Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 366 Roots

"These are the biscuits I baked. Ronald said that you need to exercise to gain muscle and act as a superwoman, so you should not be afraid of getting fat." After dinner, Aunt Karen handed over a box of biscuits that she baked by herself. , tied with a red ribbon, and presented to Helen Slater.

  "Thank you, Karen", Helen took the biscuits, thanked them, and put away the small box.

   "More, Aunt Karen's cookies are delicious." Ronald grabbed another handful of cookies, wrapped them in paper and put them in Helen's pocket.

   "It's okay, Helen. The biscuits my mom bakes are not high in calories. They don't have sugar and butter like everyone else's, and Diane eats them a lot, so they won't gain weight." Donna said.

   "I'll take Helen back to her father's house first." Ronald got up and put on his coat. Winters in New York are colder than in Los Angeles.

   "Stop driving, call a taxi." Seeing Ronald drank a lot of red wine, Auntie got up and called a yellow taxi.

   Helen put on a scarf and kissed Karen and Donna goodbye.

   "This small box is beautiful, but I can't eat more." Helen put the small box in her bag in the car, then took a loose biscuit from her pocket and carefully bit half of it down.

   "It doesn't matter, anyway, you go to London to exercise, and you have to eat a lot of high-protein and high-starch food." Ronald advised Helen to eat a few more pieces.

   "You don't know, it's very troublesome to be an actor to control your body. I'm getting fat now by eating anything." Helen pinched the flesh on her face in distress.

   "I think you're even a little skinny, even by the standards of a widescreen anamorphic lens."

   "Hahaha... how are you?"

Now, the average medium-sized film in Hollywood is 1.85:1 widescreen, while blockbuster movies often use 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. That kind of lens stretches the actors more horizontally, and there are many strange distortions. . Very thin people will also look fat on the anamorphic screen.

  Ronald deliberately said that Helen was not fat enough on the Transformers screen, so let her eat healthy.

   "Your aunt's baked biscuits are still delicious, and she made the box beautiful." Helen finally ate another cookie and was very satisfied.

   "She wanted to give you cookies as Christmas gifts, but she knew you were Jewish, so she simply packed them."

   "Well, then I'll take this as a Christmas present. When I was a child, I went to a mixed school in Long Island. My classmates all had Christmas presents, but I didn't have them. I've always been envious."

   "Alright then, I'll give you a double Christmas present and make up for what you haven't received before." Ronald said, took out a small box and handed it to Helen.

   "It's so beautiful." Helen opened the box and saw a pair of shiny earrings. She took out the vanity case and put them on in the mirror for a while.

   "Ronnie, thank you." Helen hugged Ronald's shoulder and was very happy.

   "Helen, you are so beautiful today." Ronald hugged Helen and kissed his lips.

   The two kissed quickly, and Helen gently pushed Ronald away for fear that the driver in front would see it.

   "I said beauty, are you an actor? I know many people and I can introduce you to them. The most important thing in this circle is relationship."

   Maybe he heard what Ronald said in the movie before, Helen said that the actor was going to diet and so on, the South Asian taxi driver who was driving suddenly interrupted and started talking to Helen.

   "Huh?" Ronald was surprised, not expecting the curry-accented driver to feel so good.

   "She's already an actress, you don't need to bother." Ronald put his arms around Helen's shoulder and kissed Helen again, declaring his sovereignty.

   "Then you must be a bad actor. What movie or TV show have you acted in? Tell me two and I'll listen."

  “…”

   "Can't tell? At first glance, you are an unsuccessful actor. Let me tell you, the most important thing for an actor is relationship. You can't play any role without relationship. If you have relationship, you can also play the lead role."

   Ronald frowned and was a little impatient. The driver was too blind, and even flirted with his girlfriend Helen in front of him.

   Helen pulled La Ronald's arm, signaling him not to get mad at boring people.

   "Why don't you date me at Christmas. I know a lot of bigwigs in the entertainment industry. I'll introduce you to play the heroine of a TV series."

   "Hey, are you blind? I'm his boyfriend, do you want to fight me?" Ronald patted the front seat, then squeezed his fingers.

   "There is no need to resort to violence, my friend. Mahatma Gandhi taught us that violence is not good, either for the individual or the nation."

   The driver who spoke with a curry accent immediately changed the subject, "I just think your girlfriend can play the heroine. I really know a lot of people in the circle."

   "Who do you know?" Helen interrupted to prevent Ronald from being angry.

"George Hamilton, do you know him? The star of the TV series 'Root', the last time he was in New York, the crew lacked a driver and hired me as a temporary driver. I tell you, he's a good guy, I I beg him, your girlfriend must have a chance to be a TV actress."

   "Pfft..." Ronald couldn't help laughing, saying for a long time that he was a delusional person. And yes, not all New York cab drivers are showbiz like Diane Lane's dad.

   "Do you really know Hamilton, the star of 'Root'? Then you are very good." Helen also held back her laughter and slapped Ronald's hand.

   "That is, I told you, this TV series is very profound..." The driver boasted to himself.

   Ronald was reminded of this TV series. It was about the journey of black people who were captured by slave traders from Africa to North America. He and his descendants always hoped to find their roots.

   "Don't know where your roots are?" Ronald thought.

  The car finally arrived at the condominium in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Ronald and Helen got off the car. Ronald deliberately only tipped the driver the minimum amount, but the South Asian driver thanked him happily and left.

   "Hahaha..." Helen couldn't help laughing, she had been in the car for a long time.

   In the lobby of the apartment, a figure was waiting for his daughter to arrive. Hearing Helen's voice, he walked out of the lobby.

   "Mr. Slater." Ronald passed Helen's hand to her father.

   "Helen is going to London soon, you can spend more time with her." Seeing the earrings Helen was wearing, Gerald Slater nodded to Ronald and explained a few words.

   "Bye!" Helen and Ronald kissed, bid farewell to her boyfriend, and entered her father's house.

  …

   "Auntie, what ethnicity am I? What country did my father and mother's family immigrate from?" Back home, Ronald asked Aunt Karen.

   "Why do you care about this?" Aunt Karen was a little surprised. She had just let Donna go to bed, and she was drinking tea leisurely after cleaning up the room.

   "I was surprised when Helen told me she was Jewish. I never thought she was Jewish. She didn't look like a typical Jew either.

   Then, I met a South Asian driver on the road, so I became interested in my origins. "

   "I don't know much about your father's family history except that he was born near New Haven, Connecticut, New England.

  My mother and I are both New York natives, with ancestors said to date back to English immigrants in the eighteenth century. But since your grandfather's father started relocating to Staten Island, he lost contact with his old relatives. "

   "What? We weren't from Staten Island?"

Aunt Karen shook her head, "No, your grandfather's family was originally from Manhattan. When he died, my sister, your mother, went to the Manhattan family to find relatives, but no longer knew Parker there. people."

   "Oh, why did Grandpa move to Staten Island back then?"

   "I don't know. Your mother seems to know the reason, but she doesn't want to tell me. It must be something unpleasant." Aunt Karen didn't know either.

"Your grandmother's family is a native of Staten Island. Their family is of German and Irish descent. It seems that there is some blood in the country, which is the same in America. .

   In America, people should be judged for their goodness, not their race. Incoming New York Governor Mario Cuomo is Italian, and New York Mayor Koch is Jewish.

The birth of a    person does not represent their final evaluation, Ronnie my dear. "

   Ronald nodded. Aunt Karen was very open about these things. I guess she didn't say that her girlfriend was Jewish, even if she brought a black man back, it would be fine.

   Considering the relatively conservative atmosphere of Staten Island, this may have something to do with the family education of the grandfather.

   "Is Grandpa Parker's family so open to race?"

   "Yeah, we Parker are Quakers. You know the Quakers were the first to support racial equality. At the beginning, Pennsylvania was named after a nobleman's surname Bin, who were Quakers, who advocated peace and equality.

   Donna's middle school history textbook has it. "

   Aunt Karen got up and poured a cup of tea for Ronald, "I have to go to bed earlier, you don't make it too late."

  Ronald kissed his aunt on the cheek, sitting on the sofa in the living room and remembering something on his mind.

   He still couldn't help but want to know where his roots lie.

  My mother is a Quaker who is half British and German. I don’t know what race my father is, and where did he come from in this life? Who were you in your past life? Why is there such a wonderful connection between the two?

   "In the future, I will have the opportunity to go to the northern New England area to see what life is like in my father's place."

   (end of this chapter)