Nastassja Kinski was very satisfied with the photos and started making small talk. Ronald asked her permission for a copy of her photos for display in his studio. She glanced at the terms and signed the authorization form. She also insisted on Ronald taking two sets of audition photos in black and white and color for her.
This is a very good sign that Ronald's portrait photography studio will open with the photo of a future female star as its endorsement.
Carrying a camera bag on his back and holding a tripod in his left hand, Ronald opened the back of the Volkswagen Hare with the key in his right hand. The back of the hatchback can be opened, and there is a hidden trunk underneath, which can hold a lot of things. Ronald put the camera bag in it and closed the back.
A lid automatically covered the trunk, which was flush with the backrest of the rear seat, so it was impossible to tell from the outside that there was a trunk.
Small European cars are rarely seen in the United States. Everyone prefers big cars. Therefore, few people know where the trunk of the Volkswagen Hare is. Ronald can safely put his expensive camera in it without worrying about someone prying open the window.
The economic situation is getting worse and worse, and theft and robbery crimes have increased. The president also made a televised speech, saying that Americans should not get used to mediocrity and that America, which has lost its moral advantage, is no longer great.
Aunt Karen vehemently disliked him. Under his governance, the American economy was experiencing severe inflation, and mortgage interest rates had risen to over 10%. Aunt Karen was under a lot of pressure to raise Ronald and Donna.
According to economists on TV, America has fallen into a phenomenon called stagflation. The economy is stagnant, unemployment is high, but inflation is high, and everyone is suffering.
Ronald drove all the way to the Wells Fargo next to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, pulled over, took out a few quarters and stuffed them into the parking meter, then walked quickly into the lobby.
After waiting in line for a while, it was Ronald's turn.
Approaching the counter, Ronald took out the $130 in cash he had just received, counted out $50 in change and put it back in his pocket, and handed the remaining $80 plus a $200 check, which was the salary for the second group director issued to him by New World, to the teller.
"Ronald Lee, the check to be deposited into my checking account, as is the cash."
Wells Fargo is friendly to small and medium-sized customers. As long as you have a fixed monthly salary, you can open an account with $25. Ronald does not have a fixed monthly salary, but fortunately, he can open an account as long as his deposit balance is more than $200, and there is no management fee. So, he opened an account soon after arriving in Los Angeles.
I took the form handed over by the teller, filled it out, took out my driver's license, and handed it in. The economy is bad, and check fraud has increased under this administration. Now, banks have regulations that require a photo ID to cash a check.
After depositing the money, Ronald got out of the bank quickly. A fat policeman was already waiting next to the parking meter, holding a ticket in his hand, ready to issue the ticket when the time came.
"That's my car!" Ronald hurried forward, started the car, and drove away before the parking meter expired, leaving the fat policeman behind in a sullen mood.
Driving back to the apartment, Ronald took out his checkbook and wrote a check for $80 to Aunt Karen. He slid it in the envelope, put a stamp on it, and dropped it in the mailbox of the apartment.
This is what I agreed with my aunt before I came out. I would send a quarter of my earnings back home. Although it's not much each time, it can help relieve my aunt's burden.
The US Post Office is inefficient and delivers very slowly. Ronald doesn't have much money, and the fees for using Western Union are too high, so he doesn't care about the slow speed of the post office. If it is an important document that needs to be delivered immediately, most people will choose FedEx.
Ronald couldn't help but remember that the college application form that Gale sent for him was delivered via FedEx. I wonder what's going on with it?
...
FedEx's delivery vehicle was a Ford van with round headlights that looked very cartoonish. The two applications to UCLA and UCS were delivered directly by a van in the city.
The purple FedEx van first arrived at UCLA. A few days before the deadline, there were a lot of application letters. UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television was no exception. The admissions office staff opened the application letters, sorted them out, and delivered them to the admissions director's desk.
"Ronald Lee, Stanton South Shore Totville High School. Well, the recommendation letter was written by a small studio owner and a high school teacher. Who is Roger Corman? The one who made those rubbish exploitation films? The letter is so short, it's obvious that he's not satisfied with the applicant." Ronald's application was thrown into the pile of those who failed the pre-screening.
The University of Southern California (USC) is a little further south of Hollywood. The FedEx van drove for another 20 minutes to the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
The admissions director here has a much better impression of Ronald. Roger Corman is good at discovering talent, but the recommendation letter is too short, and I don't know how much of it is sincere.
The other two recommendation letters were from my high school English teacher and physical education teacher. They were used to apply to the Film Academy, so they are a little weak.
Besides, Tottenville High School on Staten Island in New York is not a performing arts high school.
"How many applications did we receive this year? ... Oh, that's only a 10% acceptance rate."
The most likely possibility for Ronald is that he will be placed on the waiting list. He will only be able to take his place if the students admitted before him do not go to USC for some reason.
Another FedEx truck drove to Los Angeles International Airport, and two other applications, addressed to two universities in New York, were loaded onto a purple FedEx cargo plane. The plane landed at the FedEx headquarters in Memphis, then took off again and flew directly to New York's LaGuardia Airport.
The Columbia University School of the Arts is located on Manhattan Island, at the northwest corner of Central Park. The area surrounding this place is home to so-called upscale communities, and even non-white people who want to buy a house here will be rejected by the homeowners' committee.
Columbia University is accustomed to recruiting students from expensive private high schools, and students from public high schools must go through more rigorous competition to get in.
With a public high school background, mediocre experience, and incomprehensible letters of recommendation, Ronald's application letter was put aside in the first round of screening, waiting to be stamped with the "Rejected" stamp, along with a tactful but polite rejection letter.
The letter will tell Ronald, who failed the admission, that after careful evaluation by the admissions office, his application was rejected. Columbia University has limited enrollment quotas this year, and the competition is very fierce. Other applicants have stronger backgrounds and resumes. As the president, he must choose based on excellence. He expresses regret for not being able to admit Ronald and wishes him good luck in his studies.
The last application was sent to the Department of Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Tisch School is on the other side of Manhattan Island, in downtown. It is close to Chinatown. Not far to the south is the coast, where you can see the Statue of Liberty and the ferry to Staten Island, Ronald's home.
The atmosphere in the New York University Admissions Office was more equal, as several admissions assistants and the admissions director were opening and reading application letters together. One of the assistants opened Ronald's application letter.
Taking a year off after high school to find your direction and calibrate your life goals? This application letter is well written, and the high school grades are also very good. Then he opened the recommendation letter from the coach of the high school wrestling team...
We are a film and television school, and we don't need letters of recommendation from sports teams. Well, this one is from the president of New World Productions.
The recommendation letter is sealed, and theoretically the applicant Ronald does not know what the recommender wrote in it. Of course, only some old-school people still strictly abide by this tradition.
After opening the envelope, the admissions assistant saw a very short letter of recommendation.
"Why is there such a short recommendation letter?" The assistant hurriedly asked the supervisor, "Is this letter written without care?"
The supervisor took the recommendation letter and saw that the main body of the letter only had two sentences.
"
To Whom It May Concern:
Ronald Lee is the second newcomer in as many years that I have given carte blanche to direct who has never made a commercial film before.
The first one is Mr. Martin Scorsese, a professor at your school.
Yours faithfully,
Roger Corman
"
The admissions director picked up the phone:
"Hey, Marty, guess what I saw..."