King of Hollywood
Chapter 501 - 222: Several New Movies

Chapter 501: Chapter 222: Several New Movies

She was dressed in a white sheath dress with a loose black belt tied around her waist, covered by a goose-yellow coat, and on her feet a pair of beige high heels that exuded a competent air, quite the embodiment of a strong, successful woman. Only, her face bore a cold expression, as if the man before her owed her millions.

"Is there something you needed, Miss Ivanka?" Adrian maintained his polite yet somewhat distant demeanor.

"It’s like this, I have a question for Mr. Adrian—do you have some sort of problem with me?" Ivanka tried to keep herself calm, but her tone was still somewhat aggressive.

"A problem?" Adrian raised an eyebrow, "Why would I? Miss Ivanka is an exceptional young lady with good manners and a commitment to her goals and ambitions. According to your father, you prefer to stay at home rather than wander aimlessly through nightclubs, which is a very good habit. For a young girl, there are many things worth more attention than nightclubs."

Despite his seemingly sincere look, the insincerity of his words was quite apparent. Ivanka’s eyelids twitched, suppressing the urge to retort sarcastically, but Adrian didn’t give her a chance. He waved his hand and walked away: "I apologize, Miss Ivanka, but I have other matters to attend to and can’t continue chatting with you. Please believe me, I have no issue with you."

Without looking back, he left, leaving Ivanka standing there for a good while before she realized what had happened. Angrily glaring at his departing figure, her chest heaved several times before she managed to contain her emotions. Scanning her surroundings, she waited until a few whispering people either lowered their heads or walked away, then, with a tight face and pursed lips, she walked in the opposite direction of Adrian.

Although these reactions were all within Adrian’s expectations, he didn’t pay them much mind. What a joke to consider, remembering their first meeting and the tone she had used: "Are you the infamous playboy?" Ha, such arrogance. So why should he bother making a fool of himself? Women are like that, when your reputation as a ladies’ man precedes you, but you show no interest in them, they’re more likely to throw themselves at you.

Of course, one must handle the situation with precision. Take Adrian’s earlier remarks, for example, stressing "you’d rather be alone," focusing on just this point. To the ears of a girl who comes from a wealthy family and models to earn pocket money, did she like these tags of "dull" and "unknowledgeable about life"?

Perhaps a few years later, a more seasoned Ivanka Trump might realize this, but for now, she was still just a smart, precocious young girl limited by her experiences, let alone that Adrian was a man of two lifetimes. But there was no rush at the moment, the time wasn’t ripe. He would wait for her to struggle in the web for a while longer.

Thus, at the Trump family party that evening, Adrian didn’t give her any chance. Every time he noticed Ivanka’s occasionally resentful glance, he found it amusing.

Yet, Adrian’s life in New York wasn’t dull, for a few days later, after wrapping up his business and preparing to leave, Natalie snuck out to see him again. This time, he wouldn’t let the girl slip away—in fact, Natalie hadn’t planned to. After discussing her thesis, they naturally started kissing, and what followed was just as naturally a progression.

To his surprise, Natalie was much more forward than before, showcasing her vigor and energy splendidly, even initiating a back-entry position. When Adrian lifted her from behind for movement, she did not resist. Afterwards, they maintained this position all the way to the bathroom for a shower together, followed by another round of fiery action. Since they were in the water, protection was inconvenient, making their connection quite close, but fortunately, Adrian knew when to hold back, pulling out at the climax. (Let’s just ignore getting pregnant from sharing a bath.)

Satisfied, if it weren’t for considering that Natalie needed to go back in the evening, he would’ve loved to leave her bedridden. However, later during the moments of tenderness, Adrian couldn’t help but feel some doubt. Before this, even trying a back-entry took much coaxing to agree to, let alone the intensity of today. Of course, he didn’t express these doubts; some things were better off ignored for the time being.

"You’re a scoundrel, Ed, an evil one," Natalie had said lazily after their passion, with a teasing tone, yet her slightly open misty eyes seemed to be sparkling with something.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, besides continuing with the post-production of "Mulholland Drive" and the promotion for "The Matrix," he also inquired about several movies in preparation or about to start filming. For instance, "The Mummy," directed by Stephen Somers, was about to begin shooting with actors like Brandon Fraser, John Hannah already on set, and of course, the female lead Rachel Weisz couldn’t be absent.

As for "Serendipity," the male lead was yet to be decided, but the female lead was a given—Kate had played this role in a previous life. The movie, released at the same time as "Pearl Harbor," had also received some favorable reviews.

"Why do they suddenly want me to star in this kind of romantic movie?" Kate couldn’t understand Adrian’s decision. Whether it was the cameo-heavy ’Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,’ the highly artistic ’Howards End,’ or the commercially successful ’Twisters,’ the roles she had played had little to do with romance.

