Chapter 356

In the history of Hollywood, the 1930s to 1940s of the last century was the golden age of musical films. With the continuous improvement of filming techniques, as well as the peak of luxurious sets and production, the songs and dances displayed in the movies were completely different from those displayed on Broadway. Such musical films paid more attention to the combination of content and form, and their artistic achievements were also very high. Therefore, even though they were still black and white, they were still very popular in the United States.

In the 1950s and 1960s, with the expansion of color films, musical films began to become very epic, reaching the peak of the genre in Hollywood. Many actors who became famous for this genre and even won the Academy Award for Best Actress, such as Julie Anne Drew, emerged.

"It was a wonderful era. I could sing and dance to my heart's content in front of the camera. That feeling of freedom is something that can't be experienced now." Ann Drew said with emotion, and then added, "Of course, I'm not saying that it's not wonderful now, but it's inevitable that people will miss the glory of the past when they get old, especially since my voice has been operated on, and I can no longer sing."

Suddenly, the people around her sighed for her. This was the premiere of "The Princess Diaries," a movie about modern fairy tales that was released after "Moulin Rouge." Time was a little tight, but the New Year's schedule was about to end. If they didn't hurry up, then for the sake of the box office, they would have to postpone it until the summer vacation.

"Don't say that, Julie. Although you can no longer sing, I believe that everyone will always remember Mary Poppins in" Joy to the World "and Maria von Trapp in" The Sound of Music. "You have left a deep mark in the history of musical films," Adriaan praised.

Although after the 1970s, because of the rise of various technologies, such as "Space Odyssey 2001" and later "Star Wars," coupled with the rise of various sports, Hollywood musical films began to decline, and Ann Drew's career was also greatly affected. Even so, she did not give up her beloved musical films. When the film was no longer a hit, she would perform on Broadway. It was not until 1997 that she had to have surgery on her throat because of a tumor, and later a series of medical lawsuits, that she had to say goodbye to her singing career.

"I believe you too, Adriaan. Although it is impossible for musical films to make a comeback, 'Moulin Rouge' is indeed the best musical film in recent years. Ms. Nicole Kidman also performed very well. It's great to see such a musical film today," Ann Drew said respectfully.

As mentioned above, after the decline of musical films in the 1970s, traditional methods of expression were no longer popular. Some people occasionally tried innovative ways, but it did not cause as strong a response as before, and musical films gradually became a minority. After 'Everyone Says I Love You' in 1995, there were no more works with a higher standard. In fact, even 'Everyone Says I Love You' was criticized a lot. Many people regarded it as the beginning of Woody Allen's downhill career.

This was also the reason why 'Moulin Rouge' could attract so much attention. Genre films may have a low tide, but it would never disappear. After a long time, there would always be some dazzling sparks, even if the duration was very short. Similarly, the old people in Film school would also miss that era, the era where they could shine, and the era where singing and dancing skills were an important criterion for awards. Therefore, Adriaan repeatedly asked Nicole to do it in person.

Before, when Adriaan persuaded Naomi to practice singing and dancing like Nicole, he gave a typical example. Audrey Hepburn's performance in the movie version of 'My Fair Lady' was very good, but she did not even get a nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars that year, because she did not dance or sing the songs in the movie. The winner of Best Actress that year was Julie Anne Drew, who starred in the stage play 'My Fair Lady' for three consecutive years.

Therefore, Nicole had the foundation to win an award. Of course, it was not easy to win an award with only the foundation, and some important things were also indispensable.

"Do you remember what you promised me?" After ending the conversation with Ann Drew and others, Adriaan called out a somewhat fat middle-aged man from the crowd.

"What do you mean?" Harvey Weinstein blinked his eyes.

"The upcoming thing in March," Adriaan said straightforwardly, not bothering to expose his pretentious expression.

"Oh, yes, I got it." Weinstein showed a look of sudden realization. After pausing for two seconds, he smiled ambiguously, "Nicole Kidman, right?"

"It seems that there is only one movie that I directed and produced that has the potential to win Best Actress." Adriaan smiled.

"Indeed." Weinstein thought for a while and nodded, "It seems that there will be a standard in the future."

Then, he chuckled again. "She is indeed a stunner, and she has quite the character. Only a big shot like you can tame her, but … I remember you once said that 'A Beautiful Mind' was also aiming for the Oscars, so …"

Although Weinstein made this gesture, he didn't finish his words. However, Adrian knew what he meant. Thinking back to some of Weinstein's past performances, some of the rumors from his past life weren't baseless.

"That's my business, Harvey," Adriaan said in a lazy tone, "You just need to finish it."

"Okay, okay, but look, Eide, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' has just started shooting, and you want …" Weinstein smiled.

"This time is the same as last time, Harvey." Adriaan interrupted him, "All the resources are at your disposal. I only want to see the results, so don't say that you didn't get any benefits."

This profit-seeking fellow didn't say anything. He just laughed without any shame.

"This time, there is more time, and the situation is more favorable. Don't let me down, Harvey." Adriaan did not care, but said in a very serious tone.

Weinstein finally stopped smiling and nodded seriously, "No problem, Eide. As you said, this time, there is more time, and the situation is more favorable. There is no reason for me to fail. Just wait for the show."

After a pause, he said, "To be honest, Eide, I am very lucky to be able to work with you."

He said this from the bottom of his heart. Indeed, no media group could give him that much power, even if it was only for a short period of time. And through this power, Weinstein also understood that the brothers were not cut out to run a large media group, so they invested more in film production and distribution.

"Me too." Adriaan patted Weinstein on the shoulder. With the help of such a guy who had a lot of connections in Hollywood, many things had become a lot easier. AC Media was indeed more suitable to have Miramax than Disneyland.

After leaving Weinstein, Adriaan walked to the other side, but at the same time, he could not help but sigh in his heart. If only he was as sensible as Ann Drew.

"This is our great and miraculous director, Mr. Adrian Kewell. He's really an amazing director." Anne Hathaway introduced Adriaan to her friend excitedly. Although she was very affectionate, she did not mean anything else, as if he was just a good friend.

"Nice to meet you. I am Adrian Kewell, not the boss of a company, nor a director. I am just Adriaan." No matter what he was thinking, Adriaan still maintained an amiable and approachable appearance, distancing himself from these young people. It was too easy to win their favor, not to mention that their thoughts were not simple. For example, the eyes of the young girl on the far left kept flashing.

"I am so happy, Eide, can you believe it? The first film I starred in is about to be released! " When the screening was about to start, everyone started to enter the theater. Adriaan only managed to get a few minutes alone with Anne, but she just could not stop talking excitedly.

"Then enjoy tonight. This will be the official beginning of your Hollywood career." Adriaan did not feel impatient at all. He still maintained his smile.

"I really don't know how to thank you, Eide. You gave me this role," Anne said gratefully. Annie said gratefully. Adrian could feel that she was sincere, but it was also because of this that he had a headache.

"Buy me a cup of coffee," he said.

"Just a cup of coffee? How can I do that? " Anne did not understand the meaning of his words at all. "If the film is very successful, my friends and I will hold a party to celebrate. Can you host it?"

She looked at him with wide eyes and a pleading look. Her hands were clenched into fists, looking very sincere. Just as Adriaan said, if she did not smile, she would really be very beautiful.

"Okay, if I have time." Adriaan thought for a moment and said, "Remember to call me first."

"No problem!" Looking at her excited look, if she had not already entered the theater, she might have jumped up and cheered.

Seeing that Anne was so happy, Adriaan sighed in his heart. Even the girl on the left is more perceptive than you. The girl, who was rather good-looking and somewhat similar to Sarah, had secretly stuffed a small piece of paper into his hand when she left. Without a doubt, it was her phone number and address.

However, Anne seemed to have not heard anything. Okay, she was indeed a little slow sometimes, but she should not be this slow, right? Perhaps she was just protecting him, but those words sounded very sincere. Adriaan, who had seen countless women, would not be wrong in this regard.

Thinking back to the time he had spent with her, it was more and more obvious that there was indeed something wrong with her taste. Of course, she was indeed very cute and good at talking. People who came into contact with her did not hate her, just like just now.

It seems that I need to use some tricks. Should I give her a warning? Sitting in his seat, Adriaan glanced at Anne Hathaway, who was a little excited not far away, and thought to himself.

As for the content and response of "The Princess Diaries", needless to say, it earned about 7 million in 2,200 cinemas on the first day of release, and the three-day box office on the first weekend was a total of 20 million. Compared to expectations, or rather, the box office in Adriaan's memory, this figure was not surprising. After all, this was January, and the number of cinemas was less than the original version.

Even so, the film still sat at the top of the North American box office rankings in the first week. The quality of the film was one of the reasons. Some media praised Gary Marshall for creating another good fairy tale film. They also thought that Julie Anne Drew and the newcomer actress Anne Hathaway performed very well, especially the pure and beautiful Anne, who was like a combination of Audrey Hepburn and Julia Roberts. This title was also suggested early on by Adriaan. Of course, in the hearts of all girls, there was a princess dream, which was why the film was so popular.

Even today, the royal families of various countries had almost become the attractions of zoos, but words such as nobility, prince, and princess were still sought after by many people. Therefore, Disneyland always held on to the "princess complex" because it could easily make the girls pay for it. Unfortunately, now AC Media had begun to take action in this area. "The Princess Diaries" was just the beginning, and no one knew how Disneyland would respond.

Let's not talk about this anymore. Over the next few days in January 2002, Adrian continued his leisurely life. Although filming for "The Matrix" was important, he would be going to London soon and would be staying there for a few days. Wouldn't it be a waste to ask all the crew to stop filming for a while and then stop for a while?

Therefore, he took a break from work and took care of his daughters while running back and forth between women. Needless to say, Lily was a naughty little girl. Seeing that she would be going to school in half a year, Adriaan let her do as she pleased. He only told her not to set a bad example for Deva and Juliet. Those two little ones were not only attached to their father, but also to their sister.

Eleanor was fine as well. In addition to her nanny, mother, and father, she also had two aunts who loved her dearly. Perhaps Gwyneth was not a good person to talk about, but Liv really liked Eleanor. She always said that looking at Eleanor's blue eyes was like looking at herself, and her love for Eleanor could not be expressed in words. Now, the little one could turn over and sit up, and she would always open her beautiful eyes as wide as her mother's, curiously looking at the world. Even the first thing she called out was "mother", which made Blanchett happy and proud for a long time.

As for Mary, who was a little over one year old, she could already speak some short sentences. Her pink and cute little tongue was very interesting when she spoke. Fortunately, her eyebrows were very beautiful, and they were not raised. But she had a bad habit of biting things - not putting things in her mouth, but opening her mouth and gnawing them. Once, when Adriaan was answering a phone call with her in his arms, he did not pay attention. As a result, she lay on his body and bit his ear for a long time. When he put her down, she was very reluctant, and the corners of her mouth drooped as if she was sad that she could not eat him. Fortunately, her teeth were not strong.

"Tell me honestly, Jessie, were you like this when you were a child?" Adriaan asked Jessica very seriously, with an expression that said "you must have inherited it". Amused and annoyed, Jessica punched him a few times.

However, not all work was stopped. He still had to read the routine work reports from AC Media, and he still had to make some decisions. Although Ivanka still had to study, she always did well, which made him very relaxed.

There were three important things related to the TV series and the movie. One of them was whether Doomsday Black Angel would end. As a sci-fi movie, and a relatively niche sci-fi movie, the ratings were not very high, and it even dropped slightly after the third season. Although the background setting was changed, the September 11th incident still had a certain impact on the TV series. In addition, Jessica's mind had gradually shifted to movies, and she had pestered Adriaan several times, hinting that she wanted to make a movie. Thinking about it carefully, it was the right time for her to change her career.

More importantly, through this sci-fi movie, some staff members who had ideas about sci-fi movies were trained. In the second half of the year, Adriaan was also preparing a sci-fi movie for Keely — the little girl also pestered Adriaan whenever she had the chance, and she made full use of the advantage of her figure. She was very eager to become famous. Therefore, he needed to allocate some resources for the production, and at the same time, he could remind Cameron that he needed to speed up. Therefore, the fourth season seemed to be ending for sure.

However, he still needed to appease the production team and ask them to start preparing for the new TV series.

Then there were the production of two movies, one of which was Chicago, which started shooting at the end of last year. This stage play was applauded when it was screened on Broadway. Now that the classic musical or traditional musical and dance movies had a brief moment of brilliance because of Moulin Rouge, the Hollywood producers would definitely not let go of this theme. Unfortunately, the movie rights were already in the hands of Adriaan. Otherwise, he would not have let Naomi and Zeta Jones practice singing and dancing so early.

That's right, this was the musical that Adriaan had told Naomi about. He did not watch many musical movies in his previous life, but this one left a deep impression on him, even more than Moulin Rouge. There was no other reason than that the song and dance performed by the lawyer for the female lead was very vivid. The female lead and the reporters were just the lawyer's puppets, and they would say whatever the lawyer wanted them to say. Accompanied by rhythmic singing and dancing, the dark humor was very sharp.

Adriaan knew about Naomi's practice, and with her acting skills, it would not be a problem for her to get a nomination. As for Zeta Jones, this was originally hers. Although her performance in Feng Yu's previous life was not very eye-catching, and a large part of the reason she won the award was because of external factors. Now that she had been nominated twice, it would not be difficult for her to win the award. Moreover, there was Adriaan.

The director was still Rob Maxier. Although he did not direct many movies, he had a lot of stage plays. A few years ago, he also directed the stage play Chicago, which was very suitable.

As for the male lead, do you remember what Adriaan and George Clooney said during the filming of Ocean's 11? Although he did not have any dancing foundation, he had started training when the movie was being prepared last year. He might not be as good as those professional dancers, but he had no problem singing and dancing in front of the camera.

With Adriaan looking after him, this movie would not be worse than the original version in his memory.

As for the other movie, it was an adaptation of Michael Cunningham's 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours!