King of Hollywood-Chapter 624 - 32: The Outcome is Hard to Predict

After visiting the set of "Invisible Man," which had just started, and having a "deep" exchange with Naomi about the release date of "What Lies Beneath," Adrian went to the set of "Innocence," the last film he needed to oversee. This film had a theme somewhat similar to Sofia’s previous work, "Suicide," so even though preparation took a bit longer, the shooting progressed quite swiftly.

"The scenes are simple, too; just find a forest and set up there. Liv’s acting is pretty average, but she fits the role perfectly, so we should be done by the end of the month at the latest," Sofia said as she lay lazily in bed, covered only by a rather thin blanket.

"Not bad, you’re practically half as efficient as I am," Adrian, who was lying naked beside her, propped his head up on his arm.

"No one can compare with a pervert, can they?" Sofia replied with a mischievous smile, then sighed, "It’s a pity we won’t make it to this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and I don’t want to go to Venice again."

"Then you can try Berlin Film Festival, or Sundance could also be a good choice if you don’t like their atmosphere," Adrian suggested, then his hand reached under the blanket and started to wander.

"Ed," Sofia gave him a look, but didn’t move away from his hand; instead, she just sighed at his touch, "Oh, I’m so dumb. I told myself that one night with you would be enough, and yet—"

"That just means you didn’t take your own words to heart, Sofia. It means that deep down, you’re full of desire," Adrian chuckled.

"No," Sofia countered, "it’s just that your methods are too clever, or to put it more mysteriously, you have an indescribable attraction that can arouse a woman’s desire with just a few words. I still remember Liv’s resentful eyes when leaving the set; her lips would pout whenever we seemed close. How did you seduce such a simple girl?"

"Seduce? That sounds way too harsh, Sofia. You mean to say I seduced you into bed?" Adrian protested.

Sofia was about to tease him more, but after thinking for a moment, she sighed again, "Okay, no, you... you’re the most talented director I’ve ever met, Ed."

Although she hesitated mid-sentence, she spoke smoothly, making Adrian raise his eyebrows in surprise, "I’m shocked. Is the most talented director in your eyes not the great Francis Coppola? Or maybe the great Sofia Coppola? Mr. Adrian Cowell can at best rank third."

"I’m serious, Ed," Sofia didn’t smile, her gaze steady on him, "Yes, I don’t deny my father is the greatest in my eyes, but he didn’t have as many noteworthy achievements at your age."

"Wow, and you say I can sweet-talk women. Aren’t you doing the same with men?" Adrian laughed heartily, rolled on top of her, and kissed her, "I like your words, Sofia."

"That’s all you get, no more," Sofia kissed him back and then warned him.

"Alright, alright," Adrian laughed and kept kissing, "So let’s go back to our initial topic. I still suggest Berlin Film Festival or Sundance, that way you have time for post-production and to brainstorm new ideas. Then you could travel around the world for inspiration—London, Paris, Rome, or Tokyo, Taipei, Manila. Jot down what you grasp, take a year to carefully sculpt the script, then wrap up the shooting quickly like now, and join the Cannes Film Festival in ’02—I have a feeling it will be a special movie."

"That does sound tempting," Sofia held him, "but I’ll write the script entirely myself this time and won’t show it to you until it’s finished."

"You should at least let me give feedback after reading it, right?"

"Mmm... no, I don’t want to be influenced by you."

"Hey, how could I not listen if it’s a good suggestion? Is being influenced by me such a bad thing?"

"No, I said no and that’s final."

"Really no?"

"Really no."

"Very well, then I’ll just have to make no into yes!"

"What are you doing?! Ed! Stop it! Ed!"

Since Scarlett had already been thoroughly conquered by him, it was time to introduce her most classic work from her girlhood, and doing it a year in advance wasn’t a big deal. Even though the film would be more about the storytelling, the actors’ performances still couldn’t be overlooked. This would also curry favor with the Coppola family and then get Sofia back into bed more often, like right now. Even if it were just a friendly match, it couldn’t just be a one-time thing. Besides, although Sofia wasn’t particularly pretty, her demeanor was always quite exquisite, and it didn’t hurt to change things up occasionally.

But that was a matter for later; for now, he’d plant the seed in Sofia’s mind. Besides roaming the movie sets, he’d also need to visit the post-production studios over the next few days to wrap up this year’s two films. "Erin Brockovich" had just wrapped up, and post-production would have to wait a bit—that wasn’t urgent as long as it could be released by the end of the year. "Winter’s Bone" had a relatively straightforward plot, with the crux being cinematography, performance, and editing. The first two were already well done; now, Adrian himself needed to finalize the editing.

