"During the previous test screening, so critics called this film a thoroughly feminist work. What do you think?"
"What made you create such a work that is so different in style from your previous ones?"
"According to those who attended the test screening, all the male characters were marginalized. Is it because of your own reasons?"
Facing these sowhat aggressive reporters, I couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated and annoyed inside, but on the surface, I had to pull myself together and respond: "I just wanted to switch thes and try all kinds of films, that’s all."
But this didn’t dismiss these guys; instead, it only made them more eager to talk, which gave an even bigger headache. Why can’t I ever handle them, even though I’ve been through this several tis?
Luckily, just then, a hand rested on my shoulder: "Hey, folks, that’s no way to treat a lady."
The reporters in front of imdiately chuckled awkwardly and then eagerly pushed what they had in their hands toward him: "Mr. Cowell..."
I rolled my eyes internally and finally let out a sigh of relief, but only for a few seconds before he linked arms with and pulled toward the theater: "Sorry, everyone, the premiere’s about to start, maybe we can talk later."
We walked quite a long way like this and, after shaking off the reporters outside the theater, he looked at and laughed heartily: "Darling, that’s not how it works. It’s been so long, and you still haven’t learned how to handle those guys."
"I’m not you, with decades of experience," I retorted ungraciously.
"But since you’ve chosen this path, you must learn to deal with them." He laughed again, and seeing my face darken, he switched topics: "By the way, did those reporters ask you any absurd questions?"
"Well, they were all about the film, nothing as stupid as the last ti. Like, am I your new young girlfriend, that kind of question." At this point, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes dramatically.
He burst into laughter instantly. The sight of his mirth made want to punch him, but since we were in public, I could only glare at him and exclaim through gritted teeth: "Dad!"
"Oh, darling, I’m sorry, really sorry," Dad finally stopped, though his shoulders were still trembling, "But don’t worry, they’ve sent that guy off to Fiji as a foreign correspondent, so there will absolutely be no more idiots like that, I promise."
Seeing him struggle to hold back his laughter, I could only sigh again and link arms with him to continue walking inside.
Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My na is Lily, Lily Beckinsale Cowell. I’m 26 years old and just released my fourth film, completely from the female perspective. Yes, yes, I’m the daughter of the famous, or infamous, Adrian Cowell in Hollywood. This man beside is my father. Although he’s already in his fifties, he looks not more than forty-sothing and always exudes masculine charm, easily... attracting won, especially with his talent and power and all...
My father has many titles, like the most talented screenwriter, a sought-after producer, a miracle-creating super director, and the more intimate title only those close to him would use—The King of Hollywood. But what he’s most known for is Playboy! I rember many aunts besides Mom since I was young. Many of them treated well and I got along well with them. For instance, Aunt Charli, I loved chatting with her. Many things I wouldn’t tell Mom or Dad, I would tell her, and she was always happy to help reflect and understand.
The consequence of this was that by the ti I realized my family environnt was not quite right, I was already used to it. Well, I am used to it now, but I can hardly imagine how Mom and the other aunts got used to it?
"You must know, Lily, your father is a very terrifying person. He can control people’s minds and play us in the palm of his hand, making us unable to resist." That was mom’s response, of course, with a smile and a look of "I’m lying to you," which was really frustrating. And others, like Aunt Sarah, Aunt Innie, Aunt Monica, and so on, had responses not much different from mom’s. To say it wasn’t all preditated would be impossible. In the end, it was Aunt Charli who slightly eased my confusion.
"Your father is very talented, knows how to charm won, and has insight into people’s hearts. He can easily grasp others’ weaknesses and exploit them." That’s what she said.
Okay, I admit, dad is indeed very talented. I won’t ntion the "The Matrix" trilogy or "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy here. I rember about ten years ago, he was continuously directing more art-house-type films for mom and the aunts. This sort of film usually doesn’t make much at the box office, so so journalists who couldn’t find topics mocked him for allegedly being unable to produce comrcial films. The result was that he effortlessly used Uncle Knight and his wife, um, along with Emma Watson, to make "Inception," which shut everyone up.
