There was no need to explain what it meant for Lawrence Fishburn and Keanu Reeves. Not long after the novel version of "The Matrix" was published, producers contacted him about the film rights, and there was an endless stream of requests. Although most of them were small companies, and there were a few complete scammers, there were also a few medium-sized film companies. Big film companies could easily find out who the author was after a little investigation. Naturally, they would not dream of getting the copyright from Adriaan. Therefore, there were still many people in Hollywood who had foresight.
Looking at the time, it was about time to release this movie on the big screen. It would be best if it was after "Titanic". This way, as one of the movies that started the CG era, "The Matrix" would inevitably leave a more important mark in the history of film. Although the movie itself was full of meaning and had a high status in film history, the reason why Adriaan wanted to move it forward a few years was that the current version might not be as popular as the original version.
In order to get the copyright early and not be accused of being inspired by Japanese animation, plus a series of factors such as practicing his writing skills, Adriaan wrote the story as a novel and published it early. He also completed the trilogy. Therefore, when the movie became popular, the audience had to go back and buy the original novel to read.
Although Adriaan changed part of the plot, some scenes that were suitable for the movie were not suitable for the novel. He even made some hints in the ending that were different from the movie. At the end, when the people of Zion cheered and the long-awaited peace and freedom had finally arrived, he added a small ending: An unattractive person returned to his room and fiddled with some instruments, then revealed a strange smile.
This ending was adapted from a joke seen in his previous life. In his memory, before the third installment of "The Matrix" was released, countless people on the Internet argued about the possible ending. The one with the highest support was that the people of Zion were on another independent server. They were still in the virtual space, still under the control of the matrix.
In order to distinguish it from the movie, Adriaan used this idea. Of course, he used the method of leaving blank space, so that the readers could not be sure whether they were still in the virtual space or that person was possessed by a virus like Agent Smith.
Even so, there were many similarities between the novel and the movie. Many movie adaptations of novels were popular because they embodied the classic or famous scenes, and the movie always added or deleted some content. Those popular movie adaptations of novels were better at adding or deleting content, giving people a different feeling from reading a novel. Therefore, for "The Matrix," once the fans watched the movie and bought the novel, the next two installments would basically lose their sense of mystery. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the movie.
Although producing the novel in advance could not completely improve the situation, Adriaan did not plan to do anything else. Anyway, there was no better way. More importantly, the original version had been fully expanded by many people, and even interpreted many things that the driver siblings had never thought of. God knew how people would interpret the two different versions of the ending.
They had an endless amount of time, and they couldn't wait to show off. Let them quarrel all they want, Adrian told himself. Maybe it would turn out to be a good thing in the end.
"It will be hard at the beginning, but as long as you get used to it, you will get used to it." In the face of Monica, who was quite tired after training, Adriaan comforted her. "This is a good thing. It will allow your body to get adequate training and better maintain your figure. Of course, if you really can't get used to it, I will ask them to reduce your training first, and then slowly increase it. Anyway, we have time. "
"It's okay, I can persist." Monica refused his kindness. "I'm not joking, Eide. This little training is not difficult for me."
Seeing her stubborn look, Adriaan did not stop her. He just smiled and said, "Well, how about this? How about I give you a massage when we get back?"
"Really?" Monica looked at him in disbelief. Her eyes were filled with "What are you thinking of?"
"Although I am not as good as those professional nurses, I can still relieve muscle fatigue a little." Adriaan laughed and did not further explain.
He always had a sense of propriety. If he said it was just a massage, he meant it. Although his hands felt quite good, he did not do anything else. In the end, he just hugged Monica and slept for the whole night. If he did not have this little self-control, how could he have achieved the status he had today?
Thinking about her "former" role in "The Matrix," and comparing it to now, an interesting feeling welled up in Adriaan's heart. Monica was very suitable for the role of Trinity. She had also been a model before, and her figure had always been very well-proportioned. Playing a cold and elegant role was also very suitable. It was just that she was slightly older than Reeves, but this was not a difficult task. The makeup artist could do it with a little help.
As for the pair of breasts that everyone admired, there was no pressure at all. In a world where the laws of physics could be changed at will, this problem would not prevent her from displaying her flexible skills at all. It might even make her more attractive.
Truth be told, when he decided to let Monica play the female lead, Adriaan originally wanted to change the other three main characters as well. Originally, he had considered Jaquin Phoenix for the male lead, but Reeves and Rui Fan were good friends. Besides, Adriaan was more familiar with Reeves, so he still looked for him. As expected, Reeves agreed without hesitation.
