Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1365 I Can Still Protect You Even After Retirement

"Ronnie, nice to meet you. Barbara made a special trip to Staten Island and came back to tell me that the meeting with the voters was very inspiring. Your workers are all very good Americans with the American spirit. If there were more entrepreneurs like you, I wouldn't be in such a situation...ah..."

Old George seemed to have temporarily recovered from the disappointment of losing the election, and was now handling government affairs much more efficiently than when he was busy with the election. But when it came to failure, he still looked very depressed.

First Lady Barbara went to Staten Island to see with her own eyes the voters that her eldest son George Jr. said she should pay more attention to. But Barbara really didn't like to be with those lower-class people. She spent more time enjoying the flattery and hospitality of Douglas Jr. Although she stayed in Staten Island for 30 hours, she didn't see as many ordinary people as William did in 30 minutes.

Ronald didn't know how to say this to old George, who was still the president, so he could only smile and agree.

"Okay, I happen to be free now, so I came here to chat with you alone for ten minutes. There will be important guests attending the dinner with you later. They are all old friends..." Old George seemed to be waiting for Ronald to speak first.

"Mr. President..." Ronald didn't know what to say, and he and old George stared at each other for more than ten seconds.

"Oh, for God's sake, this is my private area, there is no recording, and no one will disturb us. If you have any request, just ask."

Just like the important guests who will be arriving soon, George Sr. is using his power to bribe some important stakeholders before he leaves. He made it clear that Ronald can ask for anything he wants.

"I don't have any requests, Mr. President. You know I only have one elder relative alive, my aunt. It was she who taught me to be a responsible American citizen. What I want to say is that you have fully repaid my support when you were in office, of course, except for raising taxes..." Ronald said humorously.

"Hahaha, you kid..." Old George's eyes showed a playful look. This guy is really good. He is very cautious in doing things. If he helps him, he will not worry about the young man's secrets...

"No, you are not serious, are you?" Old George waited for another ten seconds. Ronald still did not ask for anything. His eyes suddenly became wet. I still have real supporters...

Since Ronald supported him so sincerely, George Sr. put his arm around Ronald's shoulders and pressed them hard. "You are still young and don't know the power of the President. Apart from anything else, I have the power to pardon anyone convicted by the judicial system. Every president-general will pardon some people before leaving office. If you have any request, you can tell me. A retired president is still a president..."

Old George's hint was very straightforward. He saw that Ronald didn't quite understand the ins and outs of political and business exchanges, but now that everyone was not begging him for help during this garbage time, he still had such a loyal fan. It was inevitable that he was moved and gave the young man some personal guidance.

"Mr. President, I have a question, can the amnesty be advanced?" Ronald thought of the Jews everywhere in Hollywood, some sensitive materials, and past grudges, and couldn't help but want to ask for an amnesty option, so that if anything went wrong in the future, he would have a way out.

"Hahaha, you made me really happy today, little Ronnie. No, the pardon must be for a crime confirmed by the court... wait, what's the matter, are you worried about something?" Old George was very perceptive and could see that Ronald was worried.

"This is it, Mr. President." Ronald briefly recounted his feud with some powerful Jews in Hollywood.

"Ha, the Jews...this is really troublesome...how did you offend them?" Old George was also scratching his head. Richard, the famous leader of the Elephant Party, blindly tried to please the Jewish media and even found the Jewish Dr. Kissinger as his consultant. In the end, he was still brought down by the Watergate scandal that was exposed and condemned by the media.

All previous presidents have loved and feared this group of people. If they want to be elected, they must have the support of the media, but if they are not satisfied, many problems will arise during the campaign.

"The commander-in-chief may not know that I was once wiretapped by them, but I have no evidence to file a lawsuit. I did not do anything illegal. I just wanted to protect myself and my family from being framed by their various illegal tricks..."

"You are a very promising young man, Little Ronnie. Although I am about to retire, there are still many people in the CIA and FBI who are willing to listen to me. I will ask them to pay attention to any conspiracy activities against you. You can also find George if you find any problems. Although I am retired, I can still see the monthly domestic intelligence briefings... Don't worry, make more movies with the American spirit. Although I am retired, I can still protect you..."

