Prague, a European city with at least a thousand years of history, was once one of the largest political, economic, and cultural centers in Europe. It was designated as the capital of many countries, such as the Holy Roman Empire in the 9th century. When the Habsburg Dynasty ruled Central Europe, it was also designated as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Later, it became the capital of the Czechoslovak Republic, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the Czechoslovak Federal Republic, and the current capital of the Czech Republic, which was founded less than two years ago.
This city was known as the "City of a Thousand Towers", "The Golden City", and so on. It was known as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It was famous for its various styles of architecture, and because of its geographical location, it attracted spies from various countries to do business here. Although it was not as big as the three rumored spy cities, it was not small, so the first act of Mission Impossible was chosen to take place here.
"From a personal point of view, I don't like Milan Kundera very much. In contrast, I prefer to read Kafka's novels. Of course, this is not to say that Kundera is not as good as Kafka. His novels are really good, and many British people have read the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. However, Kundera is sometimes too pretentious. When you first read it, you will feel very shocked and moved, but after reading it more, you will find that it is not the case. This situation also happened to Kafka, and many writers can't escape it. But Kafka's advantage is that he is already dead. This is why I said just now, never comment on contemporary writers. This should be the matter of people decades or even hundreds of years later. As long as the author is still alive, people will have to consider other factors and other people's influence when commenting, so it is difficult to be fair. "
Sitting in front of a round table in an open-air cafe, Adriaan was talking non-stop. Sitting in front of him was Richel Wei Zi. Her casual dress could not hide her scholarly aura. She stared at Adriaan, gently biting her lips, as if she was listening attentively. She was like this the last time they were in London.
Sitting next to Richel was Nicole Kidman. She was wearing a light-colored dress and a dark-colored coat. She crossed her legs and tapped her heels from time to time, looking a little playful. There was no expression on her face, which made her look very cold. Her eyes were also on Adriaan, but no one knew what she was thinking.
On the other hand, Tom Cruise, who was sitting next to her, did not hide his absent-mindedness at all. His eyes were wandering, and no one knew where he was looking. This was already a performance of great restraint on his part. Otherwise, he would have begun to yawn out of boredom.
"So, we shouldn't comment on it?" Richel asked as he fiddled with his spoon. "You know, even when commenting on Shakespeare, people are inevitably influenced by others."
"Of course it's not that I shouldn't comment." Adriaan laughed. "For the dead like Shakespeare, they are too far away from us. We can only understand them through documents and their works. But documents and works can't give us a complete understanding, so the rest is just our imagination. Do you understand what the word 'brain fill' means? Because we don't fully understand them, we will fill in the blanks based on our first impression of them. This is the most direct feeling we have as individuals. If these individuals can communicate perfectly with each other, we will be able to form the closest image. And as a contemporary writer who is still alive, especially a writer with great influence, do you think people won't be influenced by his movements when commenting? Won't they be influenced by his friends and relationships? "
Speaking up to this point, Adriaan reached out and knocked his head. "'Love of Prague,' one of the top ten American films of 1988, won the Palme d 'Or in Cannes. I guess you've all seen it. What do you think? I felt that it was terrible. Of course, it wasn't too terrible, but it was obvious that Kaufman wanted to express everything in the novel in the movie. However, Kundera originally wanted to express enough things, and in the end, the plot became too loose. For a movie adapted from a novel, the director's own things must be dominant, even if the production will be criticized, but this movie … "
Adriaan smiled, took a sip of his coffee, and didn't say anything else.
"Don't you think it's biased to attribute the success of the movie to the influence of the original author, Eide?" Nicole asked, her bright blue eyes very beautiful.
"We're talking about the influence of the author, aren't we?" Adriaan retorted with a smile. "If I want to write a review, of course, I have to speak fairly and give examples of the strengths and weaknesses. That way, it'll be more convincing. But we're just chatting in private, and we're only talking about one aspect, so it's unreasonable to use this to criticize me."
"Could it be that the reviews of the actors' performances are also influenced?" Richel suddenly interrupted.
"I'm sorry, but probably so." Adriaan shrugged. "Daniel Day Lewis's performance is relatively better, but Juliet Binoche and Lina Olin's acting, I'm sorry, I really don't think they're that good."
He raised his hand to stop Richel from speaking. "In essence, whether it's the director or the actors, what they have to do is to convey a feeling to the audience, so that they can immerse themselves in it and cause a strong resonance. Tommy in Born on the Fourth of July is the best example. His impassioned speech in the second half and the scene where he fell to the ground and crawled to the wheelchair attracted the admiration of countless audience members. This is Tommy's best performance, all the time, right? "
Adriaan looked at Tom Cruise. Although Tom Cruise had been absent-minded, he was more or less listening to the conversation. He immediately smiled brightly and said, "Of course."
