Chapter 870: Chapter 276: Bombshell
"Cheers!" As the synchronized voices echoed, those sitting at the bar raised their glasses and drank them in one go, then burst into laughter together.
"Remember what I said, Will, you’re the best, every one of your movies is going to be hugely popular," Adrian laughed as he patted the shoulder of the lead actor of ’I, Robot,’ Will Smith. This was considered a celebration party, even though the movie’s investment exceeded millions, the nearly 60 million in box office earnings in the first week explained everything.
"That’s right, nobody can compare to you in this field, Will, not even Denzel Washington," someone next to him added.
"Including the romantic comedy that’s set to release next year?" Smith asked Adrian in a half-joking tone while twirling the glass in his hand.
"Of course, and it certainly won’t be much less than those big productions, it will definitely reflect your real value, Will, I’m sure," Adrian laughed heartily.
"Wow, when the Miracle Director says so..." Smith immediately raised his glass, "I think we should have one more drink."
Everyone started to egg on each other, so another glass of wine was downed, and then Smith let out a long breath and chuckled while looking at Ed, "Speaking of which, it seems we haven’t worked together all these years. I pleaded with you so much to give me a role in ’The Matrix,’ and you still refused. It really broke my heart, Ed."
"I know, Will, I know," Adrian smiled and clinked glasses with him, "but unfortunately, to be frank, there really isn’t a suitable role for you in the current plan."
Before the other side could show a disappointed expression, he immediately changed his tone: "But... Jaden is almost 7 years old, right?"
"Yes, why?" Smith looked puzzled.
"Do you think he’d be interested in appearing on screen with his father, playing a father and son in an inspirational movie?" Adrian looked at him seriously.
It took only a second for Smith to react: "Of course, without a doubt, that’s for sure."
With those previous words, he knew that Adrian currently did not have a suitable role for him in his plan, but that didn’t matter. The Miracle Director asked him so earnestly whether he would be willing to star in a movie with his son, this clearly wouldn’t be a simple work. Moreover, as someone who has been working in Hollywood for more than a decade, Smith knows what an inspirational movie means.
Sure enough, Adrian then simply mentioned a few sentences about the movie’s plot: "It’s a biography of a down-and-out salesman who had to accept various assistances, even spending nights in subway bathrooms with his son, who eventually, through his own efforts, became an outstanding stockbroker."
"Wow, it does sound quite inspirational." Smith rubbed his chin, even more confident, "So we’re set?"
"Of course." Adrian laughed, drained his glass after chatting with him a few more sentences, "Then let’s leave it at that, you guys enjoy your celebration."
"Leaving already? It’s only ten o’clock." Smith was a bit surprised, but then he put on a smile, a smile that only a man would understand, "You’re not in a rush to go back to Miss Lin... oh, she really is a beautiful woman, I must say, you’re amazing, Ed. There probably isn’t a woman in Hollywood you can’t get."
"Shut up, Will." Adrian rolled his eyes directly and then leisurely left.
This was essentially an open secret. Otherwise, how could an Asian get such a major female lead or important female supporting role in a big production? Lin Zhiling also knew this, especially after the first week’s box office numbers were out; her position as Hollywood’s first Chinese female star became even more solid, so she conscientiously served Adrian in bed for several consecutive days, even playing many exciting games with the other three women.
The other three women were all very cooperative. Lin Xilei, needless to say, got together with Lin Zhiling from the start. Her manager career was also closely tied to Adrian. Gao Yuanyuan and Li Zi both knew that they could replicate Lin Zhiling’s path and are in the process of doing so. After all, this is Hollywood, and as minorities, sticking together is of course necessary, even if they’re from across the strait. Besides, although there’s some age difference among them, they’re all born in the 70s, which makes it easier for them to band together smoothly.
And of the two, Li Zi was the most diligent. After all, she was the oldest and initially just wanted to find a reliance for herself. Unexpectedly, it turned into an opportunity to leap through the dragon gate, so she would never let go no matter what. Plus, with Gao Yuanyuan and Lin Zhiling as examples, the development path was clearer and more convincing, so she was fully displaying her charm, not only not losing to Lin Zhiling in bed but also taking the training seriously, much stronger than Liu Sisi, who was receiving training in Los Angeles as an exchange student.
Speaking of Liu Sisi, Adrian can’t help but want to chuckle. Her brash, somewhat thick-skinned personality, although allowing her to quickly adapt to life in the United States, required quite a bit more time to complete training and integrate fully. Months had passed, and she was still having some stumbles in communicating with outsiders. Fortunately, the Liu family, mother and daughter, took good care of her. After all, whether it’s Liu Li or Liu Yufei, they both know that Liu Sisi is a dish right by his side.
