"Sorry, Richard, I'm afraid I'll have to wrap up early today."
"No worries, Wayne," Richard Curtis couldn't help but recall that day when Wayne slapped Nicholas Sparks, sending him flying. He quickly waved his hand and said, "You and Jessica have been in great shape, and the filming has been smoother than expected. There won't be any issues with the new schedule, so don't worry. Also, congratulations on the nomination."
"Thanks!"
After saying a few more words to Mia, Wayne wrapped up for the day and had Hannah drive him back to Wayne Manor.
Although Mia worked as a production assistant on *The Admission*, only the lead actors, director, screenwriter, and producers were attending the event. Even Jessica couldn't go unless she was attending as a family member of a winner.
Unfortunately, Wayne had only been nominated, not won. Besides, he had never publicly acknowledged his relationships with Jessica or Mia. Dating multiple girlfriends at the same time was one thing—doing it publicly was quite another, especially in an era when feminist movements in the US were gaining strength.
"Sir, your suit is ready."
"Great, Maeda. What about Amanda and Lydia?"
"Miss Anne Hearst has already handled the school transfer for both Miss Amanda and Miss Lydia Hearst. They've started at their new school today."
Wayne nodded and said no more.
Though Amanda and Lydia Hearst had essentially been handed over to Wayne by their mother, both were still only 17 and needed to attend school.
Half an hour later, Wayne showered, donned his prepared suit, styled his hair slightly, and met up with Cella, who had just arrived. Together, they drove to the awards ceremony.
Though the event wouldn't officially begin until the evening, only the winners were usually excited about that part. Everyone else was there to socialize, which meant arriving early.
Wayne and Cella arrived a bit late, but no one, including the organizers, found this odd. After all, Wayne wasn't just a rising second-tier star; he was the owner of Hemera Films.
In fact, the moment he arrived, many people took notice, and it wasn't long before someone approached him to say hello.
"Hello, Mr. Wayne. I'm Ang Lee. Nice to meet you!"
"Hello, Director Ang Lee. I watched your *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. It was fantastic. Congratulations."
Wayne resisted the urge to speak in Chinese and instead smiled as he shook Ang Lee's hand.
Seeing Wayne's friendly attitude, Ang Lee's round face lit up with a broad smile. His eyes first showed a hint of surprise, followed by delight.
He couldn't help it. Ang Lee hadn't been waiting here specifically for Wayne; he'd been standing near the entrance because, as a Chinese director, he was somewhat marginalized by others.
So, to have a young billionaire and rising Hollywood power player treat him so kindly was a real honor.
"Wait, could it be because of Zhang Ziyi?" Ang Lee thought, suddenly recalling her.
Unfortunately, Oscar's red carpet wasn't easy to crash. Although Zhang Ziyi was eager to attend, and her scenes in *Resident Evil* had already wrapped up, she still couldn't come.
If even a supporting actress could be invited, there wouldn't be enough room for everyone in the grand hall.
Wayne didn't give Ang Lee much time to cozy up to him or pitch for investment in his next film. Before long, another person approached Wayne.
"Sorry, Director Lee, I need to excuse myself."
Wayne then walked toward Charlize Theron.
"Darling, you're so late!"
"I couldn't help it. We're speeding up production on *The Notebook*. If we don't, Soderbergh will go crazy waiting for me on *Ocean's Eleven*."
Charlize gave Wayne a polite hug, then suddenly whispered in his ear, "Sweetheart, what do you think would happen if we acted a little more intimate?"
Wayne blinked in surprise, then smiled and said, "Wanna know? Why don't we try it and find out?"
Before Charlize could pull away, Wayne pulled her back into his arms. This startled Charlize for a moment, but she quickly recovered, flashing a dazzling smile as cameras clicked and flashed from every angle.
"Aren't you worried Jessica will get jealous?"
Charlize kissed his cheek and then adjusted her stance, casually slipping her arm through his.
"You're about to have my baby, and you're worried about jealousy?" Wayne teased. "Actually, you could move into my manor. You'd all get along."
Charlize playfully dodged the distant cameras and rolled her eyes at him. "Moving in will have to wait. Right now, I live alone, so when you visit, it's just the two of us."
Wayne chuckled inwardly. He hadn't expected Charlize to have that little plan.
But now wasn't the time to discuss this, so Wayne shifted the topic.
However, as Wayne and Charlize acted so affectionate, several people in the room began to show looks of surprise, regret, and envy.
Somehow, the sight of Charlize being so close to Wayne was making quite an impression.
"Hey, Wayne, there you are! I was just wondering why I hadn't seen you."
A familiar voice rang out beside him, and without even looking, Wayne knew it had to be Nicole Kidman.
Although she didn't have any movies nominated this year, as one of the hottest A-list actresses in Hollywood, she'd received an invitation, just like Charlize.
However, watching Nicole skillfully link arms with him, Wayne couldn't help but sigh internally.
Meanwhile, many of the surrounding guests were starting to lose control of their facial expressions.
Including Tom Cruise.
Because of the negative fallout from his divorce with Nicole Kidman, the once ever-popular Tom Cruise now found himself hanging out with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
That would have been fine, but seeing his stunning ex-wife flirting openly with another man in front of everyone made him explode with expletives.
