Chapter Twenty-Two: Resonance and Returns

  Did you perform well in the movie? That's without a doubt. Ryan, after all, is a two-time Oscar winner, and even though he has inevitably carried many childish qualities with him over the years, sometimes his performances have indeed been off the charts, but he absolutely won't get lost in this sea of praise.

  He knew that Hollywood's attitude towards child stars and adult actors was vastly different. As long as a kid did something only adults could do, the praise would be overwhelming, and if they performed just a little better, the title of genius would surely be bestowed upon them.

  These things often become a poison that hastens death for children whose minds are not yet mature, and if they encounter parents who are not clear-headed and only know how to make money, then when they grow up, their lives can only be described as tragic.

  Of course, these things would never happen to Ryan, after all he has a mature mind and a fairly firm will, and Nicole is not a greedy person, you know, from the moment they met until now, she hasn't moved a single dollar of his.

  Actually, what Ryan is most worried about is his appearance. To put it bluntly, he has almost all the advantages of a mixed-blood child, but from the information he read in his past life, it's clear that in Western countries, the more adorable and beautiful a child is when they're young, the higher the probability that they'll become ugly as an adult. He doesn't expect to become like Leonardo or Pitt in the future, but at least he shouldn't end up like McCauley Culkin or Edward Furlong, right?

  Shaking his head, Ryan threw away the jumbled thoughts and picked up the last remaining Los Angeles Times, feeling a sense of "as expected".

  The Los Angeles Times ran a front-page story, not on the entertainment section's front page but on the entire paper's front page, with the most detailed report about Ryan.

  "Ten-year-old super genius!"

  The gigantic title in bold and black is extremely eye-catching, with a close-up photo of Ryan at the press conference next to it.

  "Ryan Jenkins, a 1980-born Los Angeles boy with unusually bright sky-blue eyes, made his big-screen debut last night in the just-released film "The Sixth Sense", delivering a performance that is arguably the best of any child star, but what's even more astonishing is that he wrote the screenplay himself."

  "Some people may doubt that such a thrilling, suspenseful and family-friendly story could really be written by a 10-year-old kid. Yes, it's indeed doubtful, but what we're saying is that this is indeed a story created by Ryan, one of the many stories he has created!"

  "We have received astonishing news from a knowledgeable source, and after rigorous verification, it has been confirmed that the author of 'Jurassic Park', which topped the bestseller list for over thirty weeks and is still in the top ten, 'The Ryan Story Collection' at number thirty-four on the list, and 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', which has just entered the list, is none other than Ryan Jenkins! That's right, this Ryan is that Ryan!"

  "And that's not all, just at the beginning of this month, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association announced the Nebula Award nominations, and Ryon's work "The First Galactic Empire and the People of the Celestial Heavens" was nominated for Best Novelette."

  "If someone remembers, 'Jurassic Park' was published as early as 1986. Several works in the 'Rayn Story Collection', such as 'Home Alone', were also published in '86 and '87. What does this all indicate?"

  "Some people may suspect that someone else wrote for him, but we have confirmed with the municipal authorities that Ryan Jenkins was an orphan who lived in the Norton Orphanage in North Hollywood until he was seven years old, and at that time many of his works had already been published. Think about it, who would go to such great lengths to ghostwrite for an orphan?"

  "Until the second half of 1987, Rowling was adopted by Ms. Nicole Kidman and began a two-year life in London, perhaps it was this experience that allowed her to create the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone full of British style."

  "Think about it, a six-year-old who can start writing independently and continuously produces excellent works, a nine-year-old who can create movie scripts and even act in them, if this isn't a super genius, then who is?"

  The rest of the story, Ryan didn't bother to look at it anymore. The Los Angeles Times was able to get such accurate information, naturally from Harvey Weinstein's hand, who had been planning how to maximize the benefits of this stunning news since he learned that the author of the three books was Ryan.

  Undoubtedly, when the movie was first released, throwing out such a high-explosive bomb would naturally stimulate many people's nerves and contribute more box office to the movie.

  Of course, Harvey knew Ryan was a goldmine and had tipped him off beforehand, while the unscrupulous Ryan, after convincing Nicole, very neatly joined forces with Mr. Chubby for a publicity stunt.

