King of Hollywood-Chapter 579 - 300: MTV Awards

Ang Lee, Jen Yu, the elegant swordsman of the bamboo forest, Wang Dulu’s novel—without a doubt, the film was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Adrian initially had no interest in it, but since he had Lin Zhiling by his side, and she was quite compliant, he thought it appropriate to consider her for a role. Relatively speaking, it was harder for Chinese actors to make it in Hollywood compared to their Japanese counterparts, and finding a suitable role for Lin Zhiling was more difficult than finding one for Yukie. After much consideration, Adrian set his sights on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Although at that time, the producer Xu Ligong, who often collaborated with Ang Lee, had already obtained the novel rights, Wang Dulu had written a total of five novels, and there was also a Taiwanese film titled "Jen and Tiger," so with Adrian’s support, Bossworth managed to acquire a portion of the rights, then bought the rest from Xu Ligong through various means.

Initially, Adrian wanted to direct the film himself. Imagine, an American directing a Chinese historical martial arts film—what a slap in the face it would be to those Mainland filmmakers still absorbed in their own world. Even though Hollywood blockbusters had been landing since 1995 and had reached a considerable height, without some forceful stimulus, it would still take another two or three years for them to wake up.

However, upon second thought, it seemed somewhat outrageous, even though the film version of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was still essentially a kung fu film made for the West, it had an ancient style and artistic conception. A Chinese director making such a film was one thing—even if he were a third-generation immigrant in the United States—but it would be far too exaggerated for an American director to do it, even if he were the famed Miracle Director.

Moreover, he had never been to China, explaining it would be troublesome and would lead to many speculations. Therefore, he ultimately decided that Ang Lee would direct it, despite not liking the guy much. As for Chinese cinema, it didn’t matter—he had a series of plans, and this was just an added benefit. So the plan was as now, to call Ang Lee over, and then tell him he could take full control of the production of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but Lin Zhiling had to play Jen Yu.

At that time, Ang Lee had no ground to challenge him, even though "Ice Storm" had brought him a lot of attention, and this year, "Ride with the Devil" was also to be released. However, his truly famous film "Sense and Sensibility" did not exist. This was also related to Adrian, who had sent someone to buy the adaptation rights to Jane Austen’s "Emma" and they ended up acquiring the rights for "Sense and Sensibility" as well because he had said, "Perhaps get more of Ms. Austen’s works."

To this day, the film rights for "Sense and Sensibility" were still in Adrian’s hands, but the project needed to start soon or the rights would expire. Thus his plan was to have Blanchett and Gwyneth star together as the sister duo in the novel. Hollywood had long adored British literature and a well-produced film could earn several nominations, not to mention the fresh content for the roles; why not?

Actually, even if Ang Lee had directed "Sense and Sensibility," he wouldn’t have had much ground, as long as he continued to make films in Hollywood, as long as he didn’t want to shrink back to that small place in Taiwan and be a local director, Adrian had ways to make him comply, so these things didn’t matter. As for International Zhang, sorry, who was that?

"Do you really think it’s a good idea for me to play such a character, one who is clever but temperamental and very cunning... a heroine role?" Lin Zhiling asked in a tender voice, nestled in Adrian’s arms as they slowly walked in the night.

It must be said, this woman really knew how to please a man; after Adrian had asked her to correct her manner of speaking, she obediently practiced, but still spoke in a somewhat coquettish tone on dates. However, she handled it very well, making one feel tingling yet not dislikable, and added a touch of a little woman’s coquettishness, completely different from the purposely youthful manner she had shown in her memory.

"I know what you’re worried about, Ling, but this role is absolutely perfect for you," Adrian laughed heartily, tightening his arm around her waist, "This will be your first step towards the international stage, and by then you’ll understand. Everything I’ve prepared for you is excellent, but—"

His tone shifted, and he pinched her smooth cheek with his other hand: "You must also be extremely hardworking, give your all to practice, understand the character, and cooperate with the director. Understand? My woman might be a vase, but she is a unique, irreplaceable, and exquisite vase that cannot be overlooked."

"I won’t disappoint you, Ed," Lin Zhiling seductively smiled, and as his finger traced her lips, she intentionally stuck out the tip of her tongue and touched it.

"Okay, so shouldn’t you also respond enthusiastically?" Adrian asked with a chuckle, his hand sliding down her waist to her groin, where he pressed with his middle finger.

"Do whatever you want to." Lin Zhiling flashed a seductive eye then slightly lifted her hips, everything was understood without words.

