Chapter 450

After the release of Grave Robber 2 last year, Stephen Thamos, the director and producer, said that he would not make a sequel. Although Universal repeatedly asked him to stay, his attitude was firm, so he did not mention a sequel again. The current Universal was much better than the Universal in Adrian's previous life. In his previous life, Universal was only slightly better than the unlucky Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Other than "Grave Robber" and "The Bourne Ultimatum," they basically didn't have any good movie series. The role that they won from Marvel was that damn Hulk, so Mina had no choice but to restart these two series. Of course, the results were not good.

But now, with the support of AC Media, especially Adriaan's support, coupled with his quick action, several of the most profitable series after the millennium, such as the Harry Potter series and Marvel Comics' superheroes, were in his hands. Therefore, high-grossing movies were released one after another. Now, Universal was vaguely the leader of several major movie companies, so they were not very eager for a sequel to Grave Robber.

However, they did not give up on developing the peripheral of this series. No movie company would give up, so "The Scorpion King" was born. Although Dwayne Johnson did not have many scenes in "The Expendables", he had made a preliminary appearance. Later, his appearance as the Scorpion King in "Grave Robber 2" was also very interesting, so Universal had the idea of tailoring a movie for him.

The screenwriters designed a mysterious female wizard in the script. Although it was not clear where she came from, it was vaguely revealed that she was from the East, so they needed an Asian or an actress with Asian blood. And it was under such circumstances that Lin Xilei fought for this role for Lin Zhiling while constantly running around.

Adriaan did not know this until the role was finalized. Neither Lin Xilei nor Lin Zhiling had mentioned it before. There was no doubt that they wanted to surprise him and increase their presence. Although Lin Xilei was able to get this role for Lin Zhiling, Adriaan still played a role behind her, most of it was based on her own ability. No wonder Adriaan sighed that she was like a fish in water as an agent.

"When we go back, call Xilei over. I will reward you tonight." Adriaan took advantage of the darkness at the beginning of the movie to knead Lin Zhiling's soft body while blowing air into her ear.

Although Lin Zhiling was not as good as Kate and the others in his favorites, she was obedient and good at catering. Especially with Lin Xilei's planning, Adriaan was very satisfied with Shuang Lin, so he prepared many good roles for her, such as Yuriko in "X-Men 2". But now, it seemed like this role could be handed over to Yuji Hui. Even though Yuji Hui's position was completely different from Lin Chi-ling's, it would be good to try out an action role occasionally. Yuji Hui also needed a commercial blockbuster. Moreover, she had experience in action scenes in "Rush Hour 2".

From this aspect, Jack Chen was very good at pleasing people. Yuji Hui did not have many action scenes in "Rush Hour 2", but there was always something that made people's eyes light up, but at the same time, it did not affect Jack Chen at all. It was the same for Lin Zhiling in "Dragon of the Western Regions". She also had a few action scenes at the end of this movie, just like Yuji Hui in "Rush Hour 2".

To be honest, Adriaan had thought of working with Jack Chen at first, but his humorous fighting style was too strong, and it had completely become his label. Moreover, as time passed, Adriaan had new plans. Basically, there would not be an action movie for a long time, so he could only give up.

'It's okay, I won't be in such a hurry to exploit him.' That was the last thought he had in his mind.

Not to mention the sex with Shuang Lin that night, and not to mention the outstanding box office of "Dragon of the Western Regions" in the first week. Although the battle for the summer slot was about to begin, most of the media was attracted by a piece of news released by Universal in early June. After negotiations with Hasbro, Universal will invest 150 million in the production of a live-action movie version of "Transformers," and invited James Cameron to be the producer and director!

For many people born in the late 70s and early 80s, it was self-evident what "Transformers" meant. When Hasbro first released this toy and animation, it was all the rage. It was one of the best childhood memories for many people who were already working, and it had a considerable number of fans all over the world. Even if one thought with their knees, one would know that as long as the movie's plot was slightly reasonable, and the special effects were extremely realistic, Universal would not have to worry about not being able to recoup its cost, and Hasbro would benefit greatly from it.

Moreover, it was being directed by Cameron. Everyone knew that this madman was obsessed with huge machinery and that he did not care about anything else when it came to burning money. In recent years, there had been rumors that because of the huge cost of "Titanic," no one dared to invite him to produce a movie. The well-informed media knew that this was not the truth. After the big ship, many film companies approached Cameron to discuss cooperation, but he declined all of them. However, since the readers liked it, they were happy to use exaggerated reports to attract attention. With the addition of various tabloids that were too lazy to collect facts, many people thought that it would be difficult for Cameron to produce a mega-production like "Titanic" in the future.

