The filming of A Few Good Men went very smoothly. Jack Nicholson soon completed all his scenes and left the crew. Although Hugo and Jack weren't exactly close at most, they could be considered casual acquaintances Hugo still learned a lot from Jack. It was truly a rare and valuable experience.
With a breakthrough in his acting, Hugo now performed other scenes with increasing ease and confidence, continually applying what he had learned in practice. This hands-on approach was the best way to refine his skills, and this period proved to be especially enjoyable for him.
As April arrived, nearly all of America's attention turned to Los Angeles, where the Rodney King trial was about to be held. After reviewing the full video footage, the local court's jury declared the four officers not guilty. Just two hours later, flames erupted across Los Angeles, thick black smoke filled the air, and gunshots rang out. Many took advantage of the chaos to loot stores. In that moment, law and order completely collapsed. A quarter of the city descended into violence, and the scale of damage far surpassed the urban race riots of the 1960s. More seriously, the riots began to spread, with signs of unrest appearing in major cities across the country. This forced President George Bush to deploy tens of thousands of federal troops and the California National Guard to restore order in Los Angeles.
After the riots broke out, blame and condemnation rained down on the jury. Jurors were labeled as Nazi racists. Amid the chaos and fury, no one wanted to hear the truth behind the jury's verdict. Since this was an election year, President Bush completely lost his composure. As the head of the federal executive branch, he overstepped his authority. Before the federal grand jury had even held a hearing or issued an indictment, he announced that the federal government would re-prosecute the white officers.
On one hand, Bush didn't understand the full background of the case he, too, was misled by the media. On the other hand, with the election looming, the Rodney King incident had become a political matter. Under pressure, the federal government had to intervene, even going so far as to insist that the white officers be convicted no matter what, which caused the situation to spiral completely out of control.
This was the first time Hugo found himself standing in the stream of history, feeling its weight firsthand. In the past, watching films about the severity and absurdity of racism in America or about how complex the culture and traditions of this immigrant nation were felt very distant, both geographically and temporally.
But now, Hugo was in 1992's America. Although during the actual Los Angeles riots, the A Few Good Men crew had moved to the East Coast to shoot in Washington, D.C., and were luckily unaffected, seeing a city he had lived in just a week ago engulfed in flames still left an indescribable shock in his heart.
The reasons why the Rodney King incident triggered the Los Angeles riots were, in fact, very complex. Globalization of the U.S. economy had led to massive unemployment among the urban Black working class, stripping them of basic livelihood guarantees. During former President Ronald Reagan's administration, large cuts were made to welfare programs, leading to severe wealth inequality. Poor Black communities had long been neglected, with persistently high crime rates. Meanwhile, the judicial system was riddled with flaws police frequently broke the law and abused their power, which was a common occurrence.
Yet the most critical factor was the media's manipulation and hype. For the sake of their own interests, they misleadingly edited the video footage and steered public opinion before the trial even began. In doing so, the so-called "Fourth Estate" played the role of divine judge and, in a sense, orchestrated this unprecedented urban riot!
As of now, the incident was far from over it could be said that the curtain had only just risen. Under the scrutiny of the president and fueled by the election year, the Rodney King case remained a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment. No one could predict where things would ultimately go.
"Freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial are two of the most precious things in our civilization. It's truly hard to choose between them." Hugo softly repeated this sentence, then nodded in agreement. The many problems exposed by the Rodney King case were indeed a vivid reflection of the struggle between those two ideals. Hugo looked up at Kevin Bacon and asked, "Who said that?"
"Justice Hugo Black of the United States Supreme Court—same name as yours," Kevin replied with a smile. Hugo couldn't help but smile shyly at that. Kevin patted him on the shoulder and added, "I was just wondering if maybe that's one of the reasons Rob ultimately chose you."
Hugo brought up the Rodney King case not just because it had dominated the news over the past week, but also because he had been pondering the case within A Few Good Men. In Colonel Jessup's view, his decisions were made in service of national security. But from a legal standpoint, Daniel couldn't agree with the colonel's actions. The complication, however, was that the colonel hadn't actually killed Santiago himself. So how should the case be understood, and how should it be argued in court? Hugo felt it was worth deep reflection.
