King of Hollywood-Chapter 559 - 280: The Premiere of ’The Expendables

As night fell, the area outside the Evron Grand Theater had turned into a sea of people. Under the dazzling neon lights, fans were frantically waving and screaming at their favorite stars, trying their best to express their excitement and joy. Journalists were constantly hunting for their subjects, snapping photos amid flashes of light.

This was considered the biggest premiere of April, after all, several of the leading actors were major action stars. Although Stallone was showing decline and Willis was continuously attempting to transition, only Schwarzenegger was still at his peak. It was the first time these major action stars had come together to star in a movie, accompanied by a host of other action stars. The scale of this premiere was definitely befitting their status, wasn’t it?

"This is a great movie, and it’s my first time working with Searle and Bruce. We all had a lot of fun..." Schwarzenegger, accompanied by his wife from the Kennedy family, chatted away beside the red carpet. When Stallone walked by, Schwarzenegger pulled him over and struck a friendly pose in front of the journalists.

This was hardly over the top, despite the occasional conflicts among the action actors during filming, with temperamental stars like The Rock and Seagal even coming to blows in the ring. The Three Giants still held a mutual respect for each other. Even if they had been rivals in the past, what hadn’t they seen over the years? What did it matter now? It wasn’t as if there were any real disputes between them.

So, when the three of them walked the red carpet throwing their arms around each other’s shoulders, the screams from the crowd grew even louder. However, no matter how loud the fans screamed, they weren’t the ones who caught the most attention.

"Look, who’s receiving the cheers?" As the Three Giants finished their photo session, a familiar voice came along, and then the cameras that were initially focused on them turned neatly to the side.

"You’re finally here, Ed!" Willis was the first to greet him, giving Adrian a high five followed by a hug, very cordially, and then the same with Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Among the three, Willis was closest to him, not just for having worked together on Pulp Fiction but also for the invite to star in The Sixth Sense, which somewhat helped him shed his monotonous label. Next came Schwarzenegger—due to Cameron—and finally Stallone.

"Mr. Adrian!" the journalists then started to get noisy again, Vanity Fair’s exclusive interview and the immediately following photo with Miracle Girl prepared, with the news of him planning to bring The Lord of the Rings trilogy to the big screen and personally writing The Matrix novel trilogy. These recent headlines were enough to keep them entwined. Although it was rare to have the Three Giants together, as long as they were in Hollywood, there was no worry about a lack of interviews. However, getting something out of Adrian was not an easy task. Furthermore, although Adrian hadn’t been involved in the production of The Expendables, everyone knew these action actors appearing together in the same movie was because of him.

"Why did you decide to bring The Lord of the Rings to the big screen? What are your views on the novel? How do you see its connection to the anti-Vietnam War sentiment?"

"Is it true that Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Blanchett both have roles in The Lord of the Rings?"

"You completed the novel trilogy of The Matrix a few years ago, did you have the idea of making it into a movie back then?"

Sadly, Adrian wasn’t planning to satisfy their curiosity, either dodging their questions or reminding them, "Today is the premiere of The Expendables," although he eventually disclosed something.

"If you really want to know, then I can tell you, after finishing The Lord of the Rings, the next two movies of The Matrix will also be done in one go," Adrian said as he made his way into the theater, leaving a bunch of reporters staring at each other outside.

Most guests had already entered the theater, preparing to take their seats in the screening hall, but there were still many people chatting in the lobby. Apart from the action actors, many other big names were present; the Three Giants had made many connections over the years in Hollywood, and everyone had come to support them, including Cameron.

After Titanic, Cameron had been quite relaxed. The $150 million in dividends were enough to let him carefreely pursue whatever he desired. Adrian took this opportunity to invite him to take some time off with The Dark Angel TV crew to vacation in New Zealand. Though the TV series hadn’t been airing for long, the response was quite good—typical for the first season of a science fiction series—and it met the expectations of the TV station. Since Cameron’s studio was handling the special effects for The Lord of the Rings, it was perfectly normal for him to take the Dark Angel crew on vacation.

"Okay, I’ll consider it," Cameron agreed readily, though his smirk, which contained a mix of reminders and teasing, was completely ignored by Adrian.

After greeting Jean-Claude Van Damme and others, Adrian then approached the only female actor of weight in the movie. She had grown a few inches taller, her features had become more pronounced, and she was beginning to show the beautiful look she would have in a few years, her chest even more "impressive"—relatively speaking, of course.

