Chapter 1071: The President is also a person

The President is also a person.

The film was a success; one could tell from the expressions on the faces of some of the professional film critics at the scene—

When a person shows a desire to write something down immediately, it means they have been touched by the content of the film.

Regardless of whether it was good or bad, this film gave them some thoughts they wanted to express.

Next came the cast and crew taking the stage for a curtain call, followed by a brief interaction and exchange regarding the creation of the film itself.

A staff member walked over to Lanse, stooping, and crouched halfway beside him. "Mr. President, the producer asks if you would like to go up and say a few words as well?"

"Or, would you mind saying a few words if necessary?"

Lanse shook his head. "I don't need to say anything. This is your hard work; whether it brings glory or embarrassment, it belongs only to you."

The staff member quickly left, stooping as he went. Barbara, beside him, glanced in the direction the staff member had left. "They want to borrow your influence for publicity."

Lanse shook his head again. "My influence isn't that easy to use."

As a gang leader, although he had been downplaying it, in reality, the effect wasn't that great.

Before coming to the Federation, and including the Federation's current external propaganda, prisons and gangs were portrayed as part of mainstream social culture.

Federation people would not tell those outsiders that they were equally discriminatory toward gang members and those released from prison.

Especially in mainstream society, if they knew you were a released convict or had a gang background—

Even if you perfectly met their recruitment requirements, or were even the only person who met their recruitment requirements, they would still reject you.

Federation people never said this externally; they only promoted the good things: freedom, equality, democracy, and human rights.

It was as if in this heaven-like society of the Federation, there was no discrimination, no harm, and no racial opposition.

But in reality? Only after they arrived would they discover that the "multi-racial inclusion" they claimed was just a load of crap; there were chains of contempt everywhere, and discrimination everywhere.

Having a gang leader stand on stage to promote something could only potentially bring some bad, negative influence.

This was different from him attending the premiere.

Barbara didn't want to figure out what the difference was; she took this as an excuse for Lanse not wanting to go up.

Afterward, she simply touched up her makeup. "Then you'll just have to sit here alone. I have to go on stage with them."

Lanse did not refuse. After Barbara put down some personal items, she stood up under the spotlight.

She turned to wave at the audience and media personnel in the cinema, and amidst the screams of the fans, she walked onto the stage.

There were sofas prepared on the stage, and she and the male lead sat on either side of the director.

Lanse sat with his legs crossed, watching the final "performance" of the evening.

The questions from the reporters and film critics were always so tricky. One film critic asked a question—

"Mr. Director, in the vast majority of war films we have seen before, most have had happy endings."

"For example...", he gave about a dozen examples. In these films, the male and female leads, including the supporting characters, all survived and perfectly completed their missions.

"But in this film of yours, I don't know how to describe it. There were twenty-eight people in total. Each person didn't have much screen time, but their distinct personalities and characteristics left a deep impression on me."

"It's as if everyone was a living, breathing person; they had excellent sides, and they also had problematic sides."

"Everyone was very real. I like these characters, but at the same time, I have a question: why did they all die in the end?"

"Although the male lead survived, he also suffered heavy trauma, both psychologically and physiologically."

"Finally, I noticed a detail in the end credits. In the scene where the male lead turns and leaves, there is a tree, and a noose is hanging on the tree. Is this hinting that the male lead will eventually choose to end his own life to leave this world?"

"Why do you favor such a tragic story instead of a happy ending?"

"I believe the audience would prefer to see these people alive, just as they came back to life in the photo in the final scene, gathered together again."

Facing this question, the director glanced at Lanse, who was sitting in the front row. "Your questions are a bit dense..."

People let out a light laugh. The sad atmosphere brought by the film was constantly dissipating. After the director organized his thoughts, he said, "Because war itself is cruel."

"We cannot ignore the true logic just because we need artistic creation. On the battlefield, bullets, shells, any factor that can be fatal—it won't actively avoid you just because you might be the protagonist."

"No matter who you are, the moment a shell lands beside you, you will definitely die; there will almost never be any accidents."

"I know that the current mainstream market always treats war as entertainment and romanticizes war."

"War is no longer a place full of danger where problems are solved through armed conflict; it has become a place for handsome men and beautiful women to fall in love."

"They can kiss on a battlefield where bullets are flying, and they might also release their hormones in the trenches."

"There are also some war comedies that make both sides of the war look low-intelligence."

"I'm not trying to criticize their films, or criticize their forms of expression; I just think that my film should be more real."

"When we were shooting our first war-themed film, the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Lanse White, talked to us about this issue."

"What kind of war do we want to show the audience?"

