King of Hollywood-Chapter 525 - 246: You Come as the Producer

In the dimly lit room, a body with alluring curves lay limp beneath a strong frame, the sheen of sweat and the occasional long breaths displaying the remnants of passion. Yet at this moment, that beautiful body trembled slightly, for the gorgeous woman was looking with surprise and uncertainty through the darkness at the man holding her.

"Is it really true, Ed?" Monica asked in disbelief, touching Adrian’s face and quickly retracting her hand as if afraid she’d wake up from a dream with just a touch.

After that time when Adrian had gently declined her — at first, Monica believed him, since he spoke with such genuine affection. But as time passed and he never brought it up again, Monica, somewhat disappointed, came to believe it was his way of declining. So she never broached the subject again, despite contentedly being Adrian’s woman. However, the regret gnawed at her, especially when she saw Lily growing up; it became more substantial. Who could have known that tonight, out of the blue, Adrian would assert his intention to have a child with her, leaving Monica both elated and skeptical?

"Of course, it’s true," Adrian said with a smile, leaning down to kiss her collarbone. "I’d never forget a promise to my woman."

He tenderly stroked Monica’s cheek, "I said I’d make the world recognize you, I want you to win the Oscar-winning actress. The previous delay was for this reason. Now, I’ve prepared everything for you; we just need to successfully complete these things, and naturally, I can follow through with what I’ve promised."

"Ed... oh... Ed..." Monica murmured his name, the shimmering light in her eyes undimmed by the dark depths around them.

"I actually wanted to wait a bit longer, to tell you after we finished the film, but I accidentally upset you today, so I had to reveal it sooner," Adrian laughed and kissed her again.

"You already couldn’t perform anymore, dear," Adrian teased, with a grin on his face while lying on his back in bed.

"I called her and she’s not feeling well today, so she took a day off. We can shoot the other parts first," Adrian said coolly to everyone.

After having confirmed his promise, Monica’s demands could only be described as frantic; if it weren’t for her previous bouts exhausting most of her strength, she might have been in a frenzy until dawn, seemingly determined to wear him out. Even Adrian, able to handle three at once without breaking a sweat, felt somewhat challenged by her insatiable desire in the end, but Monica was completely out of commission.

"Crazy woman," Adrian muttered under his breath, but he was delighted. The first reason was for her longing for a child and to be a mother; the second was that from this moment, she had become entirely and utterly his.

Moreover, this approach had its benefits. Even though a radiant Monica returned to the set after a day, she conquered a difficult scene previously unachievable in three days after just five NGs! And she did it splendidly, exuding an indescribable romance that one could only feel and not put into words, on the set itself. Adrian believed that once post-production was finished, this scene would captivate many people.

"Congratulations, Monica, not only did you finish the scene, but you also did it very well," Adrian hugged her right after the shoot was done.

"Thank you, getting your praise isn’t easy, Ed. If I don’t push myself, I might get a scolding similar to the other day," Monica responded teasingly, her eyes curved in amusement, and even gave him a public kiss.

For her bold move, Adrian immediately responded. Now that people could guess their relationship anyway, as for leaking it to the tabloids? Similar gossip about being intimate with the lead actress on set had appeared countless times in the papers, so one more piece didn’t matter. Besides, Monica was one of the Miracle Girls. In any case, it didn’t matter without photos, and none of the staff were foolish enough to snap secret pictures with a camera.

So the vast majority of people acted as if they were oblivious to their affectionate behavior, only David Marino, that little Italian guy, looked heartbroken, which wasn’t surprising. Monica’s mature charm was quite lethal to young people, just as mature men were lethal to young girls.

However, this actually helped improve Marino’s already decent acting skills, capturing the male lead’s subtly lost and devastated feeling due to Marina in the following scenes to a tee.

"See that, Monica? Your charm really is tremendous," Adrian teased his woman more than once, and Monica always just laughed without replying.

After that night’s madness, she didn’t push things further. Although she verbally said that getting pregnant and delaying the shoot was Adrian’s issue, in reality, it wasn’t possible; Monica wasn’t ignorant of what was important. Besides, this was the movie Adrian was preparing for her to claim an Oscar crown, so how could she waste all his concerted effort? Indeed, she should save her energy and essence for the time when the chances of getting pregnant were highest, right?

