"How could this happen?" Ronald looked at Kelly McGillis in surprise.
After confirming that the other party was not joking, Ronald got out of bed, put on his clothes, poured a glass of water, and handed it to McGillis. While gently holding her hand, he looked into the other party's eyes and said, "If you feel that it is difficult to recall,
If it's painful... I'm afraid it will hurt you if I say it again."
"It doesn't matter. I have been seeing a psychiatrist for a long time. It was five years ago. Now I can face this matter. And I really want to talk to someone about this matter. I am a bit conflicted."
"Take your time." Ronald felt that McGillis's hands were still shaking a little, even though five years had passed. It was obvious that McGillis was deeply frightened and hurt at that time.
"At that time, I had just divorced my first husband, and I was living with my girlfriend in a small rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan, New York. One night, while I was taking a shower, two men broke in and they held me at knifepoint.
I……"
"Oh, I feel so sad," Ronald heard McGillis describe the situation in full.
While McGillis was taking a shower, one of the thugs held a knife to his neck. He was forced into the bedroom, and then the two took turns to assault McGillis. They also spat at McGillis and kept doing so.
He beat her, cut her threateningly with a knife, and said he would kill her.
"They kept telling me that they would beat me until I died," McGillis's voice still contained the fear of the time. "At that time, I thought I was really going to die. I had given up."
"Don't worry, you are safe now, I am here." Ronald held McGillis in his arms, and then gently comforted the unfortunate woman.
"Later, my girlfriend came home and immediately called the police when she saw this situation. After the NYPD arrived, they scared the two thugs away."
McGillis gradually regained his composure, "Since then, I couldn't sleep for several months. I could only rely on alcohol to anesthetize myself and barely fall asleep every morning."
"It's all over, it's all over." Ronald didn't expect that Kelly McGillis's need to maintain her independence, her inability to form intimate relationships with men, and her addiction to alcohol were all here.
"I have been seeing a psychiatrist for more than a year in a row before I can sleep normally. In fact, now, sometimes when I am alone at home, I still have sudden fears."
"Those two thugs must have been punished by the law. They can't hurt you anymore." Ronald was still silently comforting McGillis, so that she could feel that there were still people in this world who could protect her.
"Ha..." McGillis's body moved. "You guessed wrong. Two people escaped on the spot and were arrested a month later. The fingerprints of one of them matched those in my room. They were sentenced to three years in prison.
.And the other one was released directly because there was no direct evidence.”
"Why? What you are dealing with is a multiple felony of robbery, intentional homicide, assault, etc. As long as you can identify them and add fingerprint evidence and confessions, they will definitely not be able to escape and will stay in prison until the next century."
Ronald felt strange that the prosecutors in New York were not so incompetent and would let them run away.
"Because I didn't agree to testify." McGillis answered, looking into Ronald's eyes.
"Is there something hidden?" Ronald slowly comforted McGillis' arm with one hand. He vaguely felt that McGillis was going to tell him next.
"You can trust me, Kelly. If you are willing to talk to me, just tell me. I will not judge what kind of person you are because of your actions. In my eyes, you will always be the one who is full of energy.
An actress with confidence and style, a good actress."
"I believe you." McGillis pulled the blanket around him and covered his face with his hands. After avoiding Ronald, he said in a low voice, "Because the person who lives with me is my daughter.
friend."
"ha……"
Ronald's hand froze, what's going on?
McGillis had just had a passionate sex with him, so why did he say he had a girlfriend? Was that what he understood?
It must be, and only this kind of thing would prevent her from testifying at the time, because if these contents were used as a confession, her relationship would be exposed to the public media. It is very likely that she would be exposed to the judgment of the public.
"Are you speechless?" McGillis grabbed Ronald's arm harder and harder, as if to see what his attitude was.
"I think that in America, everyone has the freedom to choose their own way of life. It's just that some people among the people still don't understand." Ronald chose his words carefully.
"You know what? I'm only willing to tell you this today because you had no problem getting along with Emil who was your assistant director at the party."
McGillis could tell at a glance that Emile, who served as Ronald's assistant in "Dirty Dancing", was the same person as her. Ronald never looked at anyone with a judgmental eye and was very concerned about these personal matters.
tolerant.