Just as Hugo and Kevin were deep in discussion, Joseph suddenly ran over. "Hugo, Uma came to visit the set you…"
Hugo didn't react right away and looked over in confusion. Joseph frowned slightly and looked worried. "What? Who did you say?" Hugo hadn't caught it and had to ask again.
"I said Uma came to visit. She's at the studio entrance right now," Joseph repeated. He didn't know what the current status of Hugo and Uma's relationship was. Previously, Hugo had chased after her persistently, then abruptly gave up. Then there was the kiss at the Final Analysis premiere, followed by that night Uma spent at Hugo's place a twist no one had expected. So Joseph wasn't sure whether Hugo would welcome Uma's visit.
Hugo froze for a moment and instinctively looked toward the entrance. Of course, he couldn't see anything from there just a few crew members glancing at him with amused expressions. Such teasing looks wouldn't have appeared in the past, but now people were clearly much friendlier toward Hugo. Their expressions seemed to say, "Here comes the beauty," as if they were waiting to watch a good show.
Hugo felt a bit of a headache. He wasn't even sure what his relationship with Uma was now. After that night, they hadn't kept in touch, and he'd immediately dived into filming A Few Good Men, staying busy ever since. Now that Uma had suddenly come to visit, he didn't know what it meant. But what could he do? He could only go with the flow. "I'll go out and greet her," he said. A beauty personally visiting the set in Washington if he didn't go out to welcome her, that wouldn't be very gentlemanly.
Hugo handed his lunch box to Joseph, then walked toward the entrance. His mind, however, was racing what should he say as his first line?
"Hello?" That didn't feel right. Maybe, "Hey, long time no see"? That seemed too casual. "I really didn't expect you to come visit the set what a pleasure." That… felt too enthusiastic. "A beautiful woman visiting the set it's my honor"? Was that flirting?
His thoughts went in all directions. Without realizing it, he had already reached the entrance. There, he saw the fresh and pretty Uma, and his steps involuntarily paused. Today, Uma was dressed simply in a white shirt and light blue jeans, paired with black flats. The plain, minimalist outfit had no glamorous adornments, yet it perfectly highlighted the most charming and pure side of her temperament.
Uma also saw Hugo and gave a radiant smile, waving at him before walking over briskly. "I'm filming near Washington and heard you were here too. I happened to have some free time, so I dropped by," she greeted him with ease and grace, as if the two of them were old friends. Her relaxed demeanor made Hugo's nervousness seem unnecessary. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're not happy to see me just because I came empty-handed?"
Hugo couldn't help but laugh, grinning as he replied, "I was at least expecting some coffee."
Uma shrugged and patted the flat pockets of her jeans. "Once I get my paycheck, everything will be taken care of."
"Bread? Or milk?" Hugo joked as he walked side by side with Uma toward the set, picking up on her words. But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it there was just too much innuendo in that line.
Sure enough, Uma gave Hugo a meaningful glance. The smile at the corner of her mouth paused for a moment before blooming again in relief. "I always thought pizza was the most popular food when visiting a set." Uma didn't call out the underlying implication in Hugo's words. Instead, she cleverly brushed it off with a joke. Still, that look of hers was etched into Hugo's eyes.
"Fried chicken, actually, is the best choice," Hugo's eyes sparkled. He didn't pursue the topic any further but followed her lead instead.
Once they entered the set, Hugo introduced Uma briefly to Robert, Demi, Kevin, and the others. Then the two of them sat down beside the makeup station. Hugo pointed at the messy stack of takeaway boxes in the corner today's lunch was Chinese takeout, though unfortunately, it wasn't the flavor he remembered. "I heard someone was visiting the set earlier and was hoping to escape today's lunch. What do you say? Want to try our set's lunch?"
"Oh, trust me, your lunch is nowhere near as lethal as ours," Uma crossed her legs politely, placing both hands over her knee, looking every bit like a lady. But her brows arched slightly with her words, giving her a vivid expression. "When my stomach was growling and a pitiful little sandwich appeared on the makeup table, I seriously wanted to yell, 'F*ck! This is lunch? Even if it's not some fancy food, shouldn't it at least be a burger? And you give me a sandwich?' I nearly jabbed my middle finger through the ceiling."
...
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu