Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1356 Guest appearance in Street Fighter
"We adopted trickle-down economics, but the water did not seep down..."

After Perot's comeback, he advertised on ESPN, CNN, and five other cable TV networks. He transformed himself into a university professor and began preaching directly to the audience, with dozens of charts and a metal pointer to show that the current economic policies of the Democratic Party did not benefit the public like his predecessor.

"Is this ad pretty good?" Douglas Jr. said to Ronald while watching TV.

"It's terrible. No one will like this kind of preaching to the audience except the middle-class male host..." Ronald turned down the volume of the TV. After Perot's comeback, he suddenly started to advertise heavily, but he almost never went to the scene to meet voters.

"Rumor has it that Perot is now like a nine-to-five office worker, going to the office every day to campaign for president, and then going home for dinner." Douglas Jr. did not smile. Perot's comeback seemed to be just to cause trouble. His hope of winning was exhausted when he withdrew. This time, he was very careful to protect himself. He did not go to important places in big cities and never communicated with voters face to face.

"I want to know where he got the money for the advertisement?" Ronald smiled bitterly. It was obvious that this was launched by the military-industrial system to divide the votes of the current President George. This kind of competition shows that those people are optimistic that he will not be re-elected.

Old George is like a lame duck now. No one listens to his words except for a few powerful departments such as the FBI and CIA.

His campaign team also knew that the main opponent was actually the governor of Arkansas who was promoted by the Donkey Party, so all the firepower was directed at the governor, attacking him for smoking hippies' favorite drugs when he was young, evading military service, and so on.

Photos of him when he was young, with a hippie hairstyle and a paper roll in his mouth, were dug up, and documents showing him traveling abroad during the Vietnam War conscription period were also shown on TV.

This was the smear campaign that George used to attack Dukakis in the last election. It was quite effective, and the governor had to come out and clarify that he was just pretending to be cool when he was photographed, and that he went abroad to deal with some academic matters, and he did not do anything illegal.

This kind of forced explanation seems very blunt. It is not clear whether anyone believes his statement. However, the governor himself said this on TV with an expression that obviously he believes it.

Ronald and Douglas Jr. were a little worried because the president, who they had a close relationship with, had not been doing well in the recent polls. If there was an upset, it would obviously be a big setback to their deterrence.

But it is definitely too late to switch sides and support the Democratic Party now. The two can only increase their support for local politicians, such as the re-elected senators in California and the elections for various positions in New York City.

Although the federal power is enormous, by tightening the local fences, those people in Hollywood who have close ties with the Donkey Party will not be able to cause trouble for themselves for a while.

"I wonder if the governor of Arkansas will remember the favor I did for him in a market where election funds are the most scarce?" Ronald thought to himself.

The filming in Washington DC went smoothly. Three weeks later, the final shooting was completed. Ronald, who was about to return to Los Angeles with Tom Cruise, suddenly received a call from Helen.

"I'm pregnant..."

This sentence made Ronald suddenly feel extremely happy, and he quickly went to Manhattan alone.

"I have a lot to say to him...hahaha..." Helen counted the days every day after leaving the Cayman Islands, and went to the hospital for a check-up immediately after the time came. The hot feeling she felt that day was indeed a reaction to conception.

"When he grows up, he will definitely like playing golf, not baseball. What do you think of the private elementary schools in Long Island?" Helen was a little crazy and had already started planning her child's education. It was obvious how much she wanted this child.

"Why do you say it's him? It could also be a daughter?"

"A daughter is not bad, but... hum... I have a lot to say to him. Look, I'm collecting children's stories now. I heard that reading world masterpieces frequently during pregnancy can improve the child's IQ."

"Oh..." Ronald covered his face. Helen's reaction to pregnancy was simply... "Don't be too tired. There will be many reactions during pregnancy. I asked my aunt to come and see you often. In addition, I have also found a few ladies to be your assistants during this period. You can interview them when the time comes..."

Because Ronald could not accompany him for a long time, he had a compensatory mentality and confessed this to his aunt, asking her to visit and take care of him more often.

