Chapter 19 12-2

He didn't mention New Year's Eve.New Year's Eve was his once-in-a-lifetime night of carousing, getting drunk with his friends; he didn't need a mother-in-law among them on an occasion like this. She helped him put on his coat and brushed it a few times. He was very tidy.She could see that he was frowning, because the shirt he had just put on was not ironed to his liking, and the cuff buttons he hadn't used in a long time seemed a little too fancy for his current taste in dressing.She smiled softly and said: "Tom doesn't pay attention to such a small problem of clothing."

Ginny led the two daughters and sent him out onto the driveway.Two children held his hand, one on each side, and his ex-wife followed behind, keeping a little distance.He looked very happy.She also felt very happy.He walked up to the car, turned around, and took turns lifting the girls up into the air one by one, lowering them down and kissing them.Then, he kissed his ex-wife as well and got into the car.He never liked lingering goodbyes. Preparations had been arranged by his external contacts and assistants, and there was a rental car waiting at his home with the driver inside.Also sitting in the car was his contact and another entourage.Johnny parked his car, got into the rented car, and drove straight to the airport.His external contact got out to pick up Tom Hagen, who sat in the car and waited; Tom got in, they shook hands, and they drove home.

There was only him and Tom in the living room, and there was something cold between them, for Hagen got in the way of his attempts to contact the Don when he was angry with him, and during the dreary days before Connie's wedding. He has always been worried about Hagen's behavior.Hagen never tried to justify his actions, nor could he try to.For part of his job was to be a lightning rod for people's anger: People were afraid to express their anger at the Don himself because of his power, even though he should have been reprimanded for what he had done. "Your godfather sent me here to help you with a few things," said Hagen. "I want to get this sorted out before Christmas."

Johnny Fontane shrugged and said: "The film was done. The manager was straight up and treated me well. The shots I was in were too important to cut out and throw on the floor in the editing room and have Woltz pay me for free. He couldn't A film worth $10 million can easily be ruined. So now it all depends on what people think of my performance in the film." Hagen reminded him: "Does winning an Academy Award really make an astonishing difference to an actor's career, and on the other hand, is stereotyped publicity just pointless?" He paused for a moment, then hastily added: "What kind of awards, publicity, if you leave out the honor, of course it is meaningless. What everyone is fighting for is honor."

Johnny grinned at him. "And, apart from my godfather, and you, Tom, publicity isn't a lot of crap, and an Academy Award can make an actor ten years famous. He's entitled to choose parts. Crowds go to his plays. That's Obviously not everything, but for an actor, it is the most important thing. I guess I will get an academy award. Not because I am a great actor, but because I am famous as a singer .That role is very simple, even an idiot can play it, and I am also very personable, this is not a joke." Tom Hagen shrugged and said: "Your godfather told me that, as it stands, you have no chance of winning the prize."

Johnny Fontane was angry. "What are you talking about? The film hasn't even been edited, let alone screened. And the old man isn't even in the film industry, why did you fly three thousand miles just to tell me that shit?" He was almost excited Tears flowed. Hagen said worriedly: "Johnny, I don't know anything about the film industry. Don't forget, I'm just a small correspondent for the old man. But we've put your The problem has been discussed several times throughout. He is worried about you, about your future, he feels that you need his help. He wants to solve your problem once and for all, and that is what I am here for, to give things a push. But, Johnny, you are always getting older, it is impossible to always think of yourself as a singer or an actor. You have to think of yourself as a locomotive, as a flesh-and-blood warrior, and think about your future."

Johnny Fontane laughed and filled his glass. "If I don't get the academy award this time, then I'm done. My voice is bad. If I get my voice back, then I can make a breakthrough. Well, it's too much. How could my godfather Know I won't win the prize? Well, I'm sure he will know. He's never been wrong in judgment." Hagen lit a very thin pistachio. "We've got word that Jack Woltz is not willing to take studio money to back you as a candidate. In fact, he puts out a message to every voter that he doesn't want you elected; on the other hand, he And put down advertising money and everything that might help you get elected. He's still trying to get another kid to get as many votes as possible to compete with you. He's using all kinds of wooing methods— Placement of work, money, and beauty tricks, in short, they are unscrupulous. On the one hand, he will do everything possible to prevent you from winning the award, and on the other hand, he wants to avoid or minimize the loss of the film."