"Wow, you look absolutely stunning," Adrian’s first comment was one of admiration, laced with a hint of surprise.

Scarlett blushed, picked up her skirt slightly, and curtseyed. She was dressed in an appropriate sapphire blue evening gown, her blonde hair styled back, and adorned with a chic hairclip, looking both naive and charming.

But Adrian then showed a look of surprise, "Is there something you need, Scarlett?"

"Ah?" The young girl opened her mouth, bewildered, looking at him, "Didn’t you just..."

"Just now?" Adrian feigned recalling before his face lit up with realization. "Oh, that was for your mother. You look enchanting today, Ms. Melanie."

He grinned and reached out his hand to Melanie who was beside Scarlett. Melanie was initially surprised but quickly recovered, smiling as she shook Adrian’s hand. Realizing what had happened, Scarlett puffed her cheeks, glared at Adrian angrily, and then started throwing punches at him.

"Scarlett!" Melanie’s tone was reproachful, yet her smile did not fade.

"What’s wrong, what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Adrian continued to pretend, not dodging but raising his arms to protect his face.

"You broke my heart!" the girl exclaimed puffily, hitting him a few more times before she stopped.

"Oh, I’m terribly sorry, to have hurt the heart of such a beautiful and adorable girl—it’s just terrible," Adrian dramatically apologized, his tone mockingly operatic, which made him look quite ridiculous.

The usually stern-faced Scarlett burst into laughter, though she quickly composed herself, but the effect was already lost, and she ended up just glaring fiercely at Adrian.

"Well, it seems like the lovely Scarlett is truly upset, so..." Adrian scratched his head and suddenly bowed gentlemanly to the girl, then extended his hand: "Would you like to go on a date with me, beautiful Miss Scarlett?"

"Not interested?" Scarlett turned her head away, her arms crossed over her chest in a dismissive manner.

"Hmm... then what must I do to earn a date with you, beautiful Miss Scarlett?" Adrian immediately asked with a sincere tone.

"Well..." Scarlett turned her eyes, considering they were in a public space, she couldn’t make an excessive request. Yet, merely letting Adrian off seemed too lenient.

"Okay, just need my mom’s approval," she purposefully said with a haughty tone.

"So, Melanie, may I take your beautiful, enchanting daughter on a date?" Adrian playfully asked.

"In principle, I have no objections." Melanie covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, seeing the silliness of the two. Scarlett’s mouth dropped open in disbelief as she looked at her mother.

"Is it okay now?" Adrian smiled again and bowed slightly to the girl.

"Fine," Scarlett tilted her head in thought, then with a "let’s just settle this" demeanor, she extended her hand to Adrian, not expecting he would actually take her small hand and gently kiss the back of it.

"Let’s agree on that then. Please make sure to keep the date after ten years," Adrian continued, smiling.

A tingling sensation like an electric current ran through the girl’s body, speeding up her heartbeat and bringing a quick flush of red across her cheeks. Despite her visible disappointment upon hearing "Please keep the date ten years from now", she still managed to look whimsically spirited.

No one may know the girl’s thoughts, or perhaps someone does—it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that as most of the crowd entered the theater, "The Expendables," featuring many Hollywood action stars, was about to start showing.

Undoubtedly, from the opening scene, it was a dramatically intense action sequence. The members of The Expendables displayed their personalities through their combat styles. The three giants typified head-on aggressive types, the typical heroes of an American action movie, appearing invincible, their guns always loaded. Diesel and Jet Li focused on hand-to-hand combat, with Diesel’s punches sharp and Jet Li’s movements agile. For this, Jet Li, also serving as a martial arts advisor, designed a boxing-focused and visually appealing set of moves for Diesel, which solidified their friendship.

The others, Van Damme and Lundgren always operated together, Jean Reno preferred to hide himself, providing fire support when necessary, while Seagal, the group’s strategist, continued his persona from "Under Siege," cool and adept at using everything at hand for attack.

The scene was excellently choreographed, and post-edit cuts were tightly done, very dynamic. The explosive beginning simply captivated the audience. But, of course, the movie was not going to be just about action for a full 90 minutes. No matter how many stars or thrilling cuts, non-stop action would have been exhausting. Thus, apart from that, the comedy from abundant hilarious commentary was also a significant highlight of the film. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this snippet, please visit qidian.com to cast your votes and support the author. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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