King of Hollywood

Chapter 116: Chapter 116 Cannes

“Yes, we admit, Adrian is a weirdo, a genius, his head seemingly full of endless ideas. So far, his three movies, whether it’s the pervasive British black humor of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,’ the dazzling editing of ‘Memento,’ or the contemplation of human nature and hope for redemption through freedom in ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ have all left a deep impression. What’s even more astonishing is that he has also been a screenwriter for several outstanding films, and sometimes you really can’t help but wonder, where did such a unique person suddenly come from?

It has only been two years since he started his career as a director, and it seems he hasn’t encountered any failure. But now, it looks like this streak is about to be broken. As everyone knows, after the Oscars ended, Adrian went back to the editing room to work on his fifth movie, he’s always that busy. But now the question arises, what about his fourth movie?

If I remember correctly, Adrian’s fourth work was already completed last year, and even brought on Al Pacino as the leading actor. According to his usual pattern, since the production of the fifth movie has already begun, the fourth movie should have been finished early on. But no news about this movie has come out even after the Oscars.

This is a very interesting situation, when a movie is completed but not released, there are only two possibilities: first, the producers believe the production is not good enough, that the movie has significant flaws and they are unwilling to distribute it; the second is that the distributors are not optimistic, thinking that the film will neither gain critical acclaim nor win over the audience. Judging by Adrian’s past record, almost every movie begins promotion and then releases shortly after completion, and the high box office of the previous three movies could have easily convinced distributors to take a gamble. Yet interestingly, there has been no news about this movie to date.

This odd situation wasn’t clarified until an employee of Bossworth Film Company accidentally let something slip, revealing that the genius director’s fourth movie tells the story of a friendship between a retired colonel and a high school student who takes care of him. Simply put, Adrian has produced a regular drama film, rather than the type of cult movie with a strong personal style.

Though I would like to say this is no big deal, as every director has films they want to produce—George Lucas also had such a work with ‘American Graffiti’—compared with Adrian’s previous movies, one can’t help but be pessimistic. Perhaps this is why Adrian keeps making changes to his movie, reluctant to release it, and why distributors are also cautious about taking it on.

What will come of this movie? Will it be shelved even after several revisions, or ignored upon release? No one knows, which is a pity since Pacino played the lead role. If Adrian’s fifth movie in production tries to make a breakthrough like the fourth one, it might well repeat the same mistakes.”

This is an article from the ‘Daily News.’ Its tone seems quite fair, beginning with affirming achievements, then proceeding to analysis, followed by raising doubts, and ending with a well-meaning reminder. But in fact, the entire article implies at every turn that Adrian’s fourth and fifth movies might be doomed, especially towards the end, where it is exceptionally obvious.

This isn’t surprising, as what else can you expect from sensationalist tabloids? However, this method of overt praise with implicit criticism is seldom used. Most often, they opt for an exaggerated headline and then continue to exaggerate tenfold in the content, treating gimmicks as selling points. If such a method is employed, it implies that the subject is worth sustained attention.

Indeed, that’s what happened: the article was quickly picked up by other newspapers, and Adrian, who had started to fade from the public eye, was brought back into the spotlight. After all, the article wasn’t wrong about one thing—based on his record over the past two years, he usually promotes his completed movies and then prepares for their release. The sudden change in strategy definitely indicates some kind of problem, and considering the leaked plot details, what’s mentioned in the article might not be far from the truth.

As a result, many journalists began trying to dig up more information, hoping to understand what’s going on. But Bossworth Film Company didn’t reveal further details, simply stating that the movie was currently being adjusted. This ambiguous statement immediately led to a flurry of speculation: could it be that this rocketing genius director was about to face his Waterloo? Not only were journalists eager to speculate, but some talk show hosts also made a show of analyzing the situation when they discussed it.

Unfortunately, Adrian doesn’t do interviews, and he protects his private life well, making it difficult for journalists to track his whereabouts. After all, directors can’t compare with actors in terms of the attention they receive; walking on Sunset Avenue, you might recognize Sylvester Stallone or Harrison Ford approaching, but you might not be able to distinguish Francis Ford Coppola from George Lucas.

Therefore, journalists quickly turned their focus to Al Pacino, who played the leading role in the movie. Alas, Pacino has had countless dealings with them and knew how to handle their questions.

“I’m satisfied with my performance; it’s a character full of individuality and charm, and I love him. I also love Adrian; he’s a director very skilled at eliciting emotions from his actors.”

