King of Hollywood

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Stubborn Girl

Adrian had spent almost the entire afternoon on the set of “Philadelphia Story,” not only observing Demi direct and sharing his opinions with him but also trying to build good relations with Hanks and Washington. Well, it wasn’t quite pulling strings, just laying the groundwork for the future, and Adrian thought perhaps he could bring Denzel Washington into his fold.

Though Washington already had an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor to his credit, he was still a black man with relatively few high box office successes to his name, and he hadn’t reached his most glorious moments yet, thus pulling his agent to the agency or directly poaching him from his current agent was entirely feasible.

Hanks was a different story, although he currently had only a nomination for Best Actor compared to Washington. He had become famous earlier and, due to his honest visage and solid acting, was very popular, making it a difficult task to poach him. Perhaps a few years later it might be feasible, but by that time Hanks might already be running his own business. Of course, inviting him to play a role was definitely not a problem.

“No problem, I look forward to collaborating with the Miracle Director,” Hanks agreed immediately when asked about potentially working together, a response that highlighted the influence of Adrian’s current reputation.

It started with being known as a genius director, then evolved into the genius director, and now he was the Miracle Director. That progression in just three years and such rapid change was unique to Adrian in Hollywood. Moreover, these titles were indeed well-deserved; since 1990, he had produced six films, none making a loss and very adept at achieving high box office returns from low budgets. “Pulp Fiction,” for instance, had earned $200 million globally on a mere $9 million budget, and even a ponderously artistic film like “Howards End” had been profitable, despite limited appeal. While many factors contributed to these outcomes, the fact that they made money was indisputable.

In addition, these six films had earned him numerous accolades, including participation and awards in each of Europe’s top three film festivals. Although the Best Newcomer award at Venice and the Jury Grand Prix at Berlin were not very significant, the Palme d’Or at Cannes had turned many heads, especially since he was also the youngest recipient of this award and had previously been the youngest Best Director nominee at the Oscars. To achieve so much in three years was nothing short of miraculous.

However, what the stars valued most were the other accolades: the nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the 64th Oscars, the Best Actor and Actress at the 50th Golden Globe Awards, and this year’s Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Actress—with two nods for Best Actor!

Indeed, while public relations were essential for securing awards, they were not everything. Without substantial works, no amount of PR would suffice. Actors like Pacino, with considerable experience, could secure phenomenal roles without any need for PR, making it easy for someone like Tom Hanks to give a prompt reply.

For Adrian, such an answer was more than enough. Even though he had promised Winston Glum that he would start working on a script this year, shooting it was out of the question. After all, an important film was set to be released this year, and barring any mishaps, Best Picture and Best Director would likely belong to it. Hence, there was no need to rush into anything else at this moment.

After wrapping up his visit to the “Philadelphia Story” crew, Adrian shared his thoughts with the CEO of the talent agency, Peter Bell—not only about Denzel Washington but also about another person worth noting, Antonio Banderas, who played Hanks’s lover in the film.

Yes, that young Spaniard was just beginning to make his mark, still less popular and known than Washington. Such an individual was certainly worth getting a head start on, needing careful handling by his own company’s agents. His “future” achievements might not match Washington’s, let alone Hanks’s, but he could still be considered a leading actor in Hollywood, especially with Adrian there.

CAA had grown through a strategy of casting wide nets and package deals, which included many second and third-tier actors among whom a few would eventually become stars. While Adrian also wanted to follow this path, his agency was not yet large enough and he lacked the ideal CEO. For the moment, he had to settle for an elite approach.

Next, Adrian continued his set visits. “True Lies” had finally started filming after nearly half a year of preparation.

“Ah!” As the model airplane suddenly tilted, Sarah, who was clinging to the front of the plane, screamed and almost fell. Fortunately, she held onto the ragged edge of the cockpit and ended up landing on the plane itself. Despite being harnessed, the impact was tough to bear, and her face slightly changed color.

Adrian, watching the scene unfold from the outskirts, almost wanted to rush forward and hold her, but stopped himself after noticing Cameron’s stern face beside him. After another ten or so seconds of filming, Cameron felt it was enough and eventually called a cut.

“Sarah, are you all right?” Adrian asked, frowning as he turned to look at Sarah being helped over by an assistant.

“I’m fine, I’m good,” Sarah said, her face slightly pale, her hand unconsciously clutching below her bust.

“Really?” Adrian asked again, not reassured, then looked around. “Didn’t your mom come?”