The women in Adrian’s life didn’t have the same freedom of script choice as other actresses. As long as he recommended it, they would not or could not refuse. He always found a way to get them to agree. However, to say that they were unhappy about it would be utter nonsense; many actresses longed for such options, knowing well the ’Miracle Director’s’ keen eye.

"Because I haven’t been able to position you properly yet, my dear," was how Adrian responded. A suitable explanation was necessary after all; one couldn’t use the same tactics on every woman that were used on Rachel.

"’Serendipity’ is just a trial, and after that, I plan to arrange a variety of different roles for you, such as action or thriller," he continued. "Because, Lily, you need to start anew."

This version of ’Serendipity’ would be different from the one in his past life. The first 30 minutes of the original were fairly good, but the later part felt rather rushed. For example, the frequent near-misses between the leads could engage the audience once or twice, but it became annoying if overused. So he had the script revised many times and, using his connections, invited the skilled Nora Ephron to direct and produce, trusting it would surpass the original.

"Wow, I should count myself lucky, shouldn’t I?" Kate said with a hint of self-deprecating exaggeration.

Adrian said nothing, merely looking her up and down with an almost brazen gaze, as if the woman before him was not dressed. Kate’s cheeks flushed, but she quickly wore an indifferent expression; being sized up by this bastard was nothing new—it was just his way of making her uncomfortable.

"Your figure is still so perfect, dear. Lily hasn’t been a burden at all, so I think you should try action roles," Adrian said with a slight smile at the corners of his mouth. "For instance, wearing a glossy, tight outfit while scaling the steel jungle or the edges of cliffs—that would be incredibly sexy and charming."

"Sounds like you can hardly wait. You must have been planning this for a while," Kate huffed lightly.

"Something like that, you know, a movie has already been scheduled," Adrian shrugged and then mouthed something to Kate.

Kate was initially puzzled, but after Adrian mouthed it a few more times, she caught on: "You mean... that one... is being adapted into a movie?!"

With a mix of excitement and disbelief, her eyes shot a complex beam of joy, nostalgia, and loss.

"Yes, so you might as well start preparing now," Adrian said with a somewhat cunning smile.

Some roles were meant for Kate, and Adrian had already started preparations, determined not to repeat the original’s mistakes. However, before that, she could warm up with that role, especially since the character was originally designed after her—at least that’s the case now—as for ’Pearl Harbor,’ on second thought, it’s best to let it go. The problem wasn’t that easy to solve. Even without Michael Bay directing, the script needed major revisions; the original was mostly criticized for the excessive romantic scenes between the male and female leads. However, if that element were downplayed, how could the female lead stand out as the sole spot of brightness amidst a sea of green?

Without changes, unless an extremely talented director was found, it was hard to avoid repeating Michael Bay’s mistakes. While Adrian could try his hand at it, he had many other arrangements; but if the script were changed, the female lead would likely become a supporting character, so what would be the point of Kate’s involvement? Therefore, it might be better to just let it be, after all, there were plenty of good movies out there.

Besides these two films, there was another one that had been filming for nearly a week, a movie that had failed due to external factors: ’Swordfish.’

"It’s an interesting story, with several main characters, each with unpredictable loyalty, and everyone has a dark side. So I think it’s a good idea to use cooler tones in public settings and warmer ones in private," Dominic Sena, who was directing, explained to Adrian in the studio.

"I guess that’s true, but you have to consider the different effect that comes from filming with a handheld camera versus using a regular dolly. Of course, it’s up to you to get it right. I’m just making a suggestion," Adrian didn’t put too much pressure on him.

Then he moved on to the three main actors, who were chatting and laughing together. Sean Penn and Hugh Jackman were talking animatedly, while Halle Berry spent most of the time smiling and listening by their side.

"I’m really happy to see you all getting along so well, especially you, Sean. I’ve been quite worried about you—afraid you might yank the stool from under your butt and smash it over Hugh’s head," Adrian joined in with a laugh.

"I’m not Depp Johnny, Ed," Sean said with a defiant expression and mockingly waved his fist.

"Oh, right, my mistake. I should be worried about you pulling a Chicago typewriter from beneath your coat and turning Hugh into a honeycomb," Adrian nodded seriously.

Immediately, laughter filled the area. Rumors about Sean Penn’s hot temper and eccentric behavior had been circulating Hollywood for a long time. When he married Madonna, paparazzi rented helicopters to crash the wedding from the air. The guy immediately picked up a shotgun and pulled the trigger at the helicopter, later expressing very angrily, "These guys are not human; I never shoot at humans."

Thus, a joke was born: in Hollywood, if someone is chasing reporters, it’s probably Mike Tyson; if someone is chasing reporters with a stool, it’s quite likely Depp Johnny; if someone is chasing reporters with a gun, then it’s definitely Sean Penn! You can tell how terrifying he is.

But is that really the case? Would a media that an actor claimed to hate 90% of have anything nice to say about him? Of course, Sean Penn’s personality does have its flaws; Madonna had been beaten until she was black and blue and couldn’t appear on the show—Adrian couldn’t help but maliciously guess, maybe they played too happy and went too far, as Madonna is quite into that.

Anyway, once you got to know him and he considered you one of his people, he was pretty warm-hearted.

"No no no, if I really had a Chicago typewriter hidden under my coat, you’d be the one turned into a beehive," Sean Penn retorted without any courtesy.

"Ha, you really want to off me that badly?" Adrian didn’t mind at all.

"Of course, if you were gone, maybe those reporters of yours would end up unemployed and finished," the bad boy said earnestly.

"Well then, if we ever work together again, and it’s also an action movie, I’ll do a bit part so you can spray at will, how about that?" Adrian spread his hands open.

"No problem! That’s a deal!" Sean Penn immediately whistled, provoking another burst of laughter.

"How do you feel, Hugh?" Adrian then turned to Jackman.

"Not bad," Jackman looked pleasantly surprised, "but to be honest, I don’t think I look like a hacker at all."

"No worries, no one knows what a hacker actually looks like," Adrian patted his shoulder, "Last year, there was a news story about the police in Pennsylvania arresting a hacker who had broken into the tax office. Think about it—that’s the tax office, the most powerful government agency in the United States, the FBI and CIA are just small fry compared to them, even Al Capone fell into their hands. Yet that hacker was only fourteen years old, he probably didn’t even realize where he had broken into."

The humorous remark again elicited laughter from the people around, and Jackman also let go, "Honestly, sometimes I feel I’m more suited for Sean’s role, especially when he keeps nagging in my ear about how fun the role is."

"Exactly," Sean Penn interjected promptly, "especially the opening monologue, it’s exactly what I want to say from the bottom of my heart!"

"Swordfish" tells its story using a reverse narrative structure, starting off with Sean Penn’s character, Gabriel, who, surrounded by police, goes on a tirade about everything wrong with Hollywood’s formulaic approach to filmmaking.

"...Take ’Dog Day Afternoon’ for example, Al Pacino’s best work, nothing less can be said about the directorial prowess, the script, the cinematography are all stellar, but why couldn’t it be perfect? Let Al Pacino get away scot-free, really get away..." Sean Penn recited passionately, obviously very fond of the lines.

As the last word was recited, applause broke out around, and Sean Penn smugly took a 180-degree bow. This atmosphere was great for the set; harmonious moods lead to smoother operations and more efficient shooting.

During the following shoots, Adrian became even more convinced that casting Sean Penn as Gabriel was a good idea. Although Travolta’s original portrayal left a deep impression on him, especially the thin eyes and the slightly upturned corners of his mouth giving off a perpetual smirk, Sean Penn’s rebellious, carefree, and brooding nature captured the character’s essence completely, especially as he naturally detested politics, making him perfect for the role.

With such an outstanding actor, if this version of "Swordfish" still lost out to the original, one could only say there was something wrong with the world. Furthermore, Adrian had revised some of the more controversial lines in the original script, such as "They blow up one of our churches, we blow up ten of theirs," which was toned down to be less provocative.

Soon, the day’s filming came to an end. After the director gave instructions for the next day, everyone left the set in turn, including Adrian. Although he had arrived alone, he did not leave by himself.

"Hey, beautiful and sexy lady, may I offer you a ride?" Adrian called out, having parked his car and sticking his head out to the red-dressed lady searching for her keys.

"Oh, thank you so much, I can’t seem to find my car keys, should be alright to leave it here overnight, right?" she turned and asked with raised eyebrows.

"Of course, it’ll be fine. If you’re worried, I can drive you back here tomorrow morning," Adrian said, making a welcoming gesture.

"Let’s do that then," Halle Berry said, approaching and giving him a charming smile as she sat down next to the driver’s seat.

Though they hadn’t spoken much on set, they now chatted happily, particularly Halle, who was frequently amused by the conversation. The flirtatious look in her eyes suggested their relationship was definitely not ordinary.

"That joke wasn’t funny at all, Ed!" said Halle, even though her eyes had already curled into crescents and her mouth bore an unspeakable smile, as the joke Adrian had just told her was about the widely talked-about scandal involving Clinton and Lewinsky, how Lewinsky had gone from "Oh, Clinton, please don’t do this" to simply "Oh."

"So what should I say?" Adrian shrugged his shoulders.

"Try something different, something more thrilling," Halle suggested, cradling her cheek and tapping her fingers on her face, her short hair and red dress complementing her dark skin and adding a touch of allure.

"Oh?" Adrian was just about to reply when Halle Berry leaned forward, slipping her arm through his. Then, he took a deep breath and slowed down the car. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and support me, your encouragement is my biggest motivation.)