King of Hollywood
Chapter 408 - 130 Action Director

Chapter 408: Chapter 130 Action Director

Although there was still a week before "A Time to Kill" crew officially started shooting, Kate wasn’t obligated to report there at that specific time, which meant she still had ample time for preparations, such as arranging care for her daughter. Lily obviously couldn’t spend all day on the set, but she couldn’t spend all day with Adrian either, so scheduling became very important.

Fortunately, the little one wasn’t unfamiliar with nannies, and with Charlize occasionally visiting Kate’s house to see her, she was quite popular with the young one. Kate didn’t have to worry too much, allowing her to plunge wholeheartedly into the filming.

Thinking about it, it had been almost a year since she had appeared in public, and her previous few works hadn’t been very notable. Even with the high box office of "Twisters," time had passed too long, and she was still likely to be forgotten. However, this wasn’t a problem, with Adrian around and the media group they held already taking shape. Making Kate stand out again wouldn’t be difficult.

Adrian had also prepared plenty of films for her. Initially, he intended to cast her in a more interesting role, but after some thought, similar roles seemed a bit repetitive for Kate. "Tomb Raider" didn’t even need mentioning—since her likeness had been used for the video game character, she was the obvious choice for the film’s protagonist, not to mention that other... haha...

As for Kate’s once "cold and enticing" image, Adrian had already made arrangements to avoid copyright issues, likewise turning them into novels like "Tomb Raider" and "The Matrix." So, although he was curious to see what kind of stunning performance Kate might deliver in that role, he ultimately gave up.

This made casting for the film a bit more challenging. After thinking beyond Kate, Adrian considered Sarah, especially since she had practiced Taekwondo. Even though it was mostly for show, her flexibility and agility were quite good, which Adrian knew from experience. However, Sarah was a bit too beautiful and quite young, not exactly fitting for the role.

But besides Kate and Sarah, there seemed to be no other suitable candidates, at least among his women. Liv could have been relatively appropriate, but maybe she should stick with the much more promising career of being a trophy wife. After much deliberation, Adrian finally decided to cast Monica as the female lead. Her features weren’t particularly delicate but quite charming indeed, plus she could fully showcase her figure. The slight disadvantage of her age would not disappoint through the makeup artist’s skill, and imagining her once in this movie role was really amusing.

"Some thrilling and terrifying stories, but also very imaginative," Monica said as she opened the bedroom door after finishing the novel in the study, instantly getting scared by the moaning sounds filling the room.

"You actually like watching this?" she half-joked as she glanced at the violent and fierce images on the TV screen. "You aren’t thinking of having me do the same, are you?"

On such topics, she never shied away, sometimes even more bold than Adrian.

"How could I? I couldn’t bear it," Adrian said with a laugh, shrugging as he picked up the remote to press the stop button, making the "two kings and a queen" image on screen disappear.

Following that, he picked up the videotape cover and shook it: "I was just curious to see it for myself, you know. They didn’t specify in the promotions, but the hints were plenty. In Hollywood, people like me are not that rare."

"So it’s her..." As she looked at the cover featuring a young woman exuding a wild and fallen aura, Monica realized with sudden clarity.

Yes, Joey Water’s wild and untamed daughter, who from her start had become the hottest new star in adult films, even winning a big award at the adult Oscars in Las Vegas, gaining quite a following. Of course, Old Water would never consider this a point of pride. Early on, he had publicly cut off relations with his daughter, who turned him into a joke in Hollywood, and extensively chastised her for dishonoring the family.

But his daughter wasn’t easy to handle either; she retaliated against her divorced parents in the newspapers and even spilled the beans about stealing her mother’s boyfriend. The variety and scale of the films she took on left people speechless, making her revenge quite fitting with her character.

Admittingly, the method was effective; at least Old Water was now semi-retired in Hollywood, and her mother hadn’t left the house for a long time, no longer attending the parties she once relished. However, this meant she could hardly make a comeback and had to continue down this path. Sometimes fate is just so unpredictable—a little change, and a person’s whole life might become completely different.

