King of Hollywood
Chapter 301 - Chapter 301 Chapter 28 The End of Summer Vacation

Chapter 301: Chapter 28 The End of Summer Vacation Chapter 301: Chapter 28 The End of Summer Vacation Adrian was not surprised when he received a call from Bibi Bill saying she “hoped to talk.” With the kind of personality that Liv had shown, how could she not tell her own mother about it? In fact, he had expected that call from Bibi Bill right after the first day; thus, its occurrence only after five weeks was quite unexpected to him.

“Hello, Mr. Cowell,” said Bibi Bill, her face expressionless, yet the slight rise and fall of her chest, along with the formality of addressing him by his surname, clearly reflected her mood.

“I understand your feelings, Mrs. Bill,” Adrian cut to the chase, “she is your only daughter, your treasure, your favorite–you don’t want her to get hurt, and I completely understand that. But Liv is not a child anymore, Mrs. Bill, she has her own opinions and judgment…”

“Please, Mr. Cowell! My daughter is only 17 years old!” Bibi Bill, unable to let Adrian finish, interrupted him angrily, and because her voice was slightly raised, it attracted quite a few glances.

“Yes, Liv is 17 years old, she is already a young woman. You were already a somewhat famous model at her age, weren’t you?” Adrian asked calmly, his words causing Bibi Bill to falter.

As a model who was somewhat known in the ’70s, she knew all too well about the chaos within the circle; although it seemed to have gotten better due to various laws and regulations, she knew it was just a matter of some things being given a different spin in public. Therefore, she had always been protective of her daughter–an aspect that made Bibi Bill a competent mother. So when her daughter told her that she had made love with the Miracle Director, her face couldn’t have been uglier.

“You know, Mrs. Bill, it’s quite normal for men and women to enjoy each other,” Adrian said at this point.

Stuck and looking for a breakthrough, Bibi Bill found it even harder to rebut. She had relationships with several men when she was 17, so it took her a great effort to finally say: “But… she doesn’t understand anything!”

“On the contrary, madam,” Adrian said with a slight smile, “I think Liv is a very intelligent girl. She may not be very mature in some areas, but she has her own judgment. She’s beautiful, has poise, and in certain ways, appears very graceful and innocent–that’s why I like her. I believe she will be an outstanding actress.”

“I have heard such things many times, Mr. Cowell,” Bibi Bill said, her lips pursed, disbelief in her eyes.

“So, Mrs. Bill,” Adrian sighed, “what exactly do you want to convey by seeking me out?”

“Of course, it is…” Bibi Bill started to speak but faltered again, staring at Adrian for a long time, unable to utter a word.

Yes, what did she want to convey after all? She had confronted him with such an accusing tone, but what was she accusing him of? Rape? Responsibility? Oh, please don’t joke. As Adrian had said, it’s very normal for men and women to enjoy each other. Liv is already 17 years old, a young woman, with the right to do what she wants… But still…

“You are toying with her, Mr. Cowell, you are playing with my daughter!” Bibi Bill finally found her angle, her eyes ablaze as she stared at Adrian, “I am well aware that you maintain long-term relationships with numerous women, and now you have set your sights on my daughter! You imagine making her one of them, don’t you think that’s shameful?”

“That’s a severe accusation, Mrs. Bill,” Adrian said gently, “Furthermore, you are underestimating your daughter too much. Liv is an intelligent girl, she knows what she’s doing, and as her mother, you should be very clear about that.”

He paused, and before Bibi Bill could speak, he raised his finger to gesture a pause. “I’ve said it before, I understand your feelings, Ms. Bill, you don’t want your daughter to be hurt. I won’t let Liv be hurt either, and I haven’t hidden my life from her. She’s a good girl, and I believe under my guidance, she will become very dazzling in the future. I really like her, and I will respect all of her choices.”

Bibi Bill fell silent then, sipping her coffee without a word, and after a long while, she stood up with resignation and reluctance. “I hope you keep your promise, Ed.”

Watching her leave, a smile soon appeared on the corners of Adrian’s mouth–the last address had explained everything sufficiently. He had made his stance clear, so Bibi Bill could only try to influence her daughter, such as advising Liv not to be infatuated with him. However, the effect was probably not going to be very good.

Everyone has a rebellious phase, usually around sixteen or seventeen years old, especially for Liv who was raised in a single-parent family. Although she respected her mother greatly, it didn’t mean she would agree with her mother unreservedly, especially when it came to a man who had entered her heart at this stage, she could be quite resentful of being judged.

Moreover, Bibi Bill could naturally discern the implication in Adrian’s last sentence. She hadn’t stopped her daughter from becoming an actress before, so she knew that some things were inevitable. Plus, with Adrian’s fame, even if she tried to persuade her daughter earnestly, subconsciously she probably wouldn’t be too firm.

