After more than ten days had passed, the 51st Cannes Film Festival was finally about to usher in its final moments. Although Miracle's "Mulholland Pass" was the biggest focus of the entire film festival, there were also many good films, actors, and directors that attracted attention.
For example, the Italian director Roberto Benigni's self-written and self-directed "Life is Beautiful" received considerable praise, or the plump and beautiful actress from China, whose large advertising photo was hanging high under the palm trees on the beach was very eye-catching. Similarly, the Chinese director who had not yet made the "Murder of Mantou" was also showing his last glory in Cannes.
Therefore, many people were still full of expectations for the upcoming award ceremony. In any case, Cannes Film Festival was still quite famous around the world, especially the Palme d 'Or. Countless directors would want to win it.
The award ceremony was held at the Grand Teide Theatre. Although it was already more than 50 years old and the Cannes Film Festival had begun to try to commercialize it, the award ceremony, as always, had no gimmicks.
"The winners of the Best Actress Award are Elodie Boucher and Natasha Lernier for" The Dream Life of Angels "!" With the announcement of the guest presenter, there was a warm applause.
"It's a pity. I thought the judges would be very generous to give this award to you." Adriaan, who was clapping, said to Naomi with regret. At the same time, he glanced at Nicole, who was sitting next to Naomi instead of him. This was not the time of the movie premiere. Even if many people secretly believed that he and Nicole had an affair, she was not completely divorced yet, after all. It was very inappropriate to arrange her to sit next to him.
"It doesn't matter, as long as you are here." Naomi, who was also clapping, responded with a smile. She said this sentence without any pressure, so much so that Nicole couldn't help but tilt her head.
Adriaan smiled slightly. He liked Naomi's attitude very much. Her words were a pun, but they fully expressed her thoughts. If it weren't for the fact that this was not Hollywood, he really wanted to fight for Naomi for the Best Actress Award. Although the Best Actress Award in Cannes was not worth much, it was much better than nothing.
However, the jury of the Cannes Film Festival was not as large as the jury of the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences and Arts. In fact, sometimes the more people there were, the easier it was to be influenced. As long as the mainstream influence was grasped, the crowd effect was inevitable as long as the conditions were met. There were always some judges from all over the world, and this was the French territory. Even if there were Martin Scorsese and Winona Ryder on the jury, it was not easy for an American to win an award.
"In fact, what I want to know the most is whether you can get the Palme d 'Or again," Naomi suddenly said.
Smiling, Adriaan did not respond. Although "Mulholland Drive" was a hit at the festival and received praise from many European film critics, it was not so easy to win the Palme d 'Or again. In the more than 50 years of history of the Cannes Film Festival, there were only a handful of directors who won the Palme d 'Or twice, and all of them were well-known directors. He had already broken the age record once. Would those people agree with him breaking it again?
Anyway, the main purpose of making this film and participating in the film festival was not to win an award, and there were still many opportunities for him to win the Palme d 'Or again. Why should he stick to the present? Besides, "Mulholland Drive" had created such a big sensation that they had to give him an award to comfort him. He just didn't know whether it was best director or a festival award.
Sure enough, after the Best Actor award was given to Peter Marlon, the lead actor of the British film "I Am Joe," the Best Director award fell to Adriaan.
"Thank you very much for giving me the Best Director award. I really didn't expect to win another Best Director trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. This was originally an experimental work. Thank you for recognizing it. Of course, I also want to thank Nicole and Naomi for their excellent performances and the efforts of the crew. " Although Adriaan looked very solemn on the surface, there was a hint of ridicule in his tone. There was a burst of low laughter in the hall. Everyone knew that after he won the Best Director award, the Palme d 'Or would never be his.
However, there was something else in the laughter. Although he did not say it explicitly, his words also revealed a meaning. "Mulholland Drive" was not a tribute to David Lynch. Most likely, he wanted to prove himself. Of course, there were also some people who glanced at Naomi and Nicole with envy or jealousy. In their acceptance speeches, they specifically mentioned and thanked them. Even if they didn't date or date, a one-night stand was absolutely inevitable.
Amidst the applause, Adriaan returned to his seat. Next, the festival award was given to Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful," and the Palme d 'Or was given to Dai Angropoulos, the director of the Greek film "Eternity and a Day." Benigni was so happy after winning the award that he picked up the host, Isabel Hupel, and spun her around. He knelt in front of Martin Scorsese and thanked him repeatedly, causing the audience to burst into laughter. However, none of this had anything to do with him.
After the award ceremony, the Cannes Film Festival closed. However, all kinds of interesting things that happened at the festival would be a topic of conversation for a long time. For example, the miracle director finally denied paying tribute to Lynch. Of course, this was just some people's interpretation of the acceptance speech. Different people had different interpretations, so the debate about "Mulholland Drive" was still ongoing.
