Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“… Black tea?” Katherin uttered after a long time and was still staring at the coffee pot held by Adrian as she did not know what he meant.
Adrian raised the coffee pot again, then poured the black tea into a cup. “Black tea.”
Following that, he was about to drink from it when he noticed something odd. After examining and smelling the drink, he threw the cup away.
“Damn it! Can you believe this!” He shouted while dodging the splash of liquid, and the coffee pot shook vigorously due to his movement, such that the “black tea” was going to spill out of it.
Adrian threw the coffee pot away without hesitation, then yelled again while dodging the liquid. He looked embarrassed and strange.
Katherin was stunned when she watched him. By the time she realized what happened, she burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?!” Adrian glared at her, causing her to laugh louder than before. She had not been so happy in a long time.
Adrian was about to make a remark but decided to just stare at her with his hands on his waist.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I was just…” Katherin took a long time to control her emotions, but she dissolved into laughter again as soon as she looked at him. The fact that her eyes were red from crying made her look very strange.
“Alright, alright, I’m done.” Seeing that Adrian’s face was slowly turning dark, she finally stopped.
Adrian looked at Katherin, then looked at the coffee pot and the cup on the floor. He was extremely frustrated. ‘I actually took the wrong coffee pot! This is… Sh*t!’
He pursed his lips and kept quiet. At that moment, the room was dead silent, and the atmosphere was weird as they stared at each other without saying a word.
A long time after, Adrian let out a dry cough. “Alright, we’re even—I’m serious this time.”
Katherin tilted her head. “Alright, we’re even.”
When she recalled Adrian’s embarrassing moment, she quickly covered her mouth as she was going to laugh again. She turned her head a little because she did not want to infuriate him, but soft laughter could still be heard through her fingers.
Instead of being angry, Adrian simply stared at the lady’s face. Katherin looked special at that moment. She had delicate features, defined eyes, and showed traits of a Westerner and an Easterner. She was probably mixed. If it was not because the film required her to look unkempt, she was actually a beautiful lady. While the light through the window was not as bright, it highlighted her beauty as it shone on her face.
“What are you looking at?” Katherin who noticed him looking was blushing.
“You’re very beautiful, Ms. Beckinsell,” Adrian replied honestly.
“Uhm… Thank you.” Katherin scratched her face as she felt awkward.
“I’m serious,” Adrian further commented, “If you put on some light makeup, you’ll be very attractive.”
“Hey, are you trying to flirt with me?” Katherin suddenly put her hands on her waist and tilted her head at him.
Adrian did not reply. He stared at her with his arms crossed for a few minutes before he finally shrugged. “Alright, we should go back, break time is over. It’s time to continue the shoot.”
Subsequently, he walked out of the room and was followed by Katherin.
‘It’s her, I want her!’ Adrian glanced at the shadow behind him after he left the room, then said to himself.
Before long, the shooting for ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ was coming to an end. Adrian made the right decision to shoot the remaining scenes in the room last, and the cast already had good chemistry by then, so it would not cause any changes to the other scenes. Of course, there were still changes at the end of the shooting, for instance, the director began treating the extra with a nicer attitude. Nonetheless, nobody asked why.
“Do you know why I want you to do this?” Adrian walked over to Katherin. With puffy hair, she was wearing a Bohemian-styled floral dress at that moment, and was holding a machine gun!
“Uhm… You want to… Form a contrast,” Katherin answered.
“That’s right. When an unconscious thin lady who’s easily neglected suddenly shoots a machine gun, the strong contrast is both impactful and humorous,” Adrian explained patiently. “During post-production, I’ll turn this into a slow-mo scene, so you won’t want to see yourself being hesitant, right?”
“Oh, of course.” Katherin added, “I understand what you mean, and I guarantee that the same problem won’t happen again.”
“Very well. Whatever it is, don’t overthink. Just pull the trigger, and vent your anger.” Adrian nodded, then was going to continue the shoot.
Right then, an assistant approached him. “Mr. Adrian, a man is looking for you.”
“Looking for me?”
“Yes, he said that he’s…” The assistant looked around them, then whispered to him.
Adrian nodded and changed his mind. “We’ll take a 20-minutes break.”
He later followed his assistant to the director’s resting area, then reached his hand out for a handshake with a man whom he met once. “Hello, Mr. Brandt. Pleased to see you here.”
“I’m pleased to see you too, Mr. Adrian.” Brandt Erwin from Universal Picture’s editorial department returned the handshake with a smile. “Frankly speaking, this place isn’t easy to find. Why don’t you shoot in London?”
“The story takes place in East London, and I’m sure you’re aware that public safety there isn’t that great,” Adrian explained. In actual fact, that was not the main reason, because the main reason was that the suburb would be less costly! He had racked his brain in order to keep the cost at 200,000 dollars.
Of course, Adrian was not going to reveal that, thus he added, “Shooting in London’s suburb still shows that it’s a story in London.” Later, the two of them began discussing serious matters.
“So what’s the outcome of your consideration?” Adrian poured a cup of coffee for Brandt. When he did that, he looked at Katherin who was far away but was also looking back at him.
Adrian giggled, then put the cup in front of Brandt.
“After deep consideration, we think that the price of 500,000 dollars for two scripts is acceptable, but we hope that you can guarantee the production of their sequels.” Brandt retrieved a draft agreement from his suitcase.
“You’re thinking about sequels already?” Adrian was rather surprised.
“We believe that it’s the right decision.” Brandt shrugged.
“Maybe…” Adrian frowned. Normally, one would only discuss a film’s sequel after the first box office sales. After all, shooting a film was a gamble, where the profit or loss of it would only be revealed in the end. Therefore, he was shocked that it became invalid to him so quickly.
Evidently, he forgot that he had shocked the others too. It was true that shooting a film was a gamble, but producers from a film company would first evaluate the story by looking at its script, thus they knew if the film would be profitable or not. Although their judgment might not be accurate, they were usually 70 to 80 percent right, or the hundreds of Hollywood films released in a year—excluding independent films—would have lost a lot of money.
Adrian, who was a young man, had just produced four scripts, which were all evaluated as highly profitable, especially ‘Bodyguard’ that was sold to Warner. On top of that, he also offered two more outstanding scripts.
Even though ‘American Pie’ was a vulgar comedy film, it was very real, hence would definitely be an enjoyable film for young people in America with similar experiences; ‘Scream’ was a horror film where the characters discussed horror films, and the survival ideas discussed were extremely ingenious. It portrayed a different perspective of a horror film’s impact on youth, and would likely gain high box office sales as well as a high reputation.
As such, none of the film companies were going to belittle Adrian, who had so easily produced six scripts. This was also one of Hollywood’s laws—pragmatic.
People would admire and flatter you once you showed your worth, and that you could benefit them. Needless to say, they would also kick you away without hesitation once you lost your worth.
Though Adrian had not figured this out yet, he would understand sooner or later. After all, his aim was all of Hollywood. For now, he noticed an issue in the draft agreement.
“The preemptive right to purchase the sequel’s script at the same price, and after the production is confirmed…” Adrian put the draft agreement on the table, then smiled at Brandt. “This business doesn’t seem reasonable to me, Mr. Brandt!”