Chapter 352

"Don't think too much, it's just a matter of a few days. Kubrick won't delay it for too long." Adriaan wanted to say something else, but in the end, he just waved his hand. Of course, as always, a light smack sounded on Charlize's butt. Charlize immediately rolled his eyes and quickly walked out of the room amidst Adriaan's happy laughter.

In the next few days, Adriaan did nothing but play around with Emma. The little girl was very happy to see him again. She even learned a dance and sang and danced in front of him. She was very cute. In addition, Adriaan specially went to Edinburgh to talk with Rowling, who was wrapping up the second Harry Potter series. Although the sales of "The Sorcerer's Stone" were not particularly good in the UK, it was quite good in the US. It was even ranked last on the New York Times' 100 bestseller list. Rowling had completely gotten rid of her poverty and entered the ranks of the middle class.

"You don't have to do this, Joe. You deserve it, don't you?" Faced with Rowling's repeated thanks, Adriaan said so. After careful consideration, he decided to talk to Rowling about the film adaptation after the second Chamber of Secrets was published. It seemed a little too early now.

On the fifth day after the visit, Kubrick's eldest daughter, Anya, once again invited Adriaan and Clarkson to the small manor. The old man lying on the bed, unable to speak or move, finally agreed after thinking for a long time.

"In principle, my father allows Mr. Adriaan to take over, and he also allows Mr. Adriaan to make adjustments according to his own requirements. However, after the film is completed, it must be reviewed by my father first. If my father is not satisfied, then the film cannot be released through any channels." In the bedroom that they visited last time, Anya stated the conditions in front of her father, sister, and other family members who were leaning against the bed.

"I don't think there's a problem, right, Pine?" Adriaan looked at Clarkson. Because he was the one who asked Clarkson, Warner completely handed this matter over to him.

"It should be … no problem," Clarkson sighed helplessly.

"I suddenly feel like I made a big mistake. Are you so sure that Stanley will be satisfied? He's a picky guy, and I've dealt with him more than once. Sometimes, he's not satisfied with his own things, not to mention … this time, he's letting someone else take over his things, "Clarkson said with a wry smile after coming out of the small manor again.

If Adriaan took over the production and Kubrick was not satisfied, and if the film did not do well at the box office, part of the cost could be recovered by means such as video distribution, but if the film was not distributed at all, it would be a complete loss.

"It is certainly not 100%, but I believe it will not cross his bottom line. Adrian said solemnly, then looked at Clarkson's frowning face and laughed, "Well, Payne, making a movie is often no different from gambling. You don't know what the outcome will be until the last moment.

"Indeed, you are the director of miracles. I hope there will be a miracle in the end." Clarkson sighed again and smiled to comfort himself.

It would take some time to sign the contract. After all, it was not legally binding to just say "if father is not satisfied, then the film cannot be distributed through any channel". But that was the lawyer's job. After getting the promise, Adriaan immediately returned to Los Angeles to start some preliminary work.

For example, after Kubrick moved to the UK, he basically shot his movies in the UK, and soon moved to other places. Although the script of "Eyes Wide, Warning" was set in New York, he still insisted on shooting in the UK. Before that, he had already contacted a studio and planned to build a New York street set here, which cost a lot of money. It could be said that most of the cost of the whole movie was spent on this.

But now that it was taken over by Adriaan, the plan to build the set in the UK was only on paper. Naturally, it was better to bring it to New York for the actual shooting.

In addition, he also had to meet the crew members. Many of them had worked with Kubrick several times. Although Adriaan would bring a few people he was familiar with, most of them had to be reserved. After all, they were relatively familiar with Kubrick's style, so it was necessary to build a good relationship in advance. But the most important thing was to communicate with the male and female leads.

"Payne, I remember that you agreed to act in the film because of Stanley's invitation. Why is it Eide now?" In a private room of a private club, Tom Cruise looked at Payne Clarkson and asked. There was a hint of questioning in his tone, but then he looked at Adriaan and showed his trademark smile, "Sorry, Eide, I don't want to offend you. I just want to understand why things have become like this."

"I understand." Adriaan smiled and did not say much. His eyes were completely focused on Cruise, as if Nicole Kidman beside him did not exist.

"You know, Tommy, Stanley had a serious stroke. He can't even speak, let alone direct the film. But he bought the adaptation rights of the novel more than ten years ago, and he is absolutely not willing to give up halfway. Now that Adriaan has expressed in time that he can take over and has impressed him with his ability and sincerity, why can't we continue? "Clarkson spread out his hands and said sincerely.

"Oh, of course, Eide is the famous Miracle Director." Cruise smiled, a hint of disapproval flashed in his eyes, and then he immediately asked doubtfully, "But, as far as I know, with Stanley's character, he will never allow anyone to interfere with his film. How did you persuade him, Payne?"

