King of Hollywood-Chapter 265 - 263 Spectacular Performance
Chapter 265: Chapter 263: Spectacular Performance
Chapter 265: Chapter 263: Spectacular Performance
Among the few women around him, Monica was neither temperamentally nor skill-wise fit for the role; Sarah was too young, not to mention a bit too pretty; Liv had already arranged another movie and was currently in the exploratory phase, not to even mention ingesting anything—her temperament was also unsuitable; as for Kate, she hadn’t returned to his side yet and her features were too delicate, nothing like the look of an American girl. So, after much deliberation, Julia was the only suitable choice.
First, she wasn’t the kind of actress known for her looks; second, her acting was beyond reproach; third, and most importantly, her consistent image was that of a strong, independent woman, which matched the character perfectly. However, when Adrian asked Julia if she was interested, she was preoccupied with the troubling thoughts about him and Monica and declined without even looking. Adrian planned to revisit it after some time, but he got so busy that he completely forgot about it.
Thus time slipped away until the end of the year when, luckily at Campion’s party, Adrian found a more suitable actress. Blanchett, also not known for her looks and adept at portraying strong, individualistic female roles, had a distinctive trait of radiating an air of proud and aloof coldness when she wasn’t smiling—from the inside out, of course. However, she was still a young girl at the time and far from having such a presence.
But that was exactly one of the reasons Adrian invited her; it was hard to say if Blanchett ten years later would be suitable for the role, assuming her life trajectory did not change. Although Julia was a more suitable choice by comparison, Adrian still chose Blanchett after all. Julia had too many good movies to her name. Besides, he was very interested in her and when it came to that, his appetite was always insatiable.
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“How could I not be? I’ve made my preparations, and anyways, post-production for ‘Twisters’ is almost at an end,” Bont said, waving his hand carelessly at this point, “I can completely trust the producers to handle it, and I’ll go when I’m needed.”
It’s interesting to mention that both “Twisters” and “Speed” were directed by Jean de Bont, with “Speed” being his debut work. Yet now, it was “Twisters” that had become his maiden work.
Adrian didn’t recall that Bont had directed “Speed” when he first found him to direct “Twisters”—it was only after getting the script that he remembered. Therefore, learning that he hadn’t yet directed a film made Adrian hesitant. After all, the movie had many outdoor scenes which tested a director’s coordination greatly. But after going over Bont’s background, the long list of big-name directors for whom he had been an assistant made Adrian finalize his decision,
It turned out to be the right move; although there were still some post-production work to be wrapped up, Adrian, having seen the footage, knew that the early version was not much different from the original. Naturally, the directorial work for “Speed” also went to Bont, who always liked using the “same team” to reduce risks.
Bont didn’t refuse at all, even though he had just finished producing a movie. As previously mentioned, when he was in desperate need of an opportunity, Adrian not only gave him one but also teamed up with Warner to invest $50 million, which was enough to make Bont fully committed. Adrian remembered insisting in front of Warner’s representative on using him for such a large production.
“Very good. Although the investment in this movie isn’t as large as the last one, I believe you will do an even better job, Jean,” Adrian said, patting his shoulder. He didn’t see anything wrong with his actions, especially considering the considerable effort he had gone to in persuading Warner to let a virtually unknown person take the helm. How could he not fully exploit such value?
“I believe it too; the actors you recommend are always fitting, Ed. Kate last time was great, and this one…” Bont looked toward Blanchett with a cheeky smile, “is not bad either.”
“Kate last time?” Blanchett asked curiously.
“Kate Beckinsale, quite a remarkable girl, hardly used a stunt double for dangerous scenes. She accidentally got hurt driving towards a twister, breaking two ribs, but fortunately, it wasn’t too serious,” Bont explained, “Very strong.”
“Alright, Jean, stop doting on the ladies, don’t forget we have an outstanding young man here too,” Adrian said with a smile, seeming unwilling to linger on the subject. Blanchett seemed to sense something.
“Oh yes, Keanu is also pretty good. We’ve had a bit of a rapport before; I understand him,” Bont laughed heartily, giving Reeves a pat on the shoulder, while Reeves waved it off nonchalantly: “No problem, I’m looking forward to this collaboration.”
“So am I,” Adrian nodded, “but Keanu, no more smoking marijuana.”
“I know,” Reeves instantly retracted his smile, revealing a serious expression, “I’ve quit since what happened to River.”
“That’s good, then we’ll leave it at that, I won’t bother you anymore.” Adrian patted his arm and then looked at Blanchett. “I’m looking forward to you giving everyone a surprise, Kate.”
“You’ll see,” Blanchett replied with a smile.
“By the way, if you have time, maybe we can go out together. I’m familiar with everything in Los Angeles and can introduce you to the city just like you introduced me to Sydney.” Adrian, lifting his foot to walk away, suddenly said.
