Ronald was very familiar with Ingrid Bergman. One of his favorite old movies on American TV was "Casablanca" starring her. Before breaking into the film industry, he had watched it on TV several times.
The film appreciation class given by Martin Scorsese also ignored her starring roles in "Gaslight" and "Anastasia". This shows the director's high regard for her.
Gaslighting's story about a husband psychologically abusing the wife she played was so sensational that gaslighting in English evolved into a proper noun, specifically describing the psychological tricks men use to manipulate and abuse women.
The late beauty who came down the stairs was wearing a cashmere shawl. She was graceful and generous, but also had a kind attitude. Ronald saw the emperor superstar for the first time in life, and the aura of the star was really powerful.
Isabella, a black-haired beauty who looked very similar to her, stepped forward and hugged Bergman's arm, "It's Ronald. He is Marty's student. He saw me just now and said that if I make a movie, I can play your role."
Daughter, mother.”
Bergman stepped forward and held Ronald's hands, "Isabella, like Pia, is my daughter. You are Marty's student, which is good."
All the guests came forward to surround Bergman and squeezed Ronald out of the inner circle. It seemed that they were all fans of Bergman back then. The idol has now forgotten his identity and status, only his admiration from back then is still there.
Bergman also had a very high level of hospitality. He would say a word or two to everyone, making people feel that he was not being looked down upon.
Ronald looked around, looking for Helen. Pia was introducing Helen to her mother. Ronald felt a little bored, so he turned around and picked up another glass of sparkling water and drank it alone.
Bergman had surgery a few years ago and his health has never been very good. After talking to everyone, he retreated to his room to rest.
Pia then found Ronald, "Ronald, what are you majoring in at New York University now? Are you interested in coming to the TV station? We have a lot of advertisements, maybe I can arrange for you to appear."
"I want to be a film director. In fact, I just got a job directing a chewing gum commercial and I'm currently casting for it."
"You surprised me many times tonight, Ronald," said Pia. "Why not cast Helen? Wouldn't she be perfect?"
Ronald looked at Helen and saw that she was indeed tall enough to play the role of a college student. "Of course, I think there would be no problem with her appearing in one of the 15-second commercials."
"I will tell Gerald that you will send her back to her father tonight." Pia made the arrangements and went to make a phone call again.
"Gerald, the male partner your daughter has chosen tonight is very good. He is a student of my brother-in-law Marty at New York University. He has also received a job directing TV commercials. He will let Helen appear... Don't worry, he is filming
Chewing gum commercial. Yes, Helen needs a platform to start her acting career. After all, she went to an acting college."
"His name is Ronald. He is a good young man. I haven't inquired about his family background yet, but to be able to direct TV commercials in college is either because of his extraordinary talent or because of his excellent family. Yes, I will let him send Helen back. You can check it out yourself.
.My mother will live in New York for a while to see her grandchildren. Please call me when you have time."
After Bergman left, some of the guests also said their goodbyes. Helen and Pia went to talk, leaving him to wait to send Helen home. Ronald dozed off on the sofa.
"Ronald, do you want to find a place to sleep?" A female voice with a Swedish accent woke Ronald up.
"Ms. Bergman, I'm sorry, it's been a long day for me and I accidentally fell asleep." Unexpectedly, Ingrid Bergman came out and saw him dozing off on the sofa, so she kindly woke him up.
"Helen's father is a decision-maker at PBS, and my daughter Pia works at CBS, so sometimes she is a little impatient. I hope you don't mind. How did you meet Helen? I heard Pia said she would bring a male companion.
Come on." Bergman asked Ronald with a smile.
Ronald felt that even though Bergman was nearly sixty years old, it was still hard to resist the charm of the star, so he told the story of how he picked up Helen at the door of the 54 Club, "I'm afraid the booked male companion is the same Howard who left Helen behind.
."
"Hahaha..." Bergman smiled heartily, without any of the coy gestures of early Hollywood women. "Your experience reminds me of my ex-husband, Isabella's father, the Italian director Rossellini.
I also accidentally saw his movie and then wrote to him. It was all a coincidence."
"Ms. Bergman, I like your performance very much." Ronald realized that Pia and Isabella might not be born to the same father, and there might be some stories in between, so he deliberately changed the subject.
"You are so young, but all you watch are the movies I made when I was old."
