Manhattan Reborn 1978

Boston.

Morgan family estate.

Old Morgan got out of the car with a gloomy expression.

The old butler calmly took the coat and hat that were handed to him, and silently followed old Morgan into the big house.

In the big house, Old Morgan's wife Neria was not at home, making the house seem particularly deserted. .

Old Morgan stood at the door of the living room, looked around, tilted his head, and whispered: "Look for Old Wharton for me, I will talk to him later~"

"Good sir~"

"Ah."

Old Morgan pulled off the tie that made him breathless, unbuttoned his collar and cuffs, strode into the bathroom on the first floor, held his hands on the edge of the sink, and stared at himself in the mirror for a long time. He let out a breath.

ten minutes later.

Old Morgan wiped his wet hair, neck, and hands with a towel, and walked out of the bathroom, feeling that some of his fatigue and irritability had been washed away.

The voice of the old butler came at the right time: "Sir, Seamus is waiting for you in the living room~ Old Mr. Wharton has been found, you can contact him at any time~"

"Let's have lunch first, and let Seamus come too~"

"Good sir~"

ten minutes later.

Seamus Norton, sitting at the dining table, holding a knife and fork in his hand, eating delicious food, watching old Morgan return from the phone call.

"You look very tired today~"

Old Morgan tied a napkin around himself, shook his head and sighed: "I've been wasting time with those idiots and wastes all morning!"

Seamus smiled and picked up the cup and took a sip: "I don't even remember the last time you were so angry~"

Old Morgan twitched the corners of his mouth and picked up the knife and fork: "Your ability to make people happy is much worse than Laura~"

After speaking, he couldn't help but think of his little daughter who had just left home. A fatherly smile slowly rose at the corner of his mouth that was still stiff just now.

Seamus squinted his eyes, picked up the knife and fork and smiled: "Look, who said I'm bad at it? Hahaha~"

"You are just cheating~hehe~"

The old housekeeper stood not far away, the corners of his mouth raised silently.

The atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly relaxed.

While eating, Seamus introduced the topic and said, "There is news from Washington that they are planning to increase oil imports and expand the scale of strategic oil reserves. How are you preparing?"

"The negotiations have been completed and finalized in London."

"Is there any island country left?"

"Ah."

Seamus slowly chewed the food in his mouth, paused and said, "Do you want me to go to Tokyo? Maybe we can finalize this matter faster if we meet and chat."

Old Morgan chewed the food and thought seriously: "No need for the time being, there is still time~ I want to see what other excuses they will come up with to deal with me~"

Seamus smiled and shook his head: "If you want to make excuses, isn't that simple?"

"Yeah~ but lame excuses can't hide their true thoughts!"

"You mean...are they going to get rid of us? Or are they going to stand on the other side?"

Old Morgan narrowed his eyes, picked up the wine glass and sneered: "It doesn't matter~! As long as we can be sure that they are not companions, we can let go and have a big fight!"

Seamus looked at Old Morgan with slight surprise: "Did you receive any news? Was it the call you made just now?"

"Old Wharton~"

"Oh...it seems like he is in San Francisco and talking to people is not pleasant~"

Old Morgan picked up a napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth: "Masao Fukuda of Sumitomo Bank is retiring, and his successor Doichiro Sumitomo is very repulsive about cooperation with us."

"Wharton Lao talked to them twice, but he still couldn't confirm the matter."

Seamus nodded suddenly, then smiled and said: "Then don't look for them. The families in the island country are not monolithic."

"The Sumitomo Foundation is unwilling to cooperate, so we will find someone else."

Old Morgan picked up a small piece of bread next to him, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly: "No, I don't plan to find any more collaborators for the time being in the island country~"

"Let's not talk about this for now. I'll make a phone call later."

"Ok~"

Old Morgan stood up, walked not far away, picked up the phone and dialed.

After a few minutes.

He returned to his seat, picked up the tableware again, and started eating slowly.

Seamus put down the tableware and said that he had finished eating: "What about Stanley?"

"Yes~Nelent was too impatient and did a stupid thing."

"Oh?"

Waited a while.

Seeing that Old Morgan had no intention of continuing, Seamus smiled and dismissed the matter~

----

San Francisco.

Bloomer's mansion.

