Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 587 Trouble Has Arrived
Aurelius issued a public apology, but Zhang Chen did not respond at all.

sorry?
Haha~
Think more!
Zhang Chen isn't a saint; he can't just pretend nothing happened just because the other party apologizes.

If apologies were enough, what would be the point of having police?
We are all adults, and we should learn to be responsible for our own actions.

Many celebrities in China become arrogant after achieving fame, and this is even more true abroad.

Besides acting like a big shot, 'Piao's' behavior is also reflected in his particular fondness for expressing political views.

Please, do you even understand politics?

Musk is the world's richest man, yet he doesn't even understand the most basic principle of "being too powerful and overshadowing one's superiors." How can you expect others to have profound insights?

Moreover, the entertainment industry is notoriously known for its low educational background.
This circle receives a lot of attention, giving those in it the illusion that they have a lot of influence.

Look at what they've said. One idiot even criticized the Chinese government for not developing Xinjiang, saying that it should preserve its original appearance.

Listen to this nonsense!
Did you ask the people of XZ what they thought before you said that?

Nowhere in the world would residents refuse a life that is becoming more convenient.

Because of your despicable thoughts, you've caused their development to stagnate.

No wonder one year's Golden Globe Awards host said, "Come up here, accept your award, thank your parents and God, and then get out of here. Don't talk nonsense, because you probably aren't as cultured as the environmental activists."

With the premiere date fast approaching, Zhang Chen's promotional activities are nearing their end.

We've done stand-up comedy, TV shows, media interviews, and fan meetings, and the results have been good.

The discussion surrounding "White House Down" is very high.

"There's one last screening later, after which you can rest..."

"Okay, I hope it ends perfectly."

"I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear?"

"Let's start with the bad news~"

"The bad news is that Universal's 'White House Down' is premiering on the same day as ours!"

Zhang Chen shrugged. The bad news didn't seem too bad; he had expected all of this.

"What about the good news?"

"The good news is that the company is trying to contact Obama, hoping he can appear at the premiere the day after tomorrow!"

When David said this, Zhang Chen, who had been curled up in the back seat of the car looking tired, sat up straight immediately: "Are you serious?"

"of course."

"That's the President, you know. Would he really attend a movie premiere?" Zhang Chen said, expressing disbelief.

The president represents a country; how could he possibly appear in commercial activities so casually?

"I didn't say for sure, but Warner Bros. is trying to communicate..."

Zhang Chen shook his head: "I still think it's impossible. I would believe it if it were after the term of office, but while in office..."

Even if the United States were unconventional, this situation would not have occurred.

David shook his head: "Who knows? Warner just wanted to give it a try. After all, he was the first president of a minority ethnicity, and we portrayed him so positively in our movie, maybe..."

Zhang Chen was astonished; these American companies really dared to dream big.

They actually thought of getting America's number one person to endorse the movie.

However, if Obama does come, it will definitely be a significant boost to the film.

Obama's election shows that he has a considerable number of supporters.

If even one-fifth or one-tenth of these people come to watch the movie, it will be a significant boost to the film.

"Alright, I'll wait for your good news. Okay, we're here, let's get off the bus~"

Arrive at the event venue.

The preview screenings have been underway for a while and are nearing their end. All they need to do is interact with the media and movie fans after the screenings conclude.

A very standard movie promotion campaign.

When the subtitles appeared on the big screen, the lights in the movie theater came on, and Zhang Chen and his main creative team went on stage, immediately eliciting cheers from the audience.

Zhang Chen smiled and waved, and Jason and Louis Ortiz also smiled and took the microphone to greet the audience.

Louis Ortiz is the actor who plays the president, and he looks about 70% like Obama.

Anyone who sees him in a movie will know who he is playing.

The group followed the program under the guidance of the host, first chatting about the background of the film and interesting anecdotes during filming, and then moving on to the Q&A session with the media.

The first reporter: "The president in the movie looks so similar to Obama, and as far as I know, the final result wasn't announced when filming started. Can I really believe that you guessed Obama would win before the result was even announced...?"

"You could say that..."

This is the first time the "White House Has Fallen" production team has publicly responded to this question. The same question has been asked by the media during previous roadshows, but the production team has never given a direct answer.

The reason they readily admitted it this time was, of course, to show their loyalty to Obama.

You see, we took a risk by choosing a minority president.

Now that you've won, shouldn't you reciprocate?

Another reporter immediately asked, "You chose a minority president, while 'White House Down' has a white president. Can I assume that they actually support the other candidate...?"

"Sorry, I don't know about that. I think you should ask the 'White House Down' team."

David's tone was one of refusal, but he was actually trying to sow discord, even going so far as to mention the name of a competitor's movie.

The preview screenings at the cinemas are still ongoing.
The media kept asking questions, and the atmosphere between the two sides remained friendly. Then, a reporter suddenly asked, "Director Zhang Chen, I follow your Weibo account in China. You once posted that 'America is not a great country.' Can you elaborate on what that means? Including the talk show incident a few days ago, you praised China to the extreme in the program, but kept belittling America. Does this represent your true attitude towards America?"

The moment the question was raised, the room fell silent.

David's expression turned somber, and he replied directly, "I'm sorry, ma'am, today is a preview screening of 'White House Down,' and we won't answer any questions unrelated to the film..."

"So you're admitting it?"

"Madam~"

Please answer me directly.

"Security! Security!"

Seeing that the other party was not cooperating, David prepared to use force.

The situation was about to descend into chaos when Zhang Chen suddenly said, "Wait a minute, I can answer this question."

The surrounding chaos subsided once again, and Zhang Chen became the focus of all media attention.

"First of all, regarding the series of remarks made on the talk show, if you have watched the full video, you should know that the host was maliciously targeting me and deliberately trying to provoke me into saying some bad things, which is why I got so agitated."

Although I said some things that were not so friendly to the United States, they were all based on facts.

"Including the Korean War, including Alexander's conquest of the east, you can all look up the information. Once you've looked it up, you'll know whether what I'm saying is true or not~" Zhang Chen's statement obviously failed to satisfy the media, and a slight buzzing sound arose from the audience.

Zhang Chen spoke again: "As for my Weibo post in China where I mentioned 'America is not a great country,' that wasn't my statement. It was said by an American professor, and I was just quoting him..."

"So, by quoting this viewpoint, doesn't it prove that you also believe the United States is not a great country?"

The reporter wouldn't let it go.

This time, Zhang Chen was much more cautious in his answer: "The United States is indeed a developed country, but it is far from being great."

To give a simple example, the drug problem. Such a large country, the world's leading power, can't even solve the drug problem. I really don't know what to say.

My cousin is studying in Los Angeles, and he once told me something.

Once, the police came to his school to give an anti-drug lecture and asked who had never seen a drug.

Surprisingly, only my cousin raised his hand in the whole class.

You must find it incredible that there are people who have never seen a drug?

I also find it incredible, and even most of my compatriots would find it incredible when they hear this question: that all American students have seen drugs?

You know, the United States is a drug-free country, and drugs are illegal here, but everyone has seen them, and some people may even have tried them, which is completely impossible in my country.

In our area, carrying more than 50 grams would result in execution.

Can you understand?

Our region has the highest level of drug control efforts in the world, and the crackdown on drugs by the public is also the most vigorous.

I can say without any modesty that in our area, if you're a drug addict, even your own family will report you...

We are just a developing country, while the United States is the most powerful country in the world, yet it can't even do this much. What gives it the right to call itself great?

After Zhang Chen finished speaking, the room fell silent. There were definitely still people who were unconvinced, but they didn't know how to refute him.

Don't Americans know the dangers of drugs? Most of their citizens hate it, and the US has a very strong anti-drug effort, even surpassing 90% of the world's countries. But the results? They're really not impressive, quite poor.
"We've tried very hard in this regard, but we certainly haven't done as well as you. But to deny America's greatness based solely on this is a bit of a generalization..."