"I have so many plans. Every time you come, the child will do something with you. Oh, God, I didn't expect to be so happy."

Helen's words made Ronald feel guilty again. He could only accompany Helen every now and then, and his love for the future child would definitely be lacking. Although this apartment was on Fifth Avenue, in order for Helen and the child to have a healthy growth environment in the future, Ronald secretly decided to buy a house in an upper-class community for her, so that she could also have a lawn, a swimming pool, high-end social life, and the traditional American life.

"Look, which of Hans Christian Andersen, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and Charlotte's Web by EB White should I read? Well, I'd better read Mr. White's books first. I loved them when I was a child."

"Don't worry, I have a tape recorder here." Ronald took out the small tape recorder he usually used to dictate things and gave it to Helen. "When you want to read, record it and play it for the child later. This way you won't be too tired."

"Where did Dad go with the axe? Fern asked her mother while setting the table for breakfast..." Helen actually started recording immediately, and her eyes were full of tenderness when she talked about her father and mother.

Ronald's heart softened all of a sudden, and he stayed with Helen in New York for several days before flying back to Los Angeles.

"Why did you stay there for so long? Tom came back a long time ago and asked Nicole to ask me to go to his house." Diane saw Ronald coming back exhausted, took the box, helped him brush off the dust, and complained a little.

"Ahem, something went wrong..." Ronald told Diane what little George had told him.

"Will it have any impact on you?" Diane didn't quite believe it. How could a movie starring the President have any impact on her?
"What could possibly happen? America is a country ruled by law..."

Diane hugged Ronald and said, "Don't forget, you are not alone now. You have me and little Roger."

……

"You really surprised me..."

Ronald was resting at home and just in time to receive the sample footage of "Street Fighter" shot by Joss Whedon.

I didn't expect Joss Whedon to be such a good novice director, and the shooting progress was basically not behind schedule. Although there were various minor problems in various subtle places, they did not affect the overall performance of the film.

Anyway, for this kind of exploitation film, as long as the elements that game fans like are good enough, the rest will be fine.

From the makeup of several important protagonists to the display of each character's special moves, it was very surprising. Especially since Jean-Claude Van Damme has a karate background, Guile's whirlwind kick was really well done.

Of course, to satisfy the fans, the special effects team also needs to do some hard work to add light and shadow effects to the various special moves.

Because of his satisfaction with the sample film, Ronald even went to the crew to encourage Whedon. This made up for his regret of not coming to the crew on the first day of shooting as usual due to his schedule.

"Action!"

Joss Whedon was strictly ordered by Ronald not to seek pleasure on the set or harass the actresses, but he was not short of beautiful women. Beautiful women often came to see the director in the name of visiting or checking out the set, making the entire crew know that the director was really lustful.

But Whedon is actually a very smart person. He has a good grasp of the key to exploitation films and knows that the accurate restoration of the game characters and special skills is the key to the success of this movie, so he restored it almost word for word.

For this reason, he even had a conflict with the makeup artist team and fired a makeup artist who insisted on Chun-Li wearing a red cheongsam. Ronald supported this matter, so the atmosphere of the crew changed immediately, and Whedon's prestige was established.

However, he also encountered actors that he could not change. Jean-Claude Van Damme, the protagonist, refused to have an exaggerated hairstyle based on Guile's image in the game.

Jean-Claude Van Damme only accepts to wear his hair back and up, but not extensions or wigs. When asked why, he said that he has the image of Jean-Claude Van Damme to maintain.

Ronald was a little annoyed about this, but he was not there at the time, and the final filming result was not particularly distracting. Considering that more than three-quarters of Guile's scenes had been filmed, and considering the comprehensive cost, he had to accept it.

"Ada..."

Several protagonists posed and tried to make a victory pose in the game. This shot was a strategy to please game fans at the end of the movie, putting together the poses of various characters after winning in the arcade game.

When the time comes, you can just look for the character you like to play the game with among this group of people.

However, it is not easy to shoot well. For example, Chun-Li has to jump with both feet and then fold backwards. Just for this Chun-Li jump, actress Wen Ming-na trained for a long time.

