Directors Guild awards, presented in late February.
Just the day before Ronald went to attend the award ceremony, the attention of all Americans was once again occupied by the situation in Kuwait.
The air raids that began in January have lasted for more than thirty days, and the public has gradually become bored with the news in the Gulf.
CUU's ratings have dropped a lot since the beginning of the air raid. There is a night sky with a green background every day, and nothing can be seen clearly. Even viewers who are interested in military and international politics feel that the US military’s news control is too good, and they can only watch CUU commentators every day to understand some in-depth content.
Moreover, these dozens of days of air strikes are not all good news. The madmen in Iraq also launched an attack on Saudi Arabia, where the US military base is located, which made people a little worried.
However, everything changed this evening. The boring remote connection was interrupted, and the screen cut to the White House. Under the night, the door of the Marine One helicopter opened. George Sr. stepped out of the plane vigorously and hugged Barbara who was waiting on the lawn.
The host also reported that the Commander-in-Chief had just returned from vacation at Camp David, where he had a telephone conversation with Mikhail, the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Alliance.
CUU's director was very good. When he saw that the speech was about half an hour away, he immediately cut into the various videos that had been prepared long ago.
"Let's first connect to the political historian, Michael Bescross. Michael, you are an expert in the study of great commanders. Is there such a moment in your research scope?"
"I don't think so. You know, every commander has a decisive moment. If we build the old George Memorial Library in the future, I can guarantee that the next few minutes will definitely become the most important moment in his memorial library. Important collection. I can guarantee that this speech must have been drafted a few months ago, and then revised several times, and the final version..."
"Huh?" Ronald felt that there was something wrong with this conversation. Why had he already started discussing the historical status of the commander-in-chief?
"The following is Bud O'Neill. Bud, you are an expert on war. Do you think the return of the commander from his vacation portends anything?"
"I have the same idea as Michael. This speech must have been revised and finalized repeatedly in the past few months. I think if a ground attack is carried out, Cairo, Damascus, and Riyadh will welcome it. In the past period of time, the madman has sent them a clear message Signal, he doesn’t care whether you are from an Arab country or not…”
"Do we really need a ground attack? Will there be another Vietnam War?" Diane saw Ronald's solemn expression and came over to listen to the news. Suddenly he heard the words "ground attack" and was startled.
Ronald didn't say anything, because then CUU started showing a documentary about the armed forces of Iraq.
"The Iraqi National Defense Forces are very powerful. They have Soviet-made tanks, anti-tank weapons, and ballistic missiles. They also have various bunkers and anti-tank trenches that have been repaired. In short, ground combat is not an easy task.
In addition, in addition to the National Defense Forces, Iraq also has a more elite Republican Guard, which is the most trusted force by their madmen and the most well-equipped force. "
On the screen are various artillery pieces, tanks, helicopters, and countless soldiers running in an orderly rhythm.
"Good guy, isn't this much more powerful than Vietnam?" Ronald clicked his tongue. The Vietnamese army that made the US military miserable back then only had a rifle, and at most some small artillery. It's really incomparable to the madman's equipment.
The screen switched to a Soviet major general, and the subtitles said that he was an expert on Soviet military history.
"They are very good soldiers because they have good equipment, and they have rich experience. They still fight on their own land. They have the courage to fight for the motherland..."
"There are 500,000 National Defense Forces on the front line. They are a mixture of experienced veterans and conscripted recruits. Among them are some Kurds who do not necessarily support the madmen. Behind them are 180,000 Republican Guards. They are professional soldiers with good training and equipment..."
"Is this starting to count as a military force?" Ronald felt like he was going to fight. People like CUU must have special information channels.
"Hey, I have one too?" Ronald remembered that he also had channels, and immediately called Little George, but he couldn't get through. I had to call Douglas Jr.
"Little George just called me. In order to avoid inquiries from his friends, he had unplugged the phone line and only called a few of us to inform us. He said that this was an action that had been prepared for a long time and that his father was very determined. Big, I didn’t ask anything else.”
"Is that so? Is there...?" Ronald thought for a moment. If he had inside information, would there be a chance to make some quick money in the financial market? There is no need for earth-shattering news. As long as you generally know about it an hour before the market, you will definitely benefit a lot.
