Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1364: The Last Dinner at the White House
"God bless you, your brother didn't sue poor Don Marsh, he was just an ordinary news anchor in St. Louis..."

"My mother Barbara scolded him, and this time it was my father who personally vetoed his nonsense, hehehe..."

A month after "Assassination" was released, George and his wife, who had lost the election, finally had time to deal with the rogue actor Steve Siegel and the distributor Warner Bros., who, in their (especially Barbara's) opinion, had ruined their business before the election.

Barbara instructed her youngest son to prepare a lawsuit against the film company for using their news footage as film clips without permission.

But George Jr. is, after all, a fund director who has made some achievements in investment in Hollywood. He knows that such an incident would cause Hollywood to collectively launch a more fierce attack on George Sr., who is about to step down, so he persuaded his mother not to sue.

He also consulted Ronald for his opinion for Barbara's reference. Ronald proposed to adjust the scope and direction of the lawsuit...

There are mainly two key points. The first is that the film uses news clips, which is within the scope of fair use tacitly accepted by the industry. If a lawsuit is to be filed, it would be best to seize the news footage of Qianlong Shengtian, which was not broadcast to ordinary audiences in the mass media, thereby establishing that it does not meet the scope of fair use.

The second is not to target Hollywood, but to target the Navy News Service, which provided the studio with news footage that should not be released. Hollywood and the media are very eager to defend the First Amendment, which is their lifeline. If a lawsuit is filed on this issue, it will be equivalent to pushing all Hollywood studios into a hostile situation.

But Barbara hesitated. Her husband's defeat was largely due to the military's betrayal. Now pointing the finger at the navy was not necessarily a good choice for a commander-in-chief who had only one or two months left in his term and had already formed a handover team.

So Barbara found another scapegoat, an innocent local news host who dubbed the news video.

Of course, Ronald finally stopped this attempt. George Sr. personally rejected Jeb's move, called Ronald to express his gratitude, and invited Ronald to visit the White House as an official guest before he left office.

Barbara also warmly invited Ronald to visit her once when she was still the hostess. The last time Ronald went, he was not the guest of honor, but this time he would be able to go to the White House and become an official and recorded guest of the White House Press Office, which would go down in history.

After Ronald agreed, he put down the phone and informed George Jr. They talked about a lot of things. Jeb was still immature. It was obvious that the Navy was embarrassing George Sr. from this matter. From several signs, it can be seen that the military is determined to teach a lesson to anyone who advocates reducing military spending.

First, the leading actor Steve Siegel has always been famous for his iconic ponytail, but he cut it off in this film, complying with the Navy's regulation that hair length cannot exceed four inches.

Second, the radio conversation between the F/A-18 fighter jets flying over the battleship Missouri in the movie was actually a real radio conversation between two F-14 fighter jets in 23 when they intercepted and shot down two Libyan MiG- fighter jets (a real-world example of Top Gun).

George Sr. was of course very aware of this. Before leaving office, he began to make personnel adjustments to the national security team and the economic team, which is a personnel adjustment that a president usually does not make before leaving office.

This adjustment is meaningless, because the next president is from another party, and when he takes office, he will have to be replaced. It is clear that it is some public humiliation of internal traitors.

However, it is said that George Sr. suffered a severe psychological blow and showed signs of moderate depression. George Jr. said that Barbara called him a few days ago and told him that his father cried every night and was in a very bad mood.

Only when meeting some old friends did George Sr. return to his normal state as the President, so George Jr. also hoped that Ronald could visit the White House and bring some good memories to his father's last years in the White House.

After agreeing to go through with it, Ronald went back to editing "Sugar Coated Trap". There was a lot of material for this movie, and when it was three hours, it reached a bottleneck. If it went any further, it would be difficult to choose which part to cut.

For this purpose, Ronald specially invited Walter Murch to help. Hearing that his editing apprentice Ronald encountered technical difficulties and received a reward equivalent to three times the market price, Murch happily came to Los Angeles to help Ronald solve his problems.