  Ryan was actually very clear that with the release of the movie, his old bottom would definitely be dug up by those paparazzi. Yes, you can't look down on them, nor can you underestimate them. These guys are willing to sell their souls to Satan in pursuit of scandals and gossip privacy.

  Since it's like this, why not take control of some initiative in your own hands, and also maximize your own interests.

  Firstly, selling Miramax was a good deal for Harvey Weinstein as he owed himself a favor. Secondly, getting on the front page of one of the three major US newspapers would bring him fame beyond imagination. Lastly, it would definitely pique people's curiosity and they would go to the cinema, bookstores...

  Just as Ryan had imagined, the report caused a sensation once it was published, and Miramax's public phone and the hotline of the publisher under Alien magazine were almost blown up by crazy reporters. Similarly, the Norton Orphanage and municipal departments also welcomed many visitors with cameras and microphones.

  "Ryan, my phone is blowing up, you owe me overtime!" This was the complaint call from Ms. Jin Silie.

  "I want more detailed information, such as the child's childhood life, who the child's parents are, what kind of personality and habits the child has, whether he has ever dated a girl, and what is going on in his head. You all have to dig it up for me, otherwise, get out!"

  Almost every tabloid editor has issued similar orders to their paparazzi.

  At that time, various reports about Ryan began to flood the big and small newspapers. His experience of being abandoned as a child, his lonely life in the welfare institution, and his relationship with Nicole Kidman, who was both his mother and sister, were all dug up by the media.

  Even more, a reporter found Katie, the former headmistress who was retired in Santa Monica, and when they asked her about Ryan, she said: "Ryan is a child I picked up from the welfare institution's doorstep, he is an extremely special kid, intelligent and precocious, with wisdom far beyond his age. The works you mentioned were indeed created by him personally, many of which, including 'Jurassic Park', were written under my supervision. His first work was also recommended to the magazine 'Alien' by me, so don't doubt anything. For a child who could fluently read and recite magazines at the age of four, starting to write at six is nothing."

  The words of the old director and those children who were adopted by the welfare institute at first all proved that report from Los Angeles Times.

  These reports, to some extent, piqued the interest of the masses, who were extremely curious about a ten-year-old's achievements. Many people rushed to bookstores to buy the books mentioned in the reports. "Jurassic Park" climbed back to the top of the bestseller list in the US a week later. The sales of "The Ryan Story Collection" and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" nearly doubled.

  Especially, countless experts have focused their eyes on that piece of work which has just been nominated for the Nebula Award, interpreting various meanings from it, such as "This science fiction has strong realistic satirical significance, criticizing the increasingly frivolous society of today, deeply exposing humanity's ever-expanding greed, and serving as a reminder and warning to America!"

  Some people even wrote articles praising it, "This is one of the best science fiction satires in recent years!"

  This made Ryan want to write "the universe's number one military power and his invincible fat marshal" while laughing and crying at the same time.

  The most direct benefit is the movie "Sixth Sense".

  The film's brilliant plot, outstanding performances by the actors, had already won the praise of the vast majority of people. With this crazy publicity campaign, after three days in its first week, the movie's North American box office was fixed at nearly $28 million, making Miramax executives so happy they couldn't close their mouths.

  The two scenes at the end are the most brilliant parts of the movie, Cole's conversation with his mother and emotional outburst bring tears to the eyes, and the psychiatrist's sudden realization is shocking. Many people only recalled some previous scenes after watching it and couldn't help but buy tickets to watch again, many people watched it more than once.

  In this case, many popular cinemas have seen long queues for tickets, with some cinema owners even comparing the film to last year's Batman.

  After the second week, the film's box office not only did not decline but rose sharply. When he saw the box office exceed $36 million, Harvey Weinstein suddenly regretted signing those two contracts and realized for the first time that the film's box office might far exceed his own estimate.

  Of course, with the good comes the bad, and in this case, Ryan has put himself in the spotlight, only able to hide at home, otherwise he would be surrounded by the ubiquitous paparazzi of Los Angeles, although not a big trouble, but also very annoying.

  Especially under the apartment building, there are already paparazzi stationed day and night, hoping to get some exclusive news.

  Facing this situation, Nicole once again put the plan of buying a separate villa on her agenda.