Chapter 367: Chapter 91 Unexpected

“William Wallace? Scottish independence? If Adrian chose this theme, he must have short-circuited his brain,” said a certain British journalist upon hearing the news, “Not to mention how inevitably connected William Wallace is to Scottish independence, the topic of Scottish Independence itself wouldn’t be endearing. If this were true, I wouldn’t support him anymore.”

Of course, there were people with different opinions, “Maybe it’s about introducing Robert Bruce through William Wallace. The movie is said to be titled ‘Braveheart,’ a moniker Robert Bruce had during his fight for Scottish independence.”

However, journalists or critics who held this view were few and far between; most deemed the topic boring. It was bound to spark controversy and criticism, not something fit for the Miracle Director. The ordinary people of the United Kingdom weren’t as concerned.

“Who cares about that, as long as it’s enjoyable,” said an indifferent British youth when interviewed on the street, “His movies are always good-looking, cool, or moving. I like him; as long as it’s entertaining, that’s all that matters. It’s just a movie, after all.”

Americans thought the topic was quite interesting: “Perhaps Adrian developed an interest in history while making ‘Forrest Gump,’ and now he wants to try filming ancient war scenes. Given some similarities, choosing Scottish independence as a theme is quite sensible.”

Naturally, this last statement was an oblique reference to the United States’ own independence from the United Kingdom. The mockery and schadenfreude implied between the lines hinted at the American audience’s eagerness to watch the drama unfold. It’s really quite intriguing that on the one hand, Americans always seem to gravitate towards the British, trying to appear more like them, while on the other hand, they love to draw clear lines and mock them. It’s somewhat like a rebellious son and a conservative father.

Furthermore, the French also joined in the discussion, since the Miracle Director had cast Sophie Marceau as the female lead–and it was rumored that he’d invited her to play a supporting role in another film. Whether it was William Wallace or Scottish independence mattered little to them; they were only curious about who Sophie was portraying.

“Although many French princesses married into England historically, none was suitable during the time from William Wallace’s uprising to his capture and execution, and until Scottish independence. So who could Sophie’s French princess be?” French media raised such a topic, sparking endless debate.

To see the entertainment media of several countries engage in discussions over a film with scarce released information was something perhaps only Miracle Director Adrian could achieve. But the debates, while persistent, weren’t particularly intense, certainly not when compared to the outcry of ’92. After all, neither Bossworth Film nor Adrian himself had confirmed anything in any forum, and lead actors Russell Crowe and Sophie Marceau had kept silent on the matter. Therefore, the media remained in a speculative phase, but because there was no outright denial, the speculations continued unabated, the media and public’s curiosity not easily quenched.

“This is equivalent to promoting ‘Braveheart,'” Adrian didn’t care in the slightest. The leak of the information was intentional, precisely for this purpose.

However, the biggest winner in these discussions was Russell Crowe. Originally just a second or third-tier actor, wherever he went now, if he encountered journalists, they would seize him to ask questions about ‘Braveheart.’ This fervor exceeded even that of when he was first chosen as the male lead for ‘Braveheart.’ Crowe was thrilled, yet didn’t lose his head, always tight-lipped, not revealing a word. He was savvy and much smarter than some.

“Don’t you think this seems a bit odd, me talking to a little girl about football?” In a spacious and bright conference room, Tom Cruise flipped through the script, frowning.

“So I’ve changed the age to 11. Besides, there are plenty of girls who like football,” Adrian shrugged dismissively, looking towards the others, “Any other issues?”

“But Ed–” Cruise tried to say something more, but Adrian bluntly interrupted him, “Enough, Tom, let’s leave it at that.”

A flash of concealed anger crossed Cruise’s eyes, but after pausing to think, he restrained himself: “Alright, you have the final say.”

His voice maintained a basic calm; one wouldn’t notice anything amiss if they weren’t listening carefully. Adrian couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in surprise; the emotion control was impressive. His gaze then shifted to Cruise’s expressionless female agent beside him. The woman indeed knew how to package, a real talent.

Who would’ve thought, less than two minutes later, Cruise stood up: “If there’s nothing more for me, then I’ll take my leave, Ed.”

With that, he extended his hand towards Adrian with a smile, as if the reason for his departure had nothing to do with their previous disagreement, while his agent covertly made a facepalm gesture.

“Hey, buddy, I just praised you, can’t you keep it up for a few minutes?” Adrian chuckled to himself, stood up, and shook hands with him nonchalantly, “Then I won’t keep you any longer, Tommy.”

In fact, Cruise wasn’t wrong, after passing that issue, the pre-production work of “Jerry Maguire” was pretty much finished, and they could start shooting after Halloween. So, after he left and some details were discussed, the meeting was almost over.

