King of Hollywood-Chapter 326 - 53 Start

Chapter 326: Chapter 53 Start

Chapter 326 -53 Start

Grand events are defined by their scale, the extent to which they attract attention and acclaim, and how they are staged. Europe’s three major film festivals actually rival the Oscars in scale, but they do not quite match the Oscars in terms of public attention and enthusiasm. Many ordinary Europeans enjoy watching the Oscars, but far fewer Americans have the same interest in Europe’s big three film festivals. As for the presentation, it is even more lacking; the Oscars have a variety of programs and surprises, and the hosts are good at enlivening the atmosphere, while the award ceremonies of the three major film festivals tend to be much duller. Adrian, having attended both, was most qualified to make these judgments.

At the heart of it was the European attitude, a mix of pride and inferiority, as they could not commercially compete with Hollywood, they clung to the “art” card for solace. After all, compared to the United States, which was founded less than three hundred years ago, they had thousands of years of history to bolster their patronizing view of Americans.

To differentiate themselves from the coarse Americans who only cared about making money, European “artists” naturally tried to act more refined. This was a laughable notion; it’s normal to play to one’s strengths while ignoring weaknesses, but to completely overlook one’s flaws, or to act as if they were minor or that one’s current approach was the only correct one, seemed pretentious and foolish.

That’s why he still preferred the Oscars. Standing outside the Holy Grand Hall on the bustling red carpet, Adrian thought this, surrounded by the constant flashes of cameras and people coming up to greet him.

He was enjoying a triumphant rise, having ascended three rungs in just three years—a rate of success unprecedented in Hollywood’s history. The youngest ever Palme d’Or winner, Steven Soderbergh, was still making low-budget independent films, while he was about to receive the Oscar for Best Director.

“No one else might ever have such a record again,” Steven Spielberg said to Adrian, looking spirited with his round glasses perched on his nose and his neatly-trimmed beard.

“Thank you,” Adrian smiled in response; he knew Spielberg was congratulating him in advance. Anyone could see the value and impact of “Forrest Gump”, and he also had an excellent public relations team.

“It’s I who should be thanking you. I’ve had someone check out the location you mentioned, and it’s incredibly similar. Ian and the others believe that with the props, the similarity could be at least 90%. Your suggestions were also spot on; it looks like you’ve done quite a bit of homework,” Spielberg said cheerfully.

“I just happened to be producing a new movie in the United Kingdom, using some Irish as temporary actors,” Adrian shrugged and explained, “Of course, I have indeed collected a lot of relevant information; I plan to adapt that novel into a television series of about ten episodes.”

At this moment, they were discussing “Saving Private Ryan”. The script had been delivered to Spielberg two weeks earlier, and he absolutely loved it, starting preparations immediately. As an additional gift, Adrian had told him about a narrow beach in Ireland that very much resembled Normandy, perfect for setting up the scene to shoot.

The most intense part of the Normandy landings, Omaha Beach, was now a protected historical site where Spielberg couldn’t film, so finding a suitable beach was crucial. At this time, Adrian timely provided this location. In addition to that, he also made several suggestions, such as putting the actors through grueling training or shooting the landing scenes in a documentary-style to enhance realism, which greatly impressed the DreamWorks Three Giants.

This was one of Adrian’s plans; AC Media and DreamWorks were now on the same side, and AC Media even held some shares in DreamWorks. Speeding up their development to draw more attention was precisely what was needed. Besides, they were already planning to do so; by being the one to suggest it, he stood to gain much goodwill—why not go for it?

After speaking with Spielberg a bit longer, Adrian excused himself and walked toward the Grand Hall along the red carpet. Although the shouts of reporters behind the barriers were incessant, he simply smiled and nodded, never stopping to answer questions.

“You had already congratulated me before, Julia, it was meaningful and left much to be pondered,” Adrian raised an eyebrow at her.

Julia knew exactly what he was referring to. Under any other circumstance, she might have provocatively responded with “Shall we try now?”, but surrounded by so many reporters, she could only mentally take deep breaths to prevent her cheeks from flushing.

“Looks like I’m a step behind?” Another familiar voice reached his ears, and Adrian sighed internally, while the nearby reporters showed excited expressions, snapping pictures even more rapidly.

If you were to say Julia’s sensuality was enchanting and approachable, making one unable to resist striking up a conversation,, then Monica’s was blatantly seductive, making one want to immediately pull her into their embrace and play with her to their heart’s content.

Sadly, they were both mine now. Noticing the envious gazes from the photographers in the crowd, Adrian muttered to himself before smiling and responding, “Not at all late, Monica.”

