Chapter 29: Earning Money to Go to School.  

Natasha Kinski was very pleased with the photos and started talking to her. Ronald asked her to keep a copy of his photos to showcase in the studio. She read the terms and signed the authorization letter and insisted on giving Ronald two sets of audition photographs in black and white and color for a fee of $80. 

In this way, when Ronald's portrait photography studio opens, there will be a photo of a future female star as a backing, which is a very good sign. 

With a camera bag on his back and a tripod in his left hand, Ronald opened the back of the Volkswagen Hare with the key in his right hand. The rear of the hatchback can be opened, and underneath is a hidden trunk that can store many things. Ronald placed the camera bag inside and closed the back. 

A lid automatically covers the trunk, and the top is flush with the back of the rear seat. From the outside, it is not noticeable that there is a trunk. 

Small European cars are rarely seen in the United States. Everyone likes big, high-displacement cars. Therefore, few people know the location of the trunk of the Volkswagen Hare. Ronald can safely store his valuable camera inside without worrying that someone will pry open the window. 

The economic situation is getting worse and worse, and some theft and robbery crimes have increased. The commander-in-chief also delivered a televised speech in which he said that Americans must get used to mediocrity and that the United States, having lost its moral superiority, is no longer great. 

Aunt Karen is not very pleased. Under her direction, the U.S. economy has suffered severe inflation, and mortgage interest rates have risen to over 10%. Aunt Karen is under great pressure to raise Ronald and Donna. 

According to economists on television, the United States has fallen into a phenomenon called stagflation. The economy is stagnant, with high unemployment and high inflation, and everyone is suffering. 

Ronald drove to the Wells Fargo bank next to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, stopped, took out some quarters, put them in the parking meter, and then quickly walked toward the lobby. 

After waiting in line for a while, it was Ronald's turn. 

Approaching the counter, Ronald took out the $130 in cash he had just received, counted out $50 in change, and put it back in his pocket. New World Company gave him the remaining $80 plus a $200 check. 

"Ronald Lee, the check was deposited into my checking account, just like the cash." 

Banks in the United States generally open two types of accounts; one is a cash account, which is similar to a checking account in China. The other is a checking account from which you can issue checks to other people. If there is no money in the account and you still write a check, it is called an overdraft check. 

Wells Fargo is friendly to small and medium customers. As long as you have a fixed monthly salary, you can open an account with $25. Ronald does not have a fixed monthly salary, but fortunately, he can open an account with a deposit balance of over $200, and he is not charged a management fee. So he opened an account shortly after arriving in Los Angeles. 

He took the form the cashier handed him, filled it out, took out his driver's license, and handed it in together. The economy is not good, and check fraud has increased under the current leadership. Now banks have stipulated that a photo ID is required to cash checks. 

After depositing the money, Ronald quickly ran out of the bank. A fat policeman was already waiting by the taximeter, holding a ticket in hand and preparing to issue it as soon as the moment arrived. 

"Here it is, here it is!" Ronald rushed, started the car, and drove off before the parking meter expired, leaving the fat, resentful policeman watching the other cars. 

Upon returning to the apartment, Ronald took out his checkbook and wrote a check for $80 to Aunt Karen. He took the envelope, packed it, put on a stamp, and dropped it in the apartment mailbox. 

This is what I agreed with my aunt before leaving: I will send a quarter of the money I earn home. Although it is not much each time, it can help my aunt relieve a bit of the burden. 

The U.S. Postal Service is inefficient and delivers very slowly. Ronald didn't have much money, and the management fee for using Western Union was too high, so he didn't mind the slowness of the post office. If it is an important document that needs to be delivered immediately, most people now choose FedEx. 

Ronald couldn't help but remember that the college admission application form Gail sent him was delivered via FedEx. Don't you know what's going on? 

… 

The FedEx delivery vehicle is a Ford van with cartoonish round headlights. The two applications sent to UCLA Los Angeles and USC are delivered directly by vans in the city. 

