King of Hollywood
Chapter 477 - 198 Unexpected......

Chapter 477: Chapter 198 Unexpected......

"It’s simple, I see potential in you," Adrian smiled, "In the movie industry center of Hollywood, there are few types of Chinese films that can make a breakthrough, and the shelf life of martial arts stars is relatively short. Combined with that sort of arrogant, almost conceited character, it’s quite normal what has happened to you. But I know that you’ll be one of the best."

Jet Li couldn’t help but feel a bit down but couldn’t really say anything as after all, what Adrian said was true, so he just downed the rest of the champagne in his glass in one go.

"You should know, I’ve worked with many people from the Hong Kong film industry, like Mr. Yuan. When I asked him about you, he praised you sky-high," Adrian continued.

"Thanks. I have a pretty good relationship with Master Yuan. Also, your Mandarin is quite impressive. I’ve never met a Westerner who speaks as standard as you do, plus... you know so many idioms." Jet Li complimented, although he mostly played righteous lead characters in movies, that didn’t mean he wasn’t shrewd.

"Is that so?" Adrian laughed, then slapped him on the shoulder, "I’ve never misjudged a person, a salary of 3 million, about the same as what you got in Hong Kong. You won’t disappoint me, right?"

"Of course," he nodded earnestly without any hesitation.

To tell the truth, Jet Li’s initial foray into Hollywood was far more miserable than Jackie Chan’s. Golden Harvest had at least cooperated with Hollywood, and Jackie Chan had played a role in Warner’s ’Cannonball Run’ quite early on, so entering Hollywood was relatively easier for him. When a Hollywood producer approached Jet Li last year to invite him to play a villain in an action movie, the initial offer was a salary of 1 million, which he quickly accepted. But not long after, for some unknown reason, the producer suddenly cut the salary to 750,000.

Many people in Hong Kong advised him not to go; a 750,000 US Dollar salary in Hollywood is what a second-rate actor would get. He could get at least 25 million Hong Kong Dollars per film in Hong Kong, why bother with Hollywood? But Jet Li didn’t listen and accepted the offer right away. Seeing a profit, that producer then pushed the salary down further to 500,000.

He would have accepted that too, if things had gone as expected; he only needed an opportunity, a chance for a broader stage. After several years in Hong Kong, he had seen through certain things.

But now someone else stepped in. Before he had the chance to accept, another company came knocking, inviting him to play a supporting role in a movie for 3 million, although the filming would be delayed, not starting until at least ’98. After hesitating and hovering over this decision, learning about the company and who was behind it, he immediately accepted. If he had had any other choice, he would not have so readily swallowed his pride.

Moreover, Wu Bage and Yuan Heping, who had already ventured to the United States, had passed on messages to him through their own channels, hoping he would accept. Wu Bage didn’t really have any relationship with him, merely passing on a message for Adrian, but Yuan Heping had a significant relationship with him. They had enjoyed working together on ’The Tai-Chi Master’, hence the scene unfolding today.

Adrian was quite satisfied with this. No one in Hollywood understood Jet Li’s situation better than he did. Letting him go so easily was not his style, and he could gain some goodwill by showing a bit of initiative. Why not? It’s just that the shelf life of a Chinese martial arts star here was a bit short. It was an inevitable situation. As he said earlier, the only movies where Chinese actors could make a name for themselves were kung fu films; at first, many Westerners would watch out of curiosity, but repeated viewing could lead to aesthetic fatigue. And because of many more complex reasons, they might blaze brightly across the sky but struggle to stay aloft, unless...

But never mind, making a profit was still making a profit, and some things needed a foundation. Besides, New Line had already invested in Jackie Chan’s new movie for his Hollywood advancement, and Robert Shaye had some vision.

Overall, the party was a success. The three moguls, although not willing to admit defeat, didn’t show it on their faces. It just so happened that all three were not eloquent; without the sharp back-and-forth exchanges, they became far more amiable—after a few drinks, they quickly warmed up to each other. Though Steven Seagal’s name might not be as big as theirs, he was still one of the top action stars, and with Jean Reno and Adrian being old friends, they played a very good lubricative role between them.

The others got along well too, and there were no discriminatory words or actions when they were with Jet Li, which was exactly what Adrian wanted to see.

"This ’The Expendables’ will definitely be interesting," he thought to himself as he mingled at the party. While the actors were being selected, Marvel was also starting to conceive a possible comic adaptation. The art director of the crew also designed different signature weapons and individual characteristics for the different mercenaries. Of course, if Jet Li was willing, he could also design his own action scenes, which would definitely be a sight to behold, and there would be no need to trouble the Yuan brothers.

The story had been revised under his supervision as well, adding many interesting segments. Just find a competent commercial director, and this will definitely make a good commercial movie. As for the only female role with significant screen time, Stallone’s daughter, he already had the perfect candidate in mind—no need to let outsiders reap the benefits.

