Exciting 1979!

Chapter 403 Welcome to the San Fernando Valley
For over a month since returning to the United States, Li Aiguo has been busy finding a suitable singer for Wei Ming's electronic-style song, requiring someone with both talent and fame who can become an instant hit.

After all, Wei Ming earns more, so he earns more too; they are a community of shared interests. To this end, he used all the connections he could to his advantage and got to know many people in the music industry during this time, almost becoming a semi-professional.

"Leonardo, get in the car first, we'll talk in the car." After leaving the airport, Li Aiguo showed Wei Ming the latest BMW he had bought. It was all bought with the money Wei Ming had given him, without any loans. The artistic vitality of "Moonlight Shadow" is very strong.

Wei Ming was very satisfied: "It just so happens that I need a car while I'm in Los Angeles recently. Thank you, Patriot."

“How can I let you drive yourself? That would be a slap in my face. I’m a true Los Angeles kid, I have to do this.” Li Aiguo patted his face. During Wei Ming’s stay in Los Angeles, he would act as Wei Ming’s driver, tour guide, and agent, and cover all his expenses. He could also tag along with Wei Ming to the Grammy Awards ceremony.

"Won't this interfere with your work?"

"It's okay, I'll be starting school in a while." He will be pursuing a master's degree at the University of Southern California.

Once in the car, Li Aiguo headed straight for Sunset Boulevard, and at the same time told Wei Ming about the great musician he had chosen.

“Elton John, you know him, he’s British, you should know him, I remember Melinda let you listen to his album.”

"I know perfectly well," Wei Ming laughed. It was this older woman who exposed his identity in Hong Kong, and Wei Ming owes a great deal of gratitude to her for the huge appeal of his subsequent charity concert.

“I remember he was into rock music,” Wei Ming said. Although he didn’t have a band, most of the Elton John albums he listened to before were rock.

"His musical style is quite diverse; he can also handle lyrical folk songs and play the piano very well." Li Aiguo clearly has a deep understanding of Elton John.

He continued, "Elton has had a run of bad luck in recent years, his life and career have been a mess, and he is looking for a transformation. Electronic music is the direction he wants to try."

Li Aiguo is quite good at choosing people. After John Lennon's death, Elton John can be considered the most talked-about male musician in Britain, and also one of the best-selling solo artists, with more than one album selling tens of millions of copies.

Wei Ming's understanding of him, apart from his well-known world-class famous songs, mainly comes from his autobiographical film "Rocket Man". It is not an ordinary celebrity to be able to make a biopic while the real person is still alive.

Besides the growing pains of transitioning through a new phase, he is currently at a low point in his life due to drug use and homosexuality.

However, those things were none of his concern. Wei Ming only cared whether this song could reach the heights of his previous life, which was the world's best-selling electronic music single!
"Can I meet with Elton John and have a talk?"

“Sure, he’s in the US, but he’s in New York right now. I need to contact him first. Do you want him to come see you, or do you want to go see him yourself?” Li Aiguo asked.

"Then you can contact me later. I'll be going to New York then. After the Grammys, I'll be taking Yifu to school in Chicago, so it'll be convenient to go there."

Li Aiguo: What kind of route did you take? I think you just made up some excuse to go to New York!
Actually, Wei Ming also wanted to go to San Francisco. He knew where his great-aunt lived, but he was unsure if it would be too abrupt to visit her there.

"What should we do tonight?" Wei Ming asked.

The international flight departs tonight and lands in Los Angeles this evening. Wei Ming has already slept on the plane, and now he needs to engage in physical and mental activities to prevent himself from suffering from insomnia late at night.

"How about we go to a bar?" Li Aiguo suggested, since there were none in Yanjing. "You guys must be feeling really bored now that dancing isn't allowed in Yanjing."

Wei Ming: "I'm not into dancing, what about you, Yi Fu?"

