Hollywood:Starting out as an MV director

The song from Hot Angels reached as high as 15th on the Billboard charts. While sales had started to slow down, the group had made quite an impact. However, it was the photo album that truly exploded in sales. Ethan's reputation, combined with the seven girls' diverse charm, had fans across America eagerly buying the album, contributing to its soaring sales.

The Hot Angels stage performances also progressed smoothly, aided by the photo album's success. The first week saw a smaller crowd, with only about a quarter of the theater filled. But by the second week, attendance began to increase. Clearly, word of mouth from the audience helped generate more interest in the unique girl group performance style.

Especially after each show, the post-performance chats had significantly brought both sides closer. Many men immersed themselves in a virtual feeling of indulgence. Even merchandise sales had started to rise.

The next few months were relatively stable, with Ethan keeping an eye on the girl group's development while also overseeing the creative direction for new clients at Supreme Creative.

Supreme Creative was now focusing on reaching out to larger clients outside of New York, and sales representative Fernando had already been tasked with connecting with car companies, as automotive advertisements were among the most lucrative in the advertising industry.

However, car ads had high demands; they required both artistic value and visual appeal, unlike other industries where the requirements were less strict. But this challenge didn't faze Ethan. What he lacked wasn't creativity—it was simply opportunity.

Aside from his work at Supreme Creative, Ethan was also closely following the progress of Taylor's new album. He often visited the studio to chat with Taylor about her new songs, and this was no different. Ethan stood next to the sound engineer, listening to her somewhat immature voice as she sang her new song.

"He says my blue eyes are sparkling, making the stars of Georgia dim. I laugh and say, 'That's a lie.'"

"So, what do you think?" Ethan asked the sound engineer, james.

James smiled and replied, "It's good. This song is refreshing. I think people will like this kind of country music."

"That's good to hear, but I feel like it still needs a lot of work to be perfect."

When Taylor finished and came out of the recording booth, the first thing she saw was Ethan.

"Ethan, you're here!" Taylor was always happy to see him, probably because he took good care of her.

Ethan shrugged and handed her an iced Americano.

"I like this," Taylor said, holding the iced coffee with a hint of pride in her voice. "How was my singing? Do you think I improved a lot from last time?"

"Definitely," Ethan said with a smile, patting her head. "I think it's more layered than last time, and your pitch is great. Looks like you've really been putting in the work lately."

"So, where's my reward?" Taylor asked, tilting her head with expectation.

"Reward?" Ethan thought for a moment before realizing, "Of course, no problem."

"Shall we go now?"

"Alright, let's go."

Twenty minutes later, "Woohoo!" Taylor had her legs propped up on the passenger seat, her upper body away from the window, letting her golden hair flow in the wind as she excitedly shouted at the sky.

Ethan, in the driver's seat, smiled as he drove along the coastline.

This was the reward they had agreed on earlier. Taylor had been eyeing the company's convertible for a while, wanting to go for a drive, and made a bet with Ethan. If she improved her singing, he would take her for a ride.

"Feels so good!" After a while, Taylor sat back in the car but kept her feet up on the black leather seats, bare feet pressing against the soft material.

Ethan glanced over and noticed her feet were even softer and whiter than her skin, with nails a healthy pale pink.

Seeing that Ethan was focused on driving, Taylor turned to him and asked, "Do you think I'm ready to release an album?"

Ethan met her gaze without speaking, but Taylor seemed to read something from his eyes and looked disappointed.

"Not there yet, huh?"

"Actually, I'm impressed," Ethan reassured her. "In just a few months, your singing has already reached the level for an album. I thought it would take you at least a year and a half."

"Of course! I've been preparing for this album all along, never skipping my lessons," Taylor said proudly.

"So, what you're missing now isn't the hard requirements," Ethan said, turning the car around. "It's some softer qualities."

"Softer qualities? What do you mean?"

"Songs. You've written three songs, but honestly, I think there's still a lot of room for improvement. I've been looking for new country music artists to work with, and I hope they can teach you the essence of country music."

"I see," Taylor didn't pay much attention to the "essence" part, focusing instead on one thing. "You really care about me, don't you?"

"Of course!" Ethan grinned, raising an eyebrow. "You're the future queen of country music."

"Is it just for money?" Taylor asked boldly. Perhaps because she knew Ethan wouldn't get upset, she asked plainly.

