King of Hollywood

Adrian felt very frustrated. That girl was really beautiful, although still very young, her body had already developed quite well. In a few years, she would definitely be a stunner. He should have signed her under the company's name and kept her by his side to train and groom her, but he had been so caught up in the joy of venting that he entirely overlooked this.

Yes, the long speech he gave the girl was indeed a venting of emotions. As soon as he started speaking, a very angry and frustrated emotion surged up, with images flashing through his mind. They included various aspects of Adrian's current life as well as Zhang Haoxuan's experiences from a previous lifetime—from a certain perspective, they were somewhat kindred spirits.

These emotions had always been lurking in Adrian's heart, just suppressed to a corner for various reasons. But as his good reputation gradually spread, these emotions were slowly released. If it were just this, it would have been fine, as no matter how much frustration there was, there would eventually be a time when it was all let out.

However, although the plans he made were all to serve his primary goal, whenever he revisited them, he found them incredibly appealing. Unconsciously, his secondary goal began gaining equal importance in his mind. Adrian was convinced he would achieve his goal, but in the meantime, he had to smile at his stubborn uncle. This contrast, combined with the girl's words, suddenly made him burst out.

In this case, venting was definitely better than slowly releasing. Who knows what other problems might arise if it took too long? It just so happened that he didn't know that girl, so any words could be shouted out, which greatly eased his mood. However, he didn't know what would eventually happen to her. After all, his bragging was only possible because he had a cheat code. If it led to... oh well, better not to think about it. Who knows? Maybe she would live a better life in the future.

This world is so fascinating. Sometimes you exert all your effort and still might not change something, even if you know what will happen; yet other times, just a few words can change a person's entire life.

After sighing on the bench for a while, Adrian finally composed himself. After all, his goal was Hollywood. Missing out was just missing out, and besides... his thoughts involuntarily shifted to Kate's fiery body.

It was better to first swallow what was in his mouth, Adrian told himself.

After spending two days lingering in New York, Adrian returned to his villa in Los Angeles where the rooms, under Mrs. Galen's care, remained clean and tidy. After making phone calls to Laverne, Dennis, and Claude separately, he locked himself in the study to resume his busy work.

Naturally, he continued his grand plagiarism scheme. Besides novel versions of "Resident Evil," "Tomb Raider," and "The Matrix," he was also busy drafting a new film script. According to his plan, the new movie would start shooting at the end of October or early November, taking about three months for filming and post-production before sending it to participate in the Berlin Film Festival.

In any case, it's certain that "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" would make a profit. Capitalizing on success is something everyone does. Of course, such a rapid progression seemed somewhat hasty, but Adrian had no other choice. He was forced to make the most of his time. Sometimes, he couldn't help but complain: if only he had been reborn a few years earlier.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was mid-October, and Adrian was proven right. "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" took more than 39 million in the North American box office, while it exceeded 20 million British pounds in the United Kingdom!

Such outstanding performance was naturally because Adrian faithfully adapted the original movie. Laverne's exceptional operation was also one of the reasons. Although Adrian won the Venice Film Festival's Best Debut Award—which is neither too good nor too bad for a novice director—most Americans were not interested in the Venice Film Festival. However, the gimmick of an American rookie director making a pure English black humor film did attract a large number of cult film fans; yet, convincing most Americans to pay money and go to the cinema was still somewhat of a challenge.

However, Laverne managed to accomplish it. He utilized every possible means. Besides focusing on advertising those two aspects, he also went to great lengths to prominently feature the film's complex, multi-line narrative technique. This move proved very effective at a minimal cost. In the end, although only a hundred cinemas showed the film in the first week, the weekend box office was 7 million! Considering the entire film only cost a little over 1 million, even if the final box office was just this 7 million, Adrian still made a profit.

But this was just the beginning. By the second week, the number of screens showing it rose to 500, and the weekend total box office quadrupled to 16 million! By mid-October, it was playing in 1,500 cinemas, with a total box office charge of 30 million. Many directors or producers were amazed by this.

"Very simple, a good movie never lacks an audience," summed up the well-known film critic Ronnie Gros.