“Your daughter’s audition was very good, Melanie. She’s a spirited girl, and I hope she’ll be the same when we start shooting officially,” Adrian said to a woman in her thirties after announcing the end of the meeting.

“Thank you, Mr. Adrian, she will definitely keep it up,” Melanie said with a delighted smile, happy that her daughter was chosen for an important role in a film by the Miracle Director.

Melanie Sloane was a producer from New York. Originally, when producing “Small Time Crooks,” since the story took place in New York and most of the external shots were filmed there, they needed a fairly cheap and competent producer who was familiar with New York. In the end, Melanie was recommended. To be honest, her abilities were only average, but Adrian had no hesitation in hiring her, and after the production was finished, he invited her to come work in Los Angeles.

Faced with such an invitation, an aspiring Melanie couldn’t refuse. She had four children, two boys and two girls, but her youngest daughter, who had the most acting talent and was most eager to develop in the entertainment industry, had already guest-starred in some stage plays and TV dramas. Melanie was intent on pushing her daughter to stardom, knowing that if she could get on good terms with the Miracle Director, the opportunities would be much greater.

So when Adrian modified the script of “Jerry Maguire,” changing the 6-year-old boy to a 10 to 13-year-old girl, and prepared to start casting among young Hollywood actresses, Melanie was the first to recommend her daughter. Fortunately, the Miracle Director took a shine to her daughter and invited her to take part as an executive producer for some of the business, proving the original choice was correct.

However, what Melanie didn’t foresee was that Adrian’s reason for changing the script now, replacing the originally story-fitting boy with a girl, was to create conditions for her daughter. Why else would he choose the age range of 10 to 13 years specifically? In fact, inviting Melanie to work in Los Angeles was also for this reason.

“Hey, Kate, I only spoke a few words and you ran outside,” Adrian said as he chased after Blanchett with a quick jog after leaving the meeting room.

“What’s the matter? I thought you were done with giving instructions,” Blanchett said, slightly surprised while raising an eyebrow.

“I do indeed have nothing more work-related to say, but I have plenty of personal matters,” Adrian said with a smile, taking her hand, “How about we go for a walk and then have dinner together after I finish work? You’ve turned me down several times already.”

“This…” Blanchett hesitated, a complex look in her eyes, and after biting her teeth, she chose to refuse: “Sorry, I have other plans tonight, Ed.”

“Really?” Adrian asked calmly, not showing the disappointed expression he usually did, just quietly watching her.

Blanchett inexplicably began to feel flustered, opened her mouth a few times without speaking, sighed after a long stare with him, “Alright, I’ll cancel that plan. Is that okay?”

“That’s great!” Adrian immediately waved his arms excitedly and, without a word, pulled Blanchett into his arms, kissing her cheek, not caring about the comings and goings in the corridor.

“Ed!” Blanchett called out, annoyed, but sighed in her heart again. She could no longer tell whether Adrian’s actions were genuine or feigned. But… that was no longer important.

The current situation was that “Jerry Maguire” could begin shooting soon, while “The English Patient” and “The Mask of Zorro” were still in the planning stages, as both films were much more complicated. Adrian wasn’t in a hurry; he was always following the progress and then enjoying himself from time to time. “Braveheart” was still being hotly debated, especially after the first poster was revealed.

It was the poster that imitated the original, depicting Russell Crowe with flowing hair, wielding a long sword, standing on the battlefield with the sky ablaze behind him. With no obvious introductory background and the face paint removed, there was no concern for people to interpret anything from it, so naturally, it was released now to build up momentum for the movie.

In the plan, “Emma” should best be released before Thanksgiving so that it can make room for other things, which means post-production needed to be accelerated, and arrangements for test screenings had to be rushed as well–and beyond that–

“Really? Do you need me to come over a few more times?” Adrian laughed heartily as he stood on the balcony with his phone, the October sun still warm.

“What a shame, well, that’s settled then, give it your all, buddy, don’t let me down.” After talking at length, he finally hung up the phone.

Following the successful acquisition of ABC, Claude began to integrate the company’s business. With Adrian’s support, the two had absolute power on the board, so integration did not encounter too many obstacles. Of course, this had something to do with Claude’s skills. Having trained for several years, he had grown incredibly fast in this aspect, and with ABC having regained a portion of its ratings amid the debates about “Braveheart”–after all, as a subsidiary, they naturally got news faster and more accurately–although it was only a little, it was enough to make people look forward to the drama and reality show’s broadcast.

Everything was developing in the direction they hoped, which is why Adrian asked Claude with a laugh if they should incite such debates a few more times.

“I love this world.” Basking in the splendid sunshine, Adrian stretched leisurely.

At that moment, the intercom in the bedroom rang: “Ed, Miss Britney is here.”

