Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"The two major writers' unions in the East and West held a final vote on the labor agreement. The result was an overwhelming 5:1. They finally agreed to the fourth offer of the Producers Guild and signed a labor agreement for the next four years. Although the union negotiator Walton said that the conditions this time were not much better than before, the screenwriters had already voted to respond."

Ronald watched NBC's live broadcast of the end of the strike at his home in New York. When a screenwriter was asked how he felt about the fact that the purpose of their strike had not been achieved, he blurted out that he had not worked for a long time. No matter what these terms were, he had to take the advance payment to the pawnshop to redeem his wife's diamond ring.

"Ding Dong..."

"Here I come"

Ronald opened the door and went to Times Square with Little Bud. Today, Rob Reiner, Nora Ephron, and the two leading actors Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan will sign there and take the costume photos.

Although Ronald has not yet come up with a reasonable ending twist, the costume photos will be taken first. At the same time, the script that has not been finalized will be sent to the Hollywood Producers Guild for filing. The publicity photos will be sent to the Hollywood Newspaper, which will report the news of the establishment of various projects.

"Meg, Billy..." Ronald greeted the two leading actors, and a female photographer began to take pictures of the two people who were dressed.

Clothing is very important for the shaping of movie actors. When Meg Ryan was filming "Top Gun" before, a dress showed her characteristics of a southern girl very typical. Now she is wearing a gray coat and a white shirt, plus a bob, and the demeanor of a professional woman in a northern big city is very full.

"Give me an idea... Well, a happier one, your current ideas are too negative, very good, I like this idea very much." The photographer was instructing Meg Ryan on how to pose.

"Hmm?" Ronald felt friendly at first sight. This set of methods of guiding the subject to be photographed was also used a lot when he was a photographer. Could it be that the two of them are of the same school?

Seeing that she had taken pictures of Billy and Meg, Ronald stepped forward and greeted her.

"Hello..."

"Michelle, Michelle Singer." The female photographer tightened the strap of the camera and reached out to shake hands with Ronald.

"Can I teach you Michelle? I like the feeling of you taking pictures. I wonder when I can see it?"

"If you are in a hurry, I will ask someone to rush it immediately. You can see the sample within an hour." The photographer stroked his hair.

"Any questions?" Rob Reiner came over to ask. Although he was no longer a director, he was still the investor and co-producer of the film.

"No, I'll talk to the photographer Ms. Singer. This is Rob and this is Michelle." Ronald introduced them to each other.

"Hello..." The two chatted and seemed to be quite speculative.

"I can bet with you that Rob is going to ask her out." Nora Ephron came over and whispered in Ronald's ear.

"Really?" Ronald asked with a smile. Nora, like other female screenwriters, was extremely sensitive to this kind of gossip.

"Believe me, she is the type that Rob likes." Nora Ephron also adjusted her hair.

"I believe you..." Ronald felt that to some extent, Nora and Rob were the prototypes of Harry and Sally in the script. They really didn't have any chemistry. But they knew each other very well, so she was the first to catch the information about what kind of women Rob Reiner liked.

"Well, not bad, these photos are very good." More than an hour later, Ronald got the photos. Michelle Singer's photography had strong contrast and excellent use of colors, as if she could use colors to describe the mood of the scene.

"It's really a great work. This is the best movie work photo I've ever seen." Rob Reiner and Michelle chatted non-stop. He was not satisfied with Ronald's praise and insisted on adding several levels.

Nora Ephron looked at Ronald and blinked, as if to say, I told you...

"You're right, Rob. These photos are very suitable for commercial use. Ms. Singer, I wonder what work you have next?" Ronald was satisfied with the quality and the other party's charges were also fair.

"No work arrangements? If you are interested in continuing to work for us, I have two more movies, Steel Magnolias and Deep Love, which are filmed in Louisiana and Los Angeles respectively. Can you take them as well?"

"This...what about the travel expenses?" Michelle hesitated.

"Of course we will go. Rob is going to Louisiana for the scene. He can go with you."

"We also have travel subsidies..." Ronald saw that the other party was still a little hesitant and immediately offered subsidies. With Rob Reiner's encouragement, she nodded and agreed.

"You are really good..." Nora Ephron watched this scene, waited for Rob and Michelle to leave, and came over to tease Ronald.

"Confucius said that a gentleman has the ability to help others achieve their goals."

...

