King of Hollywood
Chapter 456 - 177 Should This Be Suitable?

Chapter 456: Chapter 177 Should This Be Suitable?

"In that case, we could collaborate with various fashion magazines, modeling agencies, and various brands. The better the ratings get, the deeper this collaboration. At the same time, we could also cultivate our own models through this program while attracting more high-quality girls to join." Claude eagerly continued as he touched his chin, his eyes sparkled, clearly very interested in this suggestion.

Furthermore, it would lay a solid foundation and accumulate experience for future talent shows. Adrian added this thought in his mind, but he did not speak it out loud. There was no rush for that.

"I have to admit, Ed, you are a genius to come up with such a promising idea in such a short time," Claude exclaimed admiringly.

"Yes, the gimmicks, aside from training and practicing, can be played up with the judges," Adrian said matter-of-factly, "We need at least three people: one industry professional, one fashion magazine editor or fashion designer, and one non-professional person who is quite interested and somewhat knowledgeable about this field."

"I bet you’ve already decided on the judges, especially which professional," Claude said with a meaningful smile."They all like you very much. Which one will you use?"

Adrian shrugged noncommittally, "Let’s discuss that later, we still need to seek more professional opinions, but for the non-professional judge who is interested in this field, I do have a good candidate."

"Oh? Who is it?" Claude asked curiously.

"A white male in his fifties, millionaire, loves attention, loves to showcase himself, boasts, and likes to strut," Adrian rattled off.

"I don’t recall such a person in Los Angeles," Claude said after a moment of recollection.

"I didn’t say he lived in Los Angeles," Adrian said with a smile, "Don’t worry, Claude, as I said, we still need some professional opinions. We’ll discuss it later."

"Alright, alright, you’re always right on this matter," Claude shrugged, "Let’s leave it at that for now. Today’s matters are almost perfect. Oh, and there’s a party at my place tonight. You’re not going to decline, are you?"

"A party? Why are you wanting to host a party at home?" Adrian raised his eyebrows.

"Because I am the CEO of AC Media!" Claude said, somewhat annoyed.

Mostly, the company’s New Year’s receptions and most other parties took place at Claude’s home, rarely at Adrian’s. Because you’re the CEO, was a phrase he often had on his lips, as if it was only natural for Claude to shoulder these events. Despite his reluctance, Claude didn’t say much, as they were good friends after all.

"Alright, I’ll be there on time," Adrian promised.

"Don’t bring a female companion," Claude added.

"Oh?"

"Although I can’t be certain about your taste now, I still remember what it used to be."

"Oh~~"

"Of course, you can still choose to bring someone. That’s your business, isn’t it?"

Long ago, Claude had mentioned that if he was interested, he could pick out the best one for him, but Adrian had thoroughly teased him about it, saying he wasn’t much different from certain professionals. Claude responded by "furiously" dragging him to a boxing ring to settle it with a fight. As for the outcome... well, that’s beyond the scope of this discussion.

Since he brought it up again, and Adrian couldn’t be sure of his previous tastes, though there were many photos for reference that looked quite good, he drove alone to his villa that evening, full of curiosity.

"Hello, I hope tonight will be very satisfying for you."

"Ha, I don’t think so, we should look at it from two perspectives."

"At first, I didn’t think too much, I just wanted to make a rather shocking movie."

While greeting familiar faces, Adrian walked inside; the party was neither a wild one like most nor as serious as a cocktail party. Hence, Adrian dressed casually, donning a jacket over his white shirt, without a tie or bow tie.

"Hey, Ed, I thought you were going to stand us up again." Claude called out from a distance.

"Could you clarify, Mr. Claude?" Adrian raised an eyebrow and shook his hand. "What do you mean by ’again’? If I’ve ever been late before, please bring it up."

"Come on, Ed, you know it’s just an exaggeration, don’t take it too seriously, okay? Also..." Claude glanced at the two women he had been speaking with earlier.

"Alright, I’ll let you off this time." Adrian laughed heartily, patting him on the shoulder, their banter making the two women beside them cover their mouths to stifle their giggles.

"Let me introduce them." Claude then introduced the two ladies, starting with the slightly petite woman about 5 feet 4 inches tall, dressed in a beige dress with large wavy blonde hair and blue eyes, quite pretty with delicate features, and it was clear from the way Claude had his arm around her that their relationship did not need further explanation.

"This is Helen Dariel." Claude said, and she stretched out her hand to shake with Adrian. No profession was mentioned, but Adrian could guess why—it seemed Claude was having a great time.

"Nice to meet you." Adrian nodded politely, then turned to the other exceptionally tall woman, pausing slightly in surprise.

She was about 6 feet tall, just slightly shorter than Adrian. Among the women Adrian had been involved with, only Nicole and Liv were as tall, but they didn’t have as proportionate a figure as this woman. It’s not to say their figures weren’t nice, but this woman’s was nearly perfect. She wore a one-shoulder white dress, a black belt cinched at her slender waist, and though the slit in her dress only reached mid-thigh, it did nothing to diminish the allure of her shapely, long legs.

Of course, nothing in this world is perfect; her figure might have been nearly flawless, but her face was not particularly beautiful. Her features were too sharp, and though some women pulled off the strong-featured look, hers were a bit too much. Despite this, she still had an impressive presence that made her stand out.

"This is Gisele Bundchen." Claude said with a light smile, then introduced her by name.

"Hello, Mr. Adrian, it’s an honor to meet the renowned Miracle Director," the lady said straightforwardly, extending her hand without masking her curiosity.

-------------------------------------------------

"Traveling is indeed a beautiful thing; it broadens one’s horizons and understanding of different cultures," Adrian said, holding his drink and talking animatedly at the bar counter, while Gisele Bundchen watched him attentively, resting her cheek on her hand.

After Claude introduced them, Adrian and Gisele chatted briefly before he led her to a more secluded area. For him, inviting a lady was all too straightforward.

"So you’ve been to Africa?" Gisele looked intrigued.

"Unfortunately, no, although I’d really like to," Adrian shrugged. "I’m a workaholic—but these are indeed insights from experience, at least. Seeing ’Notre-Dame Cathedral’ in books and visiting the actual Notre-Dame in Paris are two different experiences. The mountains in Montana might not quite compare to Mount Kilimanjaro, but they still possess a majestic appeal."

The reason they started talking about traveling was that Gisele was currently traveling around. She’s now a famous model in Brazil. After securing the fourth place in the Miss World competition in Spain, she decided to spend a year traveling. In the past six months, she had visited all the places in South America and Europe she wanted to explore, and then she received an invitation from Victoria’s Secret—admittedly, the folks at Victoria’s Secret had a keen sense for these things.

Having thought about it, she also wanted to visit the United States, so she made a detour to Los Angeles. She had only been there for two days and hadn’t settled in when she received an invitation from Claude, and thus she showed up at the party.

"You’re very honest, Ed," Gisele laughed.

"Thank you, I’ve always believed that to win a woman’s favor, one must first remain honest in her presence," Adrian said with a slight smile.

"Is that so? But how do you win a woman’s heart without lying?" Gisele hinted.

"No no no, only the most foolish would try to win a woman’s heart with lies. Being honest doesn’t mean one doesn’t need to be skilled in conversation," Adrian said, raising a finger and shaking it, his eyes unwavering as he looked at her.

"Oh?" Gisele, still green, averted her gaze within seconds and took a sip from her glass.

"For instance," Adrian reached out, brushing her cheek gently with the back of his hand, "you’re not beautiful, right?"

"Oh?" Gisele was noncommittal, but a hint of displeasure flickered in her eyes.

"But you are an extremely charming woman, making all men marvel at you," Adrian quickly added.

Gisele looked up, blinking in confusion.

"It’s like your profession—a good model always showcases her strengths and hides her weaknesses, making the public applaud her charm while overlooking her less flattering aspects." He gazed at her face, "I completely believe you have that ability, Gisele. Besides, your charm far outweighs your flaws. In the future, countless people will cheer for you beneath the runway."

"... Okay, I admit, you have a way with words, Ed," Gisele took a deep breath and smiled, and by shifting to a more intimate nickname as she spoke to Adrian, it was clear she enjoyed his compliments.

"I’m merely stating a fact," Adrian responded calmly, "as the internet evolves, society will become more flattened, and the selection for supermodels will become even scarcer. The most popular in the future will probably be those models who embody the essence of a supermodel rather than the supermodels themselves, and in my view..."

Here, he gently took her hand: "You will be one of them."

"Is... is this a prophecy?" Gisele didn’t withdraw her hand, something flashing in her eyes.

"If you like, you can see it that way," Adrian said with a slight smile.

Suddenly, the door to Adrian’s mansion bedroom was slammed open, and the figures of two passionately kissing burst in, their hands frantically exploring each other’s bodies, as if enveloped by immense desire.

The hem of a dress was lifted, and panties were quickly pulled down sleek, muscular legs. Before they could be completely removed, the woman wrapped her legs around the man’s waist—the panties swinging back and forth around her ankles.

As the man questioned the woman, he placed her on the bed, pulling down the straps off her shoulders and burying his head in her chest to suckle. The woman, lost in confusion, moaned loudly, reaching to strip the man’s clothes and unbuckle his belt.

Soon, everything that should have been removed was discarded, though not openly seen, it was enough. The man’s robust body impatiently pressed down, and the woman, who had long been yearning, suddenly excitedly raised her head, her ecstasy-filled voice rising in pitch, and her legs tightened even more, thus igniting an intense battle on the bed.

"Inappropriate?" In his office, Adrian frowned slightly as he flipped through the assessment document provided by ABC.

"Yes, the key issue is that we are a broadcast television station." A department manager from ABC’s planning department had been specifically sent over to explain, "If it’s going to be aired on ABC, then some changes must be made."

"I overlooked that," Adrian admitted after a long silence.

The problem was quite simple. If they followed the original process of "America’s Next Top Model," many aspects would be too risqué, such as nude photography or religious issues. Those would be fine on a paid cable television station, but on a broadcast television station accessible to everyone, those elements would need to be modified.

Of course, ABC could choose to broadcast it late at night, but for a competitive reality show that demanded timeliness, airing it late at night was a certain death sentence. Thus, the format of "America’s Next Top Model" had to undergo major changes to make it healthy and suitable for all ages.

However, this led to a new problem. Those provocative elements were exactly what drew viewers to the program. If those were replaced with something else, Adrian wasn’t sure how well it would be received. Of course, he could also adopt the strengths of other programs, but then what would happen to those programs? And not to mention the possible butterfly effect.

After TBS had aired "Millionaire," many television stations had either created or imported numerous reality shows. While the quality of these shows varied greatly, who knew which might turn out to be a hit someday?

"What if," after tapping his fingers on his desk for a while, Adrian finally made a decision, "we hand this program over to TBS instead."

"Then we..." The planner from ABC was clearly disappointed. ABC saw the potential in the program, even though it was more suited for a cable station like TBS. If it could be heavily modified to be aired on ABC, it wasn’t without a chance of becoming popular. They had really hoped Adrian would choose the latter option, so...

"Don’t worry, I know what you’re thinking," Adrian turned and smiled, "I’ll manage to design another reality show suitable for ABC soon."

The planner left with mixed feelings. Many knew of Adrian’s capabilities, but could he really come up with a suitable reality show for ABC in such a short time? Or had he already designed one beforehand?

Regardless of what ABC thought, Adrian quickly informed Claude about this situation.

"Shifting to TBS shouldn’t be an issue; they’ll be very pleased. But how will you design a new reality show for ABC?" Claude asked.

"I don’t have any leads yet. I still have time. I’ll think about it once I handle my current responsibilities," Adrian replied.

He wasn’t without ideas; in fact, he had many, but he didn’t know which to choose. Initially, he thought about swapping "Millionaire" from TBS. The show had good ratings, but almost everyone, including executives at TBS, admitted that putting it on cable was a waste. Now swapping it with "America’s Next Top Model" to ABC could work.

The issue was that the show had already aired three seasons. While it was well-scheduled and still had potential, the viewers were somewhat fatigued, and TBS was also considering seeking innovation. If it were switched to ABC now, it was hard to predict the ratings it might receive. Moreover, the other three major broadcast networks had introduced similar programs, and the competition was fierce.

Of course, Adrian could modify it, and he wasn’t short of ideas for modifications, but there were still many issues, so after much consideration, it might be better to leave it with TBS.

So what should be done about ABC? Even if the broadcasting rights for "Friends" could be regained after this year and there were several successful dramas, including "Everybody Loves Raymond" maintaining stable ratings, the overall appeal was still limited by the weakest link. In the case of reality and talk shows, ABC still lagged behind.

Talk shows were better. Although ABC currently had only one popular talk show, Jon Stewart’s charisma attracted many people, and "The Daily Show" ranked among the top in its category. Adrian had already targeted someone, but it wasn’t the right time yet. It would be better to wait a while longer to approach, as offering help in a crisis was always better than adding decorations to a parade.

Therefore, the urgency wasn’t really with the talk shows, but with the reality shows. "Survivor" was the only popular reality show, albeit with only stable, not spectacular, ratings. So, the most needed improvement was here.

Previously, he had planned to hand "America’s Next Top Model" to them, but that was no longer feasible. So what might be a better choice?

Adrian tapped the table, his eyes suddenly opening wide with an idea. This program should be suitable: "Big Brother!" (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, please visit qidian.com to vote, recommend, or purchase monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)