Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1311 Forced to Change Location for Filming
Michael Douglas couldn't wait to start shooting his "City Hero" movie. He had actually made all the preparations in advance, and as soon as TriStar agreed to distribute the film, he started shooting immediately, as if he was afraid that the other party would go back on their word.

The first shot of the film is a shot of a traffic jam under a viaduct in Los Angeles. This shot is relatively easy to shoot, as Los Angeles is often jammed with traffic, so it is not difficult to find a place with an viaduct.

"Action!"

When Ronald directed his first film, director Joel Schumacher's office was next to Ronald's. Schumacher is a 2-meter tall man with a humorous way of speaking. His film directing techniques are not limited to the typical Hollywood commercial film range.

For example, the opening scene is a very interesting shot, starting with a close-up of Michael Douglas and then zooming out. Ronald immediately felt that this shot was very good at conveying emotions, without a single line of dialogue or a thrilling scene, the audience could enter the set scene.

"Hey, boss, am I qualified?" Schumacher deliberately teased Ronald. He is well-known in the industry for liking to go to the director on the first day of shooting to see if he meets the requirements. If the director's work is flawed, it is said that Ronald will give a 20-minute small lecture and teach on the spot.

"Come on, I'm here to learn..." Ronald laughed. It was impossible that his former office neighbor would ask him to evaluate whether Schumacher was qualified.

"Oh, that's good. Look how nervous I am and how sweaty I am..." Schumacher was being funny again.

At this time, Michael Douglas also came over. He had a typical military short haircut, which was in line with the protagonist's identity. He was sweating in this close-up shot, but in today's weather, there was no need to sprinkle water...

"Bud, go buy some iced Coke..." Ronald saw that the crew didn't prepare any cold drinks, so he took out a stack of twenty-dollar bills and handed them to his driver...

"Oh, that's great..." In the dull weather, a bottle of iced Coke is the most comfortable thing. The crew started cheering.

Who knew that Little Bud would be gone for so long that Ronald wanted to go find him before he saw his car coming back. Several boxes of Coke were unloaded from the trunk of the luxury car. Although not much, it was enough for each person to have a bottle.

"What took you so long? I saw there was a grocery store next door." Ronald took a sip, and the temperature of the Coke was not so cold anymore.

"I was so angry. The Korean boss raised the price tenfold when she saw that I was black. I explained to her that I bought it for a movie crew, but she said that she only offered a high price because she knew I was a member of the crew. You have money anyway... She even cursed me in their language..."

"Fuck..." Ronald didn't know about this. In recent years, Korean immigrants who have poured into Los Angeles have taken over the grocery stores and laundries of Chinese and Japanese people. They have not inherited the Chinese and Japanese culture of making money through harmony in business. Instead, they have revolutionized the entire grocery store culture with an attitude of taking advantage of every opportunity. The grocery store's positioning as an important member of the community is gone. There is only haggling...

Ronald had to ask the logistics department for additional budget to ensure sufficient supply of cold drinks in this abnormally hot temperature.

……

"The appeal of the Dushunzi case in the state supreme court upheld the original verdict..."

At night, the TV stations began discussing the case last year in which Korean grocery store owner Du Sun-ja shot and killed black ninth-grade student Latasha Harlins after a physical conflict.

The original judge ignored the jury's maximum sentence of 16 years for first-degree murder and sentenced him to five years of probation, 5 hours of community service and a $400 fine...

The black people in Los Angeles were very dissatisfied and appealed to the California Supreme Court, which upheld the original verdict, believing that the jury's decision was unreasonable and supporting the judge's decision.

"Hey, Shxt..."

Ronald suddenly understood. It turned out that the reason why little Bud was bullied in the grocery store was also due to this case, right?
Most of the grocery stores that Koreans have taken over are relatively cheap, and there are many in black and Latino areas. This ruling has caused a very emotional reaction among both Koreans and blacks.

Koreans generally believe that blacks are thieves and robbers, and this verdict is their victory. Blacks have already started burning tires on the streets...

"Daxmn it..."

Ronald took the shooting schedule of "City Heroes" and found a big problem as he looked at it. This movie is actually a tour of various representative areas in Los Angeles, and it is also a road movie.

On the day the story takes place, the protagonist played by Michael Douglas actually travels across Los Angeles, from Silver Lake, downtown, and finally to Goryeo City...

"Hey, Michael, we have to be prepared..."

"It's going to be okay, right?"

"It's hard to say. Should we move the scenes in Goryeo City to the studio? At least make a plan?"

"Let me think about it. OK, let's make a plan. But I still don't think it's necessary to activate this backup plan. I was just watching Channel 5 TV. Daryl Gates from the LAPD said that the public security in Los Angeles is foolproof, right?"

"Really?" Ronald put down the phone and turned on the TV to watch the news. Daryl Gates was being interviewed by the TV station.

"Citizens should have confidence in the LAPD. Today, the security in the city center was well controlled. The same will be true for the sentencing of the Rodney King case next week. Let me tell you a fact. I have set aside a budget of one million dollars for possible overtime. The LAPD has the ability and is prepared to ensure everyone's safety..."

"Oh, shit, there's the Rodney King sentencing next week?" Ronald wondered how all these things came together.

After consulting a lawyer, Ronald realized that he really needed to make some preparations for this matter.

The verdict of the Rodney King case is likely to find the Los Angeles detectives involved not guilty...

This matter was also related to Ronald and Cameron, because the videotape taken by fans who visited the set of "Terminator 2" was presented to the court and the jury as evidence for the defendant.

This video is not the edited version of CNN or other TV stations, but the original version. The first few seconds include the footage of Rodney King trying to violently attack the police.

This is totally inconsistent with the prosecutors' charges against several police officers for their unreasonable and brutal treatment of Rodney King. Rodney King is not as innocent as he claims...

Today, the Dushunzi case has caused quite a bit of controversy. If the Rodney King case had really produced results that were not in line with expectations, would the anger of black people have erupted?
Ronald consulted his bodyguard Daniel, who said it was unlikely. Besides the LAPD being one of the best-funded agencies in the United States, Gates was also a professional. Even if something happened, the governor still had the power to mobilize the National Guard to maintain order.

After calming down a little, Ronald went to Diane to find out about their baseball movie.

As soon as the baseball training is over, many female stars will move to the minor league field of the California Angels baseball team to adapt to the scene and prepare for filming.

"Well, it's not a big problem..." Ronald looked at the site on the map. It was far away from Goryeo City and the city center where black people lived.

"I have increased your security force. I have also hired a professional security company to reinforce the actresses in the crew..." Ronald, in order to be prepared for any eventuality, also assigned bodyguards like Diane to those female stars who had a "history" with him, ostensibly to add some security budget to the film.

"What's wrong? Are we in danger?" Diane glanced at the child. She felt that Ronald was a little strange today.

"You can see from the news that there was a small-scale riot in downtown Los Angeles today. I have to strengthen the security measures for the crew, otherwise the insurance company will refuse to provide coverage and we will be in financial trouble." Ronald thought of a reason. Under special circumstances, if the insurance company refuses to provide coverage, then the bank's bridge loan guarantee for the two films will be in trouble, which is very fatal to the two medium-budget films.

"Then nothing will happen to our family, right?" Diane looked at little Roger and her maternal instinct took over.

"How about I contact Aunt Karen and let little Roger live with her for a while after you join the group. Auntie called last time and said she missed him..."

"Well..." Diane also thought this arrangement was good, "But my dad Bert also wants to see his grandson..."

"That's it," Ronald immediately called his two elders, making them very happy. Seeing Diane's expression, he comforted her, "It's okay, you miss little Roger, we can just fly over to spend the weekend..."

"Hee..." Diane was happy. It was convenient to have a plane at home.

……

On the day when the verdict in the Rodney King case was announced, Ronald watched the live broadcast on TV at one o'clock in the afternoon.

"Channel 5 brings you reports from the Los Angeles courthouse. At one o'clock in the afternoon, Judge Stanley Weisberg announced that the jury had reached a verdict, which would be read in two hours.

This was done to prepare journalists, police officers and other emergency responders for the outcome, given concerns about unrest if the officers were acquitted. The LAPD has activated its Emergency Operations Center…”

"Okay, let's connect with LAPD Chief Gates..."

