Frankly speaking, using body language to convey feelings was no easier than using expressions and tone, but for Monica, there was no better way than this. As mentioned before, she wasn't good at acting with her own expression, but her body language wasn't bad. Her best performance was when she danced with Travolta in 'Pulp Fiction'.
As long as Monica performed well, Adriaan could make appropriate editing in the post-production to fully display her strengths, which might make her more eye-catching. Besides, in the original version of La Belle Legend of Sicily, Monica's few scenes mainly focused on body language. When Adriaan revised the plot, he increased the content in this aspect.
It was necessary to revise the plot. Although Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for Best Actor in 20 minutes a few years ago, Monica's acting skills could not be compared to his, and he was a man. La Belle Legend of Sicily was inherently flawed when it came to the Oscar. Since he was determined to use this film to win an Oscar for Monica, Adriaan naturally would not make a mistake.
Of course, these changes were small. For example, he changed the age of the male lead in addition to the plot. The size of a country was inversely proportional to the degree of social conservatism. A fifteen-year-old male lead peeping at a woman was fine, but he also went to a prostitute with his father. It was not a big deal in Italy, but it was absolutely impossible to be recognized by the mainstream society in the United States. Therefore, Adriaan increased the age of the male lead to seventeen. Anyway, it was fine as long as he did not mention it.
In addition, he also changed the scenes that were too explicit. Many directors, especially European directors, had a strange hobby. They would not stop until the female lead was naked in their films. They thought it was art. Adriaan still remembered that in his previous life, when he was collecting film materials, 80% of the scenes were about the two female leads rolling around on the bed. How could anyone claim that it was so beautiful? What a load of nonsense.
The scene in Titanic where Jack painted for Ruth was the real beauty. In the works of some directors, no matter how tricky the scene was or how gentle the tone was, they could not erase the essence of seduction.
"Let me show you what true seduction is." Adriaan once said this when he was revising the script. He had done this in Mulholland Drive. The scale of the passionate scene between Naomi and Nicole was even smaller than normal, but it still gave people an extremely seductive feeling under his editing. Many critics praised it, and the Spanish newspapers even claimed that the scene was full of "implicit and intense passion".
These people always thought that the larger the scale, the more human nature could be displayed, but they did not know that in order to resonate with the majority of people, they had to build on the foundation of society. Moreover, a large scale was never the standard for a good movie. How many directors who could produce movies that were loved by the majority would show off their scale in their works?
Adriaan was not too worried about Monica. He had enough patience to shoot the movie. Anyway, most of the scenes were in the studio in Los Angeles, not Italy. He and Monica had been to Siracusa in Sicily. It was indeed the most suitable place to shoot the movie, but Adriaan was not Giselle Tornadore. He was not Italian, so he had no connections in Sicily.
He had always prided himself on being a law-abiding citizen. MGM was excluded by him because of its relationship with the Mafia, not to mention that Sicily was the birthplace of the mafia. Even though Adriaan was quite powerful in Hollywood, a powerful dragon could not suppress a local snake. Some time ago, he heard that a person in charge of a company went to Russia to do business, where there were many mafias, and was killed after the negotiation with some businessmen with mafia background broke down.
Therefore, Adriaan decided to reduce the shooting in Italy as much as possible, and before going there, he tried to build a good relationship with the local government. Although it was a bit of a fuss, and the guy who was killed in Russia was not clean himself, there was no harm in being careful. He always liked to take everything into consideration.
"Don't worry, take it slowly. Carefully understand her feelings. We will shoot a few more times. We have plenty of time." Adriaan often comforted Monica like this on the set.
Because of the need to achieve excellence, every scene was shot very slowly, especially those places that Adriaan thought were very important. He often repeated the scene 40 or 50 times. Although he was not tired, others could not compare to him, even if the rest time was arranged very reasonably. After all, anyone would get tired of doing the same thing over and over again.
At this time, Adriaan would arrange some scenes that were easy to pass. For example, in the movie, the male lead had fantasized about Marlena several times, and put himself in the shoes of the male lead in various movies, such as the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum, or the cowboy galloping in the western United States, and Marlena was the female lead. Obviously, these scenes could not be grafted with the method of finding old movie clips, and then pasting the faces of the male lead and female lead on it. Therefore, they had to make props and scenery in the studio, and then shoot it with black and white film.
However, these scenes were very short, and it was not difficult to produce. It was just right to improve everyone's mood, and at the same time, it could also be used to train Monica and the male lead, David Marino.
Marino was a young man who had just turned 18 years old. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and there seemed to be a trace of cleverness in his simple and honest manner. Especially his thick eyebrows, when combined with his bright eyes, he gave people a pure feeling, which was very much in line with the image of the male lead in Adriaan's mind. Therefore, although he had no acting experience, his outstanding temperament made Adriaan decide to use him.
"I have said that acting in a movie is a very interesting thing. As long as you can put your feelings into it and ignore us around you, you will discover a new world." Adriaan encouraged him more than once.
"Yes, sir, I have been doing as you said." Marino also answered shyly and respectfully.
This young man's character was similar to his appearance. He was clever and at the same time very shy. The male lead had several scenes with Marlena in his imagination, and when they were shooting these scenes, he would always make an NG because Marino blushed. Many people in the crew liked to tease him about this, and even Monica could not help but do it a few times.
His image matched, and his character was honest and good. This was the reason why Adriaan chose him. Of course, there was another important reason. His English was not bad. When he first came to Los Angeles, he still stuttered when communicating, but after a few days, it became smooth. The name David was very common, but Marino was a standard Italian surname. Yes, he was Italian.
Although the original movie had Italian dialogue, everything was based on the Oscar, so it was better to change the dialogue to English. However, considering the quality of the movie, it would be best if the main actors were Italian actors, not Americans of Italian descent. Therefore, in order to find suitable actors, Adriaan had spent a lot of time thinking. It was easy to find adult actors, but the male lead had given him a headache for a long time.
For this reason, he had used a lot of his connections. He had even specially visited Martin Scorsese, who had almost no relationship with him, hoping that he could recommend him. At the Cannes Film Festival, no matter how tightly he had been surrounded by reporters, he had still found a chance to talk to Scorsese. Fortunately, he had finally found the young man David Marino. Even if he was not 100% suitable, it was already very good.
However, even though Adriaan had spent a lot of effort to adjust the crew's morale, sometimes accidents would still happen.
"How many times do I need to emphasize it, Monica? How many times do I need to emphasize it?! "Adriaan crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at Monica with an unusually serious expression." What did I say? This scene is very important. It is the first time that Marlena's inner world is completely shown. You have to use your body language to reveal a trace of your most sincere feelings, but you can't be too strong. But how did you do it?! "
He quickly walked behind the monitor and asked someone to rewind the footage. "This is the 21st time. Look, you are spinning in circles so fast. Are you a spinning top? This is the 73rd time, and the corners of your mouth are almost curled up to your forehead! This is the 146th time, and the corners of your mouth are no longer curled up. It is as if you are dancing with a piece of wood. This is the 182nd time, and you are spinning in circles again … Did you really try to figure it out? Tell me, Monica! "
Monica lowered her head and pursed her lips. Her hands were tightly clasped together, trembling slightly. The people around them did not dare to breathe loudly. Everyone knew that if they dared to interrupt at this time, they would definitely be courting death.
After staring at Monica for a long time, Adriaan let out a long breath and sat back in his seat. He waved his hand fiercely. "Again!"
Then, in less than two minutes, he bounced up.
"I'm done!" After shouting, he turned around and walked out without looking back.
Although Adriaan had always been calm and rational, a director's job more or less required a little passion, especially when it was a script that he had done surgery on. He also aimed at a big target, and this scene happened to be the three most important parts of the whole movie. While the male protagonist was peeping, Marlena played music and danced with her husband's photo in her arms. With a faint smile on her face, she used this way to express her love for her husband who was far away on the battlefield.
Monica needed to fully use her body in this scene to show this kind of implicit feelings. The light dance, the expression of longing, and the subtle sweet smile all required considerable skills. Although Adriaan was ready, the most important dance scene could not be finished for three days in a row. No wonder he was so ruthless in reprimand.
But Adriaan was Adriaan after all. He walked to the door of the studio and let out a long breath. After a breeze blew across his face, he completely calmed down. After thinking carefully, he quickly turned around and walked to the other side. After a few turns, he came to a row of doors and found the room he was looking for after a few glances.
At this time, a staff came out and was about to call out when he looked up and saw Adriaan. Fortunately, he made a shushing gesture in time and then looked at the staff pointing to the door that was not closed. The staff quickly understood, nodded, and then quickly left after he waved his hand.
He quietly entered the room and quietly closed the door. Looking at the temporarily empty lounge, Adriaan walked around a few chairs and walked inside. Before he reached the front of the single room, a faint choking sound came intermittently.
With a sigh in his heart, Adriaan walked a few steps to the entrance. Monica was sitting on the sofa, holding her arms and wiping tears from her face from time to time. When she saw him come in, she suddenly screamed and jumped up as if she wanted to escape. Naturally, Adriaan would not let her do this. He took two steps forward and carried Monica horizontally, then sat on the sofa.
The girl struggled, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not break free from Adriaan's grasp. In the end, she could only give up the idea and then buried her head between her arms.
