As the weather gradually cooled down, the promotion of "Chicago" finally officially kicked off.
The usual promotional methods included advertisements, soft articles, TV appearances, interviews, and sometimes rumors of marriages, divorces, and love triangles to attract attention.
This time, Roy was the male lead in "Chicago." Even if the producers wanted to create some scandal around him, they had to suppress it for Laila's sake. If they offended her, who knew if they would have a chance to collaborate in the future? Even though many film companies mocked them for letting Laila direct a song-and-dance film that was destined not to make much money, everyone knew that those were just sour grapes.
Even if it couldn't make big money, so what? As long as they could get some awards with this film, they would still profit. A film destined to be a classic could sell for decades. After winning awards, there would be a peak in sales. At that time, even if the earnings were a bit less, they would still make money!
This was why big companies sometimes invested in art films, mainly considering their long-term returns. Special effects films were just for the excitement and might become unpopular after a while, but classic films would continue to shine. Take "The Godfather" for example—even decades later, who wouldn't recognize it as a classic? How many movie enthusiasts haven't seen it?
Laila rarely participated in movie promotion activities, at most accepting interviews. She seldom appeared on TV shows with other actors. Even before signing the contract, her agreement specifically stated that she wouldn't be forced to participate in promotional activities.
But this time, she agreed. She would participate in a talk show on television that was scheduled for the coming weekend.
This was an unexpected delight, almost making the producers who received the news jump with excitement. They understood better than anyone else Laila's weight among movie fans. Just her appearance on TV could instantly boost the TV station's ratings, and their movie promotion would be more effective than spending millions on advertisements.
No one knew why she suddenly agreed, so they could only guess that it was because she was participating in a talk show on NBC, which was considered to boost the ratings for her own TV station.
Only Laila knew that she missed Roy.
Since he joined the crew of "Cold Mountain," they hadn't seen each other for a long time. They only communicated through a few phone calls, and he always fell asleep shortly after they started talking. That was because he could only call her before going to bed, and her voice had a soothing effect on him. Every time, after talking for a few minutes, she could hear his gentle snoring.
This made her both angry and amused, and she felt sorry for him. How tired must he be to fall asleep while talking to her on the phone?
So when she learned that he had a half-day break to participate in the promotion of "Chicago," she decided to join as well, wanting to see him in person.
"Laila!" Roy, who had been waiting in the lobby, hurriedly walked towards her when he saw her. He hugged her as soon as she appeared. If he wasn't afraid of attracting too many fans, he would have waited for her outside the door, just to see her for a few more seconds.
It had been too long since they last saw each other, especially for a couple relying only on phone calls for one or two months. At least after hugging her, he finally cured his "Laila deficiency" and felt like he came back to life.
The bodyguards behind Laila were already used to it, all focusing on their surroundings to ensure the safety of their employer. However, the TV station's staff and people coming in and out were excited. They had never seen two people so close. A handsome man and a beautiful woman hugging each other, it was simply too eye-catching!
Seeing that someone had already taken out equipment to shoot, Laila, blushing, quickly patted his back. "Okay, let's talk in the dressing room later."
Once in the dressing room, she saw the two female leads were already there.
"I didn't expect the director to come too. I think we can save a lot on promotional expenses."
"Yeah, when I heard the director was coming, I immediately had my assistant change me into a prettier outfit. Otherwise, sitting next to the director, I would be overshadowed."
"But how do I feel that even after dressing up, I'm still not as good-looking as Director Moran?" They joked back and forth.
Laila laughed, "Praising me now won't help. I'll still spill the beans on you in the show later."
"Director, please spare me, just spill the beans on her." Catherine covered her mouth and chuckled.
After a few jokes, Laila suddenly remembered something, "Is Renee also on the 'Cold Mountain' crew now?"
"Yes, being able to work with Roy again makes me happy."
Renee played a supporting role in "Cold Mountain," and Laila remembered that at the Oscars in the following year, she seemed to be the only winner among the seven Oscar nominations—Best Supporting Actress.
Thinking of this, Laila smiled faintly, "Your acting skills are already excellent. I believe you will have a very good performance in 'Cold Mountain.'"
"That's because of your excellent guidance, Director." Renee was genuinely grateful to her. During the filming of "Chicago," the director gave her more guidance than she gave to others. During the shooting, she felt an improvement in her acting skills and fully agreed with Laila's words, believing that she would indeed have a good performance.
Laila can't guarantee whether she can win the award, but she believes that an Oscar nomination is still no problem.
Shortly after, the program officially started recording.
The first one to be invited out was Laila. She was prepared for this, after all. She was the director, and in terms of popularity and status, she was above the others, except for Roy. Even the fans, aside from Roy's, couldn't surpass hers.
The host was already an old friend of Laila's. When he saw her on stage, he pretended to rub his eyes first. "My goodness, I must be seeing things. I actually saw Laila Moran in the studio! Am I really getting old?"
The audience below hadn't had a chance to welcome Laila before they burst into laughter at his words.
"No, your eyes aren't deceiving you!" "It's really Laila!"
"Okay, I think I need to buy a lottery ticket later. If even she can appear in my studio, what else can't happen?" The host stood up and reached out to Laila with a smile, "Welcome, Director Moran. I am truly honored to meet you here again."
Laila smiled lightly as she shook hands with him and then sat on the sofa nearby. "You also said 'again.' Did we not meet before?"