"Relax, all our police station doors are open, lights are on, coffee pots are plugged in, but our chiefs believe the risk is low, even if there is a problem, we have the ability to deal with it, please rest assured..."

"Thank God..." Ronald breathed a sigh of relief and headed out to the crew of "City Heroes" being filmed in Goryeo City.

"I need some change to make a phone call..."

"Either you buy something, or you won't exchange it..."

The crew was filming the scene today where Michael Douglas was in a Korean-owned grocery store and wanted to change change for a phone call, but was rejected by the Korean lady boss.

The filming of the movie went relatively smoothly. Ronald had seen the samples from the previous two days. Schumacher was very creative and the progress was very ideal.

“Cut!” Take a break…

Director Schumacher gave Douglas a thumbs up...

"Is the Coke cold enough?" Ronald threw a can to Douglas and gave another to the director.

"The crew loves it... especially in this weather..."

The lighting team began to dismantle the lights. The next scene needed to be re-lit, which would take another two hours. Ronald chatted casually with the two artists.

"The four defendants, LAPD officers, were all declared not guilty..."

The lights had just been set up and were being adjusted, and Ronald's driver, Bud Little, had already turned up the volume on the car's Sony TV, just as the verdict in the Rodney King case was announced.

"Bang, bang..."

Two loud noises were suddenly heard from the west of the crew.

"Shxt..."

Little Bud rushed over immediately, waving his hands, signaling Ronald to squat down.

"What happened?" Schumacher and Douglas were also startled. "Did the tire burst?"

"It's a shooting...get down quickly..." Bud shouted anxiously.

Bodyguard Daniel and his companions also rushed over to protect Ronald as he got into the bulletproof car.

"Don't be too nervous, it could be an accidental discharge or a gunshot into the air..."

Ronald was still relatively calm. He directed the bodyguards to help the main members of the crew first, and then asked the first assistant director to announce that the filming would end early, and everyone immediately took the crew's car back to the studio in Columbia.

With the assistance of the security team, the crew members quickly boarded the bus, and then a large truck led the way. The cars formed a convoy and withdrew from Goryeo City one after another, heading west along the highway.

On the way, we also passed the court where the result had just been announced, and there were hundreds of people protesting outside the door.

“We decided not to pay…”

Ronald, who was sitting in the car watching the live broadcast on his Sony wireless TV, noticed that the black man was beginning to get restless.

A fearless reporter interviewed a group of black guys outside a delicatessen in Normandy. The group of blacks surrounded the door of the delicatessen on foot and threw stones at the glass of the door.

A black man stood on a high place and gave a speech saying, "If you don't pay, these are the compensations for the white people's exploitation of us." Then the group of people rushed into the store and started looting...

Ten minutes later, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley went to the TV station to deliver a televised speech.

"Today, a jury told the world that what we witnessed was not a crime. Today, a jury asked us to accept the senseless and brutal beating of a helpless man. Today, a jury said we should tolerate this kind of behavior from those who are sworn to protect and serve.

My friends, I am here to tell this jury, "No. No, our eyes did not deceive us. We saw what we saw, and we saw a crime...We cannot jeopardize the reforms we have achieved by blindly fighting back. We cannot hinder progress by blindly fighting back..."

"What does this guy want to do?" Bud, the driver driving in front, couldn't help but complain after hearing the mayor's speech.

At this time, shouldn't we say something calling for reconciliation and calm?
"Hey……"

This Tom Bradley is the first black mayor in the history of Los Angeles. This guy has great political ambitions, but his IQ... doesn't seem to be high enough.

This kind of speech is encouragement, incitement, and a starting gun to those already angry black youths, such as those who were just at the door of the deli.

"Honey, this is horrible..."

In the evening, Diane also came back. The two watched on TV that on Florence Street where the deli was located, two truck drivers were pulled out of their cabs by a group of black people and beaten in the street while waiting for a red light.

"Oh my God..." This image was taken from a helicopter, and Ronald saw a black man pick up a fire extinguisher and smash it on the white driver's head.

"No, you can't shoot your movie here..." Ronald picked up the phone and called his lawyer, "Lindsay, please help me contact the Yankees..."

(End of this chapter)