Английский язык с Крестным Отцом - Илья Франк

wife in Spain, trying to get her to marry him.

"Yeah," he said. "Christmas Eve and Christmas." He didn't mention New Year's Eve.

That would be one of the wild nights he needed every once in a while, to get drunk with

his friends, and he didn't want a wife along then. He didn't feel guilty about it.

She helped him put on his jacket and brushed it off. He was always fastidiously

(fastidious [f∂s’tıdıj∂s] – привередливо, разборчиво, изощренно) neat. She could see

him frowning because the shirt he had put on was not laundered (to launder ['lo:nd∂] –

стирать и гладить /белье/) to his taste, the cuff links (запонки; cuff – манжета), a pair

he had not worn for some time, were a little too loud for the way he liked to dress now.

She laughed softly and said, "Tom won't notice the difference."

The three women of the family walked him to the door and out on the driveway to his

car. The two little girls held his hands, one on each side. His wife walked a little behind

him. She was getting pleasure out of how happy he looked. When he reached his car he

turned around and swung each girl in turn high up in the air and kissed her on the way

down. Then he kissed his wife and got into the car. He never liked drawn-out good-byes.

Arrangements had been made by his PR (public relations – связь с

общественностью) man and aide. At his house a chauffeured car was waiting, a rented

car. In it were the PR man and another member of his entourage. Johnny parked his car

and hopped in and they were on their way to the airport. He waited inside the car while

the PR man went out to meet Tom Hagen's plane. When Tom got into the car they

shook hands and drove back to his house.

Finally he and Tom were alone in the living room. There was a coolness between

them. Johnny had never forgiven Hagen for acting as a barrier to his getting in touch

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with the Don when the Don was angry with him, in those bad days before Connie's

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wedding. Hagen never made excuses for his actions. He could not. It was part of his job

to act as a lightning rod for resentments which people were too awed to feel toward the

Don himself though he had earned them.

"Your Godfather sent me out here to give you a hand (помочь) on some things,"

Hagen said. "I wanted to get it out of the way before Christmas."

Johnny Fontane shrugged. "The picture is finished. The director was a square guy

and treated me right. My scenes are too important to be left on the cutting-room floor

just for Woltz to pay me off. He can't ruin a ten-million-dollar picture. So now everything

depends on how good people think I am in the movie."

Hagen said cautiously, "Is winning this Academy Award so terribly important to an

actor's career, or is it just the usual publicity crap that really doesn't mean anything one

way or the other?" He paused and added hastily, "Except of course the glory, everybody

likes glory."

Johnny Fontane grinned at him. "Except my Godfather. And you. No, Tom, it's not a

lot of crap. An Academy Award can make an actor for ten years. He can get his pick

(выбор; лучшая, отборная часть /чего-либо/) of roles. The public goes to see him. It's

not everything, but for an actor it's the most important thing in the business. I'm counting

on winning it. Not because I'm such a great actor but because I'm known primarily as a

singer and the part is foolproof («защищенный от дурака» = элементарный в

обращении; надежный /без риска неудачи/). And I'm pretty good too, no kidding."

Tom Hagen shrugged and said, "Your Godfather tells me that the way things stand

now, you don't have a chance of winning the award."

Johnny Fontane was angry. "What the hell are you talking about? The picture hasn't

even been cut yet, much less shown. And the Don isn't even in the movie business.

Why the hell did you fly the three thousand miles just to tell me that shit?" He was so

shaken he was almost in tears.

Hagen said worriedly, "Johnny, I don't know a damn thing about all this movie stuff.

Remember, I'm just a messenger boy for the Don. But we have discussed this whole

business of yours many times. He worries about you, about your future. He feels you

still need his help and he wants to settle your problem once and for all. That's why I'm

here now, to get things rolling. But you have to start growing up, Johnny. You have to

stop thinking about yourself as a singer or an actor. You've got to start thinking about

yourself as a prime mover (первичный двигатель; буксир, тягач), as a guy with

muscle."

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Johnny Fontane laughed and filled his glass. "If I don't win that Oscar I'll have as

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much muscle as one of my daughters. My voice is gone; if I had that back I could make

some moves. Oh, hell. How does my Godfather know I won't win it? OK, I believe he

knows. He's never been wrong."

Hagen lit a thin cigar. "We got the word that Jack Woltz won't spend studio money to

support your candidacy. In fact he's sent the word out to everybody who votes that he

does not want you to win. But holding back the money for ads (ad – сокр. от

advertisment – реклама) and all that may do it. He's also arranging to have one other

guy get as much of the opposition votes as he can swing. He's using all sorts of bribes-

jobs, money, broads, everything. And he's trying to do it without hurting the picture or

hurting it as little as possible."

Johnny Fontane shrugged. He filled his glass with whiskey and downed it. "Then I'm

dead."

Hagen was watching him with his mouth curled up with distaste. "Drinking won't help

your voice," he said.

"Fuck you," Johnny said.

Hagen's face suddenly became smoothly impassive. Then he said, "OK, I'll keep this

purely business."

Johnny Fontane put his drink down and went over to stand in front of Hagen. "I'm

sorry I said that, Tom," he said. "Christ, I'm sorry. I'm taking it out on you because I

wanta kill that bastard Jack Woltz and I'm afraid to tell off (отчитывать, бранить,

разносить) my Godfather. So I get sore at you." There were tears in his eyes. He threw

the empty whiskey glass against the wall but so weakly that the heavy shot glass did not

even shatter and rolled along the floor back to him so that he looked down at it in baffled

(озадаченный, сбитый с толку) fury. Then he laughed. "Jesus Christ," he said.

He walked over to the other side of the room and sat opposite Hagen. "You know, I had

everything my own way for a long time. Then I divorced Ginny and everything started

going sour. I lost my voice. My records stopped selling. I didn't get any more movie work.