It is relatively easy for the audience to have the impression that "that's it" - Japanese sumo wrestlers and wrestlers from the league. As long as their appearance and makeup are up to par, they can satisfy the minds of game fans.

"Cut!"

"Congratulations to you, Jose. Congratulations to everyone..."

After the camera was finished, Ronald stepped forward and led the applause. This kind of thing still needs some encouragement.

"I need this congratulation. You don't know, the biggest problem with filming an action movie adapted from a game is the risk of injuries. The actor who played Ken sprained his ankle a while ago, and I was so worried."

Joss Whedon is just like that, never shying away from showing off his achievements.

"Is the actor okay?" Ronald became worried when he heard that the actor had been resting for such a long time due to injury. This was the kind of thing he feared the most.

"Fortunately, he is very strong..."

It seems that the degree of the sprain is quite serious. Ronald called for more doctors to be on-site and arranged for all the main actors to go to the hospital for a physical examination. This matter cannot be sloppy. If there is a problem, it will not only delay the filming progress, but also cause trouble for the union.

This is not Hong Kong, where Jackie Chan and his gang can jump from several floors without any safety measures. So Ronald is also worried that those action directors will bring the Hong Kong style to Hollywood.

After all, if something goes wrong, you can't rely on your brothers or courage to fool around like in Hong Kong. American lawyers can sue the producers who do this.

Ronald stayed on the crew for a few more days, especially with supermodels led by Cindy Crawford, who came to guest-star as the female guard of the villain Bison.

These supermodels were all very charming and had no training in movements. Ronald's presence helped to calm Joss Whedon's lust and his desire to have them try more difficult movements.

When those supermodels with different styles from different countries appeared in front of the villain Bison in very designer fighting costumes, Ronald knew that this movie would definitely not be a bad box office.

Seeing Ronald smiling happily, Cindy Crawford and a British supermodel, Cara, whispered for a while, and then they came up to talk to Ronald.

"Hey, Ronald, I wonder if you can play a role? We are all looking forward to acting with you, for example, the head of Bison's bodyguards?"

"Me? I'm not an actor, I'm just a director."

"Non, I've seen you play Thor in The Babysitter. You're more convincing as Guile than Jean-Claude Van Damme." The famous model named Carla looked very Chinese, and was very active and enthusiastic. She touched Ronald's arm and praised him.

"Who says it's not?" Cindy and other supermodels agreed and came up to touch it too.

"That was a long time ago. Now with my looks, I can't find acting work in Hollywood."

Ronald didn't expect that the videotape of "Adventures in Babysitting" would be so popular. The models actually remembered the scene in which he played the role of a mechanic/suspected Thor, wearing a muscle vest under the steam and holding a hammer.

But the 1980s preference for actors with strong double chins and tall, muscular bodies has long since disappeared with the end of the Cold War.

Even if Hollywood makes such movies now, it still wants actors like Jean-Claude Van Damme who have a sharp chin and whose main action is to kick beautifully and move swiftly. No one wants to watch roles like Schwarzenegger's Conan the Barbarian and Sylvester Stallone's Rambo.

"I remember that you played that role so well. You are very famous in the comic circle, and many fans only recognize your role as Thor." Joss Whedon also came to flatter him.

"No, even if I make a cameo appearance, I can only play a gentle and refined role." Ronald refused. In the end, he only made a cameo appearance as a UN official, wearing a suit and glasses, with no visible muscles.

"Today's TV debate for the President's campaign, come and watch it."

When Ronald returned home, Diane brought him a phone, and Douglas Jr. was on the other end urging Ronald to watch the live broadcast on TV.

"OK..." Ronald watched the host on TV announce that the topic of today's debate was foreign policy and domestic policy, which happened to be old George's strong points.

Why are you so listless? Ronald looked at George on TV. He looked tired and had obvious wrinkles on his face. On the contrary, Perot and the governor, one looked like a shrewd businessman and the other looked a bit like a TV star. They both looked energetic.

(End of this chapter)