Cruise looked at his agent, and Kingsley immediately took over the topic, "Yes, Mr. Clarkson, everyone knows that Stanley Kubrick had a disagreement with the original authors, Arthur Clark and Stephen King, when he was filming The Shining and A Space Odyssey 2001. The reason was that he disagreed with their views on the script. Arthur chose to give in, and Stephen criticized the film version of The Shining more than once."

Then she put her hands together, and the meaning was obvious. How could you persuade this stubborn old man? Or did Warner unilaterally kick Kubrick out because of the stroke?

"There are two reasons. The external reason is that Stanley has been preparing for the film for many years, and he is unwilling to give up now. As for the internal reason …" Clarkson said, looking at Adriaan with some doubts in his heart. As a senior executive of Warner, of course, he knew that Adriaan was working with Cruise on a film, and the relationship between the two should be good. Why did Cruise look like that?

Kruse thought that he had done it very secretly, but the few people present had seen it clearly.

Although he was thinking about it, Clarkson did not stop talking. "As I said just now, Eide moved Stanley with his sincerity and ability. Before today, we had been to England and talked to Stanley face-to-face. He approved of the idea that Eide showed. After all, without his consent, even if someone wanted to take over, it would be impossible. You can ask his family about this. I promise you will get the answer you want. "

Kingsley and Cruise immediately talked in a low voice, and from time to time asked a few words to Nicole. Nicole did not seem to have her own opinion. Every time, she would simply say a few words and then stop. However, as long as she saw how Cruise would quickly snatch the conversation after she spoke for a little longer, she could guess some things.

"Tommy, can you tell me why you are hesitating?" Seeing that they had been discussing for a long time without any results, Adriaan finally asked.

"Well … The key is that Nicole and I agreed to cooperate because we wanted to work with Stanley." Cruise tried hard to make gestures, and then he continued as if he was explaining something. "I'm not saying that I don't want to cooperate with you, Eide. I just think that if we are going to cooperate, why not choose a new film?"

"I understand how you feel, Tommy. Sometimes making a movie is like gambling. The script looks good, but it may be a mess, especially when you take over the work of a director with a unique style." Adriaan said with a chuckle, and there was a sense of carelessness in his expression. "But when have I ever made a mistake, Tommy? Even Stanley admitted that I am qualified to take over his work. Why can't I have a try? "

Adriaan crossed his hands on the table and supported his chin. He looked at Cruise calmly, and there was a hint of provocation hidden in his eyes. Unlike Cruise, who thought that he was very secretive just now, no one could see it unless they were face-to-face. In this respect, Cruise was no match for Adriaan.

"I believe that you can shine in Mr. Sweet. Why can't you believe that I can take charge of Wide-Eyed Alert?" he continued to ask in a leisurely tone.

Cruise pursed his lips and stopped smiling. He glanced at Adriaan and took a deep breath. After frowning for a while, he looked at his wife again.

"What do you think, Nicole?" He put on his signature smile again. Although it was sunny and charming, it seemed a little fake after a while.

"Maybe …" Nicole looked at Adriaan uncertainly, but the latter lowered his head and sipped the coffee in his cup, as if he didn't care about her and Cruise at all.

Nicole's hands under the table involuntarily clenched into fists.

"Maybe we can try," she whispered to her husband.

Cruise raised his eyebrows when he heard the answer. After a moment of silence, he turned his smile to Adriaan again. "Well, I have no objection."

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Tommy." A meaningful look flashed across Adriaan's eyes. Then he stood up and reached out to Cruise with a smile.

Now that it had been settled, there was no need for Adriaan to stay any longer. He quickly shook hands with the Cruise couple and their agent, Kingsley, and said goodbye.

"I remember that you seem to be working with Tommy, right, Eide?" Clarkson couldn't help but ask after they left the club.

"What do you want to ask, Payne?" Adriaan said casually.

"Don't you think Tommy seems to be a little hostile to you?" Clarkson asked straightforwardly.

"Yes, I know. But if you want to ask me why, I don't know." Adriaan shrugged.

He wasn't lying. It wasn't the first time Cruise had acted like this. But he really didn't know why. God knew what was going on in Cruise's head. But combining some of Cruise's words and deeds with some things in his memory, Adriaan could roughly guess something. He couldn't be sure, but there should be some relationship. It could only be said that people who were not broad-minded and couldn't adjust themselves were really … sad.

But this also made Adriaan feel more at ease doing certain things. Thinking about the situation when he left, he couldn't help but smile slightly. When he said his goodbyes, he shook Nicole's hand and pulled it out without hesitation, as if he was facing a stranger. Then, he left without looking back.