Adrian was surprised when he heard this. At least in his memory, he only remembered "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" earning about 20 million British pounds in the U.K. But it had only been a month since its release, and the U.K. box office already exceeded 20 million British pounds, while in North America, a conservative estimate suggested it might exceed 40 million US dollars in the end!

"I have to admit, dear Lav, I found a treasure," Adrian said with a smile, sitting in the high-backed chair in the movie company's meeting room, looking at his general manager.

"Thank you, Ed," Laverne nodded slightly, "I feel the same way."

"Really?" Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"At least, in the events I've experienced, there is currently only one person who has completed a film costing only 200,000 US dollars in two months, won the Venice Best Debut Award, and also earned a 30 million US dollar box office in North America," Laverne said calmly.

"Ha, Lav, I never knew you could flatter," Adrian laughed.

"I'm stating the facts," Laverne maintained his calm.

"Alright, let's change the subject. What do you think of my new script?" Adrian switched topics.

"The story is decent," Laverne said bluntly, but then changed his tone, "but the storyboard is interesting. With both aspects combined, I can't make a specific determination."

"Precisely, the focus this time is on editing. The story's quality is important, but the way it's told is equally significant," Adrian spread his hands and said leisurely.

There was a knock at the door at this moment, and after gaining permission, the employee outside entered: "Mr. Adrian, Mr. Dennis is here."

"Great, let him in," Adrian said quickly.

"Sorry, I'm late," Dennis appeared at the door soon after.

"That's all right, you just moved to the West Forest district..." Adrian couldn't help but laugh before finishing his sentence.

"Hell, Dan, what's going on with you?" he stood up, amused, looking at him.

"Is there something wrong?" Dennis raised his hands, but then reached to tug at his tie; although he looked quite dashing in the suit, there was an inexplicable awkwardness about him, so much so that even the always-stoic Laverne shook his head, covering his mouth.

"I thought, since there was something important today, naturally I should dress more formally," Dennis said with a bit of self-deprecation, not hiding the helpless tone.

"It looks like you might need a girlfriend," Adrian suggested with a smile as Dennis adjusted his collar again. "Alright, loosen the tie, and also open the collar and the jacket."

"Thank you," Dennis obliged directly, undoing his tie, opening his shirt collar, and unbuttoning his jacket according to Adrian's instructions, immediately looking much more at ease.

"Someday, I'll introduce you to a few tailors. After getting measured, I'm sure you'll find suits much more suitable than what you have now," Adrian continued.

A wry smile appeared briefly on Dennis's face before he nodded. "Thank you, Ed."

How could Adrian not notice his expression? He smiled internally and invited Dennis to sit down.

"There are two things. The first is this." He pulled something out from his jacket pocket and handed it over.

"What is this..." When Dennis received it, he trembled slightly.

"Is this for me?" Although he tried hard to keep his tone steady, the slight tremor was noticeable to the other two present.

"Relax, it's only 500,000," Adrian understood his feelings. Given Dennis's background, he evidently had never received such a large amount of money before, not even when shooting "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," where his salary was only 10,000 dollars.

"But..." Dennis looked at him questioningly and wanted to say something.

"This is your bonus. Everyone gets one, as whoever contributes deserves a reward, right?" Adrian spread his hands. "I originally intended to give you 1 million, but due to not wanting too great a discrepancy with others, I halved it. Relax, I can assure you that you'll definitely earn much more in the future. What did those critics say? Excellent! Man, you've become famous!"

In Adrian's version of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," the performance that received the most praise was Dennis as Ed, especially when he appeared lost and dejected after being tricked in gambling by "Hatchet" Harry, it was truly outstanding.

"Understood," Dennis took a deep breath. "So what about the second thing, the new movie?"

"That's right. I believe you went over part of the script yesterday. I need you to slim down to around 100 pounds within a week. I'll have Lav arrange someone to guide you on how to do it specifically," Adrian nodded as he said.

"No problem," Dennis agreed without hesitation.

They had already discussed this matter back in Venice. At that time, Dennis agreed without any hesitation, let alone now. Having endured several years of hardship, he knew when to seize opportunities. With current good fortune, he wouldn't let it slip away easily; that's why, when the film received positive reviews and many reached out wanting to be his agent, he consulted Adrian, who advised him to hold off for a while, and he promptly declined them. Today's facts validated his decision completely!