King of Hollywood
Chapter 346 - Chapter 346 Chapter 70 Wrapping Up and Returning

Chapter 346: Chapter 70: Wrapping Up and Returning Chapter 346: Chapter 70: Wrapping Up and Returning “I’m so happy to see you again, Ed,” Rowling said warmly, although it was only their second meeting and they had not spoken many times. She had moved out of her previous, modest, even meager residence after receiving her first royalties; though her current house was still rented, it was spacious, bright, and fully furnished. No longer having to fret about what to have for dinner was a stark contrast from before, and she was naturally very grateful for Adrian’s help.

“This is what you deserve, Joe. I’ve said before, your novel has great potential.” Adrian responded nonchalantly to Rowling’s enthusiasm, knowing that even without his help, as long as Rowling continued to strive and persevere, success was still a possibility.

Talent and opportunity are equally important; indeed, a role might make an actor, but without acting skills, the only thing they will achieve is being a decorative vase. Thus, many actress vases, aspiring to advance further, desperately seek opportunities to display their skills and shed the decorative label, lest they be forgotten in a few years.

Similarly, if Bill Gates’s mother had not been on the board of directors at IBM, developing Microsoft would have taken at least twice the current time; but if he himself had no talent, the Microsoft Empire would never have been established at all.

Even for Adrian himself, whether it was his past life or his current one, despite his numerous flaws, he was not devoid of talent–simply replicating movies without the ability to compose shots would only be empty talk–just because, for various reasons, he either had no place or opportunity to showcase it.

Thus, facing Rowling’s gratitude, he remained calm; it was neither the first nor the last win-win situation.

Yes, a win-win. Rowling had become famous and wealthy, completely changing her life, and Adrian had further expanded his company through the “Harry Potter” series. This expansion was not merely financial; the value created by the “Harry Potter” series was more than just money, complementing AC Media in many aspects if managed well. Moreover, there were many intangible assets, such as Rowling’s legendary motivational story, which would certainly boost the publishing company’s reputation and influence drastically, and Adrian’s foresight would become even more esteemed.

Although Adrian was calm and composed, the little one who had clamored to come along kept chattering non-stop with Rowling, eager to know the rest of the story. Despite Rowling having read to her twice, she looked at Rowling with longing eyes, her pitiful appearance making her hard to refuse.

“Alright, once Joe finishes writing it, I’ll read it to you–if I let Joe read it to you now, I won’t read it to you again,” Adrian finally got Emma away from Rowling’s home by a combination of coaxing and threatening.

As for the entire series’ second book, Adrian did not press Rowling too much but merely expressed his anticipation slightly. Rowling was quite content with her current life and could not imagine that in a few years, the novel would become explosively popular. Hence, if Adrian were to speak frankly, it might impose too much pressure on her, potentially leading to adverse outcomes. He listened while Rowling read the story to Emma, noting that the main plot hadn’t changed much.

After returning from Edinburgh, the filming of “Emma” was also nearing its conclusion. This film, which essentially required minimal special effects and grand scenes, was relatively simple to produce as long as the director captured the essence of English charm precisely.

English charm essentially meant vintage. Alright, this way of putting it might not be precisely correct, but a serious analysis would reveal it wasn’t wrong. Almost every film featuring English charm includes traditional attire, old architecture, and a fluctuating tone of speech–if the setting is modern, omit the first element.

After all, compared to the United States, which is less than 300 years old, the United Kingdom has a long history with some accumulation and sedimentation. If this feeling can be conveyed in the film, it becomes a work filled with English charm.

If special effects and grand scenes test a director’s overarching vision, such a movie tests the director’s control over details. For instance, to evoke a sense of historical atmosphere, the color palette of the film usually appears subdued. How to maintain this feeling while conveying emotions through warm and cold hues is often crucial.

For other directors, managing this might indeed require careful handling, but for Adrian, it was a simple matter. He had reference images to guide him. Additionally, his knack for detail was robust; having analyzed ten films a day in his past life and honed his skills in Hollywood for several years. Though he might still lack in orchestrating grand scenes, his ability to handle details was certainly among the best, making the production process quite relaxing.

“Alright, this is the last scene, folks. Once we’re done, we can all rest completely. Let’s not delay everyone’s time, okay?” Adrian said loudly from the director’s chair, then sighed softly.

It was just a few simple shots, but after shooting back and forth four or five times, not a single take was successful. It was truly a demoralizing affair.

“Cut!” Adrian shouted again, and before he could speak, Gwyneth had already embarrassedly raised her hand.