The filming of "Malena" proceeded at a snail’s pace, and Adrian had no intention of finishing it within the year; after all, "Shakespeare in Love" and "Elizabeth" hadn’t even been released yet. But apart from directing the new movie, he also took the time to handle some other matters.

It wasn’t the integration of Universal—that was entirely up to Claude, and Adrian only occasionally kept up with progress through documents sent by Charlize; nor was it the hype for "The Blair Witch Project," though the website was already set up and the rumors began to spread, he had delegated the whole thing to those two guys and didn’t need to micromanage it, or how else would the company grow on its own? It wasn’t about escorting Little Emma around either; with September’s arrival, she had to return to the United Kingdom to start school. When the little tyke left, she declared huffily that this was the worst vacation she’d had in the United States. Of course, Adrian, knowing that she was just saying this on purpose, didn’t take it to heart.

In fact, the matter wasn’t significant. Remember the TV show Cameron recommended before? As they produced a pilot with the limited funding provided by Adrian, he immediately agreed to fund the production once he saw it. Just in time, Cameron, who was on vacation, had returned to Los Angeles, and Adrian pulled him along to discuss with the TV show’s producers.

Having made a fortune from "Titanic," Cameron naturally spared no expense to pursue his interests, such as deep-sea diving, reportedly joining a Russian explorer—who had previously collaborated with Cameron to observe the Titanic wreck using remotely operated vehicles—to adventure in the Pacific Ocean. The old man had a relationship with Cameron since "The Abyss," and after collaborating on yet another blockbuster, they were pretty close.

However, there were also displeasures for him, such as Linda Hamilton, who played John Connor’s mother in both "Terminator" movies, ultimately choosing to break up after cohabitating with Cameron. As for the reason, Cameron didn’t say, and Adrian didn’t ask; such make-ups and break-ups were too common in Hollywood.

"It’s a relief that they embraced my setup in the end; now I can rest easy," Adrian said to Cameron after discussing with the producers, and the TV series, now managed by Universal, started its preparation.

"I really don’t know what you’re worried about, Ed. It’s just a TV show," Cameron always felt he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Naturally, this was about the backdrop of the TV show. At Adrian’s insistence, the producers had no choice but to drop the original setting where the United States lost control of most of its territory post a terrorist attack. Likewise, thanks to his opinion, the show was named "Dark Angel."

"It’s not worry, James. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. You know, that damned political correctness always has to be the top priority, just like you can’t have Arnold fail to stop the nuclear blast," Adrian shrugged his shoulders then waved his hands to change the subject: "Anyway, let’s talk about something else. What do you think about the casting?"

He said, lifting a thick stack of materials and waving them.

"Hmm... Although I haven’t seen them on set, based on the demo tapes, there are indeed a few young people who are quite good," Cameron said after taking the materials and flipping through them.

"Is that so? Tell me about it," Adrian said with great interest.

"This one, this one, and this one," Cameron didn’t hesitate, picking out the actors he had his eye on.

"The first one has a good appearance, but his eyes were kind of off when he said the second line; the second one is acceptable in both appearance and acting, but his temperament is a bit too gloomy; the third one... don’t you think he’s a bit short?" Adrian critiqued one by one then asked, "What about the female lead?"

"Pretty much the same. The TV show needs a girl with a bit of wildness, and it would be best if she also has a good figure." After thinking for a moment, Cameron pulled out five profiles from the candidates for the female lead, "These five."

"Indeed, they’re all pretty similar," Adrian looked them over, and then he picked out one, "But I think this one is very suitable."

"This one?" Cameron raised his eyebrows as he took the profile.

"Not exactly beautiful, but she has a healthy and sunny feel to her, and her mixed-race appearance is a perfect match for the female lead’s setting as a genetic hybrid. Though she seemed distracted in the audition tape, I’m very optimistic about her, and... she’s got a pretty good figure," Adrian said with a shrug and a smile.

"What does being mixed-race have to do with being a genetic hybrid?" Cameron scoffed in rebuttal, "However, she does look good, maybe she can participate in the next audition—wait a minute, you’re not smitten with her, are you, Ed?"

