Chapter 20 13-1

Johnny Fontane sat in a spacious recording studio, calculating costs in a book of yellow Post-it.The musicians filed in, all his old friends from when he was a child singer in the orchestra.Conductors are the pinnacle of popular accompaniment.This man, who had been kind to Johnny when he was in trouble, was handing out bundles and bundles of sheet music and some written instructions to every musician.His name is Eddie.Niles.Although the tasks he had undertaken were already full, he still undertook this recording task as a gesture of goodwill to John. Nino Valenti sat playing the piano, fiddling nervously with the keys.Meanwhile he sipped rye whiskey in a tall glass.Johnny didn't mind that.He knew that Nino could sing just as well drunk or not, and the work they were doing today didn't require the grace of a true artist in Nino's role.

Eddie Niles specially arranged some Italian and Sicilian folk songs, and deliberately inserted the duet that Nino and Johnny sang at Connie Corleone's wedding.The reason why Johnny wanted to make this record was mainly because he knew that the old man liked such folk songs, and it was also an ideal gift for the old man.He always feels that the sales volume of this kind of record is very large, and of course it will not reach one million copies.At the same time, he also estimated that helping Nino was the way the old man asked him to repay.Because Nino is also the old man's godson. Johnny put the clipboard and yellow pad on the folding chair beside him and stood up beside the piano.He said:

"Dark, old man." Nino glanced up and forced a smile, looking ill.Johnny leaned in and rubbed his shoulder. "Heave a sigh of relief, boy," he said, "work hard today, and I'll find you the best, most famous big ass in Hollywood." Nino took a long sip of whiskey. "Which one? Is it Rashi?" Johnny laughed and said: "It's not Lacie, it's Deanna Dunn. I promise it's a good one." Nino had already liked it, but he couldn't help pretending to regret that his wish hadn't come true, saying: "Can't you get Rashi for me?"

The orchestra began to play the overture of the Ensemble.Johnny Fontane was listening intently.Eddie Niles would preview all the songs in a special order from beginning to end, and then start the first trial recording.As Johnny listened, he figured out exactly how to handle each sentence, how to insert each song in the middle.He knew his voice wouldn't last long, but Nino would do most of the singing, and Johnny would lower his voice for him.Of course, except for the antiphonal duet.In order to sing antiphonally well, he must also recharge his batteries. He had La Nino standing in front of him' and they both stood in front of their microphones.Nino sang the overture badly at the beginning, and badly again.He felt embarrassed and blushed.Johnny joked to him, saying:

"Hui, you're not delaying time on purpose, you want to get overtime pay!" "I don't feel natural without a mandolin," Nino said. Johnny thought about it. "Hold that glass in your hand," he said. This seemed to be very effective. Nino sang while drinking, and he sang very well.Johnny sang softly, without seeming nervous at all, and his singing was melodious and melodious around Nino's main theme.This kind of singing doesn't need to be passionate, but it turned out that he didn't expect his skills to be so proficient.In the past ten years of practicing his voice, he has really learned a little trick.

When they started to sing that duet that was arranged at the end of the record, John let go of his voice and when he finished, his throat hurt.The musicians got carried away with that last song, because it's rare for dull old fellows to hear something sung like that.One by one they pounded their instruments hard, tapping their feet on the floor in approval and applause.The drummer beat the drum lightly. Throughout the rehearsal, they stopped and talked frequently, and it took almost four hours to finish.Eddie Niles came up to Johnny and said softly: "You sound pretty good. Maybe you want to make a record, boy. I've got a song here, and you sing it perfectly."

Johnny shook his head. "Okay, okay, Eddie, don't make fun of me, maybe in an hour or two, I'll be too hoarse to speak. Do you think most of our rehearsals today can be settled? ?” Eddie thought about him and said, "Nino will come back to the music room tomorrow. He sang some things wrong. But he sang much better than I thought. As for the stuff you sang, I'm going to call the recording engineer." Is it okay to record the parts I don't like and let you listen to it yourself?" "Okay," Johnny said, "when can I hear the demo record?" "Tomorrow night," Eddie said.Niles said, "Is it right at your house?"

"Okay," Johnny said, "thanks, Eddie, and see you tomorrow." He took Nino's arm and walked out of the music room.They were going to Johnny's own house, not Ginny's. It was late in the afternoon by this time.Nino was still almost unconscious.Johnny advised him to take a shower and get some sleep.At eleven o'clock that night, they had to attend a grand party. After Nino woke up, Johnny briefed him on the situation. "This evening is being hosted by the Lonely Hearts Club, a group of movie stars," he said. "These are the women you see playing Queens in the movies. Millions of lads would love to have the chance. Extend your arms to hug them.

The sole purpose of their coming to the party tonight is to find someone to sleep with for the night.Do you know why this is?Because they hungrily want men, they are just a little older.It's in the nature of their type to want to sleep with men. " "What's wrong with your throat?" Nino asked. Johnny spoke in a low voice that seemed to be whispering. "It's like this every time I sing a little. Now, I can't sing every day for a month. But every time my voice is hoarse, it will be fine after a day or two." Nino thought deeply. "Be resilient, hey?"