As for the role of Morpheus, among the few outstanding African celebrities in the agency, neither Samuel Jackson nor Denzel Washington were suitable for the role. Jackson's appearance was slightly 'evil' and his hoarse voice was not suitable for a role like Morpheus'. Washington looked decent enough, but a little too decent. He was calm enough, but he lacked the feeling of throwing caution to the wind. It would be fine in a few more years, but Adriaan could not wait that long. As for Will Smith, he was directly eliminated. He was too young and could not play the role of Morpheus.
So after thinking about it, he finally looked for Lawrence Fishburn. Of course, Adriaan had to admit that part of it was influenced by the original version, but Reeves still took on the role of the male lead.
Although there were no changes to the two main characters, the other characters could be adjusted. Adriaan thought of an interesting idea as he read through the script of the first novel. As for the specifics, he would find out in the future.
Time flew, and soon, the summer vacation was over. AC Media had successfully expanded once again, but this time, they did not make it to the front page of the financial media. Many economic critics were not optimistic about their acquisition of Marvel Comics. Everyone knew that this comic company, which had more than 5,000 comic characters and had once competed with DC Comics as an equal, was in a very difficult situation. Sales of comic books were constantly decreasing, and various investments were losing money. If they could not make appropriate adjustments and reforms, it was only a matter of time before they were sold.
In the conference room of Marvel Comics, Adriaan sat at the head of the table and spoke frankly with assurance, "But I don't think so. Marvel Comics still has a lot of potential to be unearthed. Although I'm not good at specific administrative management, I believe I have enough say in the production of movies and entertainment."
This was the first meeting after Marvel Comics was acquired by AC Media. Other than Adriaan and Claude, the other participants were Marvel's executives, directors, and well-known authors who owned the rights to some of the comic characters, such as Stan Lee.
"Of course, before that, Marvel Comics will definitely have to make some adjustments. After all, we are a little bloated now, and many departments overlap with the head office. However, I promise that we will fully consider everyone's feelings and opinions during the reorganization process. As long as we spend some time, Marvel Comics will definitely be revitalized! "Adriaan continued.
His main job was to encourage the people present, to convince them that the future was bright and the road was full of twists and turns. According to Claude, if he did not make good use of Adriaan's eloquence and the word "miracle" in the title of "Miracle Director," he would definitely be the world's dumbest idiot.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Miracle Director. If you don't fulfill your promise, I will seek justice for my children," the old man Stan Lee joked with Adriaan after the end of the meeting.
This old man was very humorous and witty. He was known as the Old Urchin, and most of the superheroes that were put on the silver screen in the 21st century were written by him. He was the kind of person who could maintain an optimistic attitude no matter what. During the period when Marvel Comics was in a slump, he had always encouraged everyone that things would get better. Even when Marvel Comics was inevitably acquired by AC Media, he still cheerfully said that "it might be a good thing." Of course, when it came to fighting for rights and interests, he was not careless. He had also raised a few sharp questions during the previous meeting.
"No problem. In three years at most, Marvel Comics will usher in a more eye-catching development." Adriaan gave the promise without hesitation, and then added, "As long as I'm here."
Stan Lee's reaction to this was to shrug. Not all critics were optimistic about AC Media's acquisition of Marvel Comics. There were also several articles that elaborated on the changes that Miracle Director might bring to Marvel Comics. After all, Adriaan's achievements were there for all to see. But from a common sense perspective, who could maintain their advantages for a long time? It was not impossible for a ship to capsize in a ditch if one was not careful. Stan Lee's reaction was already considered good. If it were someone else, they might still praise on the surface, but then turn around and sneer at the joke.
"You're really confident that you can make Marvel Comics turn around in three years?" Claude joked after leaving Marvel Comics.
"What do you think?" Adriaan asked rhetorically.
"It's hard to say. Although I've learned a lot about them before, I was still shocked when I looked through their business situation. It's a pile of mud." Claude shrugged.
"How does it compare to ABC?"
"It can't be compared. At most, ABC has poor management, but the entire management level is still very good. As long as there are good programs, they can stabilize the decline and recover. As for Marvel, it can be said that the goals of the management level are very chaotic, and they are unrealistically expanding. If we want to clean up this mess, I'm afraid we'll have to cut a lot of departments and staff. You've given me a difficult problem this time, Eide. "Claude sighed.
"We can first cut the unimportant departments and staff first. As for the other places, we'll observe them first. When the profits come in, we'll make adjustments. At that time, they will have nothing to say," Adriaan said as he got into the car.
"I'm not joking, Krau. If it weren't for the fact that we have to wait for" Titanic "to be released to collect more specific responses, it would only take two years at most to alleviate Marvel's predicament." As Adriaan spoke, he poured a glass of champagne from the small refrigerator in the RV and handed it to Claude. "The comic book era of" Spiderman "can cause a lot of waves, and the film adaptation can do the same."
"You've already chosen the theme for the adaptation?" Claude raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Almost. Most of them are from Stan Lee's hands. Spiderman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and so on. They may not be completely produced by our film company. I have more arrangements."
"Okay, okay, these are all things you're good at. Only you would spend 200 million — no, it's 240 million now — to invest in a movie. I really don't know how you deal with Leggett."
Looking at Claude's sigh, Adriaan couldn't help but laugh. Thinking that in this era, only he would dare to spend so much money to invest in a movie, he was quite proud. It was just that he was nagged by Leggett several times.
Leggett had been taking care of his finances for the past few years. In addition to owning AC Media, Adriaan also had many private investments, all of which Leggett was responsible for. Although he was serious and serious, he had always been loyal to him. He had reminded Adriaan more than once not to give too much power to Claude.
This was by no means an attempt to sow discord. Paul Allen was Bill Gates' childhood friend, and he had supported Gates' development of Microsoft from the beginning. He was still schemed by Gates, who took advantage of his illness to dilute his shares in Microsoft. There were no permanent friends in the business world, especially when the business was getting bigger and bigger.
But Adriaan and Claude were different. First of all, the Kewell family and the Claude family had been friends for several generations, and the relationship between Adriaan and Claude was not comparable to that of ordinary partners. Second, Adriaan had laid the groundwork long ago. The prophecies he had made when he persuaded Claude to join the partnership were now coming true one by one. In addition, his outstanding vision and achievements in the entertainment industry had given him enough power to speak. Third, although Adriaan was not good at administration and finance, he was not completely ignorant. He read the monthly reports very carefully, and he always asked about the company's affairs. In addition, Charlize had been thoroughly honed over the years. He was a very good secretary, so there was no need to worry about any mistakes.
More importantly, as his financial adviser, Leggett also paid attention to these matters. He had to admit that although there were not many people left behind by his father whom he had never met, each of them was impeccable in ability and loyalty.
"Just wait and see, Krau." Adriaan said meaningfully, "My prophecies from a few years ago have all come true, and the prophecies now will come true sooner or later."
Yes, it would come true sooner or later, but that still required more effort. At the end of September, the post-production of "Wide-Eyed, Ring" entered the middle stage. Unlike Kubrick, Adriaan did not need to repeatedly edit in pursuit of perfection, so his editing speed had always been very fast. If it were not for the fact that he had to make his halo more dazzling, he might have already considered releasing the film at the end of the year.
When the Cruise couple was involved in the dubbing, Adriaan met Nicole again. However, they always came and left together, so there were not many parts that needed dubbing. However, there was always a chance.
"I have to go first, dear. When you finish the work, you go back by yourself. I will ask David to send me over and come back to pick you up. If he doesn't come after you finish, you can wait a little longer." After answering a phone call, Cruise said to Nicole.
"Can't you wait for me?" Nicole tried to persuade him to stay.
"I have been waiting for you for the past few days, but you still have at least ten minutes of screen time. Things are a bit urgent over there. It's only one day." There was a hint of impatience in Cruise's tone.
Nicole looked at her husband and moved her mouth, but she did not speak again. She just watched him leave. Then, as soon as Cruise left, Adriaan half-forced Nicole into the lounge.
"Please... Eide... don't do this..." Nicole, who was pressed against the wall, closed her eyes and twisted her head to avoid Adriaan's kiss, but it looked more like she was trying to take the initiative to kiss him.
"Why? Didn't you enjoy it during the shooting? "Adriaan's voice was a little playful.
"That time... is different from now..." Nicole gasped slightly, and her resistance was getting weaker and weaker.
"I don't see any difference?" Adriaan smiled and then blew gently into her ear. "I have been watching the erotic scene in the secret room every day when I was editing."
Nicole suddenly tightened her body. There was a flash of panic in her half-opened eyes, and her breathing became disordered.
"Don't worry, no one has seen it except me." Adriaan knew what she was thinking and immediately chuckled.
Nicole, who was angry and anxious, had an angry blush on her face, but before she could do anything, Adriaan continued to say in her ear, "You know, although the lighting was not very bright, the color was relatively simple, and the effect was relatively poor, you were really charming at that time. Everything about you was completely revealed from the inside out!"
Nicole's body suddenly softened, and Adriaan did not hesitate to have her.
