King of Hollywood-Chapter 535 - 256 One After Another

The latest version of "Cast Away" also gained considerable popularity, who could resist when two-thirds of the film featured Tom Hanks in a solo performance? With his current superb acting skills and his peak popularity, he was certainly capable of carrying a major production on his shoulders, not to mention the film’s quality was no less than the original.

DreamWorks had heavily invested in this film, securing nearly 3000 theaters, and the box office within the first three days nearly reached $30 million. For a commercial film, these numbers were not particularly impressive, but for a film that possessed both artistic and entertainment value, this was an excellent start, even though the cost of investment and promotion had reached $100 million.

"You always had a unique vision, Steven, so following you was never an issue," Adrian complimented Spielberg on the premiere night.

"Oh, come on, Ed, everyone knows that when it comes to unique visions in Hollywood, no one can surpass you," Spielberg responded with a smile.

"That’s not just my doing, even without me, the excellent would still excel, I just made it happen a bit sooner," Adrian shrugged his shoulders, "Moreover, when it comes to making billions at the box office worldwide, in Hollywood, you’re the only one, Steven."

"You’re always so modest, Ed." Although Spielberg maintained a smile, the pride and relaxation in his eyes were very apparent.

Although "The Matrix" had surpassed $500 million worldwide, "Jurassic Park: Lost World" reached a global box office of $750 million. Spielberg had a slight sense of pride, although "The Matrix" had better reviews. Remember, DreamWorks had initially planned for "Lost World" and "The Matrix" to be released on the same weekend.

However, what they hadn’t anticipated was that before the summer was over, AC Media had successfully acquired Universal from Seagram. Before this, DreamWorks had a slight edge over AC Media, which owned only three mid-sized film companies, but now they were incomparable. And at this moment, AC Media also held shares in DreamWorks, who knows if they would take action against them next.

Nevertheless, at least for now, Adrian was showing his goodwill, always respectful towards Spielberg and supportive of DreamWorks in certain aspects—unlike some who thought Adrian was just a figurehead in AC Media, only voicing opinions on film production matters—so Spielberg felt somewhat relieved.

That aside, "Cast Away" and Hanks’ acting received unanimous praise from critics. The New York Times called it "a blockbuster with the soul of an art film," while the Chicago Tribune highly praised Hanks’ performance, further boosting his popularity.

These were all expected outcomes. On the premiere night, Adrian had joked with Hanks, saying the Film Academy old men would have headaches again. Supporting a great film single-handedly, should he be nominated for Best Actor, or not? After all, Hanks had won Best Actor consecutively before.

Regardless of whether the Film Academy would nominate him or not, Adrian didn’t care, although he remembered they did. But unless there were no decent competitors, Hanks had a very slim chance of lifting the Oscar statuette for the third time, so he turned his attention to "Good Will Hunting," which premiered the weekend after "Cast Away." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

This film was interesting and fully interpreted the phrase "fortunate mistake." Initially, Adrian had released "Good Will Hunting" early to contend for Best Original Screenplay for "Titanic," keeping it in reserve, but "Titanic" won an Oscar for Best Makeup instead of Best Original Screenplay. Coincidentally, due to the change he caused, Natalie, having finished shooting "Star Wars" and temporarily without other film contracts, was given the female supporting role by Adrian, knowing well the weight of this film, and Natalie was just the right age.

If the film had been shot last year, her youthful acting might not have been an issue—even though playing Amidala didn’t require much skill, she still did well—but she would have seemed a bit too delicate. Delayed to this year, however, she had grown slightly taller and more physically suited to portray a college student, thus it made sense for her to take on the role.

"Though I’ve only seen a sample film, your daughter is truly remarkable, Shelly. She’s climbing towards the peak step by step, and I’ve always believed in her," Adrian said to Natalie’s mother in the lobby of the premiere theater.

While Natalie’s career was managed by her agent, her personal life was always handled by her mother. Shelly naturally accompanied her daughter to Los Angeles for the premiere of "Good Will Hunting."

"Thank you, Ed, she has always been a hard-working child," Shelly replied, though her eyes remained fixed on Natalie, who stood not far off, with a loving smile.

Adrian also looked over at Natalie occasionally, but he didn’t linger too long because standing beside Natalie, laughing and talking, was his "little fairy": Kirsten Dunst. Initially, Adrian hadn’t planned to bring any woman to the premiere of "Good Will Hunting," especially since Natalie was rarely in Los Angeles, but since one of the male co-stars was "Spider Man" Toby Maguire, and Kirsten had a decent relationship with him, and Adrian hadn’t notified the ladies, she managed to get a ticket to the premiere from him.

