Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York.

The clouds are gathering~

The side entrance of Best & Co, the largest department store in Queens.

The crew of "The Godfather" temporarily closed both ends of this small street in preparation for filming the first scene after the filming, in which the old godfather Vito Corleone was assassinated.

Francisco F. Coppola, wearing a heavy jacket and snow hat, looked up at the flying snowflakes in the sky and shouted excitedly.

"Hey~ Look, God is helping us!"

"Candy!"

"Tangtang, where did you go again?"

"Damn..."

"Vito!"

"Vito are you ready?"

"ok~"

"Freddy!"

"Freddie, come here and I'll talk to you again..."

. . .

Just as director Coppola was telling the actor who played the role of the old godfather's second son Freddy the details of the filming ahead, the pseudonymous producer Alto Sidric staggered from the street to play the role of the old godfather Corleone. the actor, next to Marlon Brando, asked.

"Have all the explosive spots on your body been tied up?"

"Hmm..."

Marlon Brando stuffed two balls of cotton in his mouth, opened his coat with a smile, and shrugged.

"The director said that all the explosive spots in this scene were on the back, so he asked me to wear a special protective suit inside to avoid accidents."

"Hmm~"

Alto reached out and touched Marlon Brando's back a few times and raised his eyebrows: "You will be shot more than a dozen times later..."

"Have you ever been shot?"

"No.."

"However, this scene shouldn't be difficult."

"I'm pretty good at acting like I'm about to get shot."

"Hahaha~"

Aalto gave a thumbs up to the veteran actor Marlon Brando, who was nearly sixty years old, and praised: "I'm looking forward to it!"

"Haha~" Marlon Brando smiled and nodded, watching the young Alto stagger away, and couldn't help but press his hands twice to puff up his cheeks.

Mario Puzo, the screenwriter of "The Godfather", once secretly mentioned it to him~

Don Vito Corleone is the character he created based on some "real" deeds and legends of the elder Malkin of the Sidrich family. .

Therefore, when Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" was released to the public, there was no "dilemma" of a movie adaptation of "The Godfather".

But now, the producer of the film crew of the movie "The Godfather" is actually a member of the Sidrich family. .

This undoubtedly gave the crew of "The Godfather" a "certification" label from Sidrich~

There is no shortage of money.

People, choose carefully.

The script is solid and exciting.

No trouble at all. .

So as long as Coppola's brain is not sick and he can finish it according to the shooting plan, the movie version of "The Godfather" will definitely once again arouse people's fanatical pursuit of the mysterious daily life of gangs~

Moreover, "The Godfather" can also allow the audience to have a strong resonance with the characters' personalities and complex social backgrounds in the film, and even incorporate some of their own experiences into it. .

Just like Marlon Brando, who has been in Hollywood for decades, after watching the movie, the old godfather sent Tom directly to the "ignorant" producer to negotiate terms in order to get a starring role for his godson. .

As a result, the producer "brought up" the head of his beloved horse in his bed. .

This plot, although slightly exaggerated~

But Lao Ma Long didn't think it was very bloody. Instead, he felt that the shooting angle was much more restrained than similar incidents that had actually happened. .

Because in order to avoid trouble from animal protection organizations, the crew planned to order a prop horse head + artificial plasma to exaggerate its "amazing" scene.

And what about in reality?

Horse head?

hehe~

It can only be regarded as the first course of a bloody feast.

Solving troubles quietly is the "godfather" style!

Because of this, Mario Puzo, the "understanding man" who has been living in New York, will be "willingly". .He gritted his teeth and rejected all film companies that wanted to buy the rights to adapt the novel "The Godfather".

. . .

The street in the distance of the shooting scene.

Tangtang, the titular producer of the movie "Taxi Driver", said to Roland Perkins and Michelle Pfeiffer behind her while struggling to "clear the way" through the melon-eating crowd.

"Black hair must be dyed..."

"Almost all the female characters in the film have black hair or dark brown or crimson hair."

"Michelle's blond hair can tell people at a glance that she is American, not Sicilian..."

Michelle Pfeiffer, who was following closely behind agent Roland Perkins, raised her hand and lowered her hat, looking left and right at the melon-eating crowd with curiosity and excitement in their eyes.

Roland Perkins did not pay attention to these minutiae. He smiled and said: "No problem~ As long as she can show her face in the officially released film, we will be very satisfied."

"..." Tangtang looked back at Mr. Perkins, who was easily "satisfied", shook his head slightly and smiled.

"The final editing has to be done by the director himself, I can't guarantee you that..."

"I understand~"

Roland Perkins, who thought he was familiar with the rules of Hollywood, stretched out his hand to hold Michelle Pfeiffer and said with a smile: "Michelle, please help and take care of her during the filming."

"Good~"

Tangtang finally squeezed out of the crowd, stood on the slightly empty street, took a deep breath, smiled and whispered.

"I also work as a producer on Taxi Driver."

"If there is a scene where Michelle appears here, I will rush over, don't worry."

"Um.."

Roland glanced at Michelle, who was pretending to be calm, and took a half step forward to whisper a few words to Tangtang.

Tangtang blinked in surprise, looked at Michelle, and nodded: "OK! I will do it."

"Thank you!"

"..."

Michelle, who didn't know what her agent had said to Tangtang, looked at the smiles on their faces and raised the corners of her mouth.

----

Texas.

Northwest of Houston, eastern suburbs of the small city of Hempstead.

Barn doorway in the backyard of the farmhouse.

Old Cui En and Old David, each holding a docile "cute" pony, slowly walked out of the barn.

"Braces Girl" Loisa introduced with some showiness: "I have given them names."

"The taller red pony is called Lolita, and the shorter brown pony is called Zorro!"

"Zorro?"

"Hahahaha~"

Polly held her son, little Lindsay, and couldn't help but laugh and asked Serra's mother beside her: "Zorro is the thief played by Alain Delon, right?"

"Use it on ponies..?"

Sierra's mother, who was holding little Bernice in her arms, raised her eyebrows with a smile: "Anyway, Alain Delon won't sue us because of a horse."

"What the hell!?"

"Hahaha~" Polly gave a thumbs up to the "satisfied" Loisa and asked Salonia who was following her.

"What about you?"

"Didn't you name those big horses?"

Salonia, who was somewhat introverted, shook her head slightly, looked at Old David, and said nothing.

Old David seemed to like this quiet and sensible "eldest daughter" very much. He smiled and said, "Don't be in a hurry to pick a name!"

"When we buy our own farm later, let's choose a name together..."

"Buy a farm?" Polly repeated with a hint of surprise.

Sierra’s mother turned to look at her son, who was standing not far behind her, and said with a smile, “Yeah~”

"David said he wanted to buy a farm so that we could come here in winter to escape the cold winter in the north."

"Oh~" Polly also turned her head and glanced at David, who was talking in a low voice to Mag Ludwig. After thinking for a while, he winked at Sierra's mother and asked.

"Then by the way, I can also buy a small farm for my parents...is that okay?"

"Okay!"

Sierra’s mother smiled very cheerfully and said: “Just buy two adjacent farms.”

"Let your dad come over and experience the life of a Western cowboy."

"Your mother Sena and I are responsible for growing some fruits and vegetables + taking care of the children."

"Okay! That's it!" Polly agreed directly and happily, kissed her son Lindsay happily, and asked.

"Didn't you always want to be a cowboy?"

"When we have our own farm, you can have your own horse too!"

"...Huh!" Little Lindsay, whose eyes never left the little red horse, pointed to the other little brown horse and asked.

"Mom, I want a little black horse, like the one Zorro rides!"

"No problem~"

Mother Sierra also kissed little Bernice in her arms and asked, "What about you? What color pony do you want?"

"I..." Little Bernice stared at Little Red Malorita in confusion and said nothing.

Old David saw the "pitiful look" in her eyes and asked Loisa: "Are you willing to give Lolita to your niece?"

"Niece..." Loisa, who is only 12 years old this year, looked at the little red horse, then at her little niece, hesitated, and nodded.

"Okay~ Little Bernice, Lolita is yours!"

"Hahahaha~"

. . .

Mag Ludwig, who was standing not far away, sighed with envy when he saw David's family talking and laughing around the two ponies.

"The Coleman family is going to become a big family..."

David had a smile on his lips and whispered: "Zina has been with Janet all the time recently. The doctor said the baby was developing well during the last pregnancy checkup."

"You're going to be a father soon!"

"Hehe~"

When Mag heard David mentioning his girlfriend Janet, he couldn't help but smile happily and nodded.

"Janet and I talked about it when we called."

"Maybe... it's a boy!"

"Oh? Can you already tell whether it's a boy or a girl?"

"No~ It's just a guess."

"The doctor said that based on her experience... a boy is more likely."

"Wow~ Congratulations, Mag!"

"Hahaha~" Mag laughed and waved his hands, asking David very "humbly".

"I want to ask you to be his godfather, can you?"

"godfather?"

David pointed to his nose and said in surprise: "Am I too young? Is it appropriate?"

"Of course!" Mag nodded with a serious expression.

"but I.."

David tilted his head and thought for a while, then said tangledly: "But I don't believe in God... Is this okay?"

"You're not a believer?"

"No~"

"Uh..." Mag was speechless.

David scratched his cheek in embarrassment and quickly thought of an "excuse" and asked with a smile.

“Is it too late for me to start believing in God?”

"..." Mag raised his hand to cover his forehead and whispered in a dumbfounded voice.

"You used to always talk about Lady Luck and God, I thought..."

"Hehe~"

"fine!"

“Whether you have faith or not, or whether you believe in God, it doesn’t really matter.”

David raised his hand and made a "stop" gesture, then continued: "The important thing is that he can enjoy life healthily, happily and freely!"

"..Yes!"

David put his right hand on Mag's shoulder and asked with a smile: "Have you read the novel "The Godfather" written by Mario Puzo?"

"No, I just heard about it."

"Go and have a look~"

"If you want me to be your child's godfather, I agree!"

"However, 'The Godfather' can give you a deeper understanding of the responsibilities and obligations I bear."

"Okay!" Mag pursed his lips and nodded.

David shook his head, pulled Mag and turned towards the door, changing the topic and asking.

"What do you think of what old Cherov told me today?"

"..." Mag did not answer immediately.

He carefully recalled the conversation David just recited, walked to the living room, sat down, and said with a frown.

"As far as I know, the old Cherov has been making large investments in various industries in California since the 50s."

"Today I learned for the first time that he made a fortune from the post-war recovery of the Italian textile industry."

"But there are rumors that he is very willing to fund the campaigns of some congressmen. I have heard a lot in Washington~"

"Astaire K. Wood, the presidential candidate we are focusing on suppressing, received campaign funding from Cherov many times when he was the governor of California."

"It is said that the personal relationship between the two is very good..."

"That's why I used you and Livlin to form a partnership to find Wood and ask him to help the president pardon the "robber" Patty Hearst..."

"Also~"

"After Wood learned that you and Paramount had jointly invested in the movie "The Godfather," he approached Frank Sinatra and asked him to give up the idea of ​​filing a lawsuit."

"Oh~ I remembered."

David scratched his forehead and frowned: "It seems someone mentioned to me that Da Film and Television Company received a lawyer's letter from Frank Sinatra...?"

"Yes, that's it!"

"Tsk~"

"Why are you going around and around...returning to old Cherov again?"

"Haha!" Mag joked with a smile when he heard that David would sigh like this.

"Didn't he say that you are very similar to him when you were young..."

"looks like?"

"Almost~"

"Howard Hughes, you know that, right?"

"know."

"Old Cherov was richer than Howard Hughes when he was young!"

"It's just that Howard Hughes's personal life is relatively high-profile and open, and he prefers to tangle with Hollywood actresses~"

"But Mr. Cherov attaches great importance to personal privacy."

"There were two tabloids that liked to chase celebrities and report all kinds of gossip news. They were bankrupted by old Cherov in a rage."

"Um... is this happening?" David's eyes "ignited" with the fire of gossip, and he asked with great interest.

"What else do you know?"

Ma Ge spread his hands with a smile and said: "The other thing is luck!"

"When he was young, old Cherov was always nicknamed the lucky man."

"Because every time he invests, he always catches up with the economic development period of the times."

"And now you can quickly become a multi-millionaire from a bartender. There are indeed many similarities with his experience~"

"Ah..." David nodded suddenly, and smiled bitterly again.

"The last few sincere words I said to him seemed like... I shot myself in the foot?"

"Hahaha~ No, I don't think so."

Mag laughed and waved his hands: "Most people who know old Cherov think that he is a true pragmatist and opportunist."

"Because he will never explore people or things that go against his own interests, and will only pay special attention to the final results."

"For example: after Livlin was born, he gradually developed a sense of family and gave almost all his love to her, but he remained as indifferent to his other dozen children..."

Mag raised his index finger to David, who was deep in thought, and said, "I once read a passage about new pragmatism."

"Regardless of the source of experience, regardless of whether the tools are effective, and regardless of the value of human actions, only the purpose brought by the action, there is a difference between value and purpose and interests."

"No matter in the past we only focused on whether it was useful, usefulness is the truth. We don't look at the first thing, only the final result."

"The desirable thing about pragmatism is that it emphasizes action to achieve goals, believes that philosophy should care about people, and emphasizes tools to achieve better results."

"No, Mag!"

"I don't think so~" David raised his hand to interrupt Mag and said.

“I’m not going to focus on results in everything and use that as the only measure of success.”

"The process is equally important!"

"For example, during the learning process, I will pay more attention to how much knowledge learning can give me, rather than focusing on the final test score or whether I can accept praise~"

David sat up straight and looked directly at Mag: "Our lives are also a wonderful journey from birth to death."

"Some people may say that focusing only on the results can save us most of the time and do what we want to do."

"But I think it's just the opposite!"

“Enjoying the process is far more important than just focusing on the results. It allows me to enjoy novel experiences and a sense of accomplishment.”

"Every decision, every success, every failure, every mistake I make will be my precious memory and wealth!"

"Even if I have to bear the corresponding serious consequences for my wrong decision..."

"I won't regret it, or lie down and accept my fate!"

"Because only by struggling to climb one peak after another can I experience the double happiness of process + result~"

Mag curled his lips, crossed his legs, and asked, "So, you sent Otis Parker, who has a brain problem, to Europe?"

"..Haha~Yes!"

David's face was tangled and he spread his hands helplessly and said, "Kanes, you always like to mess around."

"Otis Parker's nervousness makes my heart beat faster..."

"If the two of them can join forces relatively honestly, I won't be the only one who has a headache...right?"

"Hahaha~ That's right!" Mag Ludwig applauded with approval.

"Others, I don't know."

"Anyway, I felt a headache immediately after listening to what you said..."

"Hahaha~" David pointed at the "praising" Mag, shook his head and laughed.