Roland's news just now has ruined several people's plans to go to a live concert~

This damn weather, the organizers never expected that the most unlucky situation would happen by such a coincidence. .

As a result, several theaters they contacted could not accommodate the audience who had purchased tickets.

Therefore, in order not to delay subsequent performance arrangements, the organizer could only announce that Queen's performance in Los Angeles was temporarily canceled. .

After Roland told Blumer the news on the phone, he felt that he could take this opportunity to get closer to Blumer and others, so he said on the phone that he wanted to come to Blumer's home and help them out. idea.

Blumer thought for a while and agreed. After all, they really didn't have any good ideas.

. . .

After hanging up the phone.

in the living room.

David, Giles, and Bloomer sat next to each other, their legs resting on the small table, their expressions dejected. .

"Hey~ I can't see it anymore!"

"Yeah, I can't see it ~ this damn smog!"

Leslie smiled and turned his gaze back from the TV: "Don't you have any other good ideas besides watching concerts?"

Bloomer said with a grimace: "What else can compare to a Queen concert? Is there one?"

Giles' facial features gathered into the shape of a bun: "How about... let's go watch the game?"

"Hey guys, are there any sports games we can watch today?"

"Oh...what game do you want to watch? Volleyball? Basketball? Hockey? Or...huh?"

Bloomer suddenly remembered and shouted with a smile: "Hey guys, we can go bowling!"

Leslie nodded after hearing this: "Yes, I haven't played for a long time!"

Giles objected: "Why not billiards? I play billiards at a professional level!"

"Then you can play pool. I know a place that has both!"

David scratched his head and said, "I don't know these two, what should I do?"

"Haha~ easy to do! Let's learn~"

"Yes, just go and learn and you will know how to do it!"

"But... shouldn't we wait for Roland to come?"

Bloomer ran to the door of the living room in a few steps and said: "Let's go change clothes first and get ready to go. He should be arriving soon~"

"Okay~"

David was helplessly pulled up by Giles and walked upstairs together.

ten minutes later.

Just as Blumer said, Roland came quickly.

After a few people gathered together, they got into several cars and rushed to the great place that Blumer had mentioned.

. . .

Beverly Hills.

The motorcade stopped near a department store.

Everyone covered their mouths and noses and quickly walked into a bowling alley.

But wait until they get in. .I regretted it. .

Because there are too many people here. .Totally full.

Seeing this situation, Blumer said helplessly: "What should we do now? Should we wait?"

"It's better not to wait any longer~ Who knows when the people here will disperse~"

Leslie glanced at Roland next to him who seemed to have something to say, and signaled to the others: "Roland, do you have any good ideas?"

"Um... Actually, there are many places you can go and play~ It's just... I know if you will like it!"

"Tell me~"

"For example... can we go play cards~ or watch a show?"

"Playing cards? Gambling?"

"Well...it's a bit of a bonus, but it's only a few dozen dollars per game at most~"

David raised his eyebrows, stopped Bloomer who was getting curious, and continued: "Forget it, we don't play cards~ Can you tell us about the show? What's there?"

Roland knew that he had said the wrong thing and quickly explained with a smile: "There are many clubs in Los Angeles, and there will be any kind of performance you want to see~"

"for example?"

“Cabaret performances, wine tastings, music enthusiast gatherings, etc., or go to a Hollywood studio to watch the filming process.”

After listening to the discussion, several people had differences. .

David wanted to go see a movie shoot, and Giles and Bloomer wanted to visit a music enthusiast club and were curious about them. .

Leslie, on the other hand, prefers to find a place where she can watch cabaret performances and relax. .

Finally, Blumer made the decision and everyone dispersed. Roland took David to the studio and Leslie went to sing and dance. .

that's it.

David took the big man Zach and a bodyguard of Blumer, got into Roland's car, and drove to a studio belonging to Paramount.

Why Paramount?

The movie "The Godfather" that Coppola and Mario are going to shoot is to cooperate with Paramount!

. . .

Two 10 minutes later.

Roland led the three of them, David, into the periphery of the studio.

He got out of the car and chatted with the security guard at the door. The security guard replied directly: "All shooting plans have been cancelled. You came here in vain."

"What? There's not a single filming crew inside?"

The security guard looked at Roland as if he were a fool, and gestured around: "Photographing? Photographing the haze?"

"...Isn't the shed indoors?"

