Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Chapter 35 Ordinary Life Syndrome

Accompanied by the roaring editing machine, the editing of "Rock High School" gradually came to an end.

Two weeks later, on February 20, the editing of the entire film was announced. The next step is the mixing work. The songs lip-synched in the movie are dubbed with the soundtracks on the album.

The mix didn't need any assistants, and Ronald's job on "High School of Rock" was done, and he became an unemployed man.

Ronald didn't try to find a way to join the new crew, but was ready to wait for the college admissions results to come out. In addition to running and exercising every day, supplementing sleep, watching TV shows. After two days, I felt very uncomfortable. I couldn't adapt to this step-by-step rest life. It seemed that I still had to find something to do.

Go to Cameron and talk to him? Cameron is in the stage of high enthusiasm for a new job. He works until late at night every day, and sometimes even lives in a stunt factory. Not surprisingly, he and his wife Sharon fell out again.

Ronald had to think of something to do himself.

First, I hung up Demi Moore and asked about the situation. She has been signed by an elite modeling agency and has some graphic modeling jobs waiting for her. However, the acting work has still not improved, and I don't know when I will be able to enter the industry. Now I'm learning to write lyrics for rock music with my boyfriend.

Demi also told Ronald that Natasha Kinski had already returned to the hair country to continue filming "Tess". I don't know when I will see her image on the screen in the United States.

Ronald felt a little empty, and daily life was much more bland than the stories in the movies. On the set, in the editing room, he was dealing with drama all the time.

After a movie, Ronald was a little unaccustomed to the blandness of everyday life. It was as if he had left this ordinary world.

Film shooting and post-editing, so colorful. Along the way, Ronald, a newcomer, has been climbing a mountain every step of the way since he broke into the film industry. He worked hard to climb and finally reached the top. But after the peak is flat.

Now this ordinary life is flat ground. I am used to climbing mountains and then walking on flat ground, and it seems that I suddenly lose weight. Most people's lives are not as dramatic as the world on the screen. Ronald is still readjusting to a normal rhythm of life.

Ronald drove aimlessly around Venice.

At the time of urban planning, Venice Beach was planned as a cultural center by the municipality of Los Angeles. The lower working class also had little to do with high art, and Venice became a center for surfing and roller skating.

The municipal company built roller skating fields along many roads. It is said to be a venue, but it is actually a circular ground paved with cement, which is quite rudimentary. The intention was probably to let people play roller skating in it, like the ice skating rink in Ronald's hometown of New York.

But now, the venue has been occupied by skateboarders who challenged the tricky difficulty. Instead of using roller skates, they switched to skateboards and tried tricky tricks in pools, railings, stairs, and more.

Ronald asked someone to borrow a skateboard and try it out. He soon discovered that he was tall and big, and couldn't make any fancy moves at all. After watching other people's wonderful performances for a while, I was very envious, but also jealous that I couldn't do it, so I left and went to see other fun things.

There is also a surf club on Venice Beach, where tanned masters in swim shorts are challenging the waves. They seem to have a fragile balance on the crest of a wave, wiggling around just not falling.

There are some more courageous people who try to challenge the waves more than 5 meters high and walk through the waves. The audience can only see a small person at the seaside, disappearing and appearing in the huge waves. Although most of them ended in failure, occasionally a successful one emerged from the huge waves, and there was cheers on the beach.

Ronald also enjoyed watching it and couldn't help but want to play it.

Find the surf club business office on the shore, pay the deposit, rush into the locker room, and change into swimming shorts. Grab your newly rented surfboard,

A fierce man plunged into the sea.

"Pfft, bah bah bah." Ronald was overturned by the waves and returned to the shore in embarrassment.

It seems that he is still not suitable for these extreme sports.

Let's play wrestling then. Ronald tried again to find a wrestling gym to recover. But after driving around in Venice for a long time, I couldn't find it.

Still enthusiastic citizens pointed out that there is a martial arts hall around the corner.

"The martial arts hall will do, too," Ronald thought.

Walking into the martial arts hall at the intersection of the two streets, the smell of shoes came on. Ronald frowned. There were a dozen pairs of shoes neatly placed in the hallway. It turned out to be a karate hall, and you have to take off your shoes when you enter the door.