"Since you still have scars from that memory, why not just refuse it completely. If you need it, I can come forward and talk to Shirley Lansing. No matter how forceful she is, I will still lose face when I come forward." Rona
De felt that Lansing always made strong invitations, causing McGillis to suffer psychologically.
"No, this is where I hesitate. I actually want to make this movie. This story is very similar to my experience. Female victims are always viewed with judgment, while criminals are treated with harsh judgment.
Tolerance. I hope to change the American people’s perception of this unfair thing.”
"but?"
"But I can't play the role of the victim. As soon as I imagine that scene, the horror deep in my memory will jump out. I can't do it..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "If you really can't, that's okay. Are there other female characters in the movie?"
"There is also a female lawyer who seeks justice for the victims. Finally, she catches the criminal's flaw, seeks justice for the victim, brings the criminal to justice, and scolds the bystanders who judge the victim.
.”
"Don't worry, Kelly. Even if Shirley Lansing thinks you're best suited to play the victim, I can cast you in a different role. Which company is distributing the movie?"
"Paramount."
"That's just right. Their president Ned Tanning still owes me several times." Ronald hugged McGillis and comforted him, "It just so happens that this role also allows you to do what you have wanted to do for a long time, and let Ami
Liga people will also change their views on this matter."
"Um"
Ronald felt that McGillis finally relaxed, his breathing began to become steady, and his body was not as stiff as before.
"I'll call Ned tomorrow, but..."
Ronald remembered something again.
"What?" McGillis looked up at him. Do you want to give him something in exchange?
"You have to be honest with me. Did you make this movie to win an Oscar, or did you do it purely for yourself and to seek justice for thousands of victims?"
"No actress can refuse an Oscar nomination, but my true intention is to awaken the public's correct view on this kind of thing. Beautiful women are not the fault, but the criminals are."
Ronald nodded. This role is similar to the role in "Rain Man" accepted by Tom Cruise. It is a role that leads to the main line of the story. In order for the audience to sympathize with the protagonist and the victim, it must be through the lawyer character.
Only by looking at it from a perspective can you enter the plot.
The role of a lawyer requires very high acting skills, but it may not necessarily be outstanding. The audience and actors who don't know much about acting will ignore the lawyer's acting skills and recognize the performance of the victim with extreme plot twists.
"It doesn't matter. My intention in making this movie was not to win awards. Besides, the salary they paid was also very good, several times higher than Top Gun."
Ronald saw that McGillis had made the decision and supported her 100%. It took a lot of courage to appear in this role, and it also required a break with the scars of his past.
Ronald held McGillis in his arms, and the two breathed each other. McGillis felt quiet and calm, and felt very safe.
"You know, during those two years I was under a lot of psychological pressure, overeating, and gained thirty pounds." After confiding his feelings to a trusted close friend, McGillis seemed to feel that the impact of this past incident on him began to really fade away.
I was so happy that I revealed the actress's biggest secret - her weight.
"Actually, I think you are more beautiful if you are fatter." Ronald feels that the delicate body in his arms has a bit of Monroe's temperament. In fact, it is suitable to be heavier and use heavy makeup to best show your charm.
"By the way, what's the name of this movie?"
“The Accused”
The two lay quietly holding each other for a long time, until they looked at each other and smiled.
But Ronald seemed to have thought of something again, and his body began to feel strange.
"Ahem..." Ronald scratched his head in embarrassment, "I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Between us, do you really have feelings for me..."
"Hahaha, you don't know much about us. Most of us don't object to maintaining close relationships with men." McGillis smiled and leaned into Ronald's arms, "Of course, I like you, macho!"
"What about you now?" Ronald felt a little strange again.
"I have a girlfriend now. Don't worry, neither of us has the only commitment to be loyal to each other."
"Hmm..." Ronald put his arms around her, and then kissed her neck from behind. His nose touched the messy hair, and a nice fragrance passed into his nose. McGillis' perfume was very tempting.
"Ah..." A low groan came from McGillis's throat, and he raised his head suddenly, then dropped it again.
