King of Hollywood-Chapter 237 - 235 The Inevitable Premiere
Chapter 237: Chapter 235: The Inevitable Premiere
Chapter 237 -235: The Inevitable Premiere
Time sometimes passes very quickly, especially when you’re not aware of it. In the blink of an eye, a month or several months have gone by. With the arrival of the end of August, “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” which was rushed for the summer slot, was also ready to be released.
Because of Adrian and Julia’s scandal, the movie instantly attracted public attention, leading to numerous reports by journalists. As the heat of the scandal subsided, attention slightly declined, but with the broadcast of the trailer and the movie company’s large-scale publicity, it still brought much delight to many people.
“This year’s best romance movie,” “Julia’s most spectacular performance since ‘Pretty Woman’,” and other promotional phrases appeared frequently in newspapers, using various exaggerated words to lavishly praise in order to draw the audience to the movie is an indispensable promotional tactic, even if once the movie fails, these would become a laughingstock.
Some critics who had seen the preview agreed with this claim, and one columnist wrote in the Chicago Tribune:
“The intriguing and warm plot is the biggest highlight of this movie, the suave and debonair male protagonist meets a conservative yet independent female protagonist leading to a series of chemical reactions, coupled with the appropriately handled British humor, and four completely different styles of weddings and a funeral, are breathtaking. The most interesting part is, the suave and debonair male lead is British and the conservative female lead is American, inevitably bringing a sense of displacement, but precisely this sense of displacement resonates powerfully with the audience. Well, I can’t say much, better watch it yourself when the movie is released.”
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But some people didn’t think so.
“I can’t imagine an actor who frequently plays street thugs and decadent men in cult-type movies, suddenly becoming a debonair character and talking of love with Julia. Okay, Dennis is a good actor, at least I think his performance in ‘Memento’ was notable, but that doesn’t mean he’s really suited for romantic comedies. I have no idea how the director and producers made their choices, and I hold a pessimistic view of this movie’s prospects.”
“Many people seem to have expectations for this movie, but I say, think about the utterly terrible ‘Dying Young’ first. Although no one mentions it now, it doesn’t mean the failure of Julia and that movie didn’t exist. Yes, Julia’s character is still independent and distinctive, but it’s just repetition with no innovation, I can almost predict the future of this movie.”
Two interesting reviews, the former obviously did not attend the preview and was just judging based on the trailer and actor impressions, so it was not optimistic about Dennis. The latter clearly saw the preview and specifically targeted Julia. The former’s tone was cautious, while the latter was unguarded.
However, there was no need to take these too seriously, criticism is always easier than praise. To give praise, the movie must have praiseworthy aspects, unless shamelessly turning flaws into virtues. But to criticize, one can always find faults. Not only the actors, but the British humor in the movie, and the representations of the British and Americans, were severely criticized by some nit-picking critics.
Moreover, this objectively attracted quite a lot of attention, and coupled with the company’s relentless publicity, the movie had considerable renown before its release. As to what extent it is liked or not, that would naturally be known after the movie is released.
On August 31, many journalists had already stationed outside Grauman’s Theater early on; since the publicity had reached this extent, the premiere was definitely a must. Yet their primary purpose wasn’t this, they were more hopeful to capture the intimate appearance of Adrian and Julia, though the heat of their scandal had not been as eye-catching as at the beginning, it still maintained a certain degree of warmth.
Moreover, adding Monica Bellucci into the mix made everything even more complex, whom was Adrian really dating? Or was he juggling both? Or as some tabloids claimed, dating around?
Regrettably, Adrian and Julia did not give them that opportunity, arriving at the theater at completely different times, Julia had entered long before Adrian arrived, and both did not respond directly to the journalists’ questions.
“Please, folks, you’ve been asking for months; can’t you focus on something else?” Julia, in a long-sleeved black jacket and short skirt showcasing her beautiful long legs, said with a helpless tone.
“Hey guys, be professional, it’s the movie premiere today, okay?” Adrian, smiling cheekily, shrugged at them and then briskly walked inside.
“Darn it, why couldn’t they cooperate?” a journalist complained, regretful but helpless against Julia and Adrian. After making up stories for so long, the public had already developed a certain immunity, and to dig deeper they would need photos to speak.
