Hollywood Art: System of sunnys

November, 18.

He lay in the hospital, battered and hooked up to a machine with tubes. Though stable, his breathing was periodic, not very good, about every five minutes. He had been ill for a long time, but life was slipping away with each breath.

Billy was scheduled to make a film the next day, and despite his complete displeasure, he couldn’t break his commitment. He had numerous engagements for the last days of November. He took one last look before boarding the flight back to Los Angeles.

-I can’t believe it! - came the cries from the stairs. Family troubles were starting to simmer in a pot called succession. Interests focused on what you believe you deserve versus what you are entitled to be a problem of tradition, custom, and legality. Richard Carson was unable to make a will. There was no will, and he had a 35-acre family estate and a hardware store at a gas station.

-Nonsense, you’ve caused me... - the conversation became contentious. The force to stay, the force of family, and the outcome was that Thomas was advocating for the care of Helen and his favorite child. He had left Helen for the last years; it was a problem. Richard had leased the land to Jeffrey Carson but stopped paying a year ago.

Thomas didn’t want to leave it to Jeffrey because of his attitude towards abandoning Helen.

The reflection is that Billy’s work comes first, and even people around him know this. It’s a problem that causes displeasure. His first instinct is to leave, but Richard is his grandfather.

-You should forget about the film! Poor Grandpa, it might be the last time you see him, and that would be terrible, - Monica said.

-It’s family! -  Billy thought. How could it be? The young Italian woman found it logical to feel some discontent.

-I’d like to, but it’s not good. I can steal a few hours between commitments and come here. My grandfather is a different man, - Billy said. Monica made a face, clearly displeased.

-Do it; you’ve already decided! - she murmured.

Billy approached her and buried his head in her chest. She was very indulgent and didn’t fight back, gently stroking his head. Without saying more, she simply held him, sharing a long, deep silence of trust. It was a simple moment of a couple needing to vent.

-Come with me, -  Billy said, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips.

Goodbyes in such circumstances must be viewed at a different pace. It’s an awkward farewell, made for diplomacy.

***

L.A. is a cult film, but its unconventional theme causes many to forget it. It is one of the great films of the 90s that needed something more to succeed. However, Regency couldn’t afford such an expense.

The film is about three police officers from the 1950s who, due to various circumstances, end up investigating a case that turns out to be more dangerous and mysterious than initially thought.

Three actors were quietly debating at a bar in Los Angeles. Though some people came over to watch, they had a private space to voice all their concerns. The bar’s calm atmosphere was partly due to the owner being a friend of the film’s cinematographer, who had kindly cleared out anyone who looked like paparazzi.

-Thank you for having me, director, producers, - Billy said during the script reading rehearsal. According to the shooting schedule, filming would start in January, meaning two months to conduct multiple interviews with former police officers, current police, other actors, critics, and people with extensive knowledge of the original novel, dialect coaches of the era, and numerous rehearsals.

-The success is clear, - Billy thought. This was the first time he had done such thorough rehearsals. Even in Sev7n and Jerry Maguire, despite the intensity to develop a proper role, they didn’t do as many rehearsals with the cast. From discussing scripts to conversations, this could only be seen as growth.

-Well, I hope you can address what we call the debacle of demands, - Curtis Hanson, a key member of the production team and director, remarked.

The inclusion of Kevin Spacey was just another highlight. He was an excellent actor, with scripts filled with thousands of notes on grammar, expression, ideas, and experiences—a chaotic unraveling of the script along with the confidential book. It was evident he had put in a tremendous amount of work.

-Well, I’ll continue with my rehearsal, - Billy said.

Taking a seat, he went over some calculations but never expected there would be good readers on set. From a commercial standpoint, one could say that Billy was the pretty face of the film. Was there anything else to justify Billy’s participation? Perhaps his performance was just good enough.

Your character is rough and brutal, wanting to break some rules. The first change is that he was ordered to get a military-style haircut. Everyone says that how the script ends doesn't matter, what's important is how it turns out in the end.

They all discussed their notes. First, Kevin, who has an anesthetic side to his corrupt-to-good change, in low news, is the turning point of his character, as the main plot.

-I think the first thing is to understand the characters' relationships with each other. Bud and Guy can be friends, but those friends have a difference in questioning their ways of doing things. The only difference is that Bud approves of Edmund, and Edmund approves of Bud, even though there are key differences.- commented Billy.

-You're right, but I highly doubt they're just disagreements.- responded Guy Pearce.

-Correct, but the bond is complicated. However, the tacit acceptance even in dislike is made through the reasoning that their perspectives on how justice operates are different. Virtually, it's a classic consideration of justice, or rather of legal operation, official procedures.- commented Billy.

-I think personal dislike should also be taken into account. Some gestures simply make a person react with dislike, and at other times, it's also from the spoken word and the way of interpreting things that it becomes a nuisance.- commented Guy Pearce.

-We just have to ask the experts. We have to take every iota in a note to give us the right ideas.- commented Kevin Spacey.

They would have a small meeting with some police officers, discussing their training habits, how they started, the environment in the police station, and personal development. After all, the 1950s in the United States was not free from its annoyances. After World War II, population growth was significant, partly due to internal migration, as Los Angeles was full of opportunities. It was not uncommon for there to be organized crime, illegal gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking. It was common to contact police from that era, which is different from those of that time.

Corruption was key, even if it is now denied. Several implicated cases came to light.

***

Stan Lee was standing with his arms crossed, receiving complete disappointment from Ronald Perelman. The matter is the following from a novel that has not ceased to cause a sensation in the industry. Ronald Perelman, a billionaire known for his corporate acquisitions through his firm MacAndrews & Forbes, bought Marvel Entertainment Group in 1989 for about $82.5 million, which was a comic book company at the time, and did not exploit its derivatives in licenses and other elements.

Perelman decided to take Marvel public in 1991, selling shares to investors and thus obtaining considerable capital flow. He also began issuing large amounts of debt in the hope that investments in new acquisitions and the expansion of product lines would translate into huge profits. These issues should have been paid for with the recent purchase of Panini, but the fact is the opposite.

But these actions elevated Marvel during 1991, 1992, and 1993. At the beginning of the year, a collectibles boom awakened the desire of collectors. It's just that for something to be valuable, it must meet a principle: it must be scarce, desirable, and difficult to obtain. Ronald gave the idea that something was valuable. In 1992, he acquired Fleer and Skybox International to make collectible cards, and both companies merged into one. Today, in 1995, the debt begins to accumulate, and no one knows it. Ronald is making money.

-He's doing it. It's no longer enough to just get into debt with the bank. He's mortgaging the shares in bonds with Bank of America.- commented Stan Lee on the phone.

It was none other than Raimon!

-Oh my God!- whispered Raimon, completely surprised.

Billy predicted it. He predicted that Ronald would do something stupid.

-No problem, we'll arrange everything to complete the procedures and close Ronald's paperwork.- commented Raimon.

-He's issuing a lot of debt, that's why he wanted to buy the percentage. Fortunately, he was informed in time.- commented Stan Lee.

-The main thing is that Ronald accepted the sale of Skybox, but then made a purchase of another toy company and expanded the animation team.- commented Stan Lee.

-We have 4% of the company, and we're negotiating with Carl Ikham, who has 15% of the shares, but we hope to make this purchase immediately.- commented Raimon.

-Good, just don't forget the contract.- commented Stan Lee.

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