"Just that," Adrian hadn’t expected Natalie to bring her mother along, so a private world for just the two of them was definitely off the table, making Kirsten’s attendance at the premiere not such a big deal anymore.

"Sorry, Ed, my mom hasn’t had much to do at home recently, so I brought her along," Natalie found a moment in a secluded corner of the corridor to apologize to Adrian.

"It’s alright, I can always go to New York," Adrian waved it off and then smiled slightly, "After Christmas I will follow tradition and go to New York, the house I just bought there should be all fixed up by then. I hope you can be the first person to spend the night there with me."

Natalie hesitated momentarily, then nodded, "I promise you."

Adrian leaned forward intending to kiss her goodbye, but the young girl stepped back and pointed to the crowd outside, and then with an apologetic smile, she slipped away, leaving him somewhat displeased, furrowing his brow. Adrian had planned several events for the day to surprise Natalie, but now it seemed impossible, with Shelly around, she will surely go back first thing tomorrow, and during this time, he won’t be able to be alone with Natalie.

Damn, that feeling is coming back, I hate this situation! Adrian muttered to himself.

"Hey, Ed," a voice called out from outside and soon Kirsten appeared before Adrian.

Wearing a white short dress with a black belt around the waist and a beige coat over it, flesh-colored stockings paired with dark high-heels, her blond hair flowing softly and covering her face, she wore a shy smile yet bold gaze, looking beautiful and seductive.

"Hey, Qiqi, didn’t expect you to come to the ’Good Will Hunting’ premiere," Adrian greeted her with a smile.

"I wanted to surprise you," Kirsten approached him, peeking outside; this corner was a great spot, quiet, and anyone coming could be seen instantly.

Surprise? Adrian raised an eyebrow. Kirsten knew the cast of this film and had immediately started talking to Natalie upon arriving at the theater, and just after Natalie had left, she came over, she had definitely been watching this spot all along. He recalled her competing for ’The Professional’ before, so it wasn’t hard to guess what was on her mind.

"This is indeed a surprise, Qiqi," Adrian chuckled, reaching out to hook her chin, "Always appearing by my side at just the right moment."

Kirsten’s eyes sparkled, then she giggled and leaned against Adrian, the meaning clear in her words. Natalie, for some reason, had rejected Adrian, which now opened up an opportunity for her. Kirsten didn’t think the girl could escape his grasp despite being quite clever—she had talked with her earlier, pretending to catch up, but not only had she failed to uncover much, she almost got herself thoroughly checked.

But that didn’t matter, as long as Adrian still indulged her, she didn’t need to care about those things. So Kirsten saw the opportunity and filled the gap left by Natalie.

Facing the fragrant young girl, Adrian didn’t hold back, immediately wrapping his arms around her waist and sealing those ripe lips, venting all the emotions he had accumulated from not being too happy earlier.

"We... maybe could... find a better place..." Kirsten soon started panting amidst the passionate entanglement, one hand reaching down to start caressing.

"Ed... I’m starting to miss it..." her tone was filled with longing.

Unexpectedly, after the hot kiss, Adrian didn’t capitalize on the momentum but gently pushed her shoulders back and pointed outside, "Now’s not a good time, everyone is starting to enter."

"What does it matter?" Kirsten looked at him somewhat taken aback, it was just a movie premiere, they had found places during similar events before, why was he now hesitating, could it be...

"Don’t worry, we have the whole night," Adrian said with a smile as he pinched her chin, "it would be terrible if you didn’t want to get up tomorrow. I was planning to invite you to San Francisco tomorrow."

"Really?" Kirsten, who had been somewhat indignant, immediately showed a surprised and pleased expression.

"Of course, but until the movie ends, we need to maintain the posture we had before," Adrian nodded.

The said posture referred to how Kirsten had first arrived at the theater, maintaining a polite demeanor with Adrian. She was a smart girl and quickly understood what he was suggesting, the feeling of indignation resurfacing again. But that sentiment lasted only a few seconds before disappearing, as cooperating with Adrian and considering that girl’s feelings wasn’t a big issue, the more Natalie did so, the less she had to worry.

That was more or less correct, Adrian did not want to behave too inappropriately in front of Natalie, but Kirsten was perhaps thinking too much and in a skewed way, however, it didn’t matter as long as everything went smoothly overall.

The scale of Good Will Hunting’s premiere was comparable to Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth, not large, but equally successful, even more so.

