Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 803 The Palme d'Or in controversy

   "Staten Island? Are you a Staten Islander?"

   "Yeah, I graduated high school there."

   At the premiere of Paul Newman's directorial debut "Glass Menagerie", all Hollywood filmmakers in Cannes came to join us. It's one of only two Hollywood films to compete for the Palme d'Or.

  Paul Newman is here again in Cannes, the biggest star in Hollywood. Whether it's Ronald, Minahan Golan, or Elizabeth Taylor, come to participate. Fight for face for Hollywood movies.

  Last night, Maurice Piara's entry film "Under the Sunshine of Satan" won the support of all European guests with full formal dress etiquette.

   These two films are adaptations of famous novels, and both are the works of famous actors turned directors. But it represents two opposite value orientations.

   "Glass Menagerie" is a Broadway-Hollywood continuation of the dramatic tradition that pays attention to storytelling skills. And "Under Satan's Sunshine" continues the jump-cut, non-narrative, and emotional tradition of the new wave of the hair country.

   As two films with a high reputation for winning and many similarities, Paul Newman hopes to win the competition. The Palme d'Or at Cannes is decided by the jury, but the performance of these stars will affect the perception of some judges to some extent, and many of them have private relationships with the judges. So Paul Newman and his wife, Joanna Woodward, chatted about the movie with all the guests.

"Joanna and I, when we first got married, bought a house on the north end of Staten Island, and we spent the best years of our lives there." Newman heard that Ronald was a Stanton native. , suddenly became interested, and chatted with him about some of his life after marriage.

   "Ah, it's a tourist attraction now. A lot of people take the ferry from Staten Island, Manhattan, to see your former home." Ronald heard Aunt Karen say this.

   "Ah...hahahaha", Newman happily recalled which house, when Newman just started to go on the road, there was not much money, and the couple bought it together. "You don't know, I was happy at the time, and getting married to Joanna was like standing upside down. God, she was a star at the top at that time, and I was just a fledgling actor."

   Speaking of the past, Newman kissed his wife affectionately.

   "At that time, I thought Paul wasn't very good at acting, but he was handsome, so it's not bad for me to be cheap." Joanna Woodward joked with her husband. This time, director Newman asked her to play the role of mother in Tennessee Williams, the most famous American playwright's autobiographical work.

   "Oh, I just thought she was the best woman I've ever met."

  The two are model couples in Hollywood. After their marriage, they have been deeply in love and have never had any scandals.

  …

   "Do you think their movie can win?" After watching the movie, Ronald asked Minahan Golan, who was with him.

"It's a good movie, but we cannon's 'Shy' is not bad. Andre's directing skills are still very recognized by Europeans, plus the heroine Barbara Hershey has just played Woody Allen's 'Sister Hannah', the Chinese people recognize him very much."

  Meinahan answered the question, but Ronald understood. In the two films that Hollywood participated in, he was more optimistic about the "shy people" produced by his company. Although director Andrei Konchalovsky no longer has the nationality of the Souvelle Union, he is still popular in Europe, and the judges of the Union nationality in the jury will not be too embarrassed for him.

   "How about 'Under the Sun of Satan' by the Chinese?" Ronald asked again.

   "They haven't won the Palme d'Or in Cannes for 20 years, and they probably won't be able to this year either." Minahan felt that Hair Country Films had fallen behind in an all-round way, and no longer had the momentum of the new wave leading the world trend.

  …

"Then they have a better chance." After returning to the hotel, Ronald and his agent Richard also discussed the ownership of the Palme d'Or, "This year is the 40th anniversary of Cannes, so it's better to keep the Palme d'Or in the country. Very appropriate. The owner of the Palme d'Or, the chairman of the jury, Yves Montan, is a native of the country."

"It makes sense for you to say that. I really don't understand these awards. I almost fell asleep watching those hair-haired movies. Fortunately, we have completed our obligations in Cannes and are about to return to China." Luo Nader took the time to watch a lot of Cannes films, and to be honest, not many of them looked good.

  European films always give people a feeling that the director’s personal color is too strong. Ordinary audiences who watch these films may not understand what they are expressing.

  For example, "Under Satan's Sunshine" tells the story of a priest, a country girl, who met the devil's upper body in the twenties.

  Don't say that Ronald didn't understand the "deep content" that the director wanted to express, and the audience who went to the premiere didn't understand either.

   The guests in tuxedos and bow ties were already whistling and stomping their feet in protest when they saw it. At the end of the movie, more than half of the audience had already left.

   "When you are interviewed, don't be so direct." Richard reminded Ronald not to be so obvious when he was interviewed by the media in Cannes.

