King of Hollywood

Chapter 119: Chapter 119 Unanimous Praise

The third story, “Bonnie’s Situation,” began and the scene returned to where Vincent and Jules were collecting a briefcase from the thugs, followed by a bloody shootout. Unbeknownst to them, there was a guy hiding in the bathroom with a gun who, despite trembling with fear, mustered the courage to burst out shooting wildly.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to Jules reciting the Bible, God was on his side, and not a single bullet hit its mark. Naturally, the guy was quickly taken down by Vincent and Jules. However, Jules believed this was a miracle and suddenly felt that he should leave this kind of life behind. Vincent thought he was being ridiculous, so they argued in the car, which ended with the accidental headshot of the only surviving thug in the backseat, who they had planned to bring back to their boss.

Blood spattered everywhere inside the car, which certainly could no longer be driven. Fortunately, there was a guy nearby with good relations with the gang who had retired from legitimate business; they had no choice but to drive the car over and then call their boss to send someone to clean up the mess. The guy, now afraid of his wife, had a wife named Bonnie who was about to get off work in an hour, and would surely fly into a rage if she saw the current situation.

Seeing this, the audience couldn’t help but smile, given the development of the previous two stories, everyone expected the three men would create a series of hilarious situations to cover up the mess before Bonnie’s return. But there were also many who reserved judgment, especially since the second story had left a strong impression with Vincent, who was the clear protagonist in the first story, getting shot to pieces immediately; who knew if the director was going to play a similar trick again?

As expected, as the plot unfolded, everyone was taken aback once again. The third chapter was clearly titled “Bonnie’s Situation,” but from beginning to end, Bonnie was only shown from the back—that was just too messy, wasn’t it? Did the director think it amusing to tease the audience?

But the story still firmly captivated the audience. After changing their clothes, Vincent and Jules went to a diner to eat, the very same diner Little Rabbit and Little Pumpkin were planning to rob at the beginning of the film. Needless to say, the robbers encountered hitmen from the gang, and though they initially had the upper hand, Little Pumpkin was quickly subdued by Jules, and the story took another turn here.

“Do you read the Bible?” Jules pointed his gun at Little Pumpkin’s head, “There’s a passage I got memorized, Ezekiel 25:17, ‘The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men…'”

Previously, after reciting this passage at the start of the film, Jules had shot the guy dead, but here not only did he spare Little Pumpkin, he also gave the robber his wallet as a payoff for his own life, truly unexpected. And with that, the movie ended. With oldies music playing, the screen slowly faded to black as the credits rolled upward.

Minutes later, the lights in the theater finally came on. Although many people were whispering quietly, few were making any move to leave. After several more minutes, a smattering of applause suddenly popped up in a corner of the quiet theater, noticeably standing out. Others joined in the applause and then more and more people joined in, until finally, thunderous clapping almost seemed to lift the roof of the theater.

Adrian, who had been sitting steadily in his seat, couldn’t help but smile, then high-fived to celebrate with Travolta, Willis, Laverne, and others. Although the small theater wasn’t completely full, the enthusiastic clapping was already a good sign.

As expected, the next day, mainstream entertainment media both in Europe and North America praised “Pulp Fiction” immensely.

“This is a cleverly crafted film, as Adrian, who is trying to move towards the mainstream, has returned once again to the absolute cult style of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.’ Compared to his first work, ‘Pulp Fiction’ seems more mature and more surprising, of course, the intense black humor and attention to detail are still too numerous to follow.” — France’s Le Figaro

“As Hollywood’s current most-watched young director, Adrian always likes to surprise; this time he boldly used Italian model Monica Bellucci as the new film’s leading lady. It must be said, this was a very correct decision, in the first story’s classic dance scene, Monica’s performance made the whole film extraordinarily appealing. Adrian himself also personally admits, Monica is his Muse.” — Italy’s Corriere della Sera

“Compared to the multiple narratives of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,’ Adrian simply divided the whole story into chapters this time. However, this not only did not make the film feel fragmented—although the plot does seem a bit loose—it instead gave a completely different feeling. The three stories can be watched independently, yet they are interconnected, surprising the audience, especially when the beginning and end come together to form a perfect circle. This young director truly deserves the title of genius.” — United Kingdom’s Guardian

“When John Travolta turned down ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ and ‘Mermaid,’ he probably did not expect his career to slide all the way to the bottom, the title ‘eternal John Travolta’ was still fresh in people’s minds when it had already been replaced by ‘a fool who stumbled into Hollywood.’ Perhaps it was for this reason he accepted Adrian’s invite, playing a gangster hitman in the young director’s new movie.

