King of Hollywood-Chapter 101 - After the Broadcast
Chapter 101: Chapter 101 After the Broadcast
The entire “The Tonight Show” almost became Adrian’s stage as he detailed the difficulties encountered while shooting “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.” He spoke with vigor and vitality and displayed gentlemanly grace when Jay Leno asked questions, leaving a very educated impression on most people.
If it hadn’t been for the segments when the audience called in and asked questions live, where Leno took the opportunity to take back control, the show might have completely turned into Adrian’s personal showcase. Even so, many people believed that Adrian did it intentionally; Leno himself admitted afterward that the opportunity was likely intentionally left for him by Adrian.
“You really grasp the rhythm of the conversation, Ed.” Leno had said to Adrian after the show ended.
“I can only say I am lucky, facing the you of today rather than the you of a few years from now,” Adrian replied modestly. It was indeed true. If he had been facing Jay Leno who had been hosting “The Tonight Show” for over a decade, he absolutely couldn’t have maintained control from beginning to end.
Regardless, this modest attitude won the favor of the show’s team, not to mention Jay Leno. Others also praised his good decorum. However, if they knew what Adrian was contemplating internally, pondering if there was a possibility to lure them over in the future, what kind of expression would be on their faces?
Since that episode of “The Tonight Show” was live, reporters and critics who were following Adrian promptly published their articles the next day, and most people believed his performance had been outstanding.
...
“This is a sincere young man with good upbringing,” someone wrote, “he did not shun his past follies but faced them with great honesty, which is why I find myself siding with him, especially since tabloids always tend to exaggerate.”
“He was excellent, his success comes not just from talent but from determination and hard work,” stated another reporter, “I believe this youngest Oscar nominee for Best Director will achieve even greater successes in the future.”
Such praise was certainly due to Adrian’s excellent performance on the show, but his monologue answering “why he relentlessly moves from one film to another” also played a significant role.
“Time is one of the world’s most precious assets; I have already wasted far too much of it, so now I must seize every minute and second, I must make up for the lost time. Those inspirations, those ideas, also continuously emerge in my mind, urging me to grab them. I have missed out on so much, I absolutely cannot afford to miss these!”
When he said these words, his tone was resonant and resolute. He appeared like a lost young man who had found his way back, ready to reform and fight for his dreams, which is why he won cheers and thunderous applause.
Of course, where there is praise, there are also jokes and ridicule. One critic wrote in his column: “It’s hard to imagine that Mr. Adrian gained the ability to direct and produce movies after being electrified; perhaps we should start calling him Flash? DC should consider having him as a spokesperson.”
There were plenty of such jests, albeit mostly well-intentioned; the mockery tended to be much more malicious. One tabloid journalist even bluntly claimed: “Adrian is just an expert showman.”
However, such mockery was rather feeble. Public curiosity about Adrian had firmly shifted towards admiration and praise, for instance, the ratings for the rerun of “The Tonight Show” surprisingly increased even more than during its initial broadcast. Additionally, as the end of March approached with the Oscar ceremony imminent, all the major nominees received media scrutiny, but Adrian’s appearances in the media far exceeded those of other nominated directors.
Adrian wasn’t overly excited about it, instead, he was somewhat concerned that if the journalists hyped it up like this, it might actually affect their plan. Although he told Laverne not to campaign for “The Shawshank Redemption,” when it came to Tim Robbins, nominated for Best Actor, and Morgan Freeman, nominated for Best Supporting Actor campaigning for themselves, that was beyond his control.
Especially Freeman, who had already been nominated for several Oscars, and now being nominated for Best Supporting Actor, it was hard to say whether the Oscar judges would award him the Oscar statuette. Every time he thought about this, Adrian would feel depressed, wishing he had, just like in the original, nominated him for Best Actor.
However, this depression was quickly pushed to the back of his mind. What had happened had happened – there was no use in regretting it unless he could wake up now, and find himself back in the past. No matter how well you plan or how thoroughly you consider everything, there will still be oversights. No one can account for everything; a movie story is still a movie story. Rather than regretting mistakes, it’s more practical to think about how to rectify them. Of course, if it’s completely beyond repair like now, then it’s not worth worrying about anymore – all he had to do was do his best.
After “The Tonight Show,” networks such as FOX, ABC, and CBS soon came knocking, wanting to invite him on their shows, but Adrian had Roger decline all invitations. Firstly, he was still busy with post-production for “Pulp Fiction”; secondly, appearing on the same shows too often would lose its novelty, and he couldn’t guarantee his performance would always be as good.
Yes, performance, as Claude mentioned, who had been watching the live broadcast. As soon as Adrian finished the show, Claude had called him, “Hey, buddy, you really did well, I was almost moved. Have you ever considered directing and acting yourself?”
“Truthfully, I wish this brick of a phone came with video; then you could see the gestures I’m making,” was how Adrian had responded at the time.
The jokes between old friends needn’t be taken seriously. Privately, Adrian was somewhat proud of his perfectly timed performance, especially when most of the media were on his side. However, directing and acting himself was definitely not something he was considering. Although he could effortlessly change his mask in social interactions, that didn’t mean he could perform others well in front of the camera – naturally, the converse was true for good actors, for whom playing someone else was just part of the job.
So, maintaining half in front of the curtain and half behind it was already quite good.
In any case, after “The Tonight Show,” everything went well, with just a slight aftermath.
“Do you really think I’m a slightly chubby, incessantly babbling old woman, Mr. Adrian?” For a long time after that, Adrian would hear this slightly gloomy question ringing in his ears.
In response, he had no choice but to say, “Of course not, Mrs. Galen, that was just an exaggeration,”—after all, Mrs. Galen had been his housekeeper for many years. This probably was what they called making a rod for one’s own back.
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.
As time moved on, the end of March finally arrived, bringing with it North America’s grand cinema event – the Oscars!
(Recommendation ticket, ah…)
