Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 233 Will the Oscars be postponed?

   "The commander was stabbed by a gunman when he was walking off the trail outside the Washington Hilton Hotel at 2:27 p.m. ET today. The commander was shot in the chest and was receiving emergency treatment at George Washington University Hospital. He is currently in stable condition.

  The Associated Press and the United Press released official information from the White House. The aforementioned news that the commander-in-chief is not injured is wrong. I repeat, the aforementioned news that the commander-in-chief is not injured is wrong. The commander-in-chief was shot in the chest and is in emergency treatment at the George Washington University Hospital... Currently in stable condition. "

   "What?" Ronald shouted. "Assassination of the Great Commander?"

   "The news is very confusing right now, the awards show may be canceled, I will call you with the latest news." Nisita hung up the phone.

   "When are you still thinking about the awards show?" Ronald also hung up the phone. The last commander to be assassinated was John F. Kennedy. Theoretically, it happened when I was three years old, and I don't remember it at all.

   picked up the phone, made a long distance call, and found Aunt Karen who was watching the store.

   "Have you heard? The commander was assassinated and sent to the hospital."

   "What?" The aunt who was still at the RTKD dance supply store didn't know the news, "Oh, no, God bless him, don't be like JFK. Looks like that curse is on again."

   "What curse?"

Aunt    explained that it was a story he heard when he was a child. Legend has it that in the early 19th century, the Shawnee Indians on American soil were slaughtered after being defeated by the colonists. Their leader, Tekomo, cursed before his death, the patriarch of America, and every 20 years one would die.

   After that, every chief commander who took office in a year that was divisible by 20 would die in office, either die of illness, or was assassinated. This is the famous Curse of Tekomo.

   Ronald, who hung up the phone, couldn't help laughing that his aunt still believed in this superstition. The current commander elected in 1980, the previous one who took office in a year divisible by 20 was JFK in 1960.

   Hey, these two are just coincidences.

   1940 was Roosevelt, considered dead in office. Well, this is not strictly speaking.

  I can't remember who it was in 1920. Who else was the assassinated commander? Lincoln seems to have been assassinated too. When did Lincoln take office, 1860?

It really is?

  Ronald put aside his messy thoughts and began to switch channels to see which TV station had the latest news. In comparison, the cable station CUU has more content. Every ten minutes, there is a summary of the latest news. Ronald simply stopped to change channels and stared at it.

   "When the First Lady entered the hospital, she repeated to reporters that he was fine, he was fine. Nancy tried to tell the public that the commander-in-chief was injured, but it didn't hurt the point."

   "The White House press secretary said the commander-in-chief was shot once, and the bullet hit him in the chest on the left side of his body from six to ten feet away."

"The latest news from the Associated Press, the commander-in-chief stepped out of the hotel door after speaking to the American Federation of Labor at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, and was attacked several times by a young gunman on the trail. The commander was injured in the chest and sent to the hospital. The press secretary was shot in the head and is dying."

   "After the gunman fired six shots, Secret Service agents swarmed him and subdued him. The reason for the assassination is unclear."

"Deputy Commander George, was asked to return to the White House immediately from Austin, Texas. This is the sixth assassination of a commander-in-chief since 1963, or a candidate for commander-in-chief, and people can't help but think of the recall of Deputy Commander Johnson in 1963. ."

   "The X-ray examination results of the commander have come out, and there is indeed a bullet that passed through his chest ribs. The hospital spokesman said that the commander had been pushed into the operating room."

  The power of modern media began to emerge after emergencies, and all kinds of news were constantly updated. Like Ronald, countless Americans stopped their work and started watching live TV to learn about the latest situation.

  CUU began to mark the place where the six bullets hit on the frozen video footage based on the live video and audio recordings. Of the three victims, two hit the bulletproof car, and the last shot was blown up by heroic Secret Service agents.

   In addition to being shocked, Ronald found that he actually watched it with gusto. This kind of expert analysis is like a real detective drama, which is broadcast live.

   At 1 pm in Los Angeles and 4 pm Eastern time, the TV station finally released the news that the commander had undergone a successful operation, the bullet was removed, the commander was injured in his lungs, and the condition was stable.

   After another ten minutes, a still photo appeared on the TV. The center of the picture was the panicked agent, the commander who was pressed into the car, and the bulletproof car. There is a small pistol in the circled place on the right side of the screen.

The host said, "According to unverifiable information, the assassination was carried out by the .22 caliber pistol on the screen, and the assassin was John Hinckley Jr. from Dallas, from a successful oil businessman family, He has no criminal record."

   In the chaos, the host broadcasted another latest news, which brought a sense of relaxation to the people watching the live broadcast.

