King of Hollywood-Chapter 555 - 276: Presenting Oneself at the Door

"It seems that you really don’t care about the defeat at the Oscars this time."

"It’s not that I don’t care at all, after all, there aren’t many people who can get three Best Director nominations in one session. If I could win, it would undoubtedly make me prouder. However, not winning isn’t a big deal. I believe the Film Academy has their considerations, and there are always opportunities. If not this time, then there will be a next time."

"You have a really good attitude."

"Yes, no one is perfect, and no one lives without regrets. By keeping an open mind, you will be able to see a broader perspective."

"What do you think about some media’s comment that the 71st Oscars were a victory for Elizabeth I?"

"That must be a coincidence, I believe the Oscar judges didn’t realize that both Judi Dench and Kate Blanchett played Elizabeth I. It’s quite interesting. Historical figures always have aspects worth exploring, which is one reason why portraying historical figures often wins people’s favor. As for certain news, it’s not worth paying much attention to." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"Some say that you are the most insightful person in Hollywood. Do you think so too?"

"There are many insightful people, not only me. I just happen to combine screenwriting, directing, and producing in one person and I’m relatively young, so I’ve attracted a lot of attention. Of course, I won’t deny that I have an indescribable intuition, and it’s this intuition that has always led me forward."

Overall, this interview was very successful, even though many questions couldn’t be asked—this had been arranged before the interview. Even those super-popular stars will communicate with the media when being interviewed, let alone a media tycoon like Adrian, who also has close cooperation with the owner of Vanity Fair, the Newhouse Group.

As one of the magazine’s most outstanding female reporters, Mary Brenner’s ability to read people and situations is definitely first-class, so naturally, she wouldn’t make a mistake in this regard. Not only her, but even Annie Leibovitz was cautious when taking photos. Being referred to as the Zola of photographers is enough to speak volumes about her superior photography skills, even if it’s just flattery.

After switching to Vanity Fair in ’84, Leibovitz had her fill of photographing stars in Hollywood, the most famous being the nude pregnancy photo of Demi Moore, which had seen many condemnations when it first came out but is now highly praised. Many big-name stars hope to be shot by her for the magazine cover, and for this, they are willing to be at her mercy in front of the camera, and likewise, Leibovitz directs them unapologetically.

But Adrian is different. He is indeed a star, a celebrity, and there is also a legendary air about him; in less than ten years, he went from a nobody to one of the world’s top directors, and also made many actors famous. Yet, he is not an ordinary celebrity. In the same short time of less than ten years, he built a company that could stand shoulder to shoulder with veteran media conglomerates like Viacom and even outpaced Time Warner and Disney.

Although Viacom had only started expanding in recent years, they already had a solid foundation, while Adrian was completely self-made. Even though everyone knows that Claude Ronris is at the helm of AC Media, as long as Adrian remains in the chairman position, nobody dares to underestimate him.

Leibovitz had long surpassed her youthful recklessness. Despite maintaining superior photography skills, her experiences at Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair had made her quite adept at handling some big shots, so she was very careful throughout the entire shoot and didn’t bring the attitude she had towards those stars.

The payoff was still huge. Even if scandals and gossip couldn’t be discussed, she gathered a lot of first-hand information, like Adrian’s ambitious new movie being shot in New Zealand, or the amusing stories about the early days of entrepreneurship with his best friend, Claude. These were enough to make the sales of Vanity Fair multiply several times over.

Besides that, Leibovitz had secured another opportunity.

"Mr. Adrian," she said after the interview concluded and everyone was preparing to pack up and leave, "I think... you could definitely pose for a few more photos." Having snapped a few candid shots during the relaxed moments, Leibovitz then approached Adrian with this suggestion. This move surprised many people, for it had been agreed beforehand that only a few photographs would be taken for the cover.

Who knew Adrian wouldn’t get angry, but simply smiled. "What, Ms. Anne, do you think I should have more photos taken?"

"Yes," Leibovitz was forthright. "You know, I’ve always preferred to photograph people who are easily influenced rather than those who are too worldly. But with you, I can’t find anything."

"What do you mean you can’t find anything?" Adrian asked with a smile.

