Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Latest website: "Ed, there are many London media at the scene, not many American media, but it cannot be ruled out that there are some that Colombia has not received. If there are any reports, you have full authority to deal with it immediately, and do not expand this matter..."

At the hotel, Ronald called Ed Bastian, the new president of the New York Daily News. He was instructed to take immediate measures to suppress any gossip that Julia Roberts and Radziwill were competing for seats at the premiere.

Many London reporters at the scene saw the chaos and Julia Roberts crying afterwards. Fortunately, this matter involved Prince Charles and his wife, so their reporting was limited.

Colombia's public relations department, with Sony's channels, immediately started working and achieved remarkable results. Basically, locally, the news received no newspaper coverage worth mentioning.

Fortunately, this incident occurred in London, and not much of the transoceanic news actually reached America. Second-tier actresses like Julia Roberts and fake aristocrats like Radziwill are still not newsworthy enough.

Ronald was a little annoyed that this happened at the premiere. Columbia was also very unhappy with director Herbert Ross. After the two sides communicated, he was given an ultimatum. His wife Radziwill was not allowed to attend the 40th West Berlin Film Festival.

Herbert Ross, in turn, protested against Columbia. As a movie director, he thought it was a humiliation for his wife not to have a seat in the front row.

Behind this, how much is the old director's own face and how much is his wife's reluctance, it is difficult for outsiders to verify.

Colombian high-level officials held a meeting and concluded that the restless Duchess of Radziwill should no longer be allowed to go to West Berlin to cause trouble. There is no shield for the prince and his wife. Once the film's reputation is damaged, it is likely to affect the upcoming Oscar nomination battle.

Herbert Ross, an old Jewish director, is also getting older and stronger. Seeing that Colombia would not relent, he simply went home and stopped attending the premiere of "Steel Magnolias" in West Berlin.

"So you are going to attend the opening film of the West Berlin Film Festival on his behalf?" Diane visited Buckingham Palace in London, and then went to Princess Diana's palace with Shirley MacLean, Julia Roberts and others. David Emanuel's clothing store ordered several dresses.

Ronald paid the bill anyway, and the women were very happy. Diane felt that she was famous in the Hollywood actress circle and felt very proud. She was going back to Beverly's house to rest.

Ronald happened to go to West Berlin to serve as a judge for his film festival. Seeing that Ronald's schedule was very busy, Diane was still a little worried, so she helped him point out which outfits to wear for the opening ceremony and the award ceremony.

"The supporting role you played is expected to be nominated. Of course I have to cooperate with the film crew..." Ronald picked up another coat and said, "How about this one for the opening screening of Steel Magnolias?"

"Okay...it looks pretty..." Diane knew that the film crew had also applied for the Best Supporting Actress spot for Julia Roberts, so she didn't have high expectations.

Several middle-aged actresses in this movie are Oscar gold medal holders, and they robbed a lot of the protagonist's scenes. Therefore, Julia Roberts, the heroine, and the hidden heroine played by Diane, are classified as supporting actresses to increase the chances of being nominated and winning awards.

…

As soon as he arrived in West Berlin, Ronald felt that the atmosphere was very different from the previous times he had been here. The famously rigid Germans now seem to have become Latin Americans in South America. People dancing to disco music can be seen everywhere on the streets.

"Ronald!"

When he arrived at the hotel arranged by the organizing committee, Ronald heard someone calling him.

Turning around, he found that it was Michael Ballhaus, the director of photography for "Working Girl".

"Michael!" The two hugged enthusiastically in the lobby.

The West Berliners, who were not so emotionally expressive, looked at the two people as if they had just turned a blind eye. After all, in recent months, scenes of family members who have been isolated for decades hugging and crying together can be seen everywhere on the streets.

Michael Ballhaus is a famous German director of photography who has collaborated with famous Hollywood directors such as Martin Scorsese and Ronald Lee. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the West Berlin Film Festival, and it is also the first since the free exchange between East and West Berlin.

The organizing committee searched around and found him, one of the biggest names in the international film industry, to be the chairman of the jury. He and Ronald were still colleagues this time.

"The opening film was also invested by your company?" Michael Ballhaus also heard about Herbert Ross's refusal to come to the film festival for the opening screening. He was still very sorry when he heard that Ronald was coming to attend, and he immediately Forgot Ross.

