Chapter 672: Chapter 80 Approaching
Adrian wasn’t wrong, not one bit. Take the simplest example, March had beco a definitive off-season for the film schedule. “The Fast And The Furious,” which had been in theaters for about forty days, managed to pull in $110 million in North Arica. This success was certainly related to proper marketing and the support of AC dia, but its release at the end of January was also a contributing factor.
At that ti, it was the tail end of the New Year’s slate, people’s enthusiasm for movies hadn’t completely waned, and the following Valentine’s Day created a small surge. As long as the guys were sowhat persuasive, the girls didn’t mind accompanying their boyfriends to an exciting car-racing movie, so the result was pretty decent. However, it still fell short compared to the original, which was released during the early part of the sumr schedule.
Therefore, if it were released now, people occupied by busy lives would rather stay at ho and watch sports gas than go to the cinema, and reaching two-thirds of the current box office within forty days would be quite good already. This is why the movies released during this period were all low-budget, either campus codies or horror thrillers, catering to that group of young people around eighteen or nineteen who aren’t in school and are temporarily idle.
However, even so, a horror film produced by AC dia’s Bossworth Film still managed to take $23 million at 2,500 theaters in its first week of March, topping the North Arican box office charts.
Naturally, this horror film was the second installnt of “Ju-on.” Without the refining of the Japanese version, and with the lead actress replaced by an Arican, the plot underwent adjustnts as well—it didn’t nonsensically bring Kayako to the United States like the original did. So even though film critics were only lukewarm about the movie, its box office performance was still quite impressive. It might not be as popular as the first installnt, but breaking a hundred million globally was still a likely prospect.
The pity was that due to its small investnt and off-season release, there was no actor-promotion campaign. Otherwise, they could have invited Sorimachi Takashi, who played the photographer, to the United States, and he would probably bring his girlfriend. Adrian sowhat missed Matsushima Nanako’s face that only showed blankness after being played to the extre.
Perhaps one movie can’t say much, even though it topped the North Arican box office charts, but the TV ratings were more than explanatory. March and April were the film off-season while simultaneously being the hot season for TV dramas. The remaining half-season of most series would be broadcast during this ti, and the ratings over these two and a half to three months would decide whether so TV dramas would be renewed. Many popular TV series chose to air their grand finales during this period, so each year, during the springti of TV shows, every major network would do everything to keep viewers glued to their channels.
Without a doubt, AC dia would be this year’s winner. Not to ntion “Friends,” which had declining viewership but maintained its lofty position, nor “CSI,” which had seen a teoric rise and even spawned spin-offs, nor the reality show “Survivor” which had set viewership records, nor “ANTM,” the first to showcase model competition. rely ntioning the reality shows that premiered last fall was enough to astonish.
Donald Trump was definitely a showman. When “The Apprentice” first aired, it took many by surprise. His dynamic presence in front of the cara, at tis fierce, at tis serious, at tis encouraging, drew many eyes. At its peak, it nearly broke viewership of 20 million. Though it declined later, it consistently maintained around 15 million.
“Project Runway,” in contrast to “ANTM,” was completely different. Unlike the models’ “flesh-selling,” “Project Runway” had more drama, such as designing clothes for specific individuals or creating thed apparel, which captivated fashion enthusiasts. Moreover, it didn’t clash with “ANTM,” so viewership remained strong, fluctuating between 20 and 18 million.
Of course, “Arican Idol” was the most popular. The other two reality shows featured comrcial talents or designers, which limited their appeal, but “Arican Idol” was an open casting call. The original marketing slogan was: “If you’re Arican and willing to show your talent, then you can co on this stage and sing.” Undoubtedly, one could only imagine the fervor that would erupt after validation. Adding to that, Charlize accurately captured the core idea, firmly focusing on the public’s festivity, so every tear-jerking story about a contestant’s family or life experience garnered even more resonance.
Relative to Adrian’s mory, “Arican Idol” was now more popular. Simply put, the one in his mory first had the UK version followed by the US edition, whereas the current one was entirely “original.” It shouldn’t be underestimated how this small difference could impact the level of viewership. Plus, Simon Cowell finally agreed to be a judge, and his unapologetic biting sarcasm beca a highlight of the show, ensuring that “Arican Idol’s” ratings never dipped below 23 million during the entire fall season.
Now, the program had entered the final stage, about to crown its first champion. Since they all possessed trendous talent, the viewership was only set to rise. Moreover, “Alias” reached a satisfying 8 million viewers as anticipated, becoming quite impressive for basic cable, while “Curb Your Enthusiasm” garnered its share of followers, and “Weakest Link” successfully replaced “Millionaire.” Adrian could infer that AC dia’s multiple networks were bound to reap great rewards, increasing his anticipation for the May roundups.
Regarding other aspects, such as music, gas, publishing, toys, and the like, it’s not necessary to enurate them one by one. If all these weren’t considered prospering, then what would it take? So even though Claude had the misfortune of being ensnared by the chains of marriage, he could seek solace in his work, right? And wasn’t that precisely what Adrian wanted to see?
Alright, no more jokes. While Claude might not be able to stop the situation, he could delay it.
“Let’s pretend to date, and then just do our own thing. If we want to take it further, we can even fake a marriage, of course, a prenup is a must. Then we’ll just see where we are in seven or eight years,” suggested Adrian.
What a terrible idea, Claude thought to himself, but… in the end, if there was really no other way, we’d probably have to resort to that.
There’s no need to go into great detail to describe the… erm… matchmaking cocktail party that The Godfather held for Claude. In short, if you saw last year’s “Kate & Leopold” starring Drew Barrymore and Hugh Jackman, just imagine the male protagonist’s party scene updated to modern tis; many things are essentially the sa.
Many socialites attended. Families of status from California and the entire West Coast were present, and quite a few from the East Coast too. After all, there are almost no young people in their thirties with a fortune of over ten billion, Bill Gates only reached such wealth after the release of Win95. The relatively young billionaires who have gradually reached a net worth of ten billion over the past decade mostly co from the IT industry. In the fiercely competitive dia industry, aside from Claude and Adrian, there were hardly any others.
More importantly, as the largest dia conglorate in the world at that ti, AC dia was built from scratch in just ten years. Even Microsoft took about twenty years to establish their status, so these families knew what to do without any reminders. One could imagine what kind of reception Claude would face.
Adrian was also a target for them. Old Ronris was no ordinary person; he had predicted that Claude would surely complain to Adrian and drag him to the party to share the burden. And since Adrian would consider the circumstances and not bring a lady companion, being a young, unmarried magnate of the world’s largest dia group, he naturally beca the preferred target of these prestigious individuals.
In Old Ronris’s view, although his wayward godson had made such a great family business, he still often mingled with won and even had several children, but not being married was ultimately not good. However, since he was only his godfather, it wasn’t right to forcefully arrange anything, so he hoped this thod would make him understand his painstaking intentions.
Adrian naturally understood, and upon arriving at the party, he was sowhat touched, but whether to accept it or not was another matter. Thus, not long after the party began, he quickly left Claude alone to deal with it and slipped away with Paris Hilton.
As a mber of the Hilton family, who aside from being a social butterfly had no substantial scandals and was of suitable age, Paris naturally qualified to attend the party. However, from the start, she had co for Adrian, apparently, his last impression on her was deeply wonderful, and she still couldn’t forget it.
As for Adrian, although he knew most of the socialites who attended the party, having t many of them before, there were few he had actually slept with. In relative terms, he was more familiar with Paris, so using her as a shield was the perfect choice. Of course, he tactfully declined her request for him to be her boyfriend, but his words were carefully chosen not to completely extinguish her hopes, and she was both a good bed partner and a shield.
Glad I’m not Claude. While guiding a sowhat shy Paris to try a banana for the first ti, Adrian couldn’t help but mutter to himself and once again was glad he didn’t have to face that kind of situation. After all, a godfather is just a godfather, not a real father.
That pretty much sums up the entire party. The only slight disappointnt was that Paris’s sister Nikki didn’t co, otherwise Adrian might have been able to experience the taste of a threeso with the sisters.
The 73rd Oscars had been scheduled for March 25th at the Holy Grand Hall. After a lull, dia speculations about various awards once again beca the hottest entertainnt news, especially for Best Picture. Even though all candidates ca from film companies under the sa dia group, at least they weren’t from the sa company.
But that was partly why Adrian was still focusing most of his energy on the shooting of “Moulin Rouge” and hardly paid attention to these matters, even as the PR departnts of various companies reached critical monts.
That could work once, but not three or four tis. Adrian told himself. If it was always like this, there was no doubt that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would soon introduce a strategy against him or AC dia. Even if the films produced by its companies were of high quality, it’s like always winning at the gambling table—soon no one would want to play with you.
As long as everyone else followed the rules, Adrian was happy to do the sa. This ti, it was just to demonstrate AC dia’s strength; he would naturally hold back in the future, occupying two to three nominations for Best Picture would be enough.
“What are you thinking about?” Nicole’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
“Oh, sorry, did I hurt you?” Adrian, who was massaging her foot, quickly ca back to his senses.
“No, but it’s close,” Nicole replied sowhat irritably.
She had twisted her ankle during a previous dance, so Adrian had imdiately halted shooting and was personally massaging her. As for the gazes of others and the gossips that were spreading outside, was there really any need to care about that?
“You didn’t have to do this,” Nicole sighed at this mont, her expression complex. “There was no need to stop shooting.”
“Since you are already mine, I can do whatever I like, right?” Adrian looked up and laughed softly, then added when he saw her expression beco sowhat uncomfortable, “And don’t forget what I told you, all of these require you to step in personally.”
Yes, this could improve the critics’ and the Film Academy’s opinion of her. Just imagine that during the intense preliminary competition for the Oscars, soone suddenly claid that so of the dance was done by her stunt double or that so of the songs were sung by a stand-in. How much of a sensation would that cause? Even if Adrian could control everything, he couldn’t hide it forever, and once it was revealed, it would lead people to question the credibility of the Oscars, and then bring up even more topics.
Therefore, Adrian insisted that Nicole perform all the dances and songs herself, even if it ant halting production. Nicole knew this; he had repeatedly emphasized it to her before, so she was stunned for a mont, her expression growing even more complex.
Move them with emotion, entice them with gain; it was that simple.
Although most of his energy was invested in the shooting of “Moulin Rouge,” there were other things he needed to pay attention to, like “Arican Idol,” which had already started its fierce competition.
“Contestants are all performing well; who do you think will ultimately win, dear Charli?” Standing inside the studio and watching the contestants on stage, Adrian asked his forr secretary playfully.
“Number 14, from New Jersey, a very lively girl with an infectious performance style. Her drawback is she’s a Catholic,” Charlize shrugged in her woman’s suit.
“Innie, what do you think?” Adrian then turned to his current assistant with a smile.
Ivanka hesitated, probably not expecting Adrian to ask her, but she quickly caught on and, after glancing at Charlize, responded, “Number 21, from Florida, a sunny big boy who’s good at showcasing himself. His drawback is that his singing skills are slightly lacking.”
“Very well, let’s make a bet, ladies,” Adrian revealed his true intentions. “The reward is I’ll accompany her for a day, the punishnt is she’ll accompany for a day.”
“Is there a difference?” Charlize and Ivanka both gave him an eye roll.
“Of course, there is. The forr ans she can make demands of , while the latter ans I can make demands of her,” Adrian laughed heartily, extending his arms and hugging them both to his chest, while the others in the studio pretended not to see.
“That’s the sa as daily life,” the two ladies rolled their eyes at him once again.
“How can it be? After all, the contestants you favor may not win,” Adrian snickered, “Then that ti…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but Charlize imdiately understood what he ant. Although her face remained expressionless, her eyes carried a “here we go again” look. Ivanka, although initially confused, caught on after exchanging looks with Charlize and imdiately showed an uneasy expression.
Even though Adrian had thoroughly played her before, they hadn’t tried a threeso yet, and furthermore, the things Charlize had done to her in the secretary’s office were still vividly morable to her. The thought of climaxing repeatedly under the caresses of another woman was…
“How could that be, when you don’t have a favored contestant?” Ivanka tried to use this thod to dispel his wild thoughts. Of course, that was a delusion in itself; Adrian didn’t give her a chance.
“Let’s leave it at that,” he changed the subject. “Rember to arrange a eting ti with Eric for , Innie. I need to talk to him about creating a decent album for the winner after the talent show.”
The biggest draw of “Arican Idol,” apart from being a nationwide event, was that the winner would get a recording contract. To establish the show as a legitimate proving ground, at least the first winner had to be well-packaged and promoted to demonstrate that this path was viable. After the show beca well-known, there would be no need for such effort.
In fact, this strategy had been used by “Arican Idol” in the previous life. Other than the first season’s winner, Kelly Clarkson, who beca quite famous, how many other winners were rembered?
“Also, I need to discuss Avril’s debut album with him, so he’d better make enough ti,” Adrian continued.
As a song from his previous life that was widely known and loved by many, the quality of “A Thousand Miles” was beyond doubt. Although Avril had her own unique style, she sang it with great flavor, and the playful image of her playing the piano in the music video added quite a lot of points to her. Thus, the song directly debuted at the top spot of the Billboard Top 100, and many musicians praised it as an exceptionally pleasing song. However, Avril’s reaction was—
“I hate playing the piano!” she huffed, looking at the piano with fiery eyes, as though she harbored a deep hatred for the world’s most graceful instrunt. It was just for a single song and incessant practice. Wasn’t it the sa when she practiced guitar? Really… very cute.
Alright, in that case, the new album being prepared would not have a single song that required her to play the piano herself. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for it with recomndation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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