Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 128 Italian Television in New York

   "She's not fit to sing the jazz that we black people invented, if I say." Spike pointed to the question of musical style, "She should sing the pop music of your white singer Karen Carpenter."

"Yes, Helen's vocal range is a little narrower, which is actually suitable for Carpenter's songs." Dixon, the photographer, also said, "She sings black songs with a wide range, but she actually needs to mobilize her body to sing so that she can sing with strength in the high-pitched area. , but in that case, Helen's body will be tense, not relaxed enough, and her true colors will not come out."

  Ronald thought for a while, and it seemed like this was the case, "So, next time I ask her to sing Carpenter's song, you record it quietly during Helen's rehearsal, I always think she did it on purpose."

   "Helen, can you sing Carpenter's songs?" Ronald walked to the piano and asked Helen, who had returned to the piano bench after a break, through the piano.

   "Of course, she's my favorite singer."

   "You sing a song of hers and find the feeling."

   "Okay, which one do you want to hear?" Helen is clearly a huge Karen Carpenter fan.

   "Sing the song your heart wants to sing right now." Ronald said.

  “Why do birds suddenly appear

   Whenever you are around?

   just like me, they yearn

Close to you

  Why do stars fall from the sky

   Whenever you walk by?

   just like me, they yearn

Close to you"

  Helen played the piano and sang an old Karen Carpenter song "Close to You". She had a higher register, starting an octave higher than Carpenter, but still sounded just as good.

  The photographer Dickinson gave Ronald a wink, indicating that the rehearsal scene had been recorded.

   "Okay, very good, just sing this way. Don't lean in the direction of jazz."

   "Recording? Camera? Action!"

  …

   This time the effect is much better than before.

   Wait for Ronald to send Helen and Darcy out of the gate of Lincoln Center and let Darcy drive her home. Ronald quickly ran into the shooting site, "Dickinson, Dickinson, let me see, how was that Carpenter song recorded?"

The photographer Dickinson called up the playback. Ronald took a closer look. The black and white images were of low resolution and flickering, but Helen's body posture was indeed relaxed in the image. She sang her favorite song. Emotions are also expressed more abundantly and naturally.

   "Just like this song? Tomorrow I'll make up for the slogan Helen said to the camera."

   "It's jazz on the script, of course you can make them change it." Spike Lee knows some of Helen's background, her father is the third most powerful executive on a national television station.

   "Karen Carpenter's song, cover copyright is not cheap, right?" Ronald thought about the cover copyright issue again.

  Spike and Dickinson looked at each other, they didn't know the cost of citing songs in movies or commercials.

   Ronald, who consciously asked the wrong person, waved his hand and simply didn't think about these questions. Show Gerrard the jazz and carpenter versions when they're done and let them worry about that.

  …

   "Because Chewels tastes better!" Helen received the new chewing gum that Spike handed her, "woke up" from her frozen pose, and said the slogan.

  The shooting the next day was still stumbling. Helen Slater always had a tendency to act deliberately. Ronald was still the old way. He let Dickinson secretly take pictures during rehearsal. Helen performed more naturally during rehearsal.

   Ronald began to truly understand the troubles of the director. The performance of the actors is unpredictable, and the real person cannot press a button like a machine and have an expected feedback.

   No wonder when Cameron was on the set of "High School of Rock", he was always rushing to the director's side to see how he trained, inspired, and corrected the actors' performances. He had long identified the biggest challenge of directing, and consciously stepped up his learning.

  After filming was complete, Ronald pulled Spike Lee and asked him to go back and cut out two versions of Helen playing, one for jazz and one for Carpenter's "Near You." For consideration by Helen's father and Darcy Maguire.

   As for Ronald, today it was his turn to be the flower caregiver, sending Helen to the party at Ingrid Bergman's daughter Pia. Today her father Gerald will come too.

   "We have to go to CBS to pick up Ms. Bergman's daughter." Helen sat in the co-pilot, pulled her seat belt, and said to Ronald.

   "Which one?" Ronald didn't want to make the same mistake last time.

   "Hahaha." Helen also remembered the funny story that when he was at Pia's house last time, she didn't know Isabella was Bergman's daughter, but said she could play Bergman's daughter.

   "It's Isabella." Helen replied, "Not in the Black Rock Building, CBS Headquarters. Let's go to Mulberry Street."

   "Didn't Isabella work at CBS with her sister?" Ronald turned to Little Italy.

   "No, she's the female anchor of a funny news show on a small Italian TV station."

   "Funny, news, how are these two words connected?"

