Chapter 40 Oscar Promotional War
The mastermind behind this is "Ronggui" who is also the favorite to win the prize. United Artists, the film's distributor, also began to exert its efforts in the media, criticizing "The Deer Hunter" from the audience's perspective for being tedious and making up Russian roulette scenes.
In this way, Ronald unfortunately got involved in the scolding war between two major Oscar-winning films. Stealing the "show" on TV.
Every day when walking on the road, people would recognize him and ask him if he was "Sleepy Luo". Some people agreed with Ronald's assessment and smiled and wanted to high-five him. There are also some fans of "The Deer Hunter" who cursed him for not understanding the movie and talking nonsense.
Ronald had no choice but to put on his sunglasses and go out and spend time in Chinatown every day. No one there cared about him attacking a Vietnam War movie.
After a few days, Sleepy Luo's fever subsided slightly. Then the feud unexpectedly led to the issue of director Michael Cimino's integrity.
Speaking of which, director Michael Cimino himself has to be blamed for this.
Because the plot of Russian roulette in the film is absurd and bizarre, such a scene would not be possible in any modern war, not to mention the Vietnam War. What if the officer forces the prisoner to play Russian roulette with a revolver, and if nothing else, the prisoner shoots you several times with a gun and dies with you?
This put a lot of pressure on Universal, the publisher of "The Deer Hunter".
Universal had a rigorous plan from the beginning, releasing the film for only one week in 1978 to meet Oscar criteria. Most of the guests invited to watch the movie are Oscar judges and family members. This has two benefits.
First, it is a disguised compliment to the judges. Being able to watch the movie "The Deer Hunter" is a status symbol. In addition, it is said that during the screening, the judges received accompanying gifts. So after a week of screenings last year, all the media was saying was rave reviews.
Secondly, it has also created a hungry movie in the market with rave reviews, but ordinary audiences cannot see it. If it can take advantage of the good reviews and win several important nominations for the Oscars, then if it is released to the public, the audience will be there in a short time. Come to the cinema within the time to take a sneak peek, the box office numbers will be great.
This is why Universal packaged "The Deer Hunter" from the beginning as a reflective film reflecting the humanity of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War has ended nearly four years ago, but the huge scars caused in America continue to tear apart society. If there is a movie that can seize the opportunity and capture the trauma of the Vietnam War on society, then the box office will not be far behind.
However, the key plot was fabricated and the Russian roulette scene was announced to the public by competitors through the media, which had a great impact on Universal's box office plans.
At this time, director Michael Cimino jumped out to defend the authenticity of this plot in order to win awards and protect the box office. He said that during the Vietnam War, he was a medical soldier in the Green Berets of the US Army. He was sent to the front line and participated in the 1968 "Spring Offensive" that led to the capture of the protagonist in the film. He also said that things several times more exaggerated than this happened in the Vietnam battlefield.
But if you calculate it this way, the age of director Michael Cimino does not match the time when recruits were recruited for the 1968 Spring Offensive. The recruits in 1968 were generally born around 1950 and are less than 30 years old this year, but the director looks almost 40.
Faced with this problem, Michael Cimino claimed in an interview with Daily Variety that he was born in 1952 and is only 27 years old this year.
"Have you ever seen such a greasy 27-year-old fat man? His hairline is so far back and he has a fat double chin. You are only 27? Who are you fooling?"
Ronnie complained to Gail at an Italian restaurant near New World Studios. In order to find someone to discuss how to deal with the Sleepy Luo incident, Ronald specially invited Gale out for lunch.
"Hahaha, Sleepy Luo. Don't be angry." Gale also teased him.
"Will this matter have any impact on me, Gale? You have worked with Mr. Coleman for so long and have seen a lot. I always have a gut feeling that this matter will come back to me in the future."
"Well, yes, you have been intensively reported by the media in the past two days. The TV stations are showing the two interview clips where you criticized 'The Deer Hunter'." Gale smiled, "There is also a clip of yawning."
Ronald rolled up the spaghetti with his fork viciously and ate it in one bite, accompanied by minced meat and tomato sauce.
"But I am innocent. I actually said good things, but the damn TV station edited my words to look like that."
"Don't be angry, Ronald. You have been in the editing room and you know that editing can go against the original intention, or even produce completely opposite meanings. What the media likes most is popularity. Now these two Vietnam War movies, for Oscar hits so hard you actually get sucked into it.”
"Then what can I do?"
"There's nothing you can do, Ronald. Of course, there's nothing you need to do," Gale said.
