Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Michael Douglas's "City Hero" movie can't wait to start filming. He actually made all kinds of preparations in the early stage. As soon as TriStar agreed to distribute the film, he started filming immediately as if he was afraid that the other party would go back on their word.

The first shot of the whole film is the traffic jam on the viaduct in Los Angeles. It is not difficult to find a place with an viaduct.

"A!"

When Ronald directed his first film, director Joel Schumacher's office was next to his. Schumacher is a two-meter tall man who speaks humorously. His film directing skills are not limited to the typical Hollywood commercial film.

For example, the opening scene this time is a very interesting shot, starting from a close-up of Michael Douglas. Ronald felt that this shot was very powerful in conveying emotions. There was no line or thrilling scene, and the audience could enter the set scene.

"Hey, boss, can I pass?" Schumacher deliberately teased Ronald. He is famous in the industry for liking to see if the director meets the requirements on the first day of filming. If the director's work is flawed, Ronald is said to give a 20-minute lecture and teach on the spot.

"Come on, I'm here to learn..." Ronald laughed. It was impossible for him, the neighbor in the office, to evaluate whether Schumacher was qualified.

"Ah, that's good. Look how nervous I am..." Schumacher was making a joke again.

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

"Bud, go buy some ice cola..." Ronald saw that the crew did not prepare cold drinks, so he took out a stack of 20-dollar bills and handed it to his driver...

"Oh, great..." In the dull weather, a bottle of ice cola was the most comfortable. The crew began to cheer.

Who knew that little Bud would be gone for a long time. Ronald wanted to find him before he saw his car coming back. Several boxes of cola were unloaded from the trunk of the luxury car. Although not much, it was enough for one bottle per person.

"Why did you take so long? Isn't there a grocery store next door?" Ronald took a sip, and the temperature of the Coke was not so cold.

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

"Fuck..." Ronald didn't know such a thing happened. In recent years, Korean immigrants who have poured into Los Angeles have taken over the grocery stores and laundries of the original Chinese and Japanese. They did not inherit the Chinese and Japanese culture of making money in business with harmony. Instead, they innovated the culture of the entire grocery store with an attitude of taking advantage of every opportunity. The positioning of the grocery store as an important member of the community is gone, and there is only quibbling...

Ronald had to find the logistics department to add some budget to fully supply cold drinks in this abnormally hot temperature.

…

“The appeal of the Dushunzi case in the state supreme court upholds the original verdict…”

At night, the TV stations all began to discuss the case of the Korean grocery store owner Dushunzi who shot and killed the black ninth grader Latasha Harlins after a physical conflict last year.

The original judge ignored the jury’s maximum sentence of 16 years for first-degree murder and suspended the sentence for 5 years, 400 hours of community service and a $500 fine…

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

“Hey, Shxt…”

Ronald suddenly understood that the reason why little Bud was harassed in the grocery store was also affected by this case, right?

Most of the grocery stores taken over by Koreans are relatively cheap, and there are many in black and Latino areas. This verdict 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. The blacks have already started burning tires on the streets...

"Daxnit..."

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 male protagonist played by Michael Douglas actually crossed Los Angeles. From Silver Lake, downtown, and finally to Korea City...

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

"There won't be any problems, right?"

"It's hard to say, will you move the scenes in Korea City to the studio? At least make a plan?"

"Let me think about it, okay, let's make a plan. But I still don't think it's necessary to activate this backup plan. I was watching Channel 5 just now. Didn't Daryl Gates of LAPD say that the security in Los Angeles is foolproof?"

"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 public security in the city center is well controlled. The same is 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 is capable and prepared to ensure everyone's safety..."

"Oh, damn, there is also a sentencing of the Rodney King case next week?" Ronald thought to himself, how did all these things come together?

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

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

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

This videotape is not the version edited by the TV station, but the original version. The first few seconds contain the footage of Rodney King trying to violently attack the police.

This is completely inconsistent with the reason why the prosecutors sued several police officers for unreasonably rough treatment of Rodney King. Rodney King is not as innocent as he said...