Actually, this wasn’t a tough job. After completing these two films, there would be no other filming assignments for the year. There was no need to be as busy as last year, and he could leisurely refine the work. Just like with "Erin Brockovich," as long as it was ready for release by year’s end, it was fine. With the media resources now at his disposal, it wasn’t necessary to rely on film festivals to gain publicity for the movies.

So, in reality, the film in need of the most attention was another, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," which was deep in post-production.

Shooting all three parts in one go resulted in a chaotic and massive amount of footage to deal with. Even though Adrian had taken great care to minimize unnecessary shots, this situation still arose. On top of that, the CG required attention—an easy task for static images, but dynamic ones would be time-consuming and laborious to re-render if they didn’t pass Adrian’s scrutiny.

If Adrian had to oversee everything, there wouldn’t be much efficiency as long as he kept flying around the world as he sometimes did. Luckily, he had a capable assistant on this project—Peter Jackson, the bearded and portly fellow from New Zealand, initially director of "The Lord of the Rings" saga.

Listening to the story, Adrian seemed quite unscrupulous, having snatched the best works from others, and having made him a co-director during the shooting, now serving as his assistant in post-production, seemingly determined to bleed him dry—somewhat shameless. But in reality, that was not his intention, just as when they were filming in New Zealand, Jackson had voluntarily recommended himself, and it must be said, he really loved Tolkien’s novels.

Adrian had no reason to refuse, did he? As for certain aspects, what’s taken is taken, can it possibly be given back? At most, he could give the movie versions of "The Silmarillion" and "The Hobbit" to him in the future.

However, even with Peter Jackson’s help as an assistant, it only boosted efficiency to some extent. Adrian’s unique methods could not be learned by others. Although they were using digital cameras and the film scrap rate could be tossed in the wastebasket, no one could maintain such a high shot utilization rate as he did, not even Peter Jackson, who was exceedingly familiar with "The Lord of the Rings."

"You’re a genius, Ed, I could never fathom the mind of a genius," Jackson had replied to this question, sincerely and earnestly.

Adrian’s reaction was to pat him on the shoulder and leave with peace of mind. After all, the earliest this film would premiere was the end of next year; there was plenty of time. Even if he maintained his current pace, if he couldn’t handle a "The Lord of the Rings" movie in over a year’s time, it would be better to remove the title of Miracle Director.

Skipping the two-day sea outing with Julia, the next event was naturally the premiere of "Miss Congeniality," but it was a small affair, different from the initial concept. Adrian had overlooked one thing—that Kate’s box office appeal was slightly low. Though she had starred in high-grossing films like "Twisters" years ago, and recent films "Serendipity" and "28 Days" had garnered some critical acclaim, she disappeared for over a year due to pregnancy with Lily.

Everyone knows what disappearing for over a year in this fast-paced industry means. Even with Adrian backing Kate, she wouldn’t need to start from scratch, but most of her popularity needed to be rebuilt.

"Miss Congeniality" had no big names from actors to directors, except for Michael Caine, who played the pageant designer. If Kate hadn’t vanished for over a year, with the box office of "Twisters" and "Serendipity"—though the lead role in "Twisters" wasn’t an actor—along with the accrued popularity, her box office drawing power might have been close to the original version, and hosting a bustling premiere would be no issue.

It was still possible to do so now, but it seemed rather extravagant, and would undoubtedly face mockery. If the box office turned out only average, there would be even more critics. Thus, scaling down the premiere was the better choice; all the essentials—supporting stars, waiting fans, and reporters hunting for news—would still be present.

The premiere was set at Torres Theater; it was quite lively that evening. For certain considerations, Adrian didn’t appear on the red carpet but entered the theater through a side door.

"I don’t want Lily exposed to the media so early," he had said to Kate.

Even though he controlled quite a few media outlets, unless Kate stopped acting or he got control of all media in the United States, Lily would inevitably become a target for journalists. Of course, as a father, he hoped that day would come later rather than sooner. As Lily’s mother, Kate naturally had no objections, and any dissatisfaction she had felt about him not walking the red carpet vanished.

After chatting with the guests for a bit and when it was nearly time, Adrian entered the screening room with Kate. At this point, there was no need to conceal their close relationship; everyone in the circle knew what kind of person he was, so nothing was strange. As for any reporters that might have sneaked in, aside from the fact they might not have been able to bring cameras into the room, pictures taken here wouldn’t be as convincing as those on the red carpet.