The American people generally do not know the difference between the Chinese and the Eastern Ying people.

They call Bruce Lee's kung fu, also called kalati (karate). Dongying's karate and judo are also called kung fu.

Anyway, it is a mysterious martial art from the East. When "Ajiu" makes a move, the enemy will be killed.

There were only a few children in the hall, dressed in white karate clothes and belted.

"Hi, ho, hi, ho" is doing punching, up and down blocks, and other basic moves.

Ronald followed the rules, took off his shoes, and walked into the clubhouse. The venue of the guild hall is not large. The whole floor is covered with cream-yellow tatami. There is no decoration around it, and it is quite simple. On the opposite wall were some slogans written in Japanese, and there was a pennant that seemed to be the championship flag of a certain tournament.

The coach of the clubhouse saw an adult approaching and came up to talk. The business of the karate club is not good. This looks like a trainer. Are you here to play?

Ronald introduced himself and said that he wanted to find a wrestling venue, and the guide pointed him to come here, saying that the coaches here have real kung fu.

The coach seemed to be of mixed Japanese and Japanese blood, in his 20s, and he was learning authentic Ryukyu karate. After the death of Bruce Lee, the business of Oriental Martial Arts was not very good, and now it is still supported by recruiting some children.

The coach didn't have any insight. Seeing that Ronald could wrestle, he expressed that he wanted to fight with him. The two asked the students to pause and live on the tatami.

Karate pays attention to inch stops, that is, to the point. If the coach's fist hits Ronald's face an inch, he wins.

Ronald was not used to this, so he still stepped forward and grabbed the coach's wrist, and with a twist, he threw him to the ground.

He hurriedly stepped forward to apologize, but the coach did not intend to continue the fight, but chatted with Ronald about this wrestling technique. Martial arts of various schools have some similar moves. Ronald also learned about throwing skills in karate.

As they parted ways, the two exchanged business cards. The coach said that he had also practiced Wing Chun and Filipino short stick martial arts. Ronald is welcome to come and try his skills when he has time. He has some good friends and can actually fight.

Ronald looked at the name on the business card, Daryl Vidal, and it really was an American name.

...

Ordinary life lacks stimulation, maybe I lack a girlfriend? Ronald thought.

Want to have a Chinese meal to celebrate? Ronald drove to Chinatown in Los Angeles to try the Chinese food there.

After passing Sunset Boulevard, and a short distance north, Ronald saw the bronze statue of Mr. Zhongshan and the archway with the words "Luo Zhiqinghua" written high.

The whole person relaxed. Although there is no memory of the previous life, there is still a natural intimacy with the Chinese-style houses, various Chinese plaques, and bilingual street signs.

I found a restaurant at random, ordered Yangzhou fried rice, added a barbecued pork, fried vegetables, and regular soup. Ronald's tongue and stomach are in place. It relieved a lot of the boredom of McDonald's every day.

Should have come more times, Ronald patted his belly, put down the excessive tip, and got up to go home.

After taking a hot shower and washing away his exhaustion, Ronald thought of the idea of ​​finding a girlfriend again. How about going to the two "dance stars" from Van Nuys High School tomorrow?

Sitting in a daze on the sofa in the living room, Ronald turned on the TV. It happens to be the local TV station CBS-2 in Los Angeles, which is broadcasting the 51st Academy Awards this year, and the nominations have just been released.

The two biggest hits I saw in the Daily Variety News some time ago, "The Return" and "The Deer Hunter" won 8 and 9 nominations respectively. And they all include big awards such as best picture, best director, best actor and actress.

Another strong contender for the award is the self-produced, directed, written, and starring comedy film "Heaven Can Wait" by Warren Beatty, which also received 9 nominations.

Warren Beatty is a well-known playboy in Hollywood, and his power in Hollywood has grown by the day since he starred in "Bonnie and Clyde" which became a box-office myth a few years ago. There are constant rumors of scandals with female stars from all walks of life, and none of his rumored girlfriends speak ill of him.

