King of Hollywood

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Another New Idea

Stepping out of the bright house, Margreta and Helen bid farewell to the few ladies they had met at the salon and embarked on their way home. Although it was already quite late, the cylindrical street lights hanging on both sides of the street cast a faint, soft glow, and there were groups of people who had come from other gatherings standing and talking in twos and threes. The murmur of music still audible from the surrounding houses added to the beauty of it all.

“Hello, Miss Margret, it’s a pleasure to see you here,” a familiar voice came from behind, and the two sisters stopped their conversation and looked back together, both showing a look of surprise. They had not expected to encounter Mr. Henry Wilcos here.

After a pleasant exchange of words, Helen mentioned the smart and sensitive young man she knew, and then Margret thought that Henry might be able to offer him some help.

“I suggest he leave that company as soon as possible,” Henry said after learning about the young man’s employer. “Please don’t tell anyone, but the company is underfunded and will be acquired before Christmas. It would be best for him to seek another position soon.”

“Cut!” Adrian, who was watching the monitor, suddenly shouted out. He furrowed his brows in thought, then gestured for Hopkins to come over.

“Anthony, don’t you think your tone is a bit too casual?” Adrian criticized, referring to the footage that was played back on the monitor. “As we discussed before, although Henry’s character is somewhat hypocritical and places great importance on class, he’s not an outright bad person. And now he’s planning to pursue Margret, so when he speaks, he needs to demonstrate a certain degree of decorum.”

Hopkins considered for a moment and then shook his head: “No no no, Ed, I don’t think that’s quite right. As mentioned earlier, Henry is a rather hypocritical person who places a lot of importance on class. Although Margret and her sister think Leonard is a smart young man, in his eyes, being poor is this young man’s only definition. So, the tone of slight contempt and casualness should fit his mindset at that time. As for his feelings for Margret, he’s just made the acquaintance, so it doesn’t need to be stressed too much.”

“Okay, I agree with the first part of your argument,” Adrian said, then suddenly laughed as he looked at Hopkins, “As for that last bit—do you need me to read the original novel to you?”

Hopkins was taken aback, but then he laughed as well, shook his head, and said, “Let’s try this.”

Straightening his clothes, he hummed lightly and then spoke in a tone that was casual yet notably elegant: “Please don’t tell anyone, but that company is underfunded and will be acquired before Christmas. It would be best for him to seek another position soon.”

After pausing for a few seconds, he repeated the line, but this time his tone added a bit of lightness to the casualness. Adrian raised an eyebrow and then gave him a thumbs up: “That’s truly befitting of an Oscar-winning actor.”

Just then, a bright flash passed by, followed by the sound of a click. The crew quickly approached and escorted the journalist who had been hiding there out; the reporter left with a smile without saying much.

“These guys really are everywhere,” Adrian sighed as he watched the man disappear. “Guess what tomorrow’s newspapers will say—American kid chastises up-and-coming actor? Or Hannibal professor scolds ‘genius’ director?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴονǤο.ᴄο

“Why wouldn’t it be the director and leading actor having an argument that stops the shooting?” Hopkins said humorously.

“Ha, you’re something else, Anthony. I think The Sun should hire you as their editor-in-chief,” Adrian laughed heartily, then patted Hopkins on the arm. “I haven’t thanked you for speaking up for me yet.”

“I just stated the facts unless you don’t think they are facts,” Hopkins shrugged.

Because the outdoor filming at this time was within the City of London, it was much easier for reporters to gather information than when they were at Howards End. And because the cameras were spread out, the two main actors had more rest time, and the opportunities for those guys to ask them questions also increased significantly.

Hopkins was often asked by reporters why he decided to work with Adrian. Initially, he always gave vague, general answers, but one day when a reporter asked whether his defense of Adrian was because he had a contingency plan for the movie’s failure, Hopkins bluntly stated that it was entirely unreasonable to dismiss a director’s work before the film was made and that he fully believed in Adrian’s ability to produce a fine movie.

Needless to say, as a Briton and a new Oscar-winning actor, his public support for Adrian—who was being lambasted by the media—caused quite a stir.

