Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 273 Debut at the Ball

   Back in New York on vacation, Ronald had a very comfortable time and had a great Christmas dinner with his aunt and cousin on Christmas Eve.

Perhaps because of the long preparation and directing of the filming, Ronald was a little out of touch with real life. He moved to the apartment where his aunt lived and stayed at home for many days. He talked and chatted with his aunt every day, and used family warmth to temporarily forget the movie he just shot. .

   Early this morning, Ronald was again watching TV in the living room.

   In order to watch the speeches and new trends of the commander at any time, Aunt Karen paid to open a cable TV at home. In addition to the local channels and the three major wireless TV stations, the TV at home can also watch dozens of channels from all over the country.

   This practice of moving local channels to the national cable network so that all cable subscribers across the country can watch it is called syndication. Many TV shows that were originally only local have become popular after being syndicated.

   Ronald picked up a small rectangular box and pressed it against the TV, which changed channels following his gestures. It's a remote control that comes with a cable TV box that lets you sit and change channels, and Ronald loves it.

   "Huh, what is this?"

  Ronald found a picture of Apollo landing on the moon on the TV, but the flag on the moon was changed from a national flag to a flag with a capital M on it.

   Then a beautiful host started to broadcast "Welcome to MTV, the world's first music TV channel, day and night, stereo broadcasts the world's best pop music for you."

Then the picture changed, MTV began to play Lord Stewart's music TV, Ronald began to be interested, this kind of music TV with much shorter time than normal TV shows is very interesting, change it in a few minutes head.

  The rhythm of their editing is much faster than the movie and much faster than the TV series.

Ronald stared at MTV and watched several MVs of songs that were popular on the charts, and found that he had no difficulty in understanding this fast-paced plot, perhaps because of the music and lyrics, which helped the audience to understand the plot. I understand that it doesn't take a long time to set up like a movie.

   "Next is the latest concert of the Rolling Stones," the host said.

   "Oh, Ronald, you should go for a walk, don't stay at home watching TV all the time."

  Aunt Karen couldn't stand Ronald staying at home every day to eat, sleep, watch TV, and came over to drive him off the sofa, "Go out and buy a copy of the New York Times, it's good for you."

  "Okay", Ronald got up from the sofa, put on his coat and prepared to go out.

   The phone rang and Aunt Karen answered the phone and handed the receiver to Ronald, "It's a girl, Ronald."

   "I'm Ronald, who?"

   "I'm Helen, Helen Slater, I did a commercial for chewing gum, do you remember me?"

"Of course, hello Helen." Of course Ronald remembered that before the filming of "Fast-Paced Richmond High School", Ronald also thought of letting this girl audition, but her TV father, Gerald, returned Helen to him. Under 18 refused.

  Speaking of the New Year, Helen is now an adult.

  Sometimes, among the factors that affect the movie, there are many seemingly inconspicuous factors. If Helen was a few months older, or if the movie started a little later, maybe Helen Slater would be in the role.

   "Ronald, I'd like to invite you to be my male partner at the 'De Mark Taunt' ball, would you?"

   "What?" Ronald didn't understand the name of the ball.

   "Debutante, which means 'first appearance' in French, is a dance where American girls first appear on social occasions, and must have a male companion."

   "Prom? I'm inexperienced, hasn't Gerald arranged for you another suitable candidate?"

  Gerald Slater, who was listening to the phone next to Helen, couldn't help it. He picked up the receiver and said, "Hi, boy. My daughter wants you to be her boyfriend, what else do you want?"

"Gerald, hello. That's not what I meant. I haven't attended the Debutante ball, and I don't know how to perform my duties. Helen said it seems to be a very formal occasion." Not very interested.

  Gerald calmed down a bit when he heard Ronald's reasoning. It seemed that this lucky fool still attached great importance to his daughter's coming-of-age ceremony.

   "It's not so formal, it's a small ball in our TV and film circles. The real international debutante ball is held every even-numbered year, and many princesses from European countries will come to participate.

  We want to create an environment for our children, so that young people who are interested in entering the entertainment industry can meet some insiders when they are adults. Helen thought of you first when she invited you, and you can also meet some young people in the circle. "

"It's my pleasure."

   "Remember the concierge's request, the appearance ceremony in the morning, and the guest party after lunch..."

On the day the adult children of senior film and television practitioners made their prom debut, Ronald wore a dark blue navy double-breasted metal button suit with a crimson pocket square, gray pants, and combed his hair neatly, and went to China. The Waldorf Hotel.

  This old-fashioned hotel is where the International Adult Ball is held every even-numbered year. Gerald and the others also set the ball here, with the intention of raising the level of their daughters.

   Ronald regretted a little when he got to the hall where the ball was held. The male companions who came are not well-known people in the industry, and most of them are the second generation of stars. He also saw the second-generation star at New York University who wanted to pull himself into a fraternity.

   The rhythm of the debut dance is very slow, each girl walks down the stairs individually, and each person will have 10 minutes of appearance time. The host introduced the girl's family background information and the male partner's family background. Then show the dress to everyone present.

   After waiting for more than two hours, it was almost noon when the host finally called out Helen's name.

   "Miss Helen Slater, whose father is Gerald Slater, senior vice president of PBS..."

   Ronald stood up quickly and looked up at the top of the stairs.

  I saw a girl about five feet eight inches (1.73 meters) appearing at the exit of the corridor on the stairs. She was wearing a creamy white dress, a small white hat in the style of the 1920s and 1930s, and a pair of blue eyes that looked bright.

  Two sparkling pendant earrings hang from her ears and a string of pearl necklaces around her neck.

   is Helen Slater, whom Ronald has not seen for a long time.

  I haven't seen each other for over a year, only through a few phone calls. Ronald felt that he didn't know Helen a bit.

  America's girl, at this age, is a period of rapid changes in appearance. Apart from her eyebrows and eyes, Helen was still as charming as before, and her body was even better, giving Ronald the feeling that a neighbor's girl suddenly grew into a great beauty.

  Helen walked down the stairs, looking left and right, looking for her male partner, Ronald. She saw Ronald dressed in a navy uniform with trimmed hair and beard, obviously satisfied, and took him by the arm.

  After the host's introduction, it was the photographer's photo session. Ronald faithfully became Helen Slater's male model, took several sets of photos, and then the two went to the seats and sat down.

   "You are very good today, Helen. It can be said that you are the most beautiful girl at the dance." Ronald felt that it was the first time he praised a girl without adding any exaggeration.

   "Giggle..." Helen smiled, "You are handsome too."

   The two smiled at each other.

   "Have you been waiting here for a long time?" Helen asked.

   "Exactly. Fortunately, I saw you last, so I didn't waste time. Are you waiting in the lounge upstairs?"

   "Yes, but we have spies, giggling..." Helen laughed again, "We have friends who keep peeking at the door and tipping us about whose male partner is the most handsome."

   After chatting and laughing for a while, the two continued to wait for the remaining girls to descend the stairs.

   "Don't you feel bored? Let's go first?" Helen waited for two or three girls and said to Ronald beside him.

   "Didn't you say there will be guests in the afternoon?"

   "A few very boring people are the sons and nephews of the former chief JFK. According to my dad, they want to enter the showbiz and become actors."

   Ronald is a little unconvinced that the former First Lady would not allow his son to be a movie actor. Although there are news footage of JFK going to college on TV, he does look good enough to be a leading actor.

   "What, do you want to see him?" Helen asked, seeing that Ronald didn't move.

   "No, I was just wondering if this would be rude."

   "Don't think about it, this isn't a real international adult dance, we can sneak out the back door and wait for me to change clothes first."

  Helen took Ronald and sneaked out through the back door of the hotel lobby. She secretly took out a bag from behind the door and went into the bathroom to change her clothes.

   It seems that she planned to slip away.

   Changed out of the dress, Helen put on jeans and a men's jacket, and the necklace was also put into the bag, leaving only two earrings. From the celebrity style just now, she suddenly became a common high school **** the streets of New York.

   "I want to go to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, will you accompany me?"

   "Okay, the task that Gerald gave me is to accompany you for a day."

   "Hahaha, don't you want to?"

   "Of course, this is my honor." Ronald raised his arm and let Helen pull it, and the two walked out of the Waldorf Astoria.

  The Museum of Modern Art in New York is very close to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. It only takes ten minutes to walk from Lexington Street. After passing Rockefeller Avenue and Fifth Avenue, you can see the distinctive appearance of the New York Museum of Modern Art.

  This is the noble area of ​​New York. There are many beautiful women and handsome men dressed in fashion along the way. The pace of walking is much slower than that of the elites in lower Manhattan.

   "Actually, I don't want to come to this dance, but I have to perfunctory Gerald." Helen walked all the way and kept talking. "He promised me a chance to play on ABC if I wanted to come, but my mother encouraged me to do it myself."

"Gerald also found an agent for me, but he always told my dad everything about me. My mom told me to find another agent so I could get rid of his tyranny. But I didn't want him to be sad. "

  Helen looked at Ronald, the director who directed his first TV commercial and made his debut on TV. He felt a little kind in his heart, and talked about the troubles of entering the entertainment industry.

   "Actually, an actor can hire more than one agent. There is no law against this. That's how I am."

"Really? That's good." Helen nodded and changed the subject again, "Is my dress beautiful? My mother helped me pick it out. There are many second-hand dress shops in New York. Many women wear designer dresses once, and they will Send them in and sell them."