Although "Miss Congeniality" had many changes, they were only concerning the character of the female lead; the main story and theme hadn’t changed much. It began with scenes from the lead character Gracie’s childhood when she is called a freak by schoolmates—even the boys she saved called her that. Of course, Emily unhesitatingly punched the boy she saved. Then it jumped to several years later when they were capturing criminals conducting illegal deals at a bar, then the kindness of the lead character Emily caused a mishap, nearly botching the entire operation. Thankfully, another teammate reacted quickly, further showcasing who she was.

The next segment depicted her personal life and relationships with colleagues, and a rough-and-tumble, masculine woman’s image entirely entered the audience’s view.

"I find myself thinking back to our first meeting and what you looked like," Adrian couldn’t help but whisper in Kate’s ear.

"Yeah, that coffee pot made quite an impression on me," Kate immediately shot back at him.

"Oh, you’re really not cute now. I’m starting to regret letting you star in this movie," Adrian feigned a complaint and then, before she could speak, shifted his gaze back to the big screen.

Now that the leading lady’s character had been established, it was naturally time to create some conflict. Hence, a criminal planned to plant a bomb at the Miss America pageant. The FBI couldn’t monitor it and couldn’t persuade the organizers to cancel the event, so they had no choice but to arrange for Gracie to go undercover. Of course, she had to learn how to compete in the Miss America pageant quickly; she didn’t need to be highly competitive, but at least she couldn’t be easily spotted as a fake.

Then, Michael Caine, playing the pageant designer Victor, made a dazzling entrance. It’s worth mentioning that Kate is currently busy with "The Cider House Rules," also co-starring with Caine, but not as extensively as in "Miss Congeniality." I remember Kate recently discussing this film with Charlize; it’s a pity to have missed such an interesting scene.

Returning to the film, designer Victor has created several Miss Americas and possesses an extraordinary obsession with perfection. Of course, he’s gay—in the movies, men who design clothes and the like for women seem to be invariably portrayed as gay, although in real life, most are indeed gay.

Such a man and such a woman together would inevitably clash, and God wouldn’t believe it if they didn’t, so the early comedic relief mostly came from their interactions. It must be said that old man Caine, an Oscar-winner for Best Supporting Actor, played the role of a gay man impressively, especially his subtle mannerisms and his undisguised disdain for Gracie, who never bothered to dress up or mind her manners, which caused continuous laughter among the audience.

"What do you think of Michael?" Adrian glanced at Caine, seated not too far in front, then quietly asked Kate.

Kate pondered silently for several minutes before letting out a sigh, "His acting is much better than mine."

Adrian, who had just been looking for a casual topic, raised his eyebrows and gently patted her hand, "Don’t worry, it all comes with practice."

The story continued as expected and doesn’t need recounting. Like many similar comedies, Gracie caused some trouble while competing in the pageant, then got through various unbelievable means, such as jumping on and pinning down an audience member with a gun, who turned out just to want a smoke. Gracie’s explanation was that she wanted to support the smoking cessation efforts with her actions.

The subsequent twist was also predictable. The FBI suddenly reported that the bomber had been caught, so the pageant was no longer on alert. However, Gracie, who had gathered more intelligence, didn’t think so. She believed the person threatening to cause a terror event at the pageant wasn’t the same as the bomber, but unfortunately, no one supported her view. She had no choice but to stay behind under the pretext of completing the pageant.

However, a lone hero never lacks companions, so there were people who believed her, including designer Victor, who had always been at odds with her. As a pageant designer, he might not have influence over the FBI, but he knew the ins and outs of the Miss America contest. Thus, another officer who began to believe Gracie, yet had to leave due to orders, got some information from him, combined it with the intelligence Gracie gave him, and finally identified the real culprit.

The ending, of course, was a happy one. In full view, the real criminal—a woman who organized the event, and who would no longer be responsible for Miss America after this event, harboring resentment while having a son who often did bad deeds—planned her revenge.

Also, Gracie saved the newly-crowned Miss America, who was also a good friend she made during the event, from the bomb, earning a thunderous round of applause. Later, although Gracie returned to the FBI, she still received a popular trophy, presented to her by the Miss America winner at a breakfast event.

The plot may be a bit clichéd, but add some inspiration and elements of friendship and love, and the popcorn flick becomes tastier—as the occasional chuckling from the audience indicated. However, unfortunately, Kate was still a bit too beautiful. Despite the makeup artists’ attempts to make her look plain at the beginning, they couldn’t conceal her aura, particularly since she was at the prime age for a woman. Consequently, viewers might not strongly feel the ’ugly duckling turns into a swan’. Coupled with the lack of box office draw, it’s hard to predict the outcome. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit qidian.com to cast your recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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