King of Hollywood

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: They Still Came

Although Kate often made mistakes during the long shots, the movie was not composed entirely of them, so after some bumbling through those scenes, she finally came through.

In these shorter shots, Kate performed well. Being from the United Kingdom and having read the novels before, she had a fairly accurate grasp of the characters. Of course, she couldn’t compare to experienced actors like Hopkins and Thompson; while she had her moments when acting with others, she was completely overshadowed when acting alongside those two.

However, Kate didn’t dwell on this and continued to work hard. Moreover, Adrian maintained excellent control over the pacing of the shoot. He had every frame drawn on paper—even if just with simple lines—and would explain them in detail to the actors before filming. He managed to keep this up without any breaks.

Even though the crew encountered various problems, such as nearly flipping an antique car while filming a driving scene on a narrow road outside the estate, which greatly frightened the actors inside, or a costume being sent back because it didn’t fit the period style, causing a two-day shooting delay. Still, by the end of June, most of the scenes at Howards End had been completed.

“You’re a brilliant director, Ed, I believe my initial decision was entirely correct,” Hopkins once privately said to Adrian after witnessing his long-rumored fast shooting techniques and his control over the set and understanding of the novel, which solidified his confidence in Adrian.

However, things do not always go as hoped. Initially, when Adrian brought the crew to the estate, he insisted on a full lockdown for filming. Not only were televisions removed, but newspapers were also banned. Although it was unavoidable that some people needed to leave, and some scenes required shooting in the town, Adrian demanded that the crew should not discuss outside matters.

At first, many were displeased, but they got used to it and eventually stopped complaining. Although Adrian had made this request, it was not strictly enforced, and the crew privately talked quite a bit. As for the lack of television and newspapers, it didn’t matter; after all, it was only a two or three-week job. A few of Adrian’s longtime employees knew that when the director stated a timeline, it would end almost precisely within that timeframe, give or take two or three days.

Therefore, the entire estate remained very peaceful and relaxed during breaks in filming. However, on the last day of June, this tranquil was suddenly shattered. Numerous journalists, as if emerging from the ground, appeared around the estate early in the morning, swarming Hopkins, Adrian, or Thompson as soon as they appeared.

“Mr. Adrian, I’m William from the ‘Daily Mirror.’ Why did you want to adapt Foster’s novel ‘Howards End’ into a movie? Do you think you’re capable of handling any subject matter?”

“Why did you choose to collaborate with that director, known for cult films, on a dramatic film adaptation of Foster’s ‘Howards End,’ Ms. Thompson?”

“Mr. Hopkins, what makes you think it’s right to collaborate with Mr. Adrian on a dramatic movie? Are you sure he can grasp the essence of the film?”

These journalists swarmed like sharks smelling blood, surrounding Hopkins and the others regardless of their circumstances, all scrambling for news. Fortunately, other members of the crew soon came out and managed to chase the journalists away.

“It’s infuriating how quickly they found us!” Adrian said a bit morosely after retreating inside with several of the main actors. He knew that the journalists would come sooner or later, although he had asked people not to contact the outside world during their time at the estate, he had kept in touch with Laverne, so the media’s reaction was within his expectations.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴονǤ0.ᴄο

‘Pulp Fiction’ had so far grossed over $30 million in North America. Although this number wasn’t high compared to the $100 million ‘Batman Returns’ made in just two weeks, it was remarkably stable. In just over three weeks, the movie consistently made about $10 million each week, with little fluctuation.

Moreover, Adrian had initially told Laverne that they would use a long-term screening approach to recoup the box office returns, so maintaining this performance was definitely on track to “revive” the North American record of making over $100 million.

The honors—winning the Palme d’Or—and the current success—obtaining such results for an R-rated cult film—were already quite commendable. It sparked a trend in producing cult-type films and turned many major studios’ attention towards independent, low-budget films. Some critics even believed that Hollywood’s independent filmmakers should thank Adrian; without him and his ‘Pulp Fiction,’ independent films would not have received such attention—although Adrian’s work wasn’t entirely independent, he indeed started this trend.