This seemed somewhat troublesome, but if you wanted to win a woman’s heart, trouble was indispensable.

The summer vacation was about to end, and “Forrest Gump”‘s post-production was entering a crucial phase. The special composite editing was done, and the basic chronological editing was almost finished. What remained was the montage editing, which was the director’s responsibility, and Adrian needed to spend more time in the studio.

This inevitably made Adrian, who was temporarily ending his leisurely life, feel a bit gloomy. Still, the most gloomy person in the entire studio was not him but Alan Sylvester, who was responsible for the music. After completing half of the composition, he had to abandon it and start over, due to Adrian humming a tune in front of him.

Even though Sylvester was responsible for composing the score in the original “Forrest Gump,” it didn’t mean he could create an identical piece “again.” His score for the film was still predominantly light and nimble, but to Adrian, it seemed slightly off. Rationally speaking, the score complemented the movie, but some habits were hard to correct and being too critical could easily skew judgment.

After much thought, Adrian still hummed the score from the original film’s opening scene, where the white feather floats on the wind, during his discussion with Sylvester. Sylvester was first shocked, then reflective, and finally–erupted in a tirade.

“Why didn’t you bring this out sooner! God! Do you know how much effort I put into the music?! Now I have to start all over again! Everything! This is crazy!” Sylvester exclaimed furiously.

No wonder he was so agitated. Generally, for a movie’s music, one must first establish a core theme. For instance, the original “Forrest Gump” score was gentle and uplifting, with other pieces expanding on that basis.

The story of Forrest Gump determined that the music still followed a light and nimble path. Sylvester was dissatisfied with several revisions, and just when he had finally settled and composed several pieces, he suddenly got better and more suitable core melodic inspiration from Adrian, so he was naturally both thrilled and annoyed.

Despite his anger, inspired Sylvester immediately dived back into his work, frantically rushing the new composition. In two days, he had written a new score with shades of the original soundtrack yet added a serene mood, like a mother whispering in one’s ear. Adrian was very pleased with this and didn’t hold Sylvester’s outburst against him.

As the end of the summer vacation approached, the hot weather in Los Angeles, which was already sparse in rain, finally got some relief. More people dressed in light clothing appeared on the streets, especially at dusk, when the nightlife began, and there were even more.

People were pairing up in twos and threes, heading to bars to drink, hitting up nightclubs, attending all sorts of parties, or going to the movies with their boyfriends or girlfriends. As a result, the summer movie season, which had started to cool off, kicked off another round of competition. It was at this time that “The Mask” was released.

It goes without saying that after its release in 2,300 theaters, the film raked in $23 million in the first three days, a figure on par with “True Lies,” but with a cost similar to “Bad Boys,” a hefty profit was almost expected. Other film companies looked on with envy and couldn’t help but marvel once again at Adrian’s astute judgment.

With “The Mask” becoming a hit, combined with the earlier summer releases of “Dumb and Dumber” and, at the very start of the year, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” Jim Carrey solidified his status as a top-notch comedic actor.

“He has an incomparable comedic gift. It seems that any random action he takes can trigger laughter,” the latest issue of “Hollywood Report” wrote in its article.

“His body language and facial expressions are the richest I have seen. Those exaggerated, silly, nonsensical moves are guaranteed to have everyone laughing,” praised the “New York Times.”

Similarly, Cameron Diaz, who appeared sexy and captivating in “The Mask,” also became someone to watch, with various invitations flowing in. Although not yet a leading actress, she was already an envied rising star.

“You’re fantastic… Ed… I really… just love you,” said Cameron, bubbling with excitement. She was sitting on top of Adrian, who was seated on the toilet in the restroom stall.

Adrian, of course, knew what she wanted and increased the frequency step by step, pushing her towards the climax while gasping, “Next, you can take on some independent productions to solidify your current fame and hone your acting. Then next year I’ll give you a role. It’s a supporting role, but definitely not any worse than now.”

After filming “The Mask,” he hadn’t met with Cameron again; they were just friends with benefits. However, as soon as they saw each other at the premiere, Cameron began flirting with him again. Adrian wasn’t a saint and had been physical with her before, so they went to a nightclub immediately. After some flirtation, they ended up in the women’s restroom for an exciting moment–indeed, the confined space made excitement even more intense.

A few days later, “The Mask” celebrated its successful first week, and the box office hit was confirmed, coupled with unanimous praise from film critics. The two met again at a celebration party hosted by the company. After exchanging a few words, they left the party for the same nightclub, but this time they switched to the men’s restroom.

Although there were several women around him, Adrian didn’t mind having a “friendly match” with Cameron or any other woman. Collections are meant to be exchanged and nurtured; “friendly matches” didn’t require much consideration. Besides, different women had different flavors. Wasn’t sampling them all his goal?

