Chapter 422

Life was like chocolate. You never knew what you were going to taste like. Adriaan deeply understood the meaning of this sentence. If he had paid more attention, he wouldn't have been tricked like this. After all, it wasn't that he didn't notice the suspicious points. Unfortunately, such words were meaningless unless he was reborn.

Of course, it had something to do with the other party's clever tricks, but Adriaan was indeed too frivolous and careless. He didn't take the other party seriously and always thought that he had complete control over the process. He always thought that it was easy to deal with the other party, and so on. No matter how smart a person was, it was inevitable that they would be deceived after making these mistakes. There were many examples of famous people being fooled by simple scams, not to mention Adrian.

His biggest advantage was that he could analyze the problem from the perspective of a bystander at any time. Once he lost this advantage, it was normal for him to be cheated. Fortunately, the loss wasn't too heavy. At least it was a good thing. At least it gave him a wake-up call. It was better to be fooled now than to be fooled in an important decision in the future.

After learning that the check had been cashed the next day, Adriaan quickly threw the matter to the back of his mind. It was useless to complain. He just had to learn from his mistake and not make the same mistake again. Therefore, in the next few days, he asked Krau Dia out to have a good time in England. Every night, he was extremely happy. Perhaps he had some thoughts of collecting interest. Although they had only spent three days together, it was as if Krau Dia had developed her from top to bottom.

Although Krau Dia wasn't a reckless woman, she wasn't as pure as the media made her out to be. Especially in those unrecognizable bars and nightclubs, she was sexy and unrestrained. Of course, Adriaan also agreed to be the spokesperson for Victoria's Secret.

"In a few years, this brand will rise to the top. My foresight isn't limited to movies, Dini. Time will prove it. Besides, being able to invite two supermodels to be our spokesperson is something worth celebrating. I believe you won't lose to Cindy, right? "said Adriaan, who was lying on his side on the bed.

"Then, tell me, Eide, who's better, me or Cindy Krau?" Krau Dia stretched lazily and stared at him with her grayish-blue eyes. She was only wearing thin pajamas, and the neckline was very deep. Her breasts were vaguely visible, and her slender legs that were slightly curled together were almost completely exposed.

"That's hard to say. You and Cindy both have …" Adriaan was interrupted before he could finish.

"No, no, no, Eide, that's not what I'm asking." Claudia smiled, but there was a hint of ambiguity in her smile. "I'm asking, who's better in bed, me or Cindy?"

"Oh, don't lie to me, Eide. I know who's better in bed, me or Cindy."

"Oh, don't lie to me, Eide. I know who you are, and don't forget that I'm also a supermodel. I always pay attention to news about my rivals." Krau Dia's smile became charming. "You're really gentle and considerate. Cindy can't refuse you, so … can you tell me now? Or … "

As she spoke, she turned over and crawled over. She looked at Adrian, raised her perfectly round buttocks, and bent her head between his legs.

Adriaan took a deep breath and said, "Okay, that's a good idea."

Whether it was for the sake of future prospects, to compete with Cindy Krau Fu, or to build a good relationship with Adriaan, the new legendary Hollywood director and media magnate, Krau Dia agreed to be the spokesperson for Victoria's Secret. So, after she finished her London show, Adriaan returned to Los Angeles.

"For your sake, I even sold my body, Krau," he said indignantly when he told Claude that he had settled the matter.

"You said you were forced to do it. Who could be more shameless than you?" Claude snorted and laughed at the fact that he had been tricked. Adrian did not try to hide it either.

"Do you know what I'm reminded of? In second grade, I told a guy in my class that I could turn one dollar into ten dollars by planting it under the tree at the end of the baseball field. In the end, he stupidly planted it, and then you secretly dug it up. I told him that the one dollar had been mishandled and turned into fertilizer for the tree. I really didn't expect that one day you would become that guy. That's ridiculous. "Claude didn't hide his mockery.

"Wait and see, Krau. You better pray that you don't encounter such a thing. Otherwise, I will adapt it into a movie and put it on the screen. I will keep the real name of the character!" Adriaan replied in the same tone.

The two of them laughed and joked a few times before they got down to business. Adriaan always supported Claude's decisions, unless it was completely contrary to his own ideas.

"There are signs, although it's not obvious on the surface." When they talked about the most important matter of the year, Claude took out some information from the safe in the office and showed it to him.

Although it was only a month, for people like them who had access to insider information, it wasn't particularly difficult to come up with such a conclusion.

"How's our preparation going?" Adriaan asked after flipping through the information.

"It will take some time before we can get the money back, but it doesn't matter. We have at least half a year's time. Besides, it's better to let someone else take the lead." Claude shrugged.

