King of Hollywood

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Publicity Plan

As the Cannes Film Festival officially opened on May 12, the small coastal town became even more bustling. Reporters ran back and forth between press points, tirelessly collecting eye-catching news, gossip, and anecdotes with cameras and video equipment. Stars from around the world were unusually generous in allowing photographs and interviews to promote themselves or the films they were in.

Compared to the United States, Adrian’s fame in Europe was somewhat lesser. After all, besides “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” the other two works also took place in the United States. The general European audience preferred the more commercial American films, while the self-proclaimed artistic critics thought these two films lacked artistic merit.

However, it was only a slight difference. There were no fewer fans of cult styles, mystery, and bizarre concepts, and the thought-provoking nature of “Memento” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” or rather their perceived thought-provoking nature in the eyes of the critics, was commendable. Thus, on May 16 at the premiere of “Pulp Fiction” at the Kapa Theatre on Marsden Avenue, although there were many American journalists, many European journalists also attended.

“Based on the current plot description, Mr. Adrian, your new film is still of the cult genre and seems to be narrated in three segments. Does this mean you’ve again focused heavily on editing like in ‘Memento’?” Outside the railing, amidst the click-click of cameras, a French journalist raised the microphone and loudly asked.

Adrian could barely understand English and would have understood French, but he couldn’t make out anything in the noisy environment.

“Could you repeat that?” Adrian asked in French.

The journalist realized his mistake and switched to French to ask his question again, but Adrian’s reply was a bit frustrating: “I’m sorry, I can’t answer that. The movie is about to be screened, just watch it with your own eyes. Of course, I assure you, it’s a very interesting movie.”

The journalist had finally seized the opportunity to ask his question and had to repeat it to be understood, but he received such a response. Anyone would be disappointed. He wanted to continue probing, but unfortunately, an American journalist had already stolen the opportunity: “Mr. Adrian, is your choice to stick with the cult genre for your fifth film because the fourth one wasn’t up to expectations?”

Journalists from other countries immediately perked up their ears as this news had already spread to Europe. Unfortunately, Adrian did not answer directly, just smiled faintly: “I apologize, today is the premiere of ‘Pulp Fiction,’ so I will not answer questions unrelated to this movie.”

“Does that mean you agree?” the American journalist pressed reluctantly.

Adrian did not respond but looked around signaling others to ask questions, and an Italian journalist promptly spoke: “Mr. Adrian, could you tell us why you chose Ms. Monica Bellucci to play the female lead in this film?”

“Because she is the most suitable,” Adrian said as he took Monica by his side. She was wearing a red low-cut evening gown today, which outlined her exquisite figure and ‘killed’ quite a few rolls of film.

“The female lead, as a mobster’s mistress, needed to exude a sexy, tantalizing yet unconventionally spirited vibe. I screened many actresses and didn’t find the right fit until Monica auditioned,” Adrian continued, admiringly gazing at Monica alongside him, “Although she didn’t have much experience, her performance effortlessly convinced me she was the role I was searching for, so I instantly chose Monica.”

Monica didn’t speak but simply smiled at the journalists. Even though her presence wasn’t as commanding as it would be years later, she still caught the eye of many—especially the Italian journalists.

“In fact, my decision was very right. Monica’s performance in the film was nearly perfect. She was like my muse, inspiring many new ideas as I filmed,” Adrian continued. After a brief pause, the journalists’ expressions turned ambiguous.

Generally, when a director calls his film’s leading actress his muse, it implies one thing. Of course, no one would be foolish enough to state the obvious. Tabloids could write whatever they liked because everyone knew about 90% of their content was unreliable. In contrast, reputable newspapers had to follow unspoken rules unless they had solid evidence. However, this was also a hint that there might be news worth digging into.

After glancing at the nearby entrance of the theatre, Adrian then took Monica by the arm and walked inside, leaving the reporters no choice but to cease their questioning and start snapping photos of their backs.

“Are you serious, Ed?” Once inside the lobby of the theatre, Monica suddenly asked in a low voice.

“Of course,” Adrian replied without hesitation, “During the filming of ‘Pulp Fiction,’ you truly were my muse; otherwise, I wouldn’t have spent so much effort on you.”