   "Why buy second-hand dresses?" Ronald knew that Helen's father was a TV executive and his mother was a lawyer, so his income would not be very low.

   "Because of environmental protection, my mother said that those flashy things are vanity and illusion, and we should focus on substance. If everyone abandons vanity, the earth's resources will not be exhausted due to abuse."

"you're right…"

   The two quickly walked to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which is the largest museum in New York outside the Metropolitan Museum. There were still a lot of people near noon, and Ronald bought a ticket to enter.

   "I saw an exhibition of modern artists last time, which modernist artist do you like?" Helen asked Ronald while walking in the hall.

   "I don't understand this..."

"You're too modest, aren't you a film director? Last time my dad didn't allow me to audition, I had a fight with him, and then my mom came forward to talk to him, and he promised me that I could audition for a movie freely. , but still have to report to him."

   The two walked into an exhibition hall, and Ronald also looked at the modern art paintings on the walls.

   "This is Van Gogh's starry night, this is Monet's water lily, this is Dali and Cezanne..."

   Helen Slater was very familiar with these famous paintings, and Ronald also stood close by and looked at the works of the masters, appreciating them one by one.

   "If you feel bored, first go to the modern installation art exhibition you are interested in?" Ronald felt that Helen was already familiar with these paintings and was afraid that she would be bored.

   "It doesn't matter, I'll accompany you to read it. Masterpieces are always worthy of repeated appreciation."

   Ronald patted Helen's hand to express his gratitude, and the two of them looked at each painting one by one.

  Ronald did not study any painting, just as a general audience, looking at master works. Ahead is another master's work, "Red, Yellow, Blue" by the Dutch painter Mondrian.

  As soon as Ronald saw this work, he felt a strange sense of familiarity in his heart, stopped and stared at the painting for a long time.

   There are no figures or scenery on the painting, just some simple black lines that divide the canvas into several cuboids. There are also rectangles filled with red, yellow, and blue colors.

  Helen looked at Ronald strangely, and none of the paintings he had seen before were so fascinated. Next to Ronald was another Chinese, dressed as an art student and wearing old-fashioned glasses. He is holding a paintbrush, copying this Mondrian painting on the easel next to him.

   "What an interesting rhythm." Ronald muttered to himself after a long time.

   "Why, can you see Mondrian's rhythm?" The Chinese student glanced at Ronald and said.

   "Yes, although these are lines and color blocks, it gives the impression that the painter is narrating a rhythm."

   "Did you learn to paint?" The Chinese student looked at him, not like.

   "No, I make movies. My name is Ronald."

   "Just call me Chen." The Chinese student reached out and shook his hand.

   "Few laymen can see that Mondrian painted rhythms. They all think that Mondrian painted living room decorations."

Chen pointed to Ronald Mondrian's painting, "Actually, they don't understand the greatness of the master. Look at this brushstroke, his lines are all freehand, with different blacks and different shades, so that the lines It has a three-dimensional feel.”

  Ronald looked in the direction of his fingers, indeed the same black lines, one seemed to float on top of the other. Although the picture is simple, it has a strong appeal. This simplicity can only be achieved through overall design and attention to details.

   "It seems that simplicity is not so easy to achieve." Ronald sighed. Art is all the same. Many people say that Hitchcock's films are simple in narrative, but it is not so easy to achieve this simplicity. Many people cannot imitate his style.

   "It seems that you have a good artistic feeling. The shop at the door sells printed copies. You can buy one if you like." Chen pointed him and said.

   "Thank you, is your copy for sale?" Ronald took a fancy to Chen's copy of the oil painting.

   "I can't sell it. It's hard to copy Mondrian's paintings. My paintings don't look like them at all." Chen shook his head.

   Ronald shrugged and went back to visit her favorite installation with Helen.

  After watching the exhibition, Ronald and Helen ate hot dogs on the street. Now you also need a license to set up a stall in Manhattan. The hot dogs tasted great with the sauce, and Helen was especially happy.

   "Thank you, Ronald. I had a great time today. I'll listen to you and ask my mom to find me another agent, and maybe I'll audition for your next movie."

   sent Helen home, Ronald took the print of Mondrian's painting he bought and went back to his aunt's house.

  After the New Year's holiday, Ronald went back to Los Angeles. He put copies of Mondrian's paintings on a table in the editing room, reminding himself to keep his rhythm while editing.

   "This is Eric, the editor of the film, these are his two editing assistants, and this is director Ronald." Producer Art Linson introduced Ronald to the editing team. For the next two months, it was up to Ronald and Eric to edit the film together.

   "Hello, Ronald, the sound and picture synchronization has been done. Shall we watch it all over again?"

   "Ok, thank you, Eric, let's get started."

   (end of this chapter)