Accompanied by the rumbling of the editing machine, the editing of "Rock n Roll High School" is gradually coming to an end.
Two weeks later, on February 20, the editing of the entire film was completed. The next step was to mix the songs lip-synced in the movie with the tracks on the record.
No assistants were needed for sound mixing, so Ronald's work on the "Rock n Roll High School" crew was completed, and he became unemployed.
Ronald did not try to join any new crew but waited for the college admission results to come out. Every day, apart from running and catching up on sleep, he watched TV series. After two days, he felt very uncomfortable and could not adapt to this routine. It seemed that he had to find something to do.
Cameron was in the stage of being very enthusiastic about his new job, working late into the night and even living in the stunt factory sometimes. Not surprisingly, he and his wife Sharon had a falling out again.
Ronald had to think of something to do on his own.
First, he called Demi Moore to ask about her situation. She has been signed by Elite Model Management and has some print modeling jobs waiting for her. However, her acting career is still not improving, and he doesn't know when she will be able to enter the industry. Now, she is accompanying her boyfriend to learn to write lyrics for rock music.
Demi also told Ronald that Nastassja Kinski had already returned to France to continue filming "Tess". She didn't know when she would be able to appear on the screen in the United States.
Ronald felt a little empty, as his daily life was much duller than the stories in the movies. On the set and in the editing room, he was dealing with drama every moment.
After finishing a movie, Ronald felt a little uncomfortable with the dullness of daily life. It was as if he had been separated from this ordinary world.
Film shooting and post-production editing are so colorful. Along the way, Ronald, a newcomer, broke into the film industry and climbed a mountain with every step. He climbed hard and finally reached the top. But after the top, it was flat ground.
This normal life is just flat ground. After being used to climbing mountains, walking on flat ground is like being weightless. Most people's lives are not as dramatic as the world on the screen. Ronald is still getting used to the normal rhythm of life again.
Ronald drove aimlessly around Venice.
When the city was being planned, Venice Beach was planned by the Los Angeles municipal government as a cultural center. The lower working class couldn't do any posh things, so Venice became a surfing and roller-skating center.
The municipal company built roller skating rinks on many roadsides. Although it is called a rink, it is actually a circular concrete floor, which is quite simple. The original intention may be to let people roller skate in it, just like the ice skating rink in Ronald's hometown of New York.
But now, the venue has been occupied by skateboarders who challenge themselves to do tricks. Instead of roller skates, they use skateboards to try difficult tricks in pools, railings, stairs, etc.
Ronald borrowed a skateboard from someone and tried it out. He soon found that he was too tall and strong to do any fancy moves. He watched other people's wonderful performances for a while and was extremely envious but also jealous that he couldn't do it, so he left and went to see other fun things.
There is also a surf club on Venice Beach, where experts wearing swimming shorts and tanned bodies are challenging the waves. They seem to be able to maintain a fragile balance on the crest of the wave, swaying and not falling off.
Some brave ones even try to challenge the 5-meter-high waves and swim through them. The audience can only see a little man on the beach, appearing and disappearing in the waves. Although most of them fail, there is a success once in a while, and the beach cheers.
Ronald was also enjoying the show and couldn't help wanting to try it out.
I found the surf club on the shore, paid the deposit, and excitedly went into the locker room to change into swimming shorts. I took the newly rented surfboard and dived into the sea.
"Puff, poof, poof." Ronald was knocked over by the waves and returned to the shore in embarrassment.
It seems that I am still not suitable for these extreme sports.
Then let's try wrestling. Ronald tried to find a wrestling gym to improve his skills, but after driving around Venice for a long time, he still couldn't find one.
It was an enthusiastic citizen who pointed out that there was a martial arts gym at the corner.
"A martial arts school would be fine too," Ronald thought.
Walking into the martial arts hall at the intersection of two streets, he was hit by a strong smell of shoes. Ronald frowned. There were more than ten pairs of shoes neatly placed at the entrance. It turned out to be a karate hall, and you had to take off your shoes when you entered.
The American public generally cannot distinguish between Chinese and Japanese people.
They call Bruce Lee's Kung Fu Karati (Karate) and Japanese Karate and Judo Kung Fu.
Anyway, it is a kind of mysterious martial art from the East. Once "Uncle" makes a move, the enemy will be killed.
There were only a few kids in the hall, wearing white karate uniforms and belts.
"Hi, ho, hi, ho" while doing punching, up and down blocking, and other basic moves.
Ronald followed the rules, took off his shoes, and walked into the hall. The hall was not big, with cream-colored tatami covering the entire floor. There was no decoration around, it was quite simple. On the opposite wall, there were some slogans written in Japanese and a pennant, which seemed to be the championship flag of a certain tournament.
The coach of the karate gym saw an adult coming and came up to talk to him. The karate gym's business was not good, and judging from the physique of this man, he was obviously a karate practitioner. Was he here to challenge the gym?
Ronald introduced himself and said he wanted to find a wrestling venue. The person who showed him the way pointed him here, saying that the coaches here had real skills.
The coach looked like a mixed-race American and Japanese in his 20s and learned authentic Ryukyu Karate. After Bruce Lee's death, the business of oriental martial arts was not doing well, and now it is struggling to survive by recruiting some children.
The coach had no prejudice against Ronald, and seeing that he could wrestle, he said he wanted to fight him. The two asked the students to pause and then fought on the tatami.
Karate emphasizes "inch stop", which means to stop when the point is reached. If the coach's fist hits Ronald's face an inch away, he will win.
Ronald was not used to this, so he stepped forward and grabbed his coach's wrist, twisting it and throwing him to the ground.
He hurried forward to apologize. The coach had no intention of continuing the fight but talked to Ronald about this wrestling method. All martial arts schools have similar moves. Ronald also learned some karate throwing techniques.