Johnny Fontane shrugged, filled his glass with whiskey, and drank it down. "This time, I'm done." Hagen pursed his lips and eyed him disgustedly. "Drinking won't fix your throat," he said. "Stop rambling," Johnny said. Hagen straightened his face and put on an air of seriousness, and said: "Okay, I'll just talk about the facts." Johnny Fontane put down his glass and came over to stand in front of Hagen. "Tom, I'm sorry I said something wrong," he said, "Christ, I'm sorry. I want to kill that bastard Jack Woltz and I'm afraid to name my godfather, so it's on you Out of anger, and therefore angry with you."

Tears welled up as he spoke.He flung the empty whiskey glass against the wall, but was still limp, and the thick, strong glass, unbroken, fell and rolled toward him on the floor.He looked down at the glass rolling back towards him, full of sulking with nowhere to vent.Then he laughed again. "Jesus Christ..." he began. He went to the side of the room and sat down across from Hagen. "You know I was fine for a long time. Then I got a divorce from Ginny, and then everything went wrong. My voice was gone. I couldn't make records. I just Can't get a job in a movie anymore. So my godfather is mad at me too and won't talk to me on the phone, and he won't even see me when I get to New York City. You keep blocking My way. I blame you, but I know you wouldn't have done that without the old man's orders.

But I can't be mad at him, it's like being mad at God.So I curse you, but you're always right.In order to show you my sincerity in admitting my mistakes, I will immediately accept your advice. If my voice does not recover, I will stop drinking.Are you not angry? " The admission was sincere, and Hagen had long forgotten his anger.There must be something famous about this man, otherwise the old man wouldn't like him so much.He said: "Forget about the past, Johnny." He was embarrassed to see Johnny's heartfelt emotion.At the same time, Johnny was also afraid that he would instigate the old man to oppose him and be paranoid, so Johnny also felt very embarrassed.In fact, the old man is absolutely impossible to be instigated by anyone, and it is impossible for any reason. His feelings can only be reversed by himself.

