Chapter 832: Chapter 238: Preview Screening
“Hey, little ones! If you still want to eat the cream cake made by your dad, don’t come here and make trouble.” Holding a special container filled with cream, Adrian carefully squeezed out a flower on the cake—well, although it was ugly, it did look like a flower—and then said to the little ones bouncing around the kitchen.
“I can’t believe it actually looks decent.” Little Emma leaned over and commented seriously on the cake covered with cream in front of her.
“Yeah, except it’s not very pretty, Ed is still an amateur.” Small Emma emerged from the other side and nodded cooperatively.
“If it doesn’t taste good, no matter how pretty the cake is, it’s useless.” Adrian shrugged.
“Are you sure this cake will end up in our mouths once it’s served?” Little Emma showed a doubtful and mischievous look.
Adrian then touched his chin. Well, that indeed was a problem; come to think of it, there was never a time when the cream archives were truly meant to be eaten, especially with a bunch of little ones around. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice a hand reaching out from behind Small Emma, so when he sighed and was about to continue without saying much to the two Emmas, he lowered his head and saw the half-finished cake coming at him.
Poof! The cake was planted squarely on Adrian’s face, followed by Lily’s cheer of “yeah,” two claps, and Deva’s and the others’ schadenfreude laughter. Despite having cream all over his face, Adrian could still picture Lily and the two Emmas clapping to celebrate, and other little ones cheering and frolicking nearby.
So, he wiped the sticky cream from his face and shouted out angrily, “Lily!”
“Oh no, Dad’s angry, run, run!” With Lily’s words, the little ones, who had been noisy in the kitchen, immediately ran away.
I knew gathering them would inevitably lead to this. Adrian sighed as he wiped the cream from his eyes with a tissue. But what else could he do? He promised to make it up to Small Emma. So after the release of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” and after spending two days with Liu Li and Liu Yufei, Adrian came to his estate in Hampshire and brought all the kids, including Small Emma, to the manor in the United Kingdom to spend Christmas.
“No wonder they ran so quickly.” Just as he managed to clean himself up, Kate’s voice sounded at the door. She was holding two cups and looking at him with a teasing smile.
“Yes, that’s why I’m considering giving Lily a memorable lesson,” Adrian smirked, cleaned his hands, and directly took the cups from her hands, “You’ve been spoiling her too much, dear.”
“I’ve been spoiling her too much?” Kate immediately raised her eyebrows, “That should be said about you, Ed. I didn’t let them throw the cake on your face!”
“Of course you didn’t, but you never said she couldn’t do that either, right?” Adrian leaned in close to her, blinking mischievously.
Kate wasn’t willing to concede but a hand suddenly reached from behind and hugged her waist: “Remember, Kate, whatever he says goes; yes or no. Debating with him carelessly will lead you into traps.”
Then Charlize’s pretty face rested on Kate’s shoulder, blowing warm air into her ear while casting a slightly provocative look at Adrian.
“That’s true,” Kate quickly caught on, dimming her unhappy expression as she looked at him with a soft hum, “Alright, I do spoil Lily, and I will continue to spoil her. So you better work hard to be a good father, Ed.”
With that, she turned and hugged Charlize too: “Let’s go to the living room, Charli, and see the Christmas gifts for the kids. Oh, a few days ago in London, I saw a Saint Laurent silk coat that would suit you.
“Really? Great, let’s go see it tomorrow or the day after.” Charlize, arm-in-arm, walked out with Kate and only paused when Adrian was about to call them back: “Oh, by the way, Innie isn’t here. I handled some things for you, including scheduling with Mourinho; it’s in the study. No thanks needed, just remember to pay my salary for these days.”
She winked, tightened her grip on Kate’s arm, and added, “Also, tonight is for Kate and me, so don’t come bothering.”
“I agree.” Kate didn’t give Adrian a chance to speak and left with Charlize while Adrian rolled his eyes.
“Don’t come bothering? What a joke, you say don’t come, I just won’t come?” Adrian mumbled to himself under the shower’s rushing water, “Don’t forget, I’ve got the keys to the room!”
It’s not that there are no other women at the estate; while the kids’ mothers didn’t all come, Monica, Sophie, and Julia are here. Just letting them get away with everything isn’t right either; giving them some lessons is necessary. Besides, Charlize’s look when she left, seemed to be saying: Come, try.
Try it then. Adrian hummed softly as he came out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe, only to be startled when he saw Little Emma somehow sneak into his bedroom, sitting on a chair with her cheeks cupped, blinking at him.
