King of Hollywood
Chapter 337 - Chapter 337 Chapter 61 Candidate Selection

Chapter 337: Chapter 61 Candidate Selection Chapter 337: Chapter 61 Candidate Selection “Do you know, Crow, this is good news,” Adrian slowed down the car while on the phone, not wanting to become a cautionary example of someone who gets into an accident while calling and driving.

“It’s inevitable, after all, they are different from us. But that will take a long time. If we play our cards right, making them like Japan isn’t out of the question. Alright, let’s leave it at that and let Paramount handle the communication. We’ll observe for a while and finish up what we have on our hands first,” Adrian continued, then hung up the phone after the other party finished speaking.

“Chinese market…” He watched the road ahead, contemplating for a long while, and then chuckled softly before stepping on the gas.

Adrian had previously discussed with Claude the possibility of setting up an overseas distribution channel by opening up China’s film market. At that time, the company wasn’t big and lacked the time and resources for this venture, plus other considerations soon arose, so the plan was shelved. Later, after AC Media got a seat on Viacom’s board by involving themselves in its acquisition of Paramount, they formed an indirect relationship with Paramount, which was always looking to expand into foreign markets–actually, all seven major film companies were doing this, but with different progress levels–especially in Asia. Following the Soviet Union’s demise, Eastern Europe’s market opened up completely, instantly boosting global box office revenues; the potential of China’s 1.1 billion people was undeniable.

Thus, Adrian and his colleagues were more than happy to ride the tailwinds. Several of their blockbuster movies from the past year were gradually making their way into Chinese cinemas, undoubtedly about to set off a Hollywood frenzy. As for what would happen in the future, Adrian had no concerns at all. Despite what he had said to Claude earlier, conquering China as they had done in Eastern Europe or Japan was virtually impossible due to the significant cultural differences.

In his past life, although he had mocked certain decisions with friends and colleagues over drinks, upon reflection, he realized that despite doing many incomprehensible and annoying things–amateurs leading professionals exists everywhere–they effectively protected China’s domestic market. If China were as open as Japan and Eastern Europe, its film industry would have been doomed long ago. Even Japan and South Korea looked for ways to restrict foreign films, and how could a major power like China hand over all its propaganda tools to others? The United States also had regulations preventing non-citizens from buying broadcast companies.

However, the impact to come in the next few years was inevitable. While Chinese cinema had its merits in pacing, shots, imagery, and storytelling, compared to Hollywood’s mature system, it still fell short, especially with the exceptional movies Hollywood produced in the ’90s. Chinese cinema would inevitably need to wait until after the year 2000 to recover.

Adrian didn’t mind lending a hand to shorten that recovery time; indeed, his involvement in the Chinese market aimed at that. After all, his current success was inseparably linked to his past life, and debts owed had to be repaid.

However, the help he could provide was limited. The revival of Chinese cinema ultimately depended on the effort of Chinese filmmakers themselves. Although so-called fifth and sixth generation directors picked up many bad habits from studying European cinema, not even understanding the basics and blaming everything on the authorities, a few learned the commercial film business through trial and error. Otherwise, those incapable and arrogant ones would have handed over the market on a silver platter.

Seeing his destination in view, Adrian stopped his musings. There was still plenty of time for those things. He parked the car on the side of the road, checked his surroundings to ensure there were no paparazzi, and then grabbed his things and walked to the door of the small independent villa to ring the doorbell.

“Oh my God, Ed!” Gwyneth exclaimed as she opened the door. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come until two hours later?”

“I have to apologize to you, Gwyneth, I lied to you,” Adrian smiled as he presented a bunch of vivid roses from behind him to her, “For you, I hope you like them.”

“They are really beautiful.” Gwyneth was astonished again and then happily buried her nose in them to take a deep breath.

“I love this bouquet, it’s fantastic,” the lady said with a beaming smile, her eyes curving like crescent moons. The next second she let out a surprised cry because Adrian bent down, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her inside.

“Put me down, Ed! You can’t do this,” protested Gwyneth in mock annoyance. However, to prevent the bouquet in her hands from falling apart, she did nothing but kick her legs symbolically a couple of times–it seemed Adrian had calculated this perfectly.

“It’s been a while, and you’ve grown even more beautiful,” Adrian complimented as he put Gwyneth down in the living room, his hand casually moving to her abdomen.

“Thank you, but don’t you think that line could be used to define a certain term?” Gwyneth’s eyes sparkled playfully.

“Oh?” Adrian purposely asked, “Then you mean ‘understanding’?” When the lady shook her head, he continued, “Then you must be ‘articulate,’ or perhaps ‘eloquent’? If not that, then it should definitely be ‘having the gift of gab’…”

Seeing the words he was saying becoming more and more far-fetched, Gwyneth rolled her eyes at him, “Smooth talker!”

