Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Oscar Promotion War
The brain behind this is the "honorable returnee" who is also the favorite to win the award. United Artists, the distributor of the film, also began to exert its efforts in the media, criticizing "The Deer Hunter" from the audience's perspective for being tedious and for inventing scenes of Russian roulette.
In this way, Ronald was unfortunately caught up in the reprimanding war between two major Oscar-winning films. Stealing the "show" on television.
Every day, when he walked down the street, people recognized him and asked if he was "Sleepy Luo." Some people agreed with Ronald's assessment and smiled and wanted to high-five him. There were also some fans of "The Deer Hunter" who cursed him for not understanding the movie and saying nonsense.
Ronald had no choice but to put on sunglasses and go spend time in Chinatown every day. No one cared that he attacked a film about the Vietnam War.
After a few days, the fever of Sleepy Luo slightly diminished. Then, the dispute unexpectedly led to the issue of the integrity of director Michael Cimino.
Speaking of this, one has to blame the director Michael Cimino himself for this.
Because the plot of Russian roulette in the film is absurd and strange, such a scene would not be possible in any modern war, let alone the Vietnam War. What if the officer forces the prisoner to play Russian roulette with a revolver, and at least the prisoner shoots him several times with a gun and dies with you? This put a lot of pressure on Universal, the publisher of "The Deer Hunter."
Universal had a rigorous plan from the beginning and released the film for only one week in 1978 to meet the Oscar criteria. Most of the guests invited to watch the film were Oscar judges and relatives. This has two benefits.
First, it is a disguised compliment for the judges. Being able to see "The Deer Hunter" is a status symbol. Moreover, it is said that during the screening, the judges received accompanying gifts. So, after a week of screenings last year, all the media did was enthusiastic reviews.
Second, it has also created a hungry movie in the market with excellent reviews, but the general public cannot see it. If it can take advantage of the good reviews and win several major Oscar nominations, if it is released to the public. The audience will be there in no time. They come to the cinema just in time to take a look, and the box office numbers will be great.
That is why Universal presented "The Deer Hunter" from the beginning as a reflective film that captures the humanity of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War ended almost four years ago, but the enormous scars left on the United States continue to tear apart society. If there is a film that can seize the opportunity and capture the trauma of the Vietnam War in society, then the box office will not lag behind.
However, the key plot was invented, and the Russian roulette scene was promoted by competitors through the media, which had a huge impact on Universal's box office plans.
At that time, director Michael Cimino jumped in to defend the authenticity of this plot to win awards and protect the box office. He said that during the Vietnam War, he was a medic soldier in the U.S. Army's Green Berets. He was sent to the front and participated in the "Spring Offensive" of 1968 that led to the capture of the protagonist of the film. He also said that much more exaggerated things happened on the battlefield in Vietnam than this.
But if calculated this way, director Michael Cimino's age does not match the time when recruits were drafted for the Spring Offensive of 1968. Recruits in 1968 were generally born around 1950, and this year they are under 30, but the director seems to be nearly 40.
Faced with this problem, Michael Cimino claimed in an interview with Daily Variety that he was born in 1952 and this year he only turns 27.
"Have you ever seen such a fat, greasy 27-year-old man? His hairline is very far back and he has a fat double chin. Are you only 27? Who are you fooling?"
Ronnie complained to Gale at an Italian restaurant near New World Studios. To find someone to discuss how to deal with the Sleepy Luo incident, Ronald specially invited Gale to lunch.
"Haha, Sleepy Luo. Don't get angry," Gale also mocked him.
"Will this matter have any impact on me, Gale? You've worked with Mr. Coleman for so long and have seen many things. I always have a feeling that this matter will come back to me in the future."
"Well, yes, the media has intensely reported on you in the last two days. Television stations are showing the two clips of interviews where you criticized 'The Deer Hunter'," Gale smiled. "There's also a clip of yawning."
Ronald angrily twirled the spaghetti with his fork and swallowed it whole, accompanied by minced meat and tomato sauce.
"But I'm innocent. I actually said good things, but the damn television station edited my words to make it look like that."
"Don't get angry, Ronald. You've been in the editing room and you know that editing can go against the original intent or even produce completely opposite meanings. What the media loves most is popularity. Now these two movies about the Vietnam War, because Oscar fights so hard, it really leaves you trapped."
"So what can I do?"
"There's nothing you can do, Ronald. Of course, there's nothing you should do," said Gale.
"Then I just watch?" Ronald was still angry.
