King of Hollywood-Chapter 620 - 28: Manipulating Fate

To get a person to accept something that is completely at odds with their outlook on life and their values, the first step is the most difficult. But once the first step has been taken, accepting what follows becomes much easier. For example, depriving someone of their life with a cold weapon, or making a shy person who refuses to perform in public give a speech, and so on, such as shameful play and the like.

That’s why Charlize would say those things to Ivanka. A girl like her wouldn’t really try to change unless she received a powerful and completely unfamiliar shock. Of course, it was also necessary to pique her curiosity and not scare her away, causing her to abandon her plan for revenge against Adrian. As long as she followed someone’s plan step by step, she couldn’t escape.

So when faced with Charlize’s questioning, what would Ivanka choose?

"You don’t need to try too hard, just think of yourself as a waitress," Charlize trained Ivanka. Meanwhile, Adrian continued shooting "Erin Brockovich." At that moment, he was discussing the next scene with a bit player.

This bit player was no ordinary person; she was the real-life model for the film, Ms. Erin Brockovich. With her golden-brown short hair and an age similar to Julia’s, she looked decent and had a certain charm about her that justified her once being a small-town beauty queen.

At that moment, she was dressed in typical waitress attire, holding a small notebook, waiting for filming to start after indicating she understood Adrian’s instructions. Since the story was adapted from her experiences, the crew had visited her law firm numerous times during the preparation phase, so inviting her to make a cameo was a fitting gesture.

The role was simple—a waitress taking orders for Julia and her children at a restaurant, featuring in two or three shots that passed quickly and were not challenging. For the crew, this role was simple and easy, but for Brockovich herself, it was a fantastic experience.

"I once thought about trying my luck in Hollywood, but various reasons prevented it, and then for various reasons, I ended up being Old Ed’s assistant. To fulfill that little dream by this means today is truly a happy occasion," Brockovich had said.

She loved the screenplay and the character that Julia would play, saying enthusiastically, "Julia is the most charismatic actress I have ever met. I am so honored that she is playing me. I have seen several of her romantic comedies. However, I must clarify that though I used to frustrate Old Ed quite a bit, I definitely did not swear as much, especially saying things like ’fuck it back.’"

That phrase also came from an interesting part of the story. Masley, frustrated by the case not going smoothly and being annoyed by Brockovich at his side, finally shouted at her: "Fuck you!" Without hesitation, Brockovich shouted back: "Fuck it back!"

That simple exchange immediately showcased the protagonist’s feisty character, and similarly, the old lawyer’s subsequent laughter and head-shaking also portrayed him with a lovable vibe again. Such techniques are highly suitable for biographical films, making a memorable impression while fully expressing the characters’ personalities.

As for reality, well, that’s not important—as mentioned earlier, films need to dramatize the story and enrich the characters as long as they stay on theme. For example, in reality, Erin Brockovich eventually broke up with her motorcycle-repairing boyfriend, and there were rumors of a fling between her and Ed Masley.

But what of that? A biographical film is not a documentary after all, and such details do not detract from the story. Like how cases of massive pollution by an electric company that caused severe illnesses to nearly a thousand people cannot escape liability in any normal country once exposed to public scrutiny, it does not erase Brockovich’s achievements in the whole affair.

Alright, back to the filming, which was proceeding smoothly. Julia’s performance was indeed magnificent, prompting Small Emma, who had come to visit the set, to exclaim in surprise. Was that really her aunt?

"Of course, because I’m really into the role, do you know what that means?" Julia asked, pinching the little guy’s cheek during a break.

"I know, of course," Small Emma retorted, breaking free, "I get really into my role during shooting too!"

As a road movie, "Little Miss Sunshine" had much simpler preparations. Other than spending some effort on selecting beauty pageant locations, everything else was easy to handle. As long as the actors and director were in place, filming could start immediately. And the most important roles had already been arranged by Adrian, with Small Emma playing Oliver and Grandpa still being played by Alan Arkin.

Since Alan Arkin had already proven that he could play the role well, there was no issue in asking him again, even if five or six years had passed. Such a duration wasn’t enough to cause a qualitative change, especially for an experienced actor like him.

"Really?" Adrian leisurely said, standing by, "Why do I hear that you’re always complaining in the crew?"

"I’m not!" the little guy immediately got agitated, "I just don’t like that outfit. It makes me look like a little fat pig, and even a snaggle-toothed one with big glasses at that!"

