"The two major writers' unions in the East and West conducted the final vote on the collective bargaining agreement. The vote was overwhelming 5:1, and finally agreed to the Producers Alliance's fourth offer and signed a collective bargaining agreement for the next four years. Although Union negotiator Walton said the conditions this time were no better than before, but the writers had the votes to answer."
Ronald watched NBC's live broadcast of the end of the strike from his home in New York. When a screenwriter was asked how he thought the goal of their strike had not been accomplished, he blurted out that he had not worked for a long time. These terms were good, but he had to go to a pawn shop to redeem his wife's diamond ring with the advance payment.
"Dingdong..."
"coming"
Ronald opened the door and went to Times Square with little Bud. Today, the two leading actors, Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron, as well as Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, will sign contracts there and take custom photos.
Although Ronald hasn't come up with a reasonable ending twist yet, the final photos should be taken first. At the same time, scripts that have not yet been finalized will be sent to the Hollywood Producers Alliance for preparation. Promotional photos must be sent to the Hollywood Reporter newspaper, which will report the news of each project.
"Meg, Billy...", Ronald greeted the two leading actors, and a female photographer started taking photos of the two people who had put on their costumes.
Costumes are very important to the shaping of film actors. When Meg Ryan was filming "Top Gun", a dress showed her typical southern girl characteristics. Now she wears a gray coat and white shirt, plus a bob haircut, which is typical of professional women in northern big cities. The demeanor is very full.
"Give me an idea... Well, let's have a pleasant one. Now your idea is too negative. Good, I like this idea." The photographer was giving Meg Ryan instructions on how to pose.
"Huh?" Ronald felt friendly at first sight. This method of guiding his subjects was something he used a lot when he was a photographer. Is it possible that the two of them are from the same faction?
Seeing that she had taken photos of Billy and Meg, Ronald stepped forward to say hello to her.
"Hello……"
"Michelle, Michelle Singer." The female photographer tightened the camera strap, then stretched out her hand to shake Ronald's hand.
"Can I teach you Michelle? I really like how you take photos. I wonder when I can see them?"
"If you are in a hurry, I will send someone to rush it immediately. You can see the samples within an hour." The photographer smoothed his hair.
"Any questions?" Rob Reiner came over and asked. Although he is no longer the director, he is still the financier and co-producer of the film.
"No, I'm talking to Ms. Singer, the photographer. This is Rob and this is Michelle." Ronald introduced them to each other.
"Hello..." The two of them chatted, seemingly in a good mood.
"I bet you that Rob is going to ask her out." Nora Ephron came over and whispered in Ronald's ear.
"Really?" Ronald asked with a smile. Nora, like other female screenwriters, was extremely sensitive to this kind of gossip.
"Believe me, she's just Rob's type." Nora Ephron also arranged her hair.
"I believe you..." Ronald felt that to a certain extent, Nora and Rob were the prototypes of Harry and Sally in the script, and they really didn't call. But they knew each other very well, so she was the first to capture the information about what kind of women Rob Reiner liked.
"Well, yes, these photos are very good." More than an hour later, Ronald got the photos. Michelle Singer's photography has strong contrast and excellent use of color. It seems that it can use color to narrate the scene. The ability to empathize.
"It's really a great work. This is the best film work photo I have ever seen." Rob Reiner and Michelle chatted non-stop. He was still not satisfied with Ronald's praise and insisted on It has been increased by several levels.
Nora Ephron looked at Ronald and blinked, as if to say, I told you...
"You're right, Rob. These photos are very suitable for commercial use. Ms. Singer, I wonder what work arrangements you have next?" Ronald was satisfied with the quality and the other party's charges were also very fair.
"No work arrangements? Then if you are interested in continuing to work for us, I have two more movies, Steel Magnolias and Love in the Heart, which were shot in Louisiana and Los Angeles respectively. Can you please take it too? "
"This... what about the travel expenses?" Michelle hesitated.
"Of course we're going, Rob happens to be going to the Louisiana scene, he can go with you."
"We also have a travel subsidy..." Seeing that the other party was still a little hesitant, Ronald immediately proposed the subsidy. With Rob Lena encouraging him, she nodded and agreed.
"You're really good..." Nora Ephron watched this scene, waited for Rob and Michelle to leave, and came over to joke with Ronald.
"Confucius said that a gentleman has the beauty of adulthood."
…
"Have you thought about how to deal with the twist at the end?" Ronald and Nora Ephron continued to discuss the script all afternoon. She also wanted to see Ronald's screenwriting skills.
