"I'm sorry, Eide. There was a small problem on the way, so I'm only here now." Tom Cruise, who had finally arrived at the studio, greeted Adriaan with a smile, but his smile didn't look sincere.
"It's okay. Everyone has unexpected things to deal with, right?" Adriaan shrugged and didn't seem to take it seriously. "As long as it doesn't delay the shooting."
But then he patted Cruise's arm hard, and his expression became a little meaningful. "But I still hope that there won't be a next time, understand?"
Cruise's face stiffened, but he still kept smiling and nodded. "Okay, I got it."
There had been a long history of conflicts between big directors and big stars on the set because of the right to speak. Kubrick and Marlon Brando had been unhappy. Cruise never had a good impression of Adriaan, and this time he came for Kubrick's fame, and he suffered a loss when preparing Mr. Sweet. Even if he was persuaded by Adriaan, it was inevitable that he didn't have the idea of showing off his power in a big way.
But that was all he could do. Cruise occasionally looked stupid, but it didn't mean that he would always be so stupid. After being persuaded and reminded by Kingsley last time, he more or less understood Adriaan's strength, so even if he was unhappy, he had to behave after being warned.
Many people thought that big stars had more power on the set, but that was not the case. The illusion was that big stars were far more famous than big directors. In fact, the key to determining the right to speak on the set was who was also the producer. If the director was also the producer, then the star had to be obedient if he wanted to continue shooting. If the star was also the producer, then the director had to consider the star's requirements. There was no exception, except for Adriaan.
As for the reason, it was very simple. No big director could be like Adriaan, who had such a great success in film production and was also the chairman of a new media company. Although Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic occupied most of the special effects production market, and although Spielberg was one of the three giants of DreamWorks, they still couldn't compare with Adriaan.
In the past few years, the best-selling movies and TV series had more or less something to do with Adriaan. Not to mention that his vision was extremely accurate, and the actors and directors who had been guided by him had shone brilliantly. With the two broadcasters, TBS and ABC, it was enough to be on an equal footing with Murdoch and Lei Shidong. With such strength, even the most popular stars didn't dare to give him a hard time. To a large extent, Katharine Hepburn also benefited from the media of the 50s and 60s. In today's environment, she absolutely wouldn't dare to refuse to attend the Oscars four times.
"By the way, where is your wife?" Adriaan asked.
"She has other things to deal with, and she really can't make time today, but I believe there won't be a next time," Cruise replied immediately, staring at Adriaan without blinking.
"Okay, then let's shoot the scene where Dr. William solves his boss's dirty business at the cocktail party. We were just shooting that scene before you came. If it goes well, we will shoot the scene in the billiard room, and the group scene at the cocktail party will wait until tomorrow. Hurry up and familiarize yourself with the script, "Adriaan replied casually, as if he had just asked casually.
"No problem." Cruise nodded, called his assistant to bring the script over, and walked to his seat. After a few steps, he turned back to look at Adriaan, and seeing that he was busy with other things, he continued to walk.
"Attention, Sidney, you have to walk from here to here. Take big steps to reflect your mood at the moment. Other than that, you are free to act as you please. Just be careful not to exceed your mood during the fifth trial. As for you, Tommy, when you get here, you have to stop for a while. You have to be not too surprised, and at the same time, don't stay too long. You have to control how much time you have … "In a small lounge built on the set, Adriaan explained to the two actors, and as he spoke, he made a frame with his hands, which was equivalent to explaining the shooting range to the cameraman.
"Okay, that's it. Prepare for a while, and we will start shooting immediately," Adriaan said as he sat back in his chair.
The story of Eyes Wide Warning was actually very simple. A couple who had been married for a few years began to get tired of their marriage because of some misunderstandings at a cocktail party. For example, when the male lead, Dr. William, solved a problem for his boss, his wife, Alice, misunderstood that he was having an affair with another woman, and was almost seduced by an old man.
Then, under the excitement of smoking marijuana, Alice confided in her husband about her sexual fantasies. Troubled, Dr. William had many bad associations, and happened to meet a classmate who played piano in a bar. Under his instigation, he sneaked into a special party held by some upper-class people, which was like a religious ceremony, and caused even more trouble.
In his memory, someone said that Kubrick wanted to discuss marriage here, but no one knew the truth. The old man never told others what his movies wanted to express. Perhaps to him, he just wanted to shoot an atypical erotic movie. At least according to Adriaan's understanding, some people in the upper-class did hold such parties, but not only were they rare, but they were also quite secretive, not to mention the scale in the movie.