“I will,” Blanchett smiled as she nodded, a different look flashing in her eyes.
After leaving them, Adrian mingled in the crowd for a while longer. When it was time to prepare to find Natalie to go to the screening room, someone suddenly caught his arm from behind.
“Do I have to come looking for you?” Sarah appeared in front of Adrian, her pearly teeth biting her brow in a slight frown. However, she didn’t seem to realize the hint of reproach in her tone.
“Oh, Sarah,” Adrian quickly showed an apologetic smile, “I’ve been busy and just stopped; I forgot you also came to the premiere. May I apologize to you?”
“No need,” Sarah said, having looked at him steadily for a few minutes before sighing somewhat disheartenedly. “I understand, after all…”
She shrugged her shoulders and squeezed out a reluctant smile, a conflicting expression flickering in her eyes. Adrian, after a moment of contemplation, suddenly pulled the young girl by the waist to a corner, and Sarah struggled a little but then stopped moving.
The soft whimpers echoed in the empty hallway, the girl’s foot lifted backward—if it weren’t for her heel against the wall, perhaps it would have raised even higher. Her whole body leaned back at a 140-degree angle, held in his arms, she gave up all resistance, allowing him to invade her lips and tongue.
Finally, after several breaths, the two separated. Adrian, with a dominating aura, stood upright but still held Sarah in his arms, his face rubbing against her cheek, occasionally sucking on her earlobe. Sarah lay flushed and dazed in Adrian’s embrace, hugging him tightly, breathing faintly.
“Is this your way of apologizing?” Sarah, regaining her composure, asked a few minutes later. Her eyebrows carried a hint of provoked ardor and dissatisfaction while the corners of her mouth subconsciously turned up slightly, her expression teasingly seductive. Coupled with her naturally foxy features, she looked exceptionally enticing.
“I just thought it would make you feel better,” Adrian whispered close to her ear, “How about after I’m done with the new film, we go to Southern California or Arizona for a stroll? We’ll be back in no more than two days.”
“Really?” Sarah said noncommittally, her fingers tracing circles on his body.
Since that day, Sarah’s name had been added to Adrian’s dating schedule, along with Monica and Julia. However, for some reason, they never dated in Los Angeles; they either went north to San Francisco or further to Seattle in Washington state, or east to Nevada or Arizona.
For the same reason, their dates, though often lengthy, seemed all too short, and they weren’t frequent either. Yet it was precisely this way, Sarah was gradually falling into Adrian’s hands, which could be seen from her conflicted expression as she went out, turning into laughter upon her return.
“So cold, still mad at me?” Adrian said with a smile as he pinched her rosy lips.
“What do you think I should do, Ed?” Sarah glared at him dissatisfactorily. “Jump up and cheer?”
“There’s no need for that,” Adrian laughed out loud. “Another passionate kiss will do.”
Then, without any further ado, he kissed her lips again,
“I miss your silliness,” he said after another long and fiery kiss.
“Oh really? More than those two lovers of yours?” Sarah asked languidly, half-closing her eyes as she lay in his arms.
“Of course not, but you have something more memorable,” Adrian whispered in her ear, lowering his voice to a murmur, “like your little hands.”
Sarah’s cheeks instantly flushed to the root of her neck, and she found herself unable to speak. During their few dates, they had always ended up naked in bed together, but Adrian had never gone all the way, claiming she wasn’t ready yet. Torn, Sarah hadn’t pressed further, yet, although they hadn’t “consummated” their relationship, they had engaged in some manual activities, like the last time.
“All right, let’s not talk about that now. We should head out; the movie is about to start,” Adrian said as he kissed her cheek, then wrapped an arm around her waist and started to walk out. He then let go of her hand as they exited the hallway.
“Here you are, Ed,” a voice suddenly came from beside them.
“Nata? What is it you need?” Adrian looked surprised to see Natalie appear, then proceeded to introduce the two girls, “Sarah, this is Natalie; Natalie, this is Sarah.”
The two girls looked at each other and nodded amiably, but Sarah’s eyes were filled with curiosity, while Natalie’s gaze flickered uncertainly, her thoughts a mystery.
“I was already in the auditorium with my mom when I heard Gary and the others say you hadn’t come in, so I took it upon myself to find you. I walked around the lobby several times and couldn’t find you. I was just about to give up when I saw you here,” Natalie shrugged, though she managed to keep her emotions in check, her eyes still shimmered.
Others might not notice, but Adrian’s eyes caught the subtlety. After guessing what was going on, he chuckled to himself and said, “Alright, I got it. I’m on my way now.”
As the screening time approached, the guests attending the event also began entering the auditorium to enjoy the movie.