"Damn it! How could that b**** do this?!"
He had been wondering how Nicole Kidman seemed to be glowing and more radiant in the past few months. Now he knew—someone else was taking care of her.
Seeing Tom Cruise lose his cool like this, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon exchanged bewildered looks.
Clearly, Tom was truly losing it.
But it wasn't surprising. The divorce hadn't been Tom dumping Nicole for someone new; it had been Nicole who didn't want him anymore.
Moreover, standing next to Nicole, Tom had looked like a regular guy. But Wayne, tall and handsome, looked like a king by comparison. The contrast was undeniable.
"Hey, man, don't overthink it. You two are divorced now. It's not worth doing something stupid over a woman," Matt Damon advised quietly.
In the past, Matt might have resented Wayne, this rapidly rising star who had "stolen" his goddess, Charlize Theron.
But after attending the screening of *The Dark Side*, Matt had realized something important: they weren't even in the same league.
Forget that he was still a second-tier star. Even someone as big as Tom Cruise was just a tool for making money, while Wayne, the owner of Hemera Films, had Hollywood's top brass bowing before him.
Brad Pitt, after hesitating for a moment, leaned in and whispered, "Matt's right. Also, you might not know this, but at Jill Tavelman's daughter's birthday party a while ago, I saw Wayne chatting happily with Anne Hearst, the head of the Hearst family. And when they left, I noticed he left with both of the Hearst sisters."
Hearing this, Matt Damon was stunned.
Even Tom Cruise, who had been seething with anger, suddenly froze and cooled down.
The Hearst family? That was no joke. They were a media giant on par with News Corp, especially dominant in the fashion industry.
One word from Anne Hearst, and a celebrity could go from fashion icon to outcast, cut off from every major brand in the industry.
For these popular celebrities, without various fashion endorsements and ads, their income would shrink by at least two-thirds. After all, how many movies can they film in a year?
"Damn! How is his luck with women so good?" Tom muttered enviously before turning away from Wayne, unable to bear looking any longer.
Matt Damon and Brad Pitt exchanged glances and shook their heads silently.
Wayne's popularity with women wasn't just because of his good looks and physique. The most important factor was that he owned such a powerful production company! He wasn't just generous but every movie he made was a blockbuster. Given Hollywood's obsession with success, as long as Wayne hadn't failed, everyone was bound to be on his side.
In just a short while, Julia Roberts, who was already expected to win the Oscar, along with Kate Winslet and Angelina Jolie, whom Brad had his eye on, were all heading toward Wayne.
Brad Pitt quickly mimicked Tom and turned away as well, pretending not to notice.
However, being surrounded by over a dozen A-list actresses like a star amidst planets, Wayne wasn't exactly comfortable.
These women were trying to outshine each other, and nearly 99% of the cameras and photographers turned their lenses toward him. The flashing lights were so blinding, it was almost like a Gatling gun, and even Wayne, with his enhanced vision, felt extremely uncomfortable.
The worst part was that he couldn't escape; these women had physically blocked all possible exits, leaving him no room to move.
If it weren't for the fact that this was a live broadcast, he might've actually pushed his way out.
Unfortunately, the audience didn't know what was really happening. They just saw how popular Wayne was and envied him even more.
After all, the last time such a thing happened at the Oscars was when Cameron brought "Titanic" and overwhelmed the Academy.
Back then, it took both Cameron and Leonardo DiCaprio to achieve such success, but now Wayne had done it all on his own.
There was no need to wait for the newspapers that "The Bourne Identity" had bought space in to start reporting tomorrow. By tonight, reports about him being surrounded by so many actresses were already making waves in entertainment news.
The headlines were exaggerated and eye-catching, each one more dramatic than the last.
Anyone who didn't know better might think Wayne was juggling relationships with a dozen actresses right at the Oscars, stirring up jealousy among them.
Of course, thanks to the playboy image Wayne had cultivated, even if those reports were true, most people would only admire him more.
"Sir, this is the data from the first day's preview of 'The Bourne Identity,' sent by Ms. Serra this morning, along with today's reports from the top 20 entertainment newspapers in the country."
On the morning of the 27th, as Wayne sat down at the table to have breakfast, Meda approached with a thick stack of newspapers.
"Thank you, Meda. This should have been my job," Hannah said, feeling a little embarrassed.
"It's no trouble, Mrs. Hannah. It wasn't a difficult task."
As the two exchanged words, Wayne had already opened the data sheet on top. Seeing this, Hannah immediately stopped talking and leaned in with Mia and Jessica to look at it.
"2,433 theaters, an average attendance rate of 89%, and an average box office per theater of $4,274. The total box office for the first day of previews is $10.39 million. Oh my God! Honey, it looks like we're going to have another box office hit!" Jessica said excitedly.
Even though the film's runtime and the fact that the preview didn't start until 3 p.m. meant there were two fewer screenings that day, thanks to the high attendance, "The Bourne Identity" still achieved an excellent average of $4,274 per theater, with a total box office of over $10.39 million.
The data looked very promising indeed.
(End of Chapter)