Before parting, the two exchanged business cards. The coach said that he had also practiced Wing Chun and Filipino short stick fighting, and he welcomed Ronald to come back and try his skills when he was free. He had some good friends and could also fight.
Ronald looked at the name on the business card, Darryl Vidal, and it was indeed an American name.
…
Ronald thought that his ordinary life lacked excitement. Maybe he lacked a girlfriend?
How about having a Chinese meal to celebrate? Ronald drove to Chinatown in Los Angeles to try the Chinese cuisine there.
He randomly found a restaurant and ordered a plate of fried rice, a portion of barbecued pork, stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of soup. Ronald's tongue and stomach were both satisfied. He was relieved of the boredom of eating McDonald's every day.
'I should come more often', Ronald patted his belly, put down the extra tip, and went home.
After taking a hot shower to wash away his tiredness, Ronald thought of finding a girlfriend again. How about going to look for the two dancers from Van Nuys High School tomorrow?
Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Ronald turned on the TV. It happened to be CBS-2, a local TV station in Los Angeles, which was broadcasting the nominations for the 51st Academy Awards this year.
The two hottest movies I saw in the daily variety newspaper some time ago, "Coming Home" and "The Deer Hunter", received 8 and 9 nominations respectively, and both included major awards such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.
Another strong contender for the big award is the comedy film "Heaven Can Wait," which was produced, directed, written and starred by Warren Beatty and received 9 nominations.
Warren Beatty is a famous playboy in Hollywood. Since the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" starring him, became a box office legend a few years ago, his power in Hollywood has been growing day by day. There are constant rumors of scandals with various female stars, and none of his rumored girlfriends have said anything bad about him.
Ronald envied him; he had affairs with women everywhere and still had a good reputation, much better than the other two famous playboys in Hollywood, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando.
The host is still constantly analyzing the winning probabilities of each nomination, interspersed with various entertainment gossip and interviews with the parties involved.
Warren Beatty is a handsome guy, and he kept saying good things about his movies during interviews.
Ronald listened to his words and thought for a while, but he didn't understand what the guy said.
The screen cuts to "The Deer Hunter," where the film's biggest star, Robert De Niro, defends the film, arguing that "The Deer Hunter" is the best movie of the year.
Then came the director, Michael Cimino. He was a greasy, fat man who spoke in a pompous manner, acted exaggeratedly, and had a bit of an egomaniacal demeanor. The host introduced him as saying that he was originally a commercial director, and "The Deer Hunter" was his second feature film.
However, this time, he was criticized by many film critics and progressive people. In Michael Cimino's three-hour film, there are some bizarre plots, such as American prisoners of war being forced to gamble their lives by North Vietnamese officers.
Several prisoners used a revolver to gamble. There was only one bullet in the revolver. The North Vietnamese officer turned the revolver, and then the prisoners took turns shooting themselves in the temple. This is the so-called Russian roulette. Many people criticized him for making up this nonsense, saying that there had never been such a thing in the Vietnam War.
Michael Cimino responded confidently in an interview:
"I served in the US Army's Green Berets. When I first joined the army in 1968, I served as a medic in the Green Berets and witnessed the entire spring offensive. I can only say that many things are beyond your imagination. Those who understand will naturally understand what I mean, and those who don't understand I can't reveal more. I can only tell you that much of the content of this movie can be said to be autobiographical."
Ronald looked at the fat man on TV and said, "That's not right. He joined the army and was sent to Vietnam in 1968. So he is only about 30 years old this year? This fat man looks 40, right?"
The screen turns to the heroine of "Coming Home", Jane Fonda, who is interviewed. Jane is the daughter of Henry Fonda, a legendary actor in the golden age. She won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1971 for the movie "Klute". She is a big star with both beauty and acting skills. She has always been on the left side and advocated world peace. During the Vietnam War, she called on the American leader to stop bombing civilians in the North.
Jane Fonda was attacked by conservatives this time. On the screen, her character had an affair with her former high school friend, a disabled soldier. During the affair, her character was still wearing her wedding ring, while her legal husband was still fighting in Vietnam.
This caused dissatisfaction among many veterans and religious figures, who accused Jane Fonda of immorality and brought up her nickname "Hanoi Jane" which caused public outrage when she visited North Vietnam.
But Jane Fonda defended her film, saying it reflected the real situation of Vietnam veterans.
"You know what? The scenes in the veterans' hospital at the beginning of the film were all shot live. The dialogues are the daily conversations of Vietnam veterans. You should watch 'Coming Home' to truly understand the trauma that the Vietnam War brought to our country, instead of sitting in the house and imagining the brutality of the Vietnamese."
Ronald's uncle died in Vietnam. There are many disabled Vietnam veterans in Staten Island and New York. He knows that what Jane Fonda said is true.
Gossip reporter seizes opportunity:
"Jane, are you implying that 'The Deer Hunter' isn't really a reaction to the Vietnam War? That the Russian roulette plot is imaginary?"
"No, I didn't comment on a particular movie. I was criticizing a bad trend in Hollywood that doesn't dare to face the facts. As for the 'Deer Hunter' you mentioned, I think our movie 'Coming Home' is the better one and can better reflect the true face of that war."
"Jane Fonda has reiterated her stance on the Vietnam War. Will her new film win over the judges? The photo of her sitting on an anti-aircraft gun of the North Vietnamese People's Army in 1972 has not been forgotten by the American public." The host began to summarize.
The famous photo appeared on the TV screen.
Ronald was getting sleepier and sleepier, so he turned off the TV and prepared to go to bed. It seemed that the favorites for this year's Oscars were all movies about the Vietnam War. No, there was also the Warren Beatty movie. What was it called?