King of Hollywood
Chapter 445 - 167: Imagination is Powerful

Chapter 445: Chapter 167: Imagination is Powerful

"I have to admit, your insight is quite sharp, Ed," Lucas said as he drank his beer by the lit fire, "James Cameron did an amazing job, quite a fascinating movie. No wonder it could create such a wonder. I bet this box office record will stand for a very long time."

"Who knows, maybe it’ll break when ’Star Wars’ prequel is released," Adrian remarked noncommittally, swinging his beer bottle back and forth between two fingers.

"I’d totally believe that if the ’Star Wars’ prequel was just one movie instead of a trilogy," Lucas laughed. "I do have that much self-awareness. Plus, ’Titanic’ still has room to grow."

Indeed, during Lux’s time shooting exterior scenes in Italy, ’Titanic,’ which had already been released there, although not quite causing streets to empty, was more popular than any other movie. In Tunisia, it might have been slightly less accepted, but he could still feel the ordinary people’s enthusiasm. Coupled with ’Titanic’ still dominating the top spot in the North American box office and the increasing likelihood of surpassing one billion, excluding various splits and costs, Adrian would net at least 150 million US dollars, a feat unmatched in cinema history, even by the ’Star Wars’ series.

Of course, Lucas didn’t really need to compare on a single film basis; the series had already generated over 20 billion US dollars in profits, with few able to compare.

"Alright, I’ll pass the message to James," Adrian said, laughing as he clinked his beer bottle with Lucas’s before rising and wandering casually around the set.

Since they were quite far from the local town and had some scenes to shoot at night, Lucas had everyone stay outdoors overnight. Given that the crew had hired quite a few bodyguards upon their arrival in Morocco, and it wasn’t a nightly occurrence, he wasn’t overly concerned about safety. Naturally, after a tiring day, people started a bonfire party as night fell, singing and dancing around the roaring flames in the desert, which could also be quite charming.

"Hey, Nata, you were really impressive today," Adrian said after chatting briefly with the actor playing Qui-Gon Jinn, then moving over to Natalie.

She was chatting and laughing with a few young people, dressed simply, her cheeks rosy and looking charmingly delicate in the flickering firelight, her smile especially enchanting.

"Hey, Ed, congratulations," she said, raising her cup, a barely noticeable, knowing smile flashing in her eyes, shared only between the two of them.

"Thank you," Adrian nodded and then stretched his neck to look into her cup.

"Juice," Natalie said with both amusement and laughter, shaking the cup in her hand.

"Actually, we all think Natalie could safely drink a little beer; it’s not like we’re in the United States," a young man interjected.

"Gentlemen, it’s not nice to tempt a well-mannered young lady, not to mention her mother is right here," Adrian said half-jokingly, nodding toward Shelly, who was sitting nearby and glancing over from time to time.

Despite Natalie’s upbringing in a conservative Jewish family, her being smart and mature for her age, and her usually comprehensive approach to problems, she still had a bit of a rebellious streak—inevitable in everyone. This is why Adrian had managed to persuade her into his arms, allowing her to taste alcohol privately during their time alone.

Of course, Natalie’s self-control was quite remarkable, and given that their dates often weren’t very long, Adrian wouldn’t let her drink much; they always just had a taste.

"Actually, you want to see me drink too, right?" Natalie said in a low, cheerful voice after sending the others away, leaving just the two of them.

"No, you’re already quite adorable as you are now," Adrian said, gazing at her blushing face with a slight smile.

Natalie’s eyes immediately curved up, a mix of happiness and pride, but she said nothing more. Adrian, momentarily at a loss for words, scratched his head and revisited the previous topic, "Um... you were outstanding today."

"Do you really think that was difficult?" Natalie raised an eyebrow, full of confidence.

"Okay okay, I know such roles are a piece of cake for you, but let’s not get too cocky," Adrian said with a laugh, playfully putting her down.

Natalie didn’t take it to heart and made a cute face before suddenly telling Adrian to "wait a moment." She quickly ran into the trailer and came out after a while.

"You said you were going to the United Kingdom this afternoon, right? Could you give this to Keira for me? It’s a little gift I prepared for her." She handed him a small, wrapped box.

"You two seem to have a good relationship," Adrian chuckled, examining the box in his hand, "Can I know what it is?"

"Of course not, it’s something only girls would use—Keira is a really nice girl, we’ve become good friends," Natalie shrugged, then grew a bit excited, "It’s a pity you weren’t there at that time. After we both did our makeup, neither my mom nor Mrs. Shawen could tell who was who!"

"Of course, how could I ever forget what you look like," Adrian smiled slightly, reaching to brush away a strand of hair from her forehead, but then he seemed to realize something and withdrew his hand.