"I... I think I'll go back to the hotel to rest first." He has a wife and children, is very self-disciplined, and doesn't want to go to those kinds of places. He would never patronize a place like the "military amusement park" in the Taiwanese military.

Wei Ming: "Forget about bars. Are there any movies showing lately? I'd like to see an American blockbuster."

"No, there aren't any big-budget films. It's the off-season for movies right now. However, there is an older film that has been showing for over a month. It's a heartwarming family drama that has received good reviews and box office success."

He was referring to "On Golden Pond," a strong contender for next year's Oscars, and also a huge box office success, having already grossed over $100 million in North America—quite remarkable.

Wei Ming knew the name of this movie: three-time Oscar-winning actress Katharine Hepburn, and father-daughter actors Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda.

"Sure, Brother Yifu, would you like to go take a look?"

This time, Lin Zhengyi didn't object. He figured it was a chance to learn some English and see if he could understand it.

American movies not only lack Chinese subtitles, but also lack English subtitles, which is quite challenging for foreigners like them.

The ticket price was three dollars per person, and I also bought some Coke and popcorn.

Because it had been showing for more than a month, the occupancy rate was not very high, but since the new films were not enough to support it, the screening schedule was still acceptable. They found a multiplex cinema that belonged to the AMC theater chain.

Multiplex cinemas are now becoming popular in the United States. This is clearly more reasonable and conducive to box office growth than single-screen cinemas. Of course, the investment and management costs will also increase accordingly.

However, even in Europe, multiplex cinemas are now rare, and naturally, neither Hong Kong nor mainland China have them.

This movie is adapted from a play of the same name, so the dialogue is very concise. The lines of the two veteran actors who appeared first were also very clear. With Wei Ming's spoken language skills, he didn't have any problems without subtitles. However, some slang terms required analysis of the context.

Lin Zhengyi, who was standing next to him, had a harder time, but he could still understand the story.

I heard that Jane Fonda bought this script specifically for her father, Henry Fonda. Their father-daughter relationship is very similar to the strained father-daughter relationship in the film, and the two were able to reconcile through their collaboration on this movie.

During the movie, a group of two Chinese and one white people were noticed by an Asian audience member in the row behind them.

After a smooth and exciting hundred-plus minutes, it was almost time to go back to the hotel to rest. Li Aiguo suggested that they go out for a late-night snack before returning to the hotel.

At this moment, the Asian audience member behind them suddenly stopped them and looked at Wei Ming: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Wei Ming?"

The man was in his fifties, not very tall, and spoke Chinese, though it was slightly different from the Mandarin that Wei Ming was familiar with; it sounded somewhat like Lin Zhengyi's accent.

Wei Ming nodded: "You're also of Chinese descent, right? What can I do for you?"

"It really is you!" The other person was overjoyed. "My memory is pretty good, isn't it? I've only read a few reports and I already remember what you look like!"

Wei Ming felt that it was probably because he was too eye-catching.

The other person introduced himself: "My surname is Zhou, Zhou Shitong, and I am a physics professor at the University of California, Northridge."

"Oh, Professor Zhou, you've seen my work?"

“I’ve read them all, I’ve read almost all of them. I’ve even read the Sanlian Bookstore edition of ‘The Road to Awakening’. My fellow Taiwanese compatriots all said that this novel helped them understand the history of that period very well.”

Wei Ming: "So you're from Taiwan."

He noticed that Lin Zhengyi had turned his face away. Lin was quite famous in Taiwan back then. He was a college student from a prestigious university who volunteered for the army, became a company commander, and was personally received and praised by his superiors. He was featured in many newspapers and was set up as a role model.

As a result, he secretly fled to the mainland. This matter was kept secret in Taiwan, and the military treated him as dead. If the Taiwanese authorities had known that he was there, he might have been secretly eliminated, since assassination is a traditional practice of the Kuomintang.

Seeing that Wei Ming had no hostility toward Taiwanese people, Professor Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I have been in the United States for more than 20 years and have settled down and started a family here."