Therefore, many die-hard fans expressed their dissatisfaction and support for Cameron through various channels. There were even people who launched an operation to "save the king of the world," which made people not know whether to laugh or cry. However, it was precisely because of this that when the news that he was going to direct the live-action version of "Transformers" was confirmed, it caused a strong reaction among the fans, and the media also chased after him at the press conference.

"Well, to be honest, when Adriaan first talked to me about this, I didn't take it to heart. I thought that there was no need to adapt a child's toy, but he kept pestering me. In addition, he raised a lot of conditions and said a lot of ideas, and I gradually became interested in it. Finally, I came here. However, I really want to complain. This guy pushed everything to me after I signed the contract, and I have to fulfill all the promises I made before. He is really irresponsible. "Cameron was quite humorous at the press conference.

As a result, ordinary people's expectations for the live-action version of "Transformers" were instantly ignited, and the major film companies lamented again. Even without Cameron's words, they knew that all of this was planned by Adriaan. Thinking about the situation when AC Media bought Hasbro, they had obviously been preparing for it at that time.

Think about it, the Lord of the Rings series, the Matrix series, the Harry Potter series, and the superheroes of Marvel Comics, how many valuable things had they mastered?! Moreover, he always made his move before anyone could react! Just wait and see, if the live-action "Transformers" movie was a big success, there would be people who would have ideas about the other toy movie rights of Hasbro. At that time, they would have to be submissive to AC Media, just like the superhero who always seemed to be able to see things very far away.

However, although other film companies were envious, they did not know that the movie was still far from completion. Universal was only doing this to hype up the atmosphere, and when it was released in two or three years, a series of marketing methods was bound to be used to make the movie have eye-catching box office results.

That's right, from the beginning, Adriaan had given the crew two years to produce. After all, there were dozens of important roles in "Transformers". Just deciding which to play and how to dress in the movie would take a long time. Moreover, so far, there was not even a script, only an outline.

"Simply put, this is the story of a boy and his car." In Cameron's own office, this scruffy guy, who still had a beard, put his feet on the table and shrugged with his hands behind his head. He then added, "The story of a talking car."

"You can say that." Adriaan smiled and spread out his hands.

"It sounds very similar to" Thunderbolt Ranger. "Why don't we just take their script and modify it?" Cameron said half-jokingly.

"Absolutely." Adriaan nodded calmly. "Anyway, you'll be in charge of it. Speaking of which, 'Thunderbolt Ranger' is also a childhood memory of the people who grew up in the 70s and 80s. Maybe I can get someone to make a 'New Thunderbolt Ranger' or 'Thunderbolt Ranger 2002' or something like that."

"Okay, okay." Cameron immediately raised his hand. "I knew it. It's impossible to count on you. Everything has to be done on my own."

"I just want to show my respect for you. As you said at the press conference, I pushed everything to you. Of course, I have to do what I said." Adriaan laughed.

"Really? Then why don't we remove the restrictions on the character design?" Cameron sat up straight and snorted.

"That won't do." Adriaan immediately waved his hand. "Actually, deep down, you agree with me, don't you?"

"Yes, but I think you put forward this idea because you're worried that I'll spend money recklessly," Cameron said very seriously.

Adriaan couldn't help but laugh. His suggestion was very simple. When creating the Transformers characters, they must make the robots look very heavy and powerful, not the light feeling of the original version. The original Transformers were indeed gorgeous and had a metallic texture. They even used thousands of parts in the CG. However, although it looked good, it also gave people a sense of unreality.

To put it simply, the more beautiful something was, the more fragile it was. Even if the scriptwriter told the audience through the mouths of the characters that their bodies were made of a special alloy, light and indestructible at the same time, when the scene changed and all kinds of exciting scenes appeared, who would care about that? Then, the audience would subconsciously feel a little awkward. Even if they came back to their senses after watching it, they would still be affected when watching the movie. That was why Adriaan didn't care about anything else and emphasized on making the robots heavier.

"Come on, I've already left some space for you. I never thought that 150 million was enough to satisfy you." Adriaan sneered.

"Ha, can I take that as a compliment?" Cameron raised both of his hands with a grin.

"Of course — are you really not going to sign two more movies? Just for me?" Adriaan suddenly said.

"Hey, Eide, I said from the beginning that I'll only direct one movie." Cameron answered very seriously, "You know what I want more. I commissioned Sony to research a new camera. It's a 3D camera, and it has made good progress. Maybe in another year or two, it will be put into use. I can't wait to use it."

