He went to the set of Invisible People, told Naomi about the screening time of Behind the Lies, and had an "in-depth" conversation. After that, Adriaan went to the set of Innocence, which was the last movie he wanted to talk about. This movie had a similar theme to Sofia's previous movie, The Teenage Suicide. So, even though it took a little longer to prepare, the shooting was quite fast.
"The setting is also very simple. We just need to find a forest and build it. Although Liv's acting is very ordinary, it fits the role well. So, we can finish it by the end of the month." Sofia was lying lazily on the bed as she spoke. She only had a thin blanket on her body.
"Not bad. You're basically half as efficient as I am." Adriaan lay naked next to her and propped his head up with his arm.
"No one can compare to a pervert, right?" Sofia smiled slyly. She then sighed. "Too bad I can't make it to the Cannes Film Festival this year. I don't want to go to Venice."
"Then let's go to the Berlin Film Festival. If you don't think the atmosphere there is good, Sundance Film Festival is also a good choice," Adriaan said. He then used one hand to pick up a corner of the blanket and touched it.
"Eide." Sofia rolled her eyes at him, but she didn't avoid his hand. She just felt his touch and sighed. "Oh, I'm so stupid. I told myself that having a one-night stand with you was enough. I didn't expect …"
"This means that you didn't take what I said to heart, Sophie. This means that you —" Adriaan chuckled. "— are actually full of desire deep in your heart."
"No!" Sofia retorted. "It's just that your methods are too clever. Or to put it in a more mysterious way, you have an indescribable charm. You can arouse a woman's desire with just a few words. I still remember the bitter look in Liv's eyes when we left the set. Whenever we acted intimate, she would pout. How did you manage to fool such an innocent girl? "
"Coax is too strong a word, Sophie. Don't tell me I coaxed you into bed?" Adriaan complained.
Sofia wanted to tease him again, but after thinking about it, she sighed, "Okay, no, you … are the most talented director I've ever seen, Eide."
Although she paused midway, she still said it smoothly, which surprised Adriaan and raised his eyebrows. "I'm really surprised. Isn't the most talented director in your mind Mr. Francis Coppola? Isn't that the great Sofia Coppola? Mr. Adrian Kewell can only be ranked third. "
"I'm serious, Eide." Sofia didn't smile. Her eyes were fixed on him. "Yes, I don't deny that in my heart, my father is the greatest. But he didn't have so many achievements at your age."
"Wow, you said I know how to coax women. Aren't you good at coaxing men?" Adriaan laughed, turned her over, and pressed her under him. He lowered his head and kissed her. "I like what you said, Sophie."
"That's the only way. No more." Sofia kissed him back, then warned him.
"Okay, okay." Adriaan laughed and continued to kiss her. "Then let's talk about the original topic. I still suggest that you attend the Berlin Film Festival or the Sundance Film Festival. That way, you can slowly produce the post-production and come up with new works. Then, you can travel around the world to find inspiration. London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Taipei, Manila, memorize what you've learned, and spend a year slowly sculpting the script. Then, like now, you can finish shooting it in a short period of time. Finally, you can attend the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. I have a feeling that this will be a very special film."
"Sounds good." Sofia hugged him. "But this time, I'll write the script myself. I won't show it to you before I finish it."
"You have the right to give your opinion after you see it, right?"
"Well … No, I don't want to be influenced by you."
"Hey, if it's a good opinion, how can I not listen? Is it bad to be influenced by me? "
"No. I said no, so no."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Very well, then I'll change no to yes now!"
"What are you doing?! Eide! Stop! Eide! "
Since Si Jiali had already been completely devoured by him, it was time for the most classic masterpiece of her teenage years to make its debut. It didn't matter much if it was brought forward by a year. Although this movie was more of a storyteller, the acting skills of the actors couldn't be ignored. At the same time, he could also curry favor with the Coppola family and get Sofia in bed a few more times. Even if it was just a friendly competition, he couldn't just let it go once. Besides, although Sofia wasn't beautiful, she had a good temperament. It was okay to change her taste occasionally.
However, it was still too early to think about it. He had to plant the seed in Sofia's heart first. In addition to wandering around the set, he also visited the various post-production studios in the next few days. Of the two movies that had been shot this year, "Never Compromise" had just finished filming, and it would take some time before the post-production could start. This was not urgent, as long as it could be released at the end of the year. The plot of "Winter's Bone" was relatively simple, and the key was in the photography, acting, and editing. The first two had been done very well, and the rest of the editing needed to be done by Adriaan himself.
In fact, it wasn't hard work. After finishing these two movies, there wouldn't be any other shooting tasks this year, and he wouldn't be as busy as last year. He could leisurely and slowly work on it. Just like "Never Compromise", as long as it could be released at the end of the year, it would be fine. With the media in his hands now, he didn't need to participate in film festivals to raise the popularity of the movie.