The Dushunzi case has caused a lot of controversy today. If the Rodney King case really has an unexpected result, will the anger of black people erupt?

Ronald consulted his bodyguard Daniel, who said that it is unlikely. In addition to the fact that LAPD is one of the most well-funded agencies in the United States, Gates is also a professional. Even if there is an emergency, the governor still has the power to mobilize the National Guard to maintain order.

After settling down a little, Ronald went to Diane to find out about their baseball film.

Soon after the baseball training is over, many female stars will move to the minor league venue of the California Angels baseball team to adapt to the scene and prepare to start filming.

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

"I've increased your security, and I've also hired a professional security company to strengthen the female actors in the crew..." Ronald, in the spirit of being prepared, also added bodyguards like Diane to the female stars who had a "history" with him, nominally to add some security budget to the film.

"What's wrong, are we in any danger?" Diane glanced at the child, she felt that Ronald was a little strange today.

"Look at the news, there was a small-scale riot in downtown Los Angeles today. I want to increase the security measures for the crew, otherwise the insurance company will refuse to insure, and it will be very troublesome financially." Ronald thought of a reason. Under special circumstances, if the insurance company refuses to insure, then the bank's bridge loan guarantee for the two films will have problems, which is very fatal to the two medium-budget films.

"Then there will be no trouble in our family, right?" Diane looked at little Roger, and her maternal instinct broke out.

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

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

"That's it," Ronald immediately called the two elders, making them very happy. Seeing Diane's expression, he comforted her again, "It doesn't matter, if you miss little Roger, we can fly over to spend the weekend..."

"Hee...", Diane was happy, it was convenient for her family to have a plane.

...

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

"Channel 5 brings you a report from the Los Angeles courthouse. At 1 p.m., Judge Stanley Weisberg announced that the jury had reached a verdict, which would be read out in two hours.

This was done to prepare reporters, police, and other emergency personnel for the outcome, as they were concerned that an acquittal would cause unrest. 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, and even if there is a problem, we have the ability to deal with it, so please rest assured..."

"Thank God...", Ronald breathed a sigh of relief. He went out to the "City Heroes" crew that was filming in Goryeo City.

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

"Or you can buy something, and if you don't buy something, you can't change..."

The crew happened to be filming the scene where Michael Douglas wanted to change change to make a phone call in a Korean grocery store, but was rejected by the Korean lady boss.

The filming of the movie went 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 another to the director.

"The crew likes it very much... especially in this weather..."

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

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

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

"Bang, bang..."

Two loud noises suddenly came from the west of the crew.

"Shxt..."

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

"What's wrong?" Schumacher and Douglas were also startled. "Did the tire burst?"

"It was a gunshot... squat down quickly..." Bud shouted anxiously.

Bodyguard Daniel and his companions also rushed over to cover Ronald and asked him to get into the bulletproof car.

"Don't be too nervous, it may 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 shooting was over ahead of schedule, and everyone immediately took the crew's car back to the studio in Columbia.

With the assistance of the security team, the crew 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, they passed the court that had just announced the result, and hundreds of people were protesting at the door there.

"We decided not to pay..."

Ronald, who was sitting in the car and watching the live broadcast with Sony wireless TV, found that the blacks were beginning to stir.

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, "Don't pay, these are all compensations for the white people's exploitation of us in the past", and then the group rushed into the store and began to loot...

Ten minutes later, Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles, went to the TV station to give a televised speech.

"Today, the jury told the world that what we witnessed was not a crime. Today, the jury asked us to accept the senseless and brutal beating of a helpless man. Today, the jury said that we should tolerate such behavior by those who swore 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, heard the mayor's speech and couldn't help but complain.

At this time, shouldn't we say something to call 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 for those black youths who are already angry, such as those who were just at the door of the delicatessen.

"Honey, this is terrible..."

At night, Diane also came back. The two watched on TV, on Florence Street where the delicatessen was located, two truck drivers were pulled out of the cab by a group of black people and beaten in the street while waiting for the red light.

"Oh, my God..." This image was taken from a helicopter. Ronald saw a black man picking up a fire extinguisher and smashing it on the head of the white driver.

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