"Yes, I know, I just …" Adriaan made a gesture and then sighed, "I still have to find a successor for you …"

"Don't worry, maybe there's someone who can do it better than me." Cameron comforted him.

"Maybe …" Adriaan stood up, "Alright, that's it. I'll leave everything to you."

"No problem … Oh yes, the investment you promised …" Cameron, who stood up, suddenly said.

"You!" Adriaan waved his fist and was about to hit him, "When did I not fulfill my promise to you!"

"Don't get too excited, I just wanted to remind you." Cameron laughed and dodged.

"I think I still have this bit of credibility." Adriaan adjusted his collar and sneered, "So, I'm warning you, James, don't ruin your own reputation."

"Don't worry, I'll do my best." Cameron stopped smiling and gave him a high five.

What a pity. Even when they left the building and got in the car, Adriaan was still very regretful. If he could, he really hoped that Cameron would direct the live-action version of the trilogy of "Transformers", but Cameron was only willing to sign a contract for one movie. Although he promised to talk about it later, it was actually because of another matter.

Yes, it was the super blockbuster seven or eight years later. In 1999, Cameron began to conceive, then did a lot of preparation work, and set his sights on 3D movies — in this regard, his vision was very forward-looking. And long before this, Adriaan promised to support his idea and invest, because of this, he readily agreed to direct "Transformers".

It didn't matter, he couldn't force it. Adriaan was very open-minded. Of course, this was under the premise that Cameron had given him a carefully produced "Transformers". It was also because of this consideration that he requested for the robot to be full of a sense of gravity when it was produced, and he gave something that could barely be considered an outline, such as the idea of a boy using his car to chase after a girl, or the scene where the crazy robot appeared to destroy a US military base.

As for the rest, it was left to Cameron to make up. Whether there would be some problems with the original version, such as the robot appearing a little later, fighting in the city at the end, and the dizziness at the beginning without using heavy weapons, he could not be bothered. Anyway, it was already very good to be able to prepare for the start of filming before the end of the year.

Thinking about that foxy girl again, she was very hardworking, and the crew of "Big Lies" had a good evaluation of her, he wondered if she was ready … in all aspects.

Compared to the sensation caused by the preparation of the live-action "Transformers" movie, the other movie that was also in preparation at this time was relatively low-key.

After the meeting, Adriaan patted Peter Jackson on the shoulder and said, "I'll leave everything to you, Peter. Don't let me down."

"No problem, I will do my best to do it well!" Jackson, whose eyes were shining, said in an excited tone.

Yes, "King Kong," this movie had been remade many times, and now it was going to be remade again. Since Adriaan had promised Peter Jackson, he would not go back on his word. Moreover, although he did not have the 200 million US dollars from his previous life for him to squander, it was only 50 million less, which was the same budget as Cameron's "Transformers." Of course, if Cameron felt that 150 million was not enough, it would not be difficult for him to increase the investment, but Jackson only had this 150 million.

Even so, this fat man from New Zealand — okay, he was no longer a fat man, he had lost a lot of weight — was still very excited, and he was ready to go all out. In this time and space, although he had participated in the production of "The Lord of the Rings," he had never directed a movie with an investment of more than 100 million US dollars. Moreover, Adriaan had given Universal the power to him, so it was inevitable that he felt like he had met a confidant.

These factors, coupled with Adriaan's subtle influence on him, and his promise that if "King Kong" was a box office hit, he would support him to direct "The Hobbit" or "The Silmarillion." Therefore, the excessive tediousness, lack of pacing, and excessive use of slow-motion in the previous life should be curbed.

"This is the reason why you want me to be the female lead?" After speaking to Jackson, Adriaan immediately met Naomi's eyes.

The slightly petite lady pursed her lips, and tried her best to look at Adriaan calmly, but the turbulent emotions behind her eyes were not completely concealed. Most of the people in the meeting room had left, and the rest had slipped out with Jackson, leaving the room to them.

"Is there a problem?" Adriaan smiled gently.

"No, it's just …" Naomi made a hand gesture, and then turned her head to the side, biting her lips as if she would cry at any time.

"I'm sorry." Adriaan immediately pulled her into his arms, "I didn't know … erm … I didn't know that this would make you sad … If you feel offended, I'll apologize to you, and then I'll ask them to change the script …"

"No!" Naomi exclaimed. She finally calmed down, and raised her head to look at Adriaan again, her greenish-blue eyes sparkling. "This is good, Eide, this is good. This can remind me that when my life is filled with gray, the only color is there. I must hold on to it, and never let it go."

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Adriaan's neck, stood on her tiptoes, and gently kissed his lips.