King of Hollywood-Chapter 931 - 336: Strike When the Time Is Right

Chapter 931: Chapter 336: Strike When the Time Is Right
"Very good, excellent!" Adrian clapped his hands to conclude the shoot, and with him leading, applause followed in the studio as the orchestra who came to participate stood up together and bowed to thank the applauding crowd.
Seeing this, Adrian slightly shook his head. Although the Japanese are very polite—even if only superficially—bowing now and then, this was perhaps too frequent? Of course, it was more likely because of the Miracle Director from Hollywood or rather the Super Director and media mogul.
Although he was low-key when he came to Japan, those who should know, knew, like the crew members on the Japanese side, or various groups and individuals collaborating with the crew, not to mention the higher-ups at Sony and Avex. And Adrian’s status was evident, coupled with the Japanese disposition, receiving such treatment was not surprising.
"Nice playing, Yukie, even if it was just a small section," Adrian complimented once Yukie came over.
Despite him sparing no praise for her over this period, this time it was genuinely heartfelt. Yukie had put a lot of effort into this role. Understanding the character’s personality, visiting funeral directors’ workspaces back in Japan, and practicing with models or props were just the beginning. Practicing the cello alone took her more than half a year.
The original protagonist was a cellist in an orchestra, who stumbled into becoming an undertaker after the orchestra disbanded and couldn’t find work. Adrian kept this setting because, aside from making the character appear more artistic, the cello, or music in general, was crucial to this film about life and death.
Yukie didn’t actually need to work so hard as she had never touched a cello before, mastering basic music theory and being able to mimic convincingly would have sufficed. Yet she displayed remarkable passion, and at least now, the few pieces she focused on in training were played quite decently.
"Then everything is in your hands. I hope to see music that satisfies and perfectly suits the protagonist’s character," Adrian politely said, shaking hands with an old man after the orchestra left.
"No problem, Mr. Cowell. It is an honor to collaborate with such a great director as you," the man bowed slightly, exhibiting the typical surface humility of the Japanese. One look at that famous bald head, and you knew who he was - Japan’s renowned composer, Joe Hisaishi.
He appeared here, naturally because Adrian invited him to score "Departures." In fact, he was the one who did the original score as well, so there was no worry about his level. However, he wasn’t the only composer for this version’s score. Adrian also contacted equally well-known composers like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Sasaki Isao, and even through Sony invited the 70-year-old Yokoyama Seiji to act as an advisor.
In short, he prepared an exceptionally luxurious music team for this film, almost comprising half of Japan’s most famous composers. With his current status, though somewhat troublesome, it wasn’t impossible. After all, everyone worldwide associated with the entertainment sphere understood what a Super Director’s work meant, so out of patriotic passion or to showcase personal value, none refused.
Although it seemed extravagant, Adrian thought it entirely worthwhile. Music, after all, was one of this film’s soul elements. Although Joe’s original work was decent, why not improve it? Why not give Yukie a soundtrack even more fitting to the character she depicted? Again, Adrian liked seeing his women striving hard; in such matters, he never hesitated to give back.
Moreover, if you’re going to play, play big. Doesn’t that suit his status?
Even so, despite Adrian’s current fondness for Yukie, there was no shortage of things to do.
"You should have used the Super Special Technique just now; then you wouldn’t be in such a passive state," Adrian said to Yukie, who was some distance away, playing a fighting game in front of the TV.
Originally, he just intended to toy with Masami Nagasawa and Erika Sawajiri. However, since "Departures" was changed to have a female lead, Yukie’s guide into the profession needed to change to female too, and Japan recommended Amami Yuki for the role. At that time, Adrian didn’t care much, nor did he remember much about Yuki. Given Japan’s strong recommendation, and her seemingly impressive resume, why not?
After arriving in Japan, seeing her in person was definitely pleasing to the eye, so he simply invited her along to play as well. Initially, when Adrian teased her slightly, Yuki straightforwardly refused, but after a couple of days, she obediently came to him.