“Alright, Charli, lead her to the study, I’ll be right there.” Adrian couldn’t help but smile as he listened to Charlize’s somewhat indifferent voice and remembered her look of anxiety mixed with a bit of anger from the other day.

“Don’t worry, Charli, even though I do like it when you’re worried about me,” Adrian whispered to himself, then straightened his clothes before heading out of the bedroom towards the study.

Upon opening the door, Charlize wasn’t there; however, from the way the cups were arranged on the coffee table, she must have just been there. But the problem was, Britney wasn’t there either.

“Brit?” Adrian called out tentatively and quickly heard Britney’s somewhat nervous voice from the washroom: “Just a minute, I’ll be right out.”

American villas have an interesting feature: there are an unusually large number of washrooms, with nearly every room having one–studies, living rooms of all sizes, and bedrooms, etc. As for the reason why, that remains a mystery.

“No rush, take your time, I’ll wait for you,” Adrian said immediately, controlling the curiosity in him that was itching to find out what was going on.

That day he was in high spirits, so the things Britney had said had just gone in one ear and out the other. Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten the trick of “finding another time to talk privately.” He gave Britney a call to fulfill that promise of a private talk after roughly deducing the likely outcome based on the news from the record company, and to emphasize the privacy of the matter, he arranged to meet at his villa.

What was she doing? Adrian waited for almost 5 minutes but Britney hadn’t emerged. If it hadn’t been for occasional sounds from inside, he might have thought something had happened to her.

It seemed like she had come alone? Adrian, somewhat puzzled, picked up the coffee cup and was about to take a sip when the washroom door finally opened. He almost spat the coffee out, but fortunately, he had only just opened his mouth.

The Britney in front of him was extremely tempting, her brown hair with a tinge of gold tied into two ponytails, wearing a black jacket over a white shirt with a red plaid tie, and the lower half donned a plaid skirt in the same color as the tie that ended just above the knees, her lower legs adorned with snow-white mid-calf fuzzy socks, and on her feet were a pair of low-heeled round-toed leather shoes. Most importantly, she had a square black backpack slung over her back!

Indeed, Britney Spears had dressed up as a high school girl in uniform and appeared before Adrian.

“Is there anything I can assist you with, sir?” she asked uneasily, timidly, and even used the word “sir”!

Adrian was initially stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh and cover his forehead. That day, after opening his office door a crack, he had heard Kirsten’s final words. On one hand, he was impressed by Kirsten’s cunning, and on the other hand, he was curious about what Britney would do, never expecting her to take “like a student asking a teacher” quite so literally!

“What are you doing, Britney?” Adrian asked, amused.

“I just wanted… to ask you some questions.” Britney, realizing he didn’t care about her outfit, grew even more nervous. “I can… do a lot of things!”

“A lot of things?” Adrian felt the urge to facepalm again. You really don’t know how to speak, Britney.

But he had to admit, her outfit was incredibly seductive. Her youthful body wrapped in the school uniform, with a slightly made-up pretty little face, and twin ponytails made her look lively. This Lolita-type uniform seduction, even for someone with as much self-control as Adrian, made him inadvertently swallow his saliva after sizing her up.

“Yes… yes…” Britney said, seemingly at a loss for what to do to please him, and after looking around, she had a sudden stroke of inspiration. She pointed at the tall bookcase: “I can help you get things.”

“Oh?” Adrian finally showed interest, temporarily setting aside his questions, “Then… help me take down that book from the top shelf. There’s a stepladder beside it.”

Britney immediately came over with her backpack, opened and moved the stepladder, and climbed up step by step. The bookcase wasn’t very tall, and she easily reached the top. As she held down the thick book, she suddenly stuck her buttocks out, lifting her red checkered skirt, and then her white underwear was exposed to the air.

Below her, Adrian sighed and covered his forehead again. How clumsily adorable! Are you trying to seduce someone? Is that really how you seduce people?!

“Sir… sir, I… I’ve got it…” Britney said, panting, as she walked down the ladder with the book in her arms, becoming uneasy again when she saw Adrian’s expression, with tiny beads of sweat forming on her smooth forehead.

“Just put it there,” Adrian said weakly, pointing to the coffee table.

“Did I… do something wrong, sir? Did I make a mistake?” Britney asked, biting her lip after putting down the heavy book.

“No, no, no, you did very well, Britney… Can you please stop calling me ‘sir’?” Adrian sighed and then asked.

Britney was silent for a moment, but then shook her head firmly.

Adrian looked at the girl, puzzled and with a bit of a headache. Although he had seen her like this before, such as insisting on doing extra practice by herself, he couldn’t figure out why she was now insisting on using this formal address.

“Then, did you come here alone?” Adrian asked next.

“Yes.” Britney nodded, her hands resting on her shoulders, her thumbs looped into the straps of the backpack tied up there, looking straight at him without blinking, her chest rising and falling continuously. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)