Some sophists have already come up with excuses.

Zhang Chen nodded in agreement: "Okay, then I'll add one more thing~"

"Before the Olympics last year, my country experienced a major geological disaster, a very serious one, and our army rushed to the rescue immediately..."

Then one time when I was in the United States, someone actually pointed to our disaster relief videos and asked me, "Don't your soldiers carry guns when they're doing disaster relief?"

I was very puzzled at the time: "Why bring guns for disaster relief?"

I later learned that American soldiers carry guns when they are on disaster relief missions.

This is something I really can't understand.

Soldiers are there to defend the country, and the country is made up of its citizens.

Why do people carry guns during disaster relief? Who are they trying to protect against?
In any case, this kind of situation would never happen where we are.

Our soldiers are called the People's Liberation Army soldiers. They are soldiers, but they are also someone's husband, someone's son, and one of our own.

When people help each other, they do so wholeheartedly.

This may be a cultural difference; where we are, the military is considered the most reliable force.

When there is a great disaster, if you hear that the People's Liberation Army has arrived, it means there is hope.

But in the United States, saying "American soldiers are coming" might mean you're met with the cold, hard muzzle of a gun.

"Alright, that concludes today's activities."

David couldn't let Zhang Chen continue talking, so he pulled him away hastily.

The media realized what was happening and tried to stop them, but it was too late; they were blocked by layers of security guards.

The two got into the car and left immediately, without even waiting for Jason and his men.

In the car, David was furious: "It's Universal, it must be them! They deliberately hired people to stage this farce to incite a boycott among the audience. No, I have to notify the company immediately and have them develop a contingency plan..."

……

White House

A Black couple had just finished watching a movie. The wife chuckled and said, "Oh, my esteemed President, you were portrayed so heroically in the movie, you were just as impressive as the lead actor! And that guy really does look like you..."

Hearing his wife's teasing, the husband affectionately ruffled her hair, then laughed along: "Those guys, I don't know where they found this actor, he does look somewhat like me, but what I'm more worried about now is whether this guy will impersonate me and swindle people in the future..."

"Hehe, unless he thinks he can escape the FBI's capture."

The wife knew perfectly well that her husband was bluffing; couldn't you see his grin practically reaching his ears?

He was naturally very pleased. There are many instances of presidents appearing in Hollywood movies, but they are usually supporting characters, and mostly villains.

After all, criticizing the government is politically correct.
"White House Down" is probably one of only two movies that glorify the president; the other is "Air Force One," but that one is incomparable, as the president is the main character.

"Tell me the truth, did they really not ask for your opinion before filming started?"

“No, I swear to God!” The husband immediately held up three fingers.

"It seems they really are your supporters..."

The wife ejected the videotape, which was, of course, "White House Down," which Warner Bros. had specially mailed to her with the words "Keep from leaking" written on it.

"So what are your thoughts? Will you attend the premiere?"

The wife nestled in her husband's arms, while the husband gazed out the window, unsure of what to do.

Just then, the phone rang.

The husband picked up the phone, listened for a few moments, and then said, "Okay, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, the husband smiled and said, "It seems that director who was so optimistic about us is in a bit of trouble."

"what happened?"

The husband did not answer his wife's question, but instead turned on the television, which was showing the media interaction following the test screening.

Zhang Chen's words were broadcast without missing a single detail.

"He's really in trouble now."

My wife had a very good impression of the movie "White House Down," and consequently, she also had a good impression of the film crew.

"Looks like I have no choice but to help."

The husband, seemingly worried that his wife wouldn't understand, took the initiative to explain: "If the movie 'White House Down' is boycotted, then wouldn't that mean your husband, the minority president, is being boycotted?"

The wife suddenly realized.

"Who did it?"

"It's hard to say, but regardless, we must stop this trend from taking hold."

(End of this chapter)