After wrapping up things here, Adrian returned to New Zealand once again. There wasn’t much to say, as "The Lord of the Rings" went on as scheduled. With the arrival of September, temperatures in the southern hemisphere began to rise, and some exterior scenes could finally be filmed.

"Guys, hurry up! If we finish these shots, we can basically start wrapping things up!" Adrian’s shout echoed daily at the location.

"Wrap up? You mean wrapping up the exterior shots, right?" sighed Elijah Wood.

"That’s normal, Elijah. Our director needs to finish the shooting schedule quickly and then head back to Los Angeles to deal with some matters. I heard he has a lot of arrangements this month," shrugged Sean Austin.

"If that’s the case, why not let Peter direct?" Wood asked puzzled.

"Don’t dream about it. Although everyone says they get along well and Peter understands the novel and script deeply, it doesn’t mean his work would be fully approved by Adrian," Austin waved his hand dismissively.

Then the two were silent for a moment, both sighing. Many shared this sentiment and often discussed it privately. Since you’re always going back, why not hand it over to someone competent and just oversee the production? Basically, they were just a bit jealous because Adrian could go back every month, and even when here, he was often changing women and likely up to various escapades.

In reality, all the cast and crew knew that bringing such a massive trilogy like "The Lord of the Rings" to the big screen couldn’t be done in a few months. Peter Jackson himself admitted that if he were directing, it would take at least a year to shoot. But now, if they pushed hard, maybe they really could wrap up by October.

So while everyone discussed it and took it as gossip, they didn’t spread it around. But they were right about one thing—Adrian was rushing to finish the exterior shots because of his packed schedule in September, like the upcoming MTV Music Video Awards on September 9 at the New York Metropolitan Opera House!

The MTV Music Video Awards are the only music awards in North America that rival the Grammys—other music awards like the Billboard may have some reputation, but their influence pales in comparison to the MTV Music Video Awards. After all, magazines can’t spread as fast as television—MTV Music Video Awards attract many famous, popular, top artists each year. Compared to the more mature Grammy Awards, the MTV Music Video Awards are much younger and freer, not as focused on seniority, making them popular among viewers.

Viacom, the parent company of MTV, has collaborated and exchanged stocks with AC Media, but Adrian’s trip to New York for the award ceremony was more about supporting Britney and Christina.

Britney, releasing her second album, was truly on a roll. Continuing the style of her previous album, "Oops! I did it again" received a lot of praise, along with "far away from home" celebrating the 100th episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which made a huge impact, and the high-quality "God is A Girl" and "The Day You Went Away." There was also a female version of "my love"—yes, the song that made Westlife famous. Their voices were a bit too soft, a slight tweak made it perfect for Britney.

These outstanding songs together created a potent chemical effect, and so Britney’s second album sold 150,000 copies in its first week, breaking the record for the highest first-week sales by a female artist! Already very popular, Britney suddenly climbed several more steps, further establishing her status as a teenage idol, and triggering different celebrity chasing frenzies at various signing events. The media’s adulation and flattery also came flooding in—fortunately, Adrian’s brainwashing and guidance had not been in vain. Though somewhat confused, Britney still managed to control herself and didn’t say anything inappropriate.

In comparison, Christina, who also released her second album, did quite well, though she was far less sensational than Britney. Not to mention, the few songs mentioned earlier all spent time at the top of various charts, and the song "baby one more time" is still in Billboard’s top 100, likely to break another record soon.

It’s Adrian’s partiality to blame, as he only provided Christina’s album with the songs "genie in a bottle" and "dont know why." It’s worth mentioning that, having lost Pixar, Disney, which started with animation, was significantly outperformed when its 2D animation was squeezed out by DreamWorks’ "Prince of Egypt," leading to the early abandonment of the "Mulan" project.

Although these two songs were quite good, they fell short in all respects compared to Britney’s widely sung songs. Additionally, the short interval between the releases of Christina’s two albums inevitably caused some listener fatigue, so it was expected that she would be outperformed by Britney.

Art director Norton had advised her, but Christina was determined to catch up with this MTV Music Video Awards, revealing a clear competitive spirit. As for the results, Christina didn’t win any awards, while Britney won the best pop video and best female video with "God is A Girl"—two quite significant awards. Moreover, if she hadn’t been slightly lacking in experience due to her youth, she might have even won the video of the year—the MTV Music Video Awards doesn’t completely disregard seniority; otherwise, Britney wouldn’t have gone award-less last year despite her massive popularity.

Even so, she was quite the spectacle—when she performed onstage, no one received more applause than she did.

