Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 113 The Director's Talent

  Ronald is very familiar with Ingrid Bergman, and one of America's favorite old movies is "Casablanca" starring her. I watched it a few times on TV before breaking into the film industry.

  Martin Scorsese's film appreciation class also skipped "Gaslight" and "Anastasia" starring her. It shows the director's admiration for her.

   The story of her husband's psychological abuse of the wife she played was too sensational because of the gaslight. So much so that Gaslighting in English has evolved into a proper noun, which specifically describes the use of psychological techniques by men to play with and abuse women.

  The twilight beauty who walked down the stairs, wearing a cashmere shawl, is graceful and generous, but also has a kind attitude. Ronald saw the emperor superstar for the first time in his life, and the aura of the star was really strong.

Isabella, a brunette who looks very much like her, stepped forward and hugged Bergman's arm, "It's Ronald, he's Marty's student, he saw me just now and said that if I make a movie, I can play you. Daughter, mother."

  Berman stepped forward and held Ronald's hands, "Isabella and Pia are my daughters. You are Marty's student, which is good."

   All the guests came forward to surround Bergman and squeeze Ronald out of the inner circle. It seems that they are all fans of Bergman back then. The idols have now forgotten their status and status, and only the admiration of that year is still there.

  Berman's hospitality is also very high, and he has a word or two with everyone, making people feel that they are not despised.

   Ronald looked left and right, looking for Helen's figure. Pia was introducing Helen to her mother, Ronald felt a little bored, turned around and brought another glass of sparkling water and drank it alone.

  Berman had an operation a few years ago, and his health has not been very good. After talking to everyone, he retreated to the room to rest.

  Pia found Ronald at this time, "Ronald, what are you majoring in at New York University? Are you interested in coming to TV? We have a lot of commercials, maybe I can arrange for you to appear."

   "I want to be a film director, in fact I just got a directing business for a chewing gum commercial and I'm casting."

   "You surprised me a lot tonight, Ronald," Pia said. "Why not let Helen play? Isn't she a good fit?"

   Ronald looked at Helen, he was indeed tall enough to be a college student. "Sure, I don't think there's anything wrong with her being in one of the 15-second commercials."

   "I'll tell Gerald, you'll send her back to her father tonight." Pia made the rules and called again.

"Gerald, your daughter's chosen male partner tonight is very good. She is a student of my brother-in-law Marty at New York University, and has also received a TV commercial directing business. He will let Helen appear. Don't worry, he filmed Chewing gum commercials. Yes, Helen needs a platform to start her career in acting, after all, she still went to high school in acting."

"His name is Ronald, and he's a good guy. I haven't asked about his family background yet, but being able to direct TV commercials in college is either a gift or a good family. Yes, I'll let him send Helen back, check it out for yourself. . My mother will also live in New York for a while to see her grandchildren, and you can call me when you have time."

After    Bergman left, the guests also said goodbye. Helen and Pia went to talk, leaving themselves to wait to send Helen home. Ronald dozed off on the sofa.

   "Ronald, are you looking for a place to sleep?" A female voice with a Swedish accent woke Ronald up.

   "Ms. Bergman, I'm sorry, today was a long day for me, and I fell asleep accidentally." Unexpectedly, Ingrid Bergman came out, saw him dozing on the sofa, and kindly woke him up.

"Helen's father is a decision maker for PBS, and my daughter Pia works for CBS, so sometimes I'm a little anxious. I hope you don't mind. How did you meet Helen? I heard Pia say she'll bring a boyfriend Come." Bergman asked Ronald with a smile.

Ronald felt that although Bergman was nearly 60 years old, the charm of a star was still hard to resist, so he said that he picked up Helen at the gate of Club 54, "I'm afraid that the male partner who booked is the Howard who left Helen in. ."

   "Hahaha..." Bergman smiled brightly, not at all twisted by women in early Hollywood. "Your experience reminds me of my ex-husband, Isabella's father, Italian director Rossellini. At that time, I also saw his film by chance and wrote to him. It was a coincidence."

   "Ms. Bergman, I like your performance very much." Ronald saw that Pia and Isabella might not have been born by the same father, and there might be some stories in between, so he deliberately diverted the topic.

