Griffith glared at me with wide - open eyes, his fists clenched tightly. Seeing my sneer, he swung his fist to hit me, but as soon as he glanced at Leamer beside him, he immediately put down his fist.
"Leamer? What are you doing here?" Griffith had dealt with Leamer all his life. It was still a bit unexpected to meet him on this occasion.
"How can''t I be here! Hahaha, David, let me introduce you. This is Andrei Corleone." Leamer pointed at me.
Griffith pulled a chair and plopped down beside me, grabbing my hand: "You are the Corleone who made ''Lust, Caution''!? "
I nodded: "Genuine article!"
Griffith became excited, stammering as he pointed at me: " ''Lust, Caution'', good, extremely good! I like it!"
At this time, Pizhel also turned to our table and sat down. The four of us got together, staring at each other with wide eyes, and the atmosphere suddenly became a bit sinister, as if we were spies making contact.
"Andrei, you are right. I''m old, really old. I don''t even have the courage when I was young. It''s all because of those sons of bitches. After all, I have to live!" Griffith sighed heavily and shook his head painfully.
"Mr. Griffith, you are the Hollywood person I respect the most and my idol. I always thought that it was Hollywood that abandoned you rather than there being any problem with yourself. They didn''t recognize your value. I firmly believe that in the future, people will give you the honor you deserve!" I squeezed his hand hard.
Hearing my words, Griffith was very happy and nodded continuously without any modesty. He opened his big mouth and started chatting with me.
We talked about the stories in Hollywood, his movies, from his time at Biograph all the way to "Intolerance", the shooting of movies, the artistic status of movies. Relying on the rich knowledge I mastered in later generations, I made Griffith''s eyes shine. He couldn''t imagine that I could still remember so clearly many things that he had even forgotten himself. I could enumerate and highly praise his unique techniques in movies, such as "the last minute rescue" and "parallel editing". This made the suppressed and unappreciated Griffith suddenly regard me as his soulmate. He was amazed that I, at such a young age, had so many insights that seemed like genius in his eyes. The movie concepts he had held for many years couldn''t be thoroughly understood by anyone at present, but I could explain them one by one. And many of my movie ideas also made him extremely surprised and admire me to the fullest.
"Andrei, why didn''t I know you earlier! If you were in Hollywood when I shot ''Intolerance'', how nice it would be. At least those sons of bitches wouldn''t dare to stand on my neck and shit now! I''m so happy today!" Griffith''s face was red with drinking.
"Mr. Griffith, I''m in trouble now. Really. Maybe I will take the same old road as you." Seeing that the time was about right, I changed my tone and lowered my head.
"Are you saying that they criticize your movie?" Griffith roared.
"Yes, my ''Lust, Caution'' is just like your ''Intolerance'' at that time. I''m afraid history will repeat itself!" I told him in detail how Sennett criticized me, and how Aitken, Chuck and Fox colluded to deal with me and Leamer. Hearing this, Griffith''s hair stood on end and he roared angrily.
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"David, these guys are not only out to get Andrei, but also this old bone of mine. It doesn''t matter if I fall, but it''s a pity for Andrei, such a good director in the future!" Leamer chimed in on the side.
Griffith''s face was full of anger: "These sons of bitches! They are simply lawless! Andrei, don''t you have any solution now?"
"Yes!" Andrei and Leamer said in unison.
"Mr. Griffith, let me call you David. David, now what decides the fate of DreamWorks and Universal is the public opinion of ''Lust, Caution''. As you know, the academic circle evaluates it very well now, but the movie circle is not good. There is Sennett''s article. With his seniority and reputation, no one dares to refute him, right?" I pretended to be in difficulty.
Griffith almost sprayed the wine on my face: "Is that called seniority? When I came to Hollywood, he didn''t even know where to hold the nipple and suck milk!"
"Yes, I also said so to Sennett, but he doesn''t think so. He said that Griffith is like an old - fashioned beast and should have withdrawn from the historical stage a long time ago. He said that your movie is out of date and at most is just a dead extra in Hollywood!" Leamer made things up to stimulate him.
Bang! Griffith slapped the table and roared: "Did he say that about me?! This son of a bitch! Andrei, don''t worry. I will write a review tonight. Sennett, this son of a bitch, and Chaplin are from the same hole. I''ve been disgusted with them for a long time!"
Seeing that Griffith agreed to come out, Andrei and Leamer were overjoyed. At this time, Pizhel beside him seemed to have something on his mind.
"David, if you write this article, you will tear your face off with Sennett. That guy has a good relationship with Chaplin. With Chaplin''s narrow - mindedness, he will definitely fire you. Then how will you live!? You are in debt now!" Pizhel was not as hot - tempered as Griffith. He was Griffith''s good friend and had to think of everything for him.
Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, the originally high - spirited Griffith immediately deflated.
"David, you might as well come to our Universal. How can we be smaller than United Artists? If I get through this difficulty, some of Universal''s movies will be handed over to you to shoot in the future!" Leamer quickly gave Griffith a pill to calm his nerves.
I didn''t want Universal to poach Griffith. I quickly said: "Yes, although our DreamWorks is very small, if you think highly of it, we welcome you at any time."
Hahaha! Griffith laughed: "Good! I will go to resign from Chaplin tomorrow. Mr. Leamer, can you help me pay off 40,000 dollars of debts first? In this way, I don''t have to worry about others asking for debts for the next two years."
I sneered on the side. This old guy was really good at seizing opportunities. When it came to life and death, Leamer would definitely agree. But I really liked his straightforward temper.
Leamer nodded. Although he was very reluctant to part with the 40,000 dollars, compared with the future of the company, he could still distinguish between the importance.
After Griffith thanked Leamer, he turned to me and said: "Andrei, when will you report to your company?"
Ah?! A mouthful of red wine was sprayed out by me!
I was stunned by his words!
Normally, after Leamer paid off his debts for him, he should join Universal. Why would he want to come to my place?!
Seeing the puzzled looks on my face and Leamer''s face, Griffith scratched his head and said to Leamer apologetically: "Mr. Leamer, don''t mind me. I am like this. Among all of Hollywood, the only person who can understand me and communicate with me is Andrei. I want to go to their company."
Leamer spread out his hands, indicating that he had no objection (actually, even if he had objections, he couldn''t say it).
I originally had the idea of bringing Griffith over. The old guy was really a famous brand. Now that he took the initiative to come to me, how could I refuse him?
"Since Mr. Leamer agrees, I naturally welcome you. However, David, you can''t come over right away. You have to wait until the ''Lust, Caution'' matter is resolved. In this way, when you refute them as an outsider, it will be more convincing to the public."
Griffith agreed.
"David, I think you had better also find some other directors to do this with you. Tomorrow, publish several full - page reviews in Pizhel''s ''Christian Truth Newspaper''. It will definitely shock their formation greatly!" Leamer reminded Griffith.
Andrei and Griffith gave Leamer thumbs up at the same time.
"Don''t worry. Quite a few directors are still in good terms with me. Just wait and see the newspaper tomorrow." Griffith smiled sinisterly.