Chapter 427

Due to the need for publicity, the debate about "See Gallery" in the media had not stopped for a moment. Similar to the original situation, most people, whether well-known directors or well-known critics, were not optimistic about Adriaan. Especially those who were Kubrick's die-hard fans, they were quite displeased with him. "Overconfident" was the best adjective they could use. Many people agreed with Ms. Marlene Magissa that he could take over the film and still release it under that kind of contract because Warner had hoodwinked Kubrick.

Warner not only did not refute such remarks, but also remained silent, a little conniving, which was also one of the publicity techniques; as for Kubrick's family, because the old man had always hated reporters, he had the intention to avoid them when he moved from the United States to the secluded suburbs of London. Although some reporters had waited outside the small manor, they got no news; as for Adriaan, many media had sent invitations to interview him, but he had declined them all, even his own TBS and ABC were no exception. Of course, there were also reporters waiting outside his villa, but they also got nothing. As early as two years ago, the paparazzi did not dare to be presumptuous in front of him, and they had restrained themselves a lot, let alone now.

It was actually normal for this kind of public opinion to be biased towards Kubrick. Although Adriaan had made such dazzling achievements in only six years, and even broke the record to become the youngest director in Oscar history, even if there was no guarantee that he would not be surpassed in the future, there was absolutely no problem that there was no old friend in the past. But in the eyes of many people, some things could not be compared.

So far, Kubrick had only directed a little more than ten films, but each of them was a classic in the eyes of those who regarded art as everything, including the more commercial "Spartacus". There were even critics who believed that whenever Kubrick chose a subject, no one could surpass him in this subject.

Adriaan's works also involved many subjects, and he had a good balance between business and art, but in the eyes of these people, his films were always not as deep as Kubrick's. So even if he was a genius and good at creating miracles, it did not prove that he could now reach Kubrick's level.

Such nitpicking, coupled with the unprincipled fans defending their idol — no matter what, the fanatics were always unreasonable — coupled with the lack of response from Adriaan and Warner, even if there were die-hard fans of Adriaan who fought back, it seemed to have no weight, so the current situation occurred.

If this went on, the situation might evolve to be very bad for Adriaan, but fortunately, something happened at this time of year to slow down the process — the 69th Oscar nomination list was released.

This was another surprising and exciting nomination list. The most nominations were undoubtedly produced by Bosworth and distributed by Miramax, directed by Anthony Minghella, starring Ralph Fiennes, Richel Vickers, and Sophie Marceau. "The English Patient" received a total of 13 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Score. The second was DreamWorks' "Saving Private Ryan", with 11 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.

After this list was released, it immediately caused countless people to discuss, especially Tom Hanks, who was nominated for Best Actor again after winning Best Actor for a year. He was the focus of attention wherever he went. Many people were filled with emotion. If this film was released in 1995, Hanks would definitely be nominated again, and maybe he would win Best Actor three times in a row. That kind of glory was unparalleled.

Of course, these were all hypotheses, but even after a year, if he could win Best Actor for the third time, he would still be a person that people could only look up to. The same was true for Spielberg. It was only two years since he won Best Director, and it was not easy to win Best Director twice in such a short period of time.

As the main rival of "Saving Private Ryan," The English Patient "could not be underestimated. Although the film's box office was not good, its reputation was surprisingly good. Most critics praised the film. The three protagonists, whether it was Ralph Fiennes, Richel Vickers, or Sophie Marceau, were all impressive, especially Sophie. Her World War II nurse attire at the beginning was quite moving, and her acting skills seemed to have improved a lot. If there was still some controversy about winning Best Supporting Actress with" Brave Heart ", then her performance in" The English Patient "should be worthy of it.

But more importantly, people who knew more details knew the relationship between these two films and Adriaan. Although "Saving Private Ryan" was produced by DreamWorks, the script was first provided by Adriaan, and Tom Hanks was also recommended by him. "The English Patient" was even closer. Not only did he buy the script early, but he also appointed the director and the actors.

What's more, in addition to these two films, "Mr. Sweetheart," which was jointly invested by Bosworth and Tom Cruise's production company, not only had the box office exceeded 100 million, but also received several nominations at this year's Oscars. Cruise was finally nominated for Best Actor again after "Born on the Fourth of July."

Thinking back to Adriaan's various Oscars in the past few years, countless directors and producers were both envious and aggrieved. It was so infuriating. Why could the films he handled make a lot of money? Why could the actors he favored become popular and get a lot of honors? If it weren't for the fact that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was relatively fair, and many people were also members of it, I'm afraid that some people would have filed an investigation.

Even so, many tabloids were still excitedly speculating about all kinds of shady things, such as "Adriaan bribed all the judges" and other such gossip. This was also one of their strategies. What they wrote was obviously fake, and it was the kind of thing that people with a little bit of intelligence would not believe. It not only attracted attention but also did not offend Adriaan too much, so why not?