"Hey..." Ronald stood up and stretched. Ephron's level is very high. When we discuss with her, we get a lot of inspiration. In the past, I would write the script by myself, but now I have a team of screenwriters to discuss it, and the brainstorming effect is better.
"There will always be a way. Let's think about it separately first. Whoever has inspiration can come back."
It's about the final twist at the end. How could Harry figure out his true love, the on-again, off-again Sally, whom he couldn't stand at first, but later found a tacit understanding with?
The two still had no clue, but they were able to handle it naturally and reasonably. The audience believed that this story could happen, and they were also moved.
"Hey..., I'll go back and think about it. If Harry and Sally are separated in the end, I won't be willing to do it. No matter what their final outcome is, they deserve a marriage together." Nora Ive raised her eyebrows She picked up the draft of the script and left.
"Where do you want to eat?" Little Bud waited for a while, but didn't see Ronald coming out, so he came in and asked.
"I'm not very hungry. Let's just walk around in midtown Manhattan." Ronald put the script away and handed it to Little Bud. The two got into the car. Driving slowly and aimlessly through the streets of Midtown.
Ronald felt a sense of boredom and wanted to find a reason to help Harry figure out that Sally was the woman he was destined to be in this life. Under what circumstances can a person suddenly realize that he wants to marry another person? How could Harry save Sally's heart from being broken by running away?
Ronald opened the car window, and the outside air entered the fully air-conditioned car. A familiar smell came, and Ronald seemed to have returned to the time when he just worked on the crew of "Famous".
The sultry heat, along with the special smell of a lot of garbage in Midtown that had no time to clean up, got into Ronald's nose and suddenly turned on the switch of memories, causing his thoughts to fly back to seven or eight years ago.
"Stop..." Ronald discovered that the car was near the high school where he was filmed. How did he win the heart of Antonia Franceschi when he was dumped by Meg Tilly?
"Isn't this the place where you made famous movies? I also wanted to be an actor at that time, but unfortunately I couldn't be on the crew because I was not old enough." Little Bud also recognized this place.
Ronald asked Bud for a cigarette and leaned outside the car door to smoke.
"Hey...handsome guy, do you want me to accompany you?"
The area near Times Square was full of such wandering warblers. When they saw that Ronald had a luxury car, he stopped again, and immediately two scantily clad women came over to say hello.
"Stand back..." Little Bud took out the standard training posture in the Marine Corps. He spread his legs, raised his chest and raised his head, making a gesture of keeping away from the women.
"Let's go..." Ronald felt bored and asked little Bud to get in the car.
"Go downtown, past Chinatown, and in front of Sanchez Street in Little Italy. There is a pizza shop. The margaritas there are delicious."
Ronald showed the way, and little Bud sent him to the place where the four of them dated and Ronald and Antonia were attracted to each other.
He wanted to relive the mood at that time and maybe give some inspiration for the script.
"I've been here before, Lucy took me here a few times."
"Well..." Ronald looked at the same authentic pizza shop opened by Italians. Everything was the same as the place where he and Antonia celebrated the birthday of the black male protagonist Gene, Bud's girlfriend Lucy We also came together at that time.
Everything, the taste of the pizza, the decoration of the store, and the queues of diners, have remained the same. But it seems everything has changed.
People are no longer what they used to be, and instead of playing disco in the store, they play MJ songs.
Why didn't he propose to Antonia back then?
Ronald recalled his past. He once dreamed that he and Antonia went to a church for a wedding. It was a very beautiful dream. Antonia held a simple wedding with him in the church under a white veil. After the marriage, Antonia gave up her ballet career and ironed her own clothes.
By the way, they separated just because they both wanted to pursue their careers. Ronald had also promised to donate money to Antonia's ballet company and be a philanthropist, so that Antonia could concentrate on dancing.
Ronald suddenly felt melancholy in his heart...
At that time, if I were not a director, I would find a job, open a photography studio, and then buy a small house on Staten Island with Antonia, and send her to take the ferry to work at the City Ballet in Manhattan every day.
In short, in the end, as long as there is one person who wants to be with the other person more than he desires his own career. Now, maybe it’s another life.
"Let's go back first..."
An idea suddenly came to Ronald's mind to go see Antonia. How is she doing?
…
Early the next morning, Ronald called his agent Richard and asked him to help find Antonia's whereabouts.
"What, do you want to marry Antonia?" Richard rarely saw such sentimental Ronald, and felt strange. blurted out.