“Clearly, Anthony is confused; he thinks that just a few weeks working with a director is sufficient to know whether they are capable of handling a film completely different from one’s own style. Well, perhaps I don’t have his extensive acting experience, and I can’t understand why he would make such a decision, but at least I wouldn’t be so certain. Perhaps he’s a bit too full of himself? Who knows?” a British newspaper said with sarcasm and skepticism.

Of course, there were also those who stirred the pot: “Well, maybe he’s right, but the worry is whether Anthony might bring a touch of Hannibal to the role—or perhaps he already has?”

In summary, the British media did not change their views much towards Adrian’s new film because of his statements, but it was the usually nonchalant American media that took the opportunity to defend the genius director somewhat.

“No film should be conclusively judged before it is produced, yes, Adrian’s previous style is very different from this novel, but that doesn’t mean he is bound to fail. Except for God, no one can be fully certain of what will happen,” wrote Haggis Painter, who had previously interviewed Adrian.

“Just not sure how effective such a defense would be,” after all, the line “Don’t jump to conclusions before the production is complete” applies to many bad movies as well. To tell the truth, quite a few American journalists have had enough of Adrian’s complaints internally: Even if the style of the novel shares a slight similarity with your previous films, it doesn’t mean we have nothing to talk about!

Alright, heading back to the set, Adrian didn’t dwell on the topic and simply patted Hopkins on the arm again, “Alright, let’s continue.”

He was well aware that Hopkins’s support wasn’t just lip service and that the other’s words weren’t fake. If Hopkins didn’t believe in him, he certainly wouldn’t have expressed his stance so clearly, especially not in front of so many journalists. After all, even Emma Thompson saw potential in him but never spoke so openly in front of the press.

With that in mind, Adrian knew what he had to do next.

“By the way, you haven’t said which is better,” Hopkins reminded him.

“The second one,” Adrian decided after some thought.

He returned to the center of the set, exchanged a few words with Thompson and Kate, and reminded Kate to control her emotions before signaling to continue the shoot with a wave of his hand.

There were no major problems this time, and after three takes, the scene was complete. The next day the crew moved to the City of London to film exterior shots. The original location was the Baltic Exchange for filming Leonard’s scenes, but an explosion had occurred there over two months before, so they switched to a bank instead.

After so many days, with so much happening, the British crew members being interviewed all believed that Adrian deserved more time, and with Hopkins’s statement, the British media’s fervor for “Howards End” had thankfully cooled off somewhat.

Even so, there were still those who relentlessly criticized, vowing to continue as long as Adrian didn’t stop “ruining” the novel. To this end, they even brought up his previously “shelved” fourth film to prove he had no clue about literary dramas.

“I hope once this movie is released, everyone will make their judgments then; at least that would seem a bit fairer,” finally, Adrian responded briefly through his spokesperson.

After this statement was released, most of the British media were forced to exercise some restraint, admittedly knowing fairness was a pretense and no one could truly speak without bias, but they still needed to maintain appearances.

“I’m actually quite looking forward to what the situation will be like after this film is completed,” Thompson said to Adrian during a break on set, “I’m very curious to see who will win between you and the media.”

“You mean no one thinks I will definitely win?” Adrian joked.

“You have to understand, Ed, there’s always uncertainty in these matters,” Hopkins interjected from the side. “Of course, I always think you have the greatest chance of winning.”

“How great?” Adrian asked, curious.

“At least over 60%,” Hopkins chuckled.

“I agree too. When you came to invite me, Mike Newell also wanted me for the lead in his new movie, but after much consideration, I accepted your offer,” Thompson shrugged.

“Ha, seems I’m quite lucky. Just a bit later and you might have been snatched away,” Adrian said exaggeratedly, then a thought struck him: “Oh, you just mentioned… Mike Newell?”

“Yes, what about him?” Thompson looked puzzled.

“If I remember correctly, he seems to have worked with Anthony,” Adrian turned his gaze to Hopkins.

“Yes, we collaborated on ‘Good Father’ a few years ago,” Hopkins nodded.

“I see…” Adrian stroked his chin, his eyes twinkling mysteriously, “Well then, is it possible to arrange a meeting with him? I just happen to have an idea that needs a British director like him!” (To be continued, for further developments, please log onto www.qidian.com. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)