Ronald was very familiar with Ingrid Bergman. One of America TV's favorite old movies was "Casablanca" in which she starred. Before breaking into the film industry, I watched it on TV several times.
Martin Scorsese's movie appreciation class also included "Gaslight" and "Anastasia" starring her. This shows the director's high regard for her.
Gaslight was too sensational for its story of a husband psychologically abusing the wife she played. So much so that the word "gaslighting" in English has evolved into a proper noun, specifically describing men's psychological tricks to abuse women.
The late beauty who came down the stairs was wearing a cashmere shawl. She was graceful and generous, yet still had a kind attitude. Ronald saw the emperor superstar for the first time in life, and the aura of the star was really powerful.
The black-haired beauty Isabella, who looked very similar to her, stepped forward and hugged Bergman's arm, "It's Ronald. He is Marty's student. He saw me just now and said that if I make a movie, I can play your role." Daughter, mother.”
Bergman stepped forward and held Ronald's hands, "Isabella, like Pia, is my daughter. You are Marty's student, which is good."
All the guests came forward to surround Bergman and squeeze Ronald out of the inner circle. It seems that they were all fans of Bergman back then. The idol has now forgotten his identity and status, only his admiration from back then is still there.
Bergman also had a very high level of hospitality. He would say a word or two to everyone, making people feel that he was not being looked down upon.
Ronald looked around, looking for Helen. Pia was introducing Helen to her mother, and Ronald felt a little bored. He turned around and picked up another glass of sparkling water and drank it alone.
Bergman had surgery a few years ago and his health has never been very good. After talking to everyone, he retreated to his room to rest.
Pia found Ronald at this time, "Ronald, what are you majoring in at New York University now? Are you interested in coming to the TV station? We have a lot of advertisements, maybe I can arrange for you to appear."
"I want to be a film director. In fact, I just got a job directing a chewing gum commercial and I'm currently casting for it."
"You surprised me many times tonight, Ronald," said Pia. "Why not cast Helen? Wouldn't she be perfect?"
Ronald looked at Helen. She was indeed tall enough to play a college student. "Of course, I guess it would be fine for her to appear in one of the 15-second commercials."
"I will tell Gerald that you will send her back to her father tonight." Pia made the arrangements and called again.
"Gerald, your daughter has chosen a very good male companion tonight. He is a student of my brother-in-law Marty at New York University. He has also received a job directing TV commercials. He will let Helen appear in the scene. ... Don't worry, he is filming Chewing gum commercial. Yes, Helen needed a platform to start her career in acting. After all, she went to an acting college."
"His name is Ronald. He is a good young man. I haven't inquired about his family background yet, but to be able to direct TV commercials in college is either because of his extraordinary talent or because of his excellent family. Yes, I will let him send Helen back. You can check it out yourself. .My mother will live in New York for a while to see her grandchildren. Please call me when you have time."
After Bergman left, some of the guests took their leave. Helen and Pia went to talk, leaving him to wait to send Helen home. Ronald dozed off on the couch.
"Ronald, do you want to find a place to sleep?" A female voice with a Swedish accent woke Ronald up.
"Ms. Bergman, I'm sorry. It's been a long day for me and I accidentally fell asleep." Unexpectedly, Ingrid Bergman came out and saw him dozing off on the sofa, so she kindly woke him up.
"Helen's father is a decision-maker at PBS. My daughter Pia works at CBS, so sometimes she is a little impatient. I hope you don't mind. How did you meet Helen? I heard Pia said she would bring a male companion. Come." Bergman asked Ronald with a smile.
Ronald felt that even though Bergman was nearly 60 years old, it was still hard to resist the charm of the star, so he told the story of how he picked up Helen at the door of Club 54, "I'm afraid that the booked male companion was the same Howard who left Helen behind. .”
"Hahaha..." Bergman smiled heartily, without any of the coy gestures of early Hollywood women. "Your experience reminds me of my ex-husband, Isabella's father, the Italian director Rossellini. At that time, I also accidentally saw his movie, so I wrote to him. It was all a coincidence."
"Ms. Bergman, I like your performance very much." Ronald realized that Pia and Isabella might not be born to the same father, and there might be some stories in between, so he deliberately changed the subject.
"You are so young, and all you watch are the movies I made when I was old."
"Of course that's not the case. I watched a lot of copies of old movies at New York University. It's a place where you can rarely see Hollywood classics and foreign classics. I watched them very carefully."