"You were very unforgettable just now, hunk." McGillis felt that Ronald's energy just now was more intense and exciting than all the interactions between him and him.
"Have you thought about being with me...hehe, do you want me to introduce you?" McGillis, as a senior person, knows the thoughts of men very well.
"No, no, I just want to hold you and have a good rest."
…
"E on, Ronald. You are also a producer and understand the market. The selling point of this movie lies in the side shots. Otherwise, we would not be able to attract the audience with such a small production budget and marketing budget."
Early the next morning, Ronald said goodbye to McGillis, and after arriving at the office, he called Ned from Paramount. Ned Tanin agreed to all Ronald's requests, and McGillis was still the leading actor anyway.
First, for financing, it is enough as long as she participates in the show.
But when the decision to cast McGillis as a lawyer and a victim was notified to independent producer Shirley Lansing, she was very angry and called Ronald to complain.
"Shirley, this is your problem, not mine. Besides, the marketing of a movie does not necessarily depend on money. The key is the reputation of the movie." Old Ronald sat on the chair and said calmly.
said.
"Okay, are you interested in being a director? Or a producer. You have a first-rate eye for female-oriented films. You might as well recommend a few heroine candidates to me."
Shirley Lansing almost choked up. She knew this was the privilege of the successful. Ronald was obviously teasing her about her poor marketing skills.
However, Lansing is also a veteran player who has suffered a lot. Although she was kicked out of 20th Century Fox because she was a woman, she has been working as an independent producer for so many years. She has long known that this "Pear Blossom" is very promising as a female film.
Good reviews from film critics.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Lansing's production level is average, and he does not have the eye for commercially successful movies like Ronald, but he has been immersed in it for decades.
She still has predictions about which movies will be praised by film critics.
"I'll see what I can do, Shirley. Goodbye."
Ronald didn't promise, so this kind of thing has nothing to do with me.
He put down the phone and looked at his company's assistant, "Where is Mr. Bannon? He was still here just now."
This morning, Steve Bannon happened to have an appointment with Ronald to talk about the follow-up to the movie "Love Is Not For Sale".
"He's on the phone," replied Ms. Chen, the company's clerk.
"Telephone, there is no phone here. Where has he gone?"
"I'll go take a look." Ms. Chen stood up and opened the office door.
"Hello? The signal here is not good. That's it. I'll call you later." Just as he was speaking, Bannon held up a large brick-like object and gestured to Miss Chen while walking.
"What is this?" Ronald looked at the beige plastic thing, feeling inexplicably familiar.
"This is a mobile phone from Motorola. You can also make calls in places where there are no phones, just like a car phone, but this thing uses batteries, so you can make calls while walking."
"Big brother?" Ronald said a Chinese sentence out of nowhere.
"What?"
"Nothing," Ronald waved his hand, "Is this thing useful? I'll listen to your signals."
"Yes, you have to be at a certain distance from Motorola's communication station to make a call. It was better to use it when I was on Wall Street. There are many communication stations there and they are concentrated. Unlike Los Angeles, you can't hear clearly when you are a little further away.
"
"It's better to use car phones or coin-operated phones." Ronald thought it was just a toy. He could hold it and speak loudly, so he might as well leave a message to the other party or find a phone to talk to."
"Tell me, what do you want to do with the dividends from 'Love Is Not For Sale'?"
The news that Ronald threw a big check at the party yesterday has spread in Hollywood, and many old friends called to express their appreciation for his generosity.
When Bannon heard the news, he would definitely come and ask. His "Love Is Not For Sale" has been released and has grossed 35 million in America. Bannon has begun to change from a banker to an investment target of bankers on Wall Street.
"Can you pay dividends quickly?" Bannon certainly hopes to get the money as soon as possible so that he can speak louder on Wall Street. Accounts receivable and cash are still different after all.
"Movies are a business that pays back very slowly." Ronald recalled the rhetoric given to him by the distributor Atlantic when he was filming "Night of the Comet", and he took it out and used it from a different angle.
"The movie theater owners are unwilling to settle the bill. They are willing to delay my payment for a year, and then use the interest earned during this year to renovate the seats and upgrade the automatic candy machines.
When I send them a lawyer's letter and threaten to sue, they settle the debt as soon as they see that they are going to court. These people are also struggling with the profit and loss line, and it is difficult for me to handle it sometimes."
"Understood." Bannon raised his hands, indicating that he had no intention of urging Ronald. After all, he still wanted to have a relationship with Ronald, so that Wall Street would give him more confidence.
"If you are willing, I can talk to you about an early buyout. Your future income will be discounted to the present. After the discount, I can settle the matter with you now. We will let the accountants and lawyers handle it." Luo
Nader actually didn't want to settle the matter so quickly, so he threatened him slightly.
"Why? I don't want to do this. You shouldn't share the profit right away, but it's better to invest in new production. Only in this way can the film business be recycled. This is the right way to do business. I will always support you."
"You know your stuff, Steve." Ronald was very happy and quickly retracted his hand that pretended to reach out to grab the phone. "Then wait until the theater chain settles the settlement with me. I won't delay your time. Besides,
Michelle Cannold has several new projects in preparation. You can chat with him. If you are interested, you can join and make money together. I have left you an investment share."
Bannon rubbed his hands. As expected, he showed full confidence in Ronald. This was not a project investment opportunity.
"Not only do I not want your money, but I also want to bring you a large amount of investment." Bannon smoothed his hair, straightened his tie, and said mysteriously.
"Have you found money from Wall Street?" Ronald was interested. Compared with loans, money from Wall Street funds can be used on more favorable terms, and the interference in projects and assessment standards are looser.
Disney's Michael Eisner also received 400 million from the screen fund, and then slowly began to take the initiative in Disney. It was more than three times cheaper than the bond financing used by Minahan Golan.
"No, I went to Japan to find financing. Because of the appreciation of the yen, companies there are now very interested in investing in Hollywood. Moreover, the friction between our two countries has made their entrepreneurs hold their breath and want to invest in our industry.
.”
"Fuck, isn't this a good thing? We welcome investment." Ronald was happy when he heard this. He wanted to invest in Hollywood? What a good thing.
"The frictions between our two governments ended with America's victory and the signing of a favorable agreement. This hurt the self-esteem of the Japanese people. They always feel that the Japanese people work harder and should be better priced than our American products."
inexpensive."
"Huh? Why? Isn't our market open to them? On the contrary, it is very difficult for our movies to enter the Japanese market." Ronald has been there several times to market movies, even the two with Japanese cultural backgrounds.
"Long Wei Boy" did not do well at the box office in Japan.
Vaguely, Ronald also felt that the movie theaters there seemed to have agreed not to invest enough in Hollywood movies.
"They feel that hard workers who work nine hours a day and treat a mouthful of rice as delicious food should create the best products in the world. Not only physical products, home appliances, textiles, cars, and even movies should be like this."
Nong told Ronald some of what he knew on Wall Street.
"So, Japanese entrepreneurs who have suffered from friction want to invest in Hollywood movies to make money? Go back to Japan and tell the people there to buy Hollywood and feel proud, right? Win-win, win-win... hahaha." Ronald understood.
, there is also national pride and the mentality of a defeated country that wants to win back in the market.
"Hahaha, that's right!" Bannon smiled wickedly.
"Okay, I'll call the presidents of Kadokawa Bookstore and Johnny & Associates and have a chat." Ronald figured out that as long as they gave them the false reputation they wanted, he and Bannon would get benefits.
A Wall Street banker and a Hollywood producer, two people who wanted to pick up bargains in Japan, burst out laughing.
…
Ronald contacted his old friends in Tokyo again. They learned that Ronald had brought the box-office monster that killed everyone in America to Japan, and they all expressed that they would show greater sincerity this time to compete with Hollywood.
The youngest famous director, discussing cooperation.
After arranging the itinerary with Cannold and others, Ronald also asked the printing laboratory to print copies and prepare to sell them to several countries in East Asia.
"Brother Ronnie, my movie failed again." Diane's new film "The Hustler" failed again. More than 800 theaters only received more than 700,000 box office, and the average single theater box office did not reach 1,000 US dollars.
It fell below the profit and loss line in just one week, and the movie theaters were about to release them, so it was almost a one-week trip.