"Neither of those traits is present in you, which is very... unusual. I can’t capture your aura, not even when you nonchalantly present yourself—I just can’t grasp your most authentic side..." Leibovitz grew more excited as she spoke, her eyes shimmering behind her slim black-rimmed glasses. After all, she was first and foremost a photographer, a top-tier one at that, and she wouldn’t let go of something that she deemed a worthy challenge.

"I can give you up to two days," Adrian replied after a few minutes of thought.

The executives from Vanity Fair immediately lit up at that, but Leibovitz was quicker to react, promptly agreeing. "No problem, Mr. Adrian, I can fully cooperate with you."

"Alright," Adrian nodded, then called over his female secretary, "Charli, you take care of discussing the schedule with Ms. Anne. Make sure it doesn’t conflict with anything else."

Once agreed upon, Charli, dressed in a smart office lady outfit, came over to Leibovitz and gestured for her to follow, taking her to the secretary’s office to discuss. Although the two women were far apart in age, the communication was quite smooth, except Leibovitz occasionally showed some dissatisfaction.

"So, to put it simply, the activities during these times are private for Mr. Adrian, and so you can’t tell us the specifics?" Leibovitz, looking at the simple schedule provided, asked this question and after receiving an affirmative response, she sighed. "Alright, I understand. I will have my team work out the appropriate arrangements, and then we can discuss further."

Here she paused, her mind seemingly hitting upon something, and turned to Charli. "Miss Charlize, what kind of person do you see Mr. Adrian to be?"

"Do you want to know what kind of person I see Adrian to be, or what kind of person my boss is?" Charlize countered.

Leibovitz, with a keen arch of her brow, asked directly, "Have you slept with him?"

Even in private, this question was utterly abrupt and rude, especially since they were unfamiliar with each other and, moreover, at the workplace. But Charlize answered nonchalantly, "Of course."

Leibovitz was even more surprised and looked at her for a long while before finally saying, "Then, I suppose the former is true."

"No one can see through him, Ms. Annie," Charlize chuckled lightly. "I’ve been Adrian’s secretary assistant for almost five years now, but I’ve never been able to see through him. Even when I sometimes think I’ve caught a glimpse of the real Adrian, he quickly acts to show me that it’s just my illusion. So, capturing the real Adrian on film is definitely not an easy task."

Leibovitz stared at her for several minutes, then let out a sigh, "Thank you for the advice, Miss Charlize."

Perhaps because of Charlize’s words, the Vanity Fair photography crew was completely cooperative with Adrian afterwards, with no one questioning or anything else. Leibovitz also changed her usual style, spending most of the time chatting with Adrian—covering all sorts of topics from music to films to her longtime lesbian partner, and only at the very end would she pick up her camera to take candid shots of him.

Although this method seemed unorthodox and the whole process was divided into four stages, the final results were surprisingly good. It must be said, Leibovitz was truly talented. Even though she still couldn’t capture the most genuine side of Adrian, the several photos published in the end, without much change in attire or room decoration, each showed Adrian with similar traits yet at the same time revealed completely different characteristics.

Especially the one Vanity Fair used for the cover, where Adrian sat in a high-backed chair with one hand propping his chin, sunlight streaming in from the side, head slightly lifted, brows faintly furrowed, exuding a bit of authority, confidence, and pride, giving a sense of looking down from on high, yet also as if he controlled everything. Therefore, once this issue of Vanity Fair hit the shelves, many people marveled at it, calling the photo another masterpiece by Leibovitz.

Of course, all that was to come later. While cooperating with Leibovitz for the photo shoot, Adrian also had other things to do, some private matters. Although he had spent the past few days with Kate Blanchett and Gwyneth to celebrate Blanchett’s Best Actress award, with Gwyneth being further provoked by Blanchett to let loose, he hadn’t forgotten about the two women who were now waiting for his comfort with their moody emotions.

They all shared one common feature, a curve bulging from their lower bellies, at least about four months into pregnancy. For this reason, the man’s gestures were very gentle, completely different from the past intensity.

"Be... be careful, Ed... Don’t touch... the baby..." Sophie suddenly gasped.

"Don’t worry, I’m always careful, just relax," Adrian murmured, kissing her neck marked with droplets and sweat, slightly increasing the pace.