But now it seems he is about to emerge from the doldrums, in Adrian’s new movie, aside from the dance sequence with Italian model Monica Bellucci, at other times he is unrecognizable from the John of before, with sloppy long hair, an earring, using heroin, doing all sorts of misdeeds, this has instead given him an alternative charm.

I have to admit, Adrian has great courage and ability, the entire film aside from Bruce Willis had no popular actors, yet was made so wonderfully, you can’t help but applaud it. Even Monica Bellucci, an Italian model, had her charm fully excavated by him, clearly, he is most suited to making cult films, forget about other types of movies.”

Adrian read this segment and then shook his head with a smile, folding up the newspaper and putting it on a small table beside him, that was the Los Angeles Times’ review after “Pulp Fiction” was released.

Media from countries like the United Kingdom and France focused their attention on the film content, analyzing the story from their own perspectives, while Italian media put the spotlight on Monica, lauding her successful foray into Hollywood—even though Italians, who pride themselves on “art,” tend to disdain “commercialized” Hollywood. Yet, they are gleeful when their own actors shine brightly there. This mentality is truly amusing. In fact, this isn’t exclusive to Italy; other European countries are the same way. They obviously envy, jealously covet, and resent, yet they pretend to be high-minded and act indifferent, tossing a sarcastic remark every now and then. It’s really…

Alright, back to the initial topic, among various media outlets, the American media is the most interesting. Although there are plenty of praises, they never forget to bring up and lightly mock Adrian’s movie that is currently “on ice,” like that last sentence in the Los Angeles Times article.

“These guys really know how to cling to one thing and not let go,” Adrian murmured under his breath. Unfortunately, it would be at least another year before he could have his own TV station, and even then, a TV station and print media are two different things. Before the rise of the internet and especially social networks, print media still had significant influence.

Now, it’s better not to think about these things. Adrian shook his head, then stood up, stretched his body against the oncoming sea breeze, and admired the white beaches of Cannes, as famously brilliant as their reputation. The fine sand sparkled under the dazzling sunshine, and the ceaseless waves added to the enchanting scenery.

Adrian let out a long breath and turned to look at Monica, who was sunbathing on the chaise lounge beside him. With a mischievous smile, he sat back down and playfully slapped her perky buttocks, “All the media are praising you, Monica.”

“It was just that swing dance,” Monica lifted her head and shot him a slightly dissatisfied glance. Her back was bare as she lay without a swimsuit, covered only by a bikini bottom the size of a hand over her hips. As she put it, since Adrian had rented this place, it’s no big deal to not wear anything on the upper body.

“That was pretty good too, and as for the acting, you can practice gradually,” Adrian laughed, saying that although 90% of the media were full of praises for the swing dance, they generally found Monica’s acting to be decent but not particularly outstanding.

“She definitely could do better,” the Italian media wrote with considerable regret.

“Do you need me to apply oil on you again?” Adrian asked as he soothingly caressed her enticing back, his middle finger sliding down her spine slowly, finally reaching her tailbone.

“Oh!” Monica let out a light cry, suddenly sitting up, and there was an indescribable expression in her eyes, clearly reminded of the previous time Adrian had applied oil on her, when she almost…

“I better go for a swim,” Monica said, standing up and heading to the sea without looking back.

Adrian chuckled softly and followed her. Once in the water, he swiftly swam up to catch Monica.

“Hey, Monica, let’s see who can swim there first,” he gestured and called out, “I’ll give you a 20-meter head start!”

“I don’t need your head start!” Monica replied loudly.

“Is that so? Then let’s start!” Adrian laughed, suddenly starting to swim toward the designated direction.

“How could you do that!” Monica yelled in annoyance, before furiously swimming after him.

Soon, she closed the gap between them, and as Monica caught sight of Adrian getting closer, excitement surged within her. Yet, relentlessly moving through the water, she was completely unaware that his speed was slowing down. Finally, as she once again narrowed the distance and was about to catch up with him, he suddenly ducked under the water and didn’t come back up.

Monica paused, caught off guard, and before she could react, she heard a splash next to her ear, and then she was embraced tightly. (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)