Cameron wasn’t bothered by this. She was open-minded about it. After all, Adrian had given his promise, and he wasn’t one to break his word. Besides, sleeping with him was a pleasure. In Hollywood, seizing the moment for pleasure was never out of style.

Following “The Mask” towards the end of the summer lineup was another Bossworth Film Company production, “Interview with the Vampire,” starring Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, and the little fairy, Kirsten Dunst!

“Congratulations, Ed, the films you guys produce are truly remarkable.”

“Yes, I believe this film will perform similarly. I heard Miss Anne was full of praise after the preview.”

At the premiere, such congratulations were incessant. It’s important to note that the three movies released at the start of the summer vacation had not yet left theaters. “True Lies” was making its way toward $200 million in North America, while “Twisters” had already surpassed that mark. “Bad Boys”, although only at $60 million, was still considered quite profitable.

With “The Mask” also making an impressive debut, there was every reason to believe that “Interview with the Vampire” would be successful too. However, the congratulations weren’t without their share of backhanded remarks like, “You’ve monopolized the entire summer vacation slate,” or “You’re really lucky.” Adrian simply met these comments with a smile.

Kirsten, who had only been seen a few times on the set of “Little Women”, was dressed beautifully for the premiere. She wore a light pink, long-sleeve princess dress with her golden hair loosely tied back, embellished with a large bow. Her white tights were pulled up to her calf, and on her feet were brightly colored, round-toed leather shoes. Standing there demurely, she looked particularly innocent and adorable–a pity not many knew what sort of soul was hidden in that small body.

Truly a little fairy, Adrian thought to himself, especially when the girl casually threw him a coquettish glance. In that instant, the transition from innocence to allure and back to innocence was irresistibly tempting. Adrian felt a ticklish longing and really wanted to find an excuse to take her somewhere for some “special guidance”. The deliciousness of those cherry lips was easy to recall, but after some thought, he still gave up on the idea.

This premiere was not like “No Reservations”, where not only were there many more and more significant guests present, but Kirsten’s mother was also there. If they were seen, it would be bad. Even at the “No Reservations” premiere, he only managed to find a gap to sneak into the room right before the movie started, and they had to come out separately, separated by a considerable amount of time.

However, the main reason lay with Tom Cruise. As the lead actor and praised by Anne Rice herself to be very suited to the character from the book, how could he not attend the premiere? And naturally, his beautiful wife would be there too.

“In my opinion, the real art of acting isn’t about how you show the difference between a madman and an ordinary person on screen.” Adrian said to Nicole, “Rather, it’s about portraying an ordinary person and subtly revealing the extraordinary. Of course, this is difficult because it is based on a wide range of experiences. Method actors like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Marlon Brando might come close, but there’s still a significant gap, because it’s impossible for one to have experienced everything in this world.”

“If that’s so, no one could ever meet your standards,” Nicole said with a smile. She was dressed in a silver-white strapless evening gown with a slit that nearly reached her thigh. Her golden red hair was straightened into a ponytail hanging at the back of her head, and with her pale swan neck, high aquiline nose, and deep blue eyes, she looked incredibly sexy and captivating.

“No, it’s just very difficult,” Adrian replied with a sly smile. “Because a movie cannot demonstrate every situation, so long as one has gone through the emotional journey of the character they’re portraying, they can bring an exceptionally outstanding interpretation to that character. That’s why we always say that a suitable role is most important for an actor; that’s also why I said earlier that beauty and acting skill are not directly related.”

“It sounds very reasonable, it’s a shame most critics won’t see it that way,” Nicole shrugged.

“Yes, it’s quite a pity,” Adrian sighed in agreement.

“So…” Nicole’s eyes twinkled as she finally asked, “What kind of role do you think suits me, Ed?”

“You?” Adrian looked directly into her eyes for a long time, until Nicole’s brow began to furrow slightly, and then he spoke again: “To be frank, I don’t know, Nicole. You’re so stunningly beautiful that many images flash through my mind, yet I can’t quite grasp them.”

For a moment, Nicole was slightly lost in thought, but she quickly recovered, a hint of confusion and caution flashing in her eyes before she squeezed out a smile and took her leave: “Thank you, Ed. I think I need to go now.”

Without waiting for Adrian’s reply, she hurried toward her husband, who was conversing with others in the distance. Watching Nicole’s lovely back, Adrian felt a tinge of regret for finally getting a chance to talk to her alone while Cruise was away, only to end up with such a result.

Immediately after, a smile crept back onto his lips; despite everything, he had taken in every bit of Nicole’s reaction. No worries, persistence pays off; he would take his time. (To be continued–For more, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters available, support the author, and support genuine reading!)