"There are no snaggle-teeth, you’re just a little fat pig." Adrian promptly picked her up and playfully tousled her.

"I’m not a little fat pig!" Small Emma got angry, forcefully pushing his arms away, stomping off, and sitting on a chair, arms crossed. She turned her head away and held it up high in a "I’m not talking to you anymore" manner.

Julia was about to say something, but Adrian stopped her with a gesture and approached Small Emma: "Hey, Emma."

The little one grunted, turning her body to the other side. Even though she faced away from him, her posture seemed to shout: beg me, beg and I’ll forgive you.

"Alright, Emma," Adrian gently patted her head twice, "Making movies is like this, you need to make sacrifices to play the role well. Just like your aunt right now, you can hardly recognize her, right? That’s the effect we want in acting. Just make the audience believe the person on the screen is someone else, and you’ve succeeded. You might not fully understand now, but you will eventually, and..."

He leaned down and whispered a few words into the little girl’s ear. The girl, who had been posturing just moments ago, immediately widened her eyes and turned around, excitedly asking him, "Are you serious?"

"Of course, as long as you’re willing to put in the effort." Adrian smiled, pinching her chubby little chin.

"No problem, I’ll definitely do my best!" Small Emma then clenched her fists and raised them above her head, shouting energetically.

Julia watched all this, surprised, wondering what Adrian had said to suddenly energize her so much.

"What did Ed tell you?" she couldn’t help but ask after the little girl ran back.

Just as Small Emma was about to speak, a cough sounded beside her. Following that, Adrian made a zipping motion across his mouth and then fiercely slid his hand across his throat. Confronted with such a "threat," Small Emma could only giggle and cover her mouth, "Sorry, auntie, I promised Ed to keep it a secret."

Then she added, "You’ll know when the time comes, it’ll be a big surprise."

"Alright, I’ll wait for your surprise," Julia said with a mix of helplessness and amusement as she playfully rubbed the little girl’s nose.

Thanks to the fine performances of the two leading actors, the filming of "Erin Brockovich" progressed smoothly, and Adrian had more time to deal with other matters, such as exchanging ideas with Eric Norton who came to the set.

"Yes, that’s right, excellent, she performed very well," Adrian nodded while listening to the newly recorded song, "As for the lyrics, you guys decide on that. What I’ve thought of can only serve as a reference. If it doesn’t fit Britney’s current image, even the best lyrics must be modified."

So far, three of Britney’s new songs had been recorded: "A new day has come," "Never Had A Dream Come True," and "burning." Each of these songs had been very famous and popular in the past life, and they all made it to the top of the Billboard Top 100.

Since they were producing a super album and each song was expected to top the charts, they certainly needed to make it happen. It was simple; they selected those songs that had previously topped major charts. Although these charts were somewhat inflated, just like the Oscars, without a certain quality and potential popularity, it was impossible to top the charts.

Therefore, Adrian did not just limit to the songs that had topped the charts in his memory. After all, he didn’t remember as many songs as movies. They could still achieve similar results by finding extremely popular ones and slightly tweaking them. Thus, besides these three tracks, there were many widely known songs like "Pretty Boy" and "Stop! Stop! Stop!" Some lyrics might not suit Britney, but having a large staff made it quite easy to make suitable modifications.

The most altered was "Stop! Stop! Stop!" Although the original lyrics had no issues, considering Britney’s image, the production team decided to rewrite parts of it to portray a young girl cautiously guarding her final defense in love, which was quite interesting. Nevertheless, the temptation revealed in this song was one of the bolder aspects of the whole album—Britney was still an idol to teenagers. Although every female singer eventually takes a sexy route, a sudden change without any signal would prompt complaints from organizations like the Parents’ Association.

This was just a civilian organization, but in the United States, inflential civilian organizations were everywhere. Britney’s "previous" third album had performed much worse than the first two, not only because of the decline in the record industry but also because her sudden shift to a sexier image was not unrelated.

Adrian, of course, would not let her follow the same old path. Making gradual and limited changes was the right approach, so he had people set a transition plan for her early on, and Britney, obedient to him, had accepted it early. In this super album, she began to reveal her sexiness but was still cautiously managing the extent of it, which was understandable why the lyrics of "Stop! Stop! Stop!" were modified to maintain the image.

As for the music video, it couldn’t simply copy the original, but Adrian was quite interested in reusing the silver-white dress and styled jazz dance from someone else’s cover of the song—Britney would look great dancing in it.