Adrian knew this change was triggered by his appearance, though he didn’t know where exactly the change had begun, nor did he intend to make amends. Although opportunities decide the future, character also influences choices. The memory of her from the mid-90s wasn’t much better than that of an adult film actress to him, so her ending up on this path didn’t surprise him much.

If it had been earlier, Adrian might have been interested in taking her under his wing, but not now. Watching the movies she made was more interesting.

Of course, those matters were no longer discussed then, as Adrian quickly changed the subject, "So, no problem then?"

"Of course, it’s been a while since I worked with you," Monica nestled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck with a cheerful smile.

"But you need to be prepared to endure hardships first, Monica," Adrian gently tapped her perky buttocks, "You need to undergo at least three months of training."

"Training?" Monica looked puzzled, "Training for what?"

"Well... have you seen any Hong Kong kung fu movies, Monica?" Adrian thought for a moment before asking, and when he received a negative response, he continued, "Then let me recommend a few movies to you first. You can watch them when you have time. I need you to be able to fight like that in the movie. But to perform such actions, you’ll need to train properly. For this, I’ll specifically invite a few action directors from Hong Kong, so don’t complain about it being tough."

Leaving aside Monica’s surprised expression after watching those recommended kung fu movies, Adrian soon in late July welcomed Yuan Heping, an action director from Hong Kong, who was easily invited through Wu Bage’s mediation.

"I heard from John Wu that you’re the best action director in Hong Kong, is that true?" Adrian asked with interest as he looked at the skinny old man in the cleared conference room.

After listening to the translator, the other man smiled, patted his chest, and went on at length with flattering words, which everyone loves to hear. However, he spoke in Cantonese, and Adrian could only roughly guess the meaning of a few sentences. With his previous experience with Wu Bage, he had no interest in "showing off" his Chinese.

"Mr. Yuan said he doesn’t dare to claim he’s the best action director, but he’s certainly the most experienced," the translator then said.

This is the difference between Americans and Chinese. An American would definitely climb up the ladder, boldly declaring themselves to be the best, while Chinese people always prefer to be modest and praise themselves from a different angle.

Adrian didn’t say much, just nodded, "I thought so too. I’ve seen quite a few Hong Kong kung fu movies, and I often see Mr. Yuan’s name in the credits."

Mr. Yuan was visibly surprised when he heard what the translator said. He wasn’t a fool; even if Hong Kong movies came with English subtitles for all names, nobody would know his English name. Clearly, the other party must have known this from the Chinese subtitles—a foreigner with such good Chinese language skills?

"If possible, could Mr. Yuan allow someone to demonstrate? I don’t mean any offense. I just want to see if the kung fu can convey what the movie needs to express," Adrian continued, unaware of what he was thinking, and even if he had known, he wouldn’t have cared. His words, though, were filled with politeness.

Clearly, such a tone greatly pleased Old Man Yuan, who immediately smiled broadly and nodded, gesturing to the two disciples he brought with him, then through the translator asked for the area to be cleared. The two disciples, both in their early twenties and about 1.75 meters tall, looked very robust.

The two walked into the middle of the area, struck a pose, paused for a few seconds to adjust their breathing, then began to spar. Probably because the area was relatively narrow, they didn’t make any big movements; it was mostly hand-to-hand combat, probably something like grappling, not that Adrian was particularly clear on this.

It has to be said, the two young men indeed fought impressively, their fierce demeanor was quite a spectacle. Unfortunately, the power was slightly lacking, a difference Adrian could discern being someone who occasionally sparred with Claude or the combat trainer—of course, it might also be because this was a demonstration, and they were holding back. Who knows?

Even so, everyone present, including Charlize, could not help but look amazed. While American movies had action that was quite straightforward, they were relatively rudimentary and not very appealing. Hong Kong movies had a market in the United States, but not everyone went to see them.

"Very good," after the young men finished their demonstration, and Old Man Yuan made a gesture of invitation, Adrian started clapping enthusiastically, "I think I can make a decision now, Mr. Yuan."

He smiled at Yuan Heping, "However, there’s a change from the initial proposal. All prior discussions are now void. I officially invite you to be the action director for two movies." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote and support on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)