"I invested part of it. Anyway, I am an American imperialist capitalist. I came here mainly to sell tickets for the movie... Fortunately, the West Berlin Film Festival was kind enough to give me a jury status."

Ronald teased, as a commercial film director, he was not very popular in West Berlin. Although "Steel Magnolias" was used as the opening film, it did not participate in the main competition section of the film festival's Golden Bear Award. Hollywood's competition film was given to Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July" and Australia Director Bruce Beresford's new film "Driving Miss Daisy."

"Don't say that. In fact, it is the honor of the West Berlin Film Festival to invite you to be a judge this year." Michael Ballhaus was very serious. He pointed to West Berlin in the night outside the window and said, "Now in the cinemas of East and West Berlin There must be screenings of your 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Break Dancing' here.

The first thing many East Berlin women do when they arrive in the west is to go to the cinema and watch a big-screen version of Dirty Dancing. "

"Why?" Ronald was also surprised. His movies had already flowed into East Germany through video tapes. How come so many people came to watch them on the big screen?

"I tell you, this is the first time for many women in East Berlin to feel that kind of moist, stirring feeling from the bottom of their hearts. It's like something is slowly sprouting..."

"Oh, Ronaldo..."

Ronald was chatting with Michael Ballhaus when a voice came from the side. I saw only one person, raising his hands in the air, cheering all the way, walking nimbly through the guests in the bar, and was about to hug Ronald when he came up.

"Roberto!" Ronald recognized the person as the Italian movie star Roberto Benigni, who served as a judge with him this year. He also raised his hands to hug him. Bernini's body language was too exaggerated, and he swayed from side to side when hugging, making others think that the two were performing wrestling.

"Ronaldo, good! Bullshit! Hahahaha..."

Ronald's Italian and German were poor, and Bernini's English was also poor. The two started chatting word by word, but they had a great time chatting.

Roberto Benigni just completed a new film "Sound of the Moon" by the Italian film master Fellini last year, and rarely played a serious protagonist (although the film is an absurd comedy).

After he left Hollywood for so many years, Hollywood directors began to invite him to star in Hollywood movies. As someone who had already worked in New York, he still wanted to open up a situation in the American market and gain recognition.

With this idea in mind, Roberto Benigni certainly would not let go of the opportunity to have a good relationship with Ronald. When filming in Italy, you don’t have to deal with Hollywood, but when you return to Hollywood, Ronald will be a big help.

The three of them drank a little too much, and Bernini became a little more excited and started jumping on the table to sing Italian songs. Ronald and Michael Ballhaus had to help him down, then each took an arm and walked him back to his room.

After opening the door, Michael Ballhaus handed Bernini over to his wife Nicoletta. Seeing the two people starting to communicate loudly in Italian, Ballhaus knew that nothing serious was going on and quickly asked Ronald to go back to his room and rest early.

"Director Luo?"

Ronald was called out again when he got out of the elevator, but no one called him that except the people in Xujiahui, right?

"Aren't you that... my grandpa?" Ronald recognized him and called him Director Luo. He was the male protagonist of "Red Sorghum", the film "Red Sorghum" directed by Yimou that won the Golden Bear Award in Berlin. He was the one who peed in the wine vat. The actor is named Wen Jiang.

"Hey, it's me. Director Luo, I was filming Director Xie's movie in Qingpu that year, and you happened to be on the crew of director Spielberg next door. We even met." Wen Jiang looked at each other and recognized each other. Even though he could speak Chinese, he was very happy and thought, "This foreigner seems to be a master of China..."

"Ah, yes...I remembered. Are you here this time?"

Ronald remembered that when Spielberg was filming "Empire of the Sun", Director Xie from the crew next door had moved the entire bluestone road to the location...

Times are tough for Chinese-language films, and there isn’t much funding. When Red Sorghum won the award last time, only the heroine Miss Gong participated in many activities...

"I am working with Director Xie this time...not Director Xie from Xujiahui, but Director Xie from Youth Film Studio. Our film is also participating in the main competition this time..."

"Oh..." Ronald didn't expect that the movie starring this actor would participate in the main competition of the West Berlin Film Festival for the second time. "Looking for a place to drink?"

"Hey, let me ask you... Director Luo..." Wen Jiang tied the leather strap of the camera around his hand and invited Ronald to dinner.