Therefore, in fact, the movie that needed the most attention and was in post-production was the first installment of "The Lord of the Rings", "The Keepers of the Ring".
The consequence of shooting all three movies in one go was that he had to deal with a lot of scenes. Even though Adriaan had been very careful to reduce the unnecessary shooting, this situation still occurred. Moreover, there were all kinds of CG that had to be dealt with. It was fine for the static ones, but if Adriaan couldn't handle the dynamic ones, it would be time-consuming and laborious to re-render them.
If it was completely handled by Adriaan, as long as he maintained the state of flying around the world from time to time, there wouldn't be much efficiency. But fortunately, he had a capable assistant on this movie. That's right, Peter Jackson, a fat man from New Zealand who liked to keep a full beard, and the original director of the "Lord of the Rings" series.
It sounded like Adriaan was very unkind. He had already taken away Peter Jackson's best work, and he had already asked him to be an assistant during the filming. Now, he was asking him to be his assistant during the post-production. It was a little too shameless to not give up until he squeezed out everything from Peter Jackson. But in fact, this wasn't Peter Jackson's intention. Just like when they were filming in New Zealand, Jackson took the initiative to recommend him. It had to be said that he really liked Tolkien's novel.
There was no reason for Adriaan to refuse, right? As for some aspects, he had already taken them, could he still return them? At most, he would hand over the movie versions of "The Silmarillion" and "The Hobbit" to him in the future.
But even with the help of Peter Jackson as his assistant, the efficiency only increased by a little. Adriaan's special technique wasn't something that others could learn. Although they were shooting with a digital camera, and the scrap rate of the film could be thrown into the wastebasket, no one else could maintain such a high usage rate of the shot. Even Peter Jackson, who was incomparably familiar with "Lord of the Rings", couldn't do it.
"You're a genius, Eide. I can't understand the mind of a genius," Jackson answered this question with sincerity.
Adriaan's reaction was to pat him on the shoulder and leave with a peace of mind. After all, the earliest this movie would be released was at the end of next year. There was enough time. Even if he maintained his current state, if he still couldn't complete "Lord of the Rings" in more than a year, it would be better for him to take off the title of "Miracle Director."
Skipping the two-day trip to the sea with Julia, the next was naturally the premiere of "Agent Beauty." However, the scale was very small, which was different from what he had initially thought. One thing that Adriaan had missed was that Kate's appeal in the box office was relatively low. Although she had starred as the female lead in a movie with a high box office like "Tornado" a few years ago, and the recent "Predestined" and "28 Days" had received some good reviews, she had disappeared for more than a year because she was pregnant with Lily.
Everyone knew what it meant to disappear for more than a year in a place that changed very quickly. Even though there was Adriaan supporting Kate and she didn't need to start all over again, most of her popularity still needed to be accumulated again.
"Agent Beauty" didn't have any big names from the actors to the director. The only one who had any weight was Michael Cain, who played the beauty pageant designer. If Kate hadn't disappeared for more than a year, with the box office of "Tornado" and "Predestined" — although the main character of "Tornado" wasn't an actor — and the accumulated popularity, the box office appeal might not be as good as the original, but it wouldn't be much different. It wouldn't be a problem to hold a lively premiere.
It wasn't impossible to do so now, but it would be a little too extravagant. There would probably be people who would ridicule it. If the box office was average, there would be even more people like that. So, it was fine to reduce the scale of the event. Anyway, what was needed — there would be supporting stars, waiting fans, and reporters to catch the news — they would all be there.
The premiere was arranged at the Dorothy Theater. It was quite a lively night. Due to some considerations, Adriaan didn't appear on the red carpet, but entered the theater from the side door.
"I don't want Lily to be exposed to the media so early," he said to Kate.
Although he controlled a lot of media, unless Kate quit acting or he controlled all the media in the United States, Lily would become the target of the reporters sooner or later. Of course, from a father's point of view, the later that day came, the better. As Lily's mother, Kate naturally didn't have any objections. The little bit of unhappiness in her heart because he didn't walk the red carpet disappeared.
After chatting with the guests for a while, when it was almost time, Adriaan and Kate entered the theater together. At this time, there was no need to hide their intimate relationship. It wasn't like the people in the circle didn't know what kind of person he was, so they were used to it. As for the reporters who might sneak in, let's not talk about whether they could bring in cameras. Even if they had photos, the photos here were not as convincing as the photos on the red carpet.
Although there were a lot of changes to Agent Beauty, it was only aimed at the female lead's personality. The main plot of the story didn't change much. In the beginning, the female protagonist Gracie was called a freak by her classmates when she was young. Even the boy she saved called her that. Of course, Emily did not hesitate to give the boy she saved a punch. Her character was initially sketched out. Then, the time jumps to more than ten years later. They are arresting criminals who are conducting illegal transactions in a bar. The heroine, Emily's kindness, almost messes up the entire operation. Fortunately, another member of the same team reacted quickly enough, further showing off her character.