This purple FedEx van arrived first at UCLA. A few days before the deadline, a particularly high number of application letters arrive. The UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television is no exception. The admissions office staff opened the application letter, sorted it, and sent it to the desk of the admissions director. 

"Ronald Lee, South Shore Toteville High School in Stanton. Well, the recommendation letter was written by the owner of a small studio and a high school teacher. Who is Roger Corman? Does he make low-quality exploitation films? Written by Was it so short that At first glance, he was not satisfied with the applicant and deliberately caused problems. "Ronald's application was thrown into the pile that could not be reviewed beforehand. 

USC is a bit further south of Hollywood. The FedEx van drove another 20 minutes to the USC School of Cinematic Arts. 

The admissions director had a much better impression of Ronald. Roger Corman is good at scouting talent, but the recommendation letters are too short, and I don't know how many of them are sincere. 

The other two recommendation letters were from a high school English teacher and a physical education teacher. They were used to apply to the film school. They were a bit weak. 

Also, Toteville High School in Staten Island, New York, is not a performing arts high school in Manhattan. 

"How many applications did we receive this year?... Oh, that's only a 10% acceptance rate." 

Most likely for Ronald, he will be placed on the waitlist. Only if their previously admitted students do not go to USC for some reason will he be able to be replaced. 

Another FedEx truck headed to Los Angeles International Airport, and the other two applications sent to two universities in New York were loaded onto a purple FedEx cargo plane. The plane landed at FedEx headquarters in Memphis and then took off again. LaGuardia Airport. 

The School of the Arts at Columbia University is on Manhattan Island, on the northwest corner of Central Park. Those who live nearby are called luxury communities. Even non-whites who want to buy a house here will be rejected by the homeowners' committee. 

Columbia University is used to recruiting students from expensive private high schools, and public high school students must go through a tougher competition to gain admission. 

Public high school background, mediocre experience, incomprehensible recommendation letters, Ronald's application letter was set aside in the first round of selection, waiting for the "Rejected" stamp, and then a polite rejection letter was attached. 

The letter will inform the unsuccessful Ronald that after careful evaluation by the admissions office, his application has been rejected. Columbia University has a limited number of admissions this year, and the competition is very fierce. Other applicants have stronger backgrounds and resumes. As president, I must choose based on excellence. I regret that I cannot admit Ronald and wish him good luck in his studies. 

The last application was sent to the Department of Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Tisch College is on the other side of Manhattan Island, in downtown. It is near Chinatown. Not far to the south is the coast, where you can see the Statue of Liberty and the ferry to Ronald's home, Staten Island. 

The atmosphere in the Admissions Office at New York University is more egalitarian. Several admissions assistants and the admissions director open application letters together. An assistant opened Ronald's application letter. 

After graduating from high school, taking a year off to find his direction and calibrate his life goals? This application letter is very well written, and my grades in high school are also very good. Then I found a recommendation letter from a high school wrestling team coach with a tough personality and a flexible mind... 

We are a film and television school, and we do not need recommendation letters from sports teams. Well, this letter was written by the president of New World Productions. 

The recommendation letter is sealed, and in theory, the applicant Ronald does not know what the recommender wrote in it. Of course, only some old-school people strictly adhere to this tradition. 

Upon opening the envelope, what caught the admissions assistant's attention was a very brief recommendation letter. 

"Why is there such a brief recommendation letter?" The assistant hurriedly asked the supervisor: "Is this letter written incorrectly?" 

The supervisor glanced at the recommendation letter and found that the body of the letter had only two sentences. 

"For those who may be interested: 

Ronald Lee is the second newcomer in many years for whom I have a blank check to direct, and he has never made any commercial films before. 

The first is Mr. Martin Scorsese, a professor at his school. 

Sincerely, 

Roger Corman" 

The admissions director picked up the phone: 

"Hello Marty, guess what I saw..." 

The installer is

 usually at 9 a.m. and updates are at 4 p.m. 

End of chapter