George Sr. said this with great confidence, and he would not reveal these secrets to ordinary people. The power of retired presidents is also different. As the head of powerful departments such as CIA and FBI for many years, George Sr. can see the same security briefings as the incumbent presidents. This is a treatment that retired presidents of the Democratic Party cannot enjoy... Some of the Elephant Party cannot enjoy it either...

“Thank you, Mr. President, for your care…” Ronald was honestly skeptical. Could a retired President really still have such a great influence?

"Anything else?" Old George continued to pat Ronald on the shoulder and asked. He knew that his eldest son and Ronald had a good relationship.

"Nothing. I have some investments in the Pacific Ocean, manufacturing some movie lighting that we don't have the production capacity for. I wonder if it's possible to enjoy some tax benefits? Just like the North American Free Trade Agreement that the President just signed..."

"Well, you'll have to find a new president and congressman..."

"Mr. President, I don't think you will be unhappy with what I'm doing, right?"

"Yes, I wouldn't mind you doing some lobbying work for your own business."

Next, George Sr. personally attended the dinner with Ronald and his wife. Although he did not sit at the President's table, he introduced all the important guests to Ronald one by one.

The most important guest was former Secretary of State Weinberger. Ronald didn't understand the situation at first, but George Jr. informed him promptly.

The former Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State, who were brought to court because of the Bosgate scandal, were recently re-prosecuted with additional evidence. But the President decided to pardon him. In addition, former National Security Advisor McFarland, who was already in prison for the same scandal, and former Assistant Secretary of State Abrams, as well as three other senior CIA officials, were also on the pardon list.

"From this perspective, he is really someone who can still maintain influence in a powerful department after retirement..." Ronald had an idea in his mind, and his mood gradually improved during the dinner.

"Jerry, you're here too...Jane...Good evening"

At the dinner, Ronald was surprised to find that Wintertraub and his legal wife Jane Morgan were also present. Many of the people who came this time were personal friends of the President and his wife. It was a big gathering to help them solve their personal problems while he was still in office.

"We're sorry that our new The Karate Kid didn't continue its box office success..." Weintraub came to apologize for the box office success of the new The Karate Kid. This was the worst box office success of the four The Karate Kid movies, which was a bit like a critical success but not a commercial success.

"Nah, this series has been killed. No audience will like to watch it in the short term. Let's wait a little longer..." Ronald knew that Weintraub wanted to release another The Karate Kid to make money, but it might not be a good idea to make another movie based on the mediocre box office performance of the previous movie.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Are you going back to Los Angeles? Let's talk on the plane..." Ronald interrupted his questioning and turned to chat with Jane Morgan with Diane.

"What's your idea, Ronald?"

When they boarded Ronald's private plane and flew back, Winterraub began to want to cooperate with Ronald again.

"I don't have any good ideas, Jerry. No one knows whether it's a good idea before filming. There are only interesting ideas before filming... Do you have any interesting ideas?"

"Ah, I don't understand the audience's preferences now. But Christopher Kane, the director of the new Karate Kid, has a new script. I don't know if it's good, but it's interesting..."

As he spoke, Weintraub seemed to have been prepared and took out a script and handed it to Ronald.

"Uh..." Ronald was speechless after seeing it. The script was interesting indeed, but did the director really understand the cost of filming?

The script is called "Panda Adventure" and tells the story of a scientist engaged in animal protection who is doing international exchange work in a panda reserve, but a young giant panda in the reserve is stolen by poachers.

The scientist was injured while trying to protect the pandas. His son, who was on a summer vacation in America, and a local girl found the poachers' trail and rescued the pandas in a bamboo basket after much hard work.

"Don't you know? Nowadays, children can queue for more than an hour to see pandas. Do you know what this means to an American child? What else can make them queue for so long? Besides Michael Jackson's concert..."

"Of course I know. My son wants to see them, too. Unfortunately, there is only one pair of giant pandas in the zoo in Washington, DC, and they are both already adults. I think you should give up this idea..."

“We can use gnomes and put them in fur and makeup to pretend they’re like those cute little aliens from Star Wars.”

"Don't even think about it. How could the audience today fall for this..." Ronald sneered. Weintraub's upper-class life was too comfortable, which was indeed too far from the audience's taste.

Ten years ago, Star Wars used dwarf actors in bear-like costumes to pretend to be aliens. But pandas are an animal that often appears on TV, and only B-movie enthusiasts like Minahan can film them with makeup and human actors.

Ronald also revealed to Weintraub some information about Spielberg's new film that he had seen. The combination of computer and model special effects would allow dinosaurs to be restored on the screen. Audiences would be able to see that level of visual spectacle next year. If you made a fake panda, you wouldn't even be able to sell a videotape.

"Then we can do it too..." Weintraub listened to Ronald's description of the dinosaur movie. Ronald raised him to the same level of breakthrough as Jaws. He also became interested. If dinosaurs can be filmed, then why can't pandas? If Spielberg can film it, then you Ronald can film it too...

"Don't even think about it..." Ronald shook his head and refused. Do you know how many special effects people Spielberg used and how much budget he used to make this movie? This is because he is a good friend of Lucas, and Industrial Light & Magic gave him a friendly price. If I had shot it myself, I'm afraid the fees would have doubled or more.

"Then can we shoot there? Like we did with The Last Emperor?" Weintraub just wouldn't give up. He had only just managed to keep the company going with The Karate Kid, and he really wanted to use a movie to re-announce his return as a successful producer.

"Why are you so persistent? Isn't it better to try something safe now?" Ronald was also puzzled. What happened to Winterraub?

"I don't want to leave my children and grandchildren with the impression that I am a has-been producer. I want them to know that I can still be successful. I want to be a role model for them..."

Weintraub said that he was so eager to make a successful movie in order to leave a positive role model for children.

Ronald was skeptical, but this guy still lives with his partner Susan in the small house he bought for her. While his legal wife Jane Morgan spends Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter there, Susan still has to go to the big house and act nice.

Maybe this is one of his motivations?
"Well, let me ask for you..." After hearing what he said, Ronald also had some ideas.

If co-productions can get support, the cost of filming will be very low. Many things that cost money in America's capitalist society can be solved there at a very low cost.

Besides, he also needed some movies to repair the relationship with the other side. If he could introduce Hollywood's big productions to the other side, in addition to the profits, he could also get the love of many studios. Ronald had seen the attraction of that market to Hollywood.

"Deputy Director Fei, I'm Xiao Luo..."

Finding an old contact, Ronald called Deputy Director Fei, who was in charge of film affairs.

"Oh, Director Luo, you are a very busy person. How come you have time to call me today?" Deputy Director Fei's tone was still very enthusiastic.

As soon as Ronald mentioned the panda movie, the other party immediately said that they would report it and that this would definitely be a good thing for cooperation between the literary and art circles of the two countries.

"But, Director Luo, can you do me another favor?" Deputy Director Fei was actually no longer interested in the film industry. His last visit to America, when he established a relationship with George Jr., earned him a lot of praise from his superiors, who praised him for accomplishing something that even the departments in charge of trade and commerce could not accomplish.

When Ronald heard the purpose of the visit, he immediately said that he was powerless and gave him a brief introduction to the American system. George Sr. had already lost the election and would officially step down next year. It was impossible to make any progress in such a short time.

After all, the North American Free Trade Agreement of America, after being signed by the President, still needs to be approved by both houses of Congress, so if things go wrong, it will be delayed for a year or two...

Deputy Director Fei asked if he could introduce him to a powerful person like George Jr. like last time. Ronald had to smile bitterly and explain that every time there is a change of personnel in the White House, all the staff members have to be replaced, and George Jr. is not very useful now.

"We are also studying the panda issue. After all, this involves cross-departmental coordination, and it is not easy for us to do it... unless we have instructions from our leaders..."

"Damn it, people are forgotten after I'm gone..." Ronald understood immediately that since George Sr. failed to be re-elected, his connections were no longer useful anywhere.

(End of this chapter)