"Have you calmed down now?" Adriaan began to comfort her back.
The girl in his arms did not make a sound.
"Well, I actually … came to apologize," he continued. "Yes, I want to say that I'm sorry, I was a little impatient. From the beginning, I kept telling myself that this was a difficult task, and I must have enough patience and patience. Unfortunately, this kind of thing still happened … I'm sorry, Monica, I shouldn't have said that to you, especially in front of so many people … "
Monica finally raised her head, two lines of tears were constantly falling from her face. Because she did not remove her makeup, and because she had applied it several times before, many places were stained. The expression revealed in her brown eyes was constantly changing. Surprise, confusion, shame, sadness, and finally, it turned into anger.
"Am I really that bad?" She suddenly raised her voice and glared at Adriaan hatefully. "Have I never worked hard? Have I always been just coping?! Have I not improved at all?! "
The more she spoke, the more angry she became. In the end, she was so agitated that she almost began to struggle again. At first, Adriaan was a little puzzled, but soon he understood what the problem was and immediately hugged her tightly in his arms.
"Calm down, Monica, calm down," he kept saying. No matter how the girl in his arms struggled, he did not let go.
Finally, Monica, who had exhausted her strength, softened her chest again, but she still bit her lip and glared at him.
"Can you listen to me now?" Adriaan looked at her and asked. Although he did not get a response, he continued, "First of all, I want to say that you did very well, Monica. Even those actresses who have won countless awards can't do better than you in this position — please listen to me."
He showed an extremely serious expression. "But in my opinion, this is far from enough. I hope you can do better, to the point where no one else can play this role except you! I want you to surprise everyone. I want you to completely change the critics' opinion of you. I want you to … ascend to the throne of the Best Actress Award! "
Monica's eyes widened, and her original anger disappeared without a trace with Adriaan's narration.
"You mean … you mean …" She stared at him blankly and asked in a murmur.
"Yes, this is the movie I prepared for you, the one that can ascend to the throne of the Best Actress Award." Adriaan nodded, then leaned over and kissed her lips. "So it's not that you didn't do well enough, but that I have been holding you to a very high standard. This is my fault. I set the standard too high without communicating with you, and then because of my impatience in front of so many people … I'm sorry, Monica, please forgive me, okay? "
Hearing these gentle words, Monica suddenly became stuttering.
"No, Eide, I … I also … I also have …" She stammered and wanted to say something, but the next moment, her mouth was blocked by Adriaan.
After a kiss that was not passionate but lingering, Adriaan stroked her face. "No, dear, this is indeed my fault. If I had communicated with you before, it wouldn't have become like this. The problem is not whether your performance is good or not, nor is it that I reprimanded you, but that I ignored your feelings. Fortunately, I've realized that now, so can you accept my apology? "
Reaching out to hold Adriaan's face, Monica's eyes suddenly began to redden again.
"Hey, don't cry anymore. Your face is already messed up. Do you want to make it more messed up?" Adriaan said in a very serious tone.
Suddenly, Monica burst into laughter and then punched him. "You are always like this, shouldering all the responsibility on yourself. After the ups and downs, I can't hate you even if I want to."
There was a hint of rebuke in her tone, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her eyes.
"So, you forgive me?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows and asked.
"Of course, do you think I can choose not to forgive you?" Monica snorted softly, and then rolled her eyes. "But I want to make it up to you!"
"Make it up to you?" Adriaan blinked, and a trace of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Creaking sounds rang out in the bedroom. For a relatively new bed to make such sounds, one could imagine how intense the movement on the bed was. In fact, in the faint light, the undulations on the bed were unprecedentedly large. Coupled with the woman's hysterical scream, the man's heavy breathing, and the very violent sounds of impact, just listening to it was enough to make one's heart beat faster.
Finally, after a piercing shriek filled with incomparable joy that seemed to rise into the clouds, the huge commotion finally stopped.
"Oh, Eide … you are so annoying … you … got … in again …" Tenderly, Monica said intermittently. Although her tone was reproachful, she didn't really blame anything.
"How about this compensation?" Adriaan asked with a smile.
"I knew it …" Thinking of what they said in the studio in the afternoon, Monica sighed helplessly, and then asked jokingly, "You are so excited today. Did you eat something?"
"You are insulting me, Monica. Do I need that kind of thing?" Adriaan said with dissatisfaction. "In view of your rudeness, I think it is necessary to teach you a profound lesson."
"Don't …" Monica, who was tossed on the bed, immediately cried out.
Adriaan chuckled, playing with her particularly plump softness in his hand, and then moved closer to her ear. "Do you remember what I said?"
Monica showed a blank look at first, but then she thought of something, and her eyes flashed with ecstasy and surprise. "You mean … a child?!"
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