After basic communication with the crew and settling the two leading actors, Adriaan went to New York again at the end of April. There weren't many scenes in New York. Most of the scenes were arranged in the Los Angeles studio. Warner naturally agreed with this. If Kubrick wanted to build all the scenes in the United Kingdom, the cost would definitely be 50% more expensive.

Kubrick's movies definitely wouldn't make money, even if the current director was Miracle. Since Adriaan had Kubrick's approval, he certainly wouldn't add any commercial elements to it. Although it was not up to Kubrick once the shooting started, don't forget that if he wasn't satisfied, the movie couldn't be released. Moreover, Adriaan wouldn't joke around with his reputation, so it was better to save as much money as possible.

"Well, I admit that this is very suitable. You've done a good job, Chichi," Adriaan said to the smiling girl while asking someone to take a few photos of the street.

"How is it? I said it would be useful to bring me along, "Kirsten said proudly. Kirsten boasted. She was wearing a light-colored long-sleeved T-shirt and a dark-colored short-sleeved shirt, long pants, and sneakers. She vividly displayed the youthful vigor of a young girl.

"Yes, yes, but can you be so loud?" Adriaan sighed and looked at the few people who were busy. Fortunately, they didn't bring too many people, and Charlize also stayed in Los Angeles.

Kirsten appeared here because when she came to Adriaan's office as usual that day, she heard that he was going to New York to visit the set of the next movie. The girl immediately came up with a plan and acted like a spoiled child, asking to come with him.

"I lived in New York for a while. I'm familiar with the neighborhoods there, especially Brooklyn. I can find any neighborhood with any kind of atmosphere you want." Kirsten was riding on Adriaan's thighs and hugging his neck. She had just recovered from the "guidance" of her fingers, and the flush on her face had yet to fade. Her soft voice sounded like red wine before bed, quite comfortable.

She did live in New York. Otherwise, she wouldn't have auditioned for "This Killer Is Not Too Cold." In addition, it was a request under such circumstances, so Adriaan immediately agreed. However, he didn't lose his mind, so Kirsten went to New York with his mother, Inez.

She told her mother most of the truth, only changing a little. She said that she used the excuse of "traveling to New York with her mother" to persuade Adriaan, so her mother had to help her cover up the lie. Inez naturally agreed to her daughter's request. She also knew that her daughter's achievements today were not unrelated to Adriaan, so she wanted to maintain a good relationship with the director as much as possible. However, she didn't know that her daughter had gone even further.

"Well, since you've made your choice, I should send you back." Adriaan said. After saying a few words to the person in charge, he then took the girl to the car parked on the street.

"Since it's so early, why don't we go somewhere else? We've been looking for the neighborhood you want for the past few days. It's time to rest," Kirsten, who was sitting in the passenger seat, said with a smile.

"That won't do. I promised your mother that I would send you back as soon as possible." Adriaan shook his head and leaned over to fasten the seat belt for her. Then, he flicked her round face. "Safety first. I rarely drive on the streets of New York."

"Oh, Eide, don't be like this, okay?" Kirsten took the opportunity to grab his arm and stick her whole body to him. She said in a pleading tone.

Feeling the touch from his elbow that had just developed, Adriaan sighed. "How about this? I'll drive two-thirds of the way, and then walk the remaining one-third back."

"Okay." Kirsten's eyes showed undisguised disappointment. She knew that Adriaan basically wouldn't change his mind once he decided on something.

Seeing her like this, Adriaan chuckled and then started the car. How could he not know what Kirsten was thinking? However, some things should still be kept in suspense. Anyway, it was still within the shelf life, wasn't it?

As he said, he first drove a few blocks, then stopped two blocks away from Kirsten and his mother's apartment. Inez had a decent small apartment in New York, so she didn't stay in a hotel. Then, he walked back with the two of them.

Although Kirsten wasn't very excited, she kept laughing at Adriaan's humorous words. No one was better than him when it came to coaxing women, no matter what kind of woman they were.

"Okay, let's stop here, Chichi." After sending Kirsten to the stairs of the apartment, Adriaan touched her head and said, "Don't be so anxious. You know, I like you very much."

"Yes, I know." Kirsten sighed, then rolled her eyes and looked at Adriaan hesitantly. "There are some things that I don't know if I can tell you …"

"Oh?" Adriaan immediately bent down. Unexpectedly, the girl suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek in front of everyone.

"Chichi!" Adriaan shouted angrily. He quickly glanced around. It seemed that not many people were paying attention, and there was no one behind the window of the apartment.

"I just want a souvenir." Kirsten smiled and made a face. She quickly opened the door and slipped into the house.