"Of course that's not the case. I watched a lot of copies of old movies at New York University. It's a rare place to see Hollywood classics and foreign classics. I watched them very carefully."
"Then which movie of mine do you like best?" Bergman rarely saw a young man in his 20s who had watched his early performances.
"Everyone in America likes 'Casablanca,' but I love 'Princess' even more."
"Oh, why?" Bergman was very interested. Casablanca was actually her game, and being loved was completely unexpected. And "Princess" was her first movie back in Hollywood after the cheating scandal.
She also won her second Oscar for Best Actress, which she also liked very much.
Ronald wondered where to start?
"I like your lines the most, Ms. Bergman. In that movie, whether it was Yul Brynner who played opposite you or the Empress Dowager, all the actors' lines were very good. They were like two fishes, talking to each other.
Chasing each other's tail. I rarely see lines like this performed in movies."
"Oh, yes. You are very talented, Ronald, and my favorite line from that movie is also my favorite. The Queen Mother was played by Helen Hayes, who was also an Oscar-winning actress and was the queen of Broadway before she retired."
After hearing Bergman talk about talent, Ronald took the opportunity to ask a question that he had not understood for a long time:
"Ms. Bergman, I have always wondered what talent is in the film and television industry. I don't know if I have talent. And it is difficult to survive in this industry without talent."
Seeing that Bergman listened attentively, Ronald added: "I mean, if I finish college and work as an editor or a technician on a shooting set, it will not be difficult to get a salary. But I want to be a director and a leader.
A movie requires some special talent, and I don’t know if I have that special talent.”
Bergman tightened his shawl, seeming a little uncomfortable.
Ronald stood up, walked to the cocktail table, picked up two pieces of ginger and put them into the cup, then added a spoonful of coconut oil, then a piece of sugar, squeezed the juice with a juicer, filtered it, added mineral water, and handed it over.
To Bergman.
"This is a family secret recipe. My aunt often gives it to me when I feel uncomfortable. It works very well."
Bergman took it and drank half of it. Sure enough, the area where he had recently had his second surgery felt much better.
"Thank you, that works."
Ronald copied down the prescription with a pen and handed it to Bergman.
Bergman organized the following languages:
"Since you can think of these questions, I am sure that you do have the talent to be a director.
Directors need a special talent. Among the directors I have worked with, some are willing to let the actors play freely, while others stipulate that the actors must act according to their instructions. But they all have one thing in common, that is, they must know the effect of the actor's performance.
bright.
Many directors are also very good actors themselves. Actors are a tool to achieve the final picture, but actors are not objects. We must master the method that makes us feel comfortable. In short, I think the talent of a director is to drive actors to perform what they want.
The ability to get the results you want.”
At this time, Pia came over to persuade her mother to go back to rest, and Ronald and Bergman said goodbye.
Helen also finished talking to Pia, and Ronald was about to take her back to his father's house. The hostesses sent the two young people downstairs, and when the elevator door closed, Ronald saw Isabella greeting him.
, as if to say "see you again when we have the chance."
After Helen got in the car, she immediately apologized to Ronald, "I didn't know Aunt Pia and the others would regard you as my classmate Howard. I have made it clear to them and will not embarrass you."
"It doesn't matter. Helen Pia also proposed that you star in the chewels chewing gum TV commercial directed by me. I will talk to your father later. I hope he can let you participate."
"Really? What can I play?" Speaking of acting, Helen became energetic again.
"It's a college student who is interning in a company for about 15 seconds." Ronald replied.
"Chewing gum? My dad would agree. He always cares about me. Since he divorced my mother, I haven't seen him much."
It turns out that this is the case. No wonder the father and daughter still send messages through Pia.
The car arrived at the Upper East Side, where Helen's father Gerald lived in this traditional and noble community.
A middle-aged man stood in front of the door. After his daughter Helen got out of the car, he immediately hugged her.
"You must be Ronald, thank you for sending my daughter back. I am Gerald Slater." Gerald took out a business card and handed it to Ronald, "I heard about you from Pia.
If you have any difficulties shooting Chewels chewing gum commercials, you can come to me."
"Dad, do you agree with me to participate in the advertising shoot?" Helen asked from the side.
"You have to show me the script first...Ronald." Then Gerald said to his daughter, "Yes, I agree in principle..."
Father and daughter said goodbye to Ronald.
Ronald raised his hand and saw that the business card said: