Hollywood Secret Garden

Chapter 81: Summer Vacation in New York (2)

"After defeating the Dutch in 1664, Britain acquired New Amsterdam and renamed it New York. It was only after this victory that British immigrants began to come to New York in large numbers and officially register. If their descendants need to they should be able to find their ancestors' names here."

In the spacious and classical hall, Natalie pointed to the open yellowed pages of books displayed in glass cabinets along the wall and introduced.

"Thank you for your introduction Natalie, It's excellent." Kate, who had been listening all along, couldn't help but applaud lightly then turned to the black security guard standing nearby, "What do you think, Mr. Cody?"

"Of course, of course, this young lady's knowledge of history is stronger than many of the visitors who come here," the chubby black security guard nodded with a smile.

"What Mr. Cody means is that basically, not many people visit the Ellis Island National Immigration Museum," a discordant voice interjected.

"Angie!" Kate said with a laugh, as this kind of complaint had already happened several times in the past few days.

"I'm just telling the truth. You see, today besides us, hardly anyone came here," Angela closed the magazine in her hands, shrugged innocently, and looked as if she didn't care. She had cut her hair short, making her look much more refreshing and her light-colored top and shorts added to her liveliness.

"It's okay, Kate. I've gotten used to it," Natalie shrugged helplessly.

Just because she didn't believe that Angela was Miss AM, she seemed to have been holding a grudge until now. Natalie felt very speechless about it.

"Alright then, Mr. Cody, please take us to the next exhibition hall and Nat, please continue," Kate looked at Angela, who still seemed indifferent, and could only smile and shrug like Natalie.

Of course, Angela didn't want to be like this, but she was still upset about Natalie not believing her, even after she showed her skills that night and made Natalie admit her strength.

As an apology, Natalie agreed to be their tour guide. However, she was still dissatisfied with the whole thing, so during the tour of New York, Angela occasionally had to say a few words. She didn't even know what kind of mentality this was.

Following behind Kate and the others, Angela flipped through the《Billboard》magazine in her hand and read relevant comments.

"We have always looked forward to what surprises Miss AM will bring us when she releases her first album. Unfortunately, it is still only a 15-minute EP. However, no one can deny that the surprises it brings have left many people amazed!

Here, I don't want to comment on Disney or Miss AM's motivations for doing this, but I want to say that this is indeed a rare pure music EP. The creativity and skill are excellently demonstrated. Miss AM may lack the air of a master, but her free and uninhibited musical characteristics are refreshing. It must be said that Miss AM's musical talent surpasses that of many singers."

Of course, with praise comes criticism, and most of the criticism is focused on the decision to release this pure music EP:

"I really don't know what Disney is thinking. Miss AM's potential in pop music is evident to all, but giving up this excellent opportunity to explore the pure music market? Did Disney's top executives eat too much aspirin?

I have no intention of offending Miss AM, and I admit that this is a very outstanding first-rate pure music EP. However, I still hope that Miss AM will return to pop music, as that is where her broadest horizons lie!"

Clearly, even though this pure music EP received unanimous praise, its prospects were not optimistic. However, Angela didn't care about that. The reason she insisted on releasing the pure music EP and aiming for platinum sales was purely for personal amusement.

If she could actually meet the conditions she set, it would prove that she and a career as a musician were truly destined. And if they were destined, then why not release an album? Well, through this matter, it could be seen that sometimes little girls could be very stubborn. If it weren't for her family background and her own abilities, Disney wouldn't bother investing time in her.

However, although the reviews had a somewhat one-sided tone - appreciating the musical level but not optimistic about the market prospects - it didn't mean the market would follow their views. Although sometimes clueless, Angela didn't know how Disney was promoting it, she knew that with just the two pieces in the EP, it should be able to attract a considerable number of listeners from the previous EP.

Do you remember when John Burns said he wanted to perform something revolutionary? These two piano pieces, totaling 15 minutes, were actually adapted from the three songs in the previous EP, meticulously arranged. The first 7-minute piano piece followed the order of《Big Big World》《Complicated》and 《My Name is Helene》while the latter one reversed the order.

This was not an easy task.《Big Big World》《My Name is Helene》were manageable, but turning《Complicated》into a piano piece was really challenging. Thanks to John's repeated attempts and some flashes of inspiration from Angela, they managed to successfully adapt it. However, when played, there was no trace of any connection to《Complicated.》Only by carefully listening could one feel the slight sense of enthusiasm and uplift hidden in the melody.

But this was just one of the problems to be solved in the arrangement. Others included how to connect the pieces and how to emphasize the different flavors of the two pieces after reversing the order while retaining their inherent attraction. In short, the arrangement alone took nearly a month, causing John as the music director to lose quite a bit of hair.

Although troublesome, this approach had obvious benefits. The market for pure music could never match that of pop songs. Instead of developing a new audience, it was better to target the existing fans.

As long as one-fifth of the fans of the previous EP purchased the new one, reaching platinum sales wouldn't be difficult. Moreover, after accumulating sales until now, the previous EP was already close to six times platinum.

Of course, for Angela, she didn't need to consider so much. Her enthusiasm for releasing records was much lower than for making movies. It's not that she didn't like music, but it was evident that her impression of those women who had left their images and laughter on the screen was stronger.

"So, where do we go next?" Kate's voice came at this time. Unknowingly, they had already toured the Immigration Museum.

"If you want to continue learning about the history of New York, we can go to the History Museum. If you want to enjoy the views of New York, we can go to Central Park," Natalie answered.

"No, no, no, don't rush. We still have somewhere else to go," Angela interjected.

"What? Do you have other plans, Angie?" Kate asked in surprise. For the past few days, Natalie had been the one planning their route in New York.

"Yes, dear. Originally, we should have gone a few days ago, but considering that it's your first time in New York I postponed it. Now that we've already visited places like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, I think we can add this stop to our itinerary," Angela shrugged.

"Can you tell me what it is?" Kate became interested and Natalie also looked at her curiously.

But Angela cheerfully raised her index finger, shook it, and then greeted the black security guard before bouncing out. Kate and Natalie exchanged puzzled glances and followed suit, greeting the security guard before leaving as well.

Outside the museum, Mr. Wenger, the driver arranged by her Grandpa, was already waiting in the car. This made Kate and Natalie even more curious. They had visited the Immigration Museum after taking a boat from the Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island, so Mr. Wenger should have been waiting in the parking lot on Liberty Island. Seeing him here could only mean that Angela had made some early arrangements.

But the little girl didn't care about that and just hopped into the front passenger seat, then motioned for the two to get in as well. Without waiting for Mr. Wenger to ask about the destination, she grabbed the brick phone prepared in the car and dialed a number.

"Hi, Mr. Hawk, it's me, Angela. You didn't tell him, did you? ... Great, where are you now? ... Yes, I'm in New York... Okay, got it. So, keep this secret until I arrive. Thank you!"

After hanging up the mobile phone, Angela's face was filled with an unstoppable smile. She turned to Mr. Wenger, the driver and said, "Mr. Wenger, please take us to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel!"

"As you wish, Miss," Mr. Wenger smiled and started the car.

"Angie, where are we going and what are we doing?" Kate couldn't help but ask from the backseat.

"We're going to visit a movie set!" The excited little girl finally revealed something.

"A movie set? What movie set? Whose?" Kate asked eagerly, but Angela immediately sealed her lips, just smiling without saying a word. In the end, Kate could only shrug helplessly.

New York's traffic condition was surprisingly good this time. There were almost no traffic jams. After a few turns, the towering Waldorf Astoria Hotel appeared not far away. Without getting close, they could see a certain film crew filming near the hotel entrance.

They got off the car nearby, and Angela couldn't wait to run forward, ignoring Kate's calling from behind. Soon, she bypassed some onlookers and sneaked into the crowd of crew members. She had already spotted Mr. Hawk. However, just as she was about to go over, a crew member stopped her, saying, "Hey, dear, we're filming here. Please don't walk around at will, okay?"

"I know you're filming a movie," the little girl said, her eyes darting around, then she said seriously, "This is a movie with my dad as the lead. As his daughter, shouldn't I come to see him?"

"Your dad?" The crew member looked at Angela in confusion.

"Of course!" Angela tilted her head and pointed at one of the male leads who happened to be entering the scene. "Look, that's my dad."

There were two male leads, one very young, around twenty years old, quite handsome, exuding a boy-next-door vibe. The other one's age was hard to tell, probably over forty. He had a big crew cut and looked very neat, but his eyes were unresponsive as if he were blind.

That was Al Pacino!