After that, he directed the Marvel Comics "Daredevil" trilogy, which caused a stir, creating a new superhero style, and even managed to elevate Daredevil, a second-tier superhero, to one of the most popular. Many people continuously dug into its deeper anings, with so saying the third part taphorically represented the previous subpri mortgage crisis. The only one not too happy was Marvel Comics, because the realistic style made it impossible to incorporate Daredevil into the Avengers.
However, dad wasn’t very pleased. In private, he said that the series was actually more suited to Batman as the main character. I don’t quite understand, if he thinks Batman’s millionaire status has more satirical aning in hinting at the subpri crisis, then Daredevil’s lawyer status isn’t bad either—a critic said this.
So, I think he actually wanted to be lazy. If he really wanted to adapt the Batman series, Warner would definitely welco it with open arms, and even if Marvel was unsatisfied, they couldn’t say much. So despite many tis wondering why dad has a company but doesn’t manage it, completely leaving it to Uncle Claude, and instead making films without doing his proper job, I have to admit he really is Hollywood’s greatest director and producer.
If that sounds vague, then the four Best Director awards at ho surely aren’t fake, are they? In addition, there’s mom’s and all the aunts’ Best Actress awards—no matter how significant a factor PR is, if there is no skill, all the PR in the world wouldn’t suffice, right? And as for Best Screenplay, whether adapted or original, he has also won those and is still often nominated for Best Director. Counting from when dad was first nominated until now, there have been over a dozen nominations, breaking the record for Best Director nominations long ago. It seems likely, if he continues directing, he might win another Best Director—though that’s impossible.
According to dad, winning four is already the limit. He’s broken quite a few records, and the Film Academy won’t let him continue. However, compensations can be made elsewhere, like for Best Foreign Language Film or sothing.
It’s also about ten years ago or so, probably a bit upset because "Departures" was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film but didn’t win, so a few years later, dad directed another movie—a film about the changing tis in mainland China. What’s it called... "The Piano Made of Steel"? For so reason, after the film was released, it was not well received on either side. Mainland critics said he transplanted the Arican middle-class inspirational set-up to the mainland, while critiques in North Arica said he was pandering to the mainland governnt. Strange, although I didn’t quite understand so parts due to cultural differences, the inspirational feeling was indeed on point, especially the scene where several old workers build a piano to invigorating background music, which was very compelling.
Interestingly, the movie’s box office in the mainland was quite high. The scale of the releases in North Arica was small, but in terms of ratio, it was also quite nice. Then it won the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. I bet those critics must have looked very upset, although dad didn’t see it that way. He said the Film Academy probably did this mainly to annoy the Chinese... Well, I don’t like politics.
In any case, my taking up the director’s baton is probably related to this.
"Lily!" A voice full of surprise reached my ears as soon as I entered the theater’s foyer, and then two figures rushed toward .
"Hi, Deva, Juliet!" I smiled and hugged my sisters. Deva is Aunt Monica and dad’s child, while Juliet is Aunt Sophie’s and dad’s child.
Speaking of which, I start to get frustrated again. I think in all of Los Angeles, the entire United States, or even the entire world, no one could have more sisters than I do. Do you rember what I said before? My dad is quite a Playboy, besides mom, I have many aunts, and won I can call Aunty... all had children with dad!
There are very few exceptions, like Aunt Charli. I once asked her why, considering even Aunt Sarah and Aunt Liv, who insisted on not having children, eventually got pregnant by dad. But Aunt Charli always insisted on not having kids. Apparently... well... quite a few tis dad tried to use broken condoms to get her pregnant, but she caught on every ti.
"If I give birth to a boy, he might beco like your dad; if I give birth to a girl, she might et a man like your dad." That’s what Aunt Charli said.
Really... I really want to ask, if that’s the case, why have you stayed by dad’s side all these years? Of course, when Aunt Charli said this, she certainly didn’t think of the fact that sotis... a girl can also do certain things.
Anyway, my father is such an extraordinary Playboy. He has never married, yet he can make many won, including mom, stay by his side willingly and have children for him—not that willing, perhaps, but who cares? Like Aunt Rachel, her relationship with dad is really strange, not the strangest—but still strange enough that I can’t describe it—yet she still had a child for him.
No one said anything about this; maybe there was sothing at the very beginning, but it eventually disappeared later on. Just like a phrase dad often quotes: if you push sothing to the extre, no matter how dissatisfied people are, they won’t be able to voice it. Such is he, a Playbly who can have many won stay by his side and give birth to a bunch of kids, arguably the first in the world.
So I have many younger sisters, a dozen or several dozen? Oh, co on, don’t make count. I’m glad I’m the eldest daughter; otherwise, being sandwiched between a heap of older and younger sisters would surely drive crazy. You might be wondering what it ans to have a dozen or several dozen sisters, so let tell you... ahem, although Dad has children with many won, they... they are all daughters.
This matter has been a long-standing joke in Hollywood. As the unmatched Playboy Adrian Cowell, he only has daughters, which is just laughable. As to why this is the case, from a mystical perspective, God thinks he’s been with too many won, so he made all his children daughters as compensation to the world—this is nonsense, I won’t be compensating for that lousy old man.
You can never imagine how nasty my father can be. I vividly rember when I was fifteen, full of youthful impulses and idealism, which led to my dissatisfaction with the family environnt. Even though I got along well with Aunt Charli and others, I always felt like my mom tolerated them just to appease Dad, so I protested by proposing to move out.
Of course, Dad wouldn’t agree, but that didn’t stop . You should know that I’ve quarreled with him countless tis since I was a kid—fine, I admit Dad does spoil quite a bit. In short, I very carefully maneuvered my words to corner him to the point where he almost couldn’t speak. You wouldn’t guess how he turned the tables.
He shifted gears and began to talk at length about how difficult it was to raise , acting all aggrieved. At first, I remained calm, but then he pulled out a photograph. A photo kept in his wallet that he always carries with him, taken when I was a few months old, of him lifting tiny high up while I was smiling happily, and he was... um... just like that.
I was nearly driven mad. Oh God, how could I have such a father! Especially when it was at dinner, in front of all the aunts and sisters... I know, it was a mont of my choosing, but... at that mont, I really wanted to jump up and bite him hard, even though I hadn’t done that for a long ti. Of course, I didn’t do it, doing that at seven or eight is fine, but at fourteen or fifteen, it’s just stupid, so I ended up biting my lip, trembling with anger while glaring at him for a long ti before leaving in a huff amid muffled laughter.
No one sympathized with , not even Mom, because... she thought I should be proud. I understand, I truly understand. I’ve heard so stories from Aunt Charli about Dad and Mom, and it’s obvious Mom felt I achieved sothing she couldn’t at the ti, which is amazing. Alright, Mom, I get your feelings, but... damn! So, this matter ended just like that.
Like the phrase I often used as a child, Dad is a great villain! A very, very big villain!
Let’s not talk about this anymore. Back to the main topic, that was from a mystical perspective; from a scientific perspective, it is... how to say, the Y chromoso in a man’s sperm cells lives longer than the X chromoso. Even though Dad’s... is said to be strong, with frequent indulgence... still... oh, let’s just stop here, I really don’t want to talk about it anymore.
In short, my number of sisters keeps growing. Not only do the close aunts mostly have their own children, but those I’m on less friendly terms with do too, like Alexander Ambrosio and Miranda Kerr. Besides them, those in the Asian circle like Li Zi and Lin Chi-Ling haven’t missed out either. I don’t know why, but they seem to like forming little circles of their own. Not that they don’t get along well, didn’t Aunt Yukie stay comfortably at ho?
Ahem, this doesn’t concern , and I’m not interested in talking about it, at least their children haven’t ford separate circles. Everyone... gets along pretty well. Under the current circumstances, whether there are boys or not doesn’t matter. You know, Uncle Claude seed influenced or sothing; his first child was also a daughter, and a few years later, a son, who’s now only seven.
The little guy’s adorable, though whenever he cos over to our place, my sisters always play with him to their hearts’ content. Many tis, Kelis and Alice even dressed him up as a little girl and took him out for a stroll. Poor Albert couldn’t resist and was always played until tears welled in his eyes, so much so that now he vehently refuses to co over. The child surely has a deep emotional scar from this.
If Dad had a boy, such experiences would be no less frequent, even with Dad’s protection, he’d never escape it.
"This is your fourth work, what’s your take, Lily?" Juliet asked with a playful smile.
"What kind of take can I have, it’s just like that." I shrugged.
