The test screening of "The Kid 2" went very smoothly. Those audiences selected by the theater had long guessed that they were going to watch the sequel to "The Kid 2", so they were all movie fans who came to watch the preview.
Ronald sat in the back and counted the points where the audience applauded excitedly. They were consistent with several points he designed.
Especially the role of Tam Ling Tomita. Although she is not as beautiful as Elizabeth Shue, she is in line with the recent fashion of Asian beauties in America. In addition, the character she plays, Kumiko, is more assertive than Ali in the first film.
, and in the end, he was slapped by the villain Chang Shan for Daniel.
The emotional scenes between the two made the audience more enjoyable to watch. The final trick, the "rattle"-style continuous elimination and attack, was more philosophical than the crane kick in the first part, and the movements were more professional and beautiful than the crane kick.
The main reason is that Ralph Mazio's kung fu is very poor, and he can't stand firmly when the crane kicks. But "Rattle" has both feet on the ground, and with the camera's framing and editing, it even disappears.
Use one hand to guard against Chang Shan's attack, and the other hand will naturally hit the opponent's flaw.
After the test screening, Ronald observed outside the bathroom. Many boys began to practice hitting each other.
"Ha...Hi..."
Watching the two boys who looked like junior high school students playing rough and tumble and muttering, "Rattle!" Ronald was basically convinced.
"Stable!"
The box office of the sequel movie was already more stable than that of the first movie, and Ronald and Weintraub laughed a lot.
"I have decided to accept Mr. Kerkorian's invitation to serve as president and CEO of the newly independent United Artists."
Weintraub finally got the management rights from United Artists after the good test screenings of the sequel of The Dragon King.
"Congratulations!" Ronald stepped forward to hug.
"Of course, your exploitative...commercial films can still be co-operated with my Weintraub Pictures and distributed by Columbia." Weintraub is ready to restore the tradition of art films at United Artists and put his own controlling stake in Weintraub
Films became an independent production company.
"I haven't found a suitable script yet. We'll discuss it in detail when we have an idea." Ronald said in an evasive tone. He also wanted to be a production company, so there was no need to cooperate with Weintraub's company. Moreover, he had his own touchstone.
, Paramount, a company helmed by two old friends, rushed to release his next film.
The new management of Twentieth Century Fox and Universal also expressed their willingness to cooperate with CAA.
Ronald has no intention of striking while the iron is hot. When his Top Gun and The Last of Us 2 are released and achieve high box office, his bargaining chips will be much higher. During this time, he still asks his script assistant David Simkins to submit more
Some good scripts should be prepared in advance.
"I will invite Barbara and George Sr. They usually hold a family gathering in their hometown at Christmas. But during the following holidays, they will come to Los Angeles to spend time with their grandchildren. Will you come with me then?"
Weintraub once again played the card of the deputy leader's family. If Ronald wanted to get closer to the second family, this would be an opportunity to tie him into his company's warship.
"No, I have to go back to Staten Island, New York, to spend time with my aunt and cousin. I haven't seen them for a long time. If I don't go back for Christmas this time, she will be very unhappy and won't give me more cookies to bake.
"
Christmas in America is a time for family reunions. Weintraub patted Ronald on the shoulder and couldn't force this kind of request to go home.
…
"Donna!"
"Hey, Ronnie!"
Donna, who was driving her car back from Mit for Christmas, hugged Ronald and kissed him passionately.
After attending MIT for one year, Donna's whole person became a bit rustic. Her hair was tied up in a bun and her clothes were casually dressed. It was completely different from the carefully dressed look when she went to school.
"Don't mention it, MIT's time is very tight. Study, socialize, and sleep. Most people can only do two of the three S's."
Ronald quickly helped move the luggage, and the two walked into the new house on Staten Island.
Little Bud, his mother, and three sisters all came over to help.
The two families, who were both veterans' widows, were getting closer and closer. Little Bud's sisters all found jobs in the new lightning lamp factory, carefully assembling the accessories shipped there. Then someone
When renting, I would help with some help.
"Donna, you go and rest for a while. My biscuits will be ready soon." Aunt Karen saw her daughter coming back and happily pushed her to go to bed after driving for several hours.
The two families had a reunion dinner the night before Christmas Eve. Little Bud will go home tomorrow to spend Christmas Eve with his family.
"My classmates don't even know that you are my cousin. They all like your movies." Donna happily told Ronald a lot about the university. To say that MIT is indeed a top school, there are smart people in it.
There are many, many reviews of Ronald's films that are better than some critics say.
They especially like "Longwei Boy". Maybe there are many academic nerds who have had similar experiences in high school.
"Ding dong..." The doorbell rang.
Little Bud's mother opened the door, and a courier in purple clothes delivered a large box of small cakes.
"It's Tom's Christmas gift." Ronald signed with a smile.
And half of it was given to Little Bud and his family.
"Oh, this is the most delicious cake I have ever tasted. It was a gift from the big star Tom Cruise."
Lucy, whom little Bud liked, was also invited to dinner. She was feeling a little emotional as she ate a small cake specially sent by Tom Cruise.
Little Bud hugged her, knowing that Lucy was still missing her career as an actress.
After sending Little Bud and his family out, the taillights of an SUV turned on in the darkness, and Ronald waved his hand. This kind of dinner for the lower class people, and the conversation of Little Bud's sisters, were already a bit different from the successful Ronald.
Even though he was far away, he still missed those days very much.
"Ronnie, let me tell you something."
Donna dragged Ronald into the house.
"What's wrong?"
"Diane wants to come to our house tomorrow for Christmas."
"Okay, where is her father, Bert? Will he come too?"
