America 1982-Chapter 319 - 20 In Rome_3

When Diane Lynn cast off her robe and stood on the platform, smiling and embracing David, the shock and exclamations from the audience reached a peak. Not only the men in attendance, but even the band, those models, and the minor actors all wore looks of disbelief.

For crying out loud, that was Diane Lynn, one of the four dream girls of American youth. Which man present didn’t do something not suitable for children with her poster during his teenage years? 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Her appearance overshadowed the subsequent entry of Stephen’s French twin models to the extent that they were somewhat ignored—after all, no matter how beautiful or stunning they were, they were just ordinary women from France with no fame in the United States.

It was only Michelle Pfeiffer, who as the last to take the stage, barely managed to outshine Diane Lynn.

Michelle Pfeiffer, the female lead in "Scarface"—and "Scarface" was no teenage house-playing romance that anyone, from children to the elderly, could watch. It was an X-rated film that made it into the top ten box office hits of the year in America, one that countless teenagers had schemed their way into theaters just to see.

In the movie, she played the mob boss’s woman, who mesmerized and completely enthralled Al Pacino’s character, driving him to kill the mob leader who had taken him under his wing.

She didn’t need much acting skill; it was all about her stunning looks. All she had to do was sit there in a low-cut V-neck dress, quietly smoking a cigarette, and glance over with those lonely and desirous teasing eyes. It wasn’t just the protagonist, Tony, played by Al Pacino, but any male viewer would feel the urge and impulse to kill their own boss and then pin the mob wife beneath them.

Unlike the other women, Michelle Pfeiffer didn’t just blow a kiss and leave; instead, she lit up a cigar, handed it to David, and after a light peck on his face, turned around and joined him in graciously facing the crowd below.

This gesture told everyone that tonight, it would be better for other men to stay away from her—her companion for the evening was David Schafer, and she was the leading lady of tonight’s party.

Within the venue, the slower-thinking men were still dazzled by these female stars, while the more astute had already begun to turn their attention to the young man, Tommy Hawk, who David Schafer had mentioned was covering the expenses of the event.

Tommy had heard from Stephen the story of Michelle Pfeiffer. This woman was from California—her mother a homemaker, her father an air conditioning repairman. After graduating from high school, she first worked as a supermarket cashier before studying at a community college. There, she joined a sorority which led her into a new world. Initially enrolled in a stenography clerk course, she then decided to pursue an acting career, entering the Miss Orange, Miss Los Angeles, and Miss California beauty pageants, among others. Her best result was sixth place in the Miss California pageant.

Although her performance in the pageants was disappointing, she became aware of the corruption behind the Miss California competition—that no matter how pretty a woman was, without an agent or backing, there was no chance of making it. Therefore, she found a former pimp-turned-agent to help her get started. While this agent might not have sounded very reputable, he was the only one willing to take her on at the time.

The agent took her around to various Hollywood sets, recommending her to directors and producers with plain and unembellished words: "Miss Pfeiffer is willing to do anything for the job. She doesn’t mind playing a prostitute or other female-unfriendly roles and doesn’t object to earning a living in Hollywood by trading on her appearance or body."

A female community college graduate not specialized in acting has to give more than those professionally trained actors to get a foothold in Hollywood. Praised by many directors and producers for her readiness to play bold scenes with abandon, she eventually got her chance at fame when the movie producer Martin Bregman saw her dedication and arranged for her to star in "Scarface."

There was a minor hiccup at the time, as the director of "Scarface" refused, feeling that Pfeiffer wasn’t suitable for the role and that he had better candidates in mind.

"Vanity Fair" magazine once published Martin’s reaction upon hearing the director’s refusal. The article described how he, unfazed by others’ gazes at a cocktail party, embraced Pfeiffer with one hand on her bosom, looking calmly at the director who refused to follow his orders:

"I’m holding her now, Brian, just like in the script, where the mob boss Robers holds his sexy wife. The only thing you need to think about seriously is, are you sure you’re Hollywood’s Tony? If not, either do as I say, or you won’t be doing it at all."

Although "Scarface" became a smash hit and turned her into the mob queen every American man dreamed of, Martin didn’t continue to funnel resources her way. After all, there were many other women in Hollywood waiting for his support. Without Martin’s help, Pfeiffer, though no longer at a loss for roles, found herself in much lesser quality projects, followed by a slew of flops so evident from the scripts that they couldn’t possibly be successful.

So much so that years later, when people saw her, the only label they associated her with was the stunning mob wife from "Scarface."