Hearing him say that, Lin Zhengyi breathed a sigh of relief. He had been away from Taiwan for more than 20 years, so it was highly likely that the other person wouldn't recognize him.

Professor Zhou recognized Wei Ming and took the initiative to befriend him, but in reality, he had something to ask of him.

"Our University of California, Northridge is currently hosting a Chinese film festival to introduce Chinese films to Americans. Well-known films from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will be screened and promoted, including your film, 'The Herdsman.' So I wonder if Mr. Wei has time to attend our event and chat with the students about film, music, and literature."

Wei Ming asked about the time, because he was going to attend the Grammys the day after tomorrow.

"It's up to you. This film festival will last for half a month. We'll show 'The Herdsman' whenever you have time," Professor Zhou said.

Wei Ming thought for a moment and said, "How about tomorrow?"

"Great! Tomorrow is a good day. We've also invited a famous actor who's also from mainland China!"

"Oh?"

~
After leaving the movie theater, Li Aiguo asked, "Chinese food or Western food?"

"American-style Chinese food?"

"There are also authentic ones; you can go to Chinatown."

"It's a bit far, let's grab a quick bite nearby, it's almost eleven o'clock."

So the three of them went into McDonald's. After eating there, Lin Zhengyi commented, "It's not as good as Holiland."

Wei Ming smiled smugly and said, "McDonald's is no match for Holiland in Hong Kong. We've thoroughly studied them."

Afterwards, Li Aiguo took Wei Ming and the other person to the Hyatt Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. It was a relatively new star-rated hotel, so the facilities looked very new. In addition, the location was good, so there was a high probability of running into celebrities at this hotel.

Li Aiguo had already booked a double room, but because Lin Zhengyi was also there, he booked another one downstairs.

"Brother Yifu, don't be so polite with me. We're both Peking University students, so it's only right that we take care of each other when we're out in the world." Li Aiguo patted Lin Yifu on the shoulder, having now secured this connection with the future World Bank.

Back in his room, Lin Yifu began writing a letter to his wife, intending to mail it after arriving in Chicago and have it delivered to her in Taiwan through a close relative in Japan.

Wei Ming took a shower, watched TV for a while, and didn't go to sleep until one or two in the morning.

Late-night TV programs usually consist of talk shows and nighttime news. If you have a paid cable TV subscription, such as HBO, you can also watch movies, concerts, and so on.

This is my first time in America, so I need to get to know Americans of this era. Knowing the enemy and yourself is the key to success.
While Wei Ming was fast asleep, Cheng Long was already in the first-class cabin of the plane. Looking at Wei Lingling, who exuded a powerful aura and was holding an English copy of Time magazine, he politely went over to greet her and then remained silent.

Unexpectedly, she was also going to the United States, and the two were even on the same flight. Although Cheng Long was a superstar, and all the female celebrities in the entertainment industry had to fawn over him, he was no match for Wei Lingling. He only realized the strength of Langning Toy Factory recently after buying too many blind boxes.

This toy company, which now owns three factories in Hong Kong and Taiwan, has become one of the top three toy giants in Hong Kong, with annual profits in the tens of millions.

And we just chatted for a couple of minutes, and Wei Lingling said she was going to the United States to expand her international business. Tsk tsk, I haven't even entered the American market yet, and she, a toy seller, has already gone in.
Actually, Wei Lingling hadn't planned to go to the United States right now, but knowing that Wei Ming had gone to Los Angeles, she came ahead of time. She wanted to tell her aunt if she wanted to meet Xiao Ming, the most successful child in the Wei family.

~
The next day, Lin Zhengyi got up and knocked on Wei Ming's door.

After letting him in, Wei Ming said, "I'll change my clothes and then go downstairs for dinner."

“Don’t rush to eat, you should change your clothes first,” Lin Zhengyi said. “I think I saw your ex-girlfriend.”

