Chapter 505

"Everyone, get ready. We're going to start the first test shoot." As Adriaan clapped his hands and shouted, "Shakespeare in Love History" officially began shooting.

The story was relatively simple. Basically, it was based on "Romeo and Juliet," supplemented with many small details. For example, the name of the heroine, Viola, came from "Twelfth Night," one of Shakespeare's four great comedies. The reason why this movie was loved by so many people was because of the realistic and illusory feeling of the author acting out his own work.

However, in Adriaan's opinion, the original movie was still lacking in this aspect. It didn't make full use of this advantage. After all, this was a new style. The producer wasn't sure how many people would accept it, which was one of the reasons why the script had been shelved. However, Adriaan knew exactly how popular this style was. Although "Shakespeare in Love History" won the Oscar for Best Film, 50% or more was due to the public's ability, it didn't diminish its excellence.

Therefore, he was bolder in this aspect and added more small details from Shakespeare's plays. For example, at the beginning of the movie, the theater owner could finally open for business because the plague had passed, but he had no good script, so he had to urge Shakespeare, who was in a state of mental exhaustion, to the point of even threatening him.

"D * mn it, William, you still owe me a lot of money!" The theater owner roared loudly.

"That's enough, Charlotte. Look at you now. You're no different from a greedy Jew," Shakespeare said indifferently.

"Damn it, either pay me back or give me the script," the theater owner said angrily. The boss said angrily. He knew that the other party knew that his threat was fake, but that did not stop him from continuing. "Listen, if you delay any longer, I will apply to the judge to cut a pound of flesh from your chest as repayment!"

"Great," Shakespeare replied with a cheeky smile. "Go ahead, Charlotte. I'm more than willing to do that."

"Hey, William, you can't be serious, can you?" the person next to him asked.

"It doesn't matter. It's just a pound of flesh, no more, no less, and no blood. Otherwise, I can sue him for attempted murder," Shakespeare said leisurely, which made the theater owner furious.

This passage came from another of Shakespeare's four great comedies: "The Merchant of Venice." Adriaan even changed the theater owner's name to Charlotte. There were many similar jokes. Of course, Adrian was also very careful to keep his bottom line. He discussed the application of these jokes with many British drama scriptwriters through his relationship with Sharwin and the others, in case of going too far as it was as bad as falling short.

“Cut！ What are you doing, Dan? Are you sleepwalking? I want you to play the part of a playboy who is talented, but now he is in trouble. But what are you now? "Ruffian" is already the best description. Or are you not playing the role of Shakespeare, but the incarnation of Doctor Who?! "Adrian scolded him without holding back.

For a moment, the entire set was silent, with only his sharp tone echoing. No one dared to interrupt. They were all people who had worked with Adriaan many times and knew his style very well. Unlike many directors, he almost never scolded anyone. However, once an unforgivable mistake was made, no matter how thick-skinned the person was, his sarcastic words could make the person blush.

"Well … Mr. Director, I'm also at fault …" After Adriaan's taunts for a few minutes, Jeffrey Rush, who played the theater owner opposite Denis, coughed softly.

"Alright, Jeffrey, you don't have to plead for him. You did a very good job, much better than him. You deserve your honor," Adriaan interrupted him, but he finally stopped his sarcasm.

"I know you worked hard and did a lot of homework before this, Dan, but this is not an excuse for you to make mistakes again and again. Take a break now. If you make the same mistake again, I'll have to replace you," he said in the end. Denis stood where he was and listened obediently. In the end, he bowed slightly.

Although these words sounded harsh, Denis knew that Adriaan meant no harm. After all, he was the one who discovered Adriaan. After so many years, he more or less understood Adriaan's thoughts.

Adriaan actually didn't want to be so sarcastic at the beginning, but the current situation was not