Blessed by heaven

Halle Berry's acting career has been extraordinarily fortunate, and perhaps this was inseparable from her personal efforts.

But if one were to truly summarize, her skin color has indeed played some role in her success.

However, from another perspective, her skin color has also been her misfortune.

This is something Halle had no choice over.

Looking at the said misfortune first. She was born in the United States and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where discrimination against people of color was pervasive during that era. Halle faced a lot of hardships and endured much injustice due to her skin color.

Later on, she participated as a contestant representing "Miss Ohio" in the Miss USA pageant and became the first runner-up.

She thought she had succeeded and gained some fame, but she still encountered obstacles everywhere.

She worked hard, persevered, but still remained relegated to small modeling roles.

Her beauty counted for nothing in the face of her skin color, while her fellow competitors from the pageant thrived, leaving her struggling at the bottom.

By chance, she took on a minor role in "Living Dolls". Although it was just a supporting role, it broadened her horizons and made her realize that she could potentially try a different path.

Yet, because of her skin color, three years later, she was still playing supporting roles.

It was at this point that Halle's luck turned around. God bestowed a massive gift to Hollywood's Black community.

The name of this gift was "political correctness".

Timing and the heavens aligned, and the winds of change began to blow.

In the past, Hollywood films often portrayed people of color as villains, with white actors as the heroes and saviors.

But the Black community rallied together and made their voices heard. They protested and advocated against racial discrimination in society.

Gradually, their voices grew louder and their cause gained traction, and perhaps some white individuals, in their own foolishness, began to think that these protests were right. They realized their arrogance and decided to give other ethnicities a chance and respect. The Native Americans had something to say as well.

Well, the Black community got what they wished for, especially in Hollywood, known as a stronghold for the left. As soon as they perceived the change in the winds, they took immediate action.

As for why the Latinx and Asian communities were selectively ignored among people of color?

Oh, that's not important; it's because you folks didn't cause a fuss or rally like they did.

Now, Halle became the beneficiary of this momentum.

The skin color that troubled her for so many years suddenly became an advantage, turning her into a sought-after talent.

Haha, one must admit that life can be so magical.

Luck was gifted to her by the era itself. In the first year after this change, she became the leading lady in a film called "Jungle Fever ", a drama directed, written, and acted by the African-American filmmaker Spike Lee. The most ironic part was that the story revolved around a love affair between a black person and a white person. Knowing such a director with the same skin color proved to be more than just helpful for Halle.

Her acting career quickly gained more opportunities, and in her second film, she was once again the leading lady, this time in a biographical drama. The subject matter, the storyline, were all tailor-made for awards.

As expected, Halle Berry won in the wordacious category of Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television at the 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards for her performance in "Introducing Dorothy".

Such recognition and awards were undoubtedly the best catalyst for her career at that time.

In the same year, she received an offer for the role of "Storm" in the blockbuster series "X-Men".

Later on, she won the Best Actress award at the 74th Academy Awards for her performance in "Monster's Ball".

Halle Berry became the first African-American woman in history to receive this award, and she basked in the limelight.

Numerous authoritative magazines even crowned her as the "Sexiest Woman in the World", making it clear that Halle was truly on the path to success.

Despite receiving such accolades and praise, she remained humble and devoid of arrogance.

Halle was a genuinely smart individual, fully aware that she was not invincible even with all the acclaim. Many film studios offered her roles, but she carefully selected and chose to be a part of the "007" franchise.

Apart from the added title of "Bond Girl", she valued the broad appeal of this project. In other words, it was highly unlikely to fail at the box office.

Her idea was straightforward: seek stability. She knew that once the film was made, there would be an audience ready to buy tickets.

Moreover, the reviews and word-of-mouth wouldn't be too bad either. With so many films in the franchise, and the nostalgia and sentimentality of so many people involved, who would dare to call the movie bad?

People have always had a high tolerance for sentimentality, and Halle was well aware of this. The producers at MGM knew this as well. Hence, many core elements of the 007 series remained unchanged, such as Bond's all-around coolness, the flirtatious chemistry between Bond and the Bond Girl, and the grand-scale action scenes.