It was released with great fanfare to build momentum, but failed with great fanfare.
"Ah?" Ronald asked Diane to sit next to him, "Don't be sad. I told Tom Cruise that he would like to have the heroine in his new movie, do you want to try it?"
Afraid that Diane would lose confidence due to successive failures, Ronald deliberately downplayed the matter and gave her a good new opportunity.
"I..." Diane pursed her lips and hit the table a few times, "Um... um... um..."
"This time the film critics started to say something bad about me again. They also said that I played a stripper without even a single erotic scene."
"This...I see your acting skills, not just the number of clothes. Besides, didn't you ask Suzy Amis, the second female lead, to do an extra scene?" Ronald thought of forcing the producer to change the scene to prevent Diane from going too far.
Naked things.
"They said that Susie played a single mother, and that scene was superfluous." Diane was not very happy. She was criticized by film critics, which was psychologically harmful to the actor.
"It's not your fault, there are Matt Dillon and Tommy Lee Jones in the movie. They are also responsible for the movie not being a hit. The most important thing is the idiot producer Martin Ransohoff.
How can audiences in the 1980s appreciate the plot of the 1960s?"
"Hmm... If I continue like this, I will only be able to make B-level movies."
"Don't be stupid, I will find a way. Besides, there are good B-level movies."
"Are you going to Japan?" Diane saw the ticket on Ronald's desk.
"Yeah, I'm going to do a Dirty Dancing release."
"I'll go with you. It just so happens that the Japanese advertiser asked me to shoot a new advertisement."
"They are really loyal to you. They will make a new version every year for three years."
"Well, they just like to see Americans speak a few words in Japanese and praise their products."
"Yes." Ronald smiled. The Japanese people's seemingly arrogant but actually inferior mood can be confirmed by Diane's experience. In order to make the Japanese audience feel more involved, Diane must be infected every time.
She became blonde, more like their stereotype of an American girl.
"Why don't you audition for Tom Cruise's new movie first? He seems to play a bartender who falls in love with a female college student."
"Yeah", Diane said nothing.
"What's wrong?" Ronald was surprised, as if Diane wasn't very interested in this opportunity.
"You know, when we were filming 'It's Crazy', Tom approached me first, but I said some outrageous things. I said my father would never let me play that kind of woman."
"Uh...", Ronald understood. At that time, Diane was a popular child star turned teenage movie star and Coppola's favorite heroine. Tom Cruise was just a fledgling boy with crooked front teeth.
At that time, he invited Diane, but after being rejected, he got started with the movie "Also Crazy" and started a journey that has soared over the past few years.
Diane was afraid of auditioning and felt awkward towards both of them.
"You go and try it first. I think they will treat her equally. That is all history, and nothing will happen to Tom." Ronald comforted Diane.
But having said that, Cruise is no longer alone. There are many people around him who have formed a community of interests around him. Whether they are still willing to find Diane to play the role is beyond his control.
"If the competition can be fair, I have no problem. I'm afraid that because of this history, the two of us will act awkwardly."
"I will call Tom's agent. Then the decision will be completely fair and based on your performance. There is no personal relationship at all."
"Hehe..." Diane was still very serious about her acting skills. Hearing what Ronald said, she became happy again.
"Paula, this is Ronald." Later, when Ronald was alone, he called Cruise's agent, Paula Wagner.
"Hello, Ronald." Paula's voice was a little tired.
"When will the baby be born?"
"Two months left."
The two chatted for a while, and Ronald said to Paula, "Tom told me to invite Diane Lane to audition for the heroine in the new movie."
"I know about it, I was just going to talk to you about this 'Cocktail'." Paula Wagner was not satisfied with Tom Cruise's choice, but his wife Mimi Rogers was very enthusiastic and she was not
Legal advice.
"Diane, can you just follow the normal audition? I guess you may also have difficulties?" Ronald asked tentatively.
"Yes, Mimi gave me a lot of problems."
"Hey..." Ronald didn't like this Scientologist either, "That's it, don't work too hard."
"Mimi has her own plans, and she has a great influence on Tom." Paula Wagner also couldn't stand her anymore.