Chapter 37 Double Happiness

When Ronald returned to his apartment, he saw that his mailbox in the hallway was full. The mailbox was bulging with letters.

"I have so many letters?" Ronald was a little puzzled. Usually, no one sent him letters, just some bills. A few days ago, he was busy working the night shift editing the film and didn't pay attention to them. How come so many had accumulated?

"This... could it be..."

Ronald rushed to the mailbox, took out the key, and tried to unlock it. He was so excited that he tried twice to put the key in but failed.

Press your right hand with your left hand to calm yourself down.

He slowly opened the lock, but the mailbox door couldn't bear the pressure of the letters stuffed inside, and a pile of letters fell out, spreading out on the ground.

Ronald quickly squatted down, gathered the letters, and tapped the edges of the envelopes on the ground to put them in order.

There were four oversized envelopes in total, mixed with several utility bills.

Standing up and looking at the big envelope.

Rejected

This is UCLA, Los Angeles.

Rejected

This is from Colombia.

Two large envelopes with red rejection stamps on them immediately extinguished Ronald's hopes.

Ronald was nervous and took out the third large envelope.

Waitlisted

It was USC, the University of Southern California!

He quickly opened the envelope and found a pending notification inside.

"Dear Ronald Lee,

Hello.

Your application to the USC School of Cinematic Arts this year fully meets our admission requirements.

However, due to the fact that the number of applicants this year far exceeded our expectations, our admissions cap has been reached. We are unable to send you an admission notice and can only put you and other students on the waiting list.

It should be noted that the final decision on the pending list may be delayed until late May 1979..."

This means that we have to wait and see what happens to the students who were admitted earlier. They may also receive several admissions notices and choose to go elsewhere, so there will be vacancies at USC.

'I don't know where I am on the waiting list. Will I be able to get a turn?

What about the fourth letter?'

Ronald turned out the last large envelope...

A big "Accepted" on the cover

Hahaha...

When he opened it, he saw the title Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

"Congratulations, you have been accepted into the Film and Television Department at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts

.

..."

New York University is very close to home. You can take a ferry to Staten Island.

"Please sign and submit the confirmation form before April 30th…

Along with a $200 enrollment deposit...

If you are applying for accommodation...

Reporting Guidelines..."

Regardless of all that, and regardless of the fact that it was already 11 o'clock in the evening in New York, Ronald first called Aunt Karen to announce the good news.

"Ring, ring, ring…"

"Aunt Karen! It's Ronald. I was admitted to New York University! "

Aunt Karen started crying on the other end of the phone when she heard this news.

After working hard for several years, her sister's son was finally admitted to a prestigious university. As a single mother raising two children, Aunt Karen finally got her reward after all the hardship.

Ronald told his aunt that he had earned enough to cover his first year's tuition and book fees and that the money he sent home could be used to pay off the mortgage or purchase large-denomination bank certificates of deposit.

Deposit accounts in the United States basically have no interest. With inflation so high right now, the value of money is depreciating by more than 10% every year.

The bank then provided a large-denomination certificate of deposit (Certified Deposit) for depositors to purchase, which is equivalent to a fixed deposit. It has an annual interest rate of 15%, which is enough to beat inflation and still have some profit.

Ronald himself is also buying large-denomination certificates of deposit. After all, the annual inflation of 13% is outrageous.

The good news was exciting, and Ronald seemed to have recovered from the discomfort he had been experiencing in his daily life for the past few days. He wanted to find someone to celebrate with.

But in Los Angeles, Ronald didn't have many friends to share his joy with. Apart from Mrs. Webber's family next door, all his other acquaintances and friends were working for New World Productions and the "Rock n Roll High School" crew.

Ronald is a so-called "first-generation college student." Neither his father nor his mother went to college. Neither did his aunt or his late uncle. Ronald doesn't know anything about his parents before that.

If a normal American family has a first-generation college student, it is a very honorable thing. It should be celebrated with great fanfare. Last year, Ronald's wrestling team classmates invited him to a dinner celebration, and his parents gave speeches. In short, it was quite grand.

Ronald also wanted to share his joy with more people, so he bought some gifts for them, small items with some commemorative value.

The next morning, Ronald went to McDonald's and bargained with the store manager. He bought 100 family gift certificates at a 20% discount and also asked for a large book of coupons as a gift.

Each gift certificate can be used to purchase a family park package. It also comes with a small badge that can be worn.

Then he drove into New World Studios and gave a set to everyone he met. Although the price was not expensive, the family gift certificate could get a small toy that the children liked, and the colleagues who received the gift were very happy. Ronald also received many congratulations.