"Then I just watch?" Ronald was still angry.
"In a way, yes, you just wait until after the Oscars and there won't be any media attention on Sleepy Rowe anymore."
It seems that’s all that can be done.
Ronald sighed secretly, "Has the time for the preview of Rock and Roll High School been confirmed?"
"Let me take a look." Gale took out his notebook and checked it. "Yes, it has been set for April 10, the day after the Oscars."
At this time, the TV hanging from the ceiling of the restaurant was turned on by the boss, "This is the KNBC channel (NBC's regional station in Los Angeles). The director of the Oscar-nominated Best Director and the biggest dark horse of this Oscar's 'The Deer Hunter' was interviewed by this station. , to clarify his service experience..."
Michael Cimino held out his fat double chin and talked to the camera:
"The screenwriter of the movie accused me of robbing him of his work? No, no, I am a very good screenwriter myself. I wrote my last movie myself. The first draft he wrote? It was pure rubbish. I overturned everything I got. Write."
"What is Sleepy Luo's point of view? He accuses me of making movies that make people drowsy? I want to say that if this is Sleepy Luo's true point of view, I advise him not to take this path of film. The perception of beauty and art is Talent, with talent like his, no matter how hard he works, it will be difficult to get ahead in the film industry."
Ronald slapped the table angrily, and the bang attracted everyone's attention. He was so frightened that he also shrank his neck, turned up his collar, and put on his sunglasses, "I'm sorry, Gale, I didn't mean to do it. "
"People who know me well know that I like to joke, and sometimes I will half-joke during interviews. 27 years old? Of course it is half-joking, because I am young, so I want to try your reporter's lowest skills. Believe me how old I am. In fact, I was born in 1949 and I am 30 years old this year."
"I believe you." Ronald muttered angrily.
For the next few days, Ronald had no choice but to pretend not to see the news and deceive himself as if he was hiding his ears. He couldn't see Sleepy Luo yawning on the TV. Fortunately, the media gradually began to shift the focus, and his yawns appeared less and less on TV.
I called Mara several times but couldn't coax her back. He probably made her lose face in front of her classmates, and she would not be able to calm down easily in a short time.
As the days pass by, the competition for Oscars this year is more intense than in previous years. "The Deer Hunter" director Michael Cimino is under fire over his birth age. His defenses became increasingly weak. The year of birth retreated from 49 to 47, to 45, and finally stopped at 43.
Director Fatty's mouth has no credibility in the film industry, and the public has no good impression of a person who keeps telling lies about his age. Therefore, everyone is generally skeptical of the Russian Roulette plot, thinking that director and screenwriter Michael Cimino made it up himself.
At this time, Universal Pictures, which had already bet heavily on "The Deer Hunter" to win awards, finally struck back.
Instead of wasting ammunition on Fat Boy Cimino's age, they went straight to attack Jane Fonda opposite him.
First of all, Universal united the main actors, nominated Robert De Niro for the Oscar for Best Actor, Christopher Walken for the Best Supporting Actor, and newcomer Meryl Streep for the Best Supporting Actress. Stand up for the director.
The three men were interviewed on television. The main argument was that Russian Roulette was not about the Vietnam War, but a possibility. The Deer Hunter is not about the Vietnam War, but about the possibility of any war. Fat Boy director Michael Cimino, he is about the human reaction to any war.
The audience does not need to be serious about whether the plot actually happened on the Vietnam battlefield. When watching the movie, you should focus on the beautiful shots and the destruction of human nature from war.
"So Russian Roulette is a fabrication, not the Vietnam War, but a false reference to any war. The male protagonist returned to his hometown and snatched his friend's fiancée. This is the war's destruction of human nature, and it is a criticism of the Vietnam War's destruction of human nature."
Ronald complained to Cameron angrily. I happened to come to the Special Effects Model Factory that day to have lunch and chat with Cameron.
"Anyway, this fat guy has a point!"
Universal first threw up a smokescreen to justify the Russian roulette plot.
Then they pulled off a real coup, catching a fatal mistake on the part of "Homecoming" heroine Jane Fonda.
Jane Fonda has said many times that "Homecoming" is the better Vietnam War movie at this Oscar. But in a TV interview, Jane Fonda admitted that she had never seen "The Deer Hunter."
Having never seen "The Deer Hunter" and saying that his "The Return" was stronger than his opponent, Universal seized on this and launched an all-out attack in the media. This time it was the turn of the "The Return" crew and Jane Fonda to be embarrassed.
