Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Two days later, the shooting for ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ was finally completed, and the crew cheered with joy. The second and third-rate actors found it blissful that they no longer needed to be tortured by the “scary” director, whereas the workers that were still working under Adrian were not blessed at all. Although he “kindly” gave them a two-day break…
“Enjoy your break, we’ll be working a tight schedule after that, and I’ll be draining every bit of your energy,” Adrian announced, and Dennis was not an exception.
“Although you won’t be of much help in terms of the profession, you can provide some service, right? We have no choice since we’re tight on budget and manpower. In any case, it was your line of work,” Adrian mentioned nicely. With that, Dennis, who planned to enjoy his time in London for a few days, could only cancel his plans.
In actual fact, it was never Adrian’s intention, but like he told Dennis, they were really tight on budget and manpower. He had to do the post-production and editing by himself, and it was less than a month to the Venice Film Festival’s registration deadline, thus he could only ask Dennis and the workers to take care of the small things while he worked on the editing part.
“During this time in two days, I’ll probably be working like a madman in London’s studio.” Adrian sighed as he looked at the time. “I should rest while I can.”
After making an inventory of his items, he went to the hostel’s lobby to look at the streets as he leaned against the door. Roughly ten minutes later, he looked at the time again before counting to himself, and he counted till 50 when the person he was waiting for appeared on the stairs.
“Hello, Ms. Beckinsell,” Adrian greeted with a wave.
“Hello, Mr. Cowell.” Kathrin nodded at him with a smile.
“I thought you left. Two days ago, your mom called to ask about you, and she sounded like she was going to come here if you don’t return soon,” Adrian mentioned jokingly.
“She’s always like that.” Kathrin shrugged, then changed the topic. “Honestly, if it wasn’t because you purposely made things difficult for me, I would’ve left long ago.”
“Hey, we agreed that we’re even now,” Adrian reminded and looked like he was slightly mad. Kathrin chuckled while waving her right hand. “Alright, we’re even, I won’t mention it anymore.”
“Are you in a hurry? If you’re not, how about we get some black tea?” Adrian asked.
Kathrin was startled for a short while. She hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded. “Alright.”
The two of them walked the streets for some time before they found a nice coffee shop.
“You’re saying that you never really explored the town throughout the shooting period, Mr. Cowell?” Kathrin asked curiously.
“Just call me Eddy, the usage of Mr. and Ms. is too troublesome,” Adrian remarked.
“Alright, Eddy. You can call me Kate, my friends call me that.” Kathrin did not decline.
“You probably heard. I’ve been busy with shooting for some reason, and I’ve been writing novel sections or script outlines every day. Unless it’s required for the shooting, I’ve never been outside,” Adrian explained.
“You know, Eddy, you’re a really strange man. You write novels while shooting a film, and not only are the stories great, but you also came up with an interesting idea in such a short time…” Kathrin blushed.
“I wasted too much time before this, and I’d like to hold on to things while I can.” Adrian shrugged. “Besides, strange isn’t a nice word. I think I can’t be compared with fellas who like to dye their hair into striking colors and ride a Harley with a black leather jacket on, or those in plaid shirts and straw hats who look at pretty ladies from the corner of the street.”
Kathrin could not help but laugh. “I didn’t say that, you’re the one who said that.”
Afterward, she looked at Adrian as she was interested. “Honestly, you’re very different from how you were before.”
“I’m on a two-day break, so the fact that I’m free from worries naturally makes me different.” Adrian sighed. “But I only have two days, and I’ll have to start working on the post-production once I return to London. I haven’t been back to London since my grandmother passed away, and I’d really like to look around.”
“Your grandmother was British?” Kathrin asked out of curiosity.
“I used to travel back and forth between Los Angeles and London when I was young as, after my parents, I was closest to her.” Adrian nodded.
“No wonder you have such a good London accent.”
“If you’d like, I also know a bit of the accent from Oxfordshire or Cornwall.”
That became the conversation starter. Although they continued to converse about random matters in life, it was enjoyable. Soft laughter was heard from time to time as they sipped on black tea, and the Sun that shone through the shop window added a warm tone to the rather cold coffee shop.
“Then why do you insist on participating in the Venice Film Festival? It’s not the only film festival in the world, so you don’t have to be in such a hurry. You can take part in other film festivals after making it excellent.” At one point, Kathrin talked about the film.
“Because of time. I wasted too much time.” Adrian sighed.
“You wasted too much time?” Kathrin could not understand.
“Yes…” Adrian lowered his head, then exercised his fingers. “My parents passed away two years ago in a plane crash.”
Upon hearing the reply, Kathrin exhaled softly.
“I’m very sorry,” she said.
“It’s nothing, I’m much better now, but…” Adrian looked outside, where the streets were now brighter due to the rays of sunlight. “I’ve been an alcoholic for two years. I woke up late every day, and spent my days partying until dawn before I returned to my empty home.”
Kathrin fell silent as she recalled her past too.
“I understand you,” She uttered gently, “My dad died when I was 6. He was an outstanding comedian. He always let me sit on his shoulders, and also brought me to film sets… Even though it’s more than 10 years ago, every time I think about it, I just feel… I even suffered from anorexia because of it…”
Following that, Kathrin waved her hand and frowned as she was fretful. She took a cigarette out of her bag, then lit it.
Adrian suddenly took her cigarette away. “This isn’t a good habit.”
“What are you doing?” Kathrin was stunned.
“Smoking doesn’t benefit you,” Adrian responded casually.
“It’s none of your business.” Kathrin was irritated.
“Smoking harms females more than it does to males. Kate, you’re so beautiful, how can you let your beauty disappear because of cigarettes?” Adrian spoke as if he did not notice her change of mood.
“I think that it has nothing to do with you!” Kathrin was mad.
“Yes, I know, but Kate, smoking won’t stop you from missing you dad, just like how I had to face the reality no matter how much I drank the night before,” Adrian replied sincerely. He grabbed her hand gently. “Change it to something else, I’m sure your dad wouldn’t want to see his daughter addicted to smoking.”
He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
Kathrin fell silent for a while before she stood up, then withdrew her hand. She held the cigarette up from the table to play with it, and Adrian neither stopped her nor said anything.
“I think I should leave,” she mentioned softly.
“I’ll send you off.” Adrian nodded, then followed her to the streets to hail a cab for her.
“I was smoking a lot for a period of time, then I quit it under the supervision of my mom and my stepdad, who told me the same thing,” Kathrin told Adrian after she opened the door, and her eyes were somewhat shining at that moment, “I was just suddenly… Reminded of it… Thank you, Eddy.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Adrian smiled.
He finally looked away after the cab disappeared from the end of the street. ‘I’m progressing well. The fact that she listened to me and wasn’t angry after what I did shows that I have a place in her heart, and…’
Adrian lowered his head to rub his fingers as if he could still feel Kathrin’s soft skin. Normally, a woman who was not disgusted by a man who touched the back of her hand was likely interested in the man as well.
A woman’s hand was much more sensitive than a man’s, especially the part between the thumb and the index finger, thus men could use this as a way to test a woman’s feelings. When Adrian took the opportunity to use the trick, Kathrin’s reaction showed everything.
“Alright, this has temporarily come to an end, I should focus on more important things for now,” Adrian shrugged as he mumbled, then adjusted his shirt before walking toward the hostel.
A night’s rest later, Adrian returned to London with his team. Their rented studio was small and messy due to their tight budget, but he was unbothered.
“We’re here to work, not to enjoy. Even if we’re in a more terrible environment, we’ll have to work, and not fall on our path to victory,” Adrian encouraged everyone else although the editing studio was a mess.
He actually had the money to rent a better studio, because his lawyer, Wilson, just left London after discussing the conditions for the two scripts with Universal, and one-tenth of the money received was more than enough. Despite that, Adrian did not do so. Everything was going according to plan, and he was still staying in the small hostel with his crew.
‘200,000 dollars is more than the cost of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ that I remember, am I going to look for more additional investments? That won’t be a good habit. If I were to overspend on this, how am I going to produce other films in the future? If Guy Ritchie can edit this film in a small studio, I can do it too!’