But there were no plans yet to include female action roles, despite Michelle Young’s impressive moves in "Tomorrow Never Dies" attracting a lot of attention. Wanting to spark a craze for female action movies was still a long shot. Even though Adrian knew the future trends, he planned to test the waters with that movie first; after all, it would just be a matter of a few days.

Naturally, the movie he referred to was "Charlie’s Angels," which was scheduled to release on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. It was an odd choice; generally, this time would be reserved for romantic love stories, hoping to extract box office sales from the couples, and slotting in an action movie seemed out of place.

However, the marketing head had their own reasoning. Firstly, three female leads carried the film, performing dazzling stunts and appealing to many feminists; secondly, they also had boyfriends, but their boyfriends were unaware of their identity, which would certainly capture many women’s hearts; and with the female leads both charming and attractive, singing and dancing in the movie—even their combat scenes carried a sense of beauty—this would attract a lot of men.

All these factors combined, and with the movie containing all the necessary commercial elements well handled, especially since the Christmas-New Year releases had just passed, and all the blockbuster films of the big companies had started to phase out, yet the movie season hadn’t entered the off-peak period. Therefore, an action movie with a completely different style from previous ones might just become popular. Hence, Adrian didn’t oppose such an arrangement. For a movie to be a hit, promotion and marketing are essential, but the key lies in quality. Without a story and plot that the audience enjoys, all marketing efforts are futile.

As expected, "Charlie’s Angels," which premiered across 2000 theaters, managed to bring in just over 30 million US Dollars at the North American box office in just three days. The beautiful and sexy appearance, the thrilling plot, dazzling fights, and all sorts of chuckle-inducing humor made the trio of "Charlie’s Angels" particularly popular among the young—especially girls. Christina Aguilera, who sang the theme song, also suddenly rose to fame with both the song and her person.

"It’s an ingenious film," commented the Los Angeles Times. "If Michelle Young told us in ’Tomorrow Never Dies’ that female action roles can be decent, then Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Kelly Hu further demonstrate this in ’Charlie’s Angels’ with their actual performance."

"Oh, I’m so in love with you, Ed, you know? I’ve never been so happy," Drew exclaimed enthusiastically, grabbing Adrian’s arm while sitting at the bar; her other hand held a glass of whiskey, which swirled around the amber liquid inside.

"You’ve had too much to drink again, Drew," Adrian replied with a smile.

"No, no, no, I swear to God, I absolutely didn’t overdo it," Drew shook her head vigorously, then turned to Cameron beside her, "Right, Camy?"

"Yeah, you’ve only drunk ’a little’," Cameron, sitting on Adrian’s side, lifted a bottle on the bar; the whiskey bottle, recently opened, was now only half full.

"Oh, saying that really breaks my heart," Drew sighed dramatically, and then turned to Kelly Hu, who was leaning on her and giggling non-stop, "Now only you can help me, Kelly."

"Alright, I’ll vouch for Drew; she hasn’t had much to drink. After all, there are four of us here; half a bottle really isn’t much," Kelly Hu smoothed things over, "Besides, even if Drew drank the entire half herself, she wouldn’t be drunk."

"Not getting drunk and being chatty are two different things, Kelly," Adrian reminded her, "I think Camy would agree with me."

"Yeah, just admit you’ve had too much to drink, Drew. Ed’s already on my side." Cameron pressed her whole body against Adrian’s back.

"I just knew it, out of the three of us, Ed likes you the best—already arranging a movie for you while Kelly and I have nothing," Drew half-jokingly complained in an aggrieved tone.

"Stop being jealous, Drew. It’s not like Ed hasn’t thought about us," Cameron giggled.

"Yes, Ed wouldn’t forget us. Besides, Camy’s new movie is also invested in by our company," Kelly Hu chimed in, the three of them clicking perfectly.

At this, Adrian could only shake his head with a wry smile. This was the celebration party for "Charlie’s Angels," which, after taking in 30 million dollars in box office in 3 days, added another 40 million in the following week—breaking 100 million in North America was a very promising prospect. Plus, with the unprecedented popularity of the film, the performances and styles of the three female protagonists had become a hot topic among movie fans, even boosting the rental rate of "Charlie’s Angels" TV series. Drew had completely made a comeback.

Being quite pleased, she naturally dug into her own pocket to host a celebration party at home, inviting a big crowd aside from the company staff and three best sisters—Adrian was naturally among them.

Was this a step back to move forward? Watching the three women chat nonstop after a round of nagging and temporarily setting him aside, Adrian sipped his whiskey while reflecting on their earlier chemistry. To be honest, he really hadn’t expected Drew, Cameron, and Kelly Hu to get along so well. It wasn’t just a performance for outsiders; after Cameron, Kelly Hu had also bought a stake in Drew’s production company.

He indeed had arranged a comedy for Cameron Diaz—a romantic comedy: "There’s Something About Mary." It was a film with great box office potential, and the script had been produced early by the screenwriters and then distributed through a series of tactics to gain a head start. However, the reason for sticking with Cameron was mainly that none of the women around him fit the image of the goofy big sister. Julia might have been a possibility, but her age wasn’t right. Besides, how many top-tier actresses have starred in a romantic comedy?

So after some thought, the role was handed to Cameron. Then he pulled in Drew for investment, selling a favor wasn’t bad either.

"Oh, Ed, it’s a bit noisy here; Camy and I want to go upstairs to have some quiet," Drew suddenly came closer and said coquettishly, "Could you come up to join us in a bit?"

Her plump lips were just inches from his face, her breath tinged with the scent of alcohol, and with her seductive, teasing look, the implication was clear.

"My pleasure," Adrian smiled faintly, then watched them go upstairs. He raised an eyebrow slightly—if he wasn’t mistaken, it looked like... the three of them?!

After sitting at the bar for a few more minutes, Adrian stood up and made some rounds, casually chatting with a few acquaintances and looking at the noisy crowd in the room and outside, he then headed upstairs. He arrived quickly at the familiar bedroom door, straightened his clothes, and gave a light cough before knocking.

"Come in, the door is unlocked," a sugary voice immediately sounded, indistinguishable through the door.

After entering, Adrian closed and locked the door behind him, shutting out the noise from outside. Before he could even speak, he was stopped in his tracks. The lighting in the room was deliberately dimmed to the lowest, casting a dull yellow glow that carried a hint of ambiguous charm. As expected, Kelly Hu was there, lounging on Drew’s bed—which had been purchased for the express purpose of tumbling about—with Drew and Cameron, dressed only in a midriff-baring tank top and panties.

"Hi, Angels," Adrian greeted half-jokingly.

"Hi, Charlie," they responded in unison, to his surprise.

"It’s finally nice to meet you, Charlie," Cameron said as she hopped out of bed and wrapped her arms around his left side.

"You’re even more attractive than your voice," Drew added, walking over to his right side and embracing him as well.

"And now we can finally fulfill a long-standing wish," Kelly Hu said, approaching from behind and wrapping her arms around his waist.

The story of "Charlie’s Angels" was born from the TV show of the same name, revolving around three beautiful female detectives carrying out various tasks for the millionaire Charlie, who generally communicated with them via radio and never made an actual appearance. Adrian’s identity fit well with Charlie’s, which was why he had posed that question in the first place. The women had not hesitated in their response, clearly indicating this scenario had been preplanned.

After making his way around six red lips, Adrian exhaled deeply, already aroused by the three sets of hands taking their turns. Drew, Cameron, and Kelly Hu all started to get excited, each having an affair with Adrian and all aware of each other’s involvement. Adrian had more than once had threesomes with Drew and Cameron, sometimes even in Drew’s company office, and Kelly Hu knew this. At this point, reserve was meaningless.

His clothes were quickly stripped off, revealing his muscular body, and amidst the hugging and kissing, he sat on the bed. Drew and Cameron knelt on either side of him, laying their hands on him while passionately kissing him, as Kelly Hu kissed her way down his chest, eventually taking her position before him. Without saying a word, it was clear whom they were giving the honor of the first encounter that night.

As Kelly Hu began her attention below, Adrian let out a contented moan from his throat, tightening his grip on Drew and Cameron, his head moving back and forth between the two bodies beside him.

After Dennis’s unplanned encounter with four people, Adrian had been plotting his own opportunity for such an experience. Unlike Dennis, Adrian’s principle when dealing with women was never to force them; also, he wasn’t one to leave everything to luck, so achieving this fantasy would require careful planning.

Unexpectedly, before he could finalize any specific plan, Drew and Cameron took the initiative and brought Kelly Hu along for a surprise encounter. This was quite a surprise for Adrian; he had often teased Kelly Hu during their intimate moments, attempting to encourage her to try a threesome, but she had always deflected the proposal. Yet now, not only had she agreed to it, but she had escalated to a four-person encounter from the start. Was she being bold or something else?

Still, Adrian accepted it with a smile; he could find no reason to refuse.

The atmosphere in the room began to turn salacious, particularly as Kelly Hu, very enthusiastically working below, produced sounds that directly ignited Drew and Cameron’s ardor. They kissed Adrian even more fervently, and from time to time, Kelly Hu would raise her head to gaze provocatively at the threesome above her. The excitement in the women at his sides grew, and as they each threw off their tank tops to reveal their equally full and soft attributes, they began kissing Adrian’s chest. They, too, descended from the bed, and finally knelt before him.

The night had only just begun. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)