"I'm much better now. I've found my goal. I hope to get a paralegal certificate through my own efforts, and then, step by step, become a civil rights lawyer like Susan!" Standing in the middle of the bright living room, a young lady of about 17 or 18 years old ended her speech with this sentence. Then, there was a round of applause.
"Thank you, thank you, Paris. Your speech was excellent." Adriaan, who was sitting at the head of the table, also stood up and applauded. "I have to say, today's gathering was very successful. You've all found your goals. I hope you can work hard in the days to come and realize your dreams."
Applause rang out again. Then, the young people in the room began to make noise. Some left quickly, some talked to Adriaan, and some asked for autographs from Natalie.
"Thank you, Natalie. Thank you for your encouragement. I will work hard, I will." Paris, who had given the speech earlier, was holding a poster of Queen Amidala from "Star Wars Episode III", which was about to be released during the summer vacation. He spoke in an excited tone while asking her for an autograph.
"I believe you will." Natalie smiled and responded in a sincere tone, "You will become an outstanding civil rights lawyer, Paris."
After a while, when all the young people had left, Adriaan gestured to Natalie. "Okay, we should leave."
Natalie immediately put away her smile and silently walked side by side with him to the parking lot. She did not say a word along the way. Adriaan did not speak either. He just sat in the car and asked the driver to drive back. After a while, she finally could not hold it in anymore.
"Do you come here often?" she asked.
"Not really. You know, I always have a lot of things to do." Adriaan shrugged. "But as long as I'm in Los Angeles, I'll come here at least once a month to listen to them talk about their lives, their efforts, and encourage them to develop in a better direction. In fact, most of the time, these young people who have given up on themselves just need someone to listen and encourage them. I'm not funding this psychotherapy center and setting up a charity fund to avoid taxes. I just want to better help those young people who really want to cheer up. I don't have any other thoughts, that's all. "
Natalie remained silent. Although her eyelids were lowered, her constantly moving fingers had already betrayed her inner world. Obviously, the sudden new image of Adriaan made her once again fall into confusion and at a loss of what to do.
"Then, you should be more confident now, right?" Adriaan said without batting an eyelid.
"Huh?" Natalie came back to her senses and looked at him in confusion, as if she didn't understand what he was talking about.
"You've seen Paris' information." Adriaan continued, "She grew up in a single-parent family. Before she ran away from home, her mother controlled everything in her life. Because of this, she resisted violently and even mutilated herself. If you rolled up her sleeves just now, you should still be able to see the scars on her arms. In short, at that time, her family conflict was at its peak, which eventually led to Paris running away from home and … her mother's breakdown. I won't go into the details, you can check it out anytime you want. In a sense, the inspiration for this script came from her experience. "
He paused here, and seeing that Natalie didn't plan to continue, he continued, "You've seen it for yourself. She likes the Star Wars series very much, and she also likes Queen Amidala very much. That's why I brought you to meet her. You can take some time to talk to her about these things, and don't worry about provoking her. This is also a form of therapy. Only when a person dares to face their own dark past will they be able to truly stand up. This way, you can fully experience the feeling of being controlled. You should know that the theme of the script is the tragedy caused by the strong rebound caused by the invisible and traceless control. "
He emphasized the word "control". Although Natalie still had her eyelids lowered as if she wasn't listening, her breathing was obviously a little erratic. There was no doubt that her heart was in a mess. If she had to say, who else would feel more controlled than her? And this script … it was really tailor-made for her.
"It looks like you don't like this script?" Adriaan reached out and hugged her waist. "It's okay, if you don't want this role, if you think it's not suitable for you, I won't force you."
"No, I just …" Natalie said reflexively, but then she shut her mouth and brushed the hair on her forehead, not knowing what to do.
"I'm serious, Nada, I respect every choice you make." Adriaan lifted her chin, looked into her eyes, and said in a very sincere tone.
A complicated expression flashed across her face. Natalie suddenly turned her head away, and her shoulders trembled slightly. After a moment, she slowly raised her head again. "No problem, I can handle it."
"Very good, I look forward to your perfect performance." Adrian nodded and let out a long sigh as he looked ahead. There was an indescribable disappointment in his eyes.
Her management contract was personally handled by Michael Ovitz, and her public relations contract was also appointed by him. The people around her were all arranged by him, so how could he not know what she was thinking and planning? There was no need for Richel to tell him. He had seen Natalie's every move, especially the fact that she had been included in the plan a long time ago.
Obviously, Natalie had never really reflected on why things had gotten to this point. She had placed all her resentment on him and constantly deepened this impression. This was normal, and her view wasn't wrong. He was indeed the culprit, but the problem was … Was she so perfect and flawless?