   "You're so young, you're watching movies from when I'm old."

   "Of course not. I watched a lot of old movie copies at New York University. It's a place where you rarely see classic Hollywood movies and foreign classics. I watched them very carefully."

   "Then which movie do you like the most?" Bergman rarely saw a young man in his 20s watch his performance in his early years.

   "Everyone in America loves 'Casablanca', but I love 'True and False' more."

   "Oh, why?" Bergman is very interested, Casablanca is actually her game, and it is completely unexpected to be loved. And "True and False Princess" is her first movie to return to Hollywood after the derailment scandal, and she also won her second Academy Award for Best Actress, which she likes very much.

  Ronald wondered where did this come from?

"I like your lines the most, Ms. Bergman. In that movie, whether it was Yoo Brynner, who played opposite you, or the Queen Mother, all the actors' lines were very good. It was like two fish, in each other's hands. Chasing each other's tails. I rarely see lines performed like this in a movie."

   "Oh, yes. You're talented, Ronald, and I liked that movie's lines the most. The Queen Mother was Helen Hayes, who was also an Oscar winner and Queen of Broadway before she retired."

   Hearing Bergman talking about talent, Ronald took the opportunity to ask a question that he had not understood for a long time:

   "Ms. Bergman, I've always wondered, in the film and television industry, what is talent? I don't know if I'm talented. It's hard to survive without talent in this industry."

Seeing Bergman listening intently, Ronald added: "I mean, if I finish college and do an editing job, or a technician on a set, it's not difficult to get a salary. But I want to be a director, lead For a movie, there has to be some special talent, and I don’t know if I have that special talent.”

  Berman tightened his shawl, as if a little uncomfortable.

Ronald stood up, walked to the cocktail table, picked up two pieces of **** and put them in the cup, then added a spoonful of coconut oil, then put in a cube of sugar, squeezed the juice with a juicer, filtered and added mineral water, and handed it over. To Bergman.

   "It's a family recipe that my aunt often gives me when I'm not feeling well. It works great."

  Berman took over and drank half of it, and sure enough, the site of the second operation recently felt a lot more comfortable.

   "Thank you, it worked."

   Ronald wrote down the recipe 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 perform freely, and some stipulate that the actors must act according to what they say. But they all have one thing in common, that is, they must be well aware of the performance of the actors.

  Many directors are also very good actors themselves. In their eyes, actors are a tool to achieve the final picture, but actors are not objects, and we must master the methods that allow us to play comfortably. In short, the talent of being a director, I think, is the ability to drive the actors to perform the results they want. "

   At this time, Pia came to persuade her mother to go back to rest, Ronald and Bergman said goodbye.

   Helen also finished talking to Pia, and Ronald was ready to send her back to his father's house. As the hostesses escorted the two young men downstairs, Ronald also saw Isabella greeting him as the elevator doors closed, as if to say, "See you again when we have a chance."

   Helen immediately apologized to Ronald after getting in the car, "I didn't know Aunt Pia and the others would treat you as my classmate Howard. I've made it clear to them that it won't embarrass you."

   "It doesn't matter, Helen. Pia also offered you a role in the Chewels chewing gum TV commercial I directed. I'll talk to your father later. Hopefully he'll get you in."

   "Really? What can I act?" Speaking of acting, Helen came to the spirit again.

   "It's a college student who works as an intern in a company for about 15 seconds." Ronald replied.

   "Gum? My dad would agree, he always cared about me. I haven't seen him much since he divorced mom."

  It turned out to be like this, no wonder the father and daughter still communicated through Pia.

  The car arrived on the Upper East Side, where Helen's father Gerald lived in this traditional noble community.

   A middle-aged man was standing 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'm Gerald Slater." Gerald took out a business card and handed it to Ronald, "I heard about you from Pia. If you have any difficulties with the Chewels gum commercial, you can come to me."

   "Dad, do you agree to my participation in the commercial shoot?" Helen asked beside him.

   "You have to show me the script first... Ronald." Then Gerald said to his daughter, "Yes, I agree in principle..."

   Father and daughter say goodbye to Ronald.

   Ronald raised his hand and saw the card that read:

  Gerald Slater

   Chief Executive Officer

  PBS Television

   (end of this chapter)