This shop owner is Director Wu who won the grand prize at the Tokyo Film Festival with "Lao Jing" and promoted a new generation of filmmakers such as Yimou Zhang and Kaige Chen. He also invited Ronald to have dinner with him in the northwest, and now he is suddenly in Los Angeles
Seeing him, Ronald was also very surprised.
"Director Luo? Were you at the Oscars just now?"
Director Wu did not talk about his own affairs, but instead asked if Ronald was at the Oscars just now. There was also a bit of frustration in his words...
"I did just come out of the awards show. I want to find a video tape of the Best Foreign Language Film 'Cinema Paradiso'. Is this your store?" Ronald said what he was looking for without asking any questions.
Film.
"I do, but no one rents the movie. I put it in the attic in the back so I can watch it myself. I'll get it for you..."
Director Wu was still very sincere and went to search in the back.
"Hey..." Ronald didn't stop him and had to pull the clerk in front of him. His daughter asked, "Why did your dad come to Los Angeles?"
"I came here to study in college, and he...he can be considered as my companion..."
Director Wu's daughter is called Yanyan, and she told Ronald about his father's experience...
He is no longer the director of West Film Studio, he is just a father who accompanies students. He has opened a video rental store in Los Angeles based on his own expertise. He also has many regular customers who are movie fans looking for movie tapes that ordinary video tape owners will not buy.
In addition, he is also good at cooking and sells dumplings himself. In addition to Chinese, many white and black people also buy here.
In short, if they weren't acquaintances, no one would know that this video rental store owner, who was quick and hospitable, was once a director.
Only during the Golden Globes and Oscars awards shows, he would be in a daze by himself for a long time. Yanyan also specially asked for leave to come back and help her father look after the store. She knew that these days were the most uncomfortable times for her father.
"Here, the video tape of Cinema Paradiso, the original version with very good quality, I have only watched it twice." Director Wu took out a video tape from the back, put it in the carton, and handed it to Ronald.
"Old Wu, I'm lucky to see you here. I've always had a big project and I can't find the right person to help with it. Can you help me? Temporarily help me for a while, so that I can
The project is launched, so it won't delay your big business..." Ronald joked with a smile.
"You are a big director in Hollywood, and you still need me to help you with something?" Director Wu didn't quite believe it. He thought Ronald might have taken pity on him and gave him a bowl of rice. He was a dignified man from the northwest, and if the sky fell, he would be able to help him.
I'm sorry, if I come to study with you now, will I lose one bite to eat?
"It really has to be you..."
Ronald took his time and made up some reasoning.
It turned out that when Ronald was editing classic Hollywood movies, he discovered that the old film copies were seriously damaged. He couldn't bear that no one would appreciate such classics, so he wanted to use his own funds to cooperate with Scorsese to restore some historical films.
A classic on the.
They want to use the special effects team of "Ghost" and their latest developments in computer graphics to see if they can use it to repair scratches, mold and other problems on old films. This business is not only very valuable to the film industry
Work, and not necessarily a profitable business.
After all, these old movies are only outdated in quality and sound quality, not in plots and performances. By then, it will be profitable to make videotapes and sell them, or sell them to TV stations, or even just take orders from the seven major studios for restoration.
of……
Of course, many studios still have some negatives in-house, and the reprinted versions from the negatives are of the highest quality. But many second-tier movies, and some film copies that were burned in previous Hollywood productions, do not have negatives.
.
In the 1970s, many movies contained silver nitrate and were recycled as garbage to smelt metallic silver.
Many lost films can only be slowly restored from some surviving original prints.
Ronald's staff here found a good source, which is the libraries of universities and the military. Generally speaking, the movies shown at that time would have copies in universities and the military, and these two places are definitely
The number of plays is relatively small and the preservation conditions are relatively good. They all receive government funding.
During these collection efforts, Ronald also found some Chinese-language films before the 1950s. At that time, there were more exchanges between China and the United States in the film industry than imagined. Some of these copies have not been heard in China.
Lost.
"How about you help me take a look at these old movies and save them?" Ronald said to Director Wu with a smile.