Unfortunately, after last month’s close call near Santa Monica, Adrian had been very careful, not giving the journalists any opportunity—his dinner with Monica was intentional.
As for the subsequent press conference, which fool would ask such questions at that time?
“I’m suddenly feeling some sympathy for those guys outside,” Julia said to Adrian, laughing.
“They’re not worth your sympathy, Julia,” Adrian shrugged, then looked around and quickly wrapped his arm around her waist.
Julia didn’t speak, just gave Adrian a complex look. Although they were standing shoulder to shoulder in the bustling hall, there was no physical contact between them. In fact, including the parties they had attended together before, they had always maintained a balance between closeness and distance. After all, in such crowded places, being too intimate might lead to gossip.
“By the way, Julia, how about we find a place to chat for a bit once the movie starts?” Adrian suggested in a low, cheerful voice after noticing her expression.
“Sorry, I’m not interested today,” Julia replied with a glance, then turned and walked away gracefully.
Watching her beautiful figure receding, Adrian chuckled and shook his head. He knew Julia’s thoughts all too well; a mix of dissatisfaction and turmoil, but mostly irresistible, which is why she chose to remain silent on certain matters. Dating Monica in front of the reporters was meant to divert attention but also to test Julia.
Of course, the result was as Adrian had hoped. The silence resembled the don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy in the US Army. Everyone knew what was going on, but as long as no one reported it, everyone would turn a blind eye. That was the kind of situation he and Julia were in now. Though there were unpredictable factors, it didn’t matter; he wasn’t afraid of her having various thoughts, just afraid of her having none at all.
“Hey Dan, Noni,” Adrian soon found Dennis in the crowd after temporarily parting ways with Julia, and with him was Winona Ryder, dressed in a slender strap dress.
“Hey Ed, looks like you managed to dodge those guys outside,” Dennis greeted him with a smile.
“Yeah,” Adrian shrugged. He had wanted to say, “It looks like you didn’t manage to escape,” considering Dennis was unusually public about bringing Winona to the film’s premiere after she had just broken up with Depp and moved in with Dennis. With the reporters still somewhat stoic, making such a public stance was a complete declaration of their relationship, and those reporters outside would surely make a big fuss.
Considering his previous observations at the Friends wrap party, Adrian had some thoughts and wanted to probe a bit. However, after glancing at Winona standing next to Dennis, he swallowed back his words.
Winona was no longer treating him with disdain like she had on the set of Four Weddings and a Funeral, but she was still cool every time they met. Adrian couldn’t fathom what was going on in her head, leaving Dennis to apologize profusely to him in private time and again. Perhaps this was a common problem among young people who became famous too early without experiencing setbacks.
Of course, Adrian didn’t really care, considering Dennis’s feelings and deciding not to mind.
“You seem a little nervous, and this isn’t your first movie,” Adrian remarked, jokingly assessing him.
“It’s not that obvious, is it?” Dennis looked at himself and then sighed. “Of course, I know this isn’t my first movie, but it’s my first time in a romantic comedy.”
“What, you believe what those guys say? That your previous roles have decided you’re not suited for romantic comedies?” Adrian raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you even have that much confidence?”
“Of course not,” Dennis shook his head. “I’ve participated in previews, but it still feels like standing on stage waiting for everyone’s judgment. Even with experience and confidence, there’s still a bit of excitement and nervousness.”
“Don’t worry, I trust my judgment; everyone will love your performance.” Adrian chuckled lightly, then turned to Winona. “If you still have doubts, why not ask Noni? Do you think Dan is a romantic person, Noni?”
“Definitely.” Winona shrugged, her answer swift and without hesitation.
“I still remember…” she began but was quickly interrupted by Dennis coughing next to her.
Seeing this, Adrian chuckled and shook his head, then said, “Alright, I won’t bother you two.”
He turned and walked away, looking back after a short distance to see the two talking intimately with smiles on their faces. Reflecting briefly, Adrian shrugged indifferently and strode away.
(To be continued. For more about the story, visit www.qidian.com, where chapters are updated frequently. Support the author and legitimate reading!)
