Chapter 360: Sisters

Chapter 360: Chapter 360: Sisters

After composing herself, Irene changed into a comfortable off-white loungewear set.

As she went downstairs, the tip of her nose was the first to catch the sweet scent permeating the air — it was the smell of pineapple pie.

In the living room, sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the space. Sophia was sitting at the dining table, wearing a bright yellow shirt with her hair casually tied into a bun, holding a fashion magazine and chatting with their mother while reading.

Hearing footsteps, she immediately looked up, a bright smile instantly blooming on her face, and stood up to walk quickly toward Irene.

"Irene!" Sophia opened her arms and gave her a big hug, with enough force to almost lift her off her feet. "My busy little sister has finally decided to return from the set! Let me look at you — have you lost weight again? Filming must have worn you out, right?"

Irene was enveloped in her sister’s warm embrace, the familiar scent of gardenia perfume lingering in her nose, and her heart was filled with warmth.

She patted Sophia’s back gently and teased with a smile, "Sis, your strength is still the same. If you keep hugging me like this, I won’t be able to breathe. I’m doing okay, just a bit tired, but it’s fine now that we’ve wrapped up filming."

The sisters released their embrace, and Sophia pulled Irene to sit by the dining table, pushing a plate of steaming pineapple pie in front of her. "Try it quickly. Mother made it especially for you. It’s fresh out of the oven and still hot, so be careful not to burn your mouth."

The surface of the golden pineapple pie glistened, its edges baked to a slight golden brown. The moment it was cut, the sweet and tart aroma of pineapple pulp wafted out, accompanied by a faint scent of butter.

Irene didn’t use a fork. She picked up a large piece with her hand and put it into her mouth. The warm filling melted on her tongue — the sweet and tart balance was perfect, the crust was crispy, and it was super delicious.

"This is so delicious! Mom, your cooking just keeps getting better." Irene praised sincerely, her eyes shining with satisfaction. "Home-cooked food is the best. I’ve been eating boxed lunches on set for months, and I’m about to get sick of them."

Their mother’s eyes crinkled as she smiled, and she reached out to ruffle Irene’s hair. "Is it really as exaggerated as you say? I happen to know that your production crew gets meals delivered from five-star hotels, and I heard that chefs even come to the set to cook from time to time."

Irene: "That’s all just nonsense written in the newspapers. The five-star hotel meals were only ordered for Depp. The rest of us just ate standard meals. He paid for the chef out of his own pocket, and I, at most, just tagged along for a few meals."

Sophia: "I have a say in this. The newspapers do love to exaggerate. If they had five-star hotel meals delivered every day, the production cost of Irene’s movie would definitely exceed 300 million dollars."

Irene nodded in agreement.

Sophia: "So, how much did your movie actually cost? The newspapers say all sorts of things, and I’m quite curious."

Irene thought for a moment. "Not more than 280 million, I think. Some of the data hasn’t been finalized yet."

Before Sophia could speak, their mother, Eleanor, sighed from the side. "This must be the most expensive movie ever produced in Hollywood, right? Irene, you’ve set a new record again."

Before Irene could respond, steady footsteps were heard on the stairs.

Francis walked downstairs wearing a gray wool sweater and khaki casual pants, holding a financial newspaper with a gentle, just-woken-up smile on his face. "Morning, my two daughters. It seems I woke up late today. Did I miss anything good to chat about?"

"Dad!" Irene and Sophia called out in unison, both standing up to give him a hug.

Francis patted his two daughters’ backs and sat down at the head of the table. A servant quickly brought over a cup of hot coffee and a breakfast plate.

"We were talking about how Irene has broken a Hollywood record once again," Eleanor said with a smile, handing their father a slice of whole-wheat toast, which was bare with no jam on it.

Ever since Francis was diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol last year, those heavy-flavored foods had been off-limits for him, especially since Irene had called more than once to emphasize that Francis needed a lighter diet.

If Irene weren’t there, Eleanor would occasionally let Francis have a taste of something sweet, but with Irene right in front of him, Francis had to obediently chew on his dry bread.

Francis took a bite of the whole-wheat toast with an expressionless face. "Irene, do you have the confidence to reach the results of Titanic?"

Irene: "That might be a bit difficult."

In her previous life, the North American box office for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was 390 million dollars, and the global box office was 960 million dollars, which had already placed it among the top of the box office rankings for that year.

If it hadn’t clashed with Spider-Man 3, the box office could have been even higher. In this lifetime, Irene’s first installment performed better than in her previous life, so it was possible for the third installment to surpass the box office of her previous life as well.

But when it came to surpassing Titanic, she really didn’t have much confidence. After all, the year Titanic was released, its total North American box office was about 674 million dollars, and its global cumulative box office was about 1.843 billion dollars, which was almost double that of At World’s End.

Such a gap couldn’t be easily overcome just by Irene doing some marketing. One had to know that among the many talented people in Hollywood, not a single one had defeated James Cameron. In the end, the one who surpassed Titanic was James Cameron’s own Avatar.

Francis: "It’s good that you can realize there is still a gap between you and James Cameron. I’m just afraid you’ll get carried away by the blind hype from various major production studios."

After talking to Irene, he turned his head to ask Sophia, "How is the progress of your Lost in Translation now? I heard that you’ve already started preview screenings?"

Mentioning the movie she directed, Lost in Translation, Sophia’s eyes lit up, and her tone carried a hint of pride.

"Yes, we have already arranged some preview screenings in New York and Los Angeles one after another. We’ll officially arrange the North American release after the Oscar nomination results are out. Speaking of which, I really have to thank Irene, and Mr. Robert Smith from her company, for this."

"Irene, you don’t know, Robert is really so reliable! He not only helped us formulate a precise promotional plan but also connected us with many resources for art-house theaters.

He knew that the core audience for this movie was literary youth and urban white-collar workers, so he specifically planned a ’Lonely City’ themed discussion on Facebook and collaborated with several independent bookstores to host offline screenings. Now, although the movie hasn’t officially been released in many regions yet, the level of discussion on social media is already very high."

Irene smiled. "Robert is an expert in this field to begin with. Besides, the quality of your movie itself is good. The story is delicate, and the visuals are beautiful. He just did what he was supposed to do."

Robert had been working for her for quite some time. Back when he was at MGM, he had made a name for himself through his outstanding abilities. Although he was later pushed out by people with connections, ever since he came to work under Irene, there hadn’t been a single thing he did that left Irene dissatisfied.