“Ah, so I’m a ‘smooth talker’,” Adrian feigned ignorance of her implication, “Can I take that as a compliment?”

“Yes, yes, that’s a compliment,” Gwyneth rolled her eyes at him again and moved to walk away. After pouring a glass of water for Adrian, she picked up the vase and began carefully arranging the roses she had chosen.

Adrian didn’t say much and sat on the sofa, sipping his water leisurely while watching Gwyneth arrange the flowers. Underneath her white silk jacket was a strapless gown, so every time she bent over, a glimpse of her cleavage became slightly visible. This, combined with her serene aura, was especially enticing. Gwyneth noticed his scrutinizing gaze, glancing at him and then handling the flowers even more gently. The afternoon sunlight streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a beautiful glow on her every movement.

After about forty minutes, Gwyneth had carefully placed all the flowers in the vase, looked over them, and then turned to Adrian with a delighted expression, “How does it look?”

“Though it’s still far from professional, the way you’ve layered the arrangement makes the top flower look especially beautiful. Quite nice,” Adrian knew how to use the tactic of criticism followed by praise, yet it seemed Gwyneth was still somewhat displeased and pouted at him, “How do you know I’m not at a professional standard?”

“Unfortunately, my dear Gwyneth, I have seen how professionals arrange flowers,” Adrian said with a light chuckle, finding her pouty manner quite interesting, “But you’ve really done quite well.”

“I specifically learned for several weeks for the new movie,” Gwyneth said, sounding a bit deflated.

“Ah, it seems you’ve done a lot of preparation for this film,” Adrian then changed the subject.

“Of course.” Mention of the movie instantly rejuvenated her, and she suddenly sat upright, cleared her throat, gathered herself, and with a reserved and slightly haughty look directed at Adrian said, “Mr. Knightley, if you have any intentions of discussing something with me, as your friend, I can’t refuse. Whatever you wish to tell me, I’m all ears.”

Her inflection completely lacked the feel of American English, and the subtle changes in her expression were just perfect. Her confident, somewhat stubborn, and slightly mischievous demeanor made Adrian applaud enthusiastically.

“You’re splendid, Gwyneth; as I said, my judgment isn’t wrong. If you maintain this attitude, you’ll definitely make an outstanding performance!” Adrian’s tone was filled with admiration, and after a pause, he sighed, “Suddenly I have this impulse to take you back to London to start filming.”

“There’s no need to rush; we still have a few days, and I can prepare even better,” Gwyneth said with a smile, but the proud, excited tinge in her brows didn’t escape Adrian’s notice.

“By the way, remember what I told you on the phone?” Adrian said, handing over the document bag he’d always kept by his side, “Take a detailed look first.”

“Is this… a script?” Gwyneth opened the document bag with a surprised expression, glanced at Adrian and then at the thick script in her hands, her face full of puzzlement.

Adrian didn’t speak, but smiled and gestured ‘please go ahead’. Gwyneth shrugged and began to read through the script. It was thick, seemingly close to a thousand pages; by standard format, the movie would run over 120 minutes. So Gwyneth quickly started skimming the pages, knowing the parts she needed to read. For Adrian to personally deliver it, it could only mean the lead role.

The room returned to the same quietness with a faint undertone of flirtation as before. Only now, the sound of scissors snipping the flower stems and leaves was replaced by the rustling sound of turning pages.

After about another forty minutes, Gwyneth finally finished reading the script. She thought deeply for a moment, propping her chin in her hand before she exhaled and looked at Adrian with an inquiring expression.

“Don’t you like the role?” Adrian asked first.

“Um… I can’t say I like it, but I can’t say I dislike it either, it’s just…” Gwyneth gestured unsure of how to express herself and ended up joking, “It seems you intend to have me keep playing British characters.”

“Let me guess,” Adrian sat down beside her, “First off, there have already been many movies about the Titanic, and it’s hard to bring something new to the same theme after it’s been done so much, right?”

Gwyneth neither admitted nor denied but simply gazed at him intently, resting her cheek on one hand.

“Secondly,” Adrian continued, wrapping an arm around Gwyneth’s shoulder, “Secondly, James Cameron is known for his commercial productions. Making a commercial film certainly helps boost fame, but it also makes it easy to be reduced to just a pretty face. Plus, James has a reputation as a ‘tyrant on set’, and working with him could be quite challenging, right?”

“You’ve said everything I wanted to say, what else can I add?” Gwyneth sighed after a moment of silence.

“You have to trust my judgment, Gwyneth,” Adrian chuckled, took her hand, and looked into her eyes with a serious expression, “This is going to be a film that makes its mark in the history of cinema! I can’t think of any reason for you to turn it down.”

Although Gwyneth’s expression didn’t change, hesitation and disbelief flickered in her eyes.