Next was her personal life and her relationship with her colleagues. A carefree, carefree, and somewhat masculine woman entered the audience's vision.
"I'm reminded of the first time we met, how you looked like." Adriaan couldn't help but blow into Kate's ear.
"Yeah, that pot of coffee left a deep impression on me." Kate immediately stopped him from saying anything.
"Oh, you're really not cute now. I'm starting to regret letting you star in this movie." Adriaan pretended to complain, and then shifted his gaze back to the big screen before she could speak.
Since the female lead's character had been revealed, the next step was to create conflict. Therefore, the criminals planned to plant a bomb at the Miss America competition. The FBI couldn't monitor it, nor could they convince the organizers to stop the competition. In the end, they could only arrange for Grace to be an undercover agent. Of course, she had to learn how to run for Miss America in a short period of time. She didn't have to be very competitive, but at least she couldn't be seen as a fake.
Thus, Michael Caine, who played the role of beauty pageant designer Victor, made a dazzling appearance. Speaking of which, Kate was currently busy with "The Law of the Cider House", which was also a collaboration with Caine, but it did not have as many scenes as "Agent Beauty". He remembered that Kate seemed to have discussed this movie with Charlize last time. It was such a pity that he didn't get to see such an interesting scene.
Back to the movie, the beauty contest designer Victor had created several Miss America competitions. He had an unusual obsession with perfection. Of course, he was also gay. In the movie, men who designed clothes for women seemed to have a fixed gay face, although in real life, most of them were gay.
If such a man and such a woman were to be together, God wouldn't believe that there wouldn't be conflict. Therefore, the jokes in the early stage were basically from them. It had to be said that old man Cain was worthy of an Oscar award. Although he was a supporting actor, he portrayed the gay character very well. Especially those small movements, as well as his undisguised disgust for Grace Qian, who never dressed up and paid attention to her words and actions, caused the audience to burst into laughter.
"What do you think of Michael?" Adriaan glanced at Cain, who was sitting not far in front of him, and then asked Kate softly.
Kate silently pondered and recalled for a few minutes. In the end, she sighed and said, "His acting skills are much better than mine."
Adriaan, who had just wanted to casually find a topic to talk about, raised his eyebrows. He grabbed her hand and patted it lightly. "Don't be anxious. This is all due to training."
As the plot continued, there was no need to repeat it. Similar to many similar comedies, Grace Qian would cause some trouble from time to time when she participated in the beauty contest. Then, she would use all sorts of unimaginable methods to get away with it. For example, because a certain audience member was carrying a gun, Grace Qian's doppelganger pounced on him and pressed him to the ground. In the end, the other party just wanted to smoke. Grace Qian's explanation for this was that she wanted to use this kind of action to support the anti-smoking campaign.
The subsequent twist was also not unexpected. The FBI suddenly sent news that the bomb maniac had been caught. Therefore, the beauty contest's alarm was naturally lifted. However, Grace Qian, who had gathered more information, did not think so. She felt that the person who threatened to cause a terrorist incident at the beauty contest was not the same person as the bomb maniac. Unfortunately, no one supported her opinion. She could only use the excuse that she still had to participate in the beauty contest to stay behind.
However, there was no lack of supporting characters around a lonely hero. Therefore, there were still people who believed in her. It was the designer, Victor, who had been at odds with her when she was dressing her up. As a beauty contest designer, although he did not have any influence on the FBI, he knew the inside story of Miss America. Therefore, another male agent who also believed in Grace Qian, but had to go back due to orders, obtained some information from him. After combining it with the information Grace Qian had given him, he finally discovered the real culprit.
In the end, it was naturally a happy ending. The culprit's true identity was exposed in front of everyone. It was the old woman who had organized the event. Because after this event, she would no longer be in charge of Miss America in the future. At the same time, she was filled with resentment and had a son who often did bad things. Therefore, she planned to take revenge.
At the same time, Grace Qian also saved the elected Miss America, who was also a good friend she had met at the event, from the hands of the bomb, winning countless cheers. After that, although Grace Qian returned to the FBI, she still received the most popular trophy, which was presented to her by the elected Miss America at the breakfast party.
Although the plot was relatively cliché, with a bit of inspiration, friendship, and love, the flavor of the popcorn movie would become even more delicious. This could be judged from the low laughter that rang out from time to time in the theater. However, it was a pity that Kate was still a little too beautiful. Even though the makeup artist had thought of ways to make her mediocre at the beginning, she could not hide her temperament, especially now that she was in the golden age of a woman. As a result, it was difficult for her to give off a breathtaking feeling after putting on makeup in the movie. Therefore, in the hearts of the audience, the feeling of an ugly duckling turning into a swan would not be as strong. Coupled with the lack of box office appeal, it was hard to say what the outcome would be.
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