Chapter 113: Playing Paparazzi
Chapter 113: Playing Paparazzi
Eric continued, “After that came Sarah in Labyrinth. Just so I could see that angelic girl a few more times, I even specially bought the videotape. Unfortunately, it’s been lost now. Oh, and I also really liked your recent film Some Girls.”
Seeing the ambiguous smile on Eric’s face when he mentioned the last movie, Jennifer Connelly felt somewhat embarrassed. That had been her first attempt at a relatively bold performance, and she had received quite a bit of criticism from conservative people because of it.
The reason was still the box office failure of Labyrinth. For a long period afterward, no one came looking for her to act in films anymore. Jennifer had even tried seeking opportunities in Japan, where she filmed a few commercials and released two albums, but none of it brought any help to her career.
After returning to America, in order to continue staying in Hollywood, she was finally persuaded by her agent to film that teen sex comedy.
After being sweet-talked by Eric for a while, the young woman gradually lowered her guard and opened up. The two chatted back and forth, and their behavior became increasingly intimate.
After dinner, she affectionately held onto Eric’s arm all the way to the parking lot. But once she sat back inside the Lamborghini, the young woman became nervous again.
What next?
He wouldn’t be taking her home, would he?
What should she do then?
Should she refuse him?
Maybe… but…
The young woman scratched lightly at her handbag in conflict, secretly glancing at Eric as he started the car. Their eyes happened to meet, and she immediately looked away again.
Eric smiled. “How about we watch a movie first?”
Like a death-row prisoner suddenly receiving notice that the execution had been postponed, Jennifer nodded exaggeratedly. Realizing her reaction had been somewhat over the top, she awkwardly smiled.
“You should smile more. I like the way you smile.”
After saying that, Eric started the car and drove around Beverly Hills for a while before finding a luxurious movie theater. He parked the Lamborghini and checked the schedule, only to discover that Road House, which had only officially premiered on Friday, was already selling tickets publicly. It was probably an advance screening arranged by the film company. After asking the ticket clerk and finding that seats were still available, he bought two tickets.
“What is it?” Seeing Eric walk over, Jennifer leaned close to look at the movie tickets in his hand. “Road House? I know that one, I know it. It’s Richard Gere’s movie. The newspapers even…”
At this point, the young woman suddenly shut her mouth.
Eric smiled and took the young woman’s hand as they walked. “Even said what?”
“They said… they said Road House would definitely surpass your Pretty Woman.”
“Heh, what kind of trashy tabloid are you reading?” Eric sneered. “Looks like United Artists has completely thrown away its bottom line to build hype for this movie.”
“But I think the analysis in that paper made a lot of sense,” the young woman weakly defended.
“Oh? Tell me later how they analyzed it. I’m pretty interested too.”
The two chatted casually while buying cola and popcorn together before heading toward the ticket checkpoint, completely failing to notice that not far behind them, a short and skinny white man was frantically snapping photos of them with a camera.
When he saw the two entering the screening hall for Road House, he became even more excited. The finger pressing the shutter suddenly seemed extraordinarily nimble.
Only after Eric and Jennifer disappeared past the ticket checkpoint did the skinny man named Witt reluctantly lower his camera.
Originally, he had been a reporter for a Los Angeles fashion magazine, responsible for the fashion section, so he had many opportunities to interact with celebrities. Therefore, whenever Witt encountered valuable gossip, he did not mind instantly transforming into a paparazzo to earn some extra money.
Running into Eric and Jennifer Connelly today had been entirely accidental.
Because of work matters, Witt had been working overtime at the magazine office until after eight in the evening. While driving home, he had accidentally spotted Eric’s flashy purple Lamborghini Diablo.
As a fashion magazine editor who had also watched Pretty Woman, Witt recognized the car model immediately. He knew the car would not officially hit the market for several more months, so he figured that if he could snap a few photos and write an article like Unreleased Lamborghini Diablo Appears on the Streets of Los Angeles, it would earn him another extra payday.
Because of the explosive popularity of Pretty Woman, Lamborghini had practically become the hottest sports car brand in the world recently, temporarily overshadowing even luxury brands like Ferrari.
Carefully tailing the purple Diablo, Witt finally saw it stop in front of a movie theater. He had originally planned to wait until the owner left before taking photos, only to discover that the first person stepping out of the car was none other than the famous Eric Williams himself.
This alone was not enough to excite Witt too much. Everyone knew about Eric and Lamborghini’s brilliant advertising partnership in Pretty Woman. Under those circumstances, it was not strange at all for him to acquire a Diablo before its official release.
If only Eric had gotten out of the car alone, Witt had even planned not to mention Eric’s name in the article at all, instead fabricating some mysterious owner for the Diablo. That kind of mysterious hype was more capable of attracting attention. Once the Lamborghini Diablo became linked to Eric, readers would only think, Oh, that’s perfectly normal, and lose interest.
But then another girl stepped out from the passenger seat, and that was what truly energized Witt.
It was not the most likely Drew Barrymore, nor “Hollywood Cinderella” Julia Roberts, and even less Eric’s official girlfriend Jennifer Aniston. Instead, it was another glamorous beauty.
Although Jennifer Connelly was not especially famous in Hollywood, Witt happened to recognize her.
Eric Williams’ private life had always interested paparazzi. Unfortunately, after becoming famous, he neither frequented nightclubs nor bars, and no valuable bad habits had ever been uncovered about him. Although there had once been a disturbance involving the rumored girlfriend Jennifer Aniston, the matter had quickly died down, and the two soon reconciled publicly.
After that, the only time he had appeared with a woman in a private setting was still with Jennifer Aniston.
Under these circumstances, although paparazzi became even more curious about his private life, they were also left like dogs trying to bite a hedgehog, completely unable to find a place to start. Gradually, they stopped following Eric altogether. There were so many newsworthy celebrities in Hollywood that no one would hang themselves from a single tree.
Thus, today’s gossip completely benefited Witt, who was temporarily moonlighting as paparazzi.
At this moment, the skinny man had already replaced the film in his camera and was patiently waiting outside the theater while struggling internally over how to frame this scandal.
Should the focus be placed on Eric and his new girlfriend Jennifer Connelly?
Or should it focus on Eric watching Road House?
Or perhaps split it into two separate gossip stories?