King of Hollywood
Chapter 466 - 187 Lily’s Charm

Chapter 466: Chapter 187 Lily’s Charm

No matter how envious other major film studios in Hollywood were, nothing could stop "Titanic" from continuing to refresh its own record among the top 15 at the North American box office.

Adrian hadn’t put too much effort into this, merely instructing his team to keep up moderate promotion, ensuring the great ship would sail through the Christmas and New Year period.

"As long as we get through this period, we can make this miracle even more difficult to surpass," he had said.

Though "Titanic" had already earned a blockbuster box office and had the crown of highest-grossing film in history, with fans attending ten showings in a row, it was impossible to expect it to continue making big profits or even return to the top ten during the end-of-year season. Adrian knew this and had arranged things this way to stretch the miracle further in his own hands—after all, even the original record had not yet been reached.

Of course, the results of this couldn’t be seen yet, first having to get through the current period, so his focus was more on other matters, such as scheduling for three upcoming films. Of the three, only "Armageddon" was most suitable for family viewing, "A Time to Kill" was a drama, and "L.A. Confidential" appealed to nostalgia buffs. If the release dates weren’t scheduled properly, they could potentially backfire.

As for the first installment of "The Matrix," if a substantial overtime fee was paid, all post-production could likely be completed by mid-December, but there might not be enough time for promotion. After much thought, Adrian decided against releasing it this year. This was a reminder for him; with the release of "Titanic," movies banking on special effects were bound to become more common, and production cycles, especially post-production, would be longer. So, if he were to direct such movies in the future, he had to take this into consideration.

Besides that, he had to oversee several new film preparations and productions. That blockbuster had its movie adaptation rights sold and preparations had begun; over more than a year, Adrian hadn’t shunned talks with the executives, and though progress was slow, there was still another year ahead. The movie prepared for Monica was also on the schedule, likely to start shooting next summer, and Adrian was fully prepared to let certain people understand the term "subtle temptation." Of course, a body double was still necessary.

The initial plan to recruit Wolverine for "Swordfish" also got officially set in motion; the film had potential production-wise, but unfortunately, it suffered from a terrible release period. Otherwise, even if it wasn’t a hit, recouping the investment through box office sales would have been feasible. As for the cast, contact with Jackman hadn’t been made yet; they would wait for Ovitz to sign him first. Sean Penn had given a preliminary nod after seeing the script, and as for Halle Berry, Adrian intended to take time personally to speak with her.

Others, like "The Expendables" script, had been officially completed, strictly following the rules of Hollywood commercial movies: introducing the team with an action sequence at the beginning, then taking on a mission for money, and a nemesis seeking revenge who then kidnaps the team leader Stallone’s daughter, uncovering unknown secrets on the way to rescue her, and exposing them. It didn’t require much thought, the main attraction was tough guys showing off their muscles.

"I’m looking forward to working with them," Schwarzenegger had finally agreed, and the negotiation for his fee went smoothly—the reason for his generosity didn’t need to be stated.

However, this was only the start; more team members needed to be confirmed, and even if they couldn’t bring all the action stars on the list, at least most of them had to be recruited.

All this was underway, but "Spider-Man" got slightly delayed, with Adrian arranging to start shooting at the end of next year. Sam Remy was seeking a transition, but as he was busy directing and producing other films, he had no available slots—for as well as the original version was made, why not let him take charge? Plus, the predetermined leading lady Kirsten also had a new film to complete: "Bring it on!"

Thanks to his habit of browsing through various film studios’ scripts, last year Adrian discovered the script for this movie at New Line and then secured it for himself, intending to cast a young actress in the role. Since Kirsten didn’t want to spend this awkward age too blandly, it was fine to let her be the lead; she would soon learn transitioning away from being just a pretty face was not so easy.

Of course, this series could be left to New Line—indeed, it could be turned into a series. In America’s various sporting events, cheerleaders are a unique spectacle, and the captain of the cheerleading squad in schools is usually the most popular girl. So, this movie’s positioning as a medium-budget project targeting a young market was ideal for promoting newcomers.

As for "Spider-Man," with the rights in hand, why bother about when to release, right?

But these things couldn’t be done immediately; they still required a lot of time. So the most pressing issue for Adrian at the moment was...

"This, not yummy," the little one shook her head like a rattle drum, then reached out with her tiny finger towards the fruit salad on the other side of the table, "That, want."

"Lily," Adrian put down his cutlery and called out in a low, reminding tone.

"It’s okay, as long as she likes it," Martha said with a smile, dismissing the servants who wanted to help and personally served Lily a small plate of fruit salad.

"Thank you, Grandma," the tyke called out sweetly, then slipped down from her seat, took the plate unsteadily and ran to the head of the long table, pushing the fruit salad towards the old man.