"In a way, yes, just wait until after the Oscars and there won't be any media attention on Sleepy Rowe anymore."
It seemed that was all that could be done.
Ronald secretly sighed, "Has the preview time for Rock and Roll High School been confirmed?"
"Let me take a look." Gale pulled out his notebook and checked. "Yes, it's set for April 10, the day after the Oscars."
At that moment, the boss turned on the television hanging from the restaurant ceiling: "This is KNBC (the regional NBC station in Los Angeles). The director nominated for Best Director at the Oscars and the biggest dark horse of this Oscar, 'The Hunter', was interviewed by this station to clarify his service experience..."
Here's the translation of the text into English, preserving the original wording:
---
Michael Cimino extended his fat double chin and spoke to the camera:
"Did the screenwriter of the film accuse me of stealing his work? No, no, I am also a very good screenwriter. I wrote my last movie myself. The first draft he wrote? It was pure garbage. I canceled everything he had. Writing."
"What is Sleepy Luo's point of view? Does he accuse me of making movies that put people to sleep? I mean, if this is Sleepy Luo's true point of view, I advise him not to take this path in cinema. The perception of beauty and art is with a talent like yours, no matter how hard you work, it will be difficult to get ahead in the film industry."
Ronald slammed the table in anger, and the bang attracted everyone's attention. He was so scared that he also shrank his neck, pulled up his collar, and put on his sunglasses: "I'm sorry, Gale, I didn't mean to do that."
"People who know me well know that I like to joke, and sometimes I do it half-jokingly during interviews. 27 years old? Of course, it's half-joking, because I'm young, so I want to test your reporter's lower skills. Believe me the age I have. In fact, I was born in 1949, and this year I turn 30."
"I believe you," Ronald murmured angrily.
In the following days, Ronald had no choice but to pretend he hadn't seen the news and to deceive himself as if he were covering his ears. He couldn't stand to see Sleepy Luo yawning on television. Fortunately, the media gradually began to shift the focus, and his yawns appeared less and less on TV.
I called Mara several times but couldn't convince her to come back. She probably lost face in front of her classmates and wouldn't be able to calm down easily for a while.
As the days passed, the competition for the Oscars this year was more intense than in previous years. The director of "The Deer Hunter," Michael Cimino, was being criticized for his year of birth. His defenses became increasingly weak. The year of birth went back from '49 to '47, to '45, and finally stopped at '43.
The mouth of Fatty director has no credibility in the film industry, and the public does not have a good impression of a person who keeps lying about their age. Therefore, everyone is skeptical about the Russian roulette plot, thinking that director and screenwriter Michael Cimino invented it himself.
At that moment, Universal Pictures, which had already heavily bet on "The Deer Hunter" to win awards, finally counterattacked.
Instead of wasting ammunition on Fat Boy Cimino's age, they went straight to attacking Jane Fonda in front of him.
First, Universal united the leading actors, nominating Robert De Niro for Best Actor, Christopher Walken for Best Supporting Actor, and newcomer Meryl Streep for Best Supporting Actress.
The three were interviewed on television. The main argument was that Russian roulette was not about the Vietnam War but about a possibility. "The Deer Hunter" is not about the Vietnam War but about the possibility of any war. Fat Boy's director, Michael Cimino, is about human reactions to any war.
There is no need for the audience to take seriously whether the plot actually occurred on the battlefield of Vietnam. Watching the movie, you should focus on the beautiful shots and the destruction of human nature by war.
"So the Russian roulette is an invention, not the Vietnam War, but a false reference to any war. The male protagonist returned to his hometown and snatched his friend's fiancée. This is the destruction of human nature by war, and it is a critique of the destruction of human nature by the Vietnam War."
Ronald angrily complained to Cameron. That day I came to the Special Effects Model Factory to have lunch and chat with Cameron.
"Anyway, this fat guy is right!"
Universal threw a smoke screen for the first time to justify the Russian roulette plot.
Then they struck a real blow, detecting a fatal error by the heroine of "Homecoming," Jane Fonda.
Jane Fonda has said many times that "Homecoming" is the best film about the Vietnam War at this Oscar. But in a television interview, Jane Fonda admitted that she had never seen "The Deer Hunter."
As she had never seen "The Deer Hunter" and said that her "The Return" was stronger than its opponent, Universal took advantage of this and launched a full attack in the media. This time it was the turn of the "The Return" team, and Jane Fonda would be embarrassed.
Thanks to the leader of jajajah1111 for his affection. I am grateful in my heart.
End of chapter
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