King of Hollywood-Chapter 161 - : Party (Three)

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Party (Three)

Adrian stopped talking, placed the beer bottle on the table, and began to carefully size up Jennifer Aniston sitting in front of him. At the same time, he slightly furrowed his brows as if he were pondering something. Jennifer felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at, and just as she was about to say a few words, Dennis caught her arm and made a shushing gesture.

Seeing this, Jennifer had no choice but to hold back and sit up straight, placing her hands on her thighs and letting the other party scrutinize her.

“Do you have any experience working as a waitress in a café, Jane?” Adrian suddenly asked, rubbing his chin.

Jennifer was taken aback for a second before hastily responding, “No, but I’ve worked in restaurants before.”

“Hmm… So, Jane, would you be interested in acting in a TV show?” Adrian pondered for a moment before asking this.

“TV show?” Jennifer’s eyes widened, somewhat puzzled as she looked at Adrian. Dennis was also caught off guard, but he quickly pulled himself together and gave Jennifer’s arm another squeeze. He knew all too well that Adrian never did anything without a purpose.

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“Of course, if the role is good… Ah! Dan!” Jennifer was quick to react, but before she could finish speaking, Dennis pinched her arm a third time, and the puzzled Jennifer couldn’t help but let out a yelp.

“I’m sorry, Jane, I just…” Dennis gestured awkwardly, attempting to explain, while giving a wry smile towards Adrian. Adrian, who saw everything, couldn’t help but laugh out loud, waving his hand to show that he didn’t mind.

“It’s a very interesting character, and I personally think it suits you well, Jane,” Adrian said with a grin, looking at Jennifer. “A bit scatterbrained, somewhat spoiled, but very adorable and kind-hearted. However, there are two conditions. First, you have to work as a waitress in a café for a while, because this character starts her journey to independence from there; second, you need to slim down to at least 100 pounds before the audition—don’t worry, preparation hasn’t started yet, you have plenty of time.”

“Down to 100 pounds?” Jennifer twitched her mouth and then sighed. “I knew it, my agent has already warned me more than once to… lose weight.”

“And you keep complaining about me supervising your workout,” Dennis immediately retorted unhappily.

“Because you’re a terrible supervisor,” Jennifer shot back. “I’ve never seen anyone apologize like that.”

“Hey, it was your idea first, Jane!”

“I was joking!”

“You call that a joke?”

Amidst their quiet argument, Adrian roughly figured out how they knew each other, but now didn’t seem like the time to talk about it. He cleared his throat to attract Jennifer’s and Dennis’s attention, then stood up. “Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll have the company contact your agent as soon as possible, Jane. You guys can chat.”

As if not noticing their awkward expressions, Adrian turned and walked away.

What a mess. Even though he kept a smile on his face, Adrian sighed irritably in his heart. This unpredictable turn of events was a bit too much. To call the situation after “Friends” as a period without any sitcom worthy of the title may have been an exaggeration, but it was undeniable that this high-rated TV show was a classic, so timeless that no one could replace it. And he had forgotten about this TV show—unforgivable! After all, he had established the television department in the company early on.

He did the math; the first season aired in ’94, so at least since the second half of ’93, production must have begun, and the scriptwriting likely even earlier… Damn it! He had to get Laverne to inquire about similar scripts in the TV market, starting tomorrow! Adrian thought this to himself.

Following that, he felt slightly more at ease. TV shows and movies are different. Some movie scripts could sit for years, but if they meet someone who appreciates them, they would get picked up. However, because TV shows take ratings into account, and only one episode is broadcast each week, they are often written as they are filmed. This way, if ratings decline and viewers express dissatisfaction, immediate changes can be made. Thus, even if a script might be prepared in advance, it wouldn’t be too much earlier; any earlier would likely just be undeveloped ideas. And as for ideas, there are plenty of similar ones out there, aren’t there?

If there’s a similar script, buy it immediately; if not, start outlining a pilot episode right away, and make sure at least those inside the business know about our TV show script. Adrian quickly made up his mind.

However, this could only solve one aspect of the issue. The reason this turn of events felt considerable was that the planned TV network was still up in the air. Based on some information he’d gathered, Adrian had decided on TBS as the target for acquisition, but Claude, responsible for the acquisition, was being careful and meticulous. Moreover, with TBS currently negotiating with New Line, no specific timetable had been provided.

If “Friends” started production now, it would have to be sold to another network. Could there be anything more frustrating than selling a record-breaking TV show to another channel?

Fine, even if it meant not sweating the details, contacting TBS for negotiations would probably stretch to the end of the year before acquisition could be completed. What was he supposed to do with a produced “Friends”—just sit on it? Heaven knows if similar TV shows might pop up while sitting idle—genuine knock-offs, considering Adrian’s intention of making the show widely known within the industry. That would indeed be terrible.