"No, she came alone. Her father has a new girlfriend."
"That's fine, I haven't seen her for a long time." Ronald said with a smile, "But why didn't she call me?"
"She said she was sorry for you and wanted to ask me to check your attitude. If you are willing, she can come again."
"I'm sorry?" Ronald frowned, "Why is she sorry for me?"
"You can ask her yourself tomorrow. She is my best friend anyway. You must not let her come."
"Uh, okay." Ronald felt a little strange after being told by Donna. How could Diane Lane be sorry for me?
On Christmas Eve, Diane Lane drove to the door of Aunt Karen's house in Staten Island in the afternoon.
"Diane, you haven't seen me for a long time."
Aunt Karen liked this girl who had watched her grow up very much. Seeing Diane who was still a little hesitant at the door, she quickly brought her in.
"Diane, you're here." Donna dressed up and looked heroic again. She took her childhood friend's hand and pulled her upstairs.
"Ronnie, Diane is here." Then he pushed Diane into the study where Ronald was.
"Diane", Ronald looked at Diane Lane.
Today, Diane wore a floral shirt, jeans and sneakers as usual. A black woolen coat covered her body to protect her from the cold.
Diane Lane was a little reserved. She looked at Ronald and was a little afraid to talk to him.
"Drink some black tea, I brought it from China." Ronald looked at Diane's appearance, and every detail of the past few years came back to his mind. He poured a cup of wolfberry black tea for her, and touched it again.
Touched her hair.
Then Ronald put his hand down again. Diane had matured and had her own ideas. She shouldn't be so selfish. After all, the two were not an exclusive couple.
"What new movie did you find?" Ronald picked up his cup of tea. If Diane could come to the house to apologize, she still recognized herself as her brother. The relationship between the two goes back to six years ago when she first returned to New York.
She is cousin Donna's best friend, so it's okay to get along with her as a younger sister.
"No? There are no new movies for me right now." Diane was confused. She took off her coat and hung it on the hanger.
"Ronnie, do you have any suitable roles there? Can you help Diane?" Donna chatted next to her.
Ronald didn't answer. Diane had an idea of her own, which probably meant she had a new plan for her career.
"Don't be like this, Donna Ronald doesn't have the final say on every movie. He has already recommended George Lucas' new movie for me, but I was eliminated just because I can't sing."
"Are you ready to enter television?" Ronald heard that Diane has no new movie roles. Could it be that her new boyfriend is a TV series director or producer?
"No, I don't have any role now, and my green food business has failed, and I lost a lot of money. So I'm a little afraid of coming to see you."
When Diane saw Ronald touching her head as before, she felt warm in her heart and simply told her story.
"Oh, my god", Ronald realized that he had gone astray, "You're not going to lose all the money you spent on advertising in Japan, are you?"
"I only lost a little bit," Diane gestured with her hand, "I remember your words, I will keep this money for my retirement."
"That's okay. It's not easy for you to become a child star by yourself. If you can go to Japan every year to shoot commercials, at least your life will be fine, and you can take your time in the role. I'll help you keep an eye on it."
Ronald felt relieved. Diane Lane had been tricked many times and finally gained some wisdom.
"Um...well..." Diane felt that Ronald's hug was extremely warm, and she finally let go of the extremely worried things in her heart.
It turns out that the so-called green food that Diane made was a variety of dietary fiber nutritional supplements produced by a company called America United Sciences.
Its president is Jerry Reese Leonard, the assistant attorney general under former President Richard Nixon, who claims that dietary fiber nutritional supplements can prevent cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and even new diseases like Rock Hudson.
.
The company's monthly sales are close to eight million US dollars. The only requirement is that to become a distributor, you must first stock a certain amount of nutritional supplements. The more you buy, the greater the discount.
In order to get the discount, Diane bought more than 100,000 US dollars of goods. With her connections in Hollywood and New York, she was able to sell quite well. She also sold some to established stars on Broadway in New York through Bert's connections.
But Christmas hasn't come yet, and United Scientific's commission check suddenly bounced. Diane suddenly received a lot of complaints from Bert's old friends, and there was no commission for the goods he sold. Only half of the nutritional supplements were left.
As a result, they had to slowly be sold as ordinary commodities.
Diane was more responsible. She didn't want to default on the debt, so she paid all the commissions from her father Bert's friends with her own money. This was a bit nerve-wracking.
Thinking of Ronald's repeated instructions to save money to protect his life, I felt ashamed to see Ronald for a moment.
"It's okay. Fortunately, you woke up early. This is called multi-level marketing, and it's easy to explode. Just do some math and you'll know it won't last." Donna was listening, and it was the first time she knew that her best friend had eaten it.
Big loss.
"It's okay. If you can't sell it, you can sell it to me. I'll eat it when I exercise." Ronald tickled Diane to make him happy.
"Cruise also brought a cake. You can try it. It tastes good. I will help you pay attention after the New Year. Your talent is still in acting. There are not many actresses who act naturally like you." Ronald looked at it.
Diane, who was clumsy in other aspects of her life, smiled and scratched her nose.
"You will sleep here tonight, and let Ronald accompany you to Manhattan, New York, for a walk tomorrow. Girls, don't do jobs that seem to make a lot of money. There are often many traps." At the Christmas dinner, Aunt Karen also pulled me.
Diane's hand comforted.
"Tuk...Tuk..."
Late at night, Ronald suddenly heard a knock on the door.
When the door opened, it was Diane standing at the door in her pajamas.
Ronald pulled her in and said, "It's very cold today. You go and warm yourself up first."
The two held each other gently on the bed, and could hear each other's breathing. Both Ronald and Diane felt that Christmas Eve was peaceful and joyful.