"I have already talked to Donna...hey...wait a moment, Donna wants to tell you..."
Little Douglas is already discussing this matter with Donna.
"The current common analysis on Wall Street is that the Soviet Union will let it go. It is estimated that with the intensity of the battle with Persia before Iraq, it may still take us a while to clear out all the equipment in their army's inventory. If the Soviet Union does not replenish it for them, , you can win.”
After a discussion, everyone decided to spend some money and start speculating. After the war begins, certain futures prices will fluctuate violently up and down, and when the war has staged results, there will also be opportunities for speculation.
For Ronald, these small sums of money were an investment in a low-cost movie, but speculative futures trading was highly leveraged. If you lose, it won't hurt your health anyway, but if you win, you can make a lot of money from a big-selling movie.
However, Ronald was more worried about the impact of the war on the mentality of the American people. The film industry at that time was hit by the anti-war trend. Some genres that used to thrive, such as westerns, have completely become unwatchable.
The number of right-wing actors like John Wayne also shrunk rapidly after the Vietnam War, and there were not many new actors who upheld a patriotic stance.
"Good evening. Starting yesterday, after discussions between me and senior defense advisers, and a large number of calls with allied leaders, the madmen in Iraq were given one last chance to unconditionally withdraw their troops from Kuwait in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations Security Council. But unfortunately, the last time has passed..."
The commander-in-chief on TV wore square glasses and appeared tiredly in front of everyone.
"I have ordered the frontline commander, General Schwarzkopf, to use all possible forces, including ground forces, to attack the Iraqi occupying forces until they are expelled from all of Kuwait...
Now, countless allied soldiers on the front lines, especially American soldiers, are risking their lives to contribute to justice. Let us pray for them. God bless the front-line soldiers, and God bless America..."
…
Ronald didn't want to watch the news anymore. He called several friends in the circle. Everyone was deeply worried. After all, the last ground war had a profound impact on America.
The previous commander-in-chief made several quick combat plans, but they always sent bombers to drop bombs. This time, everyone thought that the bombing would cause the madmen to withdraw their troops. Unexpectedly, he still went to the ground attack. If you attack on the ground, people will die.
"Welcome, Jonathan, and congratulations..."
The next day, Jonathan Demme happened to be back from Berlin. Although the Golden Bear was awarded to Italian director Marco Ferreri for "The House of Smiles," Demi still won Berlin's Silver Bear for Best Director for "The Silence of the Lambs." The Germans still have to give Hollywood some face.
The Berlin Film Festival still gave European filmmakers the highest award in recognition. However, the reporters and fans at the scene were very dissatisfied and believed that it was a scandal that Silence of the Lambs did not win the Golden Bear Award.
"Smile House" tells the story of an old woman with a lot of mess at home and her twilight love affair with an old man in a nursing home. However, the rhythm of this drama is not good, the overall performance is mediocre, and the ending also makes a big mistake, giving the audience the feeling of a bad ending.
You’re not afraid that moviegoers won’t understand a movie, you’re just afraid that they will compare it to other movies. The shock of "Silence of the Lambs" is obviously not comparable to that of mediocre productions such as "Smile House".
Even the Berlin audience who cannot understand English can feel the fear brought by the movie and the joy of getting rid of the threat through subtitles and images.
Therefore, Jonathan Demi came back this time, even though he was defeated. Even more than he won the Golden Bear, he was able to win news pages.
Now audiences all over Europe know that there is a Hollywood masterpiece that was wrongly treated by the Berlin Film Festival and was only awarded a Silver Bear.
"Samsung Pictures and I have already discussed that we will do our best to win an Oscar for you at the end of the year." Ronald promised Demi.
"Thank you..." Jonathan Demi doesn't really believe in the role of going all out for prizes. After all, by the end of the year, it’s a question of how many judges will still remember The Silence of the Lambs.
But he accepted Ronald's intention. Moreover, with the controversy over the awards and the continued ranking of No. 1 at the box office, Jonathan Demme already knew from his agent that his status as a director has obviously been upgraded.
Many producers took the initiative to send scripts, or asked him to come up with his own scripts for filming. With a blockbuster movie, more big productions will come to you. Once a film is recognized by critics and awards, more scripts with award potential will come to the door.