“Well then, congratulations, Ed, I hope your dream comes true tonight.” Monica said.

“Thank you, with your blessings, my dream will certainly come true,” Adrian said meaningfully.

However, Monica was more accustomed to his style than Julia was. Even surrounded by reporters, she gave him a flirtatious smile, but quickly turned to look at Julia: “Hey Julia, long time no see.”

“Yes, it’s been a long time, how have you been?”

“Not bad, I played a role in a small-budget independent film, how about you?”

“A new romantic love movie is in preparation, and I have agreed to play the lead actress.”

The two women conversed as if nobody else was around, rendering Adrian practically invisible. The reporters got even more excited, their cameras clicking non-stop, probably already thinking about how to write their stories—either “Monica and Julia chat warmly, Miracle Director left out,” or “Former acquaintances now strangers.”

Adrian simply shrugged, only he knew that the two had just had a little confrontation.

“Well, I’ll be leaving now,” he said, seizing a brief pause in the conversation of the two women.

“See you later,” Monica and Julia said in unison, then moved to the other side to continue their chat.

Amused to himself, Adrian walked straight into the Holy Grand Hall. There were no reporters inside, which somewhat relaxed him. After straightening his clothes, he scanned the people chatting there and was about to step towards the inner hall when a familiar voice reached his ears: “Oh, I’ve been waiting for you for quite a while, Ed.”

“Hey, Qiqi, so you are here,” Adrian’s eyes brightened as he looked at the young girl standing by the front hall door.

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Kirsten was dressed very prettily today, in a pure white dress complemented by dark, low-heeled leather shoes. The white socks were very short, folded back at the ankles, and with the white nipple hat, she looked particularly innocent and cute. Only Adrian knew how mature and ambitious the soul hidden beneath that innocent appearance was.

“Do I look good today?” Kirsten scooped up her dress and twirled around gleefully.

“Very beautiful,” Adrian exclaimed with admiration, “There’s no one prettier than you among your peers right now.”

“Really?” Kirsten stood with her hands behind her back, puffing out her small chest, looking even cuter, but her gray-green eyes looking at Adrian were deep with meaning. “Thank you, Ed.”

She sighed once more, her eyebrows tinted with a touch of melancholy, “I never thought you would actually go to London to shoot a new film. I had so much I wanted to ask you in person, but now I can only do it over the phone.”

Although her rounded cheeks still carried a bit of childishness, the melancholic expression did not seem out of place; instead, it added a hint of Lolita to her allure. There were not many people in the lobby, but there were some, and such blatant seduction—even a hint of it—made Adrian take a deep breath, especially when she mentioned “the phone.”

After the preview of “Interview with the Vampire,” Adrian’s guidance for her included another aspect, and though it was merely a touch of a finger, it was still enough to make Kirsten obsessed with the elusive pleasure. However, she was still a young girl, and without her parents’ permission, she couldn’t just roam freely; thus, from last year till now, she had only visited Adrian’s office twice. After he left for London, she could no longer continue, which made Kirsten severally despondent.

Despite her maturity beyond her peers, it didn’t mean her self-control was equally strong. Yet Kirsten had learned a few things under Adrian’s tutelage and could barely manage on her own.

Waiting until the Oscar nominations were announced, although she knew when choosing that the chances of losing at the Oscars were greater than at the Golden Globes, she had told Adrian that it didn’t matter if she lost. But Kirsten, who had decided to strive at the Oscars, how could she not yearn for the honor that seemed within reach?

So, the little fairy began seducing Adrian even harder, such as talking to him on the phone while… Think about it—at the same time as the moans and gasps came through the phone, picturing the image of the young girl in his mind, and telling her what to do—such half-imagined seductions were thrilling.

A little fairy is always a little fairy, forever capable of doing things that surprise and excite you.

“Don’t worry, ‘Jumanji’ is about to start shooting, and I’ll find some time to guide you properly,” Adrian said with a smile. With such a bright and studious student, how could he not do his best to instruct her? In fact, Kirsten had already met with initial success under his guidance, and if it weren’t for certain reasons, he would have completely consumed her by now.

“Alright, let’s go in; it’s starting in a few minutes,” Adrian said, making a gesturing motion with his hand.

It was fortunate that Kate, being pregnant, did not come, and Blanchett, Gwyneth, and Liv were not suited to attend the Oscars yet—though there were plenty of tickets, an early appearance at the award ceremony would be more harmful than beneficial for them—Sarah could have, but she chose not to attend for obvious reasons. Even though she had accepted some facts, it didn’t mean she was fully ready to face them. After all, if they were all here, Adrian would probably have a headache for a while.