Natalie’s smile diminished slightly, and a hint of regret flashed in her eyes, but given the current circumstances, it was already nice that they could just stand and talk like this. Although this secret exchange of affection was thrilling and romantic, their inability to be more open took away much of the fun.

"It’s okay, we’ll keep in touch. Whenever you have time, I’ll come to see you," Adrian said softly, then flashed a mischievous grin, "Actually, talking more on the phone isn’t too bad either."

Natalie’s cheeks flushed even more, and her eyes expressed a bit of indignation and embarrassment. She knew what Adrian was referring to. When he came to visit her in New York at the end of April, they had become intimate in his car before he had to leave due to other commitments. Natalie had offered to make it up to him, and Adrian had then made a rather embarrassing yet exciting request—he wanted to hear her moan over the phone after he went back.

What a bizarre request! Natalie had spat at him and run off, but after Adrian called, she hesitated and eventually complied. The most shameful part was that initially, she just moaned perfunctorily, wanting to finish quickly. However, as she moaned, images involuntarily filled her mind. Despite knowing it wasn’t right, she couldn’t help but think about them, and eventually, it turned into something real...

Adrian on the other side of the phone could obviously tell, and in the months that followed, he often teased her about it, leaving Natalie feeling embarrassed yet unable to get angry.

"Ed!" the girl called out sharply at this moment, pouting and glaring at him, seemingly very upset but also quite adorable.

"Alright, alright, we won’t talk about that anymore," Adrian hurriedly said, realizing Natalie’s reaction was too obvious—it wouldn’t be good if others suspected something. After a pause, he made a gesture: just two years.

Having quickly controlled her emotions, Natalie took a deep breath and nodded slightly, then adopted a polite demeanor to bid farewell and leave.

Yes, in two years, they wouldn’t have to be so cautious anymore. However... after returning to her mother and exchanging a few words, the girl suddenly thought of something and looked over at Adrian, who was chatting and laughing with others. Noticing her gaze, he smiled at her. Natalie returned the smile, but her brows slightly furrowed, and she involuntarily began to scheme.

Adrian had spent a day and a half in Morocco before leaving, but he headed to Paris instead of London. As for why, that went without saying.

"No no no, you’re shifting the concept. Regardless, it was Anna’s husband who was wrong first. In such an unhappy marriage, she naturally had to act—"

"Yes, I’ve never denied that, and that’s precisely the essence of the entire novel. I just meant that we need to view the issue a bit more fairly and objectively. To be fair, you can’t involve emotions; you have to look at it from God’s perspective. Since we are looking at it from Anna’s point of view, we should also consider her husband’s perspective and combine it with the social environment of the time to deeply understand what this story is really about."

"That still sounds like sophistry, doesn’t it? You want me to look at the issue from a male perspective, but have you looked at it from a female perspective?"

"Of course, I have. In fact, many people, many men, have interpreted this story from the female perspective, though not entirely perfectly due to certain differences. But whether or not it’s interpreted is one thing, how it’s interpreted is another matter, after all, nobody is perfect."

At a café by the Seine River, a man and a woman sitting by the window were softly arguing about something. The woman was beautiful and elegant, her brown eyes always carrying a hint of melancholy; the man was handsome, his features as if carved from marble, and he wore a gentle smile, exuding a refined and cultured air.

"All right, I’m no match for you. I give up, is that okay?" Sophie propped her cheek and pondered for a while, finally admitting somewhat unwillingly as she seemed unable to find the point, then she muttered something under her breath.

"Did you say something?" Adrian asked with a smile.

"I was saying that you’re just using this opportunity to defend yourself," Sophie huffed, turning her head to look outside the café.

"Shouldn’t I defend myself?" Adrian said as he grasped Sophie’s hand, "You should know why."

Sophie struggled but couldn’t break free; instead, she felt a tingling sensation as Adrian gently kissed her hand. The tingling feeling seemed to travel up her arm into her heart, causing her to tremble slightly. She gave him a reproachful and accusing look but didn’t pull away, allowing him to hold and gently caress her hand.

Neither spoke again, seemingly reaching a delicate balance. After a long while, Sophie sighed, wanting to say something, but Adrian stood up first.

"Well, I have to leave now. I’m off to the United Kingdom tomorrow, there’s a lot to do there." He said smiling, and Sophie looked at him with surprise, involuntarily asking, "Aren’t you staying the night?"

"Can I?" Adrian immediately raised an eyebrow.

Sophie realized her slip of the tongue; her cheeks flushed, and she found herself at a loss for words. Adrian quickly took advantage of the situation, "Are you asking me to stay, Sophie? That would be great. I’m very—"

"No." Sophie blurted out hurriedly, but then she awkwardly looked at him, biting her lip, not knowing what to say.

"Alright, I understand," Adrian suddenly sighed, "Then I better leave—"

"No!" Sophie called out again, but with a complicated expression, leaving her sentence hanging.

Adrian stopped talking and just held her gaze. Sophie’s face color kept changing, but ultimately she sighed deeply, "I’m sorry, Ed."

"It’s okay, I understand how you feel, I’m already very happy that you agreed to have afternoon tea with me today," Adrian said with a sincere tone.

"Actually... I didn’t mean that... I mean..." Sophie became somewhat incoherent, clearly distressed.

"It’s okay, I said it’s okay," Adrian reassured her, embracing her and gently kissing her forehead, "Here’s the thing, ’Anna Karenina’ won’t start shooting for a while, and I’m just across the English Channel. If I am free and come over to see you, please don’t refuse me, okay?"

"Okay," Sophie agreed, unaware that she had already fallen into a trap.

Next time I come, I’ll arrange a very romantic date. You’ll love it, dear Sophie. After dropping her off, Adrian thought to himself.

Well, Adrian finally arrived in London on the last day of August, fortunate to have evaded the paparazzi. Understandably, although he kept a tight lid on his itinerary, the impact of ’Titanic’ was immense. Despite granting some interviews, the media’s interest in him was still very intense, dealing daily with numerous invites just within ABC.

After all, investing 300 million US dollars to produce a movie, and earning over 100 million in pure profit, is truly unique in film history. No matter how much he tried to conceal his movements, frequent travel made his tracks identifiable, yet none of that crossed his boundaries. The paparazzi were keen on sniffing him out and, albeit Adrian could have avoided London, once he was there, they would definitely find him.

However, an incident altered the situation dramatically. On the early morning he left Paris, a severe car crash occurred in the tunnel under the Alma bridge, resulting in the death of two crucial individuals—one at the scene and the other from severe injuries at the hospital. One of them was a woman affiliated with the British Royal Family, subsequently diverting 99% of the journalists’ attention, sparing him from being pursued.

"It’s truly unfortunate," Adrian remarked while watching the news of Princess Diana’s fatal accident on TV in the studio’s conference room. The executives, who had been discussing issues with him and were now resting, nodded in agreement, especially the British staff.

Indeed, the people’s princess still died in that Paris car accident with her Arab new boyfriend. Although some details changed due to the butterfly effect, other elements preserved their inertia.

Despite the official verdict of an accident, many conspiracy theorists believed Diana died by the hands of the British Royal Family because they wouldn’t accept a former princess marrying an Arab man. The exact truth was unknown, even to Adrian. He only knew that the British Royal Family would soon face troubles and, even though the whole of the United Kingdom was swept in grief, no one could foresee the sharp conflicts with the Royal Family over the forthcoming fortnight. By the end, a media survey revealed that three-quarters of the public believed the Royal Family should be abolished.

But that was of no concern to Adrian. He felt Charles was indeed unfair to Diana, having a steadfast lover yet seeking a wife, which thereby wasted Diana’s time. However, Diana wasn’t entirely faultless, immaculate angel either—not to mention her affairs; these years, she and Charles had their fair share of storms, sometimes pressuring the Royal Family with the help of the media. Wasn’t her title of the people’s princess acquired in this manner?

Nevertheless, Adrian still felt thankful to Diana. Because of the accident, he managed to arrive at the set smoothly without the paparazzi’s harassment. Simultaneously, ’Titanic’ stirred a renewed frenzy in the United Kingdom due to the disaster.

It appeared unrelated, except for one thing: fairy tale-like love stories.

When Diana married Charles, it was the fairy tale story of a prince and princess in love—nobody imagined it would end as it had. ’Titanic,’ too, told a fairy tale love story—though between a poor boy and a wealthy girl—but wasn’t it an uncanny coincidence compared to Diana’s situation today?

Wasn’t that pretentious, hypocritical Karl a perfect representation of Prince Charles? And the tormented, constrained Rose craving for freedom—didn’t she mirror Princess Diana? Oh, perhaps there are some differences, but no matter, people’s imaginations are powerful. As long as they deem it matching, that’s sufficient.

Yes, a princess should cast aside that insincere man and find a dedicated one, who might not be wealthy but must have charm, who may not hold power but would die for her when it counts! As for the paparazzi’s meddling, well, that wasn’t in the thoughts of the audience engrossed in the movie.

Consequently, after the initial days of sorrow, more people sought solace in ’Titanic,’ especially after word spread that the Royal Family planned a low-key funeral—it was indeed... quite good. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, donate monthly tickets, and support the author. Your support is the greatest motivation.)