Schnitzler's "Dream Stories" was written at the beginning of the 20th century. Needless to say what era it was, it was normal for such things to happen in the upper class of Europe. But in today's advanced media, holding such a large-scale party was absolutely suicidal, so it was actually very awkward for Kubrick to move the stage to modern New York. Of course, no one knew what was going on in that half-bald head, and Adriaan only took over for other purposes.
"Don't act too deliberately. Just live in your own home, and forget about the camera and us, understand?" After spending three days filming the scenes of the overdose prostitutes in the lounge, with the arrival of Nicole Kidman, they began to shoot some of the family scenes of the doctor and his wife.
After Cruise and Nicole both nodded in agreement, Adriaan immediately waved to the others to start. Just like before, he treated Nicole like a stranger. Fortunately, there were not many lines in these scenes, and they did not require too much acting. At least, it did not take three days to finish filming the medical treatment.
Adriaan was not Kubrick, and he had his own standards for judging performance. Coupled with his long-term habits, he did not have Kubrick's almost twisted pursuit of perfection. Obviously, the actor had performed very well, but he still kept shooting. Even so, a simple medical treatment scene still took almost three days to shoot. One could imagine how bad Cruise's acting was.
Even if there were external reasons, such as Cruise's poor state at the beginning of the shooting, or there were always some small problems, Cruise's acting was indeed an important reason for the slow progress. It was precisely because of this that he had to dismiss the extras that were originally hired to participate in the cocktail party shooting in order to concentrate on shooting the treatment scene. Therefore, after Nicole came, she could not shoot the cocktail party scene.
Fortunately, it was still smooth. It took them a day and a half to finish the relatively simple life scenes, and there were also a few scenes that showed the male lead's work as a doctor.
"Very good, then, let's clear the set." After watching the video, seeing that it was time for the break, Adriaan immediately said to the director's assistant. The staff quickly moved. After adjusting the required lighting and color, except for a few key figures, everyone else left the set in turn.
"You look a little nervous." Adriaan walked in front of Nicole, who had already changed into the required costume.
A black thin-shouldered evening dress, most of her smooth back was exposed. Coupled with the high heels, the front was not very protruding, but the back was very curvy. Her hair was tied behind her head, revealing her white neck, and her slender legs vaguely visible. It had to be said that she was now at her most charming.
"Fortunately, I have no problem at all." Nicole replied simply, her eyes fixed on him, but Adriaan quickly looked away without any reluctance.
"Are you also okay, Tommy?" He asked, "Maybe we can do this, let Nicole wear green underwear, and then in the post-production stage, we can combine it."
"I don't think that's necessary." Before Cruise could speak, Nicole had already answered first. A look of displeasure flashed across Cruise's face, but he finally echoed his wife's words.
"No, no," he said, in a tone of affected lightness.
Laughing in his heart, Adriaan still maintained a calm and cold look, "Then let's get started."
There were two scenes to shoot. The first was Nicole Kidman undressing in front of the camera — but it was her back. This was why they had to clear the set. But in Adriaan's view, this was simply an act of burying one's head in the sand. Who knew how many people would see the movie after it was released.
Although her back was facing the camera, and although it was a movie, Nicole still looked extremely attractive, especially when her back was exposed bit by bit. After the clothes fell to the ground, she took a step forward, and her slender and well-proportioned right leg slightly lifted. This movement made Adriaan hear several rapid breathing sounds. After all, there were not many opportunities to see this beauty undress so openly.
"Very good." Adriaan immediately called for a stop, and the female assistant who had been waiting next to him immediately stepped forward and put a towel on Nicole. Adriaan glanced at Cruise, who stood not far away and stared intently at Nicole on the set. On the surface, he looked indifferent, but the unhappiness in his eyes was obvious.
"Let them in and prepare for the second scene." After Cruise and Nicole returned to the dressing room, Adriaan immediately said. Although he wanted to see her undress like this again, he also knew which was more important. Not to mention …
The next scene was the same type of scene, so the staff spent dozens of minutes changing the bathroom into a bedroom before retreating again. Then, Cruise and Nicole, who were also wearing white towels, came out.
"I don't need to say anything more. Relax, just like at home." Adriaan said, then waved his hand to signal that they were ready to start.
The second scene was naturally the scene that was taken as part of the poster. When the naked couple kissed in front of the dressing table, the wife looked at the person in the mirror with evil intentions.
With the sound of "Action", the two people who removed the towels immediately stood in position. In order to ease the atmosphere on the set, Adriaan also found the song used in the soundtrack and played it live. Facing the mirror, Nicole, who was taking off her earrings, gently twisted her body to the music. Then Cruise came up from behind and hugged her and began to kiss her.
Although they were naked, the important parts were still covered. For example, Cruise was wearing special flesh-colored briefs, and the same was true for Nicole. There was also a very similar chest patch on it. After a little post-processing, it was guaranteed that it would not be seen. After all, they could not really completely expose their bodies, even if it was a bit self-deceiving.
The funniest thing was that because of Cruise's height, the prop team had to pad a long thing at least a few feet high on the ground. Otherwise, he would be a little shorter than Nicole in the shot.
"Very good!" Adriaan clapped his hands. This scene was very difficult to pass in one take. The few people on the set were relieved at the same time. In this way, today's progress was completed.
"Well, after these days of running-in, we should know each other's situation better. I hope that we can cooperate more smoothly and happily in the future." After sending the Cruise couple out of the studio, Adriaan said so.
"I think so." Cruise smiled, still with a perfunctory tone. Nicole seemed to want to say something, but when she hesitated, Adriaan had already walked to the studio, treating her as a passerby as usual.
Looking at his back, Nicole bit her lip subconsciously. Cruise called her a few times before she reacted. "What?"
"What's wrong with you? Is there a problem? "Cruise looked at her unhappily.
"No, nothing, I just …" Nicole took a deep breath and looked at the studio again. "I just don't like him."
"I don't like him either." Cruise seemed very happy that she said so. "But now we have to continue to work with him. After all, he still has some use, so just ignore him — let's go."
Nicole gave Cruise a disappointed look. Obviously, she had heard enough of his arrogant words, so she followed him without saying a word.
Adriaan didn't know this. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care because he was very clear about some things. He had been prepared to shoot that scene repeatedly, but he didn't expect it to be done in one take. He definitely didn't go easy. At least according to his standards, the scene was on point. When the camera zoomed in on the kissing couple, the wife turned her head and looked at the person in the mirror with some uneasiness and resistance.
This required very good acting skills to show the feeling of hiding carelessness. It was a little difficult for Nicole now, but she still did it. Although she was looking at the mirror, what she really saw was Adriaan in the mirror!
How could Adriaan, who seemed to not care but was actually paying attention to her, not notice it? It was really interesting, which was enough to explain a lot.
"Mr. Adriaan!" When he walked to the parking lot, a voice from afar interrupted his thoughts. Soon, a slightly chubby white man, who looked about forty years old and wore a baseball cap, appeared in front of him.
Seeing him stop, the man immediately introduced himself. "Hello, Mr. Adriaan, I'm a reporter from the Los Angeles Times. My name is Jeff Harris. May I ask you a few questions?"
"I'm sorry, I don't accept any interviews now." Adriaan smiled and shook his head, taking a few steps to his car.
"Director Stanley Kubrick couldn't finish the new film after his stroke, so you took over, right?" The man continued to ask as if he didn't hear him.
Adrian's body froze for a moment, but he quickly turned his head and looked at him with a smile. "Sorry, where did you hear the news?"
"That means it's true? You're making this film now, aren't you? " Although the pause was very short, the other party was, after all, a seasoned reporter. Nothing could escape his eyes and ears. In addition, he came prepared, so it was impossible for him not to notice it. He immediately fired off a barrage of questions.
"I'm sorry, no comment." Adriaan shrugged and got into the car. "Sorry, I have to go home. Please don't delay me, okay?"
Ignoring the man's shouting, he started the car and drove out of the parking lot. It was not until he drove far away that he let out a long sigh of relief. "It's surprising that someone found out so soon."
Although Kubrick stressed that no one should know that Adriaan had taken over his new film before the production, the truth could not be concealed. There were so many people in the crew, and it was inevitable that the news would spread. It was possible to keep the content of the film secret, but it was not easy to keep the director a secret. What's more, the fact that the Cruise couple was invited to star in Kubrick's new work was already well-known in the circle, so it only took a little thought to draw a conclusion.
The old man who had suffered a stroke also knew that it was impossible, so even though he insisted on it, it was not written in the contract. He probably hoped that the media would know about it as late as possible. Otherwise, even if he was not satisfied and did not agree to the release of the film, his reputation would still be affected.
Warner also knew that the news would be delayed at most. It was impossible to keep it secret. Otherwise, why would he agree? But judging from the current situation, it was hard to say whether the news was leaked by himself or Warner deliberately.
Adriaan thought for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. It was just a matter of time, and the impact was not big. As for how the media would react, they would know in a few days.
Yes, two days later, the Los Angeles Times published such a headline on the front page: The Contest between the Miracle Director and the Legendary Director!
