"Dear, we've arrived."
Inside an ordinary Chevrolet sedan, Mrs. Seyfried looked at her daughter and advised, "Be careful getting out of the car, don't dirty your dress."
Amanda Seyfried smiled, showing her dimples, "I know, Mom."
Opening the car door, Amanda Seyfried stepped out. Her mid-heeled pointed shoes were a bit uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but walk back and forth a few steps to get used to them faster.
Mrs. Seyfried closed the car door and came to Amanda's side, saying, "Stand still, let me take another look."
Amanda put her hands behind her back and stood straight.
Mrs. Seyfried took out a nude-colored lipstick and lightly applied it to Amanda's lips. She then stepped back a few paces and looked her up and down.
Perfect! Beautiful, cute, an absolutely stunning young girl.
"Are we done, Mom?" Amanda was a bit anxious.
"All set." Mrs. Seyfried waved, "Let's go to the hotel."
Mother and daughter walked hand in hand towards the hotel where the banquet was being held.
As they walked, Amanda curiously asked, "Is that 'The Blair Witch Project' Michael's film? Was it successful because of Michael? Why do the media reports mention that..." She couldn't remember the name for a moment and asked, "What's the director's name?"
"Daniel Myrick," Mrs. Seyfried said.
Amanda followed her mother into the hotel and, in a lower voice, continued, "Everyone is talking about Daniel Myrick. It seems no one associates 'The Blair Witch Project' with Michael. There are very few mentions of his company."
Mrs. Seyfried was puzzled too, "I don't know why either." She touched her daughter's naturally curly blonde hair and said, "Michael hosting such a party must mean he benefited a lot."
The film grossed over $150 million in North America. How much would Michael Davenport make from it? Millions of dollars? Adding 'The Purge', how much did he make from both films?
For a moment, Mrs. Seyfried's mind was filled with numbers.
Under the guidance of a waiter, they arrived at a large banquet hall. Someone was standing guard at the entrance. Mrs. Seyfried gave their names and they were smoothly admitted into the hall.
Upon entering, Mrs. Seyfried immediately noticed that this wasn't a low-level party with mere food and drinks, but rather a high-society cocktail party. After greeting a few people she knew from 'The Purge' crew, she quickly found where Michael was.
There were many people around Michael, making it hard to approach. She led Amanda to wait on the outskirts for a while.
The way those people looked at Michael was noticeably unusual, almost as if their gazes could emit heat rays.
That's not quite right either. With her years of social experience, Mrs. Seyfried could vaguely judge that what these people showed in their expressions seemed to be admiration.
They appeared to have a special respect for Michael.
It's understandable. Although the exact relationship between 'The Blair Witch Project' and Michael was unclear, creating two box office miracles in a row, with one grossing over $100 million in North America, naturally garnered admiration.
After waiting a while, the crowd around Michael lessened a bit, and Mrs. Seyfried quickly led Amanda over.
"Mr. Davenport," Mrs. Seyfried enthusiastically said, "Congratulations on another box office success."
Michael politely responded, "Thank you."
Amanda Seyfried stepped forward, sweetly smiling, "Good evening, Michael."
"Good evening, Amanda." Michael also smiled back, "Oh, you've grown taller and even more beautiful."
Amanda beamed with joy.
Michael exchanged a few polite words with Mrs. Seyfried and glanced at Amanda. It had been more than half a year since he last saw her, and the young girl had clearly grown. The most noticeable change was the two small bumps that had formed on her previously flat chest.
Her height hadn't changed much, likely still below average among her peers. But it was already evident that despite her petite stature, Amanda had excellent body proportions. Thinking of how Amanda Seyfried would look in the future, she would be a petite yet perfectly proportioned beauty.
Wearing a floral mini-dress, Amanda already had a hint of her future self.
Her skin, far more delicate and fair than that of typical white people, her petite and exquisite figure, slightly immature voice, and curly golden hair all contributed to a fresh, pastoral fairy-like aura, like a little fairy growing in a backyard garden or a soft, adorable girl.
Seeing more people approaching Michael, Mrs. Seyfried sensibly said, "Mr. Davenport, we'll talk later. You go ahead."
Michael nodded lightly, "Alright."
Mrs. Seyfried left first, but Amanda deliberately lagged behind. Glancing around and seeing no one paying attention, she whispered, "Michael, do you have time? I have a few questions to ask."
Hearing this, Michael was a bit surprised. Aside from having eaten Amanda's cakes a few times, they weren't very close, were they?
