King of Hollywood

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Low-Key Premiere

It wasn’t until the sun was well up that the two entwined in a strange embrace on the bed stirred from their slumber. After mobilizing their somewhat numb limbs, they sat up, exchanged smiles without saying a word, and headed straight to the bathroom, stark naked. The bedroom was in disarray, and through the half-open door, one could see the equally messy living room – a testament to the fierceness of last night’s activities.

The hot water poured down from the showerhead, drenching their bodies and bringing waves of comfort. Adrian and Julia still didn’t speak; they just went about washing themselves. Sharing a showerhead inevitably led to some bumping, so they ended up washing each other’s bodies, which increased their physical contacts and culminated in tender moments under the cascading water, occasionally broken by bursts of soft laughter.

After quite some time, they finally dressed and came out of the bathroom fresh and clean, then embarked on a major cleaning spree. They casually scavenged some food from the fridge, gave it a couple of spins in the microwave to fill their stomachs. Having taken care of all that, they sat quietly in the living room for a long time until the sunlight crawled from the glass doors to the garden when Adrian stood up and walked outside, followed by Julia. That’s when they exchanged their first words since waking up.

“I’m leaving,” Adrian said, standing by the open door.

“I know,” Julia leaned against the door frame and shrugged, silent for a few seconds before asking, “So, when are you heading back to London? Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?”

“At least a week from now,” Adrian pondered. “It took quite an effort to ditch those pesky reporters and sneak back to Los Angeles unnoticed, so obviously, I need some proper rest.”

“Really?” A mysterious gleam flashed in Julia’s eyes and Adrian noticed it, arching his brow.

Two seconds later, they suddenly kissed, fierce and passionate as if they had been starved for ages. The breaths they took grew heavier until they finally parted, only to look into each other’s eyes and come together again, this time walking back inside the house while kissing. Adrian then kicked the door shut with a sharp thud.

Five days later, the farewell scene reiterated at the entrance of the villa. Adrian, still in a simplistic white shirt and grey trousers, which though clean, clearly had been worn before, stepped outside and planted a kiss on Julia who was in a floral long dress, then said his goodbyes and left.

Julia looked refreshed and unlike the last time, did not pull him back into the room. She just smiled and closed the door in front of him, making a loud bang sound.

“Really, women’s little tempers…” Adrian chuckled, shaking his head, then climbed into his car that had been parked for several days, started the engine, and drove into the street as the wind blew through the rolled-down window, prompting him to whistle absently.

Over those brief five days, they barely went anywhere. They stayed indoors the entire time, chatting, dancing, singing, playing games, watching videos, and more – doing whatever they desired in whatever manner they wanted. On rare occasions, they went out for meals, but mostly they ordered takeout.

Of course, none of that was the highlight. For five full days, on the bed, sofa, floor, coffee table, in the bathroom, on the balcony… in this house, there was no spot they didn’t explore, no trick they didn’t try, and no part that wasn’t used. It was truly insane.

Yes, an insane, yet absolutely fantastic five days. With one hand on the steering wheel, Adrian licked his lips, the image of Julia’s wild yearning and pleading expressions igniting the urge in him to turn the car around and stay another five days. Julia’s most enticing attribute was her iconic mouth, which had completely blown Adrian away the first time, and only got more versatile under his guidance, utterly incomparable to Kate or Monica.

Furthermore, the backside was pretty impressive too. Initially, Julia resisted a lot, but as things smoothed out, she grew to crave the sensation, progressively becoming more proactive in their engagements, granting Adrian pleasures he had never experienced before.

“I’m looking forward to our next meeting, Julia,” Adrian thought to himself with a smile, well aware of why Julia had indulged in days of passion with him, but it was only you who wanted this to end, not me.

Because the plot of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” had been modified, he suddenly had a new idea, linking it to the few blockbuster movies that followed, and what better way to hint through the roles he played?