Everyone liked to listen to nice things, and Cruise was no exception.
"Okay, now think back to the performance of Binoche and the others. It's a typical French performance, as if everything is bottled up in the heart and very uncomfortable. If it's separated from the image in the novel, how many people will be touched?" Adriaan spread out his hands. "How to convey emotions to the audience and resonate with them is the homework that every actor and director has to do. In this aspect, actresses have more disadvantages. The more beautiful the woman, the more difficult it is to do this."
Speaking of this, he seemed to think of something. He glanced at Nicole in front of him and seemed a little embarrassed. After a light cough, he suddenly changed the topic. "Speaking of which, Tommy, I really envy you for having such a beautiful and moving wife."
"Thank you." Cruise laughed, then looked at the time and stood up with Nicole. "Okay, we should go back. What a beautiful afternoon."
Seeing that her husband was in a hurry to leave, Nicole didn't say much. She just looked at Adriaan deeply.
"Be careful on the road. Don't think that there are no paparazzi and fanatical fans in Prague." Adriaan stood up with a smile and patted him on the shoulder. After watching the two of them go away, he turned back and grinned at Richel. "Are we going back now? Or are we going to walk around this beautiful city? "
After returning from Edinburgh, Adriaan accompanied the little fellow for a few days and then set off for Prague. Although "Mission: Impossible" was produced by Cruise's production company, Bosworth Pictures had invested in it, and the copyright was not exclusive to them, so it was normal to visit the set.
Emma wanted to go with them. She had been abroad before, but Adriaan refused her in the name of work. Although the little fellow was unwilling, she accepted the reality. Besides, Adriaan had promised that she could come to the United States in the next half of the year.
Kate didn't go to Prague with them.
"I just want to go back to Los Angeles. I don't want to disturb your work," she said.
In that case, Adriaan didn't insist. At least he had Charlize by his side. But he didn't expect that when he arrived in Prague, his private secretary actually stood him up.
After returning to London, Charlize proposed to go to Prague in advance to prepare for the next business. She was very determined, so Adriaan agreed. When he arrived at the set of "Mission: Impossible", he was told that Charlize returned to the United States the day before he arrived and left a message saying that "she was not feeling well and wanted to go back to rest first."
It was a terrible excuse, but what else could Adriaan say? Did he have to go to Los Angeles to catch her back? He wondered if the two women had colluded in London.
Adriaan stayed on the set for three days and didn't have much to say about the shooting, even though Cruise asked him more than once, and his tone and expression were very sincere. First of all, the locations of "Mission: Impossible" were only Prague and London, which were very simple. The more difficult scenes, such as the classic Spiderman theft or the desperate fight in the tunnel, were all shot in the studio, so there was really nothing to say. Second, Cruise valued his power on the set very much. The reason why he tolerated Adriaan's interference in the casting was that he had bought a favor, and because the actors he had chosen were all to his liking. So in Adriaan's opinion, since he had already bought a favor, he might as well buy it to the end.
There were no scenes for Vin Reams or Jean Reno — oh, Reno had a scene, but it was shot early. So the most important thing was the performance of Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Anthony Hopkins.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have played such a cunning character," Hopkins said to Adriaan. Hopkins said to Adrian, "You know, this kind of role is always difficult to play."
"It's not a big deal. You just need to be decent in the first half and evil in the second half. That's your strength, dear Anthony," Adriaan comforted him with a laugh.
At first, someone recommended Joe Walter for the role of Jim, but he was angry at his rebellious daughter's stubbornness to become a contracted actress of Digital Playground Inc. He refused all the movie offers, so the role finally fell to Anthony Hopkins.
"Take care of yourself, Anthony. If you want, I can introduce you to a good doctor," he said immediately. During the shooting, Hopkins often complained about back pain, and Adriaan vaguely remembered that he had had surgery because of back problems, so he said so.
Hopkins was the most outstanding of the three. He had acted on the stage for decades, and he was indeed very good. Then there was Cruise. His face was made for Ethan Hante, not to mention the rest of it. Nicole could only be described as average. Judging from the current situation, she might not be able to get rid of the title of vase.
Nicole probably realized this herself, so when Adriaan found a chance to talk to her in private, she always expressed her opinion, intentionally or unintentionally. Faced with this situation, Adriaan smiled knowingly. He neither said anything nor made any promises. It was not the right time yet.