After being pushed into the operating room, the commander    took off his oxygen mask and joked to the doctors and nurses in the operating room, "I hope today the operating room is full of elephants."

   The chief surgeon who belonged to the Donkey Party replied, "Today, we are all elephants."

   "You can still joke, it seems to be all right." Ronald thought to himself.

   "Ring bell ring bell..." Broker Nisita's call came again.

   "The latest news, the evening's awards show has been cancelled, and it is tentatively postponed until tomorrow. You can rest assured at the hotel."

   Ronald let out a long sigh of relief. This kind of live detective medical suspense drama is really pretty. If you go to the Oscar party, it would be a pity not to see it for a while.

   "Also, there are rumors that the assassination of the chief commander has something to do with Hollywood. You don't walk around today, just in case, we will keep in touch."

   Ronald is a little nervous again, has something to do with Hollywood? Put down the phone, remembering that this news may not be known to everyone, and quickly call friends to inform.

  Roger Coleman didn't know the news yet. After hearing it, he quickly went home with his wife Julie and stayed with their three children.

  Diane Lane has been notified by her agent that she is staying at the hotel with her father and is not going anywhere.

   "Now NBC is putting on the news roundup, look at it." Diane finally said to Ronald.

   Tuned to NBC and their reporter Chris Wallace was at the door of the George Washington Hospital in DC, giving the news by mouth. The general situation is stable.

   Before entering the operating room, he quoted to the first lady a famous saying after the former heavyweight champion lost the fight "Honey, I forgot to hide (Honey, IForgottoDuck.)."

  The camera cuts back to the studio, and the NBC host continues the feature. The suspect gunman, John Hinckley's background was also picked up. Last year, he appeared at the rally of the former commander and also carried a pistol.

   And there was no call from Scorsese, and Ronald called again.

   "I'm Ronald, looking for Marty." Ronald said.

   "Who is this?" There was an unfamiliar male voice in the microphone, which sounded low and capable.

   "I'm Ronald, who are you?"

   "This man said his name was Ronald, do you know him?" There was a burst of inquiries, and finally Marty's wife, Isabella Rossellini, came to answer the phone.

   "I'm Isabella, who are you? Why are you looking for Marty?"

   "I'm Ronald, from NYU..."

   "Oh," Isabella said to the male voice just now, "This is my husband's student. He also came to the Oscars ceremony. The call may be to ask for our safety."

   "Yes, you can talk to him."

   "Oh, Ronald, we're fine, they are special agents of the FBI, the gunman who assassinated the commander today, I heard that he is a crazy admirer of Marty's movies, we are all scared."

  Crazy admirer, Ronald thought, "taxi driver"? There is something similar there.

   "Are you all right? I listened to the agent's reminder that it might have something to do with Hollywood, so I called to ask about your safety."

"Is that Ronald?" Scorsese asked over the receiver, then he picked up the phone and said to Ronald, "I'm Marty, we're under the protection of the FBI special agent, nothing. That suspect Xin Klee may be Jodie Foster's stalker and has her police record.

   Since I'm the director of the film, we need protection for now in case Hinckley has a companion, or imitator. "

   "Any company?" Ronald was startled. Could it be in Los Angeles?

   "The FBI is now highly suspicious, because when Hinckley was questioned, he once said, will today's Oscars be postponed?"

   "Please don't say too much, Mr. Scorsese, this information is not convenient to release to the public at this time."

   "Ronald is my student. Well, I won't talk about it." Scorsese asked Ronald to stay in the hotel carefully, then hung up the phone.

   There won't be any accomplices, you're going to act at the Oscars, right?

   Ronald was really a little scared, he called the ordering service and decided not to go there and just watched TV in the hotel.

   "ABC's new series 'America's Last Hero' will rename lead character Ralph Hinkley to Hartley."

   "The Dow Jones, and the S&P Index fell today, the NYSE announced an early closure. The dollar shows signs of instability."

   "The Air Force 2 that the Deputy Commander is riding on has arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, and the Deputy Commander will arrive at the White House in a bulletproof car."

   "The NCAA Basketball Finals have been decided on time tonight. Indiana University and the University of North Carolina, both sides of the game, will observe a moment of silence with the 18,000 spectators at the Philadelphia Arena."

  What is the silence, the commander is not dead yet. Ronald rants.

   "The Oscar Awards Gala has been postponed for one day. It is reported that the commander has recorded a video speech in advance, and it was originally scheduled to be played at the Awards Gala. It is unclear whether the organizing committee will play the video tomorrow night."

   "What a crazy day" Ronald thought while sitting on the sofa eating pizza.

   (end of this chapter)