However, artists are often like this. Sometimes they will suddenly develop a huge liking for a woman for no reason. Many directors have this moment when they find their muse in their careers.
This is often the most creative moment in their directorial career.
Ronald has never been so crazy about a woman. Could it be that at this time, the muse still occupied his mind?
"No, no..." Ronald shook his head. It was difficult for him to explain this mentality.
"I just had a strong idea to meet Antonia. I chose my career at that time, not her. I couldn't sleep last night, always thinking about what would have happened if I had made another choice?
I want to meet her. It’s a natural desire, right? "
"I understand..." Richard nodded, what else doesn't he understand? The moment of madness that an artist is destined to have finally comes to his client. Although Ronald has always seemed mature over the years, this is a situation that every genius in the art industry will encounter.
Inside CAA, we are prepared for this situation.
"I can ask, but I have to understand your thoughts first. If you find her, what do you want to do? Rekindle your dream with this girl, or resume the relationship as a couple, or do you want to meet her first? , decide again?" Richard is not worried about what will happen between Ronald and the ballerina, there are standard control procedures for this. Richard had also helped Ronald deal with many such matters before.
What he was worried about was if Ronald became too crazy. They publicly announced their relationship, or even went one step further and wanted to get married. This is a very risky matter because it is unknown what condition this woman is in now.
"That's not the case. Antonia and I were not coveting each other's things at that time. We really liked each other." Ronald felt that Richard thought of himself a little bit.
"You find out what position she holds and tell me. I'll make a donation to the New York City Ballet where she's at, so I can help her out and make her a principal or something."
"Uh...", Richard thought in alarm. This is purely an emotional need, not a desire. As soon as I start, I want to be the patron of an old ballet company. It's broken, it's really broken...
"I'll give Niceta a call, he's a little more familiar with this old-school stuff."
Richard hurriedly left and went to crisis management.
"What does he want? To be a patron? This doesn't sound like what a young and powerful director would say. It's something that can only be done by an old director who has achieved fame but has exhausted his artistic creation and can no longer make movies."
Niceta was also anxious. This was a kind of madness unique to Hollywood artists. Every artist has his own weaknesses and obsessions.
Just like Tom Cruise wants to work with a big director to get an Oscar nomination. Marty Scorsese wants to make a Jesus movie. Spielberg likes actresses who look like cats…
Ronald's parents died when he was young, and he has not had any stable emotions for so many years. Maybe he is tired of dealing with beautiful women and wants to settle down?
But even if you want to settle down, an actress who you haven't seen for seven or eight years is definitely not the best choice.
"I'll fly to New York right away..."
Niceta flew to New York quickly, and after meeting Richard, she asked urgently, "Is Antonia still at the New York City Ballet?"
"No, she just resigned not long ago. The founder and soul of the City Ballet, George Balanchine, passed away a few years ago. Antonia was the last batch of the Russian ballet and choreographer to recruit into the company. dancer.
Now the new dance company directors and principals have their own preferred dances and styles, so these Balanchine girls are not too popular and have lost a lot recently. "
Richard didn't know whether he was relieved or felt sorry for Ronald.
"Resigned?" Ronald heard the news and sat in his chair without moving for a long time. If she had remembered her promise earlier, Antonia would have been better off and wouldn't have resigned and started anew somewhere else.
"Where has she gone? Is there any news?" Ronald knew that Antonia was also an orphan and did not have many close friends and relatives.
"We asked in detail about the girls who were close to her in the ballet company. We only knew that they went to Europe. We didn't know if they had been invited by any ballet company in Europe. Antonia just said that she would write to them after she got there.
I have already agreed with them that as soon as we receive a letter from Antonia, we will be notified as soon as possible.”
"Hmm..." Ronald thought to himself that this was not normal. It seemed that she was also excluded in the dance troupe, and she didn't even tell her friends about her next destination.
"Don't worry, Antonia's career is developing well. She just failed when she competed for the prima ballerina last year. This is also common in big ballet companies like New York. She has the ability to be the prima ballerina in other dance companies."
"I know, I just feel it's a pity that I didn't help her." Ronald asked the two of them to go out and stay alone for a while.
Niceta and Richard looked at each other and seemed to be really in love. This feeling is quite special, isn't it?
"Agents are not experts in finding people." Seeing the two people leaving, Ronald opened the drawer and found the contact information of the very capable private detective.
"Mr. McPike? I'm Ronald, I want to find someone..."
