MTL - Exploiting Hollywood 1980-Chapter 2 videotape

  Chapter 2 Videotape

Pulled into a McDonald's drive-through, Ronnie opened the storage box, pulled out a stack of coupons, and picked out a Big Mac meal with a dollar bill, two for $25 cents, a 10-cent coin, passed into the cashier window together.

  The original price of $2.59 for the super value Big Mac package, with coupons only 1 yuan 6.

   took the package wrapped in paper bag, Ronald drove all the way back to the apartment.

  The people who live in Venice Beach are not wealthy, and most of the residents are residents of the middle and lower income classes. Mainly white people, so the law and order is good.

   Ronald was a little hungry, so he went home and ate a Big Mac and drank Coke.

  This apartment is a one-bedroom, one-bedroom apartment. Venice is relatively remote, and the rent is not high, less than 200 US dollars a month.

   There is no disadvantage except that it is far from the city. Ronald owns a car and commutes to and from get off work every day. It takes more than half an hour each way. There is nothing unsatisfactory.

   Throwing the finished **** into the trash can, Ronald took a change of clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

  I remember getting up early tomorrow, take a shower and take a shower, and go to bed early. Ronald wiped the mist on the mirror a few times with his hand, and wiped out a handsome face. With sunken eye sockets, a straight nose, and a well-proportioned body, he is the result of years of physical exercise. No matter from any angle, he is considered a handsome guy.

   After the release of the comic book movie "Superman" last year, everyone said he looked like Christopher Reeve who played Superman.

   It does look a bit like, Ronald is also tall, 6ft 2 (1.88m). However, Superman has black hair, and his hair is dirty gold, the roots are close to black, and the tips are more blond. The eyes are amber, the inner ring near the pupil is dark brown, and the outer ring is golden.

  Hair and eyes are not pure colors. They are very typical American skewers, and their ancestors do not know how many ancestry they have. However, Ronald did not have the strong body odor common to white people, just like the Chinese in his previous life. It's comforting to him that he doesn't have to spray his underarms with deodorant every day like his buddies on his high school wrestling team.

   Ronald changed his clothes and lay on the bed, thinking a little bit of Aunt Karen in New York.

   After crossing over, Ronald tragically found that he had no memory of his previous life at all, and only retained some skills. For example, driving, drawing comic strips, and Chinese wrestling. There is also a dumb English who can only write but cannot speak. At first, he could only pretend that he could not speak.

   Aunt Karen was anxious and took him to the doctor. After some examinations, doctors believed that the brain had been hit, causing a rare form of aphasia, and only relearning to speak like a child.

  Ronald found the secret book "New Concept English" for Chinese people to learn English. After studying hard for half a year with the recording, and in an all-English environment, he finally learned to speak again.

   Later, he joined the high school wrestling team. Unfortunately, the old Chinese wrestling habit of grabbing people's clothes could not be changed. I lost an intercollegiate game and didn't get a college sports scholarship.

   Until one day, he accidentally picked up the camera of a classmate of the wrestling team, and he discovered the most useful skill in his previous life - taking pictures.

  Empty-handed metering, lighting, and guiding the pose, as if you can take a qualified portrait without thinking. Was it a photographer in a previous life? This skill can make money right now.

  Aunt Karen saved $200 to buy him a used car. This is the tradition of middle-class American families. The child gets a driver's license as an adult, and the father buys a second-hand car for the child.

  Ronald didn't ask for a car, he took the money to buy a second-hand Nikon F2 SLR camera and a few rolls of film, and since then he has become a photographer, taking various portrait photos to make money.

   After graduating from high school, Ronald didn’t have enough money to go to university, so he took a year off and worked part-time to earn tuition. With more than $500 in "huge money", he bid farewell to Aunt Karen and Cousin Donna. It took 12 days to drive along Interstate 40 from New York to Los Angeles.

   Taking a year off is completely out of money. He looks like an 18-year-old boy, and clients don't quite believe his photography skills, and he doesn't make enough money as a portrait photographer. In the countryside of Staten Island, there are not many fast food restaurants, recruiting young people to work.

   Soon Ronald discovered that in portrait photography, the easiest way to make money is to take audition photos for actors, which is easy and profitable. Two A4-sized headshots can earn more than $100. Not many people make movies in New York, so Ronald came to Hollywood to look for opportunities.