"Why dwell on it, it’s just the MTV Awards. Since you could win at the Grammys against Britney, why can’t Britney win against you at the MTV Awards?" Adrian consoled Christina at the party afterward.

"Of course, it’s normal," Christina replied, though her smile was somewhat forced.

Despite winning best new artist at the Grammys earlier that year and beating Britney, in terms of popularity and album sales, she was thoroughly defeated by her rival. Moreover, with Adrian actively promoting comparisons between them, fans often attacked each other, adding to the previous accumulations of issues, making Christina more determined to surpass Britney.

Currently falling short in popularity and album sales, her plan was to outdo Britney in various music awards, but she hadn’t expected Britney to shine so brightly at the MTV Awards. Although MTV is slightly lower in status than the Grammys, it is still one of the comparable music awards, and how could Christina simply accept this?

She knew who gave Britney all this; Adrian had participated in the creation of those chart-topping songs of Britney, and her most popular ones as well. Consequently, Christina spent the whole evening thinking about how to steal him away for a private discussion.

Even though this was exactly what Adrian wanted to see, he politely declined Christina’s invitation. While she needed comforting, he also had to consider the feelings of his ’little pet.’ Choosing either one at this time would upset the other, and there were plenty of reporters outside the hotel. More importantly, he had an important appointment in New York.

"What are you laughing about?" Using the morning light filtering through the curtains, Adrian noticed Natalie lying on the bed, seemingly chuckling softly.

"You coming out of the inner room last night was really... amusing. Why didn’t mom and dad stay a little longer?" Natalie turned towards him, a gentle smile on her delicate face, her petite body half-concealed under the blanket.

"Actually, I think it would have been better if they had come a few minutes later, so they would have seen a daughter with messy hair and disheveled clothes," Adrian huffed.

"Oh? You’re not worried now that they’ll burst in here and kill you?" Natalie said with a teasing tone.

"I don’t have to worry about that anymore, besides, you’ve successfully provoked my anger, dear," Adrian said as he suddenly pulled her into his arms and pinned her beneath him, Natalie giggled and began to struggle, making the already messy bed from last night’s fierce battle even more disheveled.

"Do you do this every morning, Mr. Adrian?" Natalie laughed, gasping, her legs wrapped around Adrian’s waist, pressing tightly against him.

"Of course, so just bear with it, Nata," Adrian nodded smugly, then captured her lips.

After a fierce bout of suckling, Adrian suddenly stood up holding her, and Natalie’s legs tightened even more around him. He carried her to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and pinned her against the wall under the water flow. Supporting her pert buttocks, he first squatted down, then thrust upwards and began their morning exercise amidst gasps and moans, letting the water cascade over them.

"It’s a pity, I have to leave soon, and although you have a lot of things to do, work or classes, at least call me often, otherwise I’ll miss you terribly," Adrian said, fully dressed by the door to Natalie who had come to see him out, "Also, I really like your new place, maybe you should consider buying it."

"If you want, I can call you every minute," the young girl teased, poking his chest with her finger.

"You know?" Adrian said with a devilish grin after putting on his sunglasses and kissing Natalie again, "I really love that demure look you save up for days and then release all at once; it’s truly captivating."

He then laughed heartily and rushed out the door, leaving Natalie no chance to roll her eyes at him.

Standing by the window, Natalie watched as Adrian got into the car, started it, and drove away. As the car disappeared into the distance, her upturned lips slowly turned downwards. After his car vanished from sight, Natalie regained her calm, then took a deep breath as if relaxing, and seemingly relieved herself of a great weight.

Then, she went upstairs back to her bedroom and started to tidy up the still messy bed. As her fingers brushed over the disordered bedding, a smile suddenly spread across her face as Adrian’s words before leaving echoed in her ears. However, just a few seconds later, Natalie’s expression turned cold again, and she shrugged nonchalantly.

After cleaning up the room and resting for a while, she visited her parents’ home; after all, it wasn’t far from Long Island and returned to Boston in the afternoon. The main reason she had come back to New York this weekend was because of Adrian’s invitation, and declining for too long wouldn’t be good. Anyway... now that the matter was settled, it was natural to go back, planning to focus mainly on her studies now.

Although she had only been at Harvard for two weeks, the impression of this top university in the United States was very favorable to Natalie. She had also met two great roommates, one named Maimie Cornett, who had published her own poetry booklet; the other named Verina Brittin, who played the piano beautifully and had held her own concert in the community. She enjoyed being around these talented classmates, but there were also many people she disliked, such as... the members of the Sisterhood. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your votes and monthly tickets at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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