"Then which movie of mine do you like best?" Bergman rarely saw a young man in his 20s who had watched his early performances.
"Everyone in America loves 'Casablanca,' but I love 'Princess' even more."
"Oh, why?" Bergman was very interested. Casablanca was actually her game, and being loved was completely unexpected. "Princess" was her first movie back in Hollywood after the cheating scandal, and she also won her second Oscar for Best Actress. She also liked it very much.
Ronald wondered where to start?
"I like your lines the most, Ms. Bergman. In that movie, whether it was Yul Brynner who played opposite you or the Empress Dowager, all the actors' lines were very good. It was like two fishes, talking to each other. Chasing each other’s tail. I rarely see lines like that performed in movies.”
"Oh, yes. You're very talented, Ronald, and I have my favorite line in that movie. The Queen Mother was played by Helen Hayes, who was also an Oscar-winning actress and was the queen of Broadway before she retired."
After hearing Bergman talk about talent, Ronald took the opportunity to ask a question that he had not understood for a long time:
"Ms. Bergman, I have always been confused about what talent is in the film and television industry. I don't know if I have talent. And it is difficult to survive in this industry without talent."
Seeing that Bergman listened attentively, Ronald added: "I mean, if I finish college and work as an editor or a technician on a shooting set, it will not be difficult to get a salary. But I want to be a director and a leader. A movie requires some special talent, and I don’t know if I have that special talent.”
Bergman tightened his shawl, seeming a little uncomfortable.
Ronald stood up, walked to the cocktail table, picked up two pieces of ginger and put them into the cup, then added a spoonful of coconut oil, then a piece of sugar, squeezed the juice with a juicer, filtered it, added mineral water, and handed it over. To Bergman.
"It's a family recipe that my aunt often gives me when I'm not feeling well. It works great."
Bergman took it and drank half of it. Sure enough, the area where he had recently had his second surgery felt much better.
"Thank you, that works."
Ronald copied down the prescription with a pen and handed it to Bergman.
Bergman organized the language as follows:
"Since you can think of these questions, I'm sure you do have the talent to be a director.
It takes a special talent to direct, and some of the directors I've worked with were willing to let the actors do what they wanted, while others stipulated that the actors must do what they told them to do. But they all have one thing in common, which is that they must be well aware of the actor's performance effects.
Many directors are also very good actors themselves. Actors are a tool for them to achieve the final picture, but actors are not objects. They must master the method that allows us to perform comfortably. In short, I think the talent of a director is the ability to drive actors to perform the results they want. "
At this time, Pia came over to persuade her mother to go back to rest, and Ronald and Bergman said goodbye.
Helen also finished talking to Pia, and Ronald was ready to send her back to his father's home. The hostesses sent the two young people downstairs, and when the elevator door closed, Ronald saw Isabella greeting him, as if to say, "We'll meet again when we have the chance."
After Helen got in the car, she immediately apologized to Ronald, "I didn't know Aunt Pia and the others would regard you as my classmate Howard. I have made it clear to them and will not embarrass you."
"It doesn't matter, Helen. Pia also proposed that you star in a TV commercial for Chewels chewing gum directed by me. I will talk to your father later. I hope he can let you participate."
"Really? What will I do?" Speaking of acting, Helen became energetic again.
"It's a college student, and it lasts about 15 seconds for someone like this to be an intern in a company." Ronald answered.
"Gum? My dad would agree. He always cares about me. I haven't seen him much since he divorced my mom."
It turns out that this is the case. No wonder the father and daughter still send messages through Pia.
The car arrived at the Upper East Side, where Helen's father Gerald lived in this traditional and noble community.
A middle-aged man stood in front of the door. After his daughter Helen got out of the car, he immediately hugged her.
"You must be Ronald, thank you for sending my daughter back. I am Gerald Slater." Gerald took out a business card and handed it to Ronald, "I heard about you from Pia If you have any difficulties shooting the Chewels chewing gum commercial, you can come to me."
"Dad, do you agree with me to participate in the advertising shoot?" Helen asked from the side.
"You have to show me the script first...Ronald." Then Gerald said to his daughter, "Yes, I agree in principle..."
Father and daughter said goodbye to Ronald.
Ronald raised his hand and saw that the business card said:
Gerald Slater
CEO
PBS television station
