Ryan soon received the photos that Natalie had mailed. Girls typically enter puberty earlier than boys, and she looked much more grown up now, vaguely showing a few hints of Matilda's charm.
That's right! The role Ryan was preparing for her was Léon: The Professional, or rather The Killer Leon. Even though Natalie, after growing up, didn't particularly like this character, Ryan would never allow the first "loli" in film history to disappear.
Alright, maybe calling her the first "loli" was a bit of an exaggeration, considering Lolita and Jodie Foster's Taxi Driver came before. However, no one could deny that Matilda was a classic, and represented Natalie's most iconic role during her youth.
Of course, Ryan wasn't like those perverted Frenchmen with dirty minds. He would inevitably make some changes to the plot. After all, in his previous life, although this film helped Luc Besson break into Hollywood, it wasn't well received by mainstream society, and even caused significant criticism, which directly impacted its box office performance in North America.
Yes, the film was hugely popular in the Far East, especially Europe, and brought Besson a lot of acclaim. But let's not forget, both Ryan and Natalie's futures lay in Hollywood. They weren't French; they couldn't just pack up and head back to Europe if things went badly.
Given Ryan's current massive influence, if he directly copied Luc Besson's director's cut version — featuring themes of forbidden love and a middle-aged hitman sharing a bed with a young girl — conservative society's backlash alone would drown him.
Just imagine: a figure hailed by the media as America's role model for teenagers writing a story like that — the controversy would be unimaginable.
Forget about being "true to oneself"; in any country or region, conforming to mainstream values is the prerequisite for success.
Ryan planned to depict Matilda and Leon's relationship as a complex blend of gratitude, paternal love, friendship, and a hint of admiration. Certain unnecessary scenes would be completely replaced. This way, the core message of the film wouldn't change much, but the controversy upon release would be greatly reduced.
Ryan intended to write it as soon as possible because time was very tight. Kinsley and Universal Pictures were deep in negotiations, and an agreement could be reached soon. If that happened, he would have to prioritize the adaptation work for Jurassic Park.
Speaking of which, the negotiations weren't that complicated. Kinsley, representing Jenkins Pictures, proposed a joint investment with Universal, with each side contributing a certain proportion of the budget. The rights and profits would be divided according to their investment ratios.
Universal was still considering it. Ryan had Kinsley throw in a new condition: aside from granting Universal full authorization, if the North American box office didn't reach the expected $200 million, Jenkins Pictures would automatically reduce its revenue share by 15%.
Ron Meyer was still holding firm, and the negotiations weren't making much progress. The reason was simple: Terminator 2 grossed over $273 million when it ended its North American run. Now all of Hollywood knew that the name "Ryan Jenkins" meant enormous box office appeal.
Especially with Jurassic Park having topped the U.S. bestseller lists dozens of times since its publication in 1986. Over the years, it had cultivated an immense fan base. It was entirely possible that those fans alone could push the box office past the $200 million mark.
Moreover, Ryan insisted on one critical condition during the negotiations — Steven Spielberg must direct the movie.
They had already contacted the Jewish director, who immediately refused. Actually, many people in Hollywood knew he was preoccupied with Schindler's List, even traveling to Poland multiple times.
Ryan knew some details of the negotiations but didn't want to interfere too much. As long as Universal used their ultimate move from his previous life, Spielberg would have no choice but to agree. After all, it would be Universal offending Spielberg, not him.
The potential profits from Jurassic Park were easy to imagine. Ryan only had to think about the nearly $1 billion box office from his past life, plus the sold-out dinosaur toys and T-shirts, and he'd practically drool. With that kind of capital, he could finally buy the things he truly desired.
Typically, boys enter voice-changing puberty between the ages of 12 and 15. The process can last from six months to two years. Unlike the hormone-saturated new century, many boys' voice changes didn't happen until 11 or even 10 years old. Ryan starting his voice change a little after turning 11 was still relatively rare.
Maybe it was a blessing from God — after entering November, Ryan finally said goodbye to his "duck voice." The childishness disappeared from his voice. Thanks to professional training, his pitch, tone, and range all became highly distinctive, giving his singing a unique flavor.
However, this didn't mean he had no more worries. The voice-changing period for singers could last two or even three years. Even though his voice was now close to that of an adult, occasional instability still occurred. This was a consolidation phase, and protecting his vocal cords remained crucial.