"what?"

"It's that British redhead girl. I saw her selling cassette tapes at school. Later I heard she got together with the handsome doorman."

"You haven't mistaken me for someone else, have you?" Wei Ming exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm not entirely sure, which is why I said it seems so, just in case I have face blindness when it comes to white people."

He then led Wei Ming to his floor: "This should be the room. I'll go downstairs first. If you've mistaken me for someone else, come to the restaurant and settle the score with me."

Wei Ming knocked on the door impatiently.

Then a woman with reddish-brown hair opened the door.

"Sarah?!"

"Oh my god, Mr. Why, we chose the same hotel!" Sarah Brightman excitedly hugged Wei Ming and kissed him on the cheek before calling out to her, "Melinda, look who's here!"

Melinda, with her bright red hair, emerged from the bathroom: "Who is it? Could it be my old flame?"

Sarah: "Yes, you guessed right."

As Wei Ming and Melinda hugged, Sarah stepped out the door and said, "I'll go downstairs to eat first, so I won't disturb you."

Melinda called out to Sarah, "Let's eat first. I'm actually a little tired right now."

Seeing Wei Ming arouses him sexually, but his body isn't physically aroused.

Wei Ming was very understanding; the two of them had just arrived and were exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Melinda told Wei Ming, "I came here mainly for 'Jurassic Park.' This novel has been on the New York bestseller list for a while now, and it's even more popular than in Europe. A company wants to buy the film rights to this novel, and I thought you would be here too, so we can talk about it together."

"Oh? Hollywood reacted that quickly?" Wei Ming asked. "Which company has such good judgment?"

Melinda said, "MGM."

It's not Universal? Spielberg basically collaborates with Universal these days.

Wei Ming still hopes to find a reliable director. It's not easy to perfectly present a giant dinosaur on the big screen. This is also the first special effects blockbuster to truly open up the international market for Hollywood.

However, without the giant dinosaur, the film industry had developed to the 90s, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the United States becoming the dominant force, Hollywood was bound to have other blockbusters to fulfill the historical mission of the giant dinosaur. Wei Ming couldn't stop the trend and was only thinking about getting a share of the pie.

Melinda had done some research before coming and told Wei Ming about the current situation at MGM.

MGM was once the most successful film company in the United States, owning classic films such as "Gone with the Wind," "Tom and Jerry," "Ben-Hur," and "The Wizard of Oz."

MGM is very wealthy now because Las Vegas gambling tycoon Kirk Cory acquired MGM, and MGM then began to venture into the hotel and real estate industries.

However, his original film business was not doing well, so the casino tycoon made a big move and acquired United Artists, one of the eight major Hollywood studios that owns films like "Rocky" and "007".

But in reality, the two companies combined only account for 6% of the North American market. In Wei Ming's view, MGM-United Artists has little chance of making a good Jurassic Park.

Most importantly, the technology of this era makes it very difficult to make a film like "Jurassic Park," and it would be easier to make a high-quality tokusatsu film.

However, he still needed to meet with the MGM representatives and discuss the terms. Upon arriving at the restaurant, Wei Ming introduced them to each other, and many people looked at Sarah.

After all, she is the singer of two super popular hit songs. Sarah has come to the United States to promote her songs over the past year and has appeared on some shows. They even plan to bring their musical "Cats" to Broadway this year.

Wei Ming asked Melinda, "What day did you make an appointment with the MGM people?"

"Let's wait until after the Grammys. If you win, even though it's in the music field, you'll be much more famous, and we'll have more leverage in negotiations. I won't hold back against them!"

Wei Ming said, "You can ask Li Aiguo about the price Hollywood will pay for the novel's rights; he'll probably be here soon."

"Yes, I'm in contact with him too. He's helping you sell your songs, and the money will go directly to the company's account."

When Li Aiguo found them at the restaurant, the old classmates chatted for a bit, and then Wei Ming told Melinda and the others to go upstairs and rest first.