"Not entirely," Ethan replied directly. "Money is for living, but life isn't all about living. We're still friends, right?"

"Yeah..." Taylor looked out the window, suddenly falling silent.

Not sure how much time had passed, Ethan suddenly stopped the car.

"Here we are." He opened the car door, leaned against it, and watched the orange sunset slowly dip beneath the horizon, the sky filled with fiery clouds. He couldn't resist taking a picture, clicking the camera with a snap.

"This place is beautiful," Taylor said, now wearing a light green dress and flip-flops. She gazed at the reeds shimmering in the sunset, feeling like the whole world had quieted down.

"How did you know about this place?" Taylor walked up to Ethan, noticing he was lost in his photography.

"Sometimes, I go a little crazy and just drive around."

While Ethan liked to control everything, there were times when he got tired of it all. In those moments, besides going home to see his two little ones playing, speeding along the road was the only way to release his energy. The adrenaline rush as the car sped up was truly addictive, no wonder so many people risked breaking the law just to race.

"I thought you were always so rational," Taylor commented, staring at Ethan's side profile. His face looked gentle in the warm orange light.

"Rational is the norm, insanity is occasional," Ethan said, putting the camera down after finishing his shots. "If you had seen me on a movie set, you definitely wouldn't think I'm rational."

"Really? I've heard about it," Taylor replied. "They say you're really fierce on set, like a tyrant."

Ethan smiled as they walked toward the reeds, the tall plants parting as they passed.

"A tyrant, huh? That's pretty accurate," Ethan winked at Taylor. "So, if I yelled at you on set, would you be upset?"

"I wouldn't give you the chance," Taylor pouted. "I'll perform perfectly, and you won't be able to find any flaws."

"Well, that's great," Ethan said, spreading his arms. "I love having someone like you who's so easy to deal with."

"Hmph," Taylor ran past him, heading toward the beach, stretching out her hand to greet the setting sun.

She turned her head and shouted, "Look, there's a plane."

Indeed, a plane flew by at low altitude, leaving two white streaks behind.

As Taylor turned back, "Click," the camera captured the moment in a flash.

"What did you take a picture of?" Taylor ran over curiously.

"I just photographed the reeds, you, the sky, and the plane's trail."

"Is it pretty?"

"Of course." Ethan never doubted his photography skills.

"Then, develop it and give it to me. I want to hang it on the wall."

Ethan agreed, and after a while, they strolled along the coastline.

"Let's go. It's getting late, and I'm sure your family will be worried," Ethan said, noticing the time.

"Already going back?" Taylor looked reluctant.

"How about this..." Ethan suddenly proposed a bet. "If you can write three songs I'm satisfied with in three months, I'll take you camping."

"Camping!" Taylor's eyes lit up. "That's awesome. I've never tried that."

"So, do you agree?"

"Of course!" Taylor ran ahead, laughing as she dashed through the reeds, leaving behind a trail of cheerful laughter.

Ethan shrugged and followed.

The next day at the office, Carl rushed in with a worried expression. "Ethan, do you know?"

"Know what?"

"The two movies have set their release dates," Carl said, referring to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Scary Movie 3.

"Tell me, when?"

Although both films had scheduled their releases for Halloween, the specific dates had been kept a secret. With just over two months left before the movies hit theaters, the official dates had finally been revealed in their trailers.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was set for October 17, and Scary Movie 3 was set for October 24. "Ethan, our movie is releasing on October 20! That's not a great date!"

Carl's concern was valid. Ethan hadn't expected the dates to be so coincidental, right in between the two big releases.

"You're absolutely right," Ethan said, even though he had confidence in the quality of Saw, the audience didn't know that yet.

The situation was very serious. Most viewers were eagerly anticipating The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If they found it good, Saw would be overshadowed by its reputation.

On the other hand, if The Texas Chainsaw Massacre turned out to be disappointing, people would simply look forward to Scary Movie 3 even more. Either way, the prospects for Saw's box office performance didn't look optimistic.

It was a classic case of two big players battling it out, with the smaller contender in the middle likely to get crushed—just like what had happened with IPG back then.

Right now, the key was figuring out how to build anticipation for Saw and make the audience realize that this was the movie most likely to be the scariest and best choice for the Halloween season.