“Not anymore?” Monica’s face showed a hint of complexity.

“Frankly, I can’t be sure,” Adrian stopped and looked at her, the sincere expression on his face making him seem very earnest, “but my obsession with you is genuine, Monica.”

Monica was silent for a few seconds, then somewhat defiantly said, “You call me your muse in front of the reporters, aren’t you afraid your little girlfriend will get jealous?”

“It is what it is. When we’re shooting, you really are my muse. Why shouldn’t I admit that?” Adrian shrugged, appearing quite carefree.

Monica’s expression grew more complicated. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but ultimately just sighed. Adrian gave a slight smile, pinched her shapely behind, and continued walking inside with her arm in his.

“Hey, Ed, oh, and Monica,” John Travolta, who had already arrived at the screening room, cheerfully called out. Samuel Jackson, Dennis, and Laverne were there with him, along with Bruce Willis and his wife, Demi Moore.

“You really ran off quickly, leaving all the reporters for Monica and me to deal with,” Adrian said teasingly as he approached them.

“As a director and producer, you should be taking on more responsibility than us, right? Besides you guys…” Travolta joked, suddenly realizing something and stopped with a laugh, spreading his hands.

Essentially, everyone knew about the situation between Adrian and Monica, and they were somewhat aware that he had another girlfriend, but no one spoke extensively on the matter—the most knowledgeable, Dennis, kept his mouth shut the tightest. They were all men and understood these scenarios, even the married Willis and Travolta.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Adrian chatted and laughed with Willis and his wife, and everyone took their seats waiting for the movie to begin.

“How’s the situation?” Adrian whispered to Laverne sitting to his right.

“Not so good. You know, we wasted several years before, and even though you started reestablishing connections after acquiring the company, once these things are neglected, sometimes picking them up again can be harder than starting afresh. Moreover, this is Europe,” Laverne whispered back, yet he seemed calm.

“No worries, there’s still time,” Adrian also noticed this, “Do your best. As long as we’ve tried our hardest, it doesn’t matter if we fail.”

“I will,” Laverne nodded.

Naturally, they were discussing the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Although the original version of “Pulp Fiction” had won the Palme d’Or, Adrian was confident that his version wouldn’t be inferior, but he wasn’t entirely sure of winning.

As mentioned before, all these film festivals were essentially about sharing the pie, albeit the Oscars at least had mainstream values as standards, making it easier to gain favor the closer one adhered to these standards. European film festivals, however, held the banner of art high up, making them relatively more chaotic. Hence, whether one got a slice of the pie depended on how well the public relations were managed.

Because of this, when Adrian initially purchased the film company, he chose the well-established Bossworth Film Company. Subsequently, it was proven that his choice was correct as Laverne, along with their agent Roger, successfully secured him an Oscar nomination for Best Director.

Regardless of how the pie was divided, the quality of the movie still mattered a lot. Adrian believed “Pulp Fiction” had no issues in this regard, so now it was up to Laverne to secure the Palme d’Or like Miramax’s top brass did for “Pulp Fiction”. Of course, if not, it didn’t matter; although the Palme d’Or was highly prestigious internationally, it wasn’t as influential as the Oscars in the United States. So, winning it would be great, but not winning wouldn’t matter either.

“So, how is the promotion for ‘Scent of a Woman’ going?” Adrian asked another question.

“Currently within control, but I think we can pause temporarily. As ‘Pulp Fiction’ premieres in Cannes, it will inevitably draw a lot of attention,” Laverne recounted.

“I’m afraid that won’t do,” Adrian pondered for a moment then shook his head, “You know, their initial grip was that the fourth movie was different from the previous three, and now the fifth is still a cult-type film. Inevitably, they’ll compare it with the fourth, which hasn’t revealed much yet. They will loudly claim the fourth is a failure. If ‘Pulp Fiction’ is well-received, this might worsen. So, it will be hard to cool things down; instead, we need someone to steer it properly, just like we planned initially, to whet the public’s appetite while preventing them from losing faith.” (To be continued. If you wish to find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com where there are more chapters. Support the author, support legitimate reading!