Nevertheless, there were still some acquaintances they had to stop and chat with, such as the Hanks couple who had arrived later but entered the ceremony hall earlier, or Winona and Dennis who arrived and appeared together, and near the doorway of the hall, the Cruise couple was chatting with “Mission: Impossible” director Brian De Palma.

“Hi, Tom, Nicole, Brian, great to see you,” Adrian greeted them cheerfully.

“Hi, good to see you,” Kirsten, always following behind him, also smiled and waved in greeting.

“Look who’s here, tonight’s best director,” Cruise laughed heartily, slapping his arm.

“Thank you,” Adrian smiled back, patting him, but shook his head inwardly. Tom Cruise’s social skills indeed needed improvement; even though everyone was clear that Adrian was almost certain to win Best Director tonight, in a public setting one must add “most likely” to maintain respect both for Adrian and the other nominees. Moreover, if from the beginning of voting everyone spoke so assuredly about Adrian winning Best Director, perhaps the judges might have cast their votes for someone else.

Therefore, Nicole immediately turned her head away, Palma, although on good terms with Cruise, still subtly shook his head, and even Kirsten by Adrian’s side lowered her eyelids pretending she heard nothing.

“It’s such a shame, the Film Academy’s judges are too conservative, they should have at least nominated you, Mrs. Rice even personally admitted you were the best,” Adrian continued.

“It’s okay, they’re always like that,” Cruise waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned, but the four people standing beside him could see the reluctance in his eyes.

“Has the release date for ‘Mission: Impossible’ been set? I missed the preview and I don’t want to miss the premiere as well,” seeing this, Adrian changed the topic, “I can’t wait to see the outstanding performance of you and your wife in the movie.”

After saying this, he looked towards Nicole who immediately averted her gaze, seeming unwilling to meet his eyes. Adrian smiled slightly to himself; it looked like everything that happened at the Paramount CEO cocktail party still lingered in her heart.

“It should be in June, barring any unforeseen issues,” Cruise answered his question, then glanced at his wife.

“So, you’re planning to lead the summer season trend?” Adrian asked, slightly surprised because the way Cruise looked at Nicole was a bit off, suggesting a hint of suspicion. Was there something he didn’t know about?

“Not really, since we only have this one movie,” Palma chimed in from the side.

“Right, so maybe you can pull out a few more box office hits like last year,” Cruise quickly regained composure, displaying his signature smile again.

Clearly, whatever had happened didn’t concern Adrian, or else with Cruise’s stinginess, he wouldn’t be here chatting and laughing with him—even though Cruise’s attitude still seemed a bit careless.

“It’s not easy, you know, some things rely on luck,” Adrian shrugged, then suddenly crossed his arms and rested his chin on his hand, staring at Cruise.

Cruise was momentarily taken aback, then fell silent. Nicole, who had been quiet, showed a complex expression; the implications of Adrian’s gesture were clear.

“Maybe…” Adrian pondered for a while before slowly beginning to speak.

“No problem,” Cruise interrupted, promptly giving an answer before he could finish.

“Oh?” Adrian raised his eyebrows in surprise, knowing that although this guy was a bit petty and had strong control issues, and wasn’t great socially, he wasn’t stupid.

“You can… completely… do it your way,” Cruise said somewhat painfully. Given his controlling nature, this was quite a concession, especially considering the previous issue of acquiring the production rights for ‘Mission: Impossible’.

“Don’t rush, Tommy, I have a lot going on lately. Let me think it over, then I’ll find some time to discuss it in detail with you. Be patient,” Adrian laughed and patted his shoulder, then once again looked deeply at Nicole. This time, her piercing blue eyes did not shy away, biting her lip, seemingly lost in thought.

He didn’t continue speaking, and after saying goodbye, he entered the lounge with Kirsten. By now, the lounge was already about two-thirds full. Adrian quickly found his seat; as usual, the same production company’s crew sat together, but since Adrian was the director of ‘Forrest Gump’ and Kirsten was the supporting actress in ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ their seats were several places apart.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be yours,” Adrian said, patting her head as they parted.

Kirsten wanted to say something, but seeing her mother sitting not too far away, she just nodded obediently like an ordinary girl, though her eyes held a profound expression.

Already feeling jealous? Adrian chuckled to himself in his mind, reminiscing about standing with Cruise in his fiery red evening gown, then took his own seat.(.)