The Directors Guild awards are presented in late February.
Just the day before Ronald went to attend the award ceremony, the attention of all Americans was once again occupied by the situation in Kuwait.
The air raids that began in January have lasted for more than 30 days, and the public has gradually become bored with the news in the Gulf.
CUU's ratings have dropped a lot since the beginning of the air raid. There is a green background night sky every day, and nothing can be seen clearly. Even viewers who are interested in military and international politics feel that news about the US military
The control is so good that I can only watch CUU commentators every day to understand some in-depth content.
Moreover, the air strikes in the past few decades are not all good news. The madmen in Iraq also launched an attack on Saudi Arabia, where the US military base is located, which made people a little worried.
However, everything changed this evening. The boring remote connection was interrupted, and the screen cut to the White House. The door of the Marine One helicopter opened in the night, and George Sr. stepped out of the plane vigorously and
Barbara, who was waiting on the lawn, hugged and kissed each other.
The host also reported that the Commander-in-Chief had just returned from a vacation at Camp David, where he had a telephone conversation with Mikhail, the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Alliance.
CUU's director is very capable. When he saw that the speech was about half an hour away, he immediately cut into various videos that had been prepared long ago.
"Let's first connect to the political historian, Michael Bescross. Michael, you are an expert in the study of great commanders. Is there such a moment in your research scope?"
"I don't think so. You know, every commander has a decisive moment. If we build the old George Memorial Library in the future, I can guarantee that the next few minutes will definitely become the most important moment in his memorial library.
Important collection. I can guarantee that this speech must have been drafted a few months ago, and then revised several times, and the final version..."
"Huh?" Ronald felt that something was wrong with this conversation. Why had he already started discussing the historical status of the Grand Commander?
"The following is Bud O'Neill. Bud, you are an expert on war. Do you think the return of the commander-in-chief from his vacation portends anything?"
"I think the same as Michael. This speech must have been revised and finalized repeatedly in the past few months. I think if a ground attack is carried out, Cairo, Damascus, and Riyadh will all welcome it. In the past period of time, the madman has sent them a clear message.
Signal, he doesn’t care whether you are from an Arab country or not…”
"Do we really need a ground attack? Will there be another Vietnam War?" Diane saw Ronald's solemn look and came over to listen to the news. Suddenly he heard the words "ground attack" and was shocked.
Ronald didn't say anything, because then CUU started showing a documentary about the armed forces of Iraq.
"The Iraqi National Defense Forces are very powerful. They have Soviet-made tanks, anti-tank weapons, and ballistic missiles. They also have various bunkers and anti-tank trenches that have been repaired. In short, ground combat is not an easy task.
In addition, in addition to the National Defense Forces, Iraq also has a more elite Republican Guard, which is the most trusted force by their madmen and the most well-equipped force."
On the screen are various artillery pieces, tanks, helicopters, and countless soldiers running in an orderly rhythm.
"Good guy, isn't this much more powerful than Vietnam?" Ronald clicked his tongue. The Vietnamese army that made the US military miserable back then only had one rifle, and at most some small artillery. It is really incomparable with the equipment of the Madman.
.
The screen switched to a Soviet major general, and the subtitles said that he was an expert on Soviet military history.
"They are very good soldiers because they have good equipment and rich experience. They still fight on their own land. They have the courage to fight for the motherland..."
"There are 500,000 National Defense Forces on the front line. They are a mixture of experienced veterans and conscripted recruits. Among them are some Kurds who do not necessarily support the madmen. Behind them are 180,000 Republican Guards. They are professional soldiers with good military skills.
training and equipment..."
"Is this starting to count as military strength?" Ronald felt that there must be a fight. CUU must have special information channels.
"Hey, I have one too?" Ronald remembered that he also had channels, and immediately called little George, but couldn't get through. He had to call little Douglas.
"Little George just called me. In order to avoid inquiries from his friends, he had unplugged the phone line and only called a few of us to inform us. He said that this was an action that had been prepared for a long time and that his father was very determined.
Da, I didn’t ask anything else.”
"Is that so? Is there any...?" Ronald thought for a while. If there was inside information, would there be a chance to make some quick money in the financial market? There is no need for earth-shattering news, as long as it is generally ahead of the market.
If you know it for an hour, you will definitely benefit a lot.