However, in the eyes of some people, Adriaan's near-miraculous vision became the place to be criticized.

"Yes, he is a great guy. He can see the potential of actors, he can get them the attention of the Oscars, he can produce both artistic and popular films, so — don't expect him to understand Kubrick's ideas, let alone produce Kubrick's works. Adriaan makes movies more to cater to the Oscars and the public, while Kubrick makes movies to think. This gap is not something that can be crossed easily." When a non-mainstream mean film critic talked about the Oscars and Adriaan, he casually talked about the dispute caused by the new film of the legendary director, the miracle director.

Obviously, this was another guy who was biased towards Kubrick. While the Oscar nominees were attracting the attention of most people, these guys were still chattering. But that was as far as they could go. A week after the nomination list was released, people's enthusiasm had almost dissipated. "Wide-Open, Warning" finally premiered in Florence at the end of February.

The scale of the premiere was very small. From the beginning of the film's preparation, Warner was prepared to lose money. Otherwise, it would not have been released in a hurry after only a month of publicity. Even if Adriaan's name and the controversy caused from the beginning added a lot of gimmicks to the film, they did not comment on the biased comments to maximize the publicity effect.

Even so, there were still a lot of reporters outside the theater. The controversy had been noisy during this time. Even the release of the Oscar nomination list only made them stop for a moment. Warner and Adriaan did not respond. Seeing that the film was about to premiere, they should not continue to remain silent, right?

To their disappointment, Adriaan did not appear until the film was about to start. Was he not going to participate?

"I'm just afraid of trouble. Countless people are gossiping about the movie even before it's released. Can't they talk about it after watching it?" Adrian said to Tom Cruise as they walked to the screening hall.

He came to the theater early and did not go through the main entrance. Naturally, it was impossible for the reporters to catch his trace.

"So you want us to deal with those guys outside?" Cruise joked.

"Sorry, I should have called you and invited you to come in from the back door," Adriaan said solemnly, then glanced at Nicole, who was holding Cruise's arm.

She was wearing a red one-shoulder evening dress, and her reddish-blonde hair was pulled straight. She was still so sexy and attractive, just like Charlize, who was holding her arm. They both looked expressionless.

"I thought you would come alone, or bring a miracle girl." Cruise suddenly said, looking at Charlize with a little disdain. He had dealt with Adriaan many times. Of course, he knew that this beautiful blonde in a black, thin-shouldered dress was Adriaan's secretary and assistant. Of course, she must have been in his bed.

"I wanted to, but they all had something to do, and I also had something to do, so I simply took Charley with me. I can discuss it with her when I have time." Adriaan said with a smile, then looked at Charlize. "Don't underestimate Charley. She is the best assistant in the world. Without her, a lot of things would be a mess."

Then, without waiting for Cruise to speak, he changed the subject. "By the way, congratulations on getting the Oscar nomination for Best Actor. I said you definitely have the ability."

"Thank you." Cruise immediately showed a happy look. After all, which actor in Hollywood did not want to win an Oscar? Moreover, he had been criticized for almost ten years for relying on his face to make a living.

"In my opinion, you have a good chance of winning Best Actor this time."

"Really? Why? "

While talking about the Oscar prediction, the four of them followed the crowd to the second floor and finally entered the box. The Florence Cinema was one of the first cinemas built in Hollywood. Like the China Theater, one could tell what kind of cinema it was from its name. However, unlike the China Theater, the Americans knew Europe better, so the construction of the cinema was not as nondescript as the China Theater.

The entire interior of the theater was decorated in a completely European style, classical and gorgeous, and there were small opera cabins on both sides. Adriaan and the Cruise couple were sitting in one of them.

Soon, the seats were almost full. After a few minutes of greeting, as the lights were turned off, the movie, which was prepared by Kubrick and taken over by Adriaan, finally began. In just a few seconds, there was a low murmur of surprise in the theater, because the opening scene was when Nicole turned her back to the camera and took off her dress. Her smooth back and round buttocks were extremely attractive.

Cruise, who was sitting next to Nicole, suddenly looked a little upset. His good mood seemed to have disappeared. After all, the trial screening and the public screening were two different things. But he quickly adjusted and continued to maintain a calm demeanor.

The story quickly developed, like all Kubrick films, with colorful colors, well-known music as background music, and a very slow pace. At the cocktail party, the two models entangled the male lead, the old man flirted with the female lead, the boss played an accident and asked the male lead to solve it, and the female lead misunderstood the male lead, and so on.

After about ten minutes, the first climax was reached. After the male and female protagonists smoked marijuana, the female protagonist, under the stimulation, said some words that she usually hid in her heart, such as complaining about her husband being entangled with two female models, and that she had sexual fantasies about a naval officer that she had only met once. Naturally, when the male lead received a phone call and needed to go out, he inevitably had bad thoughts about renting a car.

As a result, the passionate scene between Nicole and the naval officer was shown on the screen. Adriaan's editing was particularly clever. Not only did he not make out the male lead's appearance, but he also magnified Nicole's intoxicated look. Therefore, there was a low murmur of surprise in the theater, and a faint hint of laughter could be heard.

Adriaan quietly glanced at the two women in the box. Charlize was still expressionless, looking at the screen absent-mindedly. Nicole also maintained an expressionless face, but her lips were tightly pursed, and she tried her best to focus her somewhat listless eyes on the screen. Others might think that she was acting well and engrossed, but she knew that this was a real hand-to-hand fight.

Cruise suddenly stood up. Although his expression could not be seen in the dark theater, from his sudden movement, it was clear that he was not in a good mood.

"Where are you going?" Nicole noticed that her husband was about to go out and asked.

"Going out for a while." Cruise's tone was obviously impatient.

Adriaan shrugged slightly and did not interrupt. The movie continued to show that after the male lead finished his business and refused a sudden passion, he suddenly regretted it on the way back, so he accidentally hooked up with a prostitute. But in the final stage of preparation, he woke up because he called home. Although he gave money, he did not touch the prostitute. However, when he went to the clinic to work the next day, he involuntarily began to have bad thoughts again.

Adriaan looked at Nicole again. Cruise had not come back yet. Obviously, he did not want to watch these scenes. Meanwhile, Nicole looked elsewhere absent-mindedly, and no one knew what she was thinking. Adriaan chuckled in his heart and glanced at Charlize again. Her expression was still the same, and it seemed that it had never changed. So, he reached out and placed his hand on Nicole's thigh.

The sudden touch made Nicole tremble twice. She immediately adjusted her posture and grabbed Adriaan's hand. However, she only moved a little, and Adriaan broke away and then stroked her thigh. The private room was a little small, and Nicole did not dare to move too much. She could only pull twice and stop.

The corner of Adriaan's mouth slightly curled up. The scene on the screen happened to be the third fantasy of the male lead. The female lead arched her naked back and let the naval officer kiss her. So, he also picked up the corner of her skirt and stretched it out.

Nicole was shocked and angry. She carefully reached out to stop him, but it was useless unless she made a big move or got up and left. However, before Nicole could make a decision, Adriaan's fingers had nimbly dodged and reached between her thighs. When wearing an evening dress to attend various activities, people usually wore T-pants inside. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing if the outline of the underwear was exposed. So, he just grabbed it and gently lifted it up, and then swayed it left and right. Nicole's breathing suddenly became a little faster, and her body became a lot softer.

Adriaan, who was watching her from the corner of his eye, curled up the corner of his mouth even higher, and his hand under the skirt further pulled. Nicole gritted her teeth and stared at him, but there was nothing she could do. He smiled gently in his heart, suddenly loosened his grip, and then reached down. The surprised Nicole reflexively clamped her legs, but she was still a step too slow, and his fingers were also caught between them.

Without hesitation, Adriaan immediately further fiddled and went deeper. Nicole suddenly trembled as if she had been electrocuted. She had completely lost her composure and looked at him imploringly. Even though the light in the theater was dim, it could still be seen that her face had turned red. His fingers continued to go deeper mercilessly. Nicole, who could not make a sound, began to show a confused look. Her chest was undulating, and her legs unconsciously rubbed gently.

Under this kind of environment and this kind of stimulation, she did not persist for too long, not to mention that the party on the screen was halfway through. The audience was speechless at these bold scenes. The rising and falling voices made Nicole feel that everyone was looking at her, so she suddenly tightened her body. This lasted for a long time, and then she softly leaned against the chair.

Adriaan also let out a long breath, pulled back his wet fingers, and looked at Charlize again. Although it seemed that her attention was still on the screen, the tips of her ears were all red.

After resting for a long time, Nicole, who had finally recovered some strength, turned her head and stood up. It seemed that she was also going to leave the box, but the moment she stood up, she suddenly felt a cold feeling coming from below. Then she heard Adriaan's sincere voice with an apologetic tone, "Sorry, Nicole, my hand slipped. I hope I didn't wet your clothes."

Nicole glared at the laughing Adriaan with shame and indignation. His voice was not loud, but it was enough for the people in the boxes on both sides to hear, so several people looked at her. She could not say anything, so she could only stabilize her body and walk out.

"It seems that I seem to have angered her." Adriaan shrugged, then put the paper cup in his hand on the seat of Nicole, who had been wet by him, and got up to chase out.