Cameron put down the heavy file with interest and gave Adrian a teasing look, which was mildly annoying to Adrian, even though everyone knew, but did he have to say it so bluntly?

"She’s only 16, James," Adrian reminded him.

"So what?" Cameron shrugged carelessly, "Two years will pass quickly, and besides, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in California."

"You’re not itching for a fight, are you, James?" Adrian stood up, at the same time cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"What? You want to kill someone to keep it quiet?" Even though Cameron was still joking, he quickly changed the subject, "Alright, you’re the investor, and I won’t interfere with your casting choices."

"Really?" Adrian looked at him, "You’re the executive producer."

"Executive producer?" Cameron looked up in surprise, "When did I become the executive producer of this TV show?"

"Just now. What, you’re going to refuse?" Adrian smiled, crossing his arms.

"Wait, you want me, the superstar director, the King of the World, to executive produce a sci-fi TV series?!" Cameron gestured exaggeratedly on purpose.

"How is that a problem? Steven has already promised me to serve as an executive producer for a TV series about WWII, why can’t you do the same for a sci-fi TV series?" Adrian asked coolly, "Or are you going to tell me you already have a commitment?"

"Of course not," Cameron shook his head.

"Really? I heard Fox is interested in making ’Terminator 3,’" Adrian smiled, relentless in his pursuit.

"Impossible, I won’t act as director; to me, the ’Terminator’ story ended with the second installment. You must have seen the director’s cut," Cameron continued shaking his head, then he sighed a bit dejectedly, "Though many people have come to me, all saying I’d have full control on set, I have absolutely no interest. You know, I like to perfect everything in pre-production when making movies, especially technical aspects. If I can’t figure things out before shooting, I can’t sleep for days and nights. How could I possibly produce outstanding work without several months, even years, to prepare? What the hell are those invitations anyway?"

"Don’t worry, you’ll have your chance soon, buddy, don’t forget, you’re the King of the World," Adrian consoled, patting his shoulder, "Rest assured, I’ve prepared a movie for you in the future."

"Oh?"

"A movie about robots, big robots."

"Big robots? Can you be more specific?"

"Sorry, not right now, you’ll have to wait," Adrian spread his hands in response to Cameron’s interested look, "You should get this TV series sorted out first."

"Alright, alright, I knew it, I can’t escape your control," Cameron muttered, then stood up, "So it’s settled then; even if Steven can serve as executive producer on your WWII TV series, I can do the same for your sci-fi TV series."

With that, he shrugged and left the room. Adrian laughed, then picked up the file on the table, the girl’s portrait entered his view again; her mixed features were obvious, her smile sunny and sweet. She might not be considered beautiful now, but in a few years, she’d turn out differently. Her name was written beside it: Jessica Alba.

Looking at the photo, a slight smile emerged on Adrian’s lips as his fingers tapped slowly on the desk.

Even though there were several outstanding TV series airing on his network’s channels, especially ’Friends’, which immediately brought high ratings after switching to ABC, and both ’Everybody Loves Raymond’ and ’CSI’ also had their loyal audiences, not to mention ’Sex and the City’ and ’The Sopranos’, but TV series that needed to be made still had to be made; nobody would think having too many good TV shows was a bad thing.

So ’Band of Brothers’ began to move forward after Universal’s acquisition, Spielberg had previously agreed to Adrian to serve as executive producer for the TV series when he received the ’Saving Private Ryan’ script from Adrian, he naturally would not go back on his promise, especially with the old employer Universal orchestrating behind the scenes. Adrian decisively pulled Hanks in as well since he was also a producer on the original.

Then ’Dark Angel’ also moved forward in preparation. Since Cameron insisted on the original, and Spielberg had agreed to be executive producer for ’Band of Brothers’, how could he not be involved? Just imagine, when it’s announced that two major directors are simultaneously executive producing TV series for AC Media, how many eyes would that attract.

But for now, everything was in preparation; it was even way too early to start shooting, let alone airing. So, Adrian only inquired about some matters and confirmed some basics, spending most of his time on the filming of ’Malena’. Although the progress wasn’t very fast, by late September, the indoor scenes had mostly finished, and the crew moved to Siracusa in Italy, where they began shooting the external scenes for the movie. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to cast your votes and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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