I am Hollywood

Chapter 638: Chapter 639: I Made Another Movie

Chapter 638: Chapter 639: I Made Another Movie

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[Chapter 639: I Made Another Movie]

Charlize opened her eyes to find herself lying on the sofa, a blanket draped over her. The sky outside had clearly darkened. In the simple office, which was divided by partitions, only a desk lamp lit the space, while a figure behind the desk silently flipped through something.

Recalling the wild events of the afternoon, Charlize stealthily pulled the blanket tighter, trying to cover her flushed face.

"Awake?"

Eric's sudden voice startled Charlize. After a moment, she quietly replied, "Yeah."

Seeing the panic on Charlize's face as she hurriedly pulled the blanket over her head, Eric chuckled softly. Out of consideration, he refrained from mentioning the afternoon's antics and said, "It's almost eight o'clock. If you plan to stay here overnight, we'll have to squeeze on the sofa."

"I don't..." Charlize instinctively tried to retort, but the words quickly changed to, "Did Kate and the others leave?"

"They left a while ago," Eric replied, standing up to turn on the office lights. He walked over to Charlize and said, "Get up. I've made reservations at a restaurant. Let's go have dinner." The fluorescent light made Charlize squint reflexively. Looking at the figure of the man beside her stirred a wave of strong embarrassment within her. "You, go out. I need to get dressed." "Sure thing, Your Highness," Eric teased with a smirk, placing Charlize's clothes on the coffee table beside the sofa before turning to leave the office.

Charlize stared at the door for a moment before reaching out from under the blanket to grab her clothes.

But as soon as her arm stretched out, she saw a tie -- the same one she had used for "mischief" a few hours earlier -- hanging from her wrist. Frantic images flooded her mind. Charlize quickly pulled her arm back and swiftly untied the tie from her wrist.

Due to the wild antics of the afternoon, Charlize was quite reserved at dinner, but with Eric's patient attempts at lightening the mood, she soon relaxed. By the time they left the restaurant, she had mustered the courage to hook her arm through Eric's.

They chose to eat at Venice Beach, and after dinner, it was close to eleven. The beachfront promenade was still lively.

Since the release of Charlie's Angels, the three girls had become targets of endless paparazzi, but Charlize's whereabouts that evening came as a surprise to everyone. Plus, with Eric's bodyguard's skilled counter-surveillance techniques, they simply donned baseball caps and, thanks to the dim lighting of the night, walked a long stretch on the promenade without encountering any disturbances.

After accompanying Charlize for a while, Eric checked his watch and said, "I'll drive you home. It's getting late."

Charlize hesitated for a moment and said quietly, "I don't want to go back tonight."

Since Charlize was still living with Kate, Eric quickly understood why she didn't want to return. He smiled and said, "Then let's go to my place."

Charlize shook her head and replied, "I... I don't want to go to your place either. You, I just don't want to go."

Recalling Charlize's strong personality, Eric understood her reasons for rejecting him again. Looking around, he pointed to a nearby cinema and said, "How about I treat you to a movie? Charlie's Angels has been really popular lately."

Charlize, feeling the earlier apprehension dissipate, laughed at Eric's enthusiastic suggestion. "Who would go watch their own movie?"

"I would! I always watch my movies multiple times. Isn't that a bit narcissistic?"

"You're just working."

"By the way," Eric suddenly tapped his forehead, saying, "I almost forgot I was in another movie. I wonder if tickets are available at this theater; Columbia hasn't scheduled too many midnight screenings."

Noticing the confusion on Charlize's face, Eric explained, "Men in Black. You know, the premiere was today, but I didn't go. The midnight show should be starting soon."

Charlize paused and tightened her hold on Eric's arm, asking softly, "Did you skip the premiere just to wait for me?"

"Yup, isn't that touching?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Charlize lightly pinched Eric's side and said, "We're even now; I won't be thanking you anymore."

Eric feigned a hurt expression and clutched his chest. "Your Highness can be so callous."

"Don't call me that again," Charlize said, irritation making her grip tighten, but she quickly let go, walking toward the cinema. "I'll buy the tickets; let it be my treat."