"War is cruel. The pain it brings us exists, and we need to reflect on war and on this pain, rather than turning it into something romantic used for entertainment."

"If someone beautifies death into romance, beautifies it into entertainment, then he must be a criminal."

"He is sending more young people to the battlefield in their own way. Only after they get to the battlefield will they discover that the battlefields they saw in those movies are different from the real battlefield."

"This war might be coming to an end soon. We must leave something to warn future people, not to let them think that kissing and being funny is what war is."

"Because besides these, there is cruelty!"

The director said a long string of words, then glanced at Lanse again. Seeing that Lanse had no reaction, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Lanse didn't want to come up, he still had a way to utilize Lanse's influence. He believed that many reporters would point their cameras at Lanse, borrowing Lanse's influence from the side.

He paused as he spoke and took a sip of water. "As for why I didn't use a happy ending..."

He said, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolding it. "Here is a recorded fragment, recording an army on the front line."

"In the past two years, it has been approached to be wiped out countless times, and rebuilt countless times."

"Thousands of soldiers have been filled into it, but now, it still only has two hundred people."

"They have written awe-inspiring merits with their lives and flesh. To respect them is to respect history, and it is also to respect ourselves."

This was not a direct answer, but it was a kind of explanation.

The film critic was satisfied. He could already write a very good film review article by combining these words with some of his own thoughts.

The atmosphere at the scene also became more heated. After talking for a while about the core melody of the film, people set their targets on the male and female leads.

"Ms. Barbara, I heard that you also accepted sixty days of militarized training. How do you feel?"

Barbara sat on the sofa beside the director. She clasped her hands together, looking deeply moved. "I don't know how to describe it. I didn't know much about soldiers before, but this time I know that they are very hardworking, and it is also not easy for them at all."

"I feel deeply honored to be able to play a character in this film!"

"I also thank the soldiers for their dedication on the front line, allowing us to have a better life."

A very steady answer, and one that avoided some questions.

The male lead's answer was roughly the same. After all, the core of the film was right there; no one could bypass it or go against it.

The atmosphere at the scene was always very enthusiastic. After the exchange ended, the scene even held a lucky draw activity.

According to the invitation letter, which was the number on the specially made movie ticket, some of the movie props were distributed to the audience, including the film critics, in the form of a lucky draw.

Of course, the film critics would have an extra reward—fifty dollars, and a set of war-themed desktop office supplies.

After the premiere ended, Barbara returned to Lanse's side. She appeared slightly excited now.

"Just now when we were backstage, they said the feedback from the audience and film critics was very good. This film might achieve a super box office, and there is a high possibility that it will be able to win awards at the end of the year."

Tragic stories are always hard for people to let go of. This might be why, from opera to film, tragedies are often easier for people to remember.

Comedies make people laugh and then forget; only the regrets in tragedies can make people unable to let go for a long time.

Regarding the producer's and the crew's idea of wanting to win awards, Lanse essentially supported it. "I will help campaign for it."

Barbara's eyes flashed with some luster. "Best Actress?"

Lanse looked at him and curled his lips. "I think you need to settle down a bit more."

Barbara was obviously a bit unconvinced. "I have already won a Best Actress award."

Regarding the Best Actress award he had won before, Lanse also knew. "Because there were no competitors?"

This made Barbara very angry. "I worked very hard, and I am very talented. This time I will definitely succeed!"

Lanse didn't think so. This was obviously a super male-lead film, and everyone was dying one after another, including the battlefield nurse played by Barbara.

She was sent to the sky by a shell two-thirds of the way through the film. If the female lead couldn't make it to the end of the film, there would be some deficiencies in the plot and content. The effects brought by these deficiencies would mean she wouldn't leave such a deep impression on the judges.

Seeing that although Lanse didn't speak, his expression revealed that kind of arbitrary judgment, Barbara was still a bit unhappy.

In the next few days, Barbara still had to do two film promotions in New Jincheng.

As the economic center of the Federation, New Jincheng was already in a league of its own in terms of box office.

The box office here was very important to the overall box office of the film, and it was also a data-based basis for major evaluation agencies, including the film company itself, to evaluate the overall box office.

If they could run a very beautiful box office here, then in the subsequent publicity, they could also use the slogan "New Jincheng Box Office Champion" to attract more audiences to walk into the cinema.

In mid-June, before Barbara was about to leave, Lanse took him to attend a banquet together.

For this, Lanse even had someone custom-make a top-tier evening gown for her overnight, along with corresponding accessories.

Wearing tens of thousands of dollars worth of clothes and accessories made Barbara feel slightly nervous.

"What kind of banquet is this, exactly?"

She was holding Lanse's arm a bit nervously. In fact, they hadn't arrived at the banquet scene yet; they were still in Lanse's car.

But looking at her own attire and looking at Lanse's attire, she felt that this was not a simple banquet, because Lanse had even trimmed his eyebrows.

He had plucked away some scattered eyebrows, which caused a subtle change in his entire image. Although it was just some small operations, his entire image looked like it had improved again.

He rarely had such a solemn time—if he had been this solemn before, he wouldn't have specifically trimmed his eyebrows at this time.

Lanse lit a cigarette and rolled down the window a bit. "A ceasefire agreement is to be signed tomorrow; tonight is considered a pre-celebration activity."

"I was invited to attend, and everyone is bringing a female companion. I can't just go alone."

"And didn't you say that last time?"

Barbara raised her hand to stop Lanse from continuing. Her cheeks were feeling hot again now.

"I know!" she interrupted Lanse, feeling a bit uneasy again. "What kind of people are at the scene?"

Lanse took a puff of his cigarette. "There are some Congressmen, the Secretary of State, the President, and some foreign diplomatic personnel."

"A very formal, but not so serious banquet."

Hearing this, Barbara took a deep breath. This was not quite what she had imagined.

"Am I... suitable?"

Lanse looked her up and down. One could only say that the tailor of this evening gown knew very well how to make a woman look full of temptation.

"Of course, you look extremely beautiful!"

Barbara lowered her voice a bit. "You know I wasn't talking about that. Am I suitable to attend such a banquet with my identity?"

Lanse shook his head slightly. "Suitability doesn't apply to you, Barbara."

"It depends on who you are beside!"

The confident words made Lanse bloom with golden light even in this somewhat dim car compartment, making Barbara feel dizzy! She even had a clear feeling, one she could perceive herself, that she was secreting! If one were to use a more intense, more stimulating, and bolder description to express her inner heart at this moment, it was that she wanted to get laid right now! The motorcade soon arrived at the banquet scene, in a house with no fame in the suburbs of New Jincheng. This house belonged to the Vice President.

Celebrating in advance before the ceasefire agreement was fully signed was indeed a bit... not serious enough for the public.

So this celebration was not suitable to be public, and naturally, there were no reporters or such people at the scene, but everyone appeared very relaxed.

After the ceasefire agreement was signed tomorrow morning, the war would be over.

At this moment, whether it was the Federation people, the Slades, or the Dantras, they all appeared exceptionally relaxed.

Regardless of winning or losing, they had all achieved a part of the goals they wanted to achieve. From a certain perspective, this was also a kind of perfection! When Lanse arrived, he happened to run into Senator Cleveland.

"I seem to have seen this beautiful lady somewhere!", Senator Cleveland greeted her with a smile.

His wife reminded him in a low voice on the side, "We have seen the movie Ms. Barbara performed in. Her performance in the movie was very outstanding!"

Only then did Senator Cleveland remember. He did not touch Barbara and did not shake hands with her. In formal social occasions, men cannot actively touch women unless the woman does so first.

Barbara held Lanse's arm and lowered her figure slightly to show a kind of etiquette, and Senator Cleveland's wife did the same.

As for the two men, they shook hands very naturally.

"Thank you for your recognition, Madam." Barbara appeared very generous. Although she was a bit nervous and restrained, her overall performance was still fine.

Senator Cleveland certainly would not waste too much attention on such an ordinary "small fry." He quickly looked at Lans, "The President is coming tonight as well. I have already spoken to him about you. He might want to have a private chat with you, so prepare yourself a little."

Lanse nodded. "I will."

Senator Cleveland didn't talk to him much more. After all, there were still many big shots here, and he had to socialize with those people. "Have a good time. There are many people here you should know. If you have any problems, you can come to me at any time."

Lanse shook hands with him again, said "Thank you," and watched Senator Cleveland and his wife leave first.

Only then did Barbara breathe a sigh of relief. She said softly, "My God, I didn't expect you to be so well-connected. That is one of the hottest Senators right now!"

People's curiosity about Congress is like their desire to explore how many eggs are in a chicken coop; if they don't figure out exactly how many there are, they certainly won't be willing to let it go.

Which Senators in Congress have more power is actually not a secret at all to the public.

It was naturally reasonable for Barbara to know Senator Cleveland.

She found it hard to imagine who else Lanse knew!

"Just now he also said that the President wants to see you alone?"

Lanse squinted at her. "What's wrong?"

"That is the President!"

Lanse was still in that calm manner. "The President is also a person!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1072 =====