Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Test, test, Damon, Joan..."

"Damon received it, Over..."

"Joan received it, Over..."

"Okay, guys, cheer up. Daniel's patron paid a big price. After we finish this job, we can save more money for our children and grandchildren to go to college." A middle-aged man with gray hair said to said the intercom. He looked very capable, and his two partners lurked at different locations at the intersection near Jonathan Demme's office. After everything was ready, he walked into the public phone booth and left a message on a paging number:

"The fisherman has gone to sea, waiting to set the hook..."

"Didi, didi..." The pager of Ronald's bodyguard Dennis rang. He picked it up and looked at the code name of the message, and then drew a circle in the fourth column of the table on the whiteboard.

This is an apartment that Ronald, through Richard, rented under the name of an unrelated person as a temporary command post for catching moles. Richard, Niceta, and Paula Wagner were all here, plus Ronald, sitting on the sofa waiting for the results.

Yesterday, Ronald made four different calls at his office, Diane's apartment, the hotel he rented for a long time, and CAA Niceta's office, and four different messages came out.

This is a classic technique in the FBI's counterintelligence tutorial. If private detective Mike Pike's reasoning is correct and his communication lines have indeed been tapped for a long time, then he only needs to look at four different places today to see where gossip reporters and people hiding in the dark are gathered. Leaked.

To this end, Ronald signed a big check to Daniel and asked him to find some friends and do a private job. Anyway, it was all the work they usually did, and the money from the big customers was paid in advance, so they were all very energetic.

"Okay, guys.

Daniel had found partners who had been trained together in the FBI or the Special Service Team and who had either resigned or retired. They had the latest radio communication systems and were waiting at four locations to watch Ronald play. Any of the phone lines have been tapped.

Ronald and the others sat on the sofa in silence. From time to time, he looked at the bodyguard Daniel to see if there was any news from him.

"Didi..." Several people on the sofa turned their heads together.

Finally, after waiting for a long time and after Richard asked several times but got nothing, Dan's pager finally rang.

"Hello..." Daniel quickly called the "fisherman" group that sent the message.

"Many entertainment reporters are blocking Jonathan Demme here. Some are asking him whether the budget is sufficient and whether he would consider shooting abroad..."

"Are there any suspicious targets?" Dan asked. It's good to have someone bite the hook, and it would be even better if we could continue to tease out who was behind the scenes.

"Not yet... We will continue to follow, and Joan will go talk to the gossip reporters..."

As the first boot fell, Ronald stood up and asked Richard for a cigarette. He didn't expect that the hotel he rented for a long time was bugged in the end. I don't know if the bug is on the phone line or in the room. It seems that I have dated many beautiful women in that executive suite.

"Didi..." Another pager sounded. Everyone was shocked and looked at the bodyguard Daniel.

"Hello?" Daniel dialed a phone number calmly.

"Well, okay, I understand." He put down the phone and said to everyone, "It's the airport... An entertainment reporter is asking Ms. Ephron whether she will transform into a director, and about the preparation and casting of new films..."

"Shxt!" Now Niceta and three others jumped up.

The call with Nora Ephron was made in his office. How could an entertainment reporter go to the airport to interview such an unknown screenwriter?

After that, for a long time, no more calls came. There were no new developments for directors Diane and Penny Marshall, or for the crew as far away as South Dakota.

Two out of four, a mixed bag. The good thing is that Ronald was not monitored from all directions, which means it was not law enforcement.

The bad thing is that it seems that I have been bugged for a long time. The hotel room where I usually stay and the agent's office are leaking like a sieve. I don't know how much has been leaked.

"How is it possible? Didn't you check everything? How come there are still people eavesdropping? Where did they start?" Ronald asked the bodyguard Daniel depressingly.

Ever since Daniel became his bodyguard, half of his energy has been on protecting his various residences. Every time he stayed in a hotel, he would check it very carefully before letting Ronald check in with confidence.

"I don't know. I suspect it's not wiretapping inside the room. The problem may be in the phone line. The hotel's switchboard and your agent's office are a mixed bag of people. Unlike your office, where they are all your own people, they may be invaded."

The bodyguard Daniel briefly stated his judgment. He put on his holster and called his remaining companions, asking them to gather here and then set up an ambush at the hotel where the secret was leaked, hoping to follow the clues and catch the leader of the eavesdropping.

