Chapter 449

Although on the red carpet at the Oscars, Adriaan "threatened" to cancel Denis's original role because of his "dissatisfaction," it was just a joke. Denis had experienced the early days of his career with Adriaan, and his experience was incomparable to others. Moreover, Denis was a real unknown character who had been promoted by Adriaan, and had always been loyal to him. Adriaan would never give up on him.

However, at that time, Adriaan was indeed joking. Although he had plans to let Denis act in different works, his role during this time was too simple. However, during the award ceremony, he did not completely think about it, so he just said it casually, basically to "threaten" Denis. However, because he found a certain script from Miramax, and because of the subtle competition between Gwyneth and Blanchett, he thought of an interesting idea, and found a suitable and full of British style role for him.

"Suitable? God, even though I've only seen part of his works, I know that it's very difficult to show the temperament of an artist. " Denis continued to say gloomily, "I don't even know what kind of information is appropriate. Many historians still doubt whether Shakespeare existed, and many Americans actually think that Shakespeare is the greatest American playwright."

"Really? If Hemingway knew about this, he would be crying in heaven. " Adriaan shook his head, but Denis's next words almost made him spit out, "Who is Hemingway?"

"Okay, I'm kidding." Seeing that his face had become ugly, Denis immediately raised his hand.

"Okay, Dan, this role is not complicated." Adriaan shook his head and changed the topic, "Do you remember what I told you? The story takes place in Shakespeare's youth, when his main works were still comedies, and he was not so experienced, still very lively and naive. In a sense, he was still a playboy. It's very similar to you now, isn't it? "

"He's young and talented, and he's also a playboy." Denis repeated a few times, and then looked at him with interest, "Frankly speaking, I think you are more suitable for this role, Eide."

"Huh?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows, and for a moment, he did not react.

"Isn't that right? Compared to me, you are more suitable. Besides, you have also guest starred in some movies, so you have some experience. Why don't you consider directing and acting yourself? "Denis deliberately pretended to be serious.

"Come on, Dan, don't joke." Adriaan shook his head, amused.

"Okay, I'm not joking, but I really don't think I'm suitable." Dennis straightened his face and sighed. "If possible, I still want to act in some action movies. Of course, it would be better if Bruce, Arnold, or Segal could play supporting roles for me."

"That's also a good idea. Anyway, you can invest 200 million in a movie." Denis continued to laugh, trying to muddy the waters.

"That's not a bad idea. Anyway, you can invest 200 million in a movie." Dennis continued to laugh, trying to muddy the waters.

"You think I'm really …" Adriaan was about to refute, but he suddenly thought of something and froze.

"What's wrong?" Sensing his abnormality, Denis quickly asked.

"Nothing, don't worry. Let me think, let me think carefully." Adriaan reached out and tapped his head gently, then turned around in a circle.

Denis's words reminded him of a movie, "The Expendables", which was produced more than ten years later by Siegel Stallone who was unwilling to be left out and gathered a group of old guys. Of course, Adriaan was not too interested in such a movie that relied on nostalgia to make money. Although nostalgia was also a good way to make money, Stallone immediately produced another episode after making a good box office. However, Adriaan had a lot of movies that could make money, so he did not care about such a small amount of money. Besides, he would have to wait until decades later, when they were all old.

However, Denis reminded him that what would happen if he gathered a group of big-name action stars to act in the same movie while they were still popular? The cost was not a big problem. Generally speaking, if several big stars acted in the same movie, as long as one of them agreed to reduce the salary, the others would do the same. Everyone would have the mentality of comparing, not to mention that they could transfer the salary to dividends.

Of course, this was based on two conditions. First, the value of each other could not be too different. Second, the prospects of the movie were very good. The first condition was needless to say. As long as they could negotiate with their agents, it would not be a problem. As for the second condition, with the brand of Miracle Director, how many people would question the prospects of the movie? This could also affect the first condition. Miracle Director personally invited them, so what if they got a little less pay? What's more, Bruce Willis' agent had already switched to his agent's company, so it was very simple.

"This is definitely a brand with potential." Adriaan, who stopped walking, pinched his chin and muttered to himself with some excitement.

He was not interested in the box office of "The Expendables". What he wanted was to build "The Expendables" into a movie brand. Just like Real Madrid's collection of football superstars, the real fans had never cared about the saying, "Those who can serve in Real Madrid are the real superstars." But those fake fans were very effective. Many people who did not watch football knew about Real Madrid in this way.

So, not only Willis, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger, Adriaan also planned to recruit Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Russell Crowe, and the future "Boulder" Johnson, Van Diesel, and other actors, big and small, who might even be related to action stars, in one fell swoop.

