America 1987

Chapter 36 The Historical Tradition of Hollywood

However, Catherine was unaware of these things; she clearly couldn't recall a brief conversation from a few months ago.

She was now thinking about something else, something important in her own life—what exactly was her relationship with David?

By the late 80s, several decades had passed since the birth of Hollywood.

Hollywood's unspoken rules have become common knowledge.

As early as 1928, the head of Hollywood’s Central Casting Company publicly declared that female extras “must learn to obey directors and their assistants clearly and without hesitation.”

Listen to this, why do you have to add the two modifiers "woman" and "temporary"?

One reason is that at the time, American society was generally conservative and had a low tolerance for homosexuality, so directors and producers generally wouldn't have sex with male actors, and even if they did, they wouldn't say it openly.

Another reason is that the word "temporary" generally means a newcomer who, since they don't have any works to their name yet, has little bargaining power and can only accept the rules.

The "Red Sofa" rule established by MGM founder Louis Mayer is so famous that it has almost become synonymous with Hollywood.

All of this, and after so many years of fermentation and dissemination, even if you asked a dog in the United States, it would know that Hollywood has unspoken rules.

Unlike in the East China region, it wasn't until after 08 that audiences gradually began to believe the rumors and abandon the illusion that "the entertainment industry is full of people who love performing and are very pure dream chasers."

As for why it's after 08, those who know, know.

To some extent, the American public is indeed decades ahead of the Chinese public in this regard.

That's why the film school judges awarded Jodie Foster two Oscars for Best Actress almost in a row, because they valued her clean record and her status as a talented woman from Yale University.

Only by setting this example will the American public begin to believe that Hollywood isn't all trash, and will they be able to reverse the industry's negative image.

Therefore, anyone who intends to enter this circle must know this rule.

Therefore, there may be a very small number of people who are taking a chance—thinking that they don't have to endure these things, that they will meet an artist who is purely passionate about film right from the start, who will help them soar to the top and become a first-tier actress, have a certain voice, and then be able to say no to the unspoken rules.

However, Catherine is clearly not that unrealistic.

In fact, in the original timeline, she should have been a very rare person who could turn initiative into passivity.

In the early days of her career in Hollywood, Jon Peters, a Hollywood super producer in his early fifties with a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, not only introduced her to many important figures in Hollywood in order to pursue her, but also invited her to live in his mansion in Malibu.

After dating for a few weeks, he proposed to her, but she politely declined. However, the relationship did lead her to meet important figures in Hollywood and start getting audition opportunities.

Not to mention her husband, Michael Douglas.

He was completely smitten after seeing her at the premiere of "The Mask of Zorro," and in order to divorce his ex-wife as soon as possible and regain his freedom, he actually paid a settlement of $4500 million, which is one of the ninth most expensive divorce settlements in Hollywood history.

Many people don't understand what this concept means.

Some people believe that unspoken rules can be implemented through "fake relationships"—that is, to avoid public criticism, the two parties pretend to be dating, announce to the outside world that they are boyfriend and girlfriend, and then automatically break up after the movie is finished.

This approach was virtually nonexistent in Hollywood at least in that era.

Because public romantic relationships require cooperation from both parties. Directors or producers, as those in positions of power, are usually unwilling to be tied to a single relationship—this would limit their options regarding other actresses.

A fake relationship means the director also has to assume the public obligation of being a "boyfriend," which is clearly not worthwhile.

Such practices exist only in very rare cases, but those are private negotiations rather than industry norms.

The way unspoken rules are carried out is essentially dominated by those in power, and the idea of ​​a fake romance clearly overestimates the actress's bargaining power.

However, if someone can actually do this, it only means that she understands men very well and is good at providing emotional value, so much so that she can still gain a certain degree of initiative in this situation of unequal power.

That's why Catherine was completely baffled. She was quite good at reading people, and she could usually figure out what most men were thinking at a glance.

But with David, she simply couldn't figure out his true thoughts.

As for accusations of unspoken rules, he really didn't.

Because unspoken rules mainly occur before filming begins, especially during the period between casting and joining the crew.

"The filming schedule is tight and the workload is heavy, so the director really doesn't have the time to think about those messy things. The problem is, what about before filming starts? Before filming starts, the crew has to cast the actors, right? And after casting, they sign contracts, right?"

All the pre-production work must be completed before filming can begin, right? From casting to joining the crew, the director is usually not too busy, having ample time to sleep.

This is a quote from an insider during an anonymous interview conducted by a journalist after the turn of the millennium.

So 99.99% of the unspoken rules happen before filming begins. Is it possible for them to happen during filming? There's a very small chance. People who do that are just asking for trouble.

Because once filming begins, the roles are already cast and contracts are signed, giving the actors some leverage, the marginal benefit of those in power making additional demands decreases.

Moreover, money is being burned every hour on set, and the director and producer's attention is being held hostage by the filming schedule.

Moreover, with dozens or even hundreds of people in the crew, the difficulty of private contact and the risk of being discovered increase exponentially.

If someone goes and makes extra demands on the actress after the movie has already finished filming, it just means they've been kicked in the head by a donkey.

Putting everything else aside, the production company would definitely kick him out first. They've already completed a major project with investments of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, so why would they cause any more trouble?

The reason Catherine agreed to a date with him after filming wrapped was not only because he left a very good impression on her, but also because he readily admitted their relationship in front of others.

This was very important to her, and she valued it highly. Otherwise, she wouldn't have waited until Douglas had finished his divorce proceedings before agreeing to date him more than a decade later.

But if you were to say he really likes her, well... he really does. Catherine thought to herself.

He considered almost everything, from the utmost tenderness in bed to everyday matters like whether high heels fit properly, and even career development plans.

If this doesn't count as liking someone, then she really can't think of anything that qualifies as liking someone.