Of course, thanks to her personality, Liu Yufei, who’s one year older, quickly became her close friend, and Liu Li had no trouble recognizing her as a goddaughter, making it more convenient to inculcate certain concepts. Being repeatedly brainwashed by close people in a foreign land, coupled with Adrian making an effort to take them out for meals to express goodwill before leaving for Europe, Liu Sisi began to admire him.
But for now, let it be. Don’t add any more; although the new pattern has smoothly been accepted by Americans, it’s still unsuitable for too many people. As for those from the mainland, if they are willing, they’re welcome to play extras, Adrian would be glad to have them here for vacation; it provided quite some enjoyment for him several times this year.
What is referred to as the new model is a movie like the currently airing ’I, Robot,’ with a black male lead, an important Asian female supporting role, plus a bunch of white male supporting roles. As long as the black male lead has enough box office appeal, and the quality of the movie is solid, generally speaking, American audiences would have no objections, for this concerns racial harmony.
Just like there wouldn’t be a black high-ranking villain in a commercial blockbuster; even if someone doesn’t like the presence of significant Asian roles in the movie, as long as the weight isn’t crucial to the movie’s fate, and there is an outstanding main character constantly holding the audience’s attention, there’ll basically be no objections.
Just like in ’I, Robot,’ most people praise Will Smith’s good acting and high commercial value, with critiques mostly focused on the adaptation, as sci-fi novel fans claim it’s a complete desecration of Asimov’s original novel, especially the inexplicable ending. The harshest comment about Lin Zhiling would be that she completed her vase task well.
No matter what, even though the Chinese have low political standing in the United States due to various factors, being openly racist still invites trouble—this is also political correctness. As such, there’s no need to be too particular, and audiences or critics tend to be more forgiving towards actresses.
Adrian thus remains on good terms with Smith, although the pairing doesn’t necessarily have to be male lead or black, a black male lead is undoubtedly best, as it embodies the so-called melting pot of races in America.
Alright, enough about that. Even though there’s endless enjoyment with Lin Zhiling’s side, Adrian left the party not to go to them but because someone else needed his comfort.
"I thought you’d wait a bit longer to come back." Kate said as she returned to the living room after putting Lily to sleep with Adrian.
"Why should I wait a bit longer to come back? Why can’t I come back early because I miss you all?" Adrian laughed as he reached out to hug Sarah as she passed by.
"No one would believe that, Ed, including me," Sarah immediately sidestepped and gently pushed Kate from behind, "You better think of some other flattery."
Kate couldn’t help but roll her eyes, seemingly a bit dissatisfied with their way of ostensibly mocking Adrian, while actually helping him.
Adrian took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, then blew a breath in her ear: "Is there something I can do for you, dear?"
Despite finally smoothing things over with Kate and getting her back by his side after a two-week cold war, don’t forget he immediately went to Europe to busy himself with a new film. Although the women took turns visiting during that time, Little Emma in Britain was undoubtedly more convenient, especially since Adrian had to take time to go to London occasionally. After all, he was still the chairman of Chelsea, so he should at least watch his own team’s matches once in a while.
The Portuguese had been in charge of Chelsea for almost half a year, and Chelsea had indeed undergone a qualitative change, galloping forward in the Premier League. ’The Special One’ had also confidently declared that he would win the championship for the 2004-05 season. The only pity was that he didn’t have an adoptive son named George Wood, which was odd since Adrian’s memory was usually accurate. However, if he truly managed to lead Chelsea to win this season’s Premier League championship, Adrian would certainly not be stingy.
Back to Little Emma, although Adrian maintained restraint and firmly controlled the number of times they got intimate, the little devil was still very clingy. Especially when she acted pitiful and called him ’professor’ or some other more forbidden word, he couldn’t help but have urges.
Fortunately, Little Emma also knew that a name used too often would become immune, so she gave Adrian room to adjust. Even so, Kate wouldn’t be too pleased. Even if she still hadn’t fully regarded Little Emma as a woman, in her subconscious, it was at least a declaration of war. Besides, although Adrian returned mid-way to attend the premiere of ’Walk the Line,’ he not only left again soon but also spent those two days all with Natalie, which naturally further stimulated her.
Then, after finally finishing the business in Europe and returning, it was another premiere for ’I, Robot,’ where he happily played with Lin Chi-Ling and others. For Kate to be giving him a somewhat decent look at this moment was quite something indeed. Adrian hurried back from Smith’s party just to coax her well.
By the way, the previous intimacy in the kitchen didn’t result in Kate getting pregnant. However, another Kate, Catherine Zeta-Jones, after persistent efforts and even tracking him to Europe, finally succeeded in getting pregnant in early December. It seems that the success rate at the end of the year is indeed higher. After Adrian returned, he even thought about whether to take advantage of this period to arrange a guest card with Nicole.
Although Nicole had agreed to this matter, since Adrian had lined up two art films for her this year, to avoid delaying the filming and being spotted by the paparazzi, they often took measures. And Nicole also took the opportunity to enjoy herself, finishing the filming of ’The Cheating Wife’ intermittently. Under Adrian’s guidance, she seemed fascinated by some rather stimulating or even somewhat perverted games.
Let’s stop here. No matter what to do, Adrian’s primary energy at this moment was still on Kate. Although Sarah, Charlize, and Ivanka occasionally helped for a bit, Kate always wore a somewhat indifferent expression, because they were not entirely on his side either.
"Let’s hear it, besides Emma who else?" After casually dealing with Adrian for a few moments, Kate suddenly asked.
"Hmm... that’s a massive project, dear, I have to recall carefully... so why don’t you ask Innie?" Adrian said, acting all theatrical.
"Oh?" Kate raised her eyebrows with a cold smile.
"Alright, alright," Adrian had to raise his hands, "Just one, a Russian girl, a gymnast."
"Oh?" Kate continued to smile coldly.
"You know," Adrian rubbed his nose, "In London, I can’t help but attend some parties, can’t help but meet some people who know me, and they can’t help but want to forge a good relationship by introducing some people to me, like Roman Abramovich. He introduced Svetlana Khorkina to me, yes, the one who won the women’s all-around silver medal at this year’s Olympics."
Since Abramovich, to maintain his influence, was willing to spend money to build himself into a highly influential celebrity, he naturally understood what it meant to befriend a media mogul, so it wasn’t surprising that he sought to cater to Adrian’s preferences. He also had a good relationship with Murdoch. So, having previously expressed an interest in Russian girls, Abramovich introduced Khorkina, who was invited to an event in the UK, to Adrian at a party.
Adrian wasn’t actually looking to get too chummy with Abra, as he spent most of his time active in the UK and they didn’t have much overlap beyond football, with almost nothing they could collaborate on. Of course, he also had no ill-will towards him, and his timely relinquishment of Chelsea was another favor, plus Adrian had previously considered tasting female athletes, so to accept it was only polite.
It’s necessary to admit that although the Ice Butterfly’s figure could be considered average, and her long legs probably felt less smooth because of the amount of exercise, her soft body was quite mesmerizing, and she could effortlessly perform many high-level positions. Moreover, this Russian gymnastics queen was very bold, without a hint of the aloofness the media attributed to her, and her English was also good. Adrian had no difficulty coaxing her into laughter, followed by a grand time back at the hotel.
Even though as a member of the warrior race, Russian girls have considerable battle prowess, rotating through all three holes, Adrian still easily dispatched her.
However, he never hid such matters from Ivanka, since she was his personal assistant, and Ivanka would certainly not fail to inform Charlize. Once Charlize knew, Kate naturally knew too, leading to the scene just now. Actually, both of them were posturing. It wasn’t as though Kate was unaware of his philandering nature and fondness for exploring new pleasures. Since he had come back, would she really leave because of that? Adrian’s feigned evasive conduct was just another way to coax her.
Of course, Kate could refuse to let him into bed, but Adrian would find a way, if diplomacy failed, he’d resort to force.
"Damn it, Ed! You’re only capable of this!" When Kate was once again unmoved and even rudely gave him the middle finger as she prepared to go upstairs to rest, Adrian promptly hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her back to the bedroom, no matter how loudly she angrily screamed, echoing throughout the entire mansion.
But so what? This wasn’t the first or second time, not to mention, just the other day in the kitchen over there, he did the same to her, and she still obediently returned. Kate sometimes thought of herself as pathetic, but she just couldn’t escape from his grasp. After trying twice, she had completely given up, so...she might as well treat this as a spice in life.
The situation at home was like this as time slowly moved toward the end of 2004. Amidst the bustling Christmas season, with films aiming for box office hits continuously released, some movies eyeing the Oscars also began limited releases, such as ’Kinsey’ featuring Nicole as a supporting actress, or ’Memoirs of a Geisha’ starring Yukie.
The limited releases of these two films drew a lot of attention, with Alfred Kinsey being a notable figure from the early 20th century, considered a forerunner of the 1960s sexual liberation movement, and a biographical film on him being created for the first time. Meanwhile, Japanese culture has always had a market in the United States, and ’Memoirs of a Geisha’ had sparked various controversies since filming began, bringing mixed reactions from Japan – initially resisting, but later welcoming the film crew for location shoots in Japan. Therefore, even with limited releases, the two films attracted many film critics to view.
However, no matter how appealing ’Kinsey’ and ’Memoirs of a Geisha’ were, they couldn’t compare to another limited release at the end of the month: the Miracle Director’s second new work for the year, and a blockbuster bomb thrown into Hollywood and even the whole of American society: ’Brokeback Mountain’! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian () to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)