Of course, of course, most people were like this. When they blamed others, they usually subconsciously categorized themselves as the innocent victim. Even Adriaan, who had lived two lives, couldn't avoid it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost his composure after the showdown. No matter how smart and sophisticated Natalie was, she was still a young girl.
Therefore, she had never taken the opportunities that Adriaan had given her. Just like now, she had no more courage. It could even be described as "forgetting one's life at the sight of small benefits, and cherishing one's life when doing big things." Of course, Adriaan wouldn't deny that he had orchestrated all of this. However, there was one sentence in the movie that he had given to Scorsese to improve their relationship.
You choose your own path.
In the years to come, the 77th Oscars were bound to be one of the most talked about by movie fans. The huge impact caused by Brokeback Mountain, the battle between the Phoenix brothers for Best Actor, the birth of the second youngest Best Actress, and the unprecedented consecutive Best Director by Miracle Director, as well as the fact that the little-known Crash had defeated a number of strong rivals to win Best Movie. These were all worthy of gossip from time to time.
In addition, Miracle Director had won Best Actor and Best Actress in two movies at the same time, and his ambiguous relationship with the second youngest Best Actress was also a good topic of discussion.
Even so, the popularity of the Oscars slowly died down after the award ceremony. Everything had its time to calm down, not to mention that there were people who were deliberately guiding public opinion. In addition to supervising his new movie, which had to be completed by mid-May, Adriaan was still very relaxed, spending time with his women and children, and paying attention to the release of some other movies.
Low-budget comedies and horror movies always liked the off-season, which allowed them to easily recoup their costs. That was why The University Freshman, starring Blake Lively, was released at this time.
"Don't worry. Although it's more suitable to release it in October, it will still resonate with those who have been in college for a semester." At the noisy party, when Blake pretended to be worried about the box office, Adriaan laughed and said so.
"Yeah, you really don't have to worry about it, Blake," Leighton, who was standing on the other side, said with a smile.
"Actually, what I care about is not my first movie. According to the feedback, the reputation of the movie has already surpassed many other movies in the same genre," Blake replied with a fake smile. Then he looked at Adriaan and said, "It's too noisy here. Eide, why don't we find a quieter place, like my apartment? I moved out recently, and I'm practicing the new cheerleading dance. It'll definitely be more attractive than before. "
Before Adriaan could say anything, Leighton raised her eyebrows and said, "It's better to go to my place. Familiar places give you a better feeling, and you'll be able to see the changes more clearly."
As she spoke, she even leaned closer to Adriaan. She was already very close to him, and now she almost grabbed him and put him on top of her.
Blake also did not want to be outdone. She leaned closer to Adriaan, and it looked like she was almost snuggling into his arms. "You have to keep trying new things to keep your passion, don't you think so?"
"Alright, you two, don't be like this." After Leighton's face turned sour, Adriaan smiled and raised his hand to stop them from arguing. "You are both cute and sexy girls. I'll feel sorry if I give up on either of you, and I believe you won't be happy either. So, why don't you come to my beach house in Santa Monica together?"
As he spoke, he reached out and pulled both Leighton and Blake into his arms. He even rubbed their butts without restraint.
This action stunned the two girls. Blake's face immediately turned sour. The scene of her virginity being taken by Adriaan behind the one-way glass in front of so many people had been deeply imprinted in her mind. Every time she thought about it, she would feel very uncomfortable and … perversely excited. This was probably why she always agreed to some of his excessive requests after rejecting them.
However, this did not include a threesome, especially with her enemy. But Leighton did not give Blake too much time to think.
"No problem. I've been looking forward to it." Perhaps it was because Leighton saw Blake's expression, or maybe she did not care about it at all, but she agreed without hesitation. At the same time, she stuck out her chest and looked at Blake with a hint of arrogance and disdain.
Without a doubt, Blake was enraged. Without thinking, she stuck out her chest and rubbed against Adriaan's arm. "Is that so? Then let's try it. "
For her, crushing Leighton had basically become one of her instincts. Only when she completely crushed Leighton could she face the fact that the person she once bullied had seized the opportunity to climb over her head.
Therefore, Adriaan took advantage of it. That night in the mansion, Leighton and Blake took turns to compete fiercely. Even the competition between Gwyneth and Blanchett was not as intense as this. They could lose to anyone but not to each other. Even though Leighton deliberately provoked Blake under Adriaan's instructions, it did not mean that she did not want to always be a head above Blake.
Therefore, that night, Adriaan basically played with them however he wanted.