Came to Hollywood, took some portrait photos one after another, and word of mouth can also attract customers, but when people see him at a young age, they are unwilling to believe his strength, and can only charge 30-50 US dollars for a set, which has not yet entered. Row of novice actors to shoot.

  Ronald wanted to be on a film crew and put his name in the end credits so that clients would believe they were "inside". Collect more money, and save enough tuition fees, books, accommodation, etc. as soon as possible.

   Later, he went to the New World Production Company to apply for a screenplay. After being selected, he did not write a single page of the script, but worked as a script reviewer for several months. Two weeks ago, I was hired by my boss to be an assistant in the "Rock High School" crew, and my main job was to make coffee...

   Feeling a little sleepy, Ronald set the alarm for 04:30 tomorrow morning and rolled over to sleep.

  …

   I slept in the dark for a long time when Ronald heard someone talking outside. He opened the door and walked outside. In the open space in the middle of the apartment, there was a white screen, as if someone was playing a movie?

  In the dim light, Ronald noticed that there were many people sitting in rows in front of the screen. Is this a party?

   "Sit down!" Someone yelled at him.

   Ronald took the opportunity to sit in the middle aisle seat in the last row, next to the projector.

   seems a bit wrong, the person just now seems to be speaking Chinese. Ronald wanted to find the person who spoke out. There are not many Chinese people in Los Angeles who speak Mandarin. At least he can ask about the situation in Hua.

   Suddenly the screen lit up. Ronald was startled, and a pile of English jumped out on it, with the title in red capital letters:

   "FBIWARNING".

   Below is a line of small print:

"Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or public display of a copyrighted film work can result in severe civil or criminal penalties under federal law (17 U.S.C., 501 and 501). 508). The FBI investigates complaints of copyright infringement (17 CFR 506)”

   This is a copyright warning.

   "Why haven't we started yet? What movie are we showing today?" The man was speaking Chinese again.

   After more than ten seconds, the screen jumped out of the screen, and everyone quieted down.

  A three-story white building leaps into the picture, and the sun shines gently on the upper floor. There was no one, only a few crickets squeaked... squeaked, reflecting the tranquility of the environment.

   After a few seconds, a line of red characters jumped up at the bottom of the screen: "A New World Productions movie, copyright @1979, New World Productions."

what?

   is actually a movie produced by the new world where he works. But why fight next year's copyright?

  The camera moves to a large sign with the words Vince Lombard High School written in green on a yellow background. And here's a quote: "Winning is not the most important thing, it's the only thing."

   Ronald's open-mouthed boss, Vince Lombard High School, isn't that the fictional school name in the script? Wouldn't this movie be "High School of Rock" being filmed today?

   Everything on the screen, a student appeared on the screen, he looked at the map on the wall, there was a red cross on it, and under the red cross was written: "You are here."

   "Where am I?" the student said to himself.

   A group of players in rugby uniforms came over and grabbed the student, carried him and left the screen. A female student with large black-rimmed glasses appeared on the camera, standing next to the platform to welcome the new students.

  All kinds of chemical experiment utensils on the table, holding liquids of various colors of red, green and blue, next to a sign that reads "Kate Lanbao, Science Society, Chemical Reaction Demonstration".

  The screen cuts to another handsome boy, who is called Tom. Tom walked out of the teaching building and sat at the table to eat. Kate Rambo went up to talk to her, but Tom, who was puzzled, rejected her and began to read a book.

  The picture is everything, another beauty in red, put down the Ramones record, and began to play this strong rhythm of rock music. The students started dancing on the playground, and the red title "Rock High School" appeared.

   It really is "Rock High School"!

   thought Ronald.

   "Boss, change parts to look good." Someone was shouting.

   "That's right, it's a war."

   "The one who changes the martial arts, the one who fights is good-looking."

   "Is there any director Wang, change that Jin..."

   Suddenly someone got up, walked to the machine next to Ronald, pressed a button, and the screen turned into white light again.

   The machine spits out a black box. On the white label affixed to it, four Chinese characters were written in a red pen—

   "Rock High School."

   "Boss, change the film!"

   The man was waving the black box - the tape shouted.

   "Ah!" Ronald yelled and rolled off the bed.

   (end of this chapter)