The only good news was that, as long as he stayed careful, he could now sing normally.
Hollywood Records, upon hearing the news, immediately brought Ryan over. They had been waiting for this day for a long time.
During the past six months, they hadn't just been sitting around. After negotiating a recording contract with Kinsley, they brought back nine song scores, following Ryan's suggestions to start creating instrumental tracks. They also assembled a five-person backing band.
The produced instrumentals had already been sent to Ryan for listening and underwent multiple revisions. By now, Hollywood Records was fully prepared, needing only Ryan himself to complete the puzzle.
In the music practice room, John Burns clapped his hands, and everyone quieted down. Ryan gestured to the band, and the accompaniment for Because of You started playing.
"I don't want to make the same mistakes that I did before..."
The magnetic singing voice rang out, high and resonant, carrying a thick and powerful tone tinged with a slight rebelliousness — it had an indescribable charm. Although there were still tiny flaws due to the instability of his newly matured voice, they didn't stop everyone from bursting into near-crazy applause when the song ended.
"What do you think?" CEO Reed leaned toward music director John Burns and asked.
"An absolute genius! Those kids in the Mickey Mouse Club aren't even half as good as him!" Burns nodded emphatically. "The album can definitely be put on the agenda."
In fact, during this period, Ryan had thought many times: his early puberty development and sudden growth spurt would make it hard to find suitable acting roles. Even he couldn't change this awkward phase. Given that, he might as well use music to fill the gap.
Besides the quirky single He, he had prepared several more songs, many of which were plagiarized. Because of You had been rearranged and its lyrics slightly modified before he brought it out.
Other songs included Fool's Garden's Lemon Tree, Johnson's commercial song The Fly, and a ballad version of It's My Life.
That gave him seven songs. The other three were his original creations: one was the motivational song he had performed in New Mexico, which he completed and titled Climb, and the other two were called Under the Sun and After the Wind Blows.
At one point, he even considered doing an English version of I Don't Want to Say I'm a Chicken. But thinking about it, since bird flu hadn't yet appeared, and that song was better suited for someone Taylor's age, he decided to skip it.
As for the plagiarized songs, they weren't entirely identical. Even with his great memory, Ryan was human, not a computer. Besides, in his previous life, he wasn't nearly as obsessed with music as he was with movies. Some details were inevitably fuzzy, requiring him to fill in the gaps.
Take The Fly, for example — in his past life, it was a typical Black R&B song. Ryan didn't want to mix himself up with that style, so he made the rhythm livelier and stripped out most of the Black musical elements. His version didn't have the whiny tone of the original singer.
As for It's My Life — yes, it was the same song once rumored to be the CS theme song (though that was a complete misunderstanding). Just like The Dawn was mistakenly rumored to be the "Undead Prelude," these were simply outstanding works by Western bands.
Ryan didn't use the rock version; he went with a ballad version. The reason was simple: the rock version could be saved for special performances, and more importantly, he needed to protect his vocal cords.
These songs were either motivational, playful, or reflected personal feelings — they basically steered clear of love themes. After all, Ryan wasn't truly Western. Deep down, he couldn't fully accept singing about passionate romance at his young age.
"Ryan, we plan to finish recording as soon as possible and aim for a New Year's holiday release," said CEO Reed.
Sitting in the small meeting room were only Ryan, Kinsley, and the high-level executives of Hollywood Records — plus a Walt Disney Company executive director.
"I have no objections," Ryan replied after briefly considering his schedule. Besides attending The Bodyguard's premiere during Thanksgiving, he had no other major engagements. He could easily carve out some time to finish recording, allowing him to relax once the album was released.
"Good. We'll coordinate with Pat," Reed said.
Looks like he would have to take time off again. Ryan sighed. It seemed this semester would once again be incomplete.
Releasing an album was far more complicated than Ryan had imagined. Not only did he need to record, but he also had to rehearse with the band to ensure at least a basic level of chemistry.
There were several times when he almost wanted to suggest, "Why not just use backing tracks instead of a band?"
However, even with his limited understanding of the Western music scene, Ryan knew that every top-tier singer had their own dedicated band. This was definitely a good thing.
Hollywood Records was even more anxious than Ryan had expected. They had already witnessed the excellence of the songs and were eager to carve out a share in the pop music market.
After all, the quirky single "He" had already sold over 900,000 copies. Achieving platinum status this year was almost certain. They had immense confidence in Ryan.