Before leaving, Melinda took Wei Ming's room key.

Wei Ming had arranged to meet Professor Zhou at the Northridge campus in the afternoon, so Li Aiguo planned to take Wei Ming and Lin Zhengyi to Hollywood in the morning.

However, when Wei Ming reached the lobby, he suddenly stopped and went to the front desk, where he saw a big-nosed man flirting with the receptionist and asking if there were any other Asian men staying at the hotel.

The receptionist, a large, attractive woman, liked humorous men with small eyes. She laughed and said, "Yes, he's right behind you."

Cheng Long turned around, his small eyes widening: "Ah Ming!"

Wei Ming was delighted to run into an acquaintance: "You were looking for me?"

"I've finally found you! I was even thinking of waiting for you at the Grammy Awards! We're so lucky, I ran into your aunt on the plane and then I ran into you at the hotel!"

Wei Ming: "Wait, you ran into my aunt?"

“Yes, I took the same flight as Ms. Wei, but it seems she stayed at the Hilton Hotel. I stayed there before, so I booked the same hotel again,” Cheng Long explained.

"Okay, we have to go now. Would you like to rest a bit and talk again tonight, or..."

"No need to rest, I'll stay with you. What are your names, these two?"

Wei Ming introduced Lin Zhengyi and Li Aiguo, and Cheng Long felt ashamed upon hearing such noble and righteous names.

Li Aiguo also said he was impressed by Jackie Chan: "I've seen 'Cannonball Run,' although that movie was terrible, but you left a deep impression on me."

Jackie Chan immediately straightened his back, realizing that he did have some influence in Europe and America!

After getting into Li Aiguo's car, Wei Ming asked, "Brother Long, you came to see me because of the script, right? Are you satisfied or not?"

"I'm very satisfied, but Boss Zou and my godfather don't really want me to direct it myself. They said that as long as you agree, they'll let me direct it myself."

Wei Ming simply said, "I have no objection."

Cheng Long gave him a grateful look: "Then do you have any suggestions?"

Wei Ming: "My suggestion is that you should shoot something that others can't shoot, something that others can't imitate, and form your own signature style. In addition, I suggest that in order to show the authenticity of the shooting, you can put some outtakes and injuries in the end credits."

He remembered that "Project A" was the first film Jackie Chan made that did this, and after Wei Ming gave him a little pointer, Jackie Chan immediately exclaimed, "Brilliant!"

Sometimes when viewers watch a movie, they might think that a scene is thrilling, but there must be some cinematic technique involved. Now I'm telling you directly, there was no technique involved; it was all skill, shots that were risked with one's life. Just ask me, aren't you moved? Aren't you shocked?

Sunset Boulevard is more fun at night. Now they went to Hollywood Walk of Fame to count the stars. On the way, Wei Chenglong was still discussing filming details with Wei Ming. Wei Ming also gave some suggestions on his performance. After all, it was his first time playing a policeman, and he couldn't be so carefree anymore.

At that time, only one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame belonged to a Chinese-American actress named Anna May Wong.

Even though Bruce Lee was posthumously awarded the title many years later, it doesn't really mean much to them as Chinese people.

They had lunch near the Chinese Theatre. They figured they should try some Western-style Chinese food, since they were already there.

After taking a bite of General Tso's chicken with a frown, Wei Ming asked Cheng Long, "We're going to the San Fernando Valley this afternoon. Are you going back to the hotel to rest or coming with us?"

"What? You're going to the San Fernando Valley? Take me with you! You absolutely have to take me with you!"

Although Cheng Long has not visited the United States many times, he actually knows about the local specialties of the San Fernando Valley.

He thought Wei Ming was going to observe the production process of a specialty industry in the San Fernando Valley, until he saw the gates of UC Ridge North.
Damn, I might as well go back to sleep!

……

(Today's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)