“She just found a new job,” Sarah said in a low voice, “I’m really fine, it just hurts a little.”

As she spoke, she slowly made her way to her seat. After a few steps, Adrian suddenly took her arm from her assistant’s grasp, swept her up into his arms, and said to a nearby employee, “Find somewhere she can lie down.”

“I’m fine!” Sarah said stubbornly from his arms. “I can continue!”

“Be good,” was all Adrian replied, then followed the employee into a trailer. Carefully, he placed her on a bed, then began to lift her clothing.

“Wait… wait…” Sarah stumbled over her words, trying to protest, but Adrian simply said, “Be good.”

She reluctantly lay back and watched the trailer ceiling, letting Adrian do as he would. Thankfully, Adrian did not pull her clothes up too much, stopping below her chest line, then gently pressed on a slightly reddened area of her skin below her ribs. “How is this?”

“I’m … I’m fine,” Sarah maintained a calm tone, but the low intake of breath as she spoke did not escape Adrian’s ears.

“Sarah!” Adrian called out with a stronger tone.

Sarah stopped talking, and after a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, “I can continue shooting!”

She’s such a stubborn girl. Adrian sighed to himself, about to say something more when the staff who had left earlier returned with a doctor, accompanied by the director James Cameron.

“What happened?” Cameron asked, frowning.

“She might have had a rather hard fall,” Adrian explained briefly while watching the doctor examine the young girl.

“There’s nothing serious,” the doctor quickly concluded his examination and looked at Cameron before adding, “However, I would suggest that if there are more scenes with a high danger factor, it might be best to let her rest a bit before continuing to shoot.”

From the doctor’s expression, it seemed that this was not the first or second time, but then again, Cameron was known as a “tyrant on set.” Adrian couldn’t help but look towards Cameron, who always sported a stubble, took a few steps towards Sarah, and patted her on the shoulder, “You’re doing very well, Sarah. Just rest a little, and we’ll start shooting again in half an hour.”

His expression was quite stiff, seemingly reluctant. Sarah, slightly straightening her body, looked at the director and then at Adrian, about to say something when Adrian timely spoke up, “Alright, Sarah, take a good rest if you don’t want your mom to worry.”

Indeed, bringing up “mom” worked better than anything else, and Sarah obediently lay back down. After a few more words, Adrian and Cameron then left the trailer together.

“I remember telling you over the phone last time that my demands are very strict,” Cameron suddenly said to Adrian after returning to the studio.

“I know, but do you think Sarah didn’t meet your expectations?” Adrian immediately counter-asked.

“Of course not, her performance is excellent, very …” Cameron thought for a few seconds, “very resilient.”

“Indeed, she is a very stubborn girl,” Adrian nodded, “That’s why I recommended her to you.”

“Is that so?” Cameron suddenly looked at him with interest, “You seem to care a lot about her.”

“Indeed, her mother asked me to look after her, and if she gets hurt because of this, her mother will definitely kill me,” Adrian said without betraying any emotion.

Cameron raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, Charlize dressed in casual attire approached.

“Adrian, Mr. Sean Waters from 20th Century Fox called and said he will be arriving on set soon,” she announced, lifting the bulky cell phone in her hand, “In about ten minutes.”

“Alright, thank you,” Adrian nodded and then turned to Cameron, “You can see Fox is placing a high value on this film. How about we go for a drink at the bar with Arnold after finishing the shooting?”

“No problem,” Cameron shrugged, then looking at Charlize who couldn’t help but ask, “What about Miss Charlize?”

“I’m going home,” Charlize said with a slight smile, and then she walked away.

Cameron, raising an eyebrow at Adrian who chuckled, led the way back into the studio.

The budget for “True Lies” was around 100 million US Dollars. Initially, Adrian planned to pull in 20th Century Fox and Bossworth Film Company to each cover half, but perhaps spurred by the global box office of 600 million US Dollars from “Jurassic Park,” Claude voluntarily requested to participate in the investment. After considering, Adrian accepted his offer. Although “True Lies” didn’t earn as much as “Jurassic Park,” it was still a quite profitable. Naturally, Fox was willing to bring in more people to share the risk, thus changing the investment from two parties to three, although two of them were essentially one.

However, Fox, besides inquiring about financial issues, basically did not interfere with the film’s production. Thus, their sudden dispatch of someone to the set today, and it being the general manager, clearly implied their intentions. (To be continued. To follow the story, please visit . More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)