Amanda looked at Michael, her face as delicate as a porcelain doll, with bright eyes that seemed too large.
Michael did not refuse and said, "Not now. I'll come find you later."
Amanda nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I'll wait for you."
She then caught up with her mother, glancing back again in between. A fierce woman, who looked like she couldn't see her own feet, approached Michael. They seemed very happy talking to each other.
Amanda remembered this female editor and glanced down at her own small bumps, then at the woman's imposing chest, muttering resentfully, "Backaches and leg cramps, you'll suffer eventually!"
"What are you muttering?" Mrs. Seyfried didn't hear Amanda's words clearly.
Amanda instantly turned into a well-behaved girl, "Just didn't see Michelle."
Mrs. Seyfried knew she was talking about Michelle Williams from 'The Purge' and said, "She probably didn't come."
She led Amanda into the crowd, specifically finding director James Wong for a chat, then joked with Robert Lee and George Clinton, trying to meet as many people as possible.
Amanda, being young, made Mrs. Seyfried cautious about the darker side of Hollywood and aimed to handle social matters herself.
Following her mother, Amanda felt a bit bored. Taking advantage of her mother talking to a woman named Mary, she got a glass of water from a waiter and relaxed a bit, particularly her feet, which were sore from the mid-heeled pointed shoes.
"Michael's talents are not just what you see."
Hearing this, Amanda's attention shifted to the woman speaking. She remembered seeing this person at Sahara Entertainment, where she delivered cakes; it seemed to be the receptionist. The woman seemed to admire Michael greatly, "To put it this way, among his peers in Hollywood, Michael is the most outstanding!"
A man responded, "Although Mr. Davenport hasn't owned Embassy Pictures for long, I truly admire the success of 'The Blair Witch Project.' Mr. Davenport dares to think and act, and succeeds in doing so. The previous three owners combined couldn't match half of Mr. Davenport's capabilities."
Amanda realized that this person was likely an employee of Michael's newly acquired company.
A few days ago, her mother mentioned that Michael had acquired a distribution company, which should be Embassy Pictures.
Listening to their conversation about Michael, Amanda's eyes drifted to where he was standing. He didn't seem much older than her, yet he garnered such genuine admiration from so many people.
Truly remarkable.
Her gaze then shifted to the formidable woman, who seemed to be about to drink with Michael.
Amanda muttered again, "You may be big now, but one day they'll sag and hurt your feet!"
In the center of the banquet hall, Jessica Felton clinked glasses with Michael and said, "Congratulations, the plan succeeded."
Michael noticed her hand tremble slightly as she held her glass and quickly reminded, "Careful, don't spill it on your clothes."
Jessica Felton steadied her wrist, "I don't know why, but I always spill things when eating or drinking."
"Maybe it's from long hours of editing," Michael speculated, "Spending all day at home working could lead to fatigue, especially for your dominant hand. You might not notice it usually, but when holding something, muscle fatigue shows, making your wrist unsteady."
Jessica Felton thought for a moment and said, "You might be right."
Michael said, "You need to balance work and rest. By the way, Jess, your editing on 'The Blair Witch Project' was excellent. Your contribution to its success was significant."
"The footage was terrible though," Jessica Felton said confidently, "I could've done an even better job with better footage."
She suddenly changed the topic, "I saw a newspaper article recently with your picture and a supermodel, claiming you're dating? Have you gotten out of single life so soon?"
"Don't mention it," Michael waved his hand dismissively, "It's all a sad story."
Jessica Felton, not being very gossipy, didn't press further and said, "You'll find someone suitable eventually."
Michael shook his head, "I've decided to dedicate the rest of my life to my beloved career."
"That's the spirit!" Jessica Felton highly approved, "Everything else is fleeting; only your skills will stay with you for life."
Michael had nothing to say to someone single-mindedly focused on their skills and abilities, so he changed the topic, "How about the thing we talked about last time?"
Jessica Felton said, "Becoming a producer? I've been reading books on the subject and consulted my mentor. He gave me a lot of material, and after going through it, I found that being a producer is a very technical profession."
Michael replied, "Managing the overall picture is more challenging than the specific skills of editing."
"Agreed," Jessica Felton said, "I plan to study it thoroughly."
Just as Michael was about to say more, he noticed Daniel Myrick walking towards him from the opposite direction.
This was 'The Blair Witch Project's' celebration party, and Embassy Pictures had invited the main crew members. So far, only Daniel Myrick had shown up.