"Is this... for me?" Anderson asked, surprised, as he looked at the little one.

"Uh-huh!" The little one nodded vigorously, her bright eyes fixed on him, brimming with hope.

"Why... would you give this to me?" Uncle, who had been grim-faced since Adrian entered, couldn’t help but soften his tone in the face of well-behaved Lily.

"Grandpa has no expression on his face; that’s not good." The little one tilted her head, thought for a while, and then seriously replied, "Grandpa hasn’t eaten this. It’s tasty, and eating it makes you happy."

"So, you brought a plate over for me, is that it?" The old man’s expression grew even more gentle. He stroked the little one’s head with his hand and said softly, "Thank you for your gift. You are truly a little lady. If you don’t mind, may I give you a kiss?"

Although Lily didn’t quite understand, she roughly got the gist of Grandpa’s words. She hesitated, shrank her neck, but then puffed out her chest and closed her eyes in a resigned manner.

"What... what are you doing?" Anderson curiously watched her, then glanced at his wife at the table, as well as Adrian and Kate; they all looked just as puzzled.

Nevertheless, Anderson bent down, lightly brushed the little girl’s cheek with a kiss, and then she giggled.

"It feels different." Lily touched the spot where Grandpa had kissed her cheek, her eyes curved in curiosity as she looked at him.

"Oh? What’s different?" Anderson asked eagerly.

"It’s soft, tickly. Not like the other grandpa; that one is very rough." The little girl pointed at the stubble on Anderson’s chin.

Anderson chuckled, a rare occurrence, and stroked her head again: "I’m glad you liked it, Lily. Go back to your seat now."

After a pause, he then turned to Adrian: "Bring your dad some fruit salad too."

Unexpectedly, Lily shook her head very determinedly: "No, Daddy doesn’t need it!"

"Oh?"

"Daddy is a baddie!"

Unlike some of her previously mumbled sentences, this one was quite clear and fluent; obviously, she had said it many times before. Anderson was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, shaking his head as if he had not been this happy in a long time. His hearty laughter soon spread to the others in the room; not only Aunt Martha and Kate started laughing, but even the servants attending them couldn’t help snickering.

The only one not laughing was Adrian. He looked gloomily at his daughter, who was laughing without knowing why, and stuffed a thinly sliced piece of the Thanksgiving turkey into his mouth: "Okay, I’m the baddie."

After the Thanksgiving feast ended, Anderson naturally called Adrian to the study, leaving Kate to chat in another room with their daughter and Aunt Martha.

"You two aren’t married, right?" As soon as they entered the room, Anderson asked bluntly, his expression returning to its previous severity.

"Yes," Adrian answered calmly.

"So Lily is a bastard child then?" the old man asked further.

"If we’re going by the traditional definition of the term, then yes," Adrian replied with a slight smile.

Anderson harrumphed heavily. How could he not discern the implication in his words? After pacing twice around the study, the old man finally sighed, "You said she was two years old before. Do you really plan to keep it this way?"

Then he muttered softly, "I can’t believe I found out even later than that old coot Benedict."

Hearing this, Adrian almost laughed out loud. He had never expected his outspoken uncle to have such a side, but it also proved that Lily was popular wherever she went. Kate had been somewhat worried when he decided to bring his daughter to New York. She had visited a few times and knew Anderson’s temperament, but Adrian didn’t take it to heart. The phenomenon of being more affectionate to a grandchild is quite common, and if there was any dissatisfaction, it would be directed at him.

Now, both his aunt and uncle’s reactions had proven his judgment correct.

"Pretty much," Adrian shrugged, still maintaining his honesty. From the moment he had decided to bring Lily to his uncle’s house, he knew that these issues were unavoidable.

"You really have a way with words, don’t you?" Anderson scoffed coldly, "So bold to utter such words. You’re a first for our Cowell family. Alright, even if you don’t consider your... lover, you should at least think about the child, right?! Not taking responsibility for a family is cowardly behavior! And it goes against our traditions!"

"It’s not that I’m afraid, I just don’t want to," Adrian replied lazily, "I’m not going to give up the forest for a single tree, uncle."

Anderson immediately furrowed his brow, clearly displeased, but Adrian promptly raised his hand and shook it, "I know what you want to say, uncle, and I do completely agree with it if we’re speaking literally. But the question is, how many people actually live up to that? There are more than a few who have lovers even after marriage, and even... my father once did."

He chuckled softly as he said this, while Anderson coughed dryly, his brow furrowed and without responding.

"If it has to be done, it must be done well, and I am confident I could do so. But the problem is I don’t want to. I want to experience a richer and more varied life, so why should I do it now?" Adrian spread his hands, maintaining that candid expression, "Anyway, Lily is the daughter of Kate and me, no one can deny that, and no one can tear us apart."

After a long silence, Anderson sighed again, his expression complex as he looked at him, "You are nothing like your father in this regard, although when I was young...I did have some of your grandfather’s ways."

Adrian couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He had never learned much about his own grandfather, just vaguely knew from his father’s diaries that even into middle age he was quite the ladies’ man, and the relationship with his grandmother wasn’t that great, probably because of an arranged marriage among the wealthy, but he did still care for his children.

If he were still alive, there might be many things we could talk about, Adrian thought to himself. From his uncle’s tone, it seemed his grandfather was quite something in his day, which served as a very reasonable explanation for his own actions.

"How did your talk go?" After helping Adrian put their daughter to sleep and returning to their bedroom, Kate asked.

"It’s nothing; uncle may be old-fashioned, but he’s not inflexible," Adrian shrugged and threw his coat aside.

"Is that so?" Kate’s tone was light, yet there was something else in it.

"But he insists that I must marry you," Adrian suddenly said with a mischievous smile, sitting down next to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder and inhaling the fragrance of her hair, "What do you think I should do?"

"Do you find this amusing?" After a glance at him, Kate snorted, then turned to her reflection in the dressing mirror and sighed before adding, "Back when I was pregnant... I had thought about it, but... I know, I am very clear, you would never agree. The moment you wouldn’t even lie to me, I knew what kind of person you were."

"Oh? And what kind of person am I?" Adrian whispered breathily in her ear.

Kate’s body softened instantly, and she gave him an annoyed glare. She looked at herself and Adrian in the mirror for a moment, her gaze turning hazy: "I don’t know, or rather, I can’t describe... It’s probably precisely because of this that I easily fell into the trap you so cleverly laid."

"Do you remember what I told you, Kate?" Adrian chuckled, "You actually understand, so why stubbornly deny it with other excuses?"

"Perhaps there’s still some reluctance," Kate murmured, lost in thought.

"So, there’s a gathering tomorrow in Manhattan’s Upper East Side; would you like to come with me?" Adrian suddenly suggested.

"A gathering? What kind of gathering?" Kate was happy to change the subject.

"What else could it be? The upper class gets together to catch up on each other’s lives and exchange information. Who knows, maybe I’ll stumble upon a good opportunity," Adrian said with a hint of gloom, lying on his back on the bed, "God, I really wish Crow were here."

Adrian didn’t dislike such gatherings. Many times, a lot of deals were initially struck in settings like these, and contacts were expanded there. However, his business acumen wasn’t the best, and he could falter when topics went deeper. Usually, Claude would step in to handle those conversations while Adrian provided support. But without Claude...

"So Ed, what’s your take on the impact of the Thai Baht crisis?" the old man asked with a chuckle, a square-faced man with neatly combed hair showing his age, slightly overweight but 5 feet 11 inches tall, giving him a robust appearance. His smile was kind, with simple glasses adorning his face, looking every bit the distinguished professor in his suit.

"No doubt, the expansion of the financial crisis in Asia is inevitable," Adrian shrugged, "The countries from East Asia to Southeast Asia have almost the same pattern as Thailand."

"It seems you’ve omitted a country, Ed," the old man reminded him.

"Yes, I’m aware, but if the international hot money tries to mess with them, they might suffer a loss," Adrian said casually. "After all, that country isn’t quite like us, and they’re very good at concentrating their efforts on big issues. Even vast international funds can’t withstand a hit from an undisturbed sovereign state."

"I have to admit, your words carry significant weight," the old man mused with a nod after a moment, "You seem to have a good understanding of China, Ed."

"A little, not much, but among Americans, I guess I’m more knowledgeable," Adrian smiled, "and my Chinese isn’t too bad either."

"Ha, that’s good news. If you didn’t have your own company, we might hire you as a consultant on issues related to China," the old man laughed heartily.

"Well, if one day I’m no longer the chairman of AC Media and Goldman Sachs still needs me, I’d be happy to serve, Mr. Warren," Adrian said with a slight bow.

"You’re truly impressive, Ed, and my judgment rarely misses," the old man continued with a smile, then patted his shoulder, "All right, I’ve got other things to attend to, so I’ll skip the chat."

Adrian gestured for him to go ahead, watching as the man walked into the crowd, then let out a long, thorough sigh. If the conversation had continued much longer, he would have run out of things to say. That was why, although he had seen this old man a few times before, they’d rarely spoken at length. Not that he didn’t want to; Buffett indeed had the aura of a scholar, but that didn’t mean he actually was one. Just like his generosity in philanthropy, the nature of the businessman wouldn’t change.

Quick-witted and with considerable insight. That was Adrian’s assessment of him. Fortunately, he had finally managed to get away. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to go to qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)