"Pull him down, you are a proletarian film artist, I am a US imperialist capitalist, I beg you..."

"Hey..." Wen Jiang thought about it, this guy's tongue is sharper than many people in China, so it doesn't matter if you get closer to him.

The two found an Italian restaurant, ordered a lot of salami, and a bottle of brandy, just like they did in Xujiahui, and got two sets of knives and forks to eat.

"Why did you change your career to become a photographer?" Ronald asked curiously as he saw him holding a domestically produced Seagull camera and never leaving it.

"Hey, why don't we go abroad? I bought a camera and took some photos to show to my mother..." Wen Jiang said casually and put the camera on the dining table.

After three rounds of drinking, Ronald saw that he never mentioned his movie, so he took the initiative to ask:

"What movie are you entering in competition this time?"

"Heixue..." Wen Jiang thought to himself, it would seem unreasonable for me not to take the initiative to bring it up. You have to mention this so that I can talk.

"Black Snow? What's the theme?" Ronald didn't understand and thought it was about environmental protection.

"Actually, Director Xie changed the name to Ben Ming Nian. It is a custom among us Chinese people..."

"I know what zodiac year is, it comes every twelve years..." Ronald asked him not to explain.

"Yes, Heixue is the name of the original work. We're afraid you foreigners can't understand..." Wen Jiang took a bite of sausage and drank a sip of brandy. The food of the American imperialist capitalists was really good.

"Okay, I'll pay attention..." Ronald also raised his glass. This Wen Jiang is a smart man and must know his identity as a judge.

"Hey, thank you. I respect you!"

"However, I see there are no posters of yours at the film festival venue?" Ronald took a sip of brandy and asked Wen Jiang again.

"Hey, we don't have much money, so we only printed 20 posters. Everything is expensive here in West Berlin. I also bought adhesive strips in the morning, and Director Xie and I put them on. After I finished them, I felt like Guys, you can't even see it from a distance.

You guys in Hollywood are so generous. That Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, whose movies are distributed by your Hollywood company, 20th Century Fox, erected a big billboard at the intersection opposite the venue.

That movie poster shows a heroine being tied up..."

"That's 'Tie me up, tie me up.'" Ronald also saw the big poster, which was several stories high. Then he pondered for a moment, "It's not enough for you to have only twenty posters. The film festival needs to build momentum, otherwise the judges will probably not watch your film very carefully.

By the way, have you finished the subtitles this time? "

Foreign language films in film festivals are either subtitled or reprinted. Or find someone to interpret simultaneously on site. But if you can't get a head start from the outside, Chinese-language films are likely to be missed.

"This time we spent a lot of effort and went to Japan for printing and printing to get the foreign language subtitles..." Wen Jiang explained quickly.

"Well, you go quickly and find our Daydream company's office at the film festival and tell them that I asked you to go." Ronald thought for a while, took out a business card and handed it to Wen Jiang.

"Tell them that I think Daydream can consider introducing this film to America for screening, so that they can prepay some publicity costs... You should hurry up and increase investment in promotional materials..."

"We are a national system, and export copies must be coordinated by China Film..." Wen Jiang raised another practical question.

"Just say that a film producer has taken a fancy to it and invested in publicity in advance, and then we will talk to China Film Group..."

"Hey, thank you, Director Luo. I'm going to tell Director Xie the good news right now, but how should I tell him?"

"Just tell Director Xie that I am a friend of Director Wu of West Film Studio. Director Xie understands." Ronald patted him on the shoulder and helped him if he could.

"Hey, thank you... I want to thank you on behalf of Director Xie. I am in China and I only obey two directors, Director Xie and Director Yimou. I understand what they said and I can learn something..."

Wen Jiang drank the brandy in one gulp, and then happily went to the inn to tell Director Xie the good news.

"Hey, I forgot my camera..." Ronald looked at the seagull camera Wen Jiang had forgotten on the table.

…

"The opening movie will be shown simultaneously on both sides of the Berlin Wall..." The next day, Michael Ballhaus came over to introduce Ronald to the itinerary. They will all be at the West Berlin screening of "Steel Magnolias."

The next week is the time for the jury to watch the film, discuss (quarrel), and decide on the final Golden Bear and many other awards.