Although it might take some time, what did it matter? As long as he could keep her within his grasp. The villain in the car thought this as he stepped on the accelerator and drove off into the distance.

The next day, Adrian rented a private jet and returned to London, first inspecting the finishing touches of “Howards End,” and then notifying Mike Newell that the female lead was set, he could start the official preparations. If all went well, shooting might start by January next year, Adrian handed over the rest of the film matters to the director. Preparation naturally couldn’t be as fast as when he oversaw it himself and poor weather might further delay the start date.

After wrapping up these two major tasks, he visited Miss Rodlin’s home to see Little Emma, made arrangements as usual, and then took the rented private jet back to Los Angeles because “Scent of a Woman” had been released.

Without a premiere, this movie had been through too many ups and downs. Even though Al Pacino had been brought in to star, the cost wasn’t high, so they simply canceled the premiere to save costs. After all, the main purpose of a premiere was to promote the film, and this film had already had enough promotion.

Thus, since it released quietly and in just barely 1000 theaters, it still took in seven million US dollars on the opening day, rising to eleven million by the weekend! After numerous media debates, the public was eagerly anticipating this film. Even though many scorned, thinking the film had been shelved for so long that it was merely a last-ditch struggle, many more chose to enter the movie theaters, and then—

“This is another hope-filled film from Adrian following ‘The Shawshank Redemption.’ From devastation to rebirth, Al Pacino perfectly portrayed the irascible yet stubbornly determined blind Colonel Frank, insisting on completing whatever he decides to do. This might just be his best and most outstanding performance in years!” — Hollywood Report

“This is a magical age-gap friendship, a young and confused college student and a temperamental colonel intent on dying, who impact each other by chance and ultimately find what they lack in one another. One cannot help but praise Al Pacino’s acting, utterly unrecognizable as a sighted man, especially during that exquisitely performed tango, cautious yet flamboyant, an absolute wonder to behold.” — Variety

“The title ‘genius director’ couldn’t suit Adrian any better. He perfectly incorporated his earliest style selectively into this film. Although it always bore a hint of his previous works, it was completely different from the previous few films, creating a remarkable movie, especially Frank’s final speech in the auditorium, which stirred profound emotions. Adrian fully achieved what he set out to do.” — New York Times

“The plot doesn’t differ from the original Italian movie; story-teller Adrian seems never to have considered putting more effort into the plot, as if changing nothing would be best—oh, wrong, at least the setting was moved to the United States. In some ways, this film seems more like a one-man show by Al Pacino, with the director’s role minimized. If I had been looking forward to his ‘Howards End,’ now I needn’t bother seeing it.” — The Times

Overall, critics mostly praised “Scent of a Woman,” especially the American critics, who lauded the film as though it was the best of the year, as if the earlier doubts never existed. Criticism mainly came from British media, most British critics watching with a skeptical eye, suggesting if this is Adrian’s attempt at a dramatic narrative, it was nothing special. However, thankfully, this time, the media of the two countries did not start a quarrel.

The stark difference in reactions arose because of the “Howards End” matter, where the American media had once been rendered speechless, and since the film showed real quality upon release, they naturally took this opportunity for a comeback.

Secondly, the film’s theme really scratched an itch in mainstream American society, where the viewpoint “informers are despicable” has always been popular, with characters acting as informants in many mainstream taste or box-office-oriented movies meeting tragic fates. In the United States, some views absolutely resist subversion, such as the definitions of the Holocaust, attitudes towards homosexuality and discrimination, and evaluations of informers—this is called political correctness.

Thirdly, the lead, Al Pacino, truly stood out and was incredibly eye-catching. Although many people didn’t say much, they were well aware that he had already received six Oscar nominations previously, but never won. If this film were nominated for this year’s Oscar for Best Actor, given his performance and credentials, Pacino’s chances of winning were at least 80%!

With these factors combined, thus the low-key release but fiery response to “Scent of a Woman” was created.(To be continued, for more, please login to www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)