Lining up

The following afternoon, as the Golden Globe Awards ceremony officially commenced.

As the most anticipated award of the season, the area in front of the Chandler Music Hall had long been crowded with countless journalists.

Cameras flashed incessantly, capturing every moment.

Due to the release of the annual rankings, there was suddenly a surge of interest in Lyman.

At the moment when he walked the red carpet with Eva Green, many reporters turned their attention to him.

"Lyman, director, over here..."

"What are your expectations for today's awards?"

"When will your new work be released?"

Various questions were thrown at him by the media, making it challenging to respond to them all.

Just as Lyman was about to casually answer a few questions and move on, someone more eye-catching stepped in to shield him.

That person was none other than Tom Cruise.

Having just arrived in a car, he saw Lyman on the red carpet and immediately caught up with him.

After entering the interview area, he decisively embraced Lyman.

It had been a long time since they had seen each other, but the reporters had now turned their focus on Tom, given his high-profile presence.

"Mr. Cruise, are you and Director Lyman close?"

The handsome Tom smiled and said, "Of course, during the filming of "Miscreant", he was a tremendous help to me, and I am very grateful to him."

Another reporter asked, "Is it because of your outstanding achievements that you chose to part ways with Penelope Cruz?"

Were these two matters related in any way? Perhaps in the eyes of the reporters, they were.

At the mention of Penelope, Tom's expression became somewhat unnatural, but he still replied, "I have never officially confirmed a relationship with her, so how can you say we've parted ways?"

The reporter followed up, "What about your relationship with Nicole Kidman?"

Due to the recent media pressure, Tom had been keeping a low profile for a while, but he hadn't expected his past to resurface.

After hearing this question, his face turned completely cold. "She has already started a new life, and I consider her a friend. Our relationship ended a long time ago. I hope that you won't spread baseless rumors in the future. Also, I am here today to attend the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, so please refrain from asking unrelated questions."

Speaking of which, Tom had been through a lot, all thanks to his ex-wife. Every time he had a new movie, she used it as an opportunity to promote herself and complain, almost driving him to the brink of collapse.

That was also the reason why he was cautious about confirming any new relationships now.

These reporters were still giving Tom some face. After he said this, no one brought up the gossip again and quickly changed the subject. "You've been nominated for Best Actor for your outstanding performance in "Miscreant" this time. Is there anything you'd like to say? What are your chances of winning?"

"It's a joint effort by the cast and crew, and Lyman, who is a very capable director, always had my back during the shoot. As for the chance of winning, it depends on the jury's decision."

"The film has been so successful. Would you be willing to continue working on similar genres in the future?"

"It's not necessarily the genre that matters; it's about a good script that piques my interest. If there's one, I'll take it."

Lyman and Eva exchanged glances, unsure of how to proceed.

They were surrounded by reporters together, but the reporters' questions were consistently directed at Tom alone, completely ignoring Lyman and Eva.

What defines a superstar?

This is it. When he's around, he can instantly capture everyone's attention.

However, Lyman had no intention of engaging with the reporters in the first place. Seeing this, he decided to leave with Eva.

Not far away, Kate Beckinsale witnessed this scene and swiftly moved toward Lyman.

This time, she had come with Michael Bay, the director of "Bad Boys 2", along with some members of the film's crew, including Will Smith.

However, she was not part of the cast of this film. Instead, she was here because after completing "Bad Boys 2", Michael Bay had teamed up with DreamWorks to prepare for a movie called "The Island". She was eager to secure the lead role, which was why she had come to build connections.

"Lyman, it's nice to see you again," she said, shaking hands with Lyman, all the while curiously scrutinizing Eva.

She had been paying attention to Lyman because of that awkward night. Her interest had grown since then. But she hadn't expected someone to get ahead of her.

Since that was the case, she proactively greeted Eva, saying, "Ms. Green, is this your first time attending the Golden Globe Awards?"

"Yes, it is."

Kate smiled and carefully observed Eva's expressions and movements.

Since Lyman had decided not to hide their relationship, many tabloids had mentioned them. However, because Eva was relatively unknown, not many people paid special attention to such reports. Kate, however, was an exception.

To say she had no thoughts about that night would be false.

Her actions were all well-planned, and she had just encountered a roadblock.

Nevertheless, she was smart enough not to reveal her true intentions. Instead, she pretended to be friendly with Eva while secretly gathering intelligence.

As Kate and Eva chatted casually, Michael Bay approached with Will Smith.

"Mr. Lattes, hello, I'm Will Smith. I love your films, and I hope we can collaborate sometime."

Perhaps it was due to his natural charisma, even though it was a standard social interaction, his smile appeared genuinely sincere.

"There will be opportunities," Lyman replied.

Although he was somewhat dismissive, Will had no expectations of an immediate commitment. It was merely a gesture to establish a connection for potential future collaborations.

At this point, Michael also came forward to shake hands. "Mr. Lattes, congratulations on the numerous nominations for "Miscreant". Well done, Mr. Lattes."

"Thank you," Lyman replied. He wasn't too familiar with Michael Bay, but the man's explosive style had left a lasting impression, "Bayhem" or his Chinese transliteration that means "sell copies".

"Honestly, I'm not too interested in nominations. As long as the audience supports it, I'm happy. I make movies with the hope of earning more at the box office, provided the audience enjoys them."

Michael hadn't expected Lyman to be so straightforward. His pure popcorn-style films had often been criticized by film critics who claimed that watching his movies would make one lose their brainpower. Yet, in this moment, Lyman's honesty seemed remarkably sincere. This talk of making movies for the box office suited his taste, and the fact that he had a Golden Globe nomination and "Miscreant" had become a global hit, ranking third in the annual box office, gave him an inexplicable sense of dominance that was quite convincing.