Among the several songs, "A new day has come" might be the most difficult to sing. Celine Dion’s songs always had a unique flavor, and this song itself blended many styles. However, Britney did well too. After the production team adjusted the lyrics and completely re-scripted it, she managed to sing it with a different flavor—not the ethereal tone of Celine Dion, but her own distinctive sweetness and joy.

Because it was a brand-new song, Adrian came to that conclusion after some thought. Simply put, with no one having performed it before, she could interpret it unhindered. If Celine Dion had sung it first and then she did a cover, it wouldn’t have achieved the same effect.

Of course, not all songs on the album could be of the same style. Furthermore, originally lacking two tracks to complete the album, Adrian turned his attention to soft rock. Britney’s first album had included two or three songs of this type, so it wasn’t discordant for her to perform them. Although there weren’t many soft rock tracks that made it to the top 100, and considering another factor, there were many categories in the Billboard charts, not just the top 100. There were also rock, country, and others. Thus, topping the rock chart wouldn’t be considered breaking his word.

This was a good method. After some time, Adrian finally gathered the tracks, but there were three suitable ones. After much consideration, it seemed hard to let go of any one track. In the end, he simply decided to save one track and include it in a deluxe version of the album to be released either half a year or a year later. That way, he could attract a number of loyal fans to open their wallets.

Originally, Adrian had also planned to produce "everytime," one of Britney’s signature pieces. However, considering that it was her original creation, why couldn’t she be the one to create it? Simply being able to sing was not enough for a singer; songwriting and composing were essential skills. Since "everytime" showed that Britney had potential in these areas, Adrian didn’t mind exploring further.

However, returning to the point, Britney, still bearing the nickname Little Sweet, had a mindset wholly different from the one he remembered, and it was doubtful whether she could produce a song like "everytime." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Thinking about this made Adrian want to laugh, especially recalling Britney’s indignant expression, which was rather refreshing.

"I really can’t believe it. Back when we were close friends in the MMC and now she would do something like this!" Britney had said at the time, visibly upset and very angry, referring to a guy named Justin Timberlake who had danced alongside her at a concert.

Yes, that Justin, who, probably because Super Boy was prematurely released by RUN records, MMC’s precursor, faced a lot of rejections after leaving MMC. The specifics will be omitted, but ultimately, he stooped to being a backup dancer. Then, at the end of last year, he danced for Britney in one of her concerts, buddied up to her under the guise of friendship, and asked her out.

Because of their shared history performing at MMC, Britney accepted his invitation. Justin Timberlake likely initially only wanted to use her to get an opportunity through the record label, renowned for discovering new talents, currently home to two of the most popular female singers. However, men sometimes do many things under the influence of alcohol that they wouldn’t normally dare, especially when a childhood playmate, now successful and sitting across looking so sweet, attractive, and lovely, makes them lose their heads, leading to inappropriate actions.

Then, before he could make a further move, Britney slapped him sharply and splashed her drink in his face, then left the place stern-faced without saying a word—there was no doubt, that was exactly what she did. Poor Justin, did he really think she was still that naive little girl from MMC? Well, she indeed was still naive, but that naivety belonged to her master.

"If that’s the case, then let’s make him disappear from this circle," Adrian said leisurely, facing his little pet’s complaints.

Justin wasn’t Penelope, who had some renown in Europe’s film industry before coming to Hollywood, so dealing with her had to wait until she was completely obliterated. But Justin Timberlake was now just a nameless backup dancer, easier to dispose of than swatting a fly, so his future was thus sealed.

Indeed, controlling the fate of others was the most amusing thing. Adrian remarked to himself internally, feeling no qualms about it.

Of course, Justin Timberlake was just a minor character, Little Sweet his most proud creation. As he had anticipated, after that declaration of "Master," Britney gradually became Adrian’s, both inside and out. Her parents or the little influence they had left was evident as Little Sweet occasionally agreed to some of their requests. But that too was very limited, and with the Spears couple suffering considerable losses during the IT bubble burst, they dared not overstep. As such, Adrian was happy to let Britney display the image of a dutiful daughter, which was also beneficial for her image.

Alright, returning to the main topic, because "Erin Brockovich" was progressing well, not only did Norton frequently visit the set, but Adrian also often went to the record company. Although the new Universal Music was still adjusting, the operations of MCM were still very normal. However, Norton’s visits to the set were simple matters, but Adrian’s involvement with the record company wasn’t just about Britney’s album. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote and provide monthly tickets on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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