The Great Los Angeles Chaos of 1992

Some people always believed they could keep all the profits for themselves in Hollywood, but the end result was often that they offended the Big Five, got taught a lesson by Hollywood's rules, and left the industry altogether.

Kevin, who understood the rules of the entertainment industry well, had taken the path of mutually beneficial cooperation from the very beginning.

From CAA to New Line Cinema, then using New Line Cinema as a bridge to cooperate directly with Warner Bros., he had secured a 30% stake in the investment.

Don't think Kevin had given away too much.

After all, if Warner Bros. had not invested in this film, it would have been impossible for him to open in a thousand theaters.

As for four thousand large screens and publicity on this scale—

Neither was something Kevin and other small film companies could have achieved.

Put it this way: if Kevin had found a small company to distribute it himself, then even with a hundred percent investment, the film's ceiling would only have been twenty or thirty million.

After deducting all the expenses, it would have been good enough if Kevin made a little over ten million.

And that was before factoring in America's steep taxes, which meant he would practically have earned nothing.

Who knew how many unforeseen complications might have cropped up along the way?

How could that compare to making money so smoothly and satisfyingly now?

This smooth journey had a great deal to do with Kevin's willingness to share the profits.

"Kevin!"

Sunlight streamed into the bedroom of Kevin's Beverly Hills villa. The blankets rose and fell, clearly concealing something delightful beneath them.

A while later, the two finally stopped.

Angelina Jolie lay obediently beside him. On the television in front of the bed, a highly watched public trial was about to begin.

Capitalism meant that everything revolved around money.

Although it was not yet the era of livestreaming, news stations had already developed that awareness.

ABC, America's largest television network, had successfully used its connections to obtain the rights to broadcast the Rodney King case live.

At this moment, the trial had just begun.

The lawyers on both sides were attacking each other according to the law and defending their respective clients.

After helping Kevin clean himself up, Jolie nestled against his side.

Ever since the premiere yesterday, Kevin had been staring at the television station as if something had especially captured his attention.

Only today did Jolie learn that Kevin had been focused on the Rodney King case.

"Kevin?"

"What is it?"

"Is the Rodney King case more important than Get Out's box office?"

"Why aren't you even paying attention to your own movie? Why are you so concerned about the Rodney King case instead?"

Jolie finally voiced her doubts.

Naturally, Kevin could not tell Jolie directly that he already knew what consequences the Rodney King case would cause, so he brushed it off.

"I just think Rodney King shouldn't have been treated like that."

"The United States should be a country capable of accommodating diversity."

"Jolie, in the future of Hollywood, equal rights will become mainstream. If you want to stay in Hollywood, it's best to give yourself some suitable labels."

Kevin offered her a reminder.

Other than Kevin, no one could have imagined just how terrifying political correctness would become in the future.

Once a Hollywood star became involved in racial discrimination, even if their career was not destroyed, it would certainly be severely damaged.

Creating an image for himself as an advocate of equal rights in advance was Kevin's best way of dealing with future political correctness.

If you couldn't beat it, join it. That was his way of thinking.

The television broadcast continued with the trial. After both sides' lawyers had finished their arguments, and with the videotape evidence obtained by the court proving that Rodney King had resisted the police, the following judgment was announced.

"Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Theodore Briseno, and Timothy Wind, the four police officers involved in the Rodney King case, committed no improper conduct. They are hereby declared not guilty and released in court!"

The dark-skinned people of color attending the hearing immediately erupted into loud uproar.

The scene descended into chaos.

At that point, Kevin no longer needed to watch what came next.

In fact, according to later records, the greatest cause of the Rodney King riots had been the editing of the videotape by major broadcast media outlets.

Through the edits made by those unscrupulous media outlets, an incident of police lawfully enforcing the law had been portrayed as police beating someone.

People tended to form preconceived notions, which made everyone think the police were in the wrong.

However, the court had received the complete videotape and therefore made the correct ruling, which greatly dissatisfied the dark-skinned people of color.

Furthermore, amid the financial crisis, many dark-skinned people of color could barely afford to eat.

They needed an excuse for some zero-dollar shopping.

With all those factors combined, the Los Angeles Riots broke out just like that.

"Jolie, don't go out for the next few days. I have a feeling something big is about to happen."

Knowing all this, Kevin had long since stored enough supplies in the villa. At the very least, they would not need to go out for the next few days.

The unrest in Los Angeles was mainly concentrated in the downtown area.

Beverly Hills was located in the suburbs, and with its strong security forces, the dark-skinned people of color were not fools. They would not pass up easy-to-rob stores just to come here and cause trouble for them.

"They're guilty!"

"They're guilty!"

"They're guilty!"

A group of dark-skinned people of color carried protest banners bearing the names of the four officers. Each officer's name had been crossed out in red paint.

Holding up the banners, they protested in the streets.

The scale grew from several hundred people and instantly swept across all of Los Angeles. A massive riot involving tens of thousands of people erupted.

Once the numbers grew, the dark-skinned people of color, who already had a high crime rate, instantly lost control of themselves.

Banks, stores...

Everything.

As long as something had economic value in the eyes of Black people, they took it away through zero-dollar shopping.

Anyone who dared resist would be beaten at best and lose their life at worst.

Even the Los Angeles police department grew fearful in the face of a protest on such a scale.

The White House.

George H. W. Bush received a call for help from the governor of New York State.

As the very heart of the United States, New York's importance needed no elaboration.

Unrest on the scale of tens of thousands of people was no longer something New York could handle on its own.

The chaos had already lasted two days. If it continued, it would have an extremely serious impact on the United States.

Of course, most importantly, the businesses of several New York State financial conglomerates had also been affected by the unrest.

Not only were the goods in stores being looted, but under such circumstances, all business in New York State had come to a halt.

That was something the conglomerates and capitalists could not accept.

Using every possible means, they first put pressure on the governor.

Then, seeing that the governor could not resolve the matter, they immediately forced him to seek aid from the president.

"Mobilize the military and suppress the internal unrest!"