King of Hollywood-Chapter 573 - 294

On the big screen, the plot had progressed to the point where the female thief met the veteran thief. After several tests, the veteran thief finally recognized the female thief’s talent and began to train her to prepare for the theft of the mask. With Adrian’s intervention, the plot was arranged more ingeniously, with many people still unsure whether Zetajones was truly a thief or an insurance company detective, there to capture Connery.

Then came the most classic scene, where Connery strung up countless red cords with bells in the room, directing Zetajones to move forward in various poses to dodge the infrared beams. Because the actual crossing of the infrared security network later needed cutting to give the audience a sense of tension, Zetajones didn’t stand out in that part.

But in this previous training segment, it was different. Zetajones, clad in a tight-fitting outfit, showcased her curvaceous and graceful figure fully. For most of the time, the camera focused on her round buttocks, especially the scene where she arched her back high and slid under a red cord just inches above the ground, which set many men’s imaginations adrift, eliciting a few barely audible, appreciative tsk-tsks in the theater.

Fortunately, Adrian didn’t have further plans here, so she also had time to intermittently reflect on the words previously said.

"What if this kind of accident occurs?" Zetajones remembered asking this question at the time, to which Adrian didn’t respond but only revealed a meaningful smile, and then her heart sank.

She had never given up on capturing Adrian’s heart, although as time passed, she knew it was almost an impossible task. However, she had to at least gain enough benefits to make it worthwhile, not to mention their transactional relationship. But to fully invest herself into this, that was definitely not what Zetajones wanted to see.

Maybe he just wanted to remind her? The gorgeous woman thought so. Feeling the touch on her thighs, she let her guard down a bit. At least in this regard, Adrian had a good reputation, and she had always followed the rules of their transaction—whether on the set of "Entrapment" or during past gatherings, she had skillfully rejected the advances of men.

The movie, over a hundred minutes long, ended quickly. The plot was full of twists and turns, traps within traps, and circles within schemes. Moreover, the two burglars, a man and a woman, in this movie were quite different compared to other films depicting thieves, not to mention the details paying homage to Connery—like the scene where Connery tells Zetajones she only had 75 seconds to escape, taken from "The Great Train Robbery", and the opening’s password of 1007 also hinted that Connery was the first 007—so when it finished, the theater erupted in robust applause.

"This will be another classic, I bet. The scenes of gymnastics through various security networks will appear in all kinds of movies in the future," Adrian said with a smile as they returned from the theater to Zetajones’s home.

"Thank you, most of those gymnastics moves were done by me personally," Zetajones shrugged as she slipped off her evening gown, the transparent bra making her fullness clearly visible, with the thong underneath exuding temptation.

Her movements were slow, fully showcasing her body curves in front of Adrian, especially the last gesture of lifting her leg to flick the evening gown that had fallen to the ground, which was particularly seductive.

"I like those moves," Adrian said appreciatively from the sofa, eyeing her. "Especially the practice scenes."

"Really?" Zetajones smiled coyly, even though she reached into the wardrobe to pull out a silk nightgown and draped it over herself, she didn’t do it up, leaving glimpses of spring visible.

"But I also really like the way you dress up as an office lady, very stylish, it gives a lot to the imagination," Adrian continued.

"Oh?" Zetajones raised an eyebrow. "If that’s the case..."

"It’s okay," Adrian interrupted quickly, standing up and walking over to Zetajones, he took hold of her chin, "I like both looks, we can... find time to try each one in turn."

"No problem." Zetajones immediately threw a seductive glance and turned to enter the wardrobe. When she came back out, she had already changed into the look she had during the practice scenes in the movie, clearly well-prepared in advance.

"I’m liking you more and more, Kate," Adrian clicked his tongue. "But it would be even better if there were scissors here."

It only took a few seconds for Zetajones to understand his idea, but she didn’t mind. By the side of the interstate, in the woods by the race track, in the alley behind the bar—they’d tried it all. What did it matter if there was a hole cut in her tight pants? And so, another bout of discipline-style passion ensued.

The more famous a woman is, the less you should treat her like a person, and she will naturally succumb. This saying is a bit extreme but holds some truth. The Japanese have always embodied this, so applying it to someone like Zetajones makes a lot of sense—of course, with the precondition that your power is far greater than hers.

Moreover, Adrian always knew his boundaries, using both carrot and stick. Like promising now that "The World Is Not Enough" would not be one of the four North American blockbusters he had agreed to. As for "Entrapment," although he remembered that this film seemed to have just missed the hundred million mark in North America, if "The Mask of Zorro" could break through, why couldn’t "Entrapment"? Keep in mind that he now had far more resources at his disposal than he did two years ago.

As expected, the premiere only saw over nine million in box-office receipts, but it doubled the following day, pushing the total to over eighteen million. The third day was a bit less, only about seven million, and the subsequent week saw a decline of about 20%, so the opening weekend totaled thirty-four million. The cumulative box office just broke sixty million in the second week. Generally, most movie releases are scheduled for Fridays because the weekend box-office is the highest. But there are movies released from Monday to Thursday due to various holidays, which helps to break certain records—like weekend box office, like rankings and such, though these come with somewhat less clout.

But for "Entrapment," this was already very good, because due to "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," the competition during this period was very fierce, so the number of screens was only around 2,300. Moreover, the topic of the Millennium Bug had already been hyped countless times. Many related movies and TV shows were rushing to release this year. For example, NBC had made a program that showed the world as the year 2000 approached, with global computer systems crashing, fighter jets suddenly failing and crashing, nuclear power plants leaking radiation, and more, which boosted their ratings considerably.