   "I'm not that stupid."

   In order to promote "Spicy Dancing" this time, Ronald also asked the media to accept this special purpose interview. For the other party to be able to say good things about their movies, of course, it will not make the hair country media unhappy. They are waiting 20 years for the Palme d'Or to return to the embrace of the Chinese people.

   "Yeah, I love this movie, this is the second time I've brought a dance movie to the Cannes premiere.

  I like the hair country very much, and the history of hair country movies. Mr. Truffaut's "Day to Night" is my favorite movie about making movies.

  Yes, the actors in the hair country are very unique, I look forward to working with them one day

  …”

   For each media, Ronald gave about 10 minutes. Anyway, the questions and answers were the same every time, and he didn’t waste his mind.

For more than 20 media, you have to smile with enthusiasm every time. Even if the other party asks a very stupid question, which is the 20th time you have heard it, you should treat it as the best question. Give it a compliment, then repeat the boring standard answer aside.

   "Who will win the Palme d'Or this year? That depends on the jury. My personal favorite is "Glass Menagerie" directed by Paul Newman and "Shy Man" directed by Konchalovsky.

   are all Hollywood movies, so of course, I am American, hahaha. "

   "I saw you at the premiere of 'Under the Sun of Satan' yesterday, Director Ronald, you seem to be asleep, don't you like that movie?"

   During the last few media interviews, Ronald suddenly heard a slightly out of line question. He looked at the other reporter, a thin and gloomy man, but with a pair of stubborn eyes.

"I think I may have lost my mind. Actually, I don't dislike it. I don't deny it. Compared with these films from Hair Country, which participated in the competition in Cannes this year, I prefer the 'First Kiss' produced by Gao Meng a few years ago, and Truly. Those films, perhaps for me, an American, make it easier to understand a well-formed story."

  Ronald expressed his attitude softly but firmly, you are right, I just don't like that "Under the Sun of Satan". Besides, I'm not alone in wanting to sleep. Your guests of the hair country also protested that the movie was too boring.

   Then he emphasized that I still like the director and actors of the hair country very much, but I don't like this kind of tricky stuff, involving religion, devil, human nature and other advanced concepts, but it doesn't look good.

"You said that you like Truffaut's films, do you only like the films with capital investment from him. New wave film directors like him, the kind of left-wing films made by Godard, have no capital participation, only for the purpose of You don't like movies made by the public?"

   "Oh..." Ronald raised his eyebrows, why did such a reporter come.

   Ronald quietly flipped through the business cards on the table. It was a left-wing national newspaper, The Humane. Looking at those stubborn eyes again, Ronald knew that he must have encountered that kind of paranoid reporter.

   "I do prefer Truffaut to Godard."

  Since the other party came up with prejudice and said that he was a capital movie, a Hollywood director, then just admit it and forget it.

   In addition to his "exhausted" debut, Godard's later films often don't even have a script, and the actors are automatically played throughout the whole process.

  This year he filmed "King Lear", except that the name has something to do with Shakespeare, the plot is completely inexplicable. Hollywood's teenage goddess Molly Ringwald got into his hands, completely lost and played very poorly, and Ringwald himself was confused.

   "I think Mr. Truffaut's path, to make films for audiences, not for government funding and awards, is the right one. I've always followed his teachings that way."

  Anyway, Truffaut was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Cannes this year. I used his ideas to fight back against Godard’s unhealthy shooting philosophy, and I couldn’t find anything wrong.

   "Are you only able to make films for Hollywood capitalists?" The reporter continued to insist.

   "Okay, the time is up, that's it." Richard came to intervene and asked the Humanitarian reporter to leave.

   "It's really weird for the people in the country to hold a high position for movies they don't like." Ronald complained to Richard.

   "Besides, my hot dance was filmed by myself. In principle, I am not a director who works for capitalists. I am a capitalist, okay?"

"Hahaha, forget it, Ronald. There are many left-wing people in the hair country. Their film market is protected by the government, and after the project is established, there will be high government subsidies. Finally, the government-led Caesars Awards determine the future subsidies. Where to go. There are indeed many deep wells."

   Ronald also smiled, "Fortunately, Cannes is judged by the judges, unlike the Caesar Awards, which are awarded by the government of the country."

  …

"Hollywood directors make a lot of nonsense, thinking that only movies that please the audience are good movies. The audience needs to be guided, not just satisfied with that kind of superficial satisfaction, but should make some movies that require them to think before they can comprehend, so that Only then can the overall quality of the nation be improved.”

   The next day, Ronald and Richard packed their bags and prepared to return home. The newly published "Humanitarian" also criticized his own ideas by name. At the same time, he touted hair country director Maurice Piara "under the sun of Satan".

