King of Hollywood
Chapter 440 - 162: Shearing Wool

Chapter 440: Chapter 162: Shearing Wool

On the streets, the long queue seemed endless, as if it could stretch all the way to Long Beach. Men and women in line chatted excitedly or eagerly, often craning their necks to look at the entrance of the cinema, hoping to purchase movie tickets. However, when it was finally a girl’s turn, the cinema staff put out a sold-out sign.

The smile immediately disappeared from the girl’s face, and she started to protest loudly with her boyfriend, causing a stir among those queued behind them. Despite their agitation and impatience, the cinema staff still explained patiently, appearing to have handled many such situations before.

Indeed, such events had been occurring all over the United States, thanks solely to "Titanic." Coupled with consistently good reviews, despite their delayed arrival, and never-ending promotion, the film had truly begun to take off. Although the terrifyingly high box office sales of the second week had not been repeated, the film’s earnings remained steady and it continued to top the North American box office charts.

Even so, it managed to sweep the box office of the current schedule; many film companies postponed the release of their own works to avoid the spotlight cast by "Titanic."

"I love this movie so much! If possible, I might even watch it a second time!" said a male viewer, who was watching the film for the second time, in an interview filled with excitement.

"Titanic" had also premiered in Europe, causing just as much of a sensation, especially in the United Kingdom, where, like in the United States, long queues formed of those eager to see this blockbuster. The media sang its praises as well; after all, the British were quite nostalgic, given that the year the Titanic set sail marked the zenith of the Great British Empire’s prosperity.

"This is a romantic yet tear-jerking disaster romance film," read a review in The Times. With such encouragement, "Titanic" became increasingly popular in Britain.

On the European mainland, the excitement wasn’t as exaggerated, but it still generated a considerable fervor. This all-encompassing display of cinematic technology had young people needing to be able to discuss the plot when meeting at parties—or risk being utterly out of touch. Those who had previously mocked Adrian for fully embracing Hollywood had temporarily shut their mouths. The film boasted a noteworthy degree of storytelling and artistic quality that swept the somewhat awkward European art films into the corner.

"Titanic" was so popular that critics couldn’t complain about the box office; no one with a clear head would bring up the massive investment while the film was selling hot. In the end, they could only grumble quietly, at most offering a few unkind remarks, such as—

"It’s less Cameron’s victory than that of computer-generated effects, which create such an immersive experience—it’s mostly down to the technology," so said a bitter yet feignedly nonchalant comment in France’s Liberation newspaper, which seemed quite in keeping with the French character.

Adrian was well aware of these sentiments. Even though he had a lot of confidence in "Titanic," and the current box office was proof of this, he still instructed Charlize to compile related news about the movie, handing it over for him to review after a certain amount had accumulated. Besides, as an investor, he had been often pursued by reporters in recent times. Directors and leading actors were receiving various kinds of attention; how could he, the investor who gambled two hundred million dollars, be overlooked—especially when the moniker of "Miracle Director" was now household?

However, none of this concerned Adrian. With the current popularity of "Titanic," it was sufficient enough to slap those naysayers’ faces swollen. Didn’t you see, even the gossip tabloids could only speculate in other areas, not daring to mention the gigantic investment? As long as the film continued to sell well, who cared what they thought? The only regret was that almost nobody realized that the era of effects-dominated movies was on the horizon.

So now he focused most of his attention on the post-production of "The Matrix." Besides, he was also overseeing the preparations for "Shakespeare in Love" and "Elizabeth." If everything went smoothly without any hiccups—such as time-appropriate costumes and set construction being ready—in all likelihood, shooting could begin in the United Kingdom by mid-August.

The main effort for "The Matrix" lay in editing and special effects. Adrian waited for the editor to complete the initial cut before he could do the montage editing himself. As for special effects, they had been entrusted to Industrial Light & Magic—he had actually wanted to give it to Cameron’s studio, but after the grueling post-production experience of "Titanic," Cameron’s team hadn’t yet recovered, and their morale wasn’t very high. Therefore, Adrian had no choice but to look elsewhere.

As long as he clearly delegated these two tasks, even across the Atlantic, supervising them was just a bit more troublesome. If Adrian moved quickly, he might even finish shooting both films and handle post-production in time for a year-end release, given that Gwyneth and Blanchett’s schedules had already been reserved.

Speaking of Gwyneth, the invitation from her father was no big deal. Adrian could almost guess what Bruce Paltrow wanted to say. After all, his reputation as a Playboy was well known within the entertainment industry, and he had ambiguous relationships with many women—his daughter included. Naturally, Bruce Paltrow couldn’t be too happy about that.

"Pardon my forwardness, Adrian, but I want to know where exactly Gwyneth stands in your heart," Bruce Paltrow said, inviting Adrian to sit in his study after dinner, and then proceeded to ask this question.

"I’m sorry, Bruce, I can’t make any promises to you or to Gwyneth," Adrian was straightforward.

Old Paltrow’s expression suddenly soured, but before he could speak, Adrian continued, "I really like Gwyneth; she’s a lovely, sensitive, and beautiful woman that any man would be attracted to—I’m no exception. I’m very happy when I’m with her."

"I suppose you say that sort of thing often, Mr. Adrian," Old Paltrow retorted with some rudeness.

"Not really, I only say it to those who are worth treasuring," Adrian shrugged and then raised his hand to stop the other from speaking, "All I can say is this, Bruce, as long as Gwyneth is by my side, I will do my best to make her feel happy and content. If one day she gets bored and wants to leave, I will not stand in her way."

Old Paltrow was visibly upset and glared at Adrian, speechless. He then stood up, "That’ll be all for now. I take my leave, you have enough time to think, and to communicate with Gwyneth. But, whatever the case, please do not harshly blame or scold her, she still loves you very much."

That was the conversation in Old Paltrow’s study that day. Bruce Paltrow and his wife might not be big shots in the circle, but they did have some connections, otherwise, Spielberg would not be Gwyneth’s godfather. If it had been Adrian from the ’90s, he certainly couldn’t have spoken to him like this, but now...

Old Paltrow wasn’t a fool or an old stickler. Although he was very dissatisfied with Adrian’s attitude, and unsure whether his words were true or false, it was clear his daughter was already deeply infatuated with the man. So he didn’t say anything about forbidding their interaction, merely sighed and reminded her to be careful.

"What exactly did you guys say in the study?" Gwyneth asked later, "After that, Dad’s been looking worried."

"Nothing much, I just expressed my determination to keep his precious daughter by my side, and the necessary respect," Adrian answered with a smile, "He’s probably upset about some things."

The reasons for the upset are clear without saying.

"Ha, would it have been more interesting if I had invited Kate that day?" Gwyneth suddenly said, propping up her cheeks.

"Don’t joke, Gwyneth, even if you invited her, Kate wouldn’t have accepted," Adrian laughed, shaking his head. If Old Paltrow had seen him embracing Gwyneth and Blanchett from both sides, a volcanic eruption might have been likely.

However, the biggest takeaway from this incident was Gwyneth’s statement. Though she said it half-jokingly, the thoughts deep within her that she didn’t fully understand herself, leaked out at that moment. As Adrian had other plans for Monica, he mostly stopped having threesomes with Julia, except for occasional trysts with Liv and Sarah. More often, it was Gwyneth and Blanchett together.

After the deliberately orchestrated elevator passion, it was usually Adrian who initiated bringing them together, and only over time did they begin to harmonize, although neither woman had ever initiated it. So for Gwyneth to speak like that meant she had crossed another line in her heart.

Old Paltrow probably just thought he was separately maintaining ambiguity with different women; if he knew that his daughter not only often shared pleasure with another woman beneath Adrian, and was becoming proactive, one wonders what he would think.

Alright, although Adrian had just finished "The Matrix" and was starting to prepare for two new movies, there was still some time for that, and now he had an important matter underway that needed his attention—sheep shearing!

As early as the end of June, the Thai Baht had already started to become unstable, and despite the Thai government’s best efforts, it was to little avail, so it collapsed as soon as July began. Soros led the international hot money like a swarm of locusts, plundering the wealth Thailand had accumulated over many years.

Then, instability began to erupt in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan—all subsequent to the Thai Baht crisis, which now seemed to be transforming into a Southeast Asian financial crisis with the potential to evolve further into an Asian financial crisis.

"I wouldn’t recommend reaching into Hong Kong," Adrian said after dragging Claude from his busyness.

"Why?" Claude was slightly taken aback; he had just been excitedly recounting his gains from the Thai Baht crisis.

"Hong Kong is more troublesome than those countries in Southeast Asia," Adrian said, carefully choosing his words.

"I disagree. The Hang Seng Index has already fallen below the 10,000 mark. It would take an unprecedented amount of capital to reverse that situation and who would be foolish enough to have both the ability and funds to oppose it?" Claude shrugged.

"Really? There’s none?" Adrian countered.

"I can’t think of anyone..." Claude paused mid-thought then lifted his head as if struck by a realization, "Are you referring to... the Chinese government?"

"You know their system is different from ours. They could leverage the full force of their nation to aid Hong Kong if necessary. No matter how much capital backs Soros, it can’t compete with a country," Adrian said emphatically.

"That would disrupt the rules; we could exert pressure elsewhere," Claude said, stroking his chin.

"Give it up, Crow. China isn’t Indonesia," Adrian scoffed with a snort.

Indonesia, also located in Southeast Asia and a target of Soros, saw its currency, the Indonesian Rupiah, under siege as well. The Indonesian government had been rather clever, attempting to maintain a fixed exchange rate with the US Dollar to stabilize the situation. But how could the financiers, already armed with knife and fork, allow that? The International Monetary Fund immediately issued a warning that such an action would lead to the withdrawal of its aid. The United States and Western Europe were unanimously against it, and with all sorts of tricks up their sleeves, the Indonesian government had no choice but to abandon the plan—leaving the Indonesian Rupiah teetering on the brink.

This is the fate of countries whose financial sectors were completely open and even managed by foreign experts—they must pay a price for the benefits they’ve reaped. Whatever they consume, they must expel just as much, if not double.

Yet it was this crisis, which severely weakened Indonesia, along with various factors, that would lead to... Whenever he thought this far, a shadow inevitably crossed Adrian’s face. It was a pity he couldn’t and didn’t wish to get involved too much. The origins of the issue were too complex, charged with historical factors, and tangled in a dense web that couldn’t be simplified to who was inactive. It was difficult to sort out, and he truly did not want to delve into it. Thus, he could only go so far as to arrange for a passionate young journalist brainwashed by mainstream American values and affiliated with CNN to travel to Jakarta. Even if his reports might be suppressed by higher-ups, one mustn’t forget the existence of the internet—while others may not fully understand its power, Adrian was all too aware of it.

But that was all he could do—let’s not forget his current position. If he carelessly compromised himself, that would be the height of foolishness.

Alright, let’s return to the topic of Hong Kong.

"The Chinese understand all too well that the rules are set by us. If they fully comply, they’ll only be manipulated by us," Adrian continued, "While they might not yet possess the capability to set the rules, they certainly have the power to break them. For instance, the International Monetary Fund’s tolerance of the RMB’s peg to the US Dollar means our attacks in the media accusing them of violating financial freedom are futile."

At this point, he paused, waiting for Claude to digest what he just said, before Adrian continued, "Let’s make a simple assumption. If the Chinese government announced that the RMB will not devalue, then what would happen? Or even if they provide aid to some Southeast Asian countries, what then? Of course, we could find ways to force the issue, but at best it would be a draw. Since there’s no advantage to be gained, why insist on going to Hong Kong?"

He took a deep breath. Although somewhat anxious, he maintained a calm gaze as he looked at Claude. Convincing Claude this time wasn’t as simple as when he had persuaded him to join the group, for Claude had little understanding of IT back then, and Adrian was naturally able to deliver an impassioned speech. But finance was Claude’s forte, and if Adrian were to show off without caution, he might only end up outsmarting himself.

So, he opted for a more reserved approach, mentioning only the gist of the important points and letting Claude do the rest of the thinking. This way, he could avoid a lot of issues.

"It seems," Claude began slowly after thinking for a while, "that you are not completely ignorant about these matters."

Faced with his smirking expression, Adrian couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

"Alright, I admit your point has some validity..."

"If you think there’s a problem, you can choose to be an observer, Crow," Adrian quickly added, "There’s no need to make a lot in Hong Kong. How about calmly and carefully observing as a bystander?"

After a pause, and seeing Claude not to take up the conversation, he added, "In any case, our focus should be on countries like Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan."

"It seems you’ve forgotten something, Ed," Claude suddenly reminded him, "There’s also Russia."

"No, no, no, Crow, we can still make a bit by observing the situation in Hong Kong, but it’s best not to get involved with Russia," Adrian shook his head, dismissing the idea.

"Oh?" Claude looked puzzled.

"Let’s say this, we enter the market, we apply everything we’ve used in Southeast Asian countries, we watch as the profits seem within reach, and then—" Adrian smiled at Claude, "Russia announces that the Ruble will depreciate indefinitely. What do you think will happen in the end?"

"Are you sure?" Claude’s eyebrows shot up.

"I can’t be sure, but after its collapse, Russia is already in as bad a shape as it could possibly be, at the very bottom of Hell, so a little lower won’t make much difference, right?" Adrian spread his hands. Although his understanding from the previous life wasn’t extensive, he still remembered this self-destructive move, which had also cost Soros dearly.

"Okay, I get it. I’ll be careful," Claude said after pinching his fingers.

Although Claude’s response was not very certain, Adrian did not emphasize further. Claude had his own opinions, and after all, this was his area of expertise. Besides, Adrian would inquire at any time, and even if they needed to involve Russia, it would take time, and Claude was cautious, particularly since this was related to the further development of the group. So for now, that would be it.

This was the matter Adrian was currently most concerned with. Besides that, there was another matter which, although not as significant as this one, still carried some weight: Christina Aguilera was set to perform the theme song for "Charlie’s Angels". (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)