"Hey, this matter is really meaningful..." Director Wu couldn't refuse now, so he agreed. Ronald would give him a consulting contract and let him find and study the talents of those discourse films.
Production year, director and starring roles, etc.
"Director Luo, you are still helping Chinese films in this matter..." Director Wu began to sigh.
"Gugugu...uh..." Ronald was embarrassed...
Ronald hadn't eaten anything at the award show for several hours just now. Now he said something in Director Wu's shop, which made his stomach growl in protest.
"You haven't eaten yet, I'll make some dumplings for you..." Director Wu happily went to work.
Not long after, a large plate of steaming beef dumplings was served. Ronald had just eaten a few bites when little Bud ran over from the car outside.
"Ronald, Diane called to say she had abdominal pain and her bodyguard had sent her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center."
Ronald has already made contact with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center near Beverly Hills, and will go there once Diane is about to give birth. This high-end medical center does a good job in privacy protection and has a high level of
The obstetrician is also close to home.
However, Ronald calculated that the due date was still more than a week away, but he did not expect that it would suddenly happen today. For a moment, he was in a daze...
"Brother, this is your first time as a father. When I had Yanyan, I was as happy as you and didn't know what to do."
"Ah, ah, what should I do?" Ronald didn't know how to express his feelings and started asking meaningless questions.
"Come on, this big brother of mine is confused. Let me go with you..." Director Wu smiled, put away the bowl, and pulled Ronald into the car.
When he arrived at the medical center, Ronald learned that Diane had been pushed into the delivery room. He was waiting in the lounge outside the door. Not knowing what to do, he sat down and stood up all of a sudden.
"Relax, I think my brother and sister are a blessing. I'm sure mother and son are safe..." Director Wu, despite his appearance, is actually quite a delicate person at heart.
Ronald had lost all sense of time. He felt as if several hours had passed. When he looked at his watch, it was only five minutes. Every time a person wearing a doctor's uniform passed by, he would stand up to see if there was any news.
Finally, a female doctor came over and found Ronald, "You must be Mr. Li. Your wife is about to start labor. You and I will come..."
"Can I go stay with her?" Ronald felt subconsciously that his husband was waiting outside.
"Of course, we are one of the first hospitals to allow relatives to accompany children during delivery..."
"Ronnie..." As soon as she saw Ronald coming in, Diane felt much more at ease lying on the bed.
"Diane", Ronald stepped forward and brushed her sweat-wet hair. "Relax, I'm here..."
"Don't relax, let's continue practicing the breathing rhythm, slow...slow...Push!" The doctor came over and continued to explain the essentials of breathing to Diane.
…
Finally, the next morning, Diane finally gave birth to a baby boy who weighed more than six pounds. The baby's cry was very loud.
Little Bud also came in to take a look, and Director Wu, who had been with Ronald all night, also took a look and repeatedly said that he was a powerful man with an unlimited future.
"Ah, thank you, Director Wu..." Ronald looked at the little baby whose eyes hadn't fully opened yet, with an ugly look on his face, and thought to himself that Director Wu didn't know how he could tell. The baby was covered
Carrying him for a check-up, Ronald asked little Bud to call his family quickly to report the news. Last night, Aunt Karen and Donna both found out about Diane's admission to the hospital.
By the third day, Aunt Karen, Donna, and little Douglas had arrived at Ronald's home in Los Angeles. The whole family was very happy because this was the first child in this generation of the family.
"What, Mama Wang, do I have to boil some red eggs and give them to Director Wu according to Chinese custom?" Ronald has now increased the salary of his maid, Mama Wang, a lot. She is very skilled in raising children and taking care of pregnant women.
Aunt Karen also expressed admiration for her quick hands and feet.
"Hey, I didn't expect you to understand this, boss. Nowadays, many Chinese people are not having fun."
"I also found out about it in Xujiahui, hahaha..." Now Ronald would smile no matter what he said.
The moment I held my son up in the hospital that day, I seemed to be smiling from ear to ear. It seemed that his relationship with the world had deepened. My whole body felt like a big tree, deeply rooted in my heart.
