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
12
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
13
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,
14
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