Niceta and the other three discussed with Ronald that they should return to CAA's office temporarily and not alert others. Daniel also arranged for a security expert to go to the office with them to do some research.

After everyone set off, Ronald took Little Bud's car to Daydream's office, a relatively safe place, and waited patiently for the results of the large force's operation.

"Bud, do you think I'm too relaxed? I didn't expect anyone to come and eavesdrop on me." Ronald felt very bad in the car and chatted with Bud.

"If you ask me, you'd better move into a new house as soon as possible. The security conditions there are better and entertainment reporters can be eliminated. Big directors like you who make money, like Spielberg, have long stopped interacting with ordinary people. There’s so much intersection.”

Little Bud told the truth, Ronald still maintained many of his past living habits and had many friends from before he was developed. Such nostalgia was a good thing for people like Bud, but it was not a good thing for Ronald himself.

No, it makes it difficult for my private life to be leaked. Why……

"You're right...Ronald felt the troubles after success. Maybe stars like Tom Cruise have already experienced such troubles. As a director, after he was nominated, many people gradually started to pay attention to him. With his money and scandals (which can also be exchanged for money), he kept coming up with ideas.

"By the way, give me a call. I have to call them to explain the situation..." Ronald was depressed for a while, remembering that he still had things to do. The four people he was meeting with were still in the dark. Knowing that he had become bait for Ronald to test his questions.

"Hey, Diane. I have something to deal with here. Tell Director Marshall that I have an emergency to deal with today and I can't go to interview her about casting."

"Oh, okay, dear, what's the matter?"

"In another movie I invested in, Director Demi was pestered by entertainment reporters and asked some investment questions, which may have an impact on the project. I have to go put out the fire urgently..."

"Let me tell Penny, take your time, don't be in a hurry."

Diane still thought about herself, so Ronald put down the phone and called Helen in New York.

"Hello, Helen, I'm Ronald..."

"Ronald, why did Nora call me and say that the press conference called her about the casting? She also said that you have to find a way to hire Tom Cruise? But my new movie is about a college student. What do you think? Is his image so fixed that others won’t think he’s a nerd?”

Helen is still the same as before, the biggest thing in her heart is the performance of her acting skills. If Cruise really agrees to act, then just change the script... No, where did I think of it?

Ronald retracted his thoughts, "I don't know who leaked the news. News about your new project began to appear in the Hollywood Reporter. I want to discuss it with Nora. If you have a reporter over there, tell me about the casting director. The director made the decision and you didn’t know.”

"Okay... I originally wanted to talk to the reporter about casting. I think it would be better to find a male protagonist with a more suitable image for this movie... Well, let's not talk about it... I will listen to you.

Hee hee, are you happy in Los Angeles? When will you come to New York? "

"Ah...", Ronald scratched his head. He was just talking nonsense about the casting and just putting it out as bait. Now that Helen knows about it, does he still take it seriously? In addition, I haven’t seen or called her since the wedding. I wonder if she is okay in New York?

"I will go to New York when my new film premieres. We will talk then."

"Well, I'll wait for you..." Helen replied quietly. After seeing the news of Ronald's marriage in the media, she was still more uncomfortable than she thought.

Ronald and Nora Ephron also agreed that the last person to deal with was senior brother Jonathan Demme.

"Jonathan, I heard from my agent that a reporter has interviewed you?"

"Yes, reporters asked me a lot of budget questions. There was a reporter who was familiar with me. He told me privately that Orion had financial problems. Their big projects are now the focus of entertainment reporters. They are particularly After asking if we will go to Canada to shoot, I think we should release some good news at this stage, otherwise..." Demi's voice was a bit heavy on the phone.

"Otherwise, it will affect the release and the confidence of the two protagonists." Ronald covered his face. He didn't expect that this bait would cause trouble, but what happened to Orion?

…

When he arrived at Daydream's office, Ronald quickly called the people from Orion. The other party flatly denied the financial difficulties and said that there was no problem with the special funds set aside for distribution and marketing. However, it was the reporters at this stage who had to respond.

An emergency meeting was convened with executives in Los Angeles. Michelle Cannold calculated the costs. Fortunately, the filming was in Virginia, so the cost increase was limited. In addition, Jonathan Demme has always had a reputation for not procrastinating. The shooting cost of the entire movie is estimated to only increase by about two to three million US dollars.