Sophie breathed heavily, then tensed up and let out a moan, ultimately collapsing completely. Adrian too sighed, caressing her protruding belly tenderly, and Monica, who had recovered a bit, came over and began to kiss Sophie gently.

"You really are a bastard, Ed," Sophie finally spoke after a while. Although she pushed away the hand on her belly, her shy demeanor said it all.

Adrian laughed heartily, drawing her into his arms once more, about to speak, when Monica cut in before him, "There’s no use saying these things, Sophie. He’s heard it all too many times and is immune by now."

"So what do we do? Just let him have his way?" Sophie said displeased.

"We should never have opened the door to him in the first place."

"Don’t forget, it was you who opened the door for him, Monica."

"Yes, I admit it, but he had the key, so even if we didn’t open the door, he could still come in. It was you, Sophie, who softened under his persuasion within a few words, and then, while you were still hesitating, got pulled into the bathroom."

"Well, I admit that too, but don’t forget, it was you who suggested the bath and you, Monica, who first got tangled up with him!"

"That’s true, but my original intention was to trick him into the bathroom and lock him in there, yet before I could even signal to you, you’d already gotten into the water."

Watching the two women in front of him bickering back and forth, Adrian couldn’t help but laugh again. He tightened his arms around their waists, kissing each of their lips before pacifying them with a gentle tone, "Alright, it’s my fault, no matter how you look at it. Although there are many objective factors at play, I still offer my sincere apologies."

With that, he let go of Monica, cupped Sophie’s face with both hands, and gave her a long, passionate kiss. Exhausted from the activities before and cautious not to make any sudden moves due to the baby in her belly, Sophie was once again at his mercy.

After releasing Sophie, Adrian turned to Monica and repeated the process. Monica’s response, however, was much more fervent than Sophie’s, and Adrian lingered with her longer, a reward for having orchestrated this play.

The two women had been living in Orange County for so long, both pregnant, and both European. They naturaly felt an instant connection and their affection for each other had grown deep. So with Monica here—even though she too was heavily pregnant—Adrian didn’t have to worry about Sophie acting pettishly. This moment was the best proof of that.

Pregnant women may be moody, but Sophie was also a smart woman, not completely swayed by her emotions. After having a little temper tantrum and then being "properly taken care of" by Adrian, with Monica’s unhelpful help, Sophie quickly softened up. The trio soaked in the comfortably warm bath for a while, discussing some amusing topics, and then they all got out and headed to the bedroom to continue.

"Now do you know whose boss, Ed?" Sophie, dressed in loose clothing, tauntingly asked Adrian as soon as he got up.

Although the clothes ruined her style completely and her slightly fuller face diminished some of her former beauty, both Sophie and Monica, when they caressed their protruding bellies, exuded a natural and charming maternal glow. Adrian spent the day by their side, taking walks by the sea, decorating the nursery over and over, patiently discussing every topic related to the children, the picture of a caring husband. Of course, it would have been even more fitting if there had been only one pregnant woman and not two.

As idyllic as it was, Adrian had to leave; there was a new movie to be made in New Zealand. Sophie and Monica were reluctant, but they eventually let him go after he soothed them for a long time and made a heap of promises.

However, just when Adrian should have headed straight back to the airport, he received a call that made him turn back. The director he had wanted Spielberg to find for him had actually come knocking.

"So tell me, why do you think you’re the right person to direct this movie, Mr. Sam Mendes?" Adrian asked, looking at the young man in front of him with well-combed, dark-black hair and thick brows. Despite the confident look in his eyes, there was still a hint of nervousness on his face.

He was only two years older than Adrian, and in terms of directing, he was indeed quite young. However, this Cambridge graduate from the United Kingdom wasn’t a film director; since entering the industry, he had always directed stage plays, which is why Adrian was questioning him like this, even though he clearly remembered that this man was the director for the film.

"Well... how should I put it, I know where my problems lie, Mr. Adrian," the other party thought for a while before saying, "I only have experience directing stage plays; I have never had a film project, but that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of handling this movie. When I was directing plays on Broadway, I was always observing America, observing the middle class..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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