When he went upstairs and saw Gale was there, Ronald hurried forward.

"This is a gift for you, Gale."

"Congratulations, Ronald." Gail congratulated him immediately when he saw him.

"You already know that?" Ronald asked curiously.

"You already know?" Gale asked at the same time.

"Who told you?" They both asked the same question at the same time.

"I received an acceptance letter from New York University," Ronald said, handing over a McDonald's gift certificate. "Thank you, Gale. Is Mr. Corman here? I want to thank him in person."

Gale laughed loudly, took out an envelope from the drawer, and handed it over, "So you got into college, and here's a surprise."

Ronald took the envelope and saw that it was from the Directors Guild of America: "My membership application?"

Gale nodded.

"Wow! Today is my lucky day." Ronald's eyes were also a little sore.

"Come here, Ronald." Gale gave him a big hug.

"Who's outside?" Roger Corman asked from the inner room.

"It's Ronald."

"Oh, Ronald, please ask him to come in." Roger Coleman said happily.

"Mr. Coeman, thank you for your help." Ronald entered the office and respectfully presented a set of five McDonald's children's paradise meals and a Disney co-branded gift certificate. This set was specially selected by him and had Disney character dolls. He knew Roger Coleman had three children.

"I received an admission letter from New York University's Department of Film and Television, and I came here specifically to thank you for the letter of recommendation you wrote for me, Mr. Coeman," Ronald said.

"And Gale just told me about the Directors Guild's application. Thank you very much, Mr. Coeman."

Roger Corman reached out for the gift certificate and nodded.

"Congratulations, Ronald." He stood up and shook his hand.

Roger Coeman then said some congratulatory words and gave some advice on Ronald's college life.

Ronald saw that there were still a lot of documents on his boss's desk, so he thanked him again and prepared to leave.

"By the way, Ronald, there's a professor in the film department at New York University, Martin Scorsese, also made a movie for me. Have you seen his "Taxi Driver"? Please say hello to him for me when you get a chance."

Ronald agreed, turned around, and walked out of the office.

"What movie is Taxi Driver?" he asked Gale.

"Oh, Martin Scorsese directed it," Gail replied.

"A '76 movie." Gale made a gun gesture with his hand. "Are you talking to me?"

Ronald shrugged and said he hadn't seen it.

"Uh, what about Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore from '74?" Gail was a little disdainful of Ronald's ignorance of Hollywood.

"I've seen this movie before," Ronald remembered. He went to the cinema in Staten Island with his aunt Karen and cousin Donna. The cinema there often showed old and outdated movies.

This movie tells the story of a single waitress who works with her son while pursuing her dream of a singing career and love. Aunt Karen liked this movie. She kept saying for several days about how well the movie was made.

"Ellen Burstyn, who played a single mother, even won the Oscar for Best Actress."

It seems that this great director has been very productive recently. Ronald made up his mind that he must interact with him more often and get to know him better. Maybe he can join his crew.

Gale handed over the Directors Guild application. "You can fill it out here." He handed over a pen.

Ronald had never seen a fountain pen of this shape before. It was black and he didn't know what material it was made of. The clip on the pen cap was metal. Ronald tried to unscrew the pen cap.

"Pull it out, don't twist it," Gail reminded.

"Thanks."

Ronald took out his fountain pen and began to fill in the form. The fountain pen wrote very smoothly, filling in his name, date of birth, contact address, application level...

"By the way, the people from the Directors Guild said that the name Ronald Lee is already used by five or six actors and producers, and suggested that you add your middle name or come up with a stage name," said Gail.

"Okay, I will." Ronald wrote neatly in the registration name column: Ronald V. Lee.

Americans usually sign their middle names with just their initials, which is how Ronald signed his driver's license and on his checks.

"It also requires endorsements from three members of the Directors Guild. I think you can find them, right?" Gail asked.

"I think so, thank you." Ronald thanked again, took the application materials from the Directors Guild, and went downstairs.

I found the editing room and knocked on the door. Director Allan Arkush and Joe Dante were watching the sample reel of "Rock n Roll High School" with the sound mix. Ronald asked them to sign a letter of certification, handed them a McDonald's gift certificate, and told them the good news that he was a first-generation college student.

Received a few more congratulations and hugs.

Allen and Joe also told Ronald that the full sound mixing of "Rock n Roll High School" would be completed soon, and once it was sent to the MGM laboratory, several copies could be made, and a test screening would be held in Los Angeles in April. He must come to see it then.

In April, it seems that he will have to come to the company more often to find out the news.

With two letters of recommendation, Ronald got in the car and drove to the stunt company. Cameron was also a certified member, so the third letter of recommendation fell on his head.