Many people who paid attention to this matter, whether they were critics or ordinary people, could not help but sigh. The work produced by the miracle director was indeed different. This also made many fans who did not go to Cannes but paid attention to the matter were also full of curiosity about "Mulholland Drive". Every two or three days, people left messages on the official website of AC Media asking when it would be released.
Although the reporters also wanted to take advantage of the fact that the miracle director had finally expressed his stance and continued to dig out more information, they immediately lost track of Adriaan after the festival closed. Although they followed Nicole or Naomi around the clock after the award ceremony, they did not see the figure they wanted to see before they left.
Although the reporters were all gritting their teeth, they were very helpless. After all, Adriaan was not only a great director and producer, but also a rising star in Hollywood. The methods used to deal with ordinary celebrities did not have much effect on him. Even the CEO of Disneyland, Michael Eisner, would become an ordinary rich man as long as he was still in the position of chairman. As long as he was still in the position of chairman, the reporters had to be careful with him, not to mention Adriaan, who was only slightly inferior to Murdoch, Lei Shidong, and others.
Although these people were very depressed now, Adriaan was quite satisfied. After the trip to Cannes, he went to London and then leisurely drove north to slowly tour between the small towns in England. Of course, Sophie Marceau accompanied him. Although Adriaan often came to Paris to meet with her, he did not spend much time with her. Otherwise, even if she saw him being intimate with Nicole and Naomi at the film festival, she would not have turned him away again and again. In the end, he had to use unconventional means to enter her room.
Therefore, after the end of the film festival, Adriaan immediately invited Sophie to go to England with him. Naturally, Sophie would not refuse. Although she complained and was even angry in her heart when she was in Cannes, and more than once, she suspected that she was a little too cheap. Every time she thought of the pleasure on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, she would feel a little embarrassed and embarrassed in the small cinema at noon and night. However, as long as Adriaan coaxed her a little, she would immediately become happy.
This time was naturally no exception. In addition, the English idyllic scenery along the way was also very interesting. She quickly forgot all the accumulated unhappiness in the past. However, there were also unhappy things, such as …
On a small hill, Emma pointed at the wild flowers in the bushes and exclaimed in surprise, "What a beautiful butterfly!"
"It is indeed beautiful. It looks a little familiar, but I don't remember what species it is." Adriaan walked over and carefully observed it. As soon as he said that, the butterfly, which was slightly larger than an ordinary Blight Butterfly, flapped its wings and left.
"That's rare. You are known to have a photographic memory, but there are also things that you can't remember." Sophie, who followed up, laughed and teased.
"It's not that I can't remember, but I remember too many things. I need time to search in my head. As long as I have enough time, I will definitely be able to recall it." Adriaan shrugged.
"Good idea. Even if you can't find it in enough time, you can still say that you didn't see it yourself, right?" Sophie's reaction was very quick, but Emma's crisp voice interrupted, "It's a pity that we didn't bring any tools. Otherwise, we could catch it."
The little girl pouted and tugged at the corner of Adriaan's clothes, looking very regretful. Although Sophie wanted to say a few words, in the end, she only sighed softly.
"How about this. When we reach the next town, we will see if there are any tools for catching butterflies for sale. Then, when we reach the next small hill, we will try to catch butterflies that we like. How about that?" Adriaan pinched Emma's little face.
"Okay, okay!" The little girl immediately clapped her hands happily.
"But let me say this first. Sophie and I don't know how to catch butterflies. Don't laugh at us when the time comes." Adriaan followed up with a few reminders until the little girl nodded repeatedly. Only then did he pull her to the blanket that had been laid out under the tree. As for the gloomy sky, they would have to wait until the rain came.
Although the atmosphere of the picnic was quite harmonious, Adriaan still felt Sophie's resentment, and he could only sigh in his heart. It was not that he did not want to have a two-person relationship with Sophie, but if Emma knew that he did not go to see her as soon as he arrived in London, he was afraid that she would make a big fuss in the future. If it was in the past, it would have been fine, but last year, he did not fulfill a few of his promises, so the little girl was very resentful.
"Let me tell you, Mr. Adriaan. Half of you are already on my blacklist." Emma had pretended to "warn" him.
From the fact that she was willing to ask for leave from school to tag along, she knew that if Adriaan did not compromise, he would definitely face a disaster.
"Alright, Sophie, she's just a child. Besides, don't you think this is very interesting?" Adriaan, who was enjoying this moment of peace, said to his woman when Emma began to run wildly on the hillside after lunch.
"I know, but …" Sophie could not help but imitate Emma and pouted, making her look very cute.