Of course, they were willing to let him play with them, not only because of the irreconcilable conflict between them, but also because of his power. Think about it. How many times in a row had he helped the Best Actress Award? Not to mention this year's Best Director Award.
Perhaps in the eyes of many fans, they had their own personalities and their own pride. They were unattainable, and they had the right to refuse. Unfortunately, in the face of real power, these things were not worth mentioning.
Other than The Freshman, there were quite a few movies related to Adrian. For example, the horror film Hide and Seek, starring Dakota Fanning and Robert De Niro. After a few years of honing, the little girl's acting skills were getting better and better. Unfortunately, this movie would have been better if it had been released in October. After all, there was a good time before Halloween. But now wasn't too bad either. In any case, this was a film with a strong start and a weak finish. Even if it was delayed by a few months, there wouldn't be a qualitative leap in the box office.
Then, Super Nanny, with Keely's participation, was also released at this time. This movie was produced by Disneyland, and they had always been good at similar movies. Although Keely became popular because of Super Heroes and even had the title of "Big-breasted Cheerleader," the plot of sci-fi dramas tended to collapse more easily. At present, even if there were not too many adverse effects, it would be about the same after five seasons. So, Keely had to find a way to maintain her popularity.
Adriaan's arrangement was to star in some youth comedies such as Super Nanny. Anyway, she was still young, so it was suitable for her to act young, and she did not need much acting skills. He had never expected her to be good at acting, so he just wanted to be a vase. But it was different for Si Jiali.
Last year's New Jersey allowed Si Jiali to maintain a relatively high reputation among the critics. So, except for X-Men 3, which was scheduled for this summer, her movies basically did not have high costs. They could recover a certain amount of box office, but their reputation was guaranteed. For example, because of Adriaan's interference, the plot was specially adjusted, and the release of Big Company, Little Boss, was delayed to the end of September this year.
He knew that she understood why he made this arrangement. After all, Si Jiali was not Keely. Although they had a battle with Adriaan, they had to compete with their breasts, Si Jiali had always played Keely in the palm of her hand with her brain. Of course, it was not that Keely did not realize it. She was more or less clever, but it was precisely this little cleverness that made her never speak up.
She knew very well who gave her everything, and the longer she stayed here, the more she understood. As long as Adriaan did not say anything, she did not care. Anyway, she did not suffer any losses. In this respect, Keely was also a very good pet.
Well, these were the movies that would be released in March. As for the new movie arrangements, other than the script for Natalie, which was slowly being prepared, most of his energy was focused on the one that had been produced previously, and the investment and setting for this one were not large. There was also another one in preparation.
"Welcome to my office, Paul. Don't be so nervous. I just want to be a little more formal. Hey, Lily, what are you doing again?" After greeting Paul Haggis at the door, Adriaan immediately turned his head and shouted, "What did I say? Don't touch my folder. "
"I didn't touch it. I just want to see what's written on it." Lily stood on her tiptoes, stuck her head out from behind the desk, and said confidently.
"Are you sure you can understand it?" Adriaan rolled his eyes. "Well, now Dad has a guest. You have to go out for a while, as we agreed."
"Can't I sit in?" Lily reluctantly ran out from behind the desk. "I want to see how you work."
"You have seen it just now, and …" Adriaan repeated his previous words. "We agreed."
"Okay, okay, I got it," the little girl mumbled as she came to the door. The little guy mumbled as she came to the door. Then, she stuck out her chest and became a little lady. She extended her hand to Hodges. "Hello, I'm Lily, Lily Kewell."
"Um … Hello, Miss Kewell." Haggis hesitated for a moment, but he still shook her hand. "I am Paul Haggis."
"Are you a scriptwriter or a director, Paul?" Lily looked up at him, acting like she knew him very well. "I like to write stories, and I like to use DV to take pictures. I've dismantled and reinstalled several DV's at home, but I can always put them back in one piece. Isn't it amazing? Of course, Dad doesn't think so. He always says that I am making trouble … "
Seeing that she was babbling on and on, Adrian rubbed his forehead, lifted her up, and put her outside before slamming the door shut.
"She is going to be ten years old soon. You know, ten-year-olds always have inexhaustible energy." He said to the dumbfounded Haggis, "They are the most troublemakers in the world, and also … the most adorable babies."
"That's true. For parents, children are always their babies," Haggis said, and then sat down on a chair.
"That's why I like the scene in 'Crash' where the little girl throws herself at her father. It's a beautiful scene," Adriaan said as he opened the cupboard and gestured to him.
"No, thank you. I don't drink at this time." Haggis quickly waved his hand.
"That's great. Then I won't have to trouble you." Adriaan walked back with a smile. "So, can you tell me your answer now, Paul?"
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