And then my Godfather got sore at me and wouldn't talk to me on the phone or see me

when I came into New York. You were always the guy barring the path and I blamed

you, but I knew you wouldn't do it without orders from the Don. But you can't get sore at

him. It's like getting sore at God. So I curse you. But you've been right all along the line.

And to show you I mean my apology I'm taking your advice. No more booze until I get

my voice back. OK?"

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The apology was sincere. Hagen forgot his anger. There must be something to this

thirty-five-year-old boy or the Don would not be so fond of him. He said, "Forget it,

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Johnny." He was embarrassed at the depth of Johnny's feeling and embarrassed by the

suspicion that it might have been inspired by fear, fear that he might turn the Don

against him. And of course the Don could never be turned by anyone for any reason.

His affection was mutable only by himself.

"Things aren't so bad," he told Johnny. "The Don says he can cancel out everything

Woltz does against you. That you will almost certainly win the Award. But he feels that

won't solve your problem. He wants to know if you have the brains and balls to become

a producer on your own, make your own movies from top to bottom."

"How the hell is he going to get me the Award?" Johnny asked incredulously.

Hagen said sharply, "How do you find it so easy to believe that Woltz can finagle

(добиваться чего-либо нечестными или обходными путями, жульничать [fı'neıgl]) it

and your Godfather can't? Now since it's necessary to get your faith for the other part of

our deal I must tell you this. Just keep it to yourself. Your Godfather is a much more

powerful man than Jack Woltz. And he is much more powerful in areas far more critical.

How can he swing the Award? He controls, or controls the people who control, all the

labor unions in the industry, all the people or nearly all the people who vote. Of course

you have to be good, you have to be in contention (конкуренция; спор) on your own

merits. And your Godfather has more brains than Jack Woltz. He doesn't go up to these

people and put a gun to their heads and say, 'Vote for Johnny Fontane or you are out of

a job.' He doesn't strong-man where strong-arm doesn't work or leaves too many hard

feelings. He'll make those people vote for you because they want to. But they won't

want to unless he takes an interest. Now just take my word for it that he can get you the

Award. And that if he doesn't do it, you won't get it."

"OK," Johnny said. "I believe you. And I have the balls and brains to be a producer but

I don't have the money. No bank would finance me. It takes millions to support a movie."

Hagen said dryly, "When you get the Award, start making plans to produce three of

your own movies. Hire the best people in the business, the best technicians, the best

stars, whoever you need. Plan on three to five movies."

"You're crazy," Johnny said. "That many movies could mean twenty million bucks."

"When you need the money," Hagen said, "get in touch with me. I'll give you the name

of the bank out here in California to ask for financing. Don't worry, they finance movies

all the time. Just ask them for the money in the ordinary way, with the proper

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justifications, like a regular business deal. They will approve. But first you have to see

me and tell me the figures and the plans. OK?"

Johnny was silent for a long time. Then he said quietly, "Is there anything else?"

15

Hagen smiled. "You mean, do you have to do any favors in return for a loan of twenty

million dollars? Sure you will." He waited for Johnny to say something. "Nothing you

wouldn't do anyway if the Don asked you to do it for him."

Johnny said, "The Don has to ask me himself if it's something serious, you know what

I mean? I won't take your word or Sonny's for it."

Hagen was surprised by this good sense. Fontane had some brains after all. He had

sense to know that the Don was too fond of him, and too smart, to ask him to do

something foolishly dangerous, whereas Sonny might. He said to Johnny, "Let me

reassure you on one thing. Your Godfather has given me and Sonny strict instructions

not to involve you in any way in anything that might get you bad publicity through our

fault. And he will never do that himself. I guarantee you that any favor he asks of you,

you will offer to do before he requests it. OK?"

Johnny smiled. "OK," he said.

Hagen said, "Also he has faith in you. He thinks you have brains and so he figures the

bank will make money on the investment, which means he will make money on it. So it's

really a business deal, never forget that. Don't go screwing around with the money. You

may be his favorite godson but twenty million bucks is a lot of dough. He has to stick his

neck out to make sure you get it."

"Tell him not to worry," Johnny said. "If a guy like Jack Woltz can be a big movie

genius, anybody can."

"That's what your Godfather figures," Hagen said. "Can you have me driven back to

the airport? I've said all I have to say. When you do start signing contracts for

everything, hire your own lawyers, I won't be in on it. But I'd like to see everything

before you sign, if that's OK with you. Also, you'll never have any labor troubles. That

will cut costs on your pictures to some extent, so when the accountants lump (lump –

глыба, кусок; to lump – смешивать, валить в одну кучу) some of that in, disregard

those figures."

Johnny said cautiously, "Do I have to get your OK on anything else, scripts, stars, any

of that?"

Hagen shook his head. "No," he said. "It may happen that the Don would object to

something but he'll object to you direct if he does. But I can't imagine what that would be.

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Movies don't affect him at all, in any way, so he has no interest. And he doesn't believe

in meddling, that I can tell you from experience."

"Good," Johnny said. "I'll drive you to the airport myself. And thank the Godfather for

me. I'd call him up and thank him but he never comes to the phone. Why is that, by the

way?"

Hagen shrugged. "He hardly ever talks on the phone. He doesn't want his voice

recorded, even saying something perfectly innocent. He's afraid that they can splice

(соединять внахлест, сращивать /концы чего-либо/ /строит./; склеивать встык

/ленту, пленку/) the words together so that it sounds as if he says something else. I

think that's what it is. Anyway his only worry is that someday he'll be framed (to frame –

фабриковать, подставлять, ложно обвинять) by the authorities. So he doesn't want to

give them an edge (дать им себя подцепить, дать им карты в руки; edge – кромка,