"Indoor... Why don't you go inside and see for yourself?"

As he said that, the security guard flashed to the side with a smile on his face. .

Roland felt that he had done something stupid again, and he kept scratching his head and said: "Forget it~ let's go back!"

The security guard shrugged, returned to his small room, picked up the newspaper, put his legs on the table, and continued reading boredly.

In the car.

David watched speechlessly as Roland got into the car, and sighed: "Let's go back, we're not going anywhere today~ What a bad luck!"

Roland forced a smile: "Okay~"

The car started. David looked at the studio in the distance from the car window and shook his head slightly.

on the way back.

When he came out just now, David, who didn't pay much attention to the situation on the street, saw that there were almost no pedestrians on the street~

Many of the shops on the street were not open at all. They secretly cursed themselves for being careless and ran out to act as human air purifiers. .

. . .

Back to the big mansion.

David invited Roland to go in with him, but Roland declined and followed him in.

He came here today just to create more opportunities for himself to get in touch with these rich kids~

Even now I only have access to David, this lucky boy. .

But this is also an opportunity, isn't it? . ?

In the big house, the housekeeper was surprised to see David coming back and asked if he wanted to have lunch.

Only then did David remember to rub his belly, thank him cheerfully, and walked to the restaurant with Roland.

at lunch.

David led the conversation with Roland and learned more about the situation of major Hollywood companies and Paramount.

Throughout the 50s and 60s, major Hollywood film companies were hit by the Great Depression.

All companies have cut costs and investments, their production volume has plummeted, and their revenue has also continued to decrease accordingly.

Paramount Company, under such an environment, barely persisted until it was acquired in 1966 and became a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Company.

David seemed to have some impression of the Western Petroleum Company. He tried to think back and then remembered that this company should belong to the Mellon family. .

Roland didn't know what David was thinking, so he continued: "Paramount's new president, Buzz Diller, who has only been in office for two years, and his two assistants have been bragging about their so-called high-concept movies~"

"High-concept movies, in layman's terms, actually refer to movies that are visually impactful and attractive, and are paved with simple and concise plot lines and plots to seek acceptance by the majority of audiences."

Roland picked up the cup, took a sip, tilted his head to David and said: "Someone has summarized this high-concept movie. First of all, it must be directed by a famous director, or starred by a big star, or even the two combined to achieve 1+1 ≥2 effect~"

"Secondly, its plot should be relatively simple and can be summarized clearly and clearly in one sentence, so that the audience can understand the movie in a limited time."

“Also, it must be compatible with the current popular mainstream works and new cultural forms, such as adapting common and popular novels, comics, sensitive events, etc. in recent years into the form of movies and presenting them to the audience. to get more box office.”

After listening to this, David thought to himself: Isn’t this last one just for the sake of popularity~

He did not expect that in this era without the Internet, he had already mastered some traffic passwords and made specific use of them. .

This kind of popularity behavior uses current hot topics or uses relationships with certain celebrities to earn profits for oneself.

If you do well, you will achieve a great career~

If it gets crooked, it becomes an accident. .

of course.

Roland talked about a few things about this high-concept movie, combined with David's memory. The first thing is that a famous director or a big star must be in charge of it, in order to increase the audience's expectations for the movie, and it will be played by some practitioners in later generations. It's reached its extreme. .

This directly leads to the fact that no matter which country's film and television industry it is, the film and television market is almost dominated by big stars who have been famous for a long time, and the hierarchy is almost solidified.

For new actors, it is extremely difficult to get ahead, gain popularity, and become famous. .

Someone once described this: Do you want to be famous in the film and television industry?It’s comparable to thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge!

hehe~

When David was full, he put down the tableware and said with a smile: "I have been asking Paramount because an elder in my family is planning to invest in a movie adapted from the novel~"

“Directors and novel authors are more inclined to cooperate with Paramount~”

Roland's eyes suddenly brightened: "So...are you planning to discuss cooperation with Paramount when you come to Los Angeles this time?"

"No~ I want to ask you for help. First find the director. Let's meet and have a chat to find out how far they have come in terms of cooperation!~"

Roland thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Who is this director you are talking about?"

"Francis Ford Coppola!"

"Oh? It's him?"

"you know?"

"Of course I know, his film "General Patton" won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay!"

"That's easy~ Can you help me find him?"

"No problem, I'll make some calls and ask~"

Roland stood up quickly, asked the housekeeper, and went to make a call.

David stood up and thanked the butler, saying he was very satisfied with the lunch.

The butler smiled gentlemanly, accepted the compliment, and led David to the living room.

. . .

David sat on the couch, wondering why Malkin Sr. would have agreed to let Mario Puzo and Coppola make the movie "The Godfather."

In his memory, the story told in this movie shows that the business activities of American gangs are inextricably linked to many people in the political and legal circles of the United States. .

If it is really shot and becomes the same classic movie that David remembers, it will cause a sensation among people all over the United States and become a must-see Bible movie for men. .

The negative consequences arising from this. .Does old Malkin guess?

Or does he have other plans for this?

David doesn’t understand~

After a few minutes.

Roland sat next to David with a smile on his face: "Found it~ We are very lucky this time. They are very close to here. It only takes 10 minutes to get here~"

"Okay~ It just so happens that we can talk about the process of filming the movie first."

ten minutes later.

The butler led Coppola and Mario Puzo into the living room.

David saw that the visitor looked familiar. He stood up with a smile and introduced himself: "I am..."

Mario Puzo, as a New Yorker, I have heard some news about David in recent days~

He shook hands with David politely and said: "Hello David! I am..."

Coppola didn't know David, but he saw Mario very much. .Be cautious and learn from the Tao.

"Hello David, I'm Coppola~"

"Nice to see you here, Coppola~ Please take a seat~"

Several people were seated.

David looked back and forth between the two of them and talked about their intentions for meeting this time.

Coppola sat aside and listened quietly and patiently to the chat between Mario and David. He gradually understood that this boy was here from New York to play, and he was helping to inquire about the film's preparation progress.

Mario was very eloquent. He briefly described the two people's experiences after arriving in Los Angeles from New York.

The two arrived in Los Angeles and talked with the person in charge of Paramount. Paramount directly said that the film could only invest 400 million U.S. dollars~

Even though the two of them had been mentally prepared before coming, they could not help but feel disappointed after hearing the result. .

Afterwards, the two chatted with the person in charge twice, sharing many thoughts on the filming of the film and analysis of subsequent market response.

The person in charge was persuaded by them, thought about it, and decided to increase the investment amount to 500 million dollars. .

The budget has been increased by 100 million, which is a good thing.

But it still fell short of Coppola's minimum budget standard for the film. .

David listened to Mario. .complain. .A bold idea came to my mind.

He pondered for a moment and felt that this plan should be okay, so he asked Coppola: "What is your budget? How much is the shortfall?"

Coppola glanced at Mario and gritted his teeth: "900 million dollars ~ Old Malkin invested 100 million dollars, Paramount invested 500 million dollars, and there is still a gap of 300 million dollars."

"Oh.."

David paused deliberately, crossed the fingers of his hands together, rubbed them gently for a while, and then said: "What about the time? How long will it take to finish shooting?"

"About...it will be available online in a year at most!"

Coppola spoke temporarily in the middle of speaking, hoping that this answer would make David feel at ease and satisfied. .

David nodded slightly, glanced at Roland, and then said, "Where are the actors? Do you have a suitable candidate?"

"Yes, we are ready to invite..."

When David heard that it was still the original cast, he was determined: "Okay~ Coppola, Mario, I have an idea."

"We can sign an investment agreement. You will first take the money from Malkin Sr. and Paramount to get the crew together and complete the pre-filming work."

"Wait... half a year or a year later, I can use the remaining 300 million dollars to invest in this film and provide financial support for your subsequent editing and promotion."

"Do you think this is okay~?"

Coppola suppressed his inner excitement, looked at Mario, and blinked. .

Mario was in a state of confusion about David's proposal and had no definite idea. .

300 million knives!

This is not a small amount!

If he really signs an agreement with this guy David, he won't be able to come up with the money when the time comes. .What to do?

Badger him and ask him for investment?

Sue him?

Aren't you afraid of dying?

. . .

Seeing their hesitation, David glanced at Roland, who was a little anxious, and said with a smile, spreading his hands.

"You can go back and discuss this decision before you reply to me~"

"I will stay here for the next two days. As long as you make a decision, you can contact me at any time!"

"Mr. Butler, can you tell them the phone number here?"

"Good sir!"

The housekeeper took out a paper and pen from his pocket, wrote down the phone number, and handed it to the two of them.

Mario and Coppola looked at each other and exchanged glances. Mario said: "Please wait a moment, we want to discuss it~"

"Please~" David looked at the butler.

The butler smiled and nodded, led the two of them to the restaurant, nodded slightly, turned and left.

in the restaurant.

Coppola whispered: "What David said...is it credible?"

Mario struggled for a moment, shook his head and said, "I don't know!"

"you.."

"However, old Malkin was very good to him, better than his own son~"

Coppola was speechless, shaking his head in a rather dramatic way and sighing: "Why did it go around and back to New York?"

"Can no one see this movie..."

Mario didn't listen carefully to Coppola's complaints.

He was constantly thinking about the credibility and risks of David's words~

"Six million! Coppola, tell me, is this money enough for pre-production?

"Well... if you deduct some of the actors' remuneration... it should be enough!"

Mario gritted his teeth and stamped his foot: "Okay! Let's do it! Let's sign the agreement!"

"But...are you sure he really has money?"

"Haha~ He has money or not..."

"As long as our movie can be filmed, it will be much smoother to find investment then than it is now!"

Coppola rubbed his chin and thought seriously: "It makes sense, then let's... shoot first and then talk about it?"

"Well... let's go and talk to David about time~"

"If you can get this investment within half a year, your filming progress will not be delayed, right?"

"No! In addition, we can make an agreement with the actors. All actors will have to wait until the filming is completed and achieve the effect I want before giving them the remuneration they deserve~"

"In this way, we can not only have sufficient funds for the filming, but also make some advance preparations for subsequent belated investments~"

"Good idea, let's do it!"

After the two agreed, they looked at each other and laughed.

It's not easy!

In order to attract some investment, it’s really not easy~

----

more than an hour later.

David sent Mario and Coppola, who were all smiling, out of the big house and into the car.

Watching them drive out of the gate and disappear into the haze.

Roland, who followed him out, finally took this opportunity to speak out what he had been holding back for a long time. .

"...If you watch this movie, could you consider letting actors from our company play some roles?"

David said in surprise: "Why didn't you say anything just now? I thought you were not interested in this small-investment movie!"

"Small investment...?"

Roland almost bit his tongue, grimaced, shook his head and said, "They were here just now. I... I thought it would be more appropriate to tell you first, so I didn't say anything..."

Of course David knew what Roland was thinking. .

The investor arranged a supporting role or a small role for the crew, which is the kind of loan-financing team~

Unless the director has lost his mind, or the actors arranged by the investors are so bad that it can’t be watched. .

Otherwise, how could he say no?

Emm. .

David patted Roland and asked him to be quiet~

In the movie "The Godfather", there are dozens of characters, big and small~

It’s not impossible to do Roland a favor and arrange a role with scenes and lines~

but. .David was not prepared to agree to him immediately~

In this matter, the horoscope has just changed~

The film investment agreement hasn't been signed yet, so it's too early to say this!

David reassured Roland a few words and promised that after he actually signed the agreement, he would talk to the director about arranging the actors.

At the same time, David also said seriously: "If the actors in your agency do not meet the director's requirements, I will not be able to help you~"

Roland said happily: "No problem, don't worry, our actors are all the most professional~ They will definitely satisfy the director! Haha~"

David saw him smiling happily and started laughing too.

investment.

This investment, now it seems, should be a sure profit.

As long as nothing unexpected happens, "The Godfather" will definitely become a sudden box office dark horse in the American film industry next year!

----

Los Angeles International Airport.

While David and Roland continued to chat.

At the exit of the airport, a woman in professional attire walked out.

The pick-up person who was already waiting here walked up and chatted with the woman for a few words. After confirming that she was right, he led her out of the airport.

on the way.

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the woman sitting in the back seat, looking out the window in a daze, and couldn't help but explain.

"Miss Lilith, the weather in Los Angeles..."

Lilith, who saw the smog in Los Angeles for the first time, nodded slightly after listening to the driver's explanation: "Thank you~ How long will it take us to get there?"

"...about half an hour."

"Um.."

Seeing that Lilith didn't want to talk more, the driver consciously closed his mouth and started driving seriously. .