Look at that, not mentioning the plot but only discussing the character, effectively promoting the movie while avoiding the key issue—truly the work of a seasoned actor.

As journalists couldn’t get much information, they began to increase speculation in their reports. The large, well-known media outlets were still alright, knowing where the line was, but tabloids made bold claims without restraint, proclaiming that the genius director’s new movie is definitely doomed.

This situation lasted for several days, until finally, Bossworth Film Company issued a statement. Although it had nothing to do with Adrian’s fourth movie, it still attracted the attention of the media because their spokesperson announced that Adrian would be participating in the upcoming Cannes Film Festival with his fifth movie, ‘Pulp Fiction’!”

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Cannes, located in the southeast of France, has the world’s whitest and most beautiful beaches, along with Nice and Monte Carlo, is known as one of the three major tourism centers in Southern Europe. Situated on the edge of the Mediterranean, with azure waters, lush palm trees, and a mild climate, it’s a wonderful place for a holiday and no wonder the French hold a film festival here.

Speaking of which, the film festival was interestingly founded by the French government in 1939 as a counter against the Venice Film Festival, which was under the control of the Italian Fascist regime, so the location is also a picturesque tourist haven. From this, one can see how different the nature of the Berlin Film Festival is from Cannes and Venice.

Regardless, compared to the Venice Film Festival, which favors personal style and the relentless pursuit of so-called art, and the Berlin Film Festival, which has a relatively strong political flavor, the Cannes Film Festival, which swings between commerce and art, has far surpassed Venice to become Europe’s most prestigious film festival. Interestingly, the French not only refuse to acknowledge this, but they insist that the art of cinema is best embodied at the Cannes Film Festival, and I really don’t know what to say about them.

Beyond that, the Cannes Film Festival has another appealing aspect, thanks to the sea, beauties, and sunshine (Sea Sex Sun), it’s referred to as the 3S Film Festival. Every year during the grand event, numerous beauties gather on the famous Seaside Avenue and nearby beaches, hoping to be discovered by film moguls and scouts, to make their starlet dreams come true. Sadly, though, I’ve yet to hear of any known actress who was discovered here, I’m not sure whether to laugh or feel saddened by this.

With the arrival of nightfall, although the world’s filmmakers are all gathered here, and this small city has lost its former tranquility, it still has its own beauty amidst the dazzling lights.

“You really should come to see it, Kate, it’s so beautiful here, I went to the blue coast area the day I arrived, and the world’s most beautiful beaches are definitely not just talk,” said Adrian, naked, looking out at the night sky with a singsong tone on the phone.

“Your tone sounds strange? Oh, of course, I’m both excited and thrilled. I love it here,” Adrian maintained his singsong tone, then exaggeratedly let out a breath before looking down.

Monica, her upper body bare, was kneeling in front of him, pressed tight against his lower body, lifting her head to bite her lip as she moved, her eyes fierce and yearning as they locked onto him.

“I’ll be careful, then I’m off to rest, I’ll adjust to the jet lag soon,” said Adrian, hanging up the phone and murmuring to Monica kneeling before him, “Because I have a sexy creature right here!”

The room suddenly quieted down, the two of them staring at each other without speaking, only Monica occasionally lowering her head down for a while. Finally, Adrian suddenly took a deep breath, let out a muted groan, and his body tensed up a lot more.

Monica stopped her actions with a soft gasp, and after about a few dozen seconds, she opened her eyes, filled with lust as she looked at Adrian, her flushed face giving her an unusually seductive look.

“Now… satisfied?” Monica said with a breathy voice, tinged with a hint of excited hoarseness.

“Oh, certainly, you did very well, Monica,” Adrian’s voice still carried the same singsong note, clearly very satisfied.

Monica then laid her head down to do the cleaning up, and Adrian immediately let out another sigh of pleasure. After several moments, the kneeling woman finally stood up, enticingly arranging her sticky hair and turning to walk to the bathroom, swaying her pert hips.

After watching her enter the bathroom, Adrian then looked at the phone tossed aside. Although it was just a chance encounter, it was undeniably thrilling, and for Monica, it was a breakthrough.

Watching this sexy creature slowly fall into his grasp was a marvelous feeling. Adrian couldn’t help but recall the swaying figure that just went into the bathroom. The implication was too obvious. He chuckled softly, then got up and headed to the bathroom as well. (To be continued, for more information, please log onto www.qidian.com, more chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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