"This is what I mean, when you're cooking Italian steak or Hungarian borscht, you have to simmer over low heat until the sauce is reduced. Most of the films you've shot before were commercial productions, with intense dramatic conflicts and clear three-act plots. This time, you have to slowly reduce the sauce for this film... Look here..."

Walter Murch was very happy that Ronald was finally no longer a purely commercial film director. This movie had some of the style of European directors. Some details were just the tip of the iceberg, revealing a deep tendency to express the real society.

If the film was to be shot in depth, it could probably be four hours long, but Ronald just touched on some parts and left a lingering aftertaste, which gave him a strong feeling of helping Coppola edit The Godfather or Apocalypse Now.

Ronald's films are no longer tightly centered around the core plot, but each small plot can be extended and made into another movie. Many plots can be understood in this way or that way...

This extensibility and ambiguity of performance are obviously a manifestation of the director's creative ability. Of course, this also brings difficulties to editing. How to choose various details without damaging the rich connotation of the film is a greater test of the editing level.

"Oh, this demonstration is really interesting..." Ronald felt that Walter Murch was giving him a lesson again. In many places, he cut off a second here and a dozen frames there, slowly grinding and soaking them, just like the sauce in cooking, slowly becoming just the right rich flavor.

The only drawback is that it requires a long period of adjustment. Ronald feels that his creative ideas have also been opened up by this editing method.

……

"Jean Claude...Cindy..."

At the same time, Ronald's new film, "Street Fighter", also completed its preview and was rushed to be released during the Christmas season.

The film was screened two weeks early in a small group in Los Angeles and New York, hoping to attract enough fans of the game to boost the positive reviews of the first audiences.

This year is a year of low artistic achievement for Hollywood films, but it is a year of great box office success. The situation of many Oscar-winning films rushing to be released at the end of the year did not happen again, but two consecutive films broke the $30 million mark in the first weekend, which brought a rare boost to the box office at the end of the year.

One was the earliest released "Bram Stoker's Dracula", in which Coppola finally found the overlap between his artistic orientation and the audience. It was released in 2400 theaters in the first week and grossed million yuan at the box office.

After entering the 1980s, he has been labeled a box office poison for many years, but now there is a trend of him getting rid of the label.

The film critics also mentioned the unique visual style of the film, especially the combination of lightning and thunder with a strong impressionistic style, which made the audience who likes Gothic style very happy. Director Tim Burton, who directed two Batman films before, has indeed cultivated a group of fans of this style of film. So this film set the record for the first weekend box office of a movie that opened in November.

The other one was "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" which was released a week later. Poor Kevin didn't want to go to Miami with his family to spend a Christmas without a Christmas tree and snow, so he was separated from his family at the airport on the special plane. He went to New York alone to spend Christmas and met the two stupid thieves in the first movie.

After helping the store owner defeat two stupid thieves who attempted to rob the toy store, Kevin's family also rushed to New York. Knowing that Kevin liked Christmas trees, the family easily found Kevin under the largest Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

This sequel immediately broke the short-lived record of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and with only 2200 theaters, it broke the box office record for movies opening in November with million.

With such a box office king occupying the screen, the box office of "The Bodyguard" released at the same time seems to be relatively ordinary. The box office of more than 10 million is neither good nor bad.

Fortunately, "Bram Stoker's Dracula" lacked stamina, and only "Home Alone 2" maintained a strong box office of 2800 million in its second week, giving "Street Fighter" produced by Ronald's company a little potential.

"Street Fighter, the first movie adapted from a game, is loved by fans. The premiere was dazzling with the support of supermodels..."

Fortunately, real money was invested in marketing, and all the guest models and protagonists were present, turning the Los Angeles premiere into a big gathering of comic and Cosplay enthusiasts.

Outside the premiere venue, Daydream also applied for a special area for them to show themselves. At one point, seven or eight Chun-Lis and three or four Ryu and Ken were posing there, adding to the atmosphere of the premiere.