He still maintained his original point of view. AC Media was different from those hedge funds. They couldn't go overboard with certain things. Adriaan knew that he was thinking for the company, so he didn't insist. Anyway, as long as they could get the funds they needed and it didn't affect the tidying up plan, it was fine.

Adriaan wanted to talk about the two important aspects of this matter, but he thought that it was still early. Although he knew that some things shouldn't be touched, it was inevitable that others wouldn't know if they didn't try it. It would be better to act according to the circumstances.

"So what is Disneyland planning? Although Michael Eisner isn't a vengeful person, he is definitely not generous. Since we have set him up more than once, he will definitely return the favor if there's a chance. Is there any useful news from Viacom? "Adriaan asked another topic he was more concerned about.

After the failure of the acquisition of ABC, although Eisner seemed to be in a precarious situation for a period of time, it was actually just an illusion created by him. These crises were not worse than when he took over Disney. After his opponents jumped out, he used a series of means to stabilize the throne that had originally been a little loose. However, it was inevitable that the two of them would be disliked. Therefore, when they learned that Disneyland seemed to be cooperating with Viacom, Adriaan and Claude were quite concerned. After all, Viacom had more or less shares in AC Media.

"No, Lei Shidong said that this is just a normal cooperation. Because the specific content is still under discussion, it's not convenient to disclose it now," Clyde shrugged, then comforted them. "Don't worry, even if Disneyland exchanged shares with Viacom, they can't do anything to us, and I don't think Lei Shidong is willing to hand over the potential shares in his hands."

"It's hard to say, it would be good if we could know what they are cooperating on." Adriaan sighed and was about to change the topic when a thought suddenly came to him. Could it be …

"What did you think of?" After noticing the change in his expression, Claude immediately asked.

"Yes, I did think of a possibility, but I need more information to be sure." Adriaan shook his head. "That's it, continue to observe."

Because he worked in a TV station in his previous life, coupled with watching a lot of American TV series, he had some understanding of several TV stations in the United States. All kinds of information about TBS and ABC came from this. However, because this information was not as common as in the movies, it was hidden in the corner and only emerged when it was touched. If there were no problems, Viacom should soon acquire CBS.

CBS was not comparable to a loss-making broadcaster like ABC. Although NBC produced a lot of popular dramas in the 1990s, it was never as profitable as CBS, let alone FOX, which developed because of News Corporation. It would take more than 10 billion USD to acquire such a behemoth. Although Viacom had been developing well in the past few years, it would still be beyond their capabilities to acquire such a behemoth.

Then how did Viacom acquire CBS in his memory? After carefully recalling, Adriaan could only shake his head with a bitter smile. He only had a general understanding of the situation. Based on the exploration over the past few years, as long as there was an impression, he should be able to recall it. If there was no impression, then it would be useless no matter how hard he tried.

Was it Disneyland or Viacom that proposed it? Although the acquisition of ABC failed, Disneyland would certainly not give up the opportunity to acquire other broadcasters. But with Lei Shidong's personality, would he cooperate with Eisner, who always liked to monopolize power? Thinking of this, Adriaan could not help but sigh in his heart. Although he had met Lei Shidong a few times and admired this old man who participated in World War II and was disfigured by the fire, he did not know Lei Shidong very well. Claude had more dealings with him. Forget it, let's find out what was going on first.

However, Adriaan did not have too much time to read up on this information. A few days after returning to Los Angeles, he went to London again. This time was different from the last time. Last time was a vacation, but this time it was business. In addition to Adriaan's assistant and secretary, Charlize, Warner Payne Clarkson, accompanied him. As for the destination, of course, it was the small manor that Adriaan visited.

As the background music began to become louder, the movie basically came to an end. The scene on the screen gradually zoomed in on Nicole, who was shopping with her husband in the mall. Then, she spat out a word, "F * ck."

That was the end of the movie. Because of the psychological and physical inconvenience of the patient, the projector stopped before the production list was completely shown. Then, the curtains in the room were pulled open, and some gloomy light suddenly spilled into the room.

This was a temporarily remodeled living room. Because Kubrick could not move, he had placed the bed here. Adriaan, Charlize, Clarkson, and his two daughters sat in a semicircle around the bed. At this time, they all looked at Kubrick, who was lying on the bed. Adriaan had brought the finished film to England and brought the equipment to play it here. If Kubrick did not approve of it, then according to the original contract, the film could not be released, so his reaction now was particularly important.

However, after dozens of minutes, Kubrick did not move. He had been staring blankly in front of him. The white curtain hanging on the wall for broadcasting had long been closed. He seemed to be in a daze. If it were not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, people might think that he had gone to heaven.