Rooted.
No wonder the novels and TV series that reflect the history of black people in America are called "Roots." It seems that this feeling of looking at future generations is a common emotion.
"My boss, what are you going to call this young master?" Wang Ma began to ask.
"Hahaha..." Diane laughed as she lay on the bed.
In the hospital that day, the two discussed the name of the child. Because that day happened to be the Oscar Awards ceremony, Director Wu suggested that they call it Oscar...
This made Ronald very embarrassed. The tradition on the East Coast is to either find a name among the elders in the family, or choose the name of a respected person. It is said that naming him Oscar is also suitable.
But Ronald was nominated for Best Director twice, and everyone in Hollywood knew that he was not selected. If the child was named Oscar, it would become industry-wide gossip.
It would be fine if he won an Oscar in the future, but if he didn't, it would become a joke. So Ronald did not express his position and decided to discuss it after going home. Director Wu thought that he had spoken to Ronald's heart.
, so he called the baby Oscar.
Both Ronald and Diane were confused. After discussing for a long time, Ronald decided to name the baby after Roger Coleman, the benefactor who brought him into the industry.
Of course, this son still has to follow the tradition of the Li Enfu family, and his middle Christian name will continue to be the name of the hostess of his host family after he arrived in the United States.
Therefore, in the statement they submitted to the California Department of Public Health, the child who inherited his father's dark blond hair and mother's dark brown eyes would be called Roger V. Lee.
…
"Ronald San..."
Akira Kurosawa, who was still living at Ronald's house, was about to return to China. According to Japanese etiquette, he wrapped a coin in a red and white envelope as a gift for Diane's birth of her son.
Originally, due to Japanese custom, they did not visit the mother and son shortly after giving birth, but Ronald refused to give up the opportunity to let the master consecrate his son, saying that the hospital's examination was all normal, and if Kurosawa could see him
My own son, that is the greatest honor.
Akira Kurosawa couldn't resist and came to visit. He was very moved when he saw little Roger sleeping soundly in the crib. As he gets older, he has a special kind of love for new life.
"Click..." Ronald took a photo of Akira Kurosawa and Roger Jr. next to him, then picked up the Sony video recorder and started shooting the video.
"Gudu..." Little Roger was attracted by the sound of the camera, opened his eyes, and turned to the camera.
Kurosawa happened to be very close to him. Little Roger stared at Kurosawa's face and became very quiet. After a while, he seemed to see a smiling face and burst into laughter.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "This child has a fate with movies. He knows how to read the camera at such a young age, hahaha..."
Akira Kurosawa was so amused by Little Roger that he laughed like Maitreya Buddha.
He looked at Ronald and said, "You are also lucky. Your son has a fate with movies, unlike my son..." His daughter, Kazuko, who was next to him, translated to Ronald with a wry smile.
Kurosawa Akira's son has no talent for movies and can only rely on his father's reputation to get around in the film industry. However, his daughter Kazuko seems to be talented as a film costume designer.
If anyone in the Kurosawa family could inherit the film business, it would be their daughter who is more likely.
After the two watched the children, they said goodbye to Ronald, who sent them to the guest room. In the corridor, Kurosawa suddenly turned around and said to Ronald:
"Ronald Sand, I originally had the opportunity to come to Hollywood to direct, but my creative methods were really different from Hollywood, so I didn't succeed.
I don’t know if it’s my problem or Hollywood’s problem, but this script still retains my signature...
My son is in trouble. I would love for this movie to be made by a Hollywood director who understood my film philosophy. I thought about it, George and Steven are both focused on their own worlds. Could you
Help me fulfill this wish?"
"Huh?" Ronald knew that Kurosawa was talking about the "Runaway Train" directed by Russian director Konchalovsky for Minahan Golan. The script was indeed signed by Akira Kurosawa.
But what does Kurosawa mean when he says this to himself now? Does he still want to make a remake? Does he still have the copyright and production rights to the script?
"Okay, I will try my best to facilitate this matter..." Facing this eighty-year-old director who had just made an assertion about his son, Ronald decided to agree first and then talk about it. As for the details, then