"FBI headquarters, training center, let me think of a way." Ronald looked at the bill and still wanted to find a way to lower it. Orion seems to have a real problem, and these additional costs will probably fall on itself.

I need to contact some connections to see if I can borrow the real FBI training center in Quantico, Virginia for filming? Just like Top Gun at that time received major support from the Navy, in this movie, the FBI agents still have a very positive image.

After making several more calls one after another, Ronald said hello to Polly Platt in South Dakota. They said there was no problem there and they could continue filming without fear of environmental protection. They also organized door-to-door protests. By the way, let Fat Girl's assistant come back.

Originally, Ronald was most suspicious of South Dakota, who deliberately leaked some information about venison over the phone to deceive environmental groups. In fact, they just went to the nearby highway to pick up deer killed by cars and came back for filming.

There is no news from Daniel yet, and Ronald can't even return to the hotel. I ordered Chinese takeout at the office at noon and ate two bites of fried noodles and General Tso's chicken. It was really not to my liking. Ronald was so angry that he threw away his chopsticks and said, "Who the hell is messing with me?"

…

"We discovered their eavesdropping methods, Ronald. I think someone very powerful in Hollywood is trying to get you!"

In the afternoon, bodyguard Daniel took a partner and came to report to Ronald with many photos.

"Caught?" Ronald's eyes shone when he heard this.

"They haven't been caught yet, but we have caught their eavesdropping method. Look..." One-time imaging photos were placed on the table one by one.

"This is?" Ronald saw rows of densely packed machines.

"This is the telephone exchange at the Beverly Hotel in Hollywood. Look here, because someone has found the number of the room you usually rent, and someone has tampered with your line."

"Please look here, Mr. Li." The gray-haired former special agent named Benson came over and pointed to the photo. "This line was carefully branched out and connected to another line behind the switch. We followed this route and finally found the tape recorder plugged into a power supply in a warehouse of the hotel where cleaning tools are kept."

"Who did this? Who wants to mess with me?" Ronald nodded as he looked.

"The security at the Beverly Hilton is terrible. We, like that person, can sneak in at will. The tape has been replaced with a new one this morning. I have arranged for Damon to keep an eye on it. Once this person comes again, Just change the tape and you can catch him in one fell swoop.”

"Very good, help me do this, Benson. I will ask your team to provide me with security consulting for a long time in the future." Ronald touched the photo with a deep look, as if he wanted to find out what was hidden behind it. Whoever the person is.

"However, Mr. Li, I have to remind you that this equipment is not available in the ordinary market. It is an upgraded version of the equipment used by Richard's people during the Watergate incident. As far as I know, it is very high. This level of equipment was once used to spy on our ally, the King of Persia. It was only recently that it was withdrawn from active service, and it is now difficult for ordinary people to buy it on the market." The gray-haired Benson reminded Ronald.

"What do you mean?"

"This incident definitely broke the rules and violated multiple laws. It included buying and selling sensitive equipment related to national security, secretly eavesdropping on public figures, selling privacy to reporters, including destroying communication equipment. These are all serious crimes...

But if we catch them, it will be difficult to clarify some things. After all, our fishing practices have also crossed the line, and it is not a good thing for the media to know. Why don't we let the LAPD handle these matters? If sensitive equipment is involved, the FBI will take over. This is their business scope. "

"Very good, let's do it like this. You can help me get this done, Benson." When Ronald heard this, he realized that this method would allow the powerful department to interrogate the other party with indictable charges, and he could use the lawyer to exert pressure to find out. Who is behind the instigation and I have become the absolute victim? This is a good thing...

It seems that this gray-haired guy is really very good.

"Okay, I have arranged for Joan to be ready to call the police at any time. This is the most expensive zip code area in California. After calling the police, the police will definitely be dispatched as soon as possible. I will just let Dimon delay for a few more minutes."

After letting them dispatch as planned, Ronald returned to the hotel room at the Beverly Hilton. He deliberately called Jonathan Demme again and informed him that he had contacted Director Claire of the FBI's New York office and asked him to When I mentioned the idea to her, Claire agreed to report it to her superiors. It was a rare opportunity for this movie to be filmed at a real FBI location.

After making the call, Ronald did not dare to stay in the hotel room for longer, for fear of another eavesdropping device, so he had to walk to another nearby Wilshire Hotel to temporarily book a room, "Who the hell is messing with me?" ?”

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :