Chapter 1973: 1973 Old and Strong

"I've never heard you mention Ernst Lehmann." Standing in the courtyard of the Sunset Tower Hotel, with a blurry halo flickering with the toasts of the Oscar night, David Geffen had a surprised expression on his face, his eyes There is an uncontrollable excitement that makes him look like a teenager who met his idol.

Hugo chuckled, "Because you never asked about it." This is already the thirteenth person tonight to ask Hugo about Ernst, and the reporters also took a lot of effort to find out. Discussing the relationship between Hugo and Ernst, even Hugo's style is robbed. It can be seen that everyone has renewed interest in Ernst.

As a representative screenwriter of Hollywood's golden age, almost every one of Ernst's works is a classic, such as "Dragon and Phoenix", "North by Northwest", "West Side Story", "The Sound of Music", "Soul. Desire. Spring" .Xiao", "Hello, Dolly" and so on. These works are enlightenment films for many filmmakers, just as the "Star Wars" series has influenced a whole generation, and Ernst's works have also influenced two generations, from the 1950s to the 1960s, nearly two generations. During the ten years, Ernst contributed countless masterpieces.

After Hugo mentioned Ernst tonight, the name awakened countless people's memories. Compared with Hugo's Best Original Screenplay Award, everyone has attracted more attention from Ernst. Almost no one can imagine that standing behind Hugo, a rising screenwriter star Look at Ernst, the great god! In an instant, everyone was very interested in Ernst's current situation.

"Why, you know Ernst?" Hugo asked curiously, he could read the extraordinary from David's excited expression.

David's eyebrows were still jumping with uncontrollable excitement, and he nodded vigorously, "'Hello, Dolly' has always been my favorite movie, bar none; in fact, 'Sweet. Smell. Of. Success)' was a miracle for me to enter the entertainment industry, and I will always remember the first time I saw this movie in a movie theater. Do you remember? When I first met you, I joked, are you Bert - Lancaster's son? 'Smell of Success' is where he starred."

David in front of him was beaming, and he didn't hide his emotional fluctuations. This was David that Hugo had never seen before. From David’s words, one can deeply feel the influence of Ernst’s works on him, “Because I admire Mr. Lehmann, I have read all his works, and he is simply my idol!” Wei had to take a few deep breaths to adjust his excitement in the past.

It is hard to imagine that David has been in this industry for nearly 20 years and has become one of the most powerful top figures in the industry, but he still loses his composure now.

David looked at Hugo seriously, "Mr. Lehman, are you okay now?"

Hugo noticed that when David mentioned Ernst twice, he used the honorific title of "Mr." The admiration and respect overflowed in the words, which made Hugo stunned. Thinking about Ernst's current situation carefully, it is difficult for him to sum it up in one sentence, because he is not Ernst - in his eyes, Ernst is not doing well, but he doesn't know what Ernst is about the current situation. What do you think?

After thinking about it, "Ernst has always missed Hollywood." Hugo just used the simplest sentence to describe the current life of the stubborn old man as much as possible. It was plain and simple, but David understood it all at once. Come here, because what is hidden behind this sentence is, "Hollywood has forgotten him", the sadness and loneliness of the vicissitudes of life made the aura around David settle down, and there is an indelible bond between his brows. lost.

Because David is very aware of the cruelty and bloodiness of Hollywood: those who are eliminated will become history forever.

"I hope I didn't interrupt your conversation." A hoarse but steady voice sounded gracefully from the side, "Please forgive my impoliteness, I saw you two there just now, and I thought I had to come over to say hello , so I couldn't wait to come over, hoping that my actions would not be too rude."

Turning his head, Hugo saw the white-haired old man in front of him. He didn't have a too distinctive appearance but gave people a sense of intimacy. The neatly trimmed beard showed that he was a very careful person. The gentle smile on his face makes the deep wrinkles around his eyes full of the wisdom of his annual rings.

David also woke up from his own thoughts at this time, cast his gaze, he quickly sorted out his emotions, and said to Hugo with the most elegant smile, "Hugo, this is Frank Peel Mr. Frank Pierson, the current president of the Screenwriters Guild under the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Frank, this is Hugo Lancaster, the winner of the Best Original Screenplay Award tonight." David Knowing that Hugo is face-blind, he took the initiative to undertake the task of introduction, and gave Hugo enough hints concisely and accurately.