Ronald actually envied him very much in his heart, and he kept a good reputation. Much better than two other famous Hollywood playboys, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando.

The host is still constantly analyzing the probability of winning various nominations, interspersed with various entertainment gossip and interviews with the parties.

Warren Beatty is a handsome guy, and can't help but say good things about his movie in an interview.

"'Going to the Wrong Paradise' is not a simple remake of 1943's 'Tai Xu Dao Ren', it's not a simple farce. He incorporates reflections on modern America and what we want to be like Thinking of life, and he's essentially a romance."

Ronald listened to what he said and thought for a while, but didn't understand what the handsome guy meant.

The screen cuts to "The Deer Hunter," with the movie's biggest star, Robert De Niro, defending the film, arguing that "The Deer Hunter" is the best movie of the year.

Then came director Michael Cimino. He's a fat, fat man with big words, exaggerated movements, and a bit of a megalomaniac. The host introduced that he was born in commercials, and "The Deer Hunter" is his second feature film.

However, this time he has been criticized by many film critics and progressives. In Michael Cimino's three-hour film, there are some whimsical plots, such as American prisoners of war, who are forced to gamble their lives by North Vietnamese officers.

Several prisoners gambled with a revolver with only one bullet in it, the North Vietnamese officer turned the revolver, and the prisoners took turns shooting themselves in the temple. This is called Russian Roulette. Many people criticized him for talking nonsense, saying it never happened in the Vietnam War.

In an interview with Michael Cimino, he plausibly said:

"I served in the green berets of the US Army, and when I first joined the army in 1968, I was a medic in the green berets, and I saw the whole spring offensive. I can only say that a lot of things are not what you can imagine. People who understand will naturally understand what I mean, and I can’t reveal more if I don’t. I can only tell you that many of the contents of this film can be said to be autobiographical.”

Ronald looked at the greasy fat man on the TV, "No, he enlisted in the army and was dispatched to Vietnam in 1968, so he's only about 30 years old this year? This fat man looks 40, right?"

The screen switches to the heroine of "Returning", Jane Fonda being interviewed. Jane is the daughter of Henry Fonda, a veteran actor of the golden age. A superstar with both beauty and acting skills. She has always been on the left and advocated world peace. During the Vietnam War, she called on the leaders of America to stop bombing civilians in the north.

This time, Jane Fonda was attacked by conservatives. The role she played on the screen had an affair with the old high school male god and now the disabled soldier. When she had an affair, her character was still wearing a wedding ring, and her real husband was still working hard on the Vietnam battlefield.

This aroused the dissatisfaction of many veterans and religious figures, who accused Jane Fonda of immorality, and brought out the nickname "Hanoi Jane" that caused public outrage when she visited North Vietnam.

But Jane Fonda defended that her film reflects the real situation of Vietnam veterans.

"Did you know? We actually shot the scenes at the Veterans Hospital at the beginning of the film. Those lines are the daily conversations of the Vietnam War veterans. Anyone with a conscience should watch this 'Return with Honor'. Instead of sitting in a room and imagining the brutality of Vietnamese people, learn about the trauma of the Vietnam War in our country."

Ronald's uncle died in Vietnam. In Staten Island and New York, there are also many crippled Vietnam War veterans, and he knows what Jane Fonda is saying, which is actually true.

Gossip reporters seize the opportunity:

"Jane, are you implying that 'The Deer Hunter' is not a real reaction to the Vietnam War? Those Russian roulette plots are imaginary?"

"No, I'm not criticizing a certain movie, but criticizing a bad ethos in Hollywood, I dare not face the truth. As for the 'deer hunter' you said, I think our movie 'Return' is better The one from that is more able to reflect the true face of the war.”

"Jane Fonda has re-expressed her position on the Vietnam War. Will her new film win the favor of the judges? The 1972 photo of her sitting on the anti-aircraft gun of the North Vietnamese People's Army has not been forgotten by the American public." The host began to summarize.

The famous photo appeared on the TV screen.

Ronald, increasingly sleepy, turned off the TV and got ready to sleep. It seems that this year's Oscar hits are all about the Vietnam War. No, and the Warren Beatty one, what's that called...

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