   "Hahaha, I find you can always find humor in life, Ronald." Helen laughed again.

   "It may also be that your laughter is low." Ronald whispered.

   "They're a small TV station, the main subscribers are the residents of Little Italy, and the show is a rerun of the CBS weekly news in Italian, and then some Italian jokes are interspersed."

   "Do you understand Italian?" Ronald looked around at the destination Parker Building.

  Mulberry Street (Mulberry) means mulberry tree, and the whole street is named after a mulberry tree at a five-fork intersection. This is the junction of Little Italy and Chinatown. On one side, Italians are talking loudly (arguing) with five fingers together and palms up.

   On the other side is the uncle playing Tai Chi in Chinatown leisurely. Wearing a uniform Mulan costume, the aunt danced with two folding fans in her hands.

   "I don't know, I heard from Isabella. But every time I come here, I am amazed at the cultural diversity and inclusiveness of New York." Helen also likes this contrasting picture.

   "Yeah, maybe make a movie to reflect that."

Ronald parked the car, and the two walked into the dilapidated Parker Building. They walked up two floors of stairs. The unit facing them was a yellow wooden door with a sign "Radiotelevisioneitaliana" on it - Italy broadcast and TV station.

   Helen knocked on the door.

   "Oh, that's the focal point, or branch, of Italian Radio and Television in the US." Isabella just finished "L\'altraDomenica," which means "another Sunday." She answered Ronald's question why the humble studio had such a big name.

  Italy's economic development is not as good as America's, and the state-run institutions have less funding and are relatively poor. This Italian radio and television station is based in the community TV station of Little Italy in Manhattan, New York. In themselves they are a station of the CBS broadcast network.

   "Oh, Isabella...", an Italian man with a very back hairline came out of the studio and quickly said a string of Italian to Isabella.

   Ronald and Helen looked at each other and couldn't understand.

"Roberto, these are my two young friends, Ronaldo and Helen," Isabella slowed down and introduced in English, "this is another Sunday co-host of my show, Robe To."

   "Welcome to Radiotelevisioneitaliana" Roberto was familiar with the phrase, and then began to stutter in English again. This is what he himself asked Isabella to supervise, he needs to learn English, while establishing a foothold in the American film and television industry.

"Isabella, you have to apologize to, your husband, on my behalf." Roberto jumped on the table and made a gunshot gesture, "mine, movie, by, Vatican, against, showing, Italy, the release, is gone."

   "Roberto, very disappointed." He compensated for the lack of English ability with rich body language. Roberto shows how his heart was injured after he was shot and fell to the ground.

"Your husband, can't be a big star in Italy. The Pope, destroyed the dream of Roberto, Isabella, Isabella's husband," Roberto got up and made a gesture of protest, "Luo Beto, struggle; Italy, government, surrender."

   "Roberto, disappointed, Italy, no money" Roberto gestured to count the money.

   "Hollywood, don't like it, Roberto, don't speak English."

   "The movie, it's not, it's showing in Italy." Roberto pretended to sit down and watch the movie again, "Hollywood, it's not, it's showing in Amelica."

   Then Roberto put his fingers together, palms up, "Roberto, it wasn't on purpose, Isabella, forgive me, Roberto."

  Isabella was also amused by his comedy talent, "Okay, my husband didn't blame you either. When you were looking for him, his movie was just paused, and the cameo was free time."

"Really? Roberto, feel, glad." Roberto made a comical salute, then strode forward, "Hollywood, don't like it, Roberto. Roberto, back, Italy. "

   "Oh, Roberto, are you really going back to Italy? I'll miss you a lot. Playing funny news with you is the happiest time for me."

  Isabella hugged him goodbye, got in the car and went to sister Pia's house with Ronald and Helen to a party. This time it was on a smaller scale and focused on family members and close friends.

"Roberto Benigni is a very talented comedian and my husband admired him so much that he agreed to have a cameo role in Roberto's film in between filming. Too bad the film offended the Vatican, It was banned in Italy, and the distributor refused to release it in America because of the contract."

   "He is not recognized by Hollywood and is going back to Italy," Isabella said. "My husband admires him and thinks he is a rare comedy talent and should stay in America."

   "Is your husband a film director? His new film is about to be shot? What's it called?" Ronald listened to Isabella talking about her husband's film several times, and couldn't help but get interested. It's good to be able to ask a real director about the actor's performance.

  Isabella showed a smile that couldn't help but smile again, "He is also Italian, and he will come today too. You can ask him when the time comes?"

   (end of this chapter)