King of Hollywood

Chapter 218: Chapter 218 Various Matters

Chapter 218 -218 Various Matters

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Adrian finally decided to acquire the ownership of Pixar. All the various events that might occur due to Jobs losing Pixar were merely speculation; he had no concrete evidence to prove his predictions. Moreover, from a chaos theory standpoint, he was a butterfly, and so were others. He was flapping his wings, and others were doing the same, so the future was still unpredictable.

Besides, from the day Jobs was ousted from Apple, he had been calculating how to return. This wouldn’t change just because Pixar was sold. Perhaps he could focus more energy on NeXT and return to Apple more smoothly to take control. Moreover, even if Apple encountered any problems in the future, it was not an indispensable part of his whole plan; there were many other profitable projects.

While foresight was Adrian’s advantage, relying too heavily on it could lead to hesitancy, which is not the mindset of a successful individual. Since he could take a gamble on movies, why couldn’t he do the same with other things? As long as he was clear about what he should do, that would suffice.

With that, the matter was settled, and Adrian turned his attention back to the film industry. Though he had spent the past few days pondering decision-making, he hadn’t neglected other aspects.

“Philadelphia Story” post-production was already one-third completed. Demi, who believed in meticulous craftsmanship, was not rushing the editing process, and it was projected to be essentially finished by the end of the next month. The reason for saying “essentially” was that, to be on the safe side, Adrian had not granted Demi final cut rights on the movie.

In Hollywood, final cut rights for most movies lie in the hands of the producers because directors only consider how to tell the story on the script in their own way whereas the producers must consider the film’s commercial value, making the plot tighter and more watchable. Although some directors attained final cut rights due to their impressive work, this privilege was only limited to a single film. If they directed another movie, that power would still be in the hands of the producers.

Therefore, directors had frequently fought with producers for final cut rights. While a few were successful, most failed under Hollywood’s system.

Of course, most well-known directors, such as Spielberg, Coppola, or Scorsese, have final cut rights for their directed films, but even when they exercise this right, they still consider things from a producer’s perspective. Among younger, new directors, only Adrian possessed this right—who else had the roles of director, producer, and boss combined?

Demi had no objections to Adrian retaining the final cut. For one, Adrian had promised to respect the director’s vision; secondly, Demi himself was an exceptional director, and the script was provided by him. Therefore, Demi trusted that communication would be easy and there wouldn’t be situations where the producer, lacking understanding, dictated how the film should be.

As for “True Lies,” all shots were completed under the supervision of that tyrant who then ran off on vacation, claiming that only with proper rest could he better handle the post-production. Anyway, other editors would initially edit according to the script’s storyboard, and later he would do the montage and cross editing.

Adrian couldn’t be bothered with him; after all, the movie was Cameron’s responsibility. Adrian had relinquished all authority to him, including final cut rights. As long as the result met his expectations, Adrian invested the time he could have spent on this movie into Sarah.

The girl had become even prettier than a month ago; she was now diligently undergoing various forms of company training arranged by her agent. Sarah learned with serious commitment, and her acting teacher was generous with praise. However, that somber temperament would occasionally flicker across her features, faint yet persistent.

“It takes time. Some things aren’t developed overnight and naturally can’t be changed as quickly,” Sarah said to Adrian, who had come to visit her at home, with a calm expression as if she accepted this as part of her reality.

But she quickly smiled, although it carried a tinge of sadness: “I’ve learned a lot of things, from my role in ‘True Lies’ to now, so I believe I’ll be able to adjust soon.”

“That’s very good. During your rest, you can also do things you enjoy to improve your mood, such as hiking or exercising,” Adrian nodded in approval.

“Yes, I’m learning Taekwondo,” Sarah maintained her slightly despondent smile, seemingly worried about something.

“Taekwondo?” Adrian was a bit surprised, but quickly regained his composure, “Well, for a girl, practicing such things can be beneficial.”

Though such martial arts had limited practical use in real combat, they were nevertheless good for a woman’s physique, which was a form of exercise after all—think of Charlize’s resilient body developed through ballet. Adrian subtly shook his head to break from his thoughts and then prepared to leave.