...

Though it was getting late, Eric and Charlize were lucky enough to snag tickets for the midnight screening of Men in Black.

Taking the original setting of an alien invasion, Eric retained Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as the two leads. Additionally, he cast the long-absent Catherine Zeta-Jones in the prominent role of the female coroner, whose charm bore a striking resemblance to Linda Fiorentino in the original.

Like everyone else in the theater, Charlize soon became immersed in the fascinating story and the characters' amusing performances. However, half an hour in, she remembered Eric's comment and asked, "Didn't you say you were in this movie too? I still haven't seen you."

With a teasing smile, Eric replied, "You'll see me in five minutes."

Charlize turned back to the screen, unable to get more from Eric.

In the plot, J has his world turned upside down when he realizes extraterrestrials are everywhere. He spends the night on a bench by the Manhattan River, and although he doesn't find some little girl's innocent smile inspiring enough to spark a noble desire to defend the world, he ultimately decides to join the Men in Black.

Soon, he is taken by K to their secret headquarters.

Amid a sudden comedic chaos in the Men in Black headquarters' lobby caused by a mysterious sphere, K leads Jinto the alien monitoring room.

In the next moments, when the big screen lights up with images of monitored aliens, the entire theater burst into laughter. A smile crept across Charlize's face as she finally understood what Eric meant about also appearing in the film.

Just like the original, the "aliens" being monitored on the big screen were all recognizable public figures to the American audience -- Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and of course, Eric was in there too. Moreover, J's earlier dialogue about his school teacher had been completely

rewritten.

On the screen, K said, "All the people on the screen are aliens. In public, they act perfectly normal, but behind closed doors... well, you probably already know."

J stared at the big screen, dumbfounded, exclaiming, "Oh my God."

Kresponded, "Unexpected, isn't it?"

"No, no, no -- it makes perfect sense," J pointed to one corner of the screen, deadpan, and said, "I've never thought Eric Williams was human. Just look at the crazy things he's done

over the years!"

K explained, "Eric Williams is a Pandora alien. Six years ago, his spacecraft crashed on Earth. To raise enough money to fix it, he's been directing movies using his ancestral talents." Jexclaimed, "The spaceship! I know! It must be in Malibu! I always thought that shell house looked like a spaceship!"

Knodded. "Exactly, 10880 Malibu."

As soon as K's line fell, a wave of laughter erupted in the cinema. After all, because of a widely circulated article in The Hollywood Reporter, the number 10880 had become ingrained in public consciousness.

But the teasing didn't end there. As K continued his explanation, a "surveillance close-up" of Eric appeared on the big screen. Eric looked just like a normal person, but he sported two amusing light blue antennae.

At that moment, the Pandora alien "Eric" was furiously holding a tax bill and bellowing at the other two agents, "I have a green card! I'm a law-abiding citizen! I've already paid 35% in personal income tax! Why do I still have to pay this damned alien immigration management tax? Are aliens not people too? You're discriminating against me! Racial discrimination! Ah, I

have a dream..."

Just as "Eric" was about to imitate Martin Luther King's famous speech, one of the agents lost his patience, punched "Eric" in the nose, and sent him sprawling backward.

After that, J, looking enviously, nodded and said with conviction, "If the Men in Black can hit

Eric Williams, I'm in."

Following that jest, like other roaring audiences, Charlize had collapsed into Eric's side, laughing uncontrollably. Eric softly patted Charlize's back and said, "You don't have to be so

dramatic."

"Ha ha, Eric, are you really an alien?" Charlize sat up, bracing herself on Eric's arm as she continued to laugh and ask.

Leaning in close to Charlize's ear, Eric whispered, "Didn't you check earlier this afternoon?"

Charlize's face flushed, and she playfully scoffed, though still curiously reached out to touch Eric's head, seemingly searching for the two antennae.

Eric chuckled and swatted Charlize's curious hand away. "No need to look; I left the antennae at home. If you want to see them, you can come with me to 10880 Malibu."

"Ha ha..."

*****

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