Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 707 Being too conservative won't do.
With the limited release of Ang Lee's Chinese martial arts film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in North America, the film's main creators, besides the most famous Ang Lee, also include "Bond girl" Michelle Yeoh, who has gained some fame.
However, after the release of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", it surprised many film critics and gave them a fresh perspective on Chinese martial arts films.

The New York Times: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon allows people to appreciate Chinese culture while also experiencing Shakespearean tragedy."

The Chicago Tribune: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the most exciting martial arts film ever made."

The Hollywood Reporter: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's fight choreography is stunning and uniquely styled; furthermore, the soundtrack complements the storytelling beautifully."

"This is a compelling, well-made, and incredibly well-received film about love, responsibility, and sacrifice."

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has been released in Asia and in some small countries and regions in Europe, but apart from its decent performance in Japan, its overall box office performance has been mediocre.
North America, as the main market, will be the focus of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" going forward. Taking advantage of this time to build up word-of-mouth, the film will be released in a wider audience early next year!
On December 8, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of continuing the recount, arguing that the count of every single ballot must be respected.
However, the Florida Supreme Court's ruling was quickly appealed by the Bush camp to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On December 12, the nine justices of the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to halt the recount. The core reason for the Supreme Court's ruling was that the different standards used in the recount violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

With the final ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court taking effect, the Democratic Party's chances were over, and Albert Gore withdrew from the race on December 13, accepting the result and congratulating George W. Bush on becoming the 43rd President of the United States.

And so, this 36-day-long lawsuit concerning the US presidential election finally came to an end, ending in a Republican victory!
The US presidential election in the millennium was the most competitive since 1876. Although the new president won the electoral votes, he trailed his opponent by more than 30 votes in the national vote.
Moreover, both sides won 48% of the national vote, and the difference in the number of electoral votes was only 4. In the decisive state of Florida, the vote difference was less than one ten-thousandth of the total number of votes cast in the state. This is unprecedented in the more than two hundred years of American history!
This year's election was held against the backdrop of nine consecutive years of economic prosperity, a relatively stable social environment, and a strong international standing in the United States.

Logically speaking, this internal and external situation should be favorable to the ruling Democratic Party and unfavorable to the opposition Republican Party.

In addition, in terms of political experience and qualifications, George Walker Bush, who only served as governor for 6 years, was at a disadvantage compared to Albert Gore, who served as a member of Congress for more than 10 years and as vice president for 8 years.
But in the end, George W. Bush and Albert Gore were neck and neck throughout the presidential campaign. Bush held a lead in the nominal polls in the first half of the campaign, but was overtaken later. In the end, Bush narrowly won by a small margin.
In Austin, Texas, Aaron Anderson and Jack Wells attended a private celebration party hosted by George Walker Bush.

"I will officially resign as Governor of Texas in one week to focus on building a transitional government."

"Then preparations will be made for next year's inauguration, which will be a grand presidential inauguration, and funds will be raised from civic groups."

"Aaron, we might need your help then!"

George W. Bush Jr. cheerfully clinked glasses with Aaron.

Aaron took a sip. "No problem, plenty of people are willing to pay for it."

"This time, the Democrats still have a great advantage. If it weren't for Clinton's sex scandal being so shameful, coupled with the power struggles among various liberal interest groups within the Democratic Party, such as labor unions, environmental groups, and human rights groups, it would be hard to say what would have happened."

George W. Bush nodded. "Indeed, the U.S. economy was booming in the 1990s, making it the world's sole superpower. This confidence and advantage were the best foundation for the Democratic Party's re-election."

"Unfortunately, God is on our side!" Aaron smiled and reminded him, "Mr. Richard Cheney is a close ally of the Bush family, but he has too much dirt on him."

"The vice president is quite good, but he can only be the vice president. Overly conservative thinking is out of touch with the times."

"The most important thing is that the US economy will have problems next."

George W. Bush paused for a moment, "Is it the dot-com bubble?"

"Yes, look, the Nasdaq index is only around 2400 points now, less than half of what it was in March when it reached 5000 points."

"Moreover, this hasn't even hit rock bottom yet. The impact won't just be on tech companies; the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and many others will also be affected."

"Your economics team needs to have a serious talk with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan!"

Aaron said, shrugging.

George W. Bush nodded. No one would take Aaron Anderson's opinion lightly; he was the fastest-rising person!
George W. Bush thought for a moment, then said, "I understand. If possible, I would like to invite you to the economic conference as well."

"You know, Aaron Anderson is the pride of the entire United States, and countless Americans admire you."

Aaron was taken aback. "Me? This is all financial trading, a bunch of nonsense. How would I, someone who never even went to college, understand this stuff?"

George Bush Jr. chuckled and simply patted Aaron on the shoulder. "Just tell me your thoughts..."

With the US election over, Aaron finally turned his attention to his business, including Vivendi's integration of MGM and PolyGram in Hollywood.

In addition, the merger between AOL and Time Warner has finally been completed. The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission have officially approved the merger of AOL and Time Warner!

Now, AOL-Time Warner Group is a single company, with AOL and Time Warner becoming wholly owned subsidiaries.

The world's largest media and communications group has been officially born, but AOL Time Warner seems to remain confident in the face of the tech stock bubble.

They believe that as long as AOL and Time Warner complement each other's resources, they will definitely unleash strong momentum in the future!
(End of this chapter)