Chapter 64 Do you want to make a movie?

  Aunt Karen's entrustment was handed over to Mrs. Davis.

  Ronald unexpectedly discovered that the life of Mrs. Davis's family was okay, not as bad as imagined. This is mainly because America's welfare for the poor is good.

   Every year, the government spends a huge amount of dollars to purchase agricultural and animal husbandry products. Part of it will be turned into food stamps to benefit the poor.

  Although Mrs. Davis does not have a serious job and has to raise three children, there is never a lack of food, and little Bard is raised very strong. The old clothes are just in need, and can be worn by Little Bard's sister.

  The biscuits made by my aunt are what moved Mrs. Davis the most. When their husbands put on military uniforms and went to war together, military wives from the same combat company often came together to support each other, and baking cookies was what Karen often cooked.

  A few years ago, Aunt Karen wanted to raise an extra Ronald, so she didn’t have the energy to make this time-consuming dessert. After eating it again after a few years, Mrs. Davis secretly shed tears.

  After Ronald said goodbye to Mrs. Davis, Little Bud also slipped out of the house and met him at the corner of the street. The two are going to meet the ballet dancer.

  Junior Bud took Ronald to the Sylvia’s fried chicken restaurant at the intersection, and Ronald ordered the signature fried chicken with muffins. Crispy, juicy fried chicken served with honey-drizzled muffins and a big Coke is Harlem's soul food.

   was happily eating with little Bud, when a voice came from the side, "I heard you want to find me?"

   Ronald looked up, and it was the dancer who was wearing a top hat dancing just now.

"Yes, let's make a long story short. My name is Ronald Lee, and I'm an assistant director. I'm choosing roles for the crew. Do you want to make a movie?" Ronald took out his wallet, took out the director's union card and handed it to the dancer , "This is my director's union card, which can prove my identity."

  The dancer was a little surprised, took the union card and put it on the table, pulled a chair and sat down, "Of course I want to shoot, but..."

   "It's okay, we can talk slowly", Ronald asked the waiter to serve him a piece of food as usual.

   "Let me take a photo of you, what's your name? I saw you dancing, it seems that you have some ballet foundation?" Ronald took out his Polaroid camera and gave Gene a photo.

   "My name is Gene Anthony Ray, and I studied ballet at the New York Academy of Performing Arts."

   "Study it?" Ronald was a little surprised, he didn't expect that Gene was a student of acting arts.

   “Yes, I studied there for 1 year and then they fired me.”

   "Can I ask why?"

  Jin took the plate from the waiter and began to eat fried chicken while telling his own story.

  It turned out that Gene was one of the few black boys who entered the dance department. Ballet still discriminates against blacks more or less. Few blacks can play classical ballet roles. Black ballet dancers generally dance modern ballet fused with jazz dance.

  The quality of the public high school in Harlem that Gene attended was very poor. His English scores have always been poor.

  Because of this reason, the English teacher suspended his practice qualification and forced him to pass the English test before he can continue to enter the practice room.

  Jin had no way to improve his English performance, and was deprived of the only dancing opportunity he was good at. In a fit of anger, he slapped the teacher and was expelled from the school board.

   But the English teacher knew afterwards that his poor grades were not because he didn't work hard, but because there was no one to make up the lessons and he couldn't keep up with the progress, so he took the initiative to plead with the school for this. However, there seemed to be racists among the school board members who had wanted to expel Gene for a long time, and firmly disagreed with the decision to withdraw the expulsion.

  Jean can only go to the worse Julia Richman (Julia Richman) High School for the Performing Arts, where the quality of teaching is terrible, and only 35% of the students can graduate each year.

   Except for the practice room, Gene basically doesn't spend much energy on other subjects. When he is not practicing homework, he goes to the streets of Harlem to dance.

   "By the way, what dance did you dance just now?" Ronald asked.

   "We call him Breakin' (floor dance), and Poppin' (mechanical dance), why don't you white people call him that? What's the name?"

  Jean is a bit weird, Ronald obviously can jump.

   "Nothing, that's what we call it."

   "We are looking for 600 extras and dozens of resident roles for this movie. If you are interested, I can recommend you to audition."

   "Sure, what role will I get?"

   "I can't say that. The final decision is made by the director. I just recommend you to audition."

   “What was the movie about?”

   "It's a story about eight art school students, four years from enrollment to graduation. In fact, the prototype of the place where the story takes place is the performing arts college you attended."

   "Then I'm sure I can act well. I'm a student there, I used to be." Gene said confidently, "Then what are you auditioning for?"

   "I will let you dance a dance, and then let you act in a scene. If the director is satisfied, he will sign a contract with you."

   "Then when can I go for an audition?" Gene ate another piece of fried chicken and didn't move.

  Ronald noticed that he didn't eat muffins and didn't add honey. As a dancer, he was still somewhat self-conscious in maintaining carbohydrate and calorie intake.

"Do you have a phone?"

   "Yes, Gene reported a series of phone numbers. This is the phone number in the corridor of my house. If I didn't answer it, you can just call Joan's son."

After agreeing on the contact information, Gene was ready to go back and wait for the notification. He took the leftover fried chicken and muffins, and the cornbread provided by the restaurant, and wrapped them in a paper lunch box, "I want to bring some to my mother. "

   Ronald simply ordered another fried chicken for him and asked him to take it with him.

   "By the way, what's the name of your movie?" Gene asked while waiting for the meal.

   "It's called Hot Lunch."

   "Hot Lunch?" Gene started laughing wildly, and Little Bud also laughed so hard that he got under the table.

   "Why is it called this name? I thought you were making adult movies just by hearing the name, hahaha..."

   Ronald was inexplicably laughed, and it was Bud who explained in his ear: "In Harlem, black people use their mouths to solve it. It's called Hot Lunch."

   "Hahaha..." Ronald also laughed, "I will talk to the director next time I have a chance."

  After Gene left, Ronald picked up the directors union card on the table and put it in his wallet. "It seems that his English is really poor, and he can't read very well."

  The character of Leroy is also illiterate. Unfortunately, the script is written as Latino. If it is black, Gene has a chance to fight for it. Gene’s background is very similar to Leroy.

   "Are you really looking for that B-boy to act in a movie?" Bud Jr. asked Ronald with a playful smile.

   "What is a B-boy?"

   “It’s the ones who do that floor dance, we call them B-boys.”

   "Huh? So what's wrong with him?"

   "He's a fag."

  Ronald raised his eyebrows: "The director will take care of it. The movie is actually made of his character. As long as he can dance well and play the role well, it's fine."

  Among the eight protagonists, there is a Montgomery character who is Key, and Leroy likes girls. But this is not the scope of his consideration.

  Called the waiter and added 4 more food.

   "I can't eat 4 servings, big cousin."

   "This is for your mother and sisters, you bastard." Ronald raised his hand and patted Little Bard on the forehead, "Study hard."

   "Study is useless, isn't it? There aren't so many jobs in Harlem that require high school graduates." Little Bard patted his head aggrieved.

   "As long as you can successfully graduate from high school, I will recommend you a job opportunity in the future."

   "Really, big cousin? Don't worry, my grades are actually not bad, and I will definitely be able to graduate."

  (end of this chapter)