“You know, James has already built a 1:1 scale model of the Titanic in a port in Mexico. He even rented a Russian submarine to observe the wreckage of the Titanic up close multiple times in the depths of the Atlantic and consulted many experts. Not to mention the effort spent on costumes and props,” Adrian knew how to persuade her, “And for this, I’ve invested two hundred million for him to lavish–private investment.”

“You mean… you mean… you invested two hundred million?!” Gwyneth was shocked, her script almost dropping to the floor; thankfully, she caught it just in time.

In this era, the US Dollar was still quite valuable. For example, in “The Rock”, General Hammer planned to give each of his soldiers a million dollars after successfully extorting the government. If it were fifteen years later, that amount of money wouldn’t be much, but in 1995, a million dollars was the equivalent to seven to eight million dollars in 2010!

Nowadays, a typical big-budget film has a budget of at most around one hundred million dollars, and it’s usually invested by one of the seven major film companies. So, for someone like Adrian to personally come forward with two hundred million dollars to invest in a film was almost unheard of, and it was only natural for Gwyneth to be discomposed.

A person who makes such a decision is either crazy, has too much money and nowhere to spend it, or has immense confidence in the film. It’s clear which category Adrian falls into, given his achievements over the past few years, his vision acknowledged as incredibly accurate by everyone. Thus, what Gwyneth should choose was self-evident.

“Oh God, I really didn’t expect… you actually want me… to play the female lead…” Gwyneth’s cheeks flushed with excitement, and her words became a bit incoherent.

“Because there’s no one more suitable than you,” Adrian said, stroking her cheek with a smile.

Indeed, among the women he was close to at the moment, only Gwyneth was most suitable. Monica and Julia simply didn’t work age-wise; Sarah was too young and also didn’t possess the temperament of a British woman; Blanchett’s facial features were too sharp to convey the softness of a young maiden; Liv was just a pretty face, past, present, and future, who should be content with just being a decorative figure; and not to mention the two Lolitas.

Rachel and Kate would be possible choices, but the former already had arrangements, and their relationship wasn’t there yet, so Adrian had no reason to give her so many opportunities; as for the latter, unfortunately, she was pregnant and also lacked that bit of aristocratic or high society lady’s temperament. So, in the end, it fell to Gwyneth. After all, the lead actors in “Titanic” were essentially just eye candy, it’s just that the unprecedented box office success made everyone overlook these details.

“Oh, Ed, I don’t even know what to say now,” sighed Gwyneth, finally calmed down. Although it was a bitter smile, it still seemed very bright, “It’s like… suddenly losing confidence.”

“Don’t think too much, Gwyneth, all you need to do is first come with me to London to finish that film, then go to Mexico to shoot this one,” Adrian said as he gently massaged her hands. “Of course, working with James will be tough, the tyrant title isn’t for nothing, but I hope you can endure it. When this film is completed, you will find that everything you’ve put into it is worthwhile. This will be a great film, its achievements are beyond what people can imagine–except me!”

He looked into her eyes, his self-assured aura strongly emanating: “My judgement has never been wrong, not in the past, not now, and never will be in the future!”

Gwyneth’s breathing became rapid, and her throat began to move slightly as if struggling to control herself, but she quickly regained composure and nodded with a smile: “I believe you, Ed.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Adrian firmly pressed his lips against hers, Gwyneth then eagerly entwined her tongue with his.

“Alright, I have to leave now,” Adrian said after savoring her lush lips and reflecting on the taste.

“Leave? Is there something else?” Gwyneth expressed surprise, “If it’s not important, could you stay for dinner? It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”

Her tone carried a hint of coquetry, and her attitude to keep him there was very determined, her thoughts clear without needing to be spoken.

Surprisingly, Adrian shook his head and said in a gentle tone: “Sorry, Gwyneth, I do indeed have other matters, so how about another day?”

A peculiar look flashed in Gwyneth’s eyes, as if she thought of something but couldn’t quite say it. However, Adrian then took her chin and kissed her lips lightly: “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time in London.”

“Indeed,” She paused for a few seconds, then a smile slipped across her lips, “Then I won’t hold you up, Ed.”

Adrian was very satisfied with his gains on Gwyneth’s front, but things weren’t going so smoothly on the other.

“Gwyneth is not a problem; someone had recommended her to me before, and after watching her work, I also confirmed this. If you hadn’t said you already had a choice for the female lead, I might have contacted her agent already. But for the male lead, I don’t think River Phoenix is suitable.” In James Cameron’s studio, the set’s tyrant said so to Adrian, his expression very serious, obviously having made up his mind about the male lead’s choice.

Adrian frowned but then smoothed it out: “Then can you mention your choice, James?”

Could it be he’s thinking of…

“Leonardo DiCaprio.”

Of course!(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)