King of Hollywood

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Hardworking Kate

Los Angeles, with its Mediterranean climate, is sunny all year round, so even in December, daytime temperatures can still reach around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, much like summer. However, the temperature difference between day and night is significant and it’s necessary to adjust clothing accordingly. Moreover, compared to summer, there’s usually a bit more rain during this period.

Overall, the climate is very pleasant, allowing Kate to lounge on a sun-drenched sofa in the living room of her dorm, flipping through a book. It was a book that started with the basics about Twisters, and since the United States is prone to tornadoes, there are many meteorological books on this subject which are quite detailed and clear.

Kate was not browsing these books because she wanted to give up acting to study tornadoes. She had gone to great lengths to extract some information from Adrian. The role of a female meteorologist, which he was preparing for her, specialized in researching the natural disaster of tornadoes. So, she thought about seeking inspiration from this angle to analyze the character’s temperament and personality.

Even though this approach might not be very useful, Kate kept striving tirelessly because she wanted to prove herself, to prove herself in front of her lover. Kate knew all too well that even though she had played two roles in Adrian’s movies and received decent feedback, her acting skill was just mediocre.

There’s no need to mention her role in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” where she had limited screen time and few lines. The role of the barmaid in “Memento” did have its merits, but for many reasons: such as wearing an ugly makeup, Dennis being the absolute protagonist, and skilled editing, among other factors. Speaking of acting alone, she still fell short, especially in complex scenes where she rarely got it right on the first take; Kate remembered that clearly.

“You still lack something, Kate, you are not a naturally gifted actor, so you need to study harder, both theory and practice,” her mentor had once told her after an acting class.

If playing a role in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” was initially just for fun, by the time “Memento” came around, Kate had begun to enjoy the sensation of being applauded by the audience under the screen, particularly after attending the Venice Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival. She didn’t want to just be a pretty face in films; she wanted to excel.

As such, Kate was eager to improve quickly, which is why she had moved into the dorm. Now Adrian had suddenly decided to let her play a leading role in a movie, and it would be terrible if she botched it. Although Adrian, being considerate and understanding, would definitely not blame her, Kate could not allow failure, both for her own sake and for her lover; she had to try her best to prove herself.

“Hey, Kate, so you were here in the dorm, I thought you had gone somewhere,” suddenly a cheerful voice came from the doorway, followed by a young girl appearing at the door.

“Hi, Emily, are you done with classes?” Kate waved and greeted.

This lively girl, with some freckles on her face, was a friend Kate had made at the academy, a student from the photography department. She was plain-looking but nice, unlike the other girl in the same dorm, who was always arrogant and anti-social.

“Of course I’m done with classes, why else would I be here?” Emily shrugged her shoulders, “By the way, there’s a party in Dorm 17 tonight, do you want to come?”

“Another party,” Kate rolled her eyes, “I think I’ll pass, Emily. Just thinking about those guys from the architecture department last time is enough; I’ve never seen such shameless and boring people.”

“Oh, I promise there won’t be any fools like that this time,” Emily hastily raised her hand and said, “Come on, Kate, you should know how popular you are.”

“Is it me who’s popular? Or is it because I’ve acted in two movies?” Kate put down her book and asked.

“Um… I think… probably all of them,” Emily pondered, then glanced at Kate and cautiously asked, “Is it… does your director boyfriend feel…”

Since their relationship was very close, almost at the level of best friends, Emily knew about Kate’s boyfriend, the genius director Adrian Cowell, so she asked this way.

“Ed never interferes with my affairs,” Kate shook her head, “Sorry, Emily, I need a lot of time to read books.”

“Books about twisters?” Emily tilted her head to glance at the book’s cover.

“I can’t help it, Ed got me a role, the female lead, so I need to brush up on some things,” Kate sighed.

“Wow, the female lead? You’re going to be the female lead, Kate?!” Emily’s eyes widened suddenly, “If the girls from the acting department knew, I don’t know how jealous they would be.”

“Emily!” Kate raised her finger and shook it.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything,” Emily quickly assured her, “I never have.”@@novelbin@@

Basically, apart from Emily, no one else in the academy knew about Kate and Adrian’s relationship. They only knew that Kate’s boyfriend was an American with a decent job in Los Angeles, who came every weekend to take her into the city. Even so, Kate was somewhat ostracized—of course, her being British also played a part—if they knew Adrian’s identity, who knows what would happen.

Therefore, Kate always asked Emily to keep it a secret, and Emily had done it very well.

“Speaking of which, how did you guys meet?” Emily suddenly asked, filled with curiosity.

Kate initially didn’t want to talk but couldn’t help recalling various scenes from the set of “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,” especially the prank when Adrian, in front of her, threw the liquid from the cup he was holding and picked up another coffee pot with a playful smile; and when he came to find her with the coffee pot, but because of a mistake, tossed it away yelling. Every time she remembered, a strange feeling echoed in her chest.

“Actually… it was on the set of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.’ I was shopping, then a crew assistant grabbed me and asked if I could try a role,” Kate slowly started, a faint, amusingly reflective smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, “So I went, and Ed was annoyed at the time and scolded the assistant. I felt it was unfair and spoke up in defense. We had a little argument, Ed felt embarrassed and wanted revenge so he kept me around, and over the next few days, we frequently clashed. However, as time went on, because of these clashes we got to understand each other, met a few times after the shooting, and then… I got caught up in it all.”

“Wow, that sounds quite romantic, just like ‘The Hating Game'” Emily couldn’t help but exclaim.