't nominated for Best Picture, and only won minor awards such as Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Photography, Best Costume, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Effects."

"This..." Ronald thought, how many times has Spielberg been fooled by the Oscars?

Exploitation Hollywood 1980