"Don’t be so perfunctory with us, Lily. We’re asking quite seriously," Deva interjected imdiately, her dissatisfied tone harmonizing perfectly with Juliet’s question.
They were conceived almost simultaneously, born only minutes apart, and have shared their lives for more than a decade, closer than twins, naturally having an extraordinarily strong bond, but...
"Please! I’ve already dealt with a bunch of reporters outside, don’t make talk about this again," I complained.
"That’s right; spare your sister, change the subject," Dad chid in on my behalf, "Juliet, how is your photography progressing?"
"Dad always sides with his big sister," Deva and Juliet simultaneously rolled their eyes, then chuckled in unison. Only at monts like this do they call big sister.
"Deva’s in great shape; you’ll see soon," Juliet responded, then affectionately linked arms with Deva.
Just like I ventured into directing, Juliet and Deva also have their careers, and just as in their lives, they complent each other quite well. Juliet beca a photographer and is gaining a reputation in the industry, though Deva is slightly more well-known, having beco a model. Together, their collaboration within the industry is a unique sight.
"That’s wonderful, I’ll be sure to critique it properly," Dad said with a mischievous grin. Juliet instinctively leaned back cautiously. Usually, when Dad puts on that deanor, nothing good follows.
But before he could continue, a displeased voice cut in: "You’d better get your current tasks done before you start giving comnts, Ed!"
Then, a blond girl around my age appeared, dressed in an office lady’s uniform, glaring at Dad while greeting us, "Hi, Lily, Deva, Juliet, sorry to interrupt you guys, I had no choice."
She sighed, looking quite helpless, appearing annoyed when looking at Dad, who had to pacify her, "Alright, Anna, I apologize. It is indeed my problem, but most of the files, I’ve reviewed, haven’t I?"
This is Dad’s third secretary, Annsophia Robb, just two years younger than . Ever since Aunt Innie left to beco an executive at Universal, Dad appointed her as his secretary, and she’s been doing the job for almost a decade. Working as Dad’s secretary is a very demanding position, and those won holding it are all very capable, just like Aunt Charli, who was transferred to AC dia’s headquarters two years ago to beco an executive. Although there might be an elent of Dad contemplating retirent and finding a suitable successor and CEO, Aunt Charli’s competence is undeniable.
To give a simple example, the kids at ho all have their little cliques. For instance, I’m closer to Deva, Juliet, and Mary, and the only person liked by every child in the family, apart from Dad, is Aunt Charli.
Of course, to hold this position requires a sacrifice. Yes, like Aunt Charli and Aunt Innie, she has to accompany Dad from company to ho and finally to bed.
"You looked at them, but you didn’t sign! I had to drive ho with that whole pile of stuff and then bring it here to inform you. Don’t talk to about phone notifications; if I don’t apply pressure in person, you wouldn’t care. These things are needed tomorrow!" Anna said sowhat angrily, looking at him with a puffed-up face.
Dad’s three female secretaries all have distinct personalities. Aunt Charli is particularly fond of sarcasm, sotis with words so sharp they’re hard to face directly. Aunt Innie is sowhat proud, often not saying what she ans, and likes to speak in riddles. Anna, on the other hand, is straightforward, often complaining and criticizing bluntly, demanding Dad own up to his mistakes each ti.
But no matter what, Dad maintains good relationships with them, especially Aunt Charli, though I hate to admit it, she sotis surpasses Mom just a little. Aunt Innie is slightly less close, but her bond with Dad is equally tight, as you can hear the concern behind all her roundabout words. Anna, again, but her passionate deanor tells you that her affection for Dad is even stronger than many won. Willing to do anything for Dad is their greatest commonality.
"Alright, alright, thank you, Anna." Dad smiled, pulling her waist close, whatever she intended to say suddenly swallowed, as she frowned, blushing, and looked away.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, deciding not to watch this, and started chatting with Deva and the others.
"I heard Mary is planning to open her own restaurant. I wonder how many people will want to taste the food made by the daughter of the famous King of Hollywood."
"Why would people go to a restaurant just because the King of Hollywood’s daughter is the chef, rather than truly wanting to taste Mary’s cooking? Her food is delicious."
"Because she indeed is the King of Hollywood’s daughter, and that’s an immutable fact." (To be continued. If you like this work, please co to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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