Jonathan Demme can be said to have achieved both fame and fortune.
"By the way, this is a gift that the Chinese actor brought to you." Demi handed a large box of Poria cakes to Ronald's hand.
"It's hard for you to bring it. It's been a hard journey." Ronald took it and put it away. "I think you already know, right? Big news."
"Yes, why did we start a war? Ground attack is not a good thing. I still remember when we were drafted by lot. Many people fled to Canada."
The two chatted and both felt that this was a big deal. But the two of them are just movie directors. Faced with something of this level, they can only pray like ordinary people for the war to end as soon as possible.
Another day later, the Directors Guild Awards were presented at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
This award was established to recognize the directors of all TV series, movies, and TV commercials in the past year. Voted only by members of the Directors Guild.
Because New York is the center of TV dramas and Hollywood is the center of movies, the awards ceremonies are also held in both places. Film awards are awarded in Los Angeles.
The nominated directors are all big names. In addition to Martin Scorsese and Kevin Costner, there are also two Oscar-winning directors. Coppola, who directed "The Godfather Part III," and Barry Levinson, who directed "Avalon."
Everyone was talking about the ground offensive of Operation Desert Storm that had just been launched. Which of these directors has never made or written an anti-war script? There are still many voices opposing this, and they are afraid of falling into the same quagmire as the Vietnam War.
All directors wore formal attire and brought their families to attend. This awards show is not as entertaining as the Oscars, but more of a gathering of professionals.
Diane happened to chat with the Coppola family, and she was very familiar with Coppola's wife, Eleanor. Ronald chatted with Coppola's daughter. Sofia was still a little girl when they had dinner at Coppola's house.
"I'm really fed up with those film critics who are targeting me." Sofia Coppola looked very admiring of Ronald and talked about a lot of things that were criticized for her role in The Godfather III.
"I remember your father said that film critics are... don't take them too seriously."
"I like movies, but I just don't like this feeling. It feels like I'm like a commodity, put in a window to be commented on."
"Then you can try working behind the scenes."
"Can I be a director?"
"Well, there's nothing wrong with it. You can start with a home video recorder..."
While they were chatting, the host over there announced the best director award for music and commemorative events, "Ronald Lee, the 62nd Academy Awards."
"Hahaha..." Friends present laughed. Ronald's Oscars ceremony last year broke ratings records.
"Thank you. I didn't expect that my first Oscar-related director award would be this..." Ronald waved the award certificate in his hand.
Awards were handed out one after another, and in the middle and late stages, the Directors Guild Best Director Award was finally handed out.
"The winner of the Best Director Award in the Motion Picture category is..."
Ronald, like everyone else, looked to Martin Scorsese. The call for him to win an Oscar this year is very high...
"Kevin Costner..."
With a crash, everyone turned their heads and looked at Costner on the other side.
"Thank you all..." Kevin Costner himself may not have expected that he came here as a debut director to enjoy the pleasure of being recognized by his peers in the industry. Unexpectedly, the trade union awarded him the award.
"I will keep this award certificate well. I need this recognition. Thank you everyone for liking my first theatrical movie..."
There was joy here, but there was silence on Scorsese’s side. Coppola was talking to him, seemingly comforting his friend.
Ronald thought for a while and said nothing. After the awards show ended, I found Scorsese in the parking lot.
"Have you been targeted by someone in the union?" Ronald said straight to the point.
"Hey, it's all damned..." Scorsese said mid-sentence and then retreated.
Ronald knows that there are many eyes and minds. The directors nominated for the Guild Award this year, except for the Jewish Barry Levinson and the Puritan descendant Kevin Costner, are all Italian.
In addition to the two people Ronald knew well, there was also Giuseppe Tornatore who was born in Palermo. He was nominated for Cinema Paradiso.
Like other professions, the proportion of Jewish directors among directors is not low. Barry Levinson's film Avalon was a flop at the box office and received average reviews from critics. So Costner winning the award is a bit of a combination.
"Do you think I'm not in tune with the award?" Scorsese lost confidence.
"Not at all. The Oscars are voted on by all members, not just selected by directors like nominations."
