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Chapter 114: Martial Arts Training
🕑 Added 2024-12-14 17:53:38 +0000 UTCThe reason Ethan was so focused on Raymond's legacy was, of course, not just because of the retaliation. In fact, Budman and Davis had already agreed to give Ethan fifty percent of the profits from the entire song.
That is to say, after the song is released, excluding the portion for the music company, the remaining money and future earnings will be split, with Ethan receiving fifty percent.
Budman did this partly because he had no hope for Raymond's music, and partly as a thank you to Ethan for still being willing to shoot the MV.
After all, they had only sold a few thousand copies of similar music in the past, hardly enough to talk about making money.
But Ethan saw some potential in this song. Although the lyrics and rhythm were bad, they were catchy. It was like the feeling of "Ai Ru Huo" in China, with a direct thrill, minus the cheesy part.
In Ethan's view, this song might have the potential to blow up, so he invested a lot of effort and decided to take a gamble.
Three days later, Jessica Alba's martial arts training officially began.
In order to present the effect Ethan wanted, she had to undergo professional action guidance training, practicing relevant moves within half a month to reach a level of agility.
To achieve this, Ethan hired Luo Lixian's entire team to train Jessica to the standard of a film production.
At the same time, he thoroughly explained to Luo Lixian the effect he needed. He didn't need any flashy moves; all the actions had to be practical and direct, aiming for crisp and efficient movements.
Luo Lixian had no problem with that. His team was made up of professional martial arts directors, many of whom had worked as martial artists in the golden era of Hong Kong films. While they might not be at a master level, their professional skills were more than enough.
So, Ethan waved his hand and directly hired three martial arts directors to train Jessica every day, and as for the fees, Budman, the boss, would cover them.
When Jessica saw this setup, she was excited at first and promised to reach the required level as soon as possible to become a qualified "female assassin."
But just two days later, when Ethan observed the training session, he saw that the excitement had completely faded from her face. After each training, she collapsed on the mat, resting and clearly not able to shout any slogans.
"Huff." She lay on the mat in a black sports vest and gray yoga pants, her chest rising and falling with each breath, and beads of sweat slid off her skin, forming dark stains on the mat.
Ethan smiled and said, "Jessica, are you tired?"
"Obviously!" After becoming familiar with Ethan, Jessica showed a more casual side, or perhaps she was too tired to pretend anymore.
"I remember a few days ago someone said that these are just a piece of cake."
"I underestimated it... but if you were the one training, you probably wouldn't do better than me," Jessica shot Ethan a glare.
"Is that so?" Ethan's interest was piqued, so he called Tom over and started practicing combat techniques on a nearby mat.
While Luo Lixian taught Jessica techniques more focused on fluidity and continuity of movement, which looked impressive on screen, Tom taught Ethan simpler, more direct techniques: throat locks, finger breaking, leg kicks, and groin strikes—all meant to neutralize opponents as quickly as possible.
Besides these, Ethan also asked Tom to teach him how to draw a gun quickly, because times had changed, and no matter how skilled you were in fighting, a gun could render you useless.
Later that evening, after Jessica had finished her training, she saw Ethan still practicing on a dummy, and the brutality of his moves made her ask, "Do you have enemies or something?"
"Why do you ask?" Ethan hit the dummy with a throat lock, making Jessica gasp.
"It just feels like every move you make is aimed at vital spots."
Ethan smiled, "That's right, but it's just for self-defense."
"Self-defense?"
Ethan looked at Jessica, "Besides these, I also practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu."
Jessica mimicked a rear-naked choke: "Like this?"
"Yeah... exactly." Ethan gave her a thumbs up. "Looks like you know some of it."
"Haha, not really, I just saw it on a combat show," Jessica said before bidding him goodbye and leaving the training area.
Over the next few days, Ethan and Jessica spent time in the training room together, facing each other every day, chatting about life, work, and the MV. Jessica had fully understood the effect Ethan wanted to achieve.
Ethan also learned about her family background.
Her father was of Mexican descent, and her mother was from a French and Danish-Canadian family, giving her a mixed heritage. She had a younger brother named Joshua.
However, her path to becoming an actress wasn't smooth. Due to her father's work, she moved around California, Mississippi, and Texas, which made her school life difficult and friendships hard to build.
At five years old, she dreamed of becoming an actress, but it wasn't until she was twelve that her parents let her attend a performing arts school.
Thus, she dove straight into the Hollywood scene, where she eventually caught the attention of several directors and landed roles in Cameron's works.
However, she admitted that her career path had become somewhat fixed, and she wanted to break out of that mold.
Ethan, through his conversations with Jessica, realized that unlike Scarlett, who relentlessly pursued upward mobility, Jessica lacked that same drive. Otherwise, even after facing setbacks, she wouldn't have easily left Hollywood.
With an understanding of her personality, their communication became smoother.
They spent every day together in training, eating together, and practicing. Ethan even felt younger being in the same room as this sweet-faced beauty.
Soon, the time for Jessica's training to be assessed arrived.
Ethan sat on the mat, watching Jessica perform a set of swift and fierce sword techniques with a Tang sword under the direction of the martial arts instructors.
During the performance, Jessica also used vocalizations to enhance the momentum.
"Hah! Ha!"
The sword gleamed under the light, and after watching the full set of moves, Ethan shook his head. "I think the second and fifth moves are a bit off..."
He made many suggestions from the perspective of the cameraman and director, which the martial arts instructors took into account and corrected Jessica.
The next day, Jessica performed again, but Ethan still didn't approve. She couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. But seeing Ethan's serious expression, she knew there was no way to change his mind and could only continue pushing herself to practice.
Two days quickly passed, and Jessica did her best to perfect every move, sweating profusely after each run-through.
Then, she looked at Ethan with hopeful eyes. After a moment of silence, Ethan suddenly clapped his hands. "Well done, Jessica. You've passed."
"Yay!" Jessica cheered, raising the sword in triumph, feeling that all her hard work hadn't been in vain.
Ethan looked at her and thought about starting the MV shoot. It was time to begin.
If it were real martial arts training, it wouldn't be this fast, but for the moves needed in an MV, it was more than enough. The rest could be filled in by the camera.
"Boss, when should we settle the payment for the delay?" After Jessica finished celebrating, one of the martial arts instructors came over to ask.
"No rush, the money will be transferred next week," Ethan assured them.
"Okay, thanks, Boss. We'll be off now," the instructors said, leaving after getting Ethan's promise.
Once the training ground was empty, Jessica was still lying on the mat, resting.
"Jessica, our shoot starts the day after tomorrow," Ethan walked over to her and looked down at her. She was still wearing the same tight sportswear, but this time it was white, matching her healthy tan and well-toned muscles, making her look like a female boxer in the ring.
"Really? Help me up," Jessica extended her hand, and Ethan grabbed it, lifting her up.
But after standing, Jessica didn't let go. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Ethan's neck, tripped him, and tried to take him down!
However, she miscalculated. After receiving training from Tom, Ethan was quite familiar with being in a vulnerable position. Instinctively, he grabbed her waist, lifted her up, and slammed her onto the mat!
Now, they were face-to-face, with Ethan's face pressed against Jessica's chest. He could smell a faint jasmine scent, probably from her body wash.
Jessica, on the other hand, held Ethan's head, her legs wrapped around his thighs, in an intimate position that seemed like she was purposely letting him hear her heartbeat.
After a while, Ethan lifted his head to look at her face, and saw that this sweet-faced girl was staring at him without blinking. Only after their gaze met did Jessica snap out of her trance and release him. "Didn't expect you to be so alert."
Ethan got up from her, laughing. "I haven't been wasting my training time."
Jessica didn't wait for Ethan to pull her up; she stood up on her own. "By the way, how long will the MV shoot take? I need to join a new movie next month."
"Don't worry, it'll be quick," Ethan replied. He wasn't planning to drag out the MV shoot, since the "Monster" film project was about to start, and he, as the art director, needed to join the crew.
So, he planned to finish the MV in the next few days.
After saying goodbye to Jessica and leaving the training ground, he got into Tom's car. Just as he settled in, Avril's call came through again.
"Ethan! I miss you so much!" As soon as the call connected, Avril's straightforward words came through the speaker.
"I miss you too, baby. Are you coming back to New York soon?" Avril had been performing at music festivals lately, and he had heard that she was gradually earning the title of "rock princess" among her fans.
"I want to, but I don't have time right now..." Avril's voice faltered for a moment, then quickly brightened again. "But we can meet at the Grammys! Ethan, you can't leave early this time."
"Don't worry! This time, I'll stay!" Ethan promised. "I'll watch you win the award and celebrate with you."
"That's great! I'm going to use the award to shut those bitches up!"
"So, who are these bitches that pissed you off?"
"Just some people online and a few at my school, you know them. They say my music is only for kids and that I'll never make it to the Grammy stage. FXXK!"
"Don't worry, you'll prove them wrong with your awards. And by the way, I'm shooting a new MV soon. You can send it to them and show them. They'll 'love' it."
"Really?"
"Of course. This MV will be the best comeback."