He didn’t plan to say more. Ever since Sarah had come to his office to see him, there had been a thin barrier between them. It was faint—if it weren’t for his constant attention and understanding of her, it would be nearly imperceptible. Still, Sarah was not like Kirsten, a rare kind who could deal business unconcerned at such a young age; thus, even though Sarah had initiated it, an emotional shadow inevitably lingered.

“Then I should take my leave for now,” Adrian said. Some things couldn’t be rushed.

“Won’t you stay a little longer?” Rose was surprised as she came out of the kitchen with freshly baked pastries.

“Thank you, but no need, I have other matters to attend to. Besides, Sarah would probably prefer to spend more time with you,” Adrian said, glancing at Sarah with a smile.

“I often tell her to go out more with her friends, but she says staying by my side is enough,” Rose sighed.

“Mama!” Sarah called out with a slight complaint.

“Alright, alright,” Roselan laughed, affectionately patting Sarah on the head. “It’s much better now.”

Sarah shook her head and then strode over to Adrian’s side. “Let me walk you out, Ed.”

The two didn’t speak again until they reached the car parked at the front door.

“This is far enough,” Adrian said as he opened the car door. He had come to Sarah’s house alone.

“Ed,” Sarah hesitated for a few seconds before suddenly calling out. “Can I… can I… if I’m out late and don’t want to go back, can I stay at your place?”

Adrian paused slightly, thought for a few seconds, then smiled and replied, “Of course you can, but not recently. In a few days, I have to return to New York to continue shooting a new film, so let’s wait until I come back next time.”

Sarah didn’t say anything else and merely watched him get into the car and drive away.

A reserved girl. Adrian muttered to himself on the way back. He had finally understood what Sarah was worried about; she clearly sensed the barrier between them, and now only Adrian was making the effort, which was not how transactions should work.

It was a classic display of insecurity. Considering Sarah’s experiences, it was not surprising. Adrian felt a hint of pity in his heart, but at the same time, he let out a light laugh since this meant certain things would be easier.

However, Sarah was being rather roundabout in her speech. If it were Kirsten, she’d probably skip the talk and go straight to waiting in bed. Adrian shrugged his shoulders but couldn’t help but wonder how it would be with another girl.

Fortunately, he soon snapped back to reality, gave a self-mocking shake of his head, and concentrated on driving.

Aside from Sarah, Adrian also visited the record company in the past few days to check on two future pop divas under his wing. Having signed them up, they were his exclusives, protected from others’ meddling, but it would still require considerable effort to fully have them, whether for his taste or his collection.

Britney and Christina, who had already signed contracts with the record company, had nothing else to do after school but attend the training sessions at the company. After all, they were still quite young. Even Christina, who was a year older than Britney, was just under 13 years old. It would be at least 2 to 3 years before they could release an album, so learning as much as possible and improving themselves was the right thing to do.

Both girls were diligent. MMC was officially disbanded, and all of their former partners had returned to their hometowns, leaving only the two of them in Los Angeles, treasuring the opportunity all the more. Besides, boy bands were very popular at the company during that time. Who knew if they would be the next big thing?

“I’ll come to see you often when I have time,” Adrian said to the two young girls in a corner, “Do you know why?”

Britney and Christina exchanged glances then shook their heads in unison.

“Because you two were chosen by me, I will not allow myself to fail. So don’t disappoint me,” Adrian said seriously.

“Yes, sir, I will,” Christina said quickly, puffing up her chest. She was a year older than Britney and seemed more mature.

A few seconds later, Britney, who had just caught on, also started nodding vigorously. “Yes, Sir, I promise.”

“Good. As long as you do as I tell you, you will succeed,” Adrian nodded. “Of course, don’t tell anyone about this conversation.”

Brainwashing works best when started young, especially during the formative years of one’s value system. Even in brainwashing, one should apply different strokes for different folks.

“One moment, Britney, you stay,” Adrian suddenly called out to Britney just as the two girls were about to leave.

Then, one, two, three steps… Finally, after walking several feet away, Christina quickly looked back. Adrian internally laughed as he seemed to look at Britney, then began speaking to the little girl in front of him. (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com. There are more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)