Johnny shrugged. "Listen, Nino, don't drink too much tonight. You've got to show those Hollywood chicks that my old buddy isn't weak." Nino poured himself another drink. "I've always done a good job," he said. He toasted, grinned, and said: "Seriously, can you really think of a way to get me close to Deanna Dunn?" "Don't worry about it," Johnny said. "It's not what you think it is." The "Lonely Hearts Club" of Hollywood stars meets every Friday night in Roy McElroy's studio-owned palace.This man is a reporter receptionist for Woltz International Film Company, or an external liaison consultant.Here's the thing: Although it was a public family evening hosted by Mike Ellroy, the idea came from the very practical mind of Jack Woltz himself.He has a group of very profitable stars who are getting older now, and they look old without special lighting and the ingenious makeup of a talented makeup artist.They too are running into trouble.They are also dulled to some extent, both physically and mentally.They can no longer "fall in love," can no longer play the role of the woman being courted.They have developed a habit of arrogance because they were rich, famous, and beautiful in those days.Woltz held parties in order to make it easy for them to get a lover, even if it was only for one night.If conditions allow, it can also evolve into a full-time bridal partner, so that it can also rise to the top.The event, which sometimes degenerated into a raucous or animal-crazed dance, had once drawn trouble from the police, so Woltz decided to hold it at the home of the foreign relations adviser instead.The consultants can fix things on the spot, the reporters and the police come and send them away with some money, and everything remains calm.

Some fresh-blooded young actor hired by the studio, who hadn't yet achieved star status and hadn't played a distinctive role, didn't always feel like a good job coming to a Friday night party.This can be explained by the following facts: New films that have not yet been released by the studio are always screened at the party first.In fact it was just an excuse for the party.People always say, "How about going to see the new movie that so-and-so is in." So there's an air of connoisseurship about the event. Young starlets were banned from Friday night parties, or rather discouraged.Most people can also understand the meaning of it. Screenings of new films usually take place in the middle of the night.Johnny and Nino arrive at eleven o'clock.Roy McElroy looked like a pleasant fellow, well groomed and well dressed.He screamed with delight as he greeted Johnny. "What on earth do you want to do here?" he said with genuine surprise. Johnny shook his hand. "I brought my cousin from the countryside here to see the world. Let me introduce you, this is Nino." McElroy shook his hand and looked him over seriously. "They'll swallow him alive," he said to Johnny.After all, he led them to the backyard. The so-called backyard is actually a garden with a pond and rows of spacious houses with glass doors facing the garden.There are almost a hundred people running around here in small groups, each with a wine glass in their hand.The lighting in the backyard is cleverly arranged to enhance the beauty of a woman's face and skin.These women had been seen on dimly lit movie screens when Nino was a doll.But seeing them in person now is like seeing their ugly, poorly made-up faces.Their mental and physical fatigue cannot be concealed, and the years have eroded their divinity.Their manners were as beautiful as he remembered, but they were like waxy fruit and did not whet his appetite.Nino drank two more glasses and moved to another table where he could get close to the matching bottles.He and Johnny were drinking when suddenly Deanna Dunn's magical voice came from behind. Nino, like other men, had engraved this voice in his heart forever.Deanna Dunn is a two-time Academy Award winner with roles in some of the crudest films Hollywood has ever produced.On the screen, she showed a kind of feminine charm, which made all men fall in front of her.But her voice is simply inaudible on screen. "Johnny, you little bastard, you slept with me all night and never came back, so I went to my psychiatrist again to ask what's going on?" Johnny kissed her cheek. "Come with you once and I won't recover for a month," he said. "I want you to meet my cousin Nino. Look, he's a strong, handsome Italian. Maybe he'll stay with you to the end." Deanna Dunn turned her head and looked at Nino coldly. "He likes watching previews?" Johnny laughed. "Let me tell you, he never had such an opportunity before, why don't you enlighten him?" When Nino was alone with Deanna Dunn, he had to drink heavily and try to appear indifferent, but it was difficult.Deanna Dunn's nose was slightly upturned, and her face was delicate, which was the face shape of an Anglo-Saxon beauty.And he is so familiar with her.He had seen her alone in her bedroom, sad, crying that her dead pilot husband had left her with fatherless children.He has seen her angry, hurt, and humiliated, but she is still aboveboard, neither arrogant nor humble.Even when the shameless Clark Gable swindled her out and dumped her for another sexy woman, she was strong (Deanna Dunn never played a sexy woman in the movie) woman).He had seen her wriggling in the arms of the man she adored, beaming with love rewarded; he had seen her die at least six or seven times, and it was a pitiful death.In short, he had seen her, heard her, dreamed of her.But he was not mentally prepared for the first words she uttered in private conversation. "Johnny is a real man with balls, one of the few in this town," she said, "the rest of the men are pussies." After finishing speaking, she took Nino's hand and pulled him to a corner of the hall where there were fewer people, lest others would come in and compete. Her demeanor was still calm and charming, and she asked him about his life experience.He sees through her intentions, she's playing the part of the rich courtesan, she's in love with the stableboy or the driver, but in the film she's either madly throwing cold water on his love (if the hero is Spencer T Rachel), or fall in love with him (if Clark Gable plays him).It doesn't matter.He told her how he and John had grown up together in New York, how he and Johnny had sung together at little club meetings.He found her exuding unusual sympathy and interest.She interjected, "You know how Johnny got that old bastard Jack Woltz into letting him play that part?" Nino was stunned and just shook his head.She didn't ask any more questions. It's time for a preview of a new Woltz film.Deanna Dunn led Nino, held Nino's hand tightly with her warm hand, and led him into the inner room of the building.There are no windows around, and fifty tiny loveseats are scattered here and there.The sofas are carefully placed without interfering with each other, and each sofa is like a small semi-hidden island.