Chapter 924: Hard to Accept

Inside the White House in Washington D.C., the press briefing room was packed. It was time for the routine weekly press conference, but this session had drawn a much larger crowd of reporters. This was the year-end briefing, meaning O-Coal was guaranteed to make an appearance.

Teasing the president, testing the intellect of the master of the White House with difficult questions, and throwing out a few mild sarcastic jabs on the spot was a form of entertainment for media professionals.

At the front microphones, O-Coal endlessly spouted platitudes, delivering his annual "work summary." He claimed that a series of "important achievements" in 2014 left him "full of confidence" for the upcoming 2016.

Even though his remaining time in office was short and an election year was fast approaching, O-Coal stated he would not simply step aside. Instead, he would go "all out" to continue pushing toward his long-sought policy goals.

All the reporters were waiting for the final open Q&A session, their minds spinning with ideas on how to stump the president before them and how best to mock his policies.

However, the reporters were left disappointed. O-Coal clearly had no intention of taking questions, bringing the press conference to a close with a highly legitimate excuse.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this press conference might not be the most important event today. The special screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, prepared for the 'Gold Star House for Peace', is."

O-Coal hurriedly wrapped up the press conference.

"I need to hurry up and go watch Star Wars," he told the reporters clamoring to ask questions below the podium.

The reporters froze for a moment, suddenly remembering that today was the official release date for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

"Forget the White House. Let's go watch the movie first. This is Star Wars crafted by Duke Rosenberg."

An unknown voice in the crowd spoke up, immediately triggering a chorus of agreement from the other reporters.

"Then we need to hurry. The screening is probably about to start."

"To hell with the president. I'm going to watch Duke Rosenberg's movie."

In less than ten minutes, the previously crowded press briefing room was completely empty. No one cared about O-Coal and his policy agenda anymore. Even O-Coal himself tossed all that to the back of his mind, slipping into a theater to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, had long since turned into a sea of people. Countless fans were eagerly awaiting Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Those who had booked tickets formed long lines in front of the theater, while those who hadn't held up all kinds of signs begging for tickets, hoping to score one at the very last minute.

Inside the Dolby Theater, Duke had already led the cast and crew to their seats. The seating arrangements were distinctly divided, with the young actors keeping a healthy distance from Harrison Ford. Just like in any Hollywood crew, the younger generation didn't actually like the biggest, oldest star on set all that much.

As for the idea that filming a single movie could bridge the gap created by status and position—that was nothing but wishful thinking.

The barrier between the two sides stemmed partly from age and generational differences, and partly from the massive disparity in their paychecks.

Harrison Ford's salary for starring in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a staggering twenty million dollars. It was more than seventy times higher than the pay of the two new lead actors. Even the salaries of the returning "Princess Leia" Carrie Fisher and "Luke Skywalker" Mark Hamill were only one-fifteenth of Harrison Ford's.

Furthermore, due to a minor injury sustained during a small accident while shooting at the Ireland Dublin Black Forest Lot, Harrison Ford had demanded an additional 1.5 million dollars in compensation.

If it weren't for time constraints and the legacy of the Star Wars trilogy, Duke would never have cast Harrison Ford. For that reason, he hadn't hesitated to kill off his character.

The screening of the film was about to begin.

Inside the Hollywood Chinese Theater, Harris Dunn, who had been waiting in line for days, roused his spirits like the others and stared intently at the large screen ahead. After a long wait, they were finally sitting in relatively good seats near the middle of the theater.

Thirty-one years had passed since Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Harris Dunn had waited for Star Wars for far too long.

The familiar music, the familiar opening titles, the familiar "A long time ago..."

When he saw the opening scene of the female lead, Rey, scavenging for parts to make a living inside an abandoned Imperial Star Destroyer, Harris Dunn's restless heart immediately settled. He loved details like this. Not only did it align with the scavenging tradition set by A New Hope, but it also made him feel that everything familiar had returned.

Watching scene after scene play out on the screen, Harris Dunn was thoroughly immersed. Duke Rosenberg had done another thing just as brilliantly: he had fully utilized the visual concepts from the original trilogy, yet ensured nothing felt stale.

This was actually incredibly difficult, but everything Duke Rosenberg did was exceptional.

Especially when he saw the female lead, Rey, and the male lead, Finn, running toward the Millennium Falcon, Harris Dunn felt this even more strongly. The Millennium Falcon still roamed the universe under the title of "a.", its exterior looking exactly identical to how it was in the original trilogy.

In the movie, every detail that had appeared in the original trilogy remained the same, but the craftsmanship of the interior walls, instruments, and buttons was much more refined. When Luke's Jedi Training Sphere flashed by on screen, it brought Harris Dunn endless surprise and delight.