As for his other purpose in coming to Prague, Richel Wei Zi was just one of the many supporting roles. She was also average, and her scenes would end in Prague. So this time Adriaan came to deliver the script to her.
"It's an interesting story, I think … no problem." Said Richel after reading the script. He looked like he was thinking about something. Although his answer was a little hesitant, the certainty in his tone was obvious.
The story was about a dishwasher with a criminal record who wanted to get back to work, so he found three stupid accomplices to rob a bank. His wife, who was a primary school teacher and hoped that her husband could live a peaceful and stable life, accidentally learned about it and tried to stop him. But the guy had made up his mind. Not only did he not give up, but he also pulled his wife into the gang, and thus staged a farce.
Yes, this was Woody Allen's Amateur Thief. But it would take several years for it to be produced. It was the lowest period of the old man's life, so the movies he made were not good. What Adriaan liked was the script. At least the story was very interesting. But from the director to the producer, he had to hire new people, and the script also needed to be revised. For example, the heroine, who was originally a beautician, was changed to a primary school teacher because of Richel's temperament.
After all, Woody Allen's talkative style was unique. No one could imitate him, so it was necessary to change it into an ordinary black comedy. After providing the outline and suggestions, Adriaan threw it to the screenwriters. Fortunately, they did a good job. They fully understood his ideas and joined in. All they needed was a good director and a good male lead.
As for the box office, Adrian did not care too much about it. Even though Woody Allen was in the midst of producing the movie, the scandal and the downturn had affected his performance, causing the already niche movie to lose even more popularity, but that did not mean that it would be the same even if someone else were to replace him. Besides, as long as the cost was controlled properly, and the director or producer were not stupid, even if the box office was not high, they could still recoup their costs. This way, Richel could accumulate popularity, and then she could act in the movie according to his plan.
It was precisely because of this that Richel, who hesitated again and again, agreed to Adriaan's invitation to go shopping. So when they were discussing the new script in the open-air cafe, they met Nicole and Cruise, who had also come out to rest. Since it was such a coincidence, they naturally invited them to sit down and discuss together. When Nicole learned that Adriaan had a new script for Richel, the look in her eyes was really subtle. Although she did it very secretly, how could it escape the eyes of Adriaan, who had been paying attention to her from the beginning?
So, as they chatted, the topic shifted to the city of Prague, then to Milan Kundera, and then to the conversation at the beginning. If it had been someone else who made such a comment, it would have been refuted long ago. However, it was Adriaan, a miracle director in Hollywood, who was also a leading screenwriter. Coupled with his achievements and extraordinary eloquence, it attracted the attention of the two women.
For women, the stronger, more capable, and arrogant a woman was, the more they liked men with superior abilities. Well, they were superior in all aspects, including those strong women. Women were born to wait to be conquered by men. Just like what Adriaan said when he first taught Denis, male animals always considered how to spread their seeds more comprehensively, while female animals considered finding the best male to pass on their genes. Humans, as advanced animals, were no exception.
So it was not difficult to understand why Adriaan would talk about Milan Kundera and criticize his novel that had been adapted into a movie. As for the effect, Nicole naturally could not observe it. As for Richel, she agreed to Adriaan's invitation to continue shopping. After dinner, she returned to the hotel to say goodbye and was about to return to her room, but Adriaan did not let go. She struggled slightly, and then Adriaan pulled her into the room.
Later, they kissed, caressed, undressed, fell into lust, and finally put Richel on the bed. Just like that time in London, Adriaan unceremoniously took her again.
As for Richel herself, she did not know what she was thinking. She knew that this man was a playboy, and that his interest in her might be more about her body. However, she still agreed to the invitation to go shopping. She was still pulled into the room, stripped of her clothes, and placed on the bed, allowing him to wantonly play with and violate her.
Was it because he made a special trip to Prague to arrange the next movie for her? Or was it because of his speech and demeanor? Or was it because of his praise and the way he looked at her when Nicole left?
The moment Adriaan entered, Richel left these things behind and began to passionately cater to him. Anyway, he had always been a mysterious, difficult to see through, but exuding a strong attraction.
Indeed, every woman who was reluctant to leave Adriaan's side, whether it was Kate, Charlize, or Monica, or Julia, was clearly aware of this. As for Sarah, she did not think about it at all. Compared to them, she was sometimes very simple.
This view also existed for other women, such as Nicole Kidman, and the next one.
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