“Emma, it’s not a good habit to sneak into my bedroom like this,” Adrian sighed.
“I used to come in without saying hello,” Little Emma grumbled but then raised her voice, “I just wanted to see how you’re doing if you ‘ate’ it all clean.”
She stressed the word “ate,” with her eyes bent, no doubt, the kitchen commotion was her idea, Lily was just the executor.
“It’s okay, didn’t you say cream cakes typically don’t end up in anyone’s mouth?” Adrian shrugged and began to shoo her away, “Alright, you’ve got the information. Go tell Lily I’m really mad and she should watch out; I might give her a hard time anytime. Now, I need to change, you wouldn’t want to watch, right?”
Little Emma stared at him, a dangerous glint in her eye as though wanting to say, “I want to watch,” but ultimately hummed, jumped from the chair, and walked out. Adrian sighed in relief, undoing the robe’s belt to change clothes, only for the bedroom door to suddenly swing open again: “Oh, and one more thing, Ed.”
“Emma!” Adrian quickly clutched the robe across his chest and glared at the intruding girl, somewhat annoyed.
“Relax, I didn’t see anything,” Little Emma waved her hand dismissively, looking unfazed.
“Now what?” Adrian was helpless; he was used to this over the years.
“Let me tell you, just over three months until my birthday, and I want to hold a very grand birthday party; you must attend then.” The little rascal stretched the tail end of every sentence, sounding playful.
“Alright, so how are you planning to have your birthday party?” Adrian sighed.
“Hmm…” Little Emma tilted her head, thinking, “I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Then think it over and tell me, OK?” Adrian covered his forehead.
“Alright, alright, but you must attend, you can only arrive early, not late, and definitely not absent!” Little Emma solemnly instructed, with an inexplicable gleam in her eyes.
“I only missed once…” Before this sentence was finished, the little one interrupted: “That’s why I’m insisting! If you miss again this time, Ed, I’ll never speak to you again!”
Looking up at him, Little Emma spoke with great seriousness, even standing on her tiptoes to punch his chest twice, until he repeatedly promised that he would attend her birthday party next year, even if it was the end of the world, she finally left the room with her nose in the air, looking back every few steps.
It felt… like she was planning something. Adrian, who had closed the door and locked it to prevent anyone else’s entry, thought to himself but shook his head soon after, continuing to change his clothes.
Overall, although there were bound to be some minor issues, the Christmas in the UK was quite nice. After Christmas Eve, though the children woke up noisily tearing open the presents, it made the manor lively. But Lily was a little dissatisfied because, back when Adrian was in school, he said that any gifts for birthdays or holidays would not exceed 50 US dollars, even if adjusted later, not by much.
So when Deva and Juliet proudly showed off in front of her, she immediately puffed up her chest with a disdainful look: “I don’t need these, I’m already an adult, unlike Emma who is still a little child.”
She was referring to Small Emma, who was already a girl over ten years old, laughing and playing with Deva and the others, unlike Little Emma who sat calmly reading a book next to them.
Then, Dad came over and lightly tapped her head: “Alright, little girl, you’re only 8 years old, it’s still early to become an adult.”
And then, after returning to the United States, Dad would compensate for her in other ways. Though he kept a tight rein on money, he was still very doting, so even if she occasionally got a bit envious of her sisters’ gifts, she would soon forget about them; those gifts weren’t a big deal anyway.
Kate was also not too happy, and the reason became clear when she came out of the bedroom with Charlize and Adrian, rubbing her rear end in the morning. She hadn’t expected Adrian to sneak in, so when she reached the bed and saw him kissing Charlize, she was startled. At first, Kate wanted to kick him out, but Charlize unexpectedly sided with Adrian, and they spent the night squeezing her in the middle, making it hard to walk in the morning.
But what could she do about it even if she was unhappy? It wasn’t the first or the second time. Her annoyance was more directed at Adrian’s “night raids” and Charlize’s “betrayal,” but it was okay; she could plan one herself in the future. So when Adrian sat with them, chatting, and steered the conversation to the recently released or previewed films, Kate didn’t mind much.
“It’s evident this is an atypical love story, with a sci-fi shell at its core it’s still an art film, discussing what love truly means. Even if memories are erased, will love arise again upon encounter? Is it because memory can never be completely erased, with that person’s shadow always lingering, or does the other person possess something eternally attractive?” Sitting among the women, Adrian remarked on Kate’s leading role in that film.
“Do you know what I think, Ed?” Julia lifted her cup, a serious look on her face, “Hearing you talk about love, it feels like you lack credibility.”
The other women chuckled, though their laughter carried different meanings—what kind did each belong to? That’s hard to say.
“In fact, Director Michel Gondry initially prepared an ending where the elderly female lead visits the company to have the memories of the male lead erased again. Through the procedure records, the audience would know she’s done this numerous times. This undoubtedly aligns more with an art film’s ending but might appear too bleak to viewers, so it was eventually abandoned.” Adrian continued.
“I haven’t seen it, but from what you’ve said, Kate seemed to perform quite well, right?” Charlize, the first to adjust or perhaps long accustomed to it, asked with only a slight emotional stir.
“Of course, Kate was outstanding, particularly shining opposite Jim Carrey’s performance; I believe critics think the same.” Adrian smiled slightly, looking towards Kate.
Kate, however, unexpectedly averted her gaze. Ever since she got the script, her heart churned. In a sense, it was tailor-made for her. Though Kate eventually calmed down in her impassioned portrayal, hearing Adrian discuss the plot stirred those emotions again. Even though she had come to accept everything, she couldn’t help but sigh.
But precisely because of this, Kate, with deep emotions, performed exceptionally well in this film. Though it was only a preview, most critics praised it.
“This is Kate Beckinsale’s most sincere performance; every tear or smile shown in the film is incredibly convincing and moving,” someone remarked.
The film is titled “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” featuring Jim Carrey. It describes how a quarrelling couple goes to a memory company to erase each other’s memories, yet through scattered recollections, rekindles their love and reunites. Although most of the shots follow Jim Carrey’s perspective, each of Kate’s scenes is striking, with her full immersion and unity with the character undeniably conveyed, so it’s no surprise the critics sang her praises.
When Adrian first handed this script to Kate, he didn’t think much of it; he just wanted this role to hone her acting skills. He had promised to see her ascend the throne of best actress with dignity. Unexpectedly, the story held unique significance—for his woman—so he spent more time letting Kate fully ponder and savor it, savor it…the story when she left and then returned.
That’s why the film, originally set to be made and released last year, was ultimately delayed until this year. The result was exceedingly good; although the film’s pace was somewhat slow, and although it was still only a preview, and the glowing reviews somewhat stemmed from the critics’ subconscious undervaluing of Jim Carrey as mere contrast, Kate’s performance indeed stood out, even surpassing Kirsten, who did quite well.
Though Kirsten’s earlier best supporting actress win was nudged by Adrian, she still had the acting chops, and her recent roles have been quite decent, at least on par with Kate. Plus, Kirsten’s look in the drama was appealing, her white coat and neatly arranged bangs over her forehead were flavorful, making Adrian want to play with her once, though critics tended to forget about her.
While this is just a preview and not a full screening, it’s enough to demonstrate how excellent Kate was, so…a nomination next year should be no problem.
“Of course, Sophie also did well; I imagine European critics are quite upset right now.” Though contemplating internally, Adrian shifted his words to Sophie.
Besides the preview of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” the long-promoted “La Vie en Rose” also attracted lots of attention without a doubt. Though this was already the third Adrien Cowell-directed film released this month, no one was surprised. He had already done this ten years ago, and no one would question the Miracle Director’s abilities if they weren’t fools.
However, compared to the overwhelmingly positive reception of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” opinions on “La Vie en Rose” were somewhat more polarized.
“You can’t imagine, the Edith Piaf on screen is played by Sophie Marceau, that iconic confused look and slender eyebrows completely transform her into someone else. The Miracle Director always manages to extract a hundred percent performance from actresses. The emotionally invested beach scene can be described as a classic!”
“This is not the first biographical film about Edith Piaf, nor will it be the last, but it is undoubtedly the most unique yet. Adrian Cowell skillfully sketches Little Skylark’s life using flashback and inserted scenes. Though Piaf’s life was laden with tragedy, this movie successfully conveyed her inner positive spirit.”
“A somewhat mediocre film; Adrian should have done better. The plethora of clichés not only failed to enhance the film’s theme but also made it less convincing. Casting Sophie Marceau as Piaf was a mistake; no matter how confused she looked, she couldn’t capture Piaf’s true essence.”
“This can only be described as a collection of chaotic segments without a particular order, resembling shapes cut randomly from paper by a child with scissors. Paired with terrible and ostentatious acting, even though most of the songs performed used Piaf’s original vocals, it couldn’t salvage the film.”
Despite this, apart from those looking for faults for the sake of it, most people still recognized the film. However, the French were the most troubled. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to Qidian () to cast recommendation votes, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)