Even Jean-Claude Van Damme, who attended the premiere, changed into camouflage clothes and a blue beret. He took photos with many actors and fans, signed autographs on their bodies, and everyone had a great time.

"The Street Fighter premiere in Los Angeles became a grand event for game fans..."

Ronald was happily watching the local news at home. Unexpectedly, this premiere was not only on the entertainment news, but also on the social news. The LAPD did not know that the land that Daydream applied for was for Cosplay, so they did not deploy enough police force.

Daydream had no idea that so many enthusiastic game and movie fans had come. There were also many arcade game enthusiasts among the passers-by. When they saw this situation, they immediately blocked the road, forcing the LAPD to increase its force, direct traffic, and end the off-site activities ahead of schedule.

Because the content of the event applied for did not match the number of people who actually showed up, Daydream also received a ticket from the LAPD. However, for just a few thousand dollars, it was reported by national television media. When Ronald signed the fine at home, he said it was cheap.

"When the premiere in New York next week, you must apply more fully. The NYPD is much tougher than the LAPD." Ronald did not forget to instruct Michelle Cannold.

"No problem. We've learned our lesson. The New York event will be held indoors. We've rented the largest indoor movie theater. The Street Fighter Cosplay group we brought from the San Diego Comic-Con will be indoors so that it won't cause traffic jams. We also have enough media presence in New York, and indoor events can ensure that the four major New York newspapers will report on this event the next day..."

Cannold was well prepared.

"Great, I'll be in New York on Saturday morning, attend the premiere, and then go to the White House for an invitational event."

"President George Sr. and President-elect William held their first post-election meeting in the White House. The meeting was held in the Oval Office to discuss the transition of power between the two presidents. William's friend Vince Foster also participated in the meeting. He will take over the organization and management of the travel arrangements for the president-elect and his entourage. This includes coordinating transportation, accommodation, security measures and itinerary..."

The TV station broadcast the scene of George Sr. and William shaking hands in the Oval Office. This is a reserved program after the election results of the president are announced and the White House has a new owner, symbolizing the smooth transfer of the highest power in the United States.

No matter how the two attacked each other during the election campaign, they should show respect for traditions and customs at this time. The election is over, and now is the time for unity.

"Starting today, the CIA's intelligence briefings and the National Security Advisor's briefings will also be open to the president-elect. America has officially entered the handover period..."

"Old George looks a little haggard, and young George said he was depressed, which might be true..." Ronald said to Diane who was packing his luggage with him while watching the pictures on TV.

"Isn't it? I remember he was very handsome when he was elected four years ago. How come he has so many more wrinkles on his face now?"

Diane was also invited to attend the White House dinner. This may be the last time the current first couple holds a formal White House dinner. I heard that many old friends who have worked for the White House in the past twelve years will attend.

"President George, along with Mexican President Carlos Salinas and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Mexico City, marking the conclusion of this important trade agreement... The signed agreement will then need to be ratified by each country's legislature or parliamentary branch before it can finally take effect..."

Another day passed, and George Sr. was still seizing the final moments to make a series of decisions, trying to accomplish more of the things he originally wanted to accomplish in his second four years.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an important agreement he plans to promote. In 1988, when he took office, he signed a free trade agreement with Canada. When he negotiated a similar agreement with Mexico in 1990, Canada was afraid that the conditions America offered to Mexico were too good, so it also strongly requested to join in, making it a three-party agreement...

After two years of negotiations, George Sr. didn't want to wait any longer. In the last two months of his term, he made exchanges and compromises, striving to have the agreement signed during his term and make it his political legacy.

"Ahhh, welcome, Ronald, Diane."

When Ronald and Diane arrived at the door of the West Wing of the White House in their best clothes, they found George Jr. was already waiting for them there.

"George..." Ronald walked up to them and greeted them.

"My father is meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, and he will have a phone call with President Boris in a while, but he specifically asked me to come and greet you, because he has something he wants to discuss with you in private..."

(End of this chapter)