King of Hollywood
Chapter 654 - 62: Comparison

Chapter 654: Chapter 62: Comparison

"So, which of these two movies do you prefer?" Julia raised an eyebrow after spreading jam on her toast, having heard Adrian out as he wore his pajamas.

Unfortunately, that move never worked on him. After taking a sip of his morning coffee, Adrian let out a satisfied sigh and said, "I like both."

She knew he was a playboy, and she had come to accept it, so why ask a question that would only bore her? However, Julia’s purpose at the moment wasn’t there.

"Julia wants to ask a different question," Zetajones, sitting on the other side of Adrian, promptly picked up the coffee pot to fill his cup, then winked at Julia, "Right, Julia?"

Indifferently, Julia shrugged her shoulders and handed the slice of bread she had spread to Adrian. After taking a bite and theatrically closing his eyes to savor it, he gave a thumbs up in praise before chuckling, "I believe Julia already has her answer, whatever it is, it’s the right one."

Without a doubt, Julia was inquiring about his relationship with Natalie; in fact, after the release of "Erin Brockovich," the debate about Natalie being the eighth "Miracle Girl" had resurfaced. After all, any actress who played the lead role in one of Adrian’s movies over the past few years was a "Miracle Girl," so it was impossible to say Natalie had nothing to do with him, especially since she had worked with him in the early ’90s. Admiring the "Miracle Director" was a normal thing.

As far as Adrian knew, similar topics were circulating around Harvard’s campus again—he wondered if Evan and Shelly had poked around with Natalie. But he needn’t worry too much; he had his ways. He’d start by leaking the news that Jessica had visited the set—and of course, he wouldn’t actually name Jessica, considering she was a single mother and it would be trouble if rumors started.

Anyway, it sufficed to let slip that other women had visited the set during the shooting of "Winter’s Bone." The crew might not want to name names, but confirming the visits wouldn’t be a problem, then add in a series of tactics; he might not be able to shut them up completely, but he could lower their volume. Besides, Adrian hadn’t intended to silence them in the first place.

"Good morning, Ed!" Just as Julia was about to speak, Small Emma’s voice came from the entrance of the dining room, and then the neatly dressed little one yawned as she appeared before the three of them.

"Good morning, Auntie, good morning, Aunt Katherine," Small Emma greeted them while she took a big gulp of the milk that a servant handed her.

She truly was oblivious—whether it was Little Emma or Lily, they would have immediately guessed what had transpired between Adrian, Julia, and Zetajones. Only this little one seemed completely unaware, and it wasn’t the first time. Zetajones had been coming over to Julia’s home frequently—after playing a threesome with Adrian following their performance in "America’s Sweetheart." She was indeed a decisive woman; once Adrian had made a move, and as she wasn’t likely to leave him for the time being, she promptly started getting closer to Julia. It was unclear whether Julia was doing it on purpose, but she seemed to get along well with Zetajones.

In any case, with such happenings, it was no wonder that Small Emma noticed nothing and was always easily swayed by Little Emma.

"If I have to choose, I’d vote for ’Erin Brockovich.’ The color grading alone is so comfortable to look at, not to mention the plot. ’Winter’s Bone’ seems a bit too harsh," Zetajones brought the conversation back to the films. Interestingly, she was clearly showing her support for Julia, using the same reasoning Adrian had earlier—playing both sides.

"What do you think, Ed?" Julia kicked the ball right back to Adrian.

"I’m thrilled that I could bring the colors to their full potential," Adrian laughed heartily.

Indeed, among all filming techniques, his control and use of color grading were the best, since he had excelled in this area in his previous life. Adding to this was his constant learning and perfecting by comparison as he replicated others’ work in this life. Then, because the style of movies he produced was always different, his exceptionally subtle handling of color grading became particularly noticeable.

"What are you guys talking about?" Small Emma joined in, waving her spoon and unwilling to be left out.

"Oh, sorry, dear, I forgot you were still here," Adrian said with a smile as he looked at her. "We were talking about the movie your dear aunt just released."

"I know I know, it’s called ’Erin Brockovich’, right?" Small Emma immediately began to show off her "knowledge," but after looking up for several seconds, she embarrassedly scratched her head: "What’s the story about?"

Adrian and Zetajones couldn’t help but laugh at her question, while Julia laughed and sighed at the same time.

"Well, I know it’s really bad, but I honestly can’t remember," the little one pouted a bit aggrievedly, then her eyes spun around, swiftly changing the subject, "Speaking of which, Ed, when is my movie coming out? I did a really great job, everyone praised me for it—I’m sure I’ll surprise a lot of people."

"They’ll certainly be surprised, especially when you perform your striptease," Julia rolled her eyes at Small Emma, still disliking the final scene of ’Little Miss Sunshine.’

"Striptease?" Zetajones was somewhat taken aback, and Adrian quickly filled her in on the plot of the movie.

"I did practice it for a long time." Small Emma looked smug, nostrils flaring, as if to show off and also to express dissatisfaction with her aunt’s remark.

"Don’t worry, dear, the movie will be released soon. Maybe it won’t get high ratings at first, but there will be a surprise for you later," Adrian said. He made a point of watching those movies he was involved with before they were completed, and ’Little Miss Sunshine’ was no exception. Small Emma’s performance might have been a bit immature, but Oliver’s vital characteristics were very accurately portrayed. However, because the Christmas release schedule was so competitive, and there might be a better opportunity next month or even next year, it was rescheduled.

"Alright, that settles it then. As long as I can outshine Charlotte, that’s all that matters." Small Emma, not forgetting her desire to surpass Little Emma, said. Since the topic had successfully shifted, there was no need to dwell on it any further—a bit of cleverness she certainly had, but she probably didn’t realize that neither Adrian, Julia nor Zetajones had any intention of clinging to that subject.

"By the way, Ed," Small Emma then looked at him with hopeful eyes, having thought of something else, "can I play a role in one of your movies? Auntie always says she enjoys working with you."

Adrian gave a chuckle as he looked towards Julia, who gave him a silent glance and said nothing superfluous.

"Don’t worry, Emma, there will be opportunities," he said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever worked with you either, Ed," Zetajones said in an offhand tone, although her gaze never left him.

"There will be opportunities, Kate," Adrian replied with his usual smiling demeanor, but only he knew the truth of that.

"Then I’ll be looking forward to it," Zetajones didn’t press any further.

To be frank, Adrian hadn’t arranged such a piece for her, so wasn’t it from the beginning a transaction? Even though Zetajones had become very compliant, it was still better to complete this transaction first.

When Adrian was having breakfast at Julia’s home, the media’s ongoing comparison between "Erin Brockovich" and "Winter’s Bone" continued incessantly. Just as he had said, these two movies were so similar, yet so distinctly different, both coming from the same famous director and both released at year-end— it goes without saying what that implied— it would have been strange not to compare them.

This comparison even involved Erin Brockovich herself, with the most exaggerated point being that nine out of ten calls she received in a day were inquiries about her views on this matter, forcing her to briefly mention it on her personal website—firstly, she regarded "Winter’s Bone" as an excellent film, then reminisced about the case from a few years ago and expressed her sentiments, and lastly, she said that "Erin Brockovich" was also a good film, which made her feel honored and determined to continue working hard.

Such an outcome had been anticipated before the films were released, so Adrian had been calmly observing all this time. The only thing that had gotten more of his attention these days was the third Monday of this month. Without suspense, the Supreme Court had recently ruled by a vote of 7 to 2 to order a recount in Florida, which quite matched the nine justices’ affiliations— seven from the Republican Party and two from the Democratic Party. And the final outcome was that Junior Bush surpassed Gore by more than 700 votes, thereby securing Florida’s 25 electoral votes for Junior Bush and locking in his presidential seat.

"I have to say, dear Ed, you indeed have great vision, our investment has once again yielded a rich return," Claude said very happily to Adrian, "I haven’t sent anyone to convey congratulations yet, and Senior Bush has already personally called me to express his gratitude. I think some people must be quite displeased."

Without doubt, he was referring to the other few media giants. Ordinary people couldn’t see the moves AC Media made to curry favor with Junior Bush, but they wouldn’t fail to notice it. Of course, to them, this seemed like gambling, and the risks were very high. In matters like elections, it’s difficult to tell who will be the winner until the final moment, even for someone like Murdoch with relatively deep government ties. This is why big corporations and conglomerates bet on both sides.

In fact, Claude also saw it this way. If not for Adrian insisting on taking a gamble, he would have shown limited favor towards Junior Bush. However, it seemed now that such a gamble was very worthwhile, and even News Corporation, which was completely biased toward the Republican Party, probably didn’t expect that AC Media would gain an advantage in such a way.

"Such a slight advantage indeed makes it difficult to make the correct judgement, but the first thing that comes to my mind isn’t that," Adrian said while flipping through election-related materials, "I’m thinking of that ’curse.’

"Curse?" Claude asked, confused.

"Haven’t you heard? Every U.S. president elected in a year ending with a zero has died a violent death while in office," Adrian said with a chuckle, dropping what he was holding, "Lincoln, McKinley, Roosevelt, Kennedy—all met that fate, and so far, only Reagan has escaped, supposedly due to a curse from an Indian chief killed during the westward expansion in the 1830s and 1840s."

"Where did you hear such nonsense?" Claude couldn’t help but sigh deeply, covering his forehead.

"Alright, let’s not talk about that, let’s discuss when we can close the deal with AT&T Broadband instead," Adrian laughed heartily, "The other media groups surely have other tricks up their sleeves."

"No worries, once Mister Junior Bush is sworn in next month, we can start the plan. I’ve already clearly indicated this in negotiations with Senior Bush. As for the other media groups, don’t worry, the advantage is on our side, and I’ve prepared several backup plans," Claude said in a relaxed tone.

"Then I’ll just sit back and watch," Adrian said, reassured. Even though the future held more and more variables, it was all still within his reach, his Empire was destined to be complete!

After ensuring that the acquisition of AT&T Broadband was not facing too many obstacles, Adrian turned his attention back to the movies, eventually speaking up again for "Erin Brockovich."

"Both films are my work, so I love them both. Whether it’s ’Winter’s Bone’ or ’Erin Brockovich,’ they both reflect certain societal phenomena that truly exist in our society, and there’s no need to distinguish which is superior. In fact, I just want to tell stories, to tell them in various ways. The significance of the stories lies with the audience," Adrian replied to the reporters’ microphones.

Here is the premiere of "What Women Want," and as Sophie’s first film appearance after giving birth, Adrian had to show up no matter what, especially since it was invested in by Bossworth. Even though Bossworth had downsized and was primarily focusing on horror and thriller genres, engaging in an unexpected dispute with Lionsgate, they could still get involved in some medium-sized investments.

As many of Bossworth’s people who had been behind Adrian since his venture had mostly risen in rank, the company was nonetheless a monument. Hence, such support was essential.

Since it was the premiere of another movie, Adrian commented briefly, as there would be the premiere of "The Bone Collector" before Christmas anyway. How could he attend Sophie’s and not Monica’s? For now, he would just put off the journalists. If needed, he could comment then.

As a romantic comedy film set to release in mid-December, battling it out during the Christmas slot, it undoubtedly had something special to offer. Hence, many guests attended, but Adrian’s attention wasn’t on them. They were all too familiar, and unless there was something of importance, a casual conversation was enough.

His attention was mostly on Sophie—just like during "Erin Brockovich," Adrian walked the red carpet arm-in-arm with Sophie, unquestionably murdering many of the journalists’ rolls of film, considering the Miracle Director had never publicly expressed an opinion about the Miracle Girl. Apart from that, a small part of his focus was on the film’s supporting actress, ah, the one playing the daughter of the male lead—Keira Knightley.

"Although I’ve only seen some parts, I think Keira’s performance is rather noteworthy. I believe in a few minutes, we will get to see her brilliant acting," Adrian said to Shawen, Keira’s mother. It’s only natural for a mother to accompany her daughter to the United States for the premiere of the film she stars in.

"Thank you, Ed, thank you for always looking after her," Shawen said proudly and gratefully.

Keira had become a bit more cheerful and willing to interact with more people, evolving from a girl who was always sensitive and rarely smiled; Adrian had played some role in this. Of course, it was a different story in the eyes of others, like Sophie, who was currently arm-in-arm with him.

"It’s a pity I didn’t get to act opposite Sophie," Keira was also observing Sophie but only with curiosity in her eyes, "Honestly, Sophie is one of my favorite French actresses."

"Thank you, you’re a wonderful girl, Keira," Sophie replied with a genuine smile. Even if she had any thoughts, they were directed at Adrian and wouldn’t involve Keira.

"But acting alongside Mr. Gibson has also taught me a lot," Keira then looked towards Mel Gibson, who had been silent until now.

Indeed, this Australian actor, the only one not part of Adrian’s Australian contingent, remained the male lead of "What Women Want." Director Nancy Meyers thought such a masculine actor would be just right for the scenes in the movie where he tries out women’s products.

"You’re one of the most talented British actresses I’ve seen, Keira, as outstanding as Sophie," Gibson laughed heartily, then glanced at Sophie.

Noticing his expression, Adrian chuckled inwardly. He remembered rumors from the past claiming Gibson invited Sophie to play Isabella in "Braveheart" due to his affection for the French actress. Of course, that was impossible now, but unexpectedly, they had still collaborated with Sophie in this way. Regardless of his thoughts, they were unimportant, as Adrian had previously instructed the producer. Although Gibson was known for his temper, that didn’t mean he lacked brains, so he had behaved impeccably from start to finish.

Unfortunately, even so, Adrian had no intention of bringing him into the Australian contingent. Arriving too early in Hollywood, having his network and circle was one reason; a fiery temper, excessively arrogant, and difficult to get along with was another. Adrian had no interest in supporting someone who was already on the decline.

Even though he had given Gibson a push, the man had still won an Oscar statuette for Best Director in his previous life. But so what? If he could send the script to the original author for advice, would he care about these things?

"Alright, it’s almost time. Let’s go in and enjoy the movie," Adrian suggested after checking the time, then he exchanged glances with Keira as they walked towards the theater. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)