Naturally, Adrian took her in, and each time made sure she lost herself. As for what would happen in the future, he couldn’t care less. If not for her having a role to play, he would have played more thoroughly, as he did with Masami Nagasawa and Erika Sawajiri, who could no longer hold their own.
Though Adrian was making a new film in Japan, he wasn’t entirely unaware of happenings in Hollywood. Ivanka remained very diligent at work, and he intended to stay at least 6 weeks in Japan; the women inevitably visited him.
"I’ve read those news articles. I must say, the idea of winning an Oscar for Best Actor is quite good. What do you think?" While enjoying the winter sunshine near the floor-to-ceiling window by the suite’s balcony, Adrian was sipping coffee and smiling as he talked to the blonde in front of him.
"If you’re willing to invest, it should be no problem. But I doubt anyone would say that you earned it by merit, even if you did," Charlize, in her nightgown, raised an eyebrow, her words as sharp as ever.
"Hey, Charli, look, you’ve come all the way to Japan to see me, can’t you refrain from talking like that?" Adrian spread his hands, complaining in an exaggerated tone.
"Firstly, I came to Japan to relax, not to see you. Secondly, I’ve always talked like this. If you can’t accept it, you can choose not to." Charlize shrugged, then got up and went to the balcony, leaning over to look down at Tokyo in the winter, her golden hair fluttering in the breeze, unexpectedly beautiful.
Adrian chuckled lightly, put down his cup, and followed her out, wrapping his arms around Charlize from behind in the still chilly wind: "Still upset about that ?"
Charlize didn’t reply, just tugged on his arm to pull him in a little, while Adrian continued with a smile: "Oh, there’s something to tell you. Just yesterday—or, depending on the date line, perhaps the day before—a poor Mr. Michael Wilson was summoned by the IRS. Let’s hope that without Miranda rights protecting him, he can clearly explain the $70,000 gap on his tax return to those gentlemen."
In the eyes of the average American, the most terrifying domestic agency isn’t the police or FBI but the IRS! If Al Capone’s example isn’t enough to prove this, then the independent jury-less tax court, unrestricted by Miranda rights—meaning you must answer the questions of tax officials rather than staying silent—speaks volumes.
Basically, ninety percent of people in the United States engage in some form of tax evasion or avoidance. If you don’t get caught by the IRS, it’s not a big deal, but once you are caught, it can be very tragic. That’s why Adrian pays close attention to these details, ensuring that at least everything looks perfect on paper. On the other hand, Michael Wilson, who had no help, is now one of many caught by the IRS.
This Mr. Wilson is one of the ers for the Chicago Tribune. He previously wrote a lot of entertainment news about the movie version of "Iron Man." Yes, the reason he was summoned by the IRS is because of that. Of course, the reason he ended up in such a situation wasn’t because he picked on "Iron Man." Adrian’s heart isn’t that narrow. It’s because he ed on things he shouldn’t have, like the matters regarding Charlize’s father.
Even though so many years have passed, and Charlize has found success, this matter has always been her most secret pain. She hasn’t mentioned it even with Adrian, except for that discussion ten years ago, and now suddenly exposing it to the public has quite an impact on her.
Adrian wasn’t unprepared for this situation and had made some preparations. After all, Charlize had "formerly" kept it concealed for several years, so even if ers wanted to dig it up, it wouldn’t happen so quickly. He had enough time to handle things, especially since he had insiders in various newspapers. However, Adrian overlooked one thing: Charlize’s status now is different from her "former" status. Plus, being closely linked with him, those ers dug into her information with extra effort, leading to coverage like the Chicago Tribune’s "Glamorous Vice President Kills Her Father."
Then, Adrian took decisive action. Even though he knows that Charlize is strong, he didn’t hesitate to do what needed to be done. Even if Wilson might have been used, seeing how quickly major papers like the New York Times reprinted the story after it came out shows that these guys had already dug up this news. They were just waiting for someone else to make the move.
Nevertheless, Wilson still had to face his wrath. Adrian needed to use him to tell these people where the line is. He knows the rules and can follow them, but there are certain boundaries that absolutely cannot be crossed.