As someone who had already been through one Millennium, Adrian was very clear that the Millennium Bug issue wasn’t so exaggerated, mainly just a nuisance, as all computers needed to be checked and adjusted. Such incidents as those portrayed by NBC were improbable, as long as there was proper oversight. However, people liked seeing such things, so naturally, businessmen wouldn’t miss out on such opportunities.

Under such circumstances, "Entrapment" managing to pull in $40 million at the box office in just five days was quite impressive, not only because of its undeniable quality—how many movies and TV shows about the Millennium Bug are still remembered by people after the turn of the millennium? Proper promotion was also a key reason, with Adrian using this phrase during the release: "The most likely achievement due to the Millennium Bug in technology."

Despite numerous bugs in the film, the story alone was far more credible than other movies about the Millennium Bug. Besides, Adrian still had a trick up his sleeve.

Several weeks after the release, as the end of the year approached, rumors suddenly spread online claiming that, due to "Entrapment," many banks had begun investigations and supervision in this regard. The news quickly circulated, picked up by several tabloids, and then, with some behind-the-scenes manipulation, major media outlets started to pay attention.

Although the major banks all declared that the scenario from the movie was utterly impossible, they were internally conducting checks and adjustments to resolve the Millennium Bug issue. The public, lacking professional knowledge, subconsciously chose to believe the media reports, and "Entrapment" once again became a hot topic.

Of course, that’s a story for later. After the premiere, Adrian enjoyed his time with Zetajones, inquired about the company, and visited the film set he had been following before returning to New Zealand. But a week later, he returned to Los Angeles, as another movie was about to premiere.

"For me, especially the current me, overcoming jet lag is the most painful thing. After finishing ’The Lord of the Rings,’ I definitely won’t take on such a massive project again!" Adrian declared to the people around him; wherever he was, he always seemed to quickly draw a large crowd to his side—a mix of power and charisma.

"Thank you, Ed. You’ve completely dissuaded me from ever trying to produce a trilogy in one go," Stephen Somers said sarcastically, eliciting laughter all around.

"Wait a minute, what about ’The Matrix’? I remember you once said that after ’The Lord of the Rings,’ you were going to shoot the next two installments all at once," Brandon Fraser chimed in.

"Indeed, but that will be done in Los Angeles. Regardless, I won’t be flying back and forth like I am now," Adrian said, feigning a gritted-teeth expression, which provoked more laughter.

Stephen Somers, Brandon Fraser, John Hannah, Audie Filth, Arnold Vosloo—those were the ones talking about "The Mummy" premiere! If "Entrapment" had its release at an inappropriate time—if anything, the best timing would’ve been the end of the year as the millennium approached—this movie was absolutely perfect.

With a PG-13 rating, fairly spectacular special effects, a basically self-consistent story, as well as a mix of action, fantasy, horror, adventure, and comedy all in the right measure, it was certainly worth watching with the family.

"You all know the audience’s reaction during the test screenings, right? This is going to be a very popular film," Adrian said as he patted the director and actors on their shoulders before taking his leave.

He had planned to say more, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of someone who should have been over with Somers and the others, chatting and laughing with him.

"Ah, my dear, you know how hard you’ve made it for me to find you?" Adrian pinned Rachel against the corridor wall, covering her mouth and teasingly said.

With a pleading look in her eyes, Rachel did not struggle or resist; in fact, she was willingly pulled by Adrian into the corridor.

"I didn’t..." Rachel whispered a low protest after Adrian released his hand, her eyes averted and looking quite aggrieved.

"No, you did," Adrian said with a light chuckle, "You clearly saw me come in, you clearly saw me having a good time chatting with Stephen and Brandon, but you had no intention of coming over to me—don’t try to deceive me. Besides your initial refusal to walk the red carpet with me, I am very clear about your thoughts and every little move you make."

Saying this, he leaned in oppressively close to her face, with a hint of a playful smile, "You’ll never escape my control, Rachel!"

"I really... didn’t..." Rachel shook her head, trying to argue, but she let out a soft cry when Adrian squeezed her waist firmly. It hurt a bit, yet it made her whole body go weak.

"Alright, you didn’t; you did it on purpose, right?" Adrian’s smile turned dangerous, "To catch my attention, to tell me what you want."

Actually, Rachel knew all too well that what Adrian had just said was not wrong. She knew that hiding would be futile, it might even anger him, but she still dodged around until he caught her—it was intentional. Intentional in letting him punish her, that state of desperation and desire, not only did Adrian enjoy it, but she herself, deep down, loved it too.

Graduating from Cambridge as a talented woman, Rachel was aware of her complexes. Even if it wasn’t her major, she understood in time. She had seen plenty of psychologists, but to no avail. Why? Why had she become like this? Looking up at Adrian, who was savoring the moment with a blurred gaze, Rachel thought so.

Then, a memory surfaced. It was from last year, her birthday. After attending a party in London with friends, she returned home to find a drowsy Adrian sitting on the stairs outside her door. He had waited for her the whole night. He handed her his birthday present as soon as he saw her and had come over in a private plane, leaving the next day. Her friends had privately expressed envy at having such a considerate boyfriend.

There were many similar memories, and while vastly outnumbered by the times he had toyed with her in various ways, they were all vividly embedded in her mind.

Stockholm... Stockholm Syndrome? Biting her lip lightly, Rachel seemed lost in thought, then felt a pulse in her mouth. But as she attempted to spit it out, Adrian’s hand pressed on her head. At first, Rachel felt a surge of resistance, but it vanished immediately, leaving her submissively surrendering to the moment. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to qidian.com to cast your votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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