Think about it, if one day in the future, Hollywood appeared, "You said you are a famous Hollywood action star? Did you have a role in "The Expendables"? No? How could he be considered a famous action star? "If that was the case, how interesting would that be?

There was no need to do it all at once. They could slowly increase the number and shoot episode by episode in the way of telling the story of a certain mercenary group. As for the storyline, the main attraction of this kind of movie was not this, but the gathering of stars and the hearty fighting and destruction. Moreover, they could also let Yuan Heping participate in the action design, find a balance between boxing and Kung Fu, and show different fighting methods. It would be even better if Jett Lee could join — forget about Jack Cheng, his humorous fighting style was not suitable for such a movie.

Therefore, as long as the story could conform to basic logic, it was not particularly difficult for the screenwriters who had been trained by Adriaan in that harsh way. If it was done well enough, they could even produce a comic book version. Anyway, Marvel Comics was in their hands, and if the stars were willing, they could even authorize them to draw characters with their faces.

Of course, it was not easy to achieve this. There were many things to consider. Just building a specific plan would take a lot of time, not to mention studying the market, writing the script, negotiating with several big names, and so on. Even so, Adriaan still wanted to give it a try. Although the best way to achieve his great career was to maintain as much inertia as possible and profit from it, as a person who had lived two lives, it was always interesting to try something different. Just like Denis, at the beginning, Adriaan did not think that he would be so outstanding. Besides, the price of losing his hand last time was still affordable, so why not?

After coming out of his own thoughts, Adriaan realized that Denis had called him several times. "What's wrong?"

"Well … So you agree?" Denis asked carefully, his eyes flashing with some kind of light.

"Hehe, this …" He suddenly chuckled, and there was some meaning in it. Want to muddle through while I was thinking? That was impossible!

"I have to admit, you are my lucky star, Dan. Because of your suggestion, I thought of a very interesting idea." Adriaan patted him hard on the shoulder. "Speaking of which, your performance in Broken Arrow can barely be considered an action star, so I will let you play a role in it, but —"

After seeing Denis let out a sigh of relief, Adriaan immediately changed the topic, and his smile became a lot more cunning. "But not now, so you should continue to try to figure out Shakespeare."

"Continue?" Denis suddenly twitched the corner of his mouth and covered his forehead.

"I remember you have English blood, don't you? In 'Two Smoking Pipes', your London accent was pretty good too. You have to believe in yourself, "Adrian said with a hint of mockery.

"Having English blood and acting as a famous British writer are two different things." Denis sighed.

"Give it a try, Dan. Don't doubt my judgment." Although he had been evading, Adriaan was not angry. "I don't think you will always like to be positioned as an action star, right? In addition to fame and money, you can't lack honor. "

Denis was slightly stunned. This sentence finally made him think of something else, so he moved his lips but did not say anything.

"I will find someone to give you specialized tutoring. Anyway, shooting this kind of historical film requires consulting a lot of scholars. The script also needs to be revised. I will ask the screenwriter to hand the complete script to you as soon as possible. That's it. Don't let me down, Dan. I have to go back to the studio. It's almost time to continue working. "Adriaan said as he patted him on the shoulder again, and then strode to the set.

It was not a whim to let Denis play the role of Shakespeare in Shakespeare's Love History. Adriaan still had high hopes for him. He was not the kind of person who ignored the objective reality in order to flatter his own people.

Thanks to his keen observation and his working life, Denis's temperament was very changeable. As Adriaan had said before, Shakespeare in Shakespeare's Love History was still very young. He was not the kind of person who would be a great writer in the future. There was not much difference between him and ordinary talented young people. After several years of experience, Denis, who had a sensational love triangle scandal with Winona and Aniston, was no longer the talented but still very young man. As long as he was willing to study hard, when the complete script came out, he would definitely be able to grasp the key points of the character.

Thinking of this, another mischievous idea popped into Adriaan's mind. Why not let Denis also play a role in another movie? The other movie was, of course, Blanchett's "Elizabeth." It was because Blanchett played the demeanor of Elizabeth I, and in a later movie, that she was given the title of "Queen."

Interestingly, Joseph Fiennes, the younger brother of Ralph Fiennes, who played the lead role in Shakespeare's Love History, also played an important role in "Elizabeth." In that case, it was better to let Denis also play the role, so that Adriaan could better control the situation.

Well, let's not talk about this anymore. Even if these two movies were to start shooting, they would have to wait until after the end of the first "The Matrix." So for the time being, it was better to put them aside.