The Academy is a large organization with twelve trustees running the day-to-day affairs. Under the academy, there are a total of fifteen guilds, actors, directors, documentaries, producers, screenwriters, music and so on. These fifteen guilds elect four representatives every year, one from the documentary guild and three from the other fourteen guilds. The board members work together - including the position of president of the college, and the last trustee is the executive director responsible for the administration of the college - and it is he who is responsible for the broadcast work on ABC television.

In addition, these fifteen guilds will nominate two responsible persons for overall management. And Frank Pearson is the current president of the Screenwriters Guild.

Frank is a screenwriter-turned-director and producer. He has dedicated "Cat. Ballou", "Cool. Hand. Luke" and "Dog. Day. Afternoon)" and other classic works, among which "Hot Afternoon" starring Al Pacino was recognized by the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Frank's most well-known works should be two sets of TV series, "Mad. Men" and "The Good Wife".

After a brief introduction by David, Hugo recognized Frank, because the work "Hot Afternoon" is very familiar to Hugo. He showed a friendly smile and held Frank's extended right hand. , "Mr. Pearson, it's a pleasure to meet you. Thank God, please come over in person, which saves me the embarrassment of not being able to find time to visit you."

Frank is seventy-two years old this year, and he can definitely be regarded as a veteran of the industry, "And thank you for this statuette tonight." Hugo's words made Frank chuckle, "You deserve it! When I was watching 'As Good as It Gets', I felt very cordial, and it can be seen that Mr. Lehman's wonderful control of the lines has been carried forward in you."

Hugo was wondering just now why the top representative of the college actually came to talk to him in person, what was the reason for this, this was the first time in history. But now the answer has been revealed, and it's also for Ernst! It's just that I don't know if Frank is representing himself or the academy.

"Hehe, Ernst definitely wouldn't like to hear this sentence. When I showed him the 'perfect' script, he scolded him severely." Hugo was telling the truth, this It is also an important driving force for Hugo to continuously improve the script. Although Hugo has always regarded Ernst as a screenwriting teacher, Ernst refused to admit it. He never considered Hugo as his student.

So, in fact, when Hugo was giving his acceptance speech today, Ernst said it impulsively, and he didn't know if it was the right decision. But it now appears that he made the right choice.

Frank showed an expression full of memories, "You know, this is Ernst Lehmann. He always makes things difficult for others, and even more so for himself. This is why he can always write excellent scripts." Frank looked slightly He sank, seemed to think of something, but quickly covered it up, covering his inner thoughts with a smile, "I haven't seen him for a while, how is he doing recently?"

Hugo paused for the same question, and did not choose to give the same answer as before, "I'm not sure what happened to him recently, but when we met last time, he still scolded me severely for a while, The stubborn bad temper has not changed. It seems that a person's life has accumulated a lot of vitality, and he is still old and strong."

A simple sentence, polite and polite, but full of many hints.

Frank seemed to understand the subtext of Hugo's words, which made his face slightly sad, and then he twitched his mouth, "Next time you see him, please convey my greetings, I hope he is well." After finishing speaking , Frank let out a long breath, "My goal has been achieved, so I won't bother you to continue talking."

Watching Frank's back slowly leaving, David smiled mockingly, "As a veteran of Hollywood, Frank has become a top figure in the academy's leadership, while Ernst has been forgotten by people. So Frank After the peak of 'Hot Afternoon', there's nothing great to come out of."

Obviously, David has a clearer understanding of the intricate relationships in the circle than Hugo, and he also understands better: screenwriters like Ernst who purely insist on script creation have gradually been eliminated by the times. This is the reality, the cruel and sad reality.

David's words made Hugo fall into deep thought. Watching Frank's back gradually disappearing into the bright lights, his thoughts were surging. Regardless of whether Frank's appearance represented an individual or the academy, what is certain is that Ernst's name has been heard again within the academy, and perhaps this is a good thing.

Thinking of Ernst who stayed at home stubbornly and alone watching Hollywood, Hugo couldn't help but let out a long breath.