“I’m sorry, sir, my fault,” she said, shrinking her neck and looking pitiful, so Jeremy Northam immediately took on some of the responsibility like a gentleman. “Me too, sir, I got too excited and forgot the steps.”

Seeing this, Adrian, who had prepared a bellyful of ridicule, couldn’t bring himself to speak and just glared at them for a moment before suddenly standing up, walking onto the set, snapping his fingers to cue the music, and then wrapping his arms around Gwyneth’s slender waist.

“I’m going to demonstrate for you now, Gwyneth. I want you to focus, not just think about resting soon,” Adrian said, raising an eyebrow seriously as he looked at her. On set, he always addressed her by her full name, while she called him sir, even though everyone knew there was a romantic tension between them.

“Yes, sir, I promise,” Gwyneth quickly responded with the same expression, otherwise, she might burst into laughter the next second. Indeed, Jeremy, who had stepped outside, was already snickering.

“And don’t make a mistake, or you’ll pay the price,” Adrian continued. It sounded like a normal warning, but Gwyneth saw a teasing smile in his eyes, and the way his hand on her waist squeezed lightly made his intent clear.

Being so provocatively teased in front of everyone caused Gwyneth to shiver slightly, a blush flashing quickly across her cheeks, but fortunately, she controlled herself in time and maintained her previous expression, “Yes, sir, I promise.”

Finally, the music began, and Adrian immediately led Gwyneth into a dance. This scene was actually very simple– just a dance at a ball– but Adrian wanted to better display the Victorian Era English style, so he chose a relatively complex social dance that incorporated British elements. However, he hadn’t expected Gwyneth and many of the extras to be unfamiliar with these steps, complicating things instead of making them clever.

“I didn’t know you could dance this, Ed,” Gwyneth said with a flirtatious and cute smile as she twirled around holding Adrian’s raised hand, then returned to his embrace.

Although they were still on set, and although the music hadn’t changed, they were no longer shooting. Furthermore, many others were dancing around them. Even though a lot of time had been spent shooting, it all went smoothly in the end, and naturally, this provided a perfect opportunity to throw a small party on location, which had been prepared beforehand, so the two danced together once again.

“It’s just a matter of practice. Just dance it a few more times and you’ll master it too, maybe even faster than me. I still remember being stunned the first time I met you,” Adrian said with a laugh, holding her waist tightly.

“So why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Gwyneth asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because that made such an impression, I thought it would be a piece of cake for you,” Adrian laughed out loud, and the lady realized she had walked right into a trap, immediately punching him playfully and pretending to walk away.

“If you leave now, I’ll be without a dance partner,” Adrian said, not letting such an event occur, and held her tightly.

“You could always find your glamorous assistant,” Gwyneth said, although she resumed her previous position.

“Well, Gwyneth, if you feel hurt by that, then I apologize,” Adrian said with a twinkling eye, “Clearly, I should have saved the wedding scene for last, not the dance scene before it.”

“Oh?” Gwyneth looked at him noncommittally.

“In that case, I would have informed you earlier, giving you more time to prepare, and avoiding the awkward situation from before,” Adrian whispered into her ear, “More importantly, I could watch the most beautiful you conclude this film.”

“The most beautiful?” Even though she still appeared noncommittal, the tickle in her ear made her take a deep breath.

“Yes, you in that classic wedding dress are truly stunning,” Adrian sighed, “With the noble purity of an angel, yet the graceful loveliness of a well-born lady–so tonight, I hope the angel comes to my room in that beautiful dress that dazzles everyone.”

“What if it gets ruined?” Gwyneth’s eyes sparkled differently.

“Then we’ll keep it as a souvenir,” Adrian replied immediately with a tone of certainty.

After wrapping up “Emma,” Adrian wanted to return to Los Angeles right away, since he had been away for several months. Despite having returned midway and even won an Oscar for Best Director, many things couldn’t be settled in a short time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t leave just yet, aside from needing to transfer the post-production of “Braveheart” back from the London studio, there were opportunities he had to seize.

“When I returned to Los Angeles before, I had already roughly watched the entire film. Frankly, your performance was excellent, and I believe you have a good understanding of Diderot’s serious comedy. This film may not earn much at the box office, but it will definitely be popular with many,” Adrian seriously said to the lady in front of him.

“Thank you,” Rachel Weisz replied faintly, her gaze guarded but filled with an indescribable complexity.

“Take your time to read this a few more times if you can,” Adrian didn’t say much more and handed a book to her.

“What is this?” Rachel asked, puzzled after seeing the cover.

“Guess which role would suit you,” Adrian smiled, shrugging.

“I think… I still…” Rachel hesitated, seemingly wanting to refuse.