"It's not that serious," he told Johnny. "The old man says he can undo the consequences of everything Woltz did to harm you, and that you're almost certain you'll get the prize. But he doesn't think that's going to solve your problem. He wants to know what you have I don’t have the brains and courage to be the director of a self-operated studio, a studio built with all my own people.” "How on earth is he going to get me a prize?" Johnny asked in disbelief. Hagen asked tit-for-tat: "How did you come to believe that Woltz can hide from the sky and your godfather can't? Now it seems necessary to give you confidence in the other side of our activities. I have to put Tell you the truth. Just know it yourself, don’t tell outsiders. Your godfather is much more powerful than Wultz, and in more critical areas, he is also much more powerful. How can he influence the Academy Awards? What? He controls all the unions in the film industry, or the people in the film industry, and controls all or nearly all of the people who vote. Of course, you have to compete; you have to compete on your own merits .Your godfather has more brains than Jack Woltz. He doesn't pop up in front of these people, put a gun to their heads, and say, "Vote for Johnny Fontane or you'll be counted food account." He did not use the threat of force when it would not help, or when there might be too many enemies. He will find a way to get those people to vote for you voluntarily.But they would not volunteer without his hand.Take my word for it now: he can make you prize.Also, if he walks away, you don't get the prize. " "Yes," Johnny said, "I'll take your word for it. But I've got the guts and brains to start a studio myself, but I don't have that much money. No bank will give me money. Back a film The dollars needed for filming are calculated in millions." Hagen said bluntly: "After you win the award, you start to make plans to produce three of your own films, hire the best people in the film industry, the best technicians, the best stars, whoever you need. Who to hire. Make a plan to produce three to five films." "You're talking crazy," Johnny said, "that many movies could cost twenty million dollars." "Whenever you need money," Hagen said, "just contact me, and I'll give you the name of the bank in California that will provide you with the funds. Don't worry, this bank has been providing for the film." Funds. Ask them for a loan in the normal way, with a valid reason, just like a normal business transaction, and they will agree. But first you have to meet me and tell me the amount of money and the plan. Is that okay?" Johnny was silent for a long time, then calmly he said: "Are there any conditions?" Hagen smiled. "You mean, do you have to do something to repay the twenty million dollar loan? Surely you have to do something." He paused to wait for Johnny to speak. "If the old man asks you to do something for him, there is nothing you are unwilling to do." Johnny said, "If there's a serious problem, it's got to come to me directly from the old man himself, you know what I mean? I don't listen to you or Sonny on that." Hagen marveled at his sanity.Fontane, being a wise man, realized that the old man liked him too much to ask him to do foolish and dangerous things, whereas Sonny might ask him to take risks.He said to Johnny: "Let me state again that you may rest easy on the matter: your godfather has given me and Sonny strict orders not to implicate you in any way that might damage your reputation through our misjudgment. He himself I will never ask you to risk anything stupid, and I can assure you: anything he asks of you, you will do before he asks. Look, okay?" Johnny smiled. "OK," he said. Hagen said: "Also, he has a lot of trust in you. He thinks you are smart, so he estimates that the bank's investment in you will make money. This means that he will also make money. So this It's a real business deal, you mustn't forget that, and don't spend it all over the place. You're his proud godson, but twenty million dollars is a lot of money. In order to ensure that you get the money, he himself has to take a lot of risks." "Tell him to take it easy," Johnny said. "If an idiot like Jack Woltz can be a genius in film, so can anyone." "Your godfather thinks so," said Hagen. "Can you find a way to drive me to the airport? I've said all I have to say. When you start signing contracts to take every step, hire a lawyer first, I'm not going to go straight to it But, if it's convenient for you, I'd like to look at every contract you're going to sign in advance. Also, you'll never have any labor disputes, which lowers the cost of your film to some extent, So when accountants take that into account, you can ignore those kinds of expenses." Johnny asked cautiously: "On other things, such as scripts, stars, and other aspects, do I have to ask for your permission first?" Hagen shook his head. "No need," he said. "It may happen that the old man may object to something then. But if he does object to something, he will directly bring it up. I can't imagine what his objection might be at the moment. Movies can't move him at all, because he has no interest.And he doesn't like to meddle, I can tell you this from experience. " "Well said," Johnny said, "I'll drive you to the airport myself, please thank Godfather for me. I wanted to call him to thank him, but he never answered. By the way, what's going on? thing?" Hagen shrugged. "He seldom speaks into the phone. He doesn't want his voice to be recorded, even if he's saying something perfectly harmless. He's afraid that someone will put his words together so that it sounds like he It means something else. I think that’s what it is. All in all, his only fear is that someday the authorities will incriminate him, so he doesn’t want to be caught.” They got into the car and drove directly to the airport.Hagen was thinking that Johnny was a much better man than he had expected.He had already grasped something, as evidenced by the fact that he drove him to the airport himself.Also, being civilized and polite is what the old man has always attached importance to.Also, he admits his mistakes, and he does so with sincerity.He had known John for a long time, and he knew that Johnny's confession just now was not out of fear.Johnny had a lot of guts, so he got into fights a lot, with the studio boss and with his mistress.He was one of the few people who wasn't afraid of the Don, only Fontane and Michael, as far as Hagen knew. In the next few years, he must have many opportunities to meet Fontane.In the next step, Fang Tan will undergo a new test, which will also test how shrewd he is.He must do something for the Don, but never in doing it as if the Don had made him do it, or insisted on his agreement to do it.Hagen wondered if Johnny Fontane was shrewd enough to appreciate this subtlety of the deal. Johnny took Hagen to the airport, let him out of the car (Hagen insisted that Johnny not hang around with him waiting for the plane), and drove back to Ginny's house.She was surprised to see him come again.But he wanted to be at her house, where he could think quietly and make plans.He knew that the idea Hagen gave him was extremely important, and his life destiny was changing accordingly.He used to be a big star, but at the age of thirty-five, he was washed into the stinky gutter like a waste.He had no naive illusions about himself in that regard, and even if he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, what the hell did it matter?If his voice didn't recover, it wouldn't do anything.He will fall into the status of a second-rate actor, with no real power and no benefits.Take the girl who turned him down, she was cute and shrewd and good at showing off her thighs.If he was still the No. 1 celebrity in Tianzi, would she have been so cold at that time?Now with the old man behind him, he could compete with anyone in Hollywood.He can be king now.Johnny couldn't help laughing, damn it, he could even be an old man now. It would be nice to spend a few weeks or more with Ginny.He takes the children out to play every day, and maybe he can invite a few friends to sit and sit.He can quit drinking, quit smoking, and really love his body.Perhaps his voice would grow louder again.If his voice really recovered, coupled with the old man's support, he would be incomparable.He could really live as close to an ancient king or emperor as the conditions of the United States allowed.It won't depend on how long he can keep his voice, or how long the masses can care about him as an actor.This would be an empire based on money, the most special and coveted power. Ginny tidied up the guest bedroom for him.The tacit understanding between the two parties is: he does not share the same room with her; they do not live together as husband and wife.There's no way they're going to be reunited.While outside gossip columnists and movie buffs blamed him for the breakdown of their marriage, they both agreed, strangely, that she was even more responsible for their divorce. When Johnny Fontane became a crowd-favorite singer and musical comedy star, it never occurred to him to abandon his wife and children.He has a strong Italian smell, and his thinking is too old-fashioned.Naturally, he has been hooking up with other women for a long time.It was inevitable in his line of work, and it was even more inevitable when he was often seduced by girls with bright eyes.Although he was a thin, thin boy, he had the typical muscular features of the Latin race. Ginny brought the coffee and the pastry into his bedroom and set them on the long table.He told her briefly that Hagen was helping him put together a loan for a movie production fund; she was thrilled to hear that, too.He could be valued again.However, she had no idea how powerful Don Corleone really was, so she didn't understand the practical significance of Hagen's coming all the way from New York City. He also told her that Hagen would also help on specific matters involving the law. After they finished their coffee, he said he was going to work in the evening, making some phone calls and making plans for the future. "Half of the total funds will be in the child's name," he told her. She smiled gratefully at him, kissed him good night, and left his room. On his desk is a glass dish full of his favorite cigarettes with monogrammed monograms of the factory's name on it, and a special pre-snow pack that can maintain a constant humidity. It's a pencil-thick Cuban black preva.Johnny leaned back in his chair and began calling one after another, his mind racing.He calls the author of a best-selling novel; his new film will be based on the novel.The author is a person of the same age as him, and his background is also very difficult, but now he has become a celebrity in the literary and art circles.He came to Hollywood and expected to be reused as a pillar, but instead, like most writers, he was treated like a piece of shit.Johnny had seen the writer humiliated one night at Brown Darby's.The writer went out to play with a well-known young actress with beautiful breasts, and he must have spent the night.But when they were eating, a silly comedian happened to come, pointed out his nameless name and shook the little female star, and she left the writer and followed him.This incident gave the writer a rough idea of ​​who was at the top of the Hollywood love game.It didn't help that the books he wrote made him famous all over the world.A little female star always likes the most low-level, rat-headed, and most swindling movie industry figures. Now Johnny called the writer's home in New York to thank the writer for writing him that great character in the book.He praised the writer so much that he forgot how many bowls of rice he could eat and how many piles of shit he could eat a day.Then he casually asked the writer how his next novel was going and what it was going to be about.When the writer introduced a particularly interesting chapter in the book to him, he lit a pistachio and listened to it while smoking. Finally he said: "Well, well, I'd like to read it first after you've finished. How about sending me a copy? Maybe I can make you a fortune, a little more than you got from Woltz anyway. " The grateful eagerness in the writer's voice told him he was right.Woltz ripped off the author, used his book, and paid a pittance.Johnny also mentioned that he might be in New York soon after the Christmas holidays, and asked the writer if he would like to have dinner with some of his friends then. "I know some pretty women," Johnny joked. The writer laughed and said, "Okay." Next, Johnny called the production director and cinematographer of the film he had just finished to thank them for their help on that film.He told them in a tone of confidence that he knew Woltz was against him, and he was all the more grateful for their help.Said that if there was anything they could do for them, it was just a phone call away. Then he made the most difficult call, which was directly to Woltz himself.He thanked him for being in that role in that film and told him how happy he was to work for him anytime.The purpose of his saying these words is purely to confuse Wultz.He has always done things aboveboard and straightforward.Woltz would discover his trick in a few days, and he would be taken aback by the cajoling of the call.This happened to be the feeling Johnny Fontane wanted him to feel. Afterwards, he sat at his desk and smoked his cigar.There was whiskey on the side table, but he had made an informal promise to himself and to Hagen that he would never drink again.Even now he shouldn't be smoking.In fact, it was a waste of effort. He had a voice problem, and quitting smoking and drinking would not help.As long as it's not too much, it doesn't matter, but smoking and alcohol can refresh you, and what he needs is to use all his strengths, because he is currently facing a critical moment where only fighting can be the way out. Now the house is silent: his divorced wife asleep, his lovely daughter asleep, and he can recall the horror of abandoning them in prison for his now second wife, whore as bad as a whore. bitch and abandoned them.But even now, when I think of her, I can't help laughing, she was in many ways a lovely woman.Besides, the only thing that saved his life from ruin was that he had made up his mind that day that he would never hate women.Or more specifically, he said that he couldn't hate his first wife and his daughter, his girlfriend, his second wife, and the new girlfriends from the second marriage, and finally Sharon. Moore. He used to travel around with the orchestra, singing wherever he went.Then he was a star in radio dramas, and a star in theatrical productions of film troupes.Finally, he finally participated in the filming of the film.During this period of time, his life is satisfactory, he can live as he wants, and he can seduce any woman he wants, but he will never let such things affect his personal life.Then he fell in love with Margot Ashton, who soon became his second wife; he thought she had gone mad.So hell with his career, hell with his voice, and hell with his family.In the end, he was at the end of his rope and had nowhere to go. The key issue is that he has always been generous and decent.When he divorced his first wife, he gave her everything he had.He also pledged that everything he earned, every record he made, every movie he acted in, every nightclub performance, in short, everything he earned would go to his two daughters.Back then, he was rich and famous, and he never cheated on his first wife; he generously helped her siblings, her parents, the female classmates she went to school with when she was a child, and their families.He was never a snob.He had sung at the weddings of his wife's two younger sisters, which he would not have done.He never refused any request from her. When he was down, when he couldn't get a movie job, when he couldn't sing anymore, when his second wife betrayed him, he came to live with Ginny and their daughter last few days.One night he felt a bit ashamed, as if asking for her mercy.That day when he listened to the records he had recorded, his voice was terrible. He also blamed the recording technician for intentionally making troubles and secretly destroying the recording effect.At last he was convinced that his voice was just like that.He smashed the record and refused to sing after that.He was so ashamed that he never sang a note except after the chorus with Nino at Connie Corleone's wedding. He has never forgotten the look on Ginny's face when she learned about his various misfortunes.That look had only been on her face for a second, but it was enough to last him forever.It was a look of gloating.That look could only convince him that she had despised him and hated him for years.But she recovered quickly and offered him cold but polite sympathy.He also deliberately pretended to be confused and thanked her for her sympathy.In subsequent days he had seen three of his favorites over the years, with whom he remained friendly and sometimes slept with them.He has done everything he can to help them. The gifts or job opportunities he gave these girls, if converted into money, are equivalent to hundreds of thousands of dollars.On their faces, too, he caught glimpses of the same schadenfreude. It was during this time that he learned that he had to make up his mind: that he had to be like so many other men in Hollywood, studio execs, writers, directors, and actors who had made their fortunes, each of them was like a beast, pregnant. Falling on beautiful women with lustful hatred.In using his magic power and money for others, he can be stingy, calculating, in case of betrayal, and always pay attention to women betraying him and abandoning him. But he knew in his heart that he could not bear not to love women; and that, however treacherous and promiscuous women might be, if he did not go on loving them some part of his spirit would die.And it didn't matter that the women he loved most secretly enjoyed seeing him ruined and made a fool of himself by fate's tricks;He had no other choice than to refuse them.So he professed his love to them all, and gave them presents; the hurt that their schadenfreude had done him, he kept in his heart.He had lived in extreme freedom from women, in the fullest atmosphere of humanity, and he knew that he had received his retribution, so he forgave them.But at the moment he had been unfaithful to them, and he felt no guilt at all.Looking back on how he treated Ginny, he didn't feel guilty at all.On the one hand he insisted on continuing to be the sole father of his children, but on the other hand he never considered remarrying the thief, nor did he make it clear to her.He fell from the top, lost everything, and the only thing that saved him was this style.He has become insensitive when it comes to the trauma he inflicts on women. He was tired and wanted to sleep, but one thing stuck in his memory: singing with Nino Valenti. It suddenly dawned on him!Nothing could please Don Corleone more than that could occur to him.He grabbed the phone and asked the operator to connect him to New York.He called Sonny Corleone first and asked him for Nino Valenti's number.Then he called Nino.Nino's voice was the same as usual, sounding a little drunk. "Hey, Nino, would you like to come here and work for me? I need someone I can trust." Nino made fun of him and said, "Geez! I can't make up my mind, Johnny. I got a good job driving, joking with housewives along the way, and got a hundred and fifty a week. How much are you going to pay?" "How about I'll give you five hundred a week to start with, and set you up and hang out with movie stars?" Johnny said, "Maybe I'll invite you to my party Sing and sing." "Hey, well, let me think about it," Nino said, "let me talk about this with my lawyer, my accountant, my truck assistant." "Hey, don't you bullshit, Nino," Johnny said, "I need you here. I want you to fly in tomorrow morning and sign a private contract for five hundred a week for a year. Also, if you put My concubine stole one, and if I fire you, then you can get at least one year's salary, okay?" The two sides stopped for a while.Nino got serious. "Hey Johnny, are you kidding me?" Johnny said, "I'm serious, little one. Please contact my agency in New York. There will be your plane ticket and some travel expenses. I will call them first thing in the morning, and you will Go there, okay? When the plane arrives, I will pick you up and bring you to my house." The two sides paused for a while, and then Nino spoke again, his voice was very soothing, but also a little restless. "All right, Johnny." His voice no longer sounded drunk. Johnny hung up the phone and got ready for bed.He smashed the recorded record, and he felt better than ever.