It’s alright, it’s just a TV show with decent ratings after all, no use fretting over it too much. Adrian had to console himself in the end. Anyway, there were plenty of high-rated TV shows in his memory, and it wasn’t necessary to stick only to “Friends.” Sell it to another network—first, to make a name in TV production, and second, to cultivate the TV production team. According to Laverne, last year the TV production department made a show for ABC, and although it was canceled after one season, at least some experience had been gained. Besides, perhaps selling “Friends” to ABC could complicate Disney’s acquisition… That could work.

“Hey, Ed, there you are, I’ve been looking for you all night,” a voice suddenly rang in his ear, breaking Adrian’s train of thought. Turning his head, he realized it was Drew Barrymore.

Dressed differently now, she was wearing trousers, boots, and a light-colored coat, holding a beer bottle between two fingers of her right hand. Her cheeks flushed with a tipsy haze in her eyes, she exuded a languid allure.

“You look like you’ve had a bit too much to drink, are you okay?” Adrian asked without a trace of concern in his voice.

Beer? It’s fine,” Drew waved his hand nonchalantly, “I’m very controlled now, not like before. I used to go overboard with drinking, don’t worry.”

“That’s good, do you need something from me?” Adrian asked again.

“Oh, I haven’t thanked you yet, this is my first Golden Globe trophy.” Drew said as she cozied up to him, grabbing Adrian’s arm and looking up at him, her bright red lips inches away, “Do you know how happy I am, Ed?!”

“It’s all due to your hard work,” Adrian said in a gentle tone, “I just gave a little help. Without your outstanding performance, the judges wouldn’t have given you the Best Supporting Actress award, would they?”

“You sure have a way with words, Ed,” Drew said with an admiring tone, staring at him without blinking, “Talented and knows how to charm women, and… very impressive. No wonder so many women orbit around you.”

“Thanks, that should be a compliment, right?” Adrian said with a light laugh as he looked at her.

“Oh, for sure,” Drew curled her eyes, glanced to the left and right, then suddenly got even closer, nearly pressing against Adrian’s chest, appearing extremely suggestive, “By the way, I haven’t had a good look at your villa yet, maybe you can show me around? Like… your bedroom?”

To her surprise, faced with the overt insinuation, Adrian rejected her without a second thought: “Sorry, Drew, I have other things to do tonight, so maybe some other time.”

“Is that so?” Drew’s voice took on a tone of unwilling disappointment, “It’s okay, Ed, it won’t take much of your time, and we’ve always had a good time, haven’t we?”

“Of course, you’re a charming girl, Drew, I’ve never hidden that fact,” Adrian lifted her chin, his smile a mix of jest and sincerity, “So I will offer you some little help, but that’s as far as it goes.”

It was clear he was only interested in her body, and Drew, hearing this loud and clear, stiffened for a few seconds before letting go of her grip, disappointed. However, she was just disappointed. She understood the rules of Hollywood better than anyone, and she believed Adrian could see right through her little schemes. If that was the case, then so be it.

“We can still collaborate in the future, right?” Drew suddenly asked again.

“Certainly, as long as I’m still interested,” Adrian said frankly.

The party finally ended, and after seeing off the last guest, Adrian returned to the now quiet but messy living room, where Kate was picking up trash scattered across the floor.

“Don’t bother cleaning up, Kate, people from the cleaning company will take care of it tomorrow,” he said.

Kate looked at him, stopped what she was doing, but didn’t speak, looking somewhat dazed.

“What’s wrong?” Adrian, noticing her state, asked with concern, “Did something happen with Sarah? Wasn’t she okay when she left? Or is there something else?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Kate mustered a forced smile.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, then went over and hugged her: “Alright, get some rest. It’s been a noisy night, you must be tired.”

Kate nodded, pulling away from his embrace and walked upstairs: “Then I’ll go up first.”

Adrian didn’t say much more, watching her go upstairs. But halfway up, she stopped, appearing to hesitate. After a few minutes, she seemed to make up her mind, turned her head to look down at Adrian: “Ed… what is… what is your relationship with… you and Drew?”

Slightly startled in his heart, but Adrian still calmly replied: “Just friends.”

“Really?” Kate bit her lip, staring at him unblinkingly.

“Really.” Adrian appeared very straightforward.

After a long silence, Kate finally turned to continue upstairs, but just as she took a step, she stopped again. She turned her head once more, looking at Adrian intently: “Have you slept with her?”

Following a prolonged silence, Adrian looked at her and softly answered: “Yes.” (To be continued, for more please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)