"Have you thought about how to deal with the reversal at the end?" Ronald and Nora Ephron continued to discuss the script for an afternoon. She also wanted to see Ronald's screenwriting skills.

"Hey..." Ronald stood up and stretched. Ephron is very good. When discussing with her, many inspirations come out. In the past, I wrote the script by myself. Now I see that it is better to have a team of screenwriters to discuss.

"There will always be a way. Let's think about it separately. Whoever has inspiration will come again."

It is about the final reversal at the end. How can Harry figure out his true love, that is, Sally, who is on and off, and who was unacceptable at first, but later has a tacit understanding?

The two still have no clues, and they can handle it naturally and reasonably. The audience believes that this story can happen and can be moved.

"Hey... I will go back and think about it. If Harry and Sally are separated in the end, I will not be willing to accept it. No matter what their final outcome is, they deserve a marriage together." Nora Ephron stood up, picked up the draft script and left.

"Where do you want to eat?" Little Bud waited for a long time, but didn't see Ronald come out, so he came in and asked.

"I'm not very hungry. Let's go around in Midtown Manhattan." Ronald put away the script and handed it to Little Bud. The two got in the car. They drove slowly and aimlessly on the streets of Midtown.

Ronald felt annoyed and wanted to find a reason to help Harry figure out that Sally was the woman destined for his life. Under what circumstances can a person suddenly figure out and marry another person? How can Harry save Sally's heart that was broken because of his escape?

Ronald opened the car window, and the outside air entered the fully air-conditioned car. A familiar smell came, and Ronald seemed to have returned to the time when he was working in the "Famous" crew.

The stuffy heat, with the special smell of a lot of garbage in Midtown that had not been cleaned up in time, entered Ronald's nose, suddenly turning on the switch of memory, making his thoughts fly back to seven or eight years ago.

"Stop..." Ronald found that the car was near the high school where the filming was done. How did he win Antonia Franceschi's heart after being dumped by Meg Tilly?

"Isn't this the place where you filmed Famous? I wanted to be an actor back then, but unfortunately I couldn't be in the crew because I was not old enough." Little Bud also recognized this place.

Ronald asked Bud for a cigarette and leaned against the car door to smoke.

"Hey... handsome guy, do you want me to accompany you?"

Times Square is full of prostitutes. When Ronald stopped in a luxury car, two women in revealing clothes came over to greet him.

"Stand back..." Little Bud took out the standard posture he had trained in the Marine Corps, with his legs apart, his chest and head raised, and made a gesture to the women to keep away from strangers.

"Let's go..." Ronald felt bored and asked Little Bud to get in the car.

"Go downtown, go past Chinatown, and there is a pizza shop in front of Sanchez Street in Little Italy. The Margherita there is delicious."

Ronald pointed the way, and Little Bud sent him to the place where Ronald and Antonia were attracted to each other when they had a four-person date.

He wanted to relive his feelings at that time, maybe he could give the script some inspiration.

"I've been here before. Lucy brought me here a few times."

"Hmm..." Ronald looked at the authentic pizza shop run by Italians. Everything was the same as when he and Antonia celebrated the birthday of the black actor Gene. Bud's girlfriend Lucy also came with him.

Everything, the taste of pizza, the decoration of the shop, and the diners in line, have not changed. But it seems that everything has changed.

The people are no longer the same as they used to be, and the shop no longer plays disco, but J's songs instead.

Why didn't he propose to Antonia back then?

Ronald recalled his past. He once dreamed that he and Antonia went to the church for a wedding. It was a beautiful dream. Antonia had a simple wedding with him in the church under a white veil. After the wedding, Antonia gave up her ballet career and ironed clothes for him.

By the way, it was because both of them wanted to pursue their careers that they separated. Ronald also promised to donate to Antonia's ballet company and become a philanthropist so that Antonia could concentrate on dancing.

Ronald suddenly felt melancholy...

If he didn't become a director at that time, he would find a job, open a photography studio, and then buy a small house on Staten Island with Antonia, and send her to work at the City Ballet in Manhattan by ferry every day.

In short, in the end, there was only one person who wanted to be with him/her more than his/her career. Now, maybe it's another life.

"Let's go back first..."

Ronald suddenly had an idea in his mind to go see Antonia. How is she doing?

...

The next morning, Ronald found his agent Richard and asked him to help find Antonia's whereabouts.

"Why, do you want to marry Antonia?" Richard rarely saw Ronald so sentimental, and he was surprised. He blurted out.