As a result, public and media started a further deep dive into the life of this genius director. Though his past experiences were well known, people were still very curious. How could someone from a privileged background make such realistic gangster films? Even if he had messed around for a while, there were some things you simply couldn’t understand unless you had lived at society’s lowest rung.

Could Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola have made those famous gangster films without their formative years’ experiences? Adrian, however, seemed to come from the upper echelons of society. How did he manage to capture those elements? Although he had said at Cannes that it was because he had watched a lot of gangster movies and videos, this explanation clearly wasn’t satisfactory for the majority, so a new round of digging and analysis was inevitable.

Thus, the ongoing comparisons between Adrian’s new film genre and his previous style were brought up again. Since the release of “Pulp Fiction,” this genius director had once again disappeared from the public eye. Initially, he had been involved in some promotional activities, but soon after, only the actors and other producers were left to attend these events.

Although nobody knew where he had gone, journalists were journalists, especially entertainment journalists. They quickly discovered he had taken his new film’s crew to the United Kingdom, along with the newly minted Oscar-winning actor, Anthony Hopkins!

“Clearly, having spoiled Al Pacino before, he has now set his sights on Anthony Hopkins. If I were Anthony, I would seriously consider whether collaborating with Adrian on a drama is the right choice,” wrote one newspaper half-mockingly, half-seriously.

“I strongly suspect that Adrian claims to shoot a drama, while in reality, he is filming a thriller. Why else would he invite Anthony Hopkins, who just won the Oscar for one of the most thrilling characters in history, to play the lead?” voiced another paper.

Major media outlets immediately sent reporters to London. Adrian had staunchly claimed his new film was a pure drama yet had never revealed its exact title. Now that he was in England with his crew, could it be that he was going to shoot a film in the English style? If this was true, it would certainly be entertaining.

However, since Adrian was well-prepared, shooting in a closed set in the suburbs and insisting on confidentiality from his collaborators, these reporters, despite obtaining numerous clues confirming he was indeed in London, could never pinpoint his exact location.

Soon, British journalists also joined in. They kept a close watch on Adrian’s new film. With the help of these locals, they soon learned from Cambridge University’s King’s College that more than a year ago, a Hollywood producer had acquired the adaptation rights for Foster’s novel “Howards End.”

Following this trail, the journalists eventually discovered that the producer who had purchased the rights to adapt this novel was one from Bossworth Film Company! Coupled with Adrian’s statement, it was not difficult to guess what his new film was.

Of course, many journalists still didn’t believe it. Although Adrian had previously successfully adapted a Stephen King novel and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Director, the style of this novel was vastly different from his previous films. If he truly chose to adapt this novel, there was only one explanation: he was out of his mind!

Unfortunately, when they reached out to Bossworth Film Company for confirmation, the answer shattered their illusions: Adrian’s new film was indeed “Howards End!”

The North American media was momentarily silenced, while the British media, after their initial shock, launched a fierce verbal and written attack.

There were strong criticisms, “What does he think he’s doing? Who gave him the right to do this! He will ruin this novel!”

There were sharp queries, “Although Adrian has spent time in the UK, and his first film perfectly captured British dark humor, it doesn’t mean he can presumptuously think he has the capability to adapt Foster’s novel. Does he even understand what this novel is about, what it represents? God, this is a disaster!”

There were also scathing taunts, “Clearly, a few months from now, we can expect to see on the big screen Henry and Margaret hurling obscenities at each other, a drug-addicted, acerbic Helen, and a reckless family, with a ‘fuck’ expected every two to three minutes. Perhaps by the end, Henry will want to kill and eat Margaret, while Margaret and Helen will desperately try to get rid of him and take over Howards End—if I were Foster, I would rise from my grave just to personally strangle this American twerp!” (To be continued, for further details please visit www.qidian.com, with more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)