She knew about Emma's situation, and because of this, she tolerated Emma following them all the way, and turned a blind eye to her attention-grabbing behavior. The little girl thought that she was very discreet, but after all, she was still a child. How could such a little trick escape Sophie's eyes? Even though Adriaan did not completely indulge her, Sophie still had a knot in her heart.
"You have to think on the bright side. Look, no one recognized us along the way." Adriaan smiled and spread his hands, and then a flash of red flashed across Sophie's face. Along the way, there were many people who thought that they were a family of three.
"Got it," Sophie replied lazily, but a strange light flashed in her eyes as she looked at him.
Adriaan raised his eyebrows imperceptibly, and did not continue this topic. Instead, he brought up another matter, "Frankly speaking, Sophie, am I really the kind of man who abandons a woman after playing with her?"
His extremely serious expression stunned Sophie for a long time, but she quickly reacted and glared at him, "At least in the novel, you are!"
Her cute angry look immediately made Adriaan laugh. Although because of his intervention, Sophie's life trajectory had changed a lot, the semi-autobiographical novel "Lying Woman" was still published at the beginning of last year — a few months later than in his previous life — but the content had changed a little.
Although Adriaan had not read it in his previous life, he had heard the general content. But in this book, the reason why the heroine went to the United States to develop her career was because she was invited by an American director, and then she was quickly captured by the director. But the date with the director was sweet and short, and soon the director had a new lover and ignored the heroine. Although the heroine was frustrated and played a few good roles, she returned to France.
Although the book said that the director was older, it had always highlighted his mysterious attraction to women. Others might not know, but if Adriaan read it, would he still know who the original model was?
"Well, Eide, you know this is a novel, not a real autobiography, so it's normal to have some exaggerations and dramas." Sophie's eyes were curved, and she seemed to be very proud. "Am I the kind of woman who likes to lie in the novel?"
"Who knows?" Adriaan sighed leisurely.
"Ed!" Sophie, who had been smiling just a moment ago, immediately raised her eyebrows and shouted.
"But I have to admit, you are very good at making up stories, dear." Adriaan immediately changed his tone. "In my opinion, you can try to be a screenwriter while acting."
"Really?" Sophie, who had calmed down, asked in a light tone.
"Yes." Adriaan, who knew what she was thinking, chuckled softly, and then moved his butt to sit more intimately with her. "In fact, I think you can also try to direct some movies. I'm not denying your acting skills, Sophie. They can't see it, but that doesn't mean I can't. I just hope you can show more of your ability, and let those people see what an excellent woman you are."
This was not a lie. Although Sophie's writing was not particularly good, she still showed the delicate feeling of a woman. In his previous life, she had also directed a short film, but because no one supported her, she eventually gave up. Adriaan planned to let her try more. If she could really develop as a director, then he would tie her down more firmly. And he had also prepared a plan. If everything went well in a few months …
"You always like to say these sweet words," Sophie, who was leaning in his arms, said, and then raised her head to stare at Adriaan.
That pair of bright brown eyes looked so melancholy that it made people feel pity for her. Adriaan sighed softly in his heart, held her face, and leaned over to kiss that pair of moist lips. Under the tree, on the carpet, the couple leaned together and slowly kissed each other, as if they wanted to taste the sweetness every time they touched. The breeze blew gently, making everything look like a beautiful still life painting.
Unfortunately, the romantic scene that stirred people's imagination did not last long before it was broken.
"Eide! I caught a butterfly! I caught it! I caught it with my bare hands! "The little girl's voice came from afar, as if she was asking for credit, but also as a reminder.
Adriaan had to roll his eyes away from Sophie's lips. "Oh, hell! For the first time, I'm starting to regret bringing her out! "
Sophie immediately burst into laughter. Although her eyes were saying "you deserve it", her mouth was still comforting him. "Okay, that's enough."
"Enough? How is that possible? " Adriaan replied unhappily. "If she wasn't here, I could taste nature again. I haven't tasted it since that time in the villa's garden."
"Pervert!" Sophie immediately blushed and spat at him, but then she immediately added, "I'll make it up to you tonight …"
She closed her mouth before she could finish, but unfortunately, every word had already entered Adriaan's ears.
"Then it's settled." He laughed and got up to run to Emma, who was still making a fuss.
A few days later, after sending Sophie back to Paris, Adriaan also embarked on his journey back to Los Angeles. He actually wanted to take Sophie with him, but she was not used to living in Hollywood and was reluctant to leave Paris, so he gave up the idea after a few probing words. Of course, this was only temporary. Adriaan believed that he would soon convince her that women who were not compatible with each other should not meet each other, but it was better to live nearby.
However, he was not going back to the United States alone. Emma, the eccentric little girl, was with him. She was coquettish and pitiful, and she was only in elementary school. She had always been very smart, and it was close to summer vacation, so it was easy to ask for leave. Adriaan, who was having a headache, had to compromise again.
