Chapter 216: Chapter 216: The Artistic Film that Faced Challenges
Talking about the black gangs and stuff, it's just all kinds of nonsense. Those American thugs, when you get down to it, are high-IQ criminals. There's no way they'd blatantly rob anyone.
Besides, isn't William White's security detail kind of useless? With all that high-end gear, they couldn't even catch one thief. Were they shooting into the air by mistake?
Alright, that's pretty close to the truth. Beverly Hills is such a dense area that a stray bullet could be fatal.
When it came to this explanation, William White didn't have much to say, just hoped to improve police response times. For that reason, he even donated ten police cars.
Since William White had filmed a movie about Beverly Hills cops, he got along pretty well with them and didn't want to make things difficult.
While he brushed this matter off lightly, the FBI was undergoing a much-expected purge. Nobody wanted to stir up trouble with William White at that time; it was better to clear out the unstable elements first.
The authorities gave an explanation, though it was just for fooling the naive.
...
Spectators noticed, "Hmm, NBC doesn't seem as anti-war now. At least, not as enthusiastically."
Were they threatened? No matter what the official explanation was, nobody really believed it. NBC's change was obvious.
As the anti-war sentiment peaked, the trailer for Evita was released, with an anti-war theme.
Honestly, apart from that song, Don't Cry for Me Argentina, what does it have to do with anti-war? Even that emotional song has nothing to do with war. The story's background is post-war, long after the gunfire.
Come on, can't I reminisce? Can't I reflect?
William White went all out promoting the movie.
A bunch of conglomerates were speechless, unable to understand how he could be so shameless, asking where his integrity went.
This mess wasn't directly William White's doing, so they weren't too upset. They still had to exert their influence in the main offices.
"Sir, there's a call for you from the record company."
"Okay, I'll take."
William White knew why they were calling. Sure, Madonna was popular, but he, William White, was even more popular now.
He had bought many great songs, but this time, no one claimed he purchased the two songs. The reason was simple: the style of the lyrics and music was entirely different from the current pop music.
Even so, it would have been fine, but introducing three different languages and artistic concepts, that was very challenging.
Just some live recordings attracted so many fans. Not releasing a record would be a waste.
"This is William White."
"Sir, could you do us a favor and record a single?"
"Seriously? My villa got wrecked and I'm in a bad mood, and you want me to sing?"
"Sir, we don't have any singers right now. Could you just help us out until the end of American Idol? Then we won't be in such a pinch."
"Where am I supposed to live? How can I stay in a place full of bullet holes? Just thinking about it is scary."
"Sir, you could stay at a hotel. We've discovered two great singers and it'd be convenient for you to guide them."
"Fine, fine, let me know when everything is ready."
To be clear, he wasn't going to guide them in singing. In fact, female singers and actors weren't mainstream at that time.
Look at it -- The Beatles, The Eagles, MJ.
All the top-selling records were male artists.
William White found that people from this era didn't really fancy female singers, or perhaps there was some serious gender bias in the US.
Women in the US at that time couldn't even apply for credit cards on their own. Banks gave bizarre reasons like women can't control their spending, leading to higher bad debts for the bank.
As society developed, masculine traits started to fade away. By the early 2000s, women began playing the main role. Even male singers lacked machismo.
When a country starts preferring effeminate and androgynous styles, it's usually at its peak of development.
...
MTV recently became a big hit. Jason Garrison, his buddy, was doing a great job after joining MTV. With MJ joining the MTV family, nobody could ignore this platform anymore.
Now, shooting an MV seemed to have become a trend. Everyone realized that it was easier for audiences to understand the song through this medium.
Well, some music enthusiasts were disdainful, thinking it was sacrilegious and strayed away from the essence of music.
For these art lovers, record company owners couldn't care less and didn't bother explaining, as it wasn't necessary.
You guys are the ones who could be moved to tears by piano pieces; your musical accomplishment was unquestionable. But ordinary Americans wouldn't get it!
Madonna once again got a life lesson from William White; her song had topped the Billboard charts for ages. Given the situation back then, it would likely stay on top for at least two more weeks.
But once William White's two songs were released, Don't Cry for Me Argentina slipped to third place.
"I don't care; you're always picking on me. You've got to write me another song."
"I'm not picking on you at all. Aren't you still ahead of me right now?"
"Aww, that's not what I meant."
William White didn't accept any "gifts" from his new singers. Both looked great but were mediocre in vocal ability. In a group, they could cover for each other a bit. Alone, there was no chance.
In this era, a singer's vocal skill was crucial. If you couldn't hit a few notes, you were hardly worth nurturing.
Given their lack of value, William White naturally wasn't interested; there were plenty of pretty girls out there, and it wasn't right to take advantage of them.
In fact, he was scared. With his many information sources, he was well aware the AIDS crisis had started to sweep the U.S., and in a year, many people would be scared to death.
Just being pretty didn't mean much. If you realized someone was attractive, then they'd know too, making it very risky.
Of course, William White didn't drive them away. Instead, he let the company see if they could promote them. If they succeeded, then he could consider getting involved.
In that sense, William White was a gentleman and didn't need to take any free rides. But if you sent over Mariah Carey...
Cough, cough, that wouldn't work, she's way too young.
...
"Lucas, our young pal is quite something. Planning to release a movie now isn't great timing. Box office revenue might not look promising."
"Heh, my friend, it's an awards-chasing film. You think he cares about box office?"
"True, after all, he's not short of cash, bringing in gangsters and all."
"What? Haven't you noticed the head of the FBI has retired?"
"You mean, well, those scoundrels."
*****
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