After the opening logo, the movie quickly got to the point, starting with a fierce gunfight where Lyon ghostly infiltrated the drug lord’s lair, killing all the henchmen cleanly. However, the most shocking shot was when the portly drug lord, gun in hand and backed against the dark corridor, anxiously looked around, only for a hand holding a knife to suddenly extend from the darkness and press against his face—the technique blending with the darkness won the applause of many.
In just a few minutes, the film painted a vivid picture of Lyon’s qualities as a hitman, while the following series of shots—drinking milk, cleaning the leaves of the jade plant, sitting on the sofa wearing sunglasses asleep, and watching “Singing in the Rain” in the cinema with a childlike smile—revealed the assassin’s contradictory yet simple life from another angle.
Of course, there was also the encounter with Matilda, and the cigarette in her hand and her rebuke by her father told the audience what kind of family she was born into. At the same time, the big villain Stan also made his entrance, his sniffer-dog-like sniffing around Matilda’s father summarily revealed his neurotic nature.
What followed was one of the most iconic scenes of the movie: the next day Stan arrived at Matilda’s house, started the massacre as he listened to Beethoven. Matilda, who had gone out to shop, narrowly escaped, but upon her return, she found herself in danger again. The girl, holding back her fear, walked straight to Lyon’s room and desperately started ringing the doorbell.
Lyon, amid his dilemma, hesitated for a long time. Facing the girl silently crying at the door, he finally opened it. The moment bright light spilled onto Matilda’s face, the theater erupted into appreciative murmurs. Although Adrian had seen it countless times in a previous life and even personally produced it in this life, he still quietly clapped his hands.
As Stan announced that a child was not killed, the police standing guard at the door became suspicious and walked to Lyon’s door to listen. Lyon, ever vigilant, aimed his gun at the door, but Matilda simply solved this problem by using the remote control to turn on the television. The sound of the “Transformers” cartoon immediately reassured the police outside, which was typical behavior for an ordinary family.
This, added to the previous scene of the girl walking past her own home with her head down, revealed how alert the girl’s responses were. However, her subsequent crying over the resentment towards her family members and the affection for her little brother made the audience pity her even as they admired her performance. It must be said, Natalie’s acting was particularly outstanding in this segment.
Thus, Matilda entered Lyon’s life, and they began to influence each other, with subtle emotions starting to take root and grow. Lyon no longer sat on the sofa to sleep, and his life gained much more color, while Matilda tasted for the first time what it felt like to be protected. If it hadn’t been for what was to come, perhaps the two would have lived their lives that way, but the girl still harbored a desire for revenge in her heart, which led her to revisit her old residence one day and inadvertently learn the office address of the big villain Stan, sparking the idea of taking revenge.
After much hesitation, she didn’t tell Lyon but chose to seek revenge on her own. Needless to say, she was caught by Stan. Afterwards, Lyon stormed the police station to save her, killing two of Stan’s accomplices. An enraged Stan then found Lyon’s contact and forced the information about Lyon’s whereabouts, bringing SWAT to thoroughly deal with the nuisance.
The final battle arrived, with Lyon single-handedly fighting against the heavily armed SWAT. No matter how formidable he was, the power of one man was always limited, and he ended up trapped in a room with no escape. He figured out how to open the ventilation ducts, but sadly the entrance was too small and only Matilda could leave. Amidst a life-and-death farewell, although Matilda was extremely reluctant, she eventually left under Lyon’s persuasion.
Audiences always hope that good people get rewarded, and the plot seemed to be moving in that direction. The injured Lyon found a chance to change into a SWAT uniform and a breathing mask and almost escaped smoothly, but he was shot down by bullets from behind. It turned out Stan had earlier spotted him and, wanting to kill him personally, had cleared the underground tunnel of SWAT. But evil still meets its fate. Lyon was laden with grenades, and at the last moment, when Stan checked his prey, Lyon pulled the pin, leading them both to die together.
In the end, Matilda returned to school and then buried the jade plant that had witnessed their relationship under a tree.
“We’re safe now, Lyon,” she murmured to the jade plant and then the camera slowly rose, with an old song beginning to play.
As the lights came on, so did the hearty applause. Story-wise, it was already very exciting, with ups and downs, climaxes, setups, and twists—a film that tells a great story is already more than halfway to success. Moreover, “The Professional” also excelled in aspects like color and music, coupled with fantastic performances from the three actors, earning such enthusiastic applause was expected.
“Do you hear that, Nata? At least a quarter of the applause here is for you,” whispered Adrian to Natalie sitting beside him, as the girl’s eyes shone brightly watching the clapping audience, too excited to contain herself.
“Don’t rush, this is just the beginning,” Adrian added after that.
He wasn’t wrong, as the next day’s newspapers raved about the movie, particularly praising Natalie’s acting abilities.
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