"To be honest, when I first saw the , I did feel a mix of anger and embarrassment, as if all my secrets had suddenly been exposed," Charlize finally said after a long pause. "But now, it doesn’t matter anymore."
She turned around and looked at Adrian intently. "Because there’s someone who has always been watching over me, always telling me with his actions that I don’t need to care about the buzzing flies around, that I don’t need to be trapped in past memories. I have my career, I have my pride, and no one can deny my capabilities. I just need to be myself. Even though he controls my life, controls everything about me, and even turned me into his... slave."
At the last sentence, she lifted her eyebrows gently, her chin slightly raised as she looked at him.
"Well, you should be grateful to him, then," Adrian said after thinking it over seriously.
Charlize burst into laughter, blooming like a flower in that instant, incredibly beautiful. Then, without giving Adrian a chance to react, she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly, closing her eyes, and resting her head on his shoulder as if she wanted to merge into his body. Adrian said nothing more, holding her just as tightly; some things didn’t need words to explain.
After a long while, they gradually separated. Charlize lifted her chin and returned to her cold and indifferent demeanor, as if nothing mattered, but with a touch of playfulness in her eyes: "So, have you thought about how you’re going to deal with those journalists who’ve been starving for news when you return in a few days?"
Adrian was momentarily stunned, then sighed loudly: "Can’t you let me savor this a bit longer, Charli?"
"I’m doing this for your own good," Charlize laughed, shrugging as she turned to walk inside. "Better to be prepared than to be caught unprepared."
"Do I look like someone who will be caught unprepared?" Adrian grumbled in dissatisfaction, then sighed again.
In a few days, it will be the 79th Oscar ceremony. As a representative figure of Hollywood, even if Adrian doesn’t have any works this year, he still has to attend—that’s what makes being a representative figure so frustrating—just think about the frenzy stirred up after the second "Iron Man" trailer was released and the crazy journalists who couldn’t find him. They’ve long wanted to swarm him for photos.
Adrian is someone willing to follow the rules—as long as no one challenges his bottom line—and journalists don’t treat actors as they do directors. Plus, there must be some accumulated discontent from before, so one can only imagine what kind of treatment he’ll face when he returns to the United States.
However, despite Adrian being mentally prepared, he was still surprised when the reality hit him. Returning to the United States two days before the Oscar ceremony, he planned to stay home, leave right after the ceremony, but a last-minute issue took him to a studio under Universal Studios, where ers caught him. When he came out, a large crowd surrounded him, waving microphones and demanding he say something. This quickly attracted some passers-by, who eagerly took photos around the scene. Adrian even noticed a few people holding newly released Apple iPhones.
Not only that, those people also posted news on Twitter, which drew more people excitedly over. Eventually, he was surrounded on the street by layer after layer of people, even affecting traffic, receiving complete international superstar treatment.
"Had I known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have starred in ’Iron Man’ or gone to the studio yesterday," Adrian complained softly to Cameron while keeping a smile for the ers on both sides of the Oscar red carpet.
"How could you possibly pass up a chance to be in the spotlight?" Cameron laughed. "You just had a lengthy discussion with them about the filming of ’Iron Man.’"
"I don’t believe you don’t know which words are facades, James," Adrian rolled his eyes.
It’s not like he hasn’t dealt with the media before. Although yesterday’s situation was intense, and they surrounded him for quite a while, he said mostly meaningless words, praising the crew, praising the director, praising the actors—there wasn’t much difference from what he had Ivanka tell the spokesperson to say before. Regarding Charlize, he played deaf and didn’t mention a word, in short, not giving those people any room to maneuver—just like earlier.
"Speaking of which, are you interested in being the leading man in ’Avatar’? There are only a few scenes that need you in person; the rest all use the motion capture system." Cameron then asked with a mischievous smile, not sure if he was serious.
"Forget it, ’Iron Man’ is enough," Adrian refused without hesitation. At least there was one thing that wasn’t vague; he absolutely wouldn’t shoot another film besides ’Iron Man.’ (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)