"I have already talked to Donna...hey...wait a moment, Donna wants to tell you..."
Little Douglas is already discussing this matter with Donna.
"The current common analysis on Wall Street is that the Soviet Union will let it go. It is estimated that given the intensity of the battle with Persia before Iraq, it may still take us a while to clear out all the equipment in their army's inventory. If the Soviet Union does not replenish it for them,
, you can win.”
After a discussion, everyone decided to spend some money and start preparing for speculation. After the war begins, the prices of certain futures will fluctuate violently, and when the war has a phased outcome, there will also be opportunities for speculation.
For Ronald, these small sums of money are just an investment in a low-cost movie, but speculative futures trading is highly leveraged. If you lose, it won't hurt your health anyway, but if you win, you can make a big fortune.
Proceeds from movies sold.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! However, Ronald is more worried about the impact of the war on the mentality of the American people. The film industry at that time was hit by the anti-war trend. Some genres that were originally prosperous
Movies, such as Westerns, have become completely unwatchable.
Right-wing actors like John Wayne also shrank rapidly after the Vietnam War, and there were not many new actors who upheld a patriotic stance.
"Good evening. Starting yesterday, after discussions between me and senior defense advisers, and a large number of calls with allied leaders, the madmen in Iraq were given one last chance to unconditionally withdraw their troops from Kuwait in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations Security Council.
But unfortunately, the last time has passed..."
The commander-in-chief on TV wore square glasses and appeared tiredly in front of everyone.
"I have ordered the frontline commander, General Schwarzkopf, to use all possible forces, including ground troops, to launch an attack on the Iraqi occupying forces until they are expelled from the entire territory of Kuwait...
Now, countless frontline Allied soldiers, especially American soldiers, are risking their lives to contribute to justice. Let us pray for them. God bless the frontline soldiers, and God bless America..."
…
Ronald didn't want to watch the news anymore. He called several friends in the industry. Everyone was deeply worried. After all, the last ground war had a profound impact on America.
The previous commander-in-chief made several quick battle plans, but they always sent bombers to drop bombs. This time, everyone thought that the bombing would cause the madmen to withdraw their troops. Unexpectedly, they actually went on the road to a ground attack. A ground attack would kill people.
La.
"Welcome, Jonathan, and congratulations..."
The next day, Jonathan Demme happened to come back from Berlin. Although the Golden Bear Award was awarded to Italian director Marco Ferreri's "House of Smiles", Demme still won the Berlin Award for "Silence of the Lambs"
Silver Bear Award for Best Director. The Germans still have to give Hollywood some face.
The Berlin Film Festival still gave the highest award to European filmmakers as recognition. However, reporters and fans at the scene were very dissatisfied and thought it was a scandal that Silence of the Lambs did not win the Golden Bear.
"Smile House" tells the story of an old woman who has a lot of messes at home and her twilight love affair with an old man in a nursing home. However, the rhythm of this drama is not good, the whole thing is mediocre, and the ending also makes a big mistake.
, giving the audience the feeling of being unfinished.
We are not afraid that moviegoers will not understand a movie, but we are afraid that they will compare it with other movies. The shock of "Silence of the Lambs" is obviously not comparable to that of mediocre productions such as "The House of Smiles".
Even the Berlin audience who cannot understand English can still feel the fear brought by the movie and the joy of getting rid of the threat through subtitles and images.
Therefore, it is an honor for Jonathan Demi to come back this time, even though he was defeated. Even more than he won the Golden Bear, he was able to win news pages.
Now audiences all over Europe know that there is a Hollywood masterpiece that was wrongly treated by the Berlin Film Festival and was only awarded a Silver Bear.
"TriStar Pictures and I have already discussed that we will do our best to win an Oscar for you at the end of the year." Ronald promised Demi.
"Thank you..." Jonathan Demme doesn't really believe in the effectiveness of striving for awards. After all, by the end of the year, it's a question of how many judges can still remember the Silence of the Lambs.
However, he accepted Ronald's intentions. Moreover, with the controversy over the awards and the continued ranking of No. 1 at the box office, Jonathan Demme already knew from his agent that his status as a director has obviously been upgraded.
Many producers have taken the initiative to send scripts, or asked them to come up with scripts for filming. Once a blockbuster movie is made, more big productions will come to them. With a movie that is praised by critics and awards
If the movie is positive, more scripts with award-winning potential will come to your door.
Jonathan Demme can be said to have achieved both fame and fortune.
"By the way, this is a gift that the Chinese actor brought to you." Demi handed a large box of Poria cakes to Ronald's hand.
"It's hard for you to bring it. It's been a hard journey." Ronald took it and put it away. "I think you already know, right? Big news."
"Yes, how could we start a war? A ground attack is not a good thing. I still remember when we were drafted by lot, and many people fled to Canada."
The two chatted and both felt that this was a big deal. However, they were just film directors. Faced with something of this level, they could only pray like ordinary people for the war to end as soon as possible.
Another day later, the Directors Guild Awards were presented at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
This is an award established to honor all directors of TV series, movies, and TV commercials in the past year. It is voted on only by members of the Directors Guild.
Because New York is the center of TV dramas and Hollywood is the center of movies, the award ceremonies are also held in both places. Film awards are awarded in Los Angeles.
The nominated directors are all big names. In addition to Martin Scorsese and Kevin Costner, there are also two Oscar best directors. Coppola who directed "The Godfather Part III" and director "Avalon"
Barry Levinson.
Everyone is talking about the ground offensive of Operation Desert Storm that has just been launched. Which of these directors has never filmed or written an anti-war script? There are still many voices opposed to this, and they are afraid of falling into the same quagmire as the Vietnam War.
All the directors wore formal attire and brought their families to attend. This awards show was not as entertaining as the Oscars, but more of a gathering of professionals.
Diane happened to chat with the Coppola family. She was very familiar with Coppola's wife Eleanor. Ronald chatted with Coppola's daughter. When they had dinner at Coppola's house,
, Sophia is still a little girl.
"I'm really tired of it. Those film critics are all targeting me." Sofia Coppola looked very admiring of Ronald and talked about a lot of criticism for her role in The Godfather III.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "I remember your father said that film critics are all... don't take them too seriously."
"I like movies, but I just don't like this feeling. It feels like I'm like a commodity, put in a window and being commented on."
"Then you can try to work behind the scenes."
"Can I be a director?"
"Well, there's nothing wrong with it. You can start shooting with a home video recorder..."
While we were chatting, the host over there announced the best director award for music and commemorative events, "Ronald Lee, the 62nd Academy Awards."
"Hahaha..." Friends present laughed. Ronald's Oscars ceremony last year broke the ratings record.
"Thank you, I didn't expect that my first Oscar-related director award would be this..." Ronald waved the award certificate in his hand.
Awards were given out one after another, and in the middle and late stages, the Directors Guild Best Director Award was finally handed out.
"The winner of the Best Director Award in the Motion Picture category is..."
Ronald, like everyone else, is looking at Martin Scorsese. His call for an Oscar this year is very high...
"Kevin Costner..."
With a crash, everyone turned their heads and looked at Costner on the other side.
"Thank you all..." Kevin Costner himself may not have expected that he came here as a debut director to enjoy the pleasure of being recognized by his peers in the industry. Unexpectedly, the union actually awarded the award to him.
"I will keep this award certificate well. I need this recognition. Thank you everyone for liking my first theatrical movie..."
There was joy here, but there was silence on Scorsese's side. Coppola was talking to him, seemingly comforting his friend.
Ronald thought for a while but said nothing. After the awards night, he found Scorsese in the parking lot.
"Are you being targeted by someone in the union?" Ronald said straight to the point.
"Hey, it's all damn Jews..." Scorsese said mid-sentence and then retreated.
Ronald knows that there are many eyes and ears. The directors nominated for the Guild Award this year, except for the Jewish Barry Levinson and the Puritan descendant Kevin Costner, are all Italian.
In addition to the two people Ronald knows well, there is also Giuseppe Tornatore, who was born in Palermo. He was nominated for Cinema Paradiso.
Like other professions, the proportion of Jewish directors among directors is not low. Barry Levinson's movie Avalon failed at the box office and received average reviews from critics. So Costner's award is somewhat of a tie-in.
the meaning of.
"Do you think I'm not in tune with the award?" Scorsese lost confidence.
"Not at all. The Oscars are voted on by all members, not just selected by directors like nominations."