Initially, audiences were not too fond of Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Will, who seemed unwilling to be outshined and eager to display his own talents, but then carelessly tossed away the opportunity when it came. However, as the plot developed and Will’s story unfolded, people began to sympathize with him.

Especially when Robin Williams’ portrayal of Professor Sean, lightly yet strikingly, hit his emotional core while sitting on a park bench—a favorite monologue of Natalie’s— there were actually sibilant sounds from the audience, faint yet distinct in the theater.

Moreover, when Natalie’s character Skylar, after an argument, tearfully tells Will "say you don’t love me," and Will hesitates before turning his head to say "I don’t love you," the theater was filled with a sound of commiseration for Will’s timid avoidance. The magnificent performances of both actors, especially in that scene, whether Natalie or Joaquin, were considered several times better than the original.

Thus, when the final ending arrived, Will, though he didn’t return to Professor Gerald to showcase his talents, began his journey to Los Angeles to find Skylar, and the audience expressed their joy with enthusiastic applause.

"This is a heartwarming film." — USA Today

"Robin Williams and Joaquin Phoenix both displayed extraordinary acting skills, and Natalie Portman as the female supporting actor was equally outstanding." — Variety

"Two wounded souls revived through a mutual collision, filled with earnest emotions." — Washington Post

The majority of American media praised the film highly, even more than the reviews for Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love, whereas the media in Europe felt the opposite. Unsurprisingly, Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love, no matter how excellent, told stories of the United Kingdom, while Good Will Hunting was an American story. Although some scenes were clichéd and old-fashioned, the pacing and emotional manipulation were well-executed, making it more popular in America.

This was evident at the box office; despite having about the same number of theaters, 300, as Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love, it grossed $8 million on its premiere, significantly surpassing those two films.

Adrian did not mind, as both Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love were slow burners when it came to gathering pace, and the promotions were well in place, with time being the only factor left. In fact, Good Will Hunting was similar, but although it performed well in North America, it couldn’t compete with the other two overseas.

Enough about that, with Christmas almost at hand, he finally freed himself from the endless premier events and took Kate and their daughter to The Godfather’s house for Christmas.

"You know, if I stayed at home, no matter what I did, someone would be unhappy, but I couldn’t just not spend Christmas with Lily, so I had to come to your place," Adrian said innocently in response to Claude’s inquiry.

Claude could only roll his eyes, at a loss for what to say.

It was indeed a good solution to the problem, but sometimes it brought about many issues, like Aunt Beth constantly advising him to marry Kate—Aunt Martha did the same in New York—Adrian could only nod obediently and listen, but what he did was ultimately his business.

However, things were always changing, and future Christmases were not going to be so relaxed because...

"Hey, love, what’s wrong..." Adrian had picked up the phone but froze before he could ask, and after several seconds, he asked, "Is it confirmed?"

"Yes, it’s confirmed, Ed, it’s been two weeks, and I am really, really happy," Monica’s joyous voice came through the phone, even slightly choked with tears.

"That’s great," Adrian laughed, "Are you at home now? Good, I’ll come over right away."

After hanging up the phone, he sighed, although he had agreed to have a child with Monica, it still felt surreal when it actually happened.

"It’s no big deal, I’m going to have another child, and Lily will have a sister or brother," he quickly adjusted and, after checking the time, prepared to leave.

Just then, the phone rang again.

"This is Ed... Hi, Sophie, what’s happening? You sound a bit... Ah?!" Adrian’s eyes widened mid-sentence, "You... what did you say?"

"I’m pregnant, Ed, it’s been... it’s been two weeks, you know, these years I’ve only been with you..." Sophie’s voice carried anxiety and excitement.

"Okay, I understand, don’t worry, are you at home now? I’ll come over right away." Despite his words, Adrian stood dazed after hanging up, Monica and Sophie had called him on the same day to announce their pregnancies?!

Before he could think through it, a knocking sounded at the door, then Charlize opened the door of the study, "Ed, someone is looking for you."

"Looking for me?" Adrian blinked, then saw Yukie and Britney walk in.

Unlike usual, Britney looked timid, her brow furrowed with anxiety and unease. Considering the two recent phone calls, Adrian couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth, could she be pregnant too?

Charlize and Yukie quickly left the study and closed the door; the next second, Britney darted into his arms like a frightened rabbit, trembling as she held him.

"What’s happened, Britney? Don’t worry, I’m here," Adrian soothed her, patting her back, even though his brows were twisted in knots.

"Ed... dad... mom and dad found out about us..." (To be continued. If you liked this work, you are welcome to visit qidian.com to support the author through recommendation tickets and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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