“Don’t reject me so quickly Rachel, please read the book first. Ever since the first day you came to my office, I knew this role was meant for you,” Adrian earnestly said looking at her.

Rachel looked surprised, unsure what to say for a moment. Adrian grasped her hand holding the book and pressed firmly, “Please don’t disappoint me, Rachel.”

His voice was light but carried an irresistible force. Rachel opened her mouth but didn’t utter a word, just looking at him dazed, her gaze still complex, but the guard in her eyes was now precarious.

“Alright, I must leave now, and it’s a pity I couldn’t enter your house again,” Adrian then smiled, patted her hand, and with a regretful glance around the home, casually turned and walked to his car.

Even though he had walked quite a distance away, Adrian could still see Rachel Weisz standing idly at the doorway. He chuckled to himself, though his visit to Rachel’s home in London, following news from the “Independence Day” film crew, had not gone as expected when she refused to let him in.

Of course, Rachel hadn’t made her refusal explicitly clear and Adrian might have walked in pretending not to understand, but that would have been the silliest thing to do. Thus, Adrian promptly abandoned all the words he had prepared, clarified everything with a few sentences, and turned to leave. Although his interactions with Rachel were not as frequent as with other women, he was well aware of her intentions, and told himself to just wait and see, doubting any good would come of this.

Unknowingly, time had moved into early June, and Adrian had finally returned to his stronghold in Los Angeles. He had wanted to bring Emma along, as the little girl was popular everywhere and could be unexpectedly helpful, despite sometimes causing trouble.

To his surprise, the little girl had declined.

“Since you’ve already been with me for a few months, I’m quite content, and I won’t disturb you,” Emma had said cheerfully, pretending to consider his needs, although it might have been Rodlin who coaxed her to say so. Nevertheless, it was evident that the little girl was maturing early.

Although Adrian felt an urge to sigh, it didn’t last long. Some things were inevitably going to change, as long as some didn’t, like when Emma quickly added, “But if there’s time this year, you must come and see me, holidays not included!”

Upon his return to Los Angeles, Adrian found himself busier with more tasks. In London, he could focus solely on filmmaking, despite occasional disturbances from tabloids. Towards the end, he became involved in post-production discussions for “Braveheart.”

But now it was different. Though he had checked in on various tasks during previous brief visits to Los Angeles, he had merely skimmed over them. Now that he was back, it was time to delve deeper.

Of course, his first priority was the post-production for the two films. The preliminary editing of “Braveheart” had been completed, and now Adrian needed to intensify the process personally. The musical scoring needed especial attention–since he had focused mainly on shooting “Emma” during that period, several scores composed by James Horner had been rejected. Now with time on his hands, Adrian wanted to press Horner, as he planned to recommend him to Cameron.

“Emma” was relatively stress-free. After viewing all the film reels and having extensive discussions with the editor, the project could be put aside temporarily, awaiting the completion of the initial editing.

Then there was “Small Time Crooks,” which finally premiered just before the summer season, the film in which Adrian had cast Rachel as the lead to warm up for her, adapting the plot from a Woody Allen work that would be created years later.

This slot performed slightly worse than that of “Fly Away Home.” Although the latter was released in the off-season, it faced little competition from other compelling titles, and with Adrian’s backing, it had already grossed $30 million, ensuring it could cover its costs.

Now, different again, the summer season was yet to start, but many entertainment productions aimed at the box office had already been released. They couldn’t compete with the major studios, but releasing earlier could share in some of the profits. Under these circumstances, “Small Time Crooks” did not carry the commercial value of those B-movies, discussing its box office potential was even more moot.

Adrian was aware of this but didn’t make any complaints about the film company. After all, the primary purpose of this movie was to warm up Rachel and elevate her visibility. How much it earned at the box office wasn’t the main concern; it was more about gaining good reviews. Besides, occasionally producing small-budget films that might lose money could also serve a masking effect.

He had indeed seen the final product of “Small Time Crooks.” Although it differed significantly from Woody Allen’s version and some minor plot points had been drastically altered to fit Rachel’s age–yet Ian Gich, a director with numerous indie films under his belt who had been recommended, had captured the essence of the Diderot-style serious comedy Adrian had previously detailed to Rachel.

When aiming for money, spending days planning a bank robbery, and yet being distraught once possessing the cash. Rachel’s performance was indeed brilliant, adding a layer of brilliance to this dark comedy. At least in Adrian’s view, this was an interesting film, and critics usually favored interesting films. So, with some effort in promotion…

How about the tagline: “In the style of Woody Allen”? Adrian mischievously thought. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote and post monthly recommendations on NovelFire.net. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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