King of Hollywood
Chapter 401 - 123 Playing for Real

Chapter 401: Chapter 123 Playing for Real

"Do you have a problem?" Adrian, with his collar button fastened, asked in confusion, apparently not understanding what she was surprised about.

"You like this... you like this... I mean..." Nicole took several minutes to organize her thoughts in her mind, "No one told me that you would be playing this role."

"It was only decided the day before yesterday. I originally wanted to find a tall male model, but after flipping through dozens of portfolios, I couldn’t find the right one. The assistant director eventually suggested that I do it," Adrian shrugged, "He said I’ve made cameos in my own movies more than once and have some acting experience, and besides, there aren’t many shots in this scene. More importantly, this way, there would be only two people on set which would be more convenient."

Nicole moved her lips as if to say something, but Adrian quickly spoke up, "If you’re worried about certain things, there’s no need. I have my own sense of propriety."

After saying that, he even laughed a little, then went behind the camera to make adjustments. A fury arose from nowhere within Nicole’s heart; her fists clenched even tighter, and she glared at Adrian, even her breathing becoming much heavier. But when he finished adjusting the camera, she managed to calm herself down, lifted her chin up proudly, and looked at him coldly.

"Please lie down on the bed, thank you." Adrian raised his hand in a gesture of invitation while still sitting behind the camera without moving.

"The camera is rolling now, let’s start the countdown." He leaned in and told her, his face completely calm, as if he were doing something inconsequential.

"Cut!" Adrian quickly cried out in her ear, and then, lightening his touch, he let go of her.

When Nicole opened her eyes, Adrian had already returned to the camera, stopped it and was rewinding the tape, frowning as he looked it over.

"I have to say, that was a very bad start." He looked up seriously and said, "What are you nervous about, Nicole? There are only the two of us here; you can fully relax. It’s just a job."

Seeing his serious demeanor, Nicole involuntarily bit her lip lightly, but she still maintained her indifferent expression: "It’s always like this at the beginning. A few more tries and I’ll adjust."

"Okay, let’s continue then. I don’t want you to feel any pressure, Nicole." Adrian nodded, and after she lay back down, he started rolling the camera again.

After about twenty-some attempts, Adrian had nearly kissed every inch of her cheek and didn’t spare her neck either. He also tried many methods to take off her panties: sliding them up her thigh, or dealing with them under her skirt, or even having her take them off herself, but still, he didn’t achieve the desired effect.

Even though she knew it was all acting, that Adrian’s lips were only lightly touching and not really kissing, and that his hands below were very well-mannered, frustration began to surge uncontrollably from the bottom of Nicole’s heart and became somewhat difficult to manage.

She had tried to provoke him, after NGing more than ten times, questioning whether he was really shooting a film, but after watching the footage, she couldn’t say anything; even she could tell how awkward she looked.

"Okay, so next I might have to go a bit further; I hope you can understand," Adrian suddenly said after the twenty-sixth NG, having been silent for a while.

Immersed in her troubled and frustrated emotions, Nicole didn’t catch the meaning of his words and absentmindedly nodded before lying down on the bed again. But she quickly realized something was wrong because this time, when Adrian kissed her lips, he directly pried open her teeth with his tongue. Although he didn’t go deeper and was just turning around at the front, it still stirred Nicole.

"Okay, let’s continue, get ready," Adrian turned his head and said, then quickly turned back to adjust the camera.

"Calm down, calm down..." Nicole told herself, forcibly suppressing her boiling emotions, and lay back down, closing her eyes once more. But some things cannot be swayed by sheer willpower.

"What’s wrong?" Adrian, looking at the tape, lifted his head, seemingly completely unaware of why she would react this way.

"Playing? Sorry, Nicole, I might have misunderstood something." Adrian raised an eyebrow, "Maybe you meant to say..."

"You heard me loud and clear, you bastard, don’t pretend it’s all for the sake of the job!" Nicole shrieked. "Do you find it pleasurable to toy with me like this? How many more times do you intend to do so?!"

"I think you might have misunderstood something, Nicole," Adrian maintained his calm demeanor, his expression unchanged by her shrieks, and made a beckoning gesture, "Come over and take a look."

Nicole took several deep breaths and finally walked over to the video camera. Once the footage played back, it was as if she had been slapped across the face; her complexion turned extremely unpleasant. In terms of the footage itself, it was far better than what she had seen before. Under Adrian’s kisses and caresses, she was completely without the previous awkwardness, displaying an indulgent manner that seemed to crave something, while subtly resisting, which matched exactly what the script sought to convey.

"You see, you did very well, almost reaching the desired effect, except for here," Adrian pointed to the screen, his voice as if coming from the edge of the sky, "here, if you could let go just a little more, it would be perfect."

"I know you might be feeling uncomfortable, but it’s almost over. Let’s shoot it one more time, and regardless of whether or not we reach this level, we’ll consider it done," Adrian’s voice sounded again.

Nicole trembled slightly, as if this was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, igniting an even fiercer flame of anger in her heart than at the outset. Yet, on the surface, she remained eerily calm, gave Adrian a deep look, then walked straight to the bed and lay down.

---

"Very good, just like that, Nicole’s ’fuck’ felt spot-on, this shot is pretty good," Adrian clapped his hands and then stood up from behind the camera, signaling the script supervisor to bring over the progress report and flipping through it.

"Next up is Scene 89 of Act 112 in the morgue. Take a 30-minute break and have the props team get the set ready as quickly as possible," Adrian announced.

The customers who had been serving as extras in the bustling mall quickly dispersed, while off-duty staff members began to find places to rest. The head of the props department soon had his workers busying themselves in a cleared area next to the mall. In the same soundstage, many buildings can be accommodated at once, such as a university building on the left, while a factory might be on the right. Therefore, it was quite normal to see empty rooms all around the current mall set. Choosing a place to construct a morgue only took a little over ten minutes. The reason Adrian gave everyone such a long break...

"The key is, your shock and fear need to be subtle and overwhelmed; you can’t be sure whether this is a warning from the other party, but this prostitute’s death is just too coincidental, understand?" Adrian was explaining to Cruise the nuances to be mindful of in the upcoming scene.

"Yes, I understand," Cruise said with slight impatience, but he still pinched his chin and carefully pondered as he looked at the script.

"I’ve said as much as I’ll say, now I’m waiting to see your performance," Adrian said this after glancing at a spot in the distance. Leaving Cruise deep in thought, he spoke a few words to the assistant director and the director’s assistant and then walked out.

A few steps later, he turned down a corridor and quickened his pace. After standing at a T-junction for two seconds, the person he was waiting for appeared around the corner. Because of the shoot, she still had her hair up and glasses on, and was wearing a dark brown trench coat. Although her face was expressionless, she carried an air of style.

Adrian chuckled softly and immediately wrapped his arms around her waist as she approached, then opened the door to the room behind him that he had just checked. It was a prop room that, while cluttered, was not disorganized. After closing and locking the door behind them, they embraced without a word and began to kiss passionately, unabashed and without hesitation. There was not a superfluous word spoken, only moans and gasps began when the passion intensified.

At that moment, both Adrian and Nicole had cast aside Tom Cruise, who was outside in the studio, as if he were an unrelated stranger. They did nothing but take from each other, battling fiercely for over ten minutes before they finally relaxed, embraced and cherished each other briefly, then separated to adjust their clothes. Minutes later, they left the room without having exchanged a single word.

Such encounters had happened countless times since their first ’rehearsed’ passion became real. It generally started with the two giving each other a knowing glance before finding an opportunity to slip away from everyone and then meeting somewhere on set for a passionate collision, always wordless from start to finish. They just fervently went at it—Nicole, in particular, seemed to want to spend all her energy there—as if it was merely a carnal necessity.

Did he really think it would just end there? On his way back, Adrian let out a chuckle. He knew what Nicole was thinking; he was an expert in that regard. To be honest, he hadn’t expected things to develop this way. His cameo as a naval officer was originally intended to tantalize Nicole, leaving her frustrated and her thoughts in disarray—thereby making it easier for him to control her emotions. However, he hadn’t anticipated that her response would be so fervent that they’d end up really doing it on set.

Although this was different from what he had anticipated, he had considered such an outcome. Nicole Kidman was a woman he basically understood, with his memories from a previous life, even without much interaction. Plus, Adrian was no saint himself. Having gone this far, why would he back down? He accepted the situation with a smile and made good use of it, and then continued to enjoy it, over and over.

"You must understand, Nicole," Adrian said with a teasing smile upon returning to the set. "There are no perfect things in this world, but I have plenty of patience to wait for you to make your choice." He sighed lightly within his heart, it was a pity he had set up only one camera.

Right after that day, he took all the film and video footage from the cameras. He was always meticulous about these things and couldn’t afford any slip-ups, especially considering the example set by Edison Chen. Honestly, watching that raw, unedited footage was quite thrilling, even though he was one of the main characters. The different perspective was quite unique, particularly because he made sure to face the lens while he was at it.

Unfortunately, the room lighting wasn’t especially bright because of the movie’s requirements. Even with the use of reflectors, the clarity wasn’t great. No matter, he believed there would be more such occasions in the future, and of course, they needed to be kept safe.

Before he knew it, it was already June. The filming of "Eyes Wide Shut" was coming to an end. Truth be told, this was one of the longest productions Adrian had spent time on. If it weren’t necessary to consider Kubrick’s feelings and acceptance, with some scenes requiring repeated shots for perfection, he might have already called it a wrap.

However, it didn’t matter, because the show that sprouted from this film kept him enamored. Adrian continuously enjoyed Nicole’s exquisite body. At the peak of her golden years, she lived up to the term ’enchantress,’ releasing her desires without restraint—truly irresistible. Especially when Cruise was also on set, Nicole would always become even wilder. That was perfectly normal; Adrian felt the same way. The pleasure and thrill of immorality were always more enticing.

As for the media, since they couldn’t get hold of the complete details, their stories based on rumors no longer drew much attention from readers, so they had temporarily subsided. After all, it was confirmed that the Miracle Director had taken over the Legendary Director’s work; there would be something to write once the film was released. Besides, the summer blockbuster season was approaching, bringing many notable things to look out for, like Spielberg’s new movie "Saving Private Ryan." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, your votes and recommendations at Qidian.com are my greatest motivation.)