"Actually, there is some truth to what he said, but if the audience thinks too much, they will lose their minds and stop watching your movie. For a movie, let them stop and think three to five times at most, one second at a time. Exceeding it is a disaster. "

  Ronald laughed when he looked at the newspaper. These Chinese people were out of the market, out of the audience, relying on the Caesar Awards and comments from a small circle of people. Some opinions are really delusions without actual experience.

   After more than ten hours, the plane stopped at Los Angeles International Airport. Ronald came out yawning and greeted little Bud with Richard who came to pick him up.

"The Cannes Film Festival awards, hair country director Maurice Piara 'Under the Sun of Satan', in a very controversial way, won the Palme d'Or. It is reported that when the film was screened, most of the The audience protested at the end."

  At the luggage carousel at the airport, Ronald looked up at the TV news and found the local entertainment news when Ronald heard unexpected news.

   "No way, you gave the Palme d'Or to that movie just for his 40th birthday?" Ronald carefully looked at the scrolling subtitles below. It was indeed the Palme d'Or, not a small award from the judges.

"Hey, are you from Hair Country? Is that movie good?" A traveler waiting for his luggage, also a movie fan, saw that Ronald was also interested in this Cannes, and asked him how the Palme d'Or movie was like .

   "It's not really like a movie. Hypnosis is good." Ronald put on his sunglasses and walked out of the airport.

   In the days that followed, there was a lot of discussion about this controversial award in the film industry. The chairman of the jury, Yves Montan, is a close friend of the Grand Prix director Maurice Piara, and they have appeared in films together before. Rumors circulated that it was he who insisted that Maurice Piara won the award.

   It is reported that some Hollywood people have criticized the chairman of the jury of Yves Montan.

The   hair country, and even the European film circle, have initiated discussions on this award. Such a movie that was disliked by the audience, but because of the love of people in the circle, it beat all other competitors and won the grand prize.

  Should the movie be made for the audience, or for some people in the circle? Film reviews and reviews in newspapers have been fighting this pen for a long time.

  Finally, this debate also caused a great division among the general public.

  Because this Cannes competition was relatively fair, this award was returned to the director of the hair country, so Francois, the commander of the hair country, made a special speech to express his congratulations.

  François lost his Socialist Party in the parliamentary elections last year. The right won a parliamentary majority and elected Jacques as prime minister.

The political situation of the   hair country has split as the chief commander and the prime minister actually belong to the left and the right. Both sides are competing for votes on everything.

   Prime Minister Jacques expressed different opinions after Francois's statement. In an interview, it was said that "under the sun of Satan" had too much negative content about the church and made the audience think too long.

Jacques also joked at the end that if he went to the movies with his wife and daughter, he would not choose to be in the sunshine of Satan, and would rather watch a relaxing dance movie like "Spicy Dance". Family value movie for a great night out.

   "Hey, can I save this passage and put it on our movie poster?" Ronald heard this interview and immediately thought of evaluating him as the most authoritative audience.

   "We don't have much problem using public news reports." Michelle Cannold also came back from Cannes and is reporting on "The release of Hot Dance."

   He immediately instructed his colleagues in the distribution department to extract the original text of Prime Minister Jacques. People in the hair country know that Prime Minister Jacques likes to watch movies, and his news is also well-informed, knowing that "Spicy Body Dance" is about father and daughter. It seems that his public relations team, deliberately chosen for him to be different from François's image is very effective.

  "Under the Sun of Satan is a masterpiece, and while it deals with theology and rises to an astonishing test of faith, the film has a thoroughly secular flair.

   This is one of the many things that make it fascinating. It's a very delicate piece of work, with a certain degree of difficulty and great mastery that demands and deserves close attention. "

   Ronald flipped through America's newspapers in Daydream's office, and found the Chicago Sun's praise for his coverage of Cannes.

   "I especially appreciate the director's attitude towards the author's films and his persistence in his work. In the controversy after he won the Palme d'Or, he said the famous words of the film artist:

   I know some people don't like me and I'm going to tell them I don't like you either. "

   Ronald was shocked and speechless when he saw the director's words. If in Hollywood, after being scolded by the audience like this, and scolding the audience, I am afraid that I will not be able to get the job of a director in the future.

   "This is the way the people of the hair country are." Cannold is of French descent and understands this kind of thing very well. Hair people always like to be independent.

   "And the Chicago Sun, how much did Albert charge them for such shameless praise?"

   "It's a good thing. If you can take other people's money, you can take our money, and you can tout the hot dance. Our premiere has been decided to be in mid-July."

   (end of this chapter)