Unfortunately, they ran into "Fury", and the competition proved to be formidable. Clearly, it wasn't good news for "Die Another Day".

Immediately, MGM teamed up with major news outlets to prepare for a counter-campaign, seizing topics and attracting audience attention.

First, several tabloids released a few photos, claiming to capture Bond and the Bond Girl wandering the streets together with ambiguous gestures. Then, a few newspapers caught them together in a room, with Halle not returning home all night, and so on.

A blue supercar was speeding along the road, but when it was about to enter Beverly Hills, its speed inevitably slowed down.

Suddenly, a large group of reporters rushed out from both sides of the road, carrying cameras, video cameras, and recording devices, crowding around the sides of the car. And inside the car were the two most talked-about figures recently, "Bond" and "Bond Girl".

The car window slowly rolled down a bit, and the reporters became even more excited, bombarding them with loud questions.

"Mr. Brosnan, can you tell us about your relationship with Ms. Berry?"

"Some say you two fell in love during filming and ended up together. Is that true?"

"Mr. Brosnan, have you already started living together..."

Hearing this question, Halle, sitting in the passenger seat, couldn't help but show a hint of disgust. On the other hand, one of the protagonists of the event, Pierce Brosnan, had a serene smile slowly appear on his face, filled with affection, as he gazed at Halle.

He looked at her tenderly and firmly said, "Yes, during the filming of "Die Another Day", I met Halle, and I was attracted to her unique and spirited aura... Until now, the two of us have finally come together."

"I love her."

As soon as these words of love and commitment were spoken, the reporters became even more excited.

What a great selling point! Tomorrow's newspapers would surely see a one or two percent increase in sales!

"Mr. Brosnan, could you tell us more about your pursuit of her?"

"Ms. Berry, can you share your thoughts on Mr. Brosnan? And have you both considered a long-term relationship, marriage, perhaps?"

"Have you thought about these things?"

More questions were thrown at them, but Pierce saw no need to continue answering.

When it came to stirring up rumors, of course, they needed to gradually reveal information. Why reveal everything right from the start? That wouldn't maximize the benefits and topics, would it?

So, he rolled up the car window again, honked to signal the reporters to give way, and the car slowly started moving. Finally, they entered Beverly Hills, leaving behind the annoying flies.

Once away from those pesky journalists, Halle no longer concealed her bad mood. She frowned, and her displeasure was evident on her face.

Even though it was a fake romance, it wasn't friendly for a female star.

Especially for Halle, who reluctantly agreed to this publicity stunt, there was always some lingering resentment.

Women always wanted to have it both ways, but Pierce seemed utterly clueless in this regard.

As he drove, he asked, "Shall I take you somewhere?"

"No, just take me home, thank you."

Pierce turned his head and glanced at Halle, saying nothing and showing no discontent.

It was all part of a false transaction, and he didn't care.

As for the woman not cooperating privately and not liking to play along, he didn't mind either.

Was he lacking women?

...

"It's almost midnight, why aren't you sleeping yet?"

René looked bored, watching TV. He noticed that Lyman had been sitting at the computer desk for a long time, exuding an absent-minded vibe.

"You should go back to sleep first, I'll wait for today's box office statistics."

Lyman didn't even raise his head.

"Can't you check tomorrow? Take care of yourself."

"I can't sleep anyway. Listening to the report will give me some peace of mind."

Despite the relatively good box office performance in the past two days, he still wanted to see "Fury" do even better, like surpassing "007" and taking the top spot at the weekly box office.

After all, the better the results, the more confident he would be, and the more beneficial it would be for his next big-budget production. If this film could achieve impressive data, it would help him negotiate better terms when discussing his compensation and share of the profits.

"What? Alright, I get it."

"Did the results come out?" Seeing Lyman finishing the call, René asked curiously, "Did they calculate today's box office so early?"

"No, just now Luc Besson called. He wants us to go back to France, take the main cast with us, and do some promotion there."

"What a hassle."

Lyman sighed but agreed anyway. After all, France was his base, and some supporters and fans there would love to meet him. If he made a trip back, it would definitely boost the box office in that market.