The filming of "The Matrix" did not need to worry too much about the current situation. When the plot in the hovercraft was almost finished, the intense fighting scene would begin. So, Adriaan chose this time to hold the long-awaited internal screening.

After the ethereal and beautiful singing ended, before the subtitles were completely over, applause rang out. Although it was a little monotonous, the enthusiasm of the people clapping could be heard. Led by him, the others also clapped, but because there were not many people participating, the sparse applause was not as powerful as one person clapping.

"I'm very satisfied, James. I'm telling the truth. Don't think that I'm comforting you." After the lights in the theater were turned on, Adriaan said to Cameron, then turned his head to look at a woman not far away. "Your singing is really moving, Ms. Celine. It's like the sound of nature."

As the singer of the theme song, Celine Dion was the only non-member of the production team to participate, and she was the one who volunteered to participate because she liked the song very much and was eager to know the effect of the music in the movie. Adriaan had no reason to disagree. After all, her singing added a lot to the movie.

"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Adriaan." Celine Dion smiled and nodded, then held her boyfriend, who was almost in his fifties, sitting next to her. "If it weren't for Reinier's insistence, maybe I would have missed this moving song."

"At least you don't have to regret it now, do you?" Adriaan smiled and chatted with Cameron again.

At first, he also wanted to have a taste of this good woman. She could sing a high note so well, so the feeling of a deep throat must be equally good. But this idea only turned around in his mind and then disappeared. In his previous life, because of his love for Titanic and the theme song, he knew a lot of things. As for Celine Dion, she had long been raised by her man.

Reinier Angelier, Dion's agent, was now 57 years old. As early as 19 years ago, when he was 38 years old, he met Dion when she was only 12 years old. Then, he became her agent and gave her all kinds of advice. Although their relationship was only announced in 1993, everyone knew that they had been together for a long time.

It had to be said that Mr. Angelier was really resourceful and patient. He had Dion firmly in his hands. Even if her body was weak, he could still use in vitro fertilization to make Dion willingly pregnant. Some of Adrian's methods could be said to have been learned from him. However, he had more resources at his disposal, so his appetite was bigger.

"I used brand-new CG technology, so that a lot of the scenes look more realistic …" Cameron talked non-stop about some technical stuff.

It had to be admitted that with an investment of nearly 20 million, the whole movie looked more refined. For example, when the captain and the first mate stood outside the cabin, the scenes on the horizon were all CG. This version was clearer and more delicate than the scenes in Adriaan's memory. Such places could be found everywhere, so it was worth it.

But the crazy guy Cameron couldn't help but complain a few times. "There are still some parts that are not perfect. There are more than 30 parts. If there is enough time, I can make it more detailed."

"What do you think, Mr. Clayden?" Adriaan smiled and shook his head, then looked at one of the executives of 20th Century Fox.

"I think … it's not bad." Clayden Cox shrugged, as if he didn't think much of this disaster romance, but he didn't show it. He quickly changed the topic. "I don't have any opinions, Mr. Adriaan. Leave the distribution to us."

He chose to hand this movie to Fox instead of his own film company. First, it was for Cameron's sake. Before Adrian intervened, Cameron and Fox had a good relationship. Fox had also invested in the original "Titanic". Now that Adrian had poached Cameron, he should at least show some form of compensation. Secondly, it was for the sake of the MPAA's rating. Back then, this movie had swept the North American and even global box office. Other than a series of factors such as story and special effects, it was also rated PG-13. If it was rated R now, it could even lose half of the box office. Adrian would never allow that to happen. Of course, he had Fox on board. Previously, Warner Bros. had put in a lot of effort to improve the rating of "Wideout, Warning".

Because of this, Adriaan increasingly felt how important it was to have a position in the MPAA. Fortunately, if the plan went smoothly, this problem would soon be solved.

"This is the movie you invested 240 million yuan in." Just as Adriaan was thinking about the plan, Claude's voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"How do you feel?" Looking at Claude's slightly teasing smile, Adriaan shrugged.

"It's not bad, but if you want to rely on the box office to maintain the cost, you need at least 500 million yuan worldwide, and this must be under ideal conditions. This doesn't include the cost of publicity." Claude smacked his lips. "That's 500 million yuan."

"You'll see a miracle, Krau, I promise." Adriaan was too lazy to argue with him. If he was still uncertain before, after seeing the sample, he was completely relieved.

"I think you have more to say than that, don't you?" He changed the subject.

"It could have been a simple matter, but you insisted that I attend the test screening first …" Claude complained. "Well, you can't refuse this year, right?"

"What?"

"The White House Dinner."