"Dad..." His eldest daughter, Anya, called in a low voice.

Kubrick finally reacted. He struggled to turn his neck and stared at Adriaan for several minutes. Adriaan, who was being stared at, had an inexplicable feeling in his heart. His eyes, which looked a little cloudy, seemed to occasionally reflect a sharp light.

"Is it an illusion?" Adriaan asked himself uncertainly. When he noticed the flash of light, for a moment, he almost thought that Kubrick had seen through him.

Kubrick finally closed his eyes, lying there half lying there without saying anything. Clarkson could not help but feel a little depressed. What was going on? Should he at least give him a definite answer?

"Father is a little tired." Anya saw his anxiety and explained in a low voice. Clarkson also understood, so he could only wait patiently.

Finally, Kubrick opened his eyes again. His gaze swept over the people around him, and then he shook his head with great difficulty. Clarkson's heart suddenly sank. This meant that he could either throw the movie into the warehouse and completely lose money, or completely break off all pretenses with Kubrick.

Adriaan could not help but frown. It did not make sense. He had tried his best to follow the original version and even handled a few details better. Since Kubrick liked this movie the most, he should not show such an expression, right? Could it be that the rumor that he was planning to re-edit the movie before he died was true? Or was it because the movie was to his liking, but he did not like it because he did not get to direct it himself?

Just then, his youngest daughter suddenly let out a cry of surprise. Then, she saw Kubrick's right hand, which had not moved for a long time, raised shakily and gave a thumbs up.

"What … what's going on?" Clarkson looked at Kubrick in bewilderment, but Kubrick's youngest daughter had already rushed out to call the doctor.

This action seemed to consume all of Kubrick's energy. His raised arm suddenly drooped down, and his eyes closed. His eldest daughter, who was guarding by the bed, suddenly screamed and rushed in with the doctor. While doing the examination, he drove out the irrelevant people — Clarkson, Adriaan, Charlize —.

"What is Stan's opinion? Damn it, shaking his head and praising him. Oh, damn it, why did he have a stroke! "Clarkson complained as he paced back and forth in the big living room.

"Well, Payne, you are just worried," Adriaan, who had been rubbing his chin and thinking, suddenly raised his head and said with a smile.

"Did you find anything?" Clarkson turned to look at him. "Tell me, Eide, what did you find?"

"Why don't we wait for the doctor to come out?" Adriaan just smiled and did not say anything.

After a while, Clarkson's eldest daughter finally came out and said, "Sorry, Mr. Adriaan, Mr. Payne, and Miss Charlize, the doctor said that Dad has used up too much energy today and needs to rest."

"Well, Miss Anya, if Stan decides, please let us know immediately." Hearing this, Clarkson also knew that there would be no result today, so he sighed and left with Adriaan.

"Payne." When they came outside and were about to get into the car, Adriaan suddenly called out, "You can start preparing now."

"Are you sure?" Clarkson looked at him and asked. After Anya came out, he had basically come to a conclusion, but he was not particularly sure.

"Remember to submit the rating to the MPAA as soon as possible, and then start the promotion. Also, don't need the test screening, just directly release it in the cinema after the promotion is done," Adriaan said without answering Clarkson's question and then asked Charlize to get into the car and leave.

As expected of Kubrick, the legendary director who only had twelve films, but could surprise everyone, regardless of whether they hated or liked it. He should have seen something, but he was not so sure. Adrian thought to himself as he returned to the hotel and looked at the drizzle that began to fall on the way back. He really wanted to know how much Kubrick had guessed.

Although he didn't like what Kubrick wanted to embody in the movie, and even hated it, he really admired the old man at this moment. He didn't like what Kubrick wanted to show in the movie, and he even hated him a little. He just wanted to make himself more dazzling and take advantage of the situation.

"Some of the information faxed from Los Angeles," Charlize said as he walked in.

"Thank you, Charley, it's really different to have you around," Adriaan took it with a smile.

"That's you, right?" Charlize suddenly asked.

"What?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows.

"That naval officer, the one who made love to Nicole in Tom Cruise's fantasy," Charlize said without blinking.

"Is there a problem?" Adriaan asked with a smile.

"You're doing it for real," Charlize said in a positive tone.

"Are you sure?" Adriaan looked at her with interest.

"Of course, I'm very familiar with your body, from your height to your back to your inherent characteristics, especially the size of that thing down there. I can even pinpoint it to three decimal places." Charlize raised his chin.

Even though Adriaan was thick-skinned, he could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth when he heard this.