However, artists are often like this. Sometimes, for no reason, they suddenly have a great liking for a woman. Many directors have such moments of finding a muse in their careers.

This is often the most creative moment in their directorial careers.

Ronald has never been so crazy about a woman. Could it be that at this time, the muse still occupied his mind?

"No, no..." Ronald shook his head. It was difficult for him to explain this mentality.

"I just had a strong idea to meet Antonia. I chose my career at that time, not her. I couldn't sleep last night, always thinking about what would have happened if I had made another choice?

I want to meet her. It’s a natural desire, right? "

"I understand..." Richard nodded, what else doesn't he understand? The moment of madness that an artist is destined to have finally comes to his client. Although Ronald has always seemed mature over the years, this is a situation that every genius in the art industry will encounter.

Inside CAA, we are prepared for this situation.

"I can ask, but I have to understand your thoughts first. What do you want to do if you find her? Rekindle your dream with this girl, or resume the relationship as a couple, or do you want to meet her first? , decide again? "Richard is not worried about what happens between Ronald and the ballerina, there are standard control procedures. Richard had also helped Ronald deal with a lot of this kind of thing before.

What he was worried about was if Ronald became too crazy. They publicly announced their relationship, or even went one step further and wanted to get married. This is a very risky matter because it is unknown what condition this woman is in now.

"That's not the case. Antonia and I were not coveting each other's things at that time. We really liked each other." Ronald felt that Richard thought of himself a little bit.

"You find out what position she holds and tell me. I'll make a donation to the New York City Ballet where she's at, so I can help her out and make her a principal or something."

"Uh...", Richard thought in alarm. This is purely an emotional need, not a desire. As soon as I start, I want to be the patron of an old ballet company. It's broken, it's really broken...

"I'll give Niceta a call, he's a little more familiar with this old-school stuff."

Richard hurriedly left and went to crisis management.

"What does he want? To be a patron? This is not like what a young and powerful director would say. It is something that can only be done by an old director who has achieved fame but has exhausted his artistic creation and can no longer make movies."

Niceta was also anxious. This was a madness unique to Hollywood artists. Every artist has his own weaknesses and obsessions.

Just like Tom Cruise wants to work with a big director to get an Oscar nomination. Marty Scorsese wants to make a Jesus movie. Spielberg likes actresses who look like cats…

Ronald's parents died when he was young, and he has not had any stable emotions for so many years. Maybe he is tired of dealing with beautiful women and wants to settle down?

But even if you want to settle down, an actress who you haven't seen for seven or eight years is definitely not the best choice.

"I'll fly to New York right away..."

Niceta quickly flew to New York, and after meeting Richard, she asked urgently, "Is Antonia still at the New York City Ballet?"

"No, she just resigned not long ago. The founder and soul of the City Ballet, George Balanchine, passed away a few years ago. Antonia was the last batch of the Russian ballet and choreographer to recruit into the company. Dancer.

Now the new dance company directors and principals have their own preferred dances and styles, so these Balanchine girls are not too popular and have lost a lot recently. "

Richard didn't know whether he was relieved or felt sorry for Ronald.

"Resigned?" Ronald heard the news and sat in his chair without moving for a long time. If she had remembered her promise earlier, Antonia would have been better off and wouldn't have resigned and started anew somewhere else.

"Where has she gone? Is there any news?" Ronald knew that Antonia was also an orphan and did not have many close friends and relatives.

"We asked in detail about the girls who were close to her in the ballet company. We only knew that they went to Europe. We didn't know if they had been invited by any ballet company in Europe. Antonia just said that she would write to them after she got there.

I have already agreed with them that as soon as we receive a letter from Antonia, we will be notified as soon as possible.”

"Hmm..." Ronald thought to himself that this was not normal. It seemed that she was also excluded in the dance troupe, and she didn't even tell her friends about her next destination.

"Don't worry, Antonia's career is developing well. She just failed when she competed for the prima ballerina last year. This is also common in big ballet companies like New York. She has the ability to be the prima ballerina in other dance companies."

"I know, I just feel it's a pity that I didn't help her." Ronald asked the two of them to go out and stay alone for a while.

Niceta and Richard looked at each other and seemed to be really in love. This feeling is quite special, isn't it?

"Agents are not experts in finding people." Seeing the two people leaving, Ronald opened the drawer and found the contact information of the very capable private detective.

"Mr. McPike? I'm Ronald, I want to find someone..."