Compared to ordinary moviegoers, Spielberg knew that making a spaceship designed over thirty years ago look exactly like the original—while still remaining the coolest ship in the universe—meant it absolutely couldn't be identical to the original.

It was still a model, but the techniques Duke Rosenberg used were spot on.

It wasn't just the Millennium Falcon. In Spielberg's eyes, the same was true for everything else, from the small trashcan droids to the massive X-Wing Fighters and TIE Fighters. It featured original concepts, modern technology, and subtle enhancements that never stole the spotlight. It was like renovating an old building and adding a new wing to it: you had to maintain the original style while expanding upon it; you couldn't damage the old structure, yet you had to equip both the old and new sections with modern plumbing and bathrooms, complete with cable TV and Wi-Fi.

This required immense wisdom and imagination, and Duke Rosenberg had achieved it all, executing it exceptionally well.

The effort to blend the new and old seamlessly wasn't limited to the visuals, of course; it applied equally to the characters and the plot.

Originally, Harris Dunn thought Han Solo and Leia would only make a cameo, but unexpectedly, they both had heavy screen time and were key to driving the plot forward. Duke's explanation and handling of their relationship also felt perfectly logical.

Their love was real, and their inability to get along was just as real. After the princess and the smuggler got together, there were still plenty of stories left to tell.

The chemistry between the two veteran actors was just as it had been thirty years ago. Their personalities and appearances were flawless, completely devoid of any dissonance. Even if the film had no other redeeming qualities, just reuniting Han, Leia, and Chewbacca on the silver screen would be enough to satisfy many wishes of fans like them.

"Chewie, we are home."

The moment that line was spoken, Harris Dunn felt his nose sting and a sudden moisture gather in his eyes. Glancing around, he saw others already unconsciously wiping away tears.

Inside the Dolby Theater, George Lucas sighed softly. Although Duke had skewed the film's plot and setting slightly toward an all-ages demographic to cater to mainstream audiences, his grasp on the various details and the big picture was vastly superior to Lucas's own Star Wars Prequel trilogy.

George Lucas had to admit that he was truly getting old. Hollywood was already Duke Rosenberg's domain.

The characters were especially notable. Compared to his own heavily criticized Anakin Skywalker, the characters under Duke's direction were truly outstanding.

Among the new characters, the female lead Rey was stellar—resolute, independent, quick-witted, and fiercely loyal.

Introducing Finn as a Stormtrooper was, in Lucas's eyes, a bold and risky move. First of all, he was a Stormtrooper, and Stormtroopers were the laughingstock of everyone.

Second, he was played by an actor of Chinese descent who was responsible for both comedic relief and saving the damsel in distress. The role crossed several boundaries, and it had clearly succeeded.

The character was hot-blooded and reckless, yet shrewd and brave. He controlled many comedic moments and could even stand shoulder to shoulder with Han Solo. Now, he had smoothly taken over Han Solo's function while maintaining his own unique traits. Duke had done an excellent job, and Lucas personally appreciated that he had thought of unfolding the story from the perspective of a Stormtrooper.

Back in the Hollywood Chinese Theater, Harris Dunn—who had originally been very resistant to the idea of a Chinese protagonist—found he felt no resistance at all upon seeing Finn's character. Duke had handled it quite cleverly. By the time the film reached the part where Finn went to save the female lead, Harris Dunn realized he had grown to like this leading duo.

He liked them both because, as characters, they were detailed, fully fleshed out, and convincing. He liked them in the same way he liked Luke, Leia, and Han Solo: they had brought him into the Star Wars universe once again.

Just like the original trilogy, this film was filled with small comedic beats. For example, the scene where Rey tried to use the Force to influence the Stormtrooper guard was absolutely hilarious. Harris Dunn had heard that this specific Stormtrooper was actually played by Charlize Theron. As in the prequels, many big-name stars were willing to make a cameo, even without showing their faces.

Although the movie wasn't over yet, and Han Solo being killed by his own son had sparked some grumbling among the fans, seeing Finn race out to rescue Rey led almost every theatergoer to the same internal consensus: this was the authentic Star Wars flavor.

However, just as this sentiment formed in their minds, Finn raised a lightsaber on the screen. Countless fans immediately started mentally complaining again. A Chinese Jedi Knight? That was truly a bit hard to accept...

Despite the endless speculation beforehand, it had to be said that the crew's secrecy had been airtight.

Yet, the fans' complaints quickly melted into rising anticipation. Finn clearly possessed no Force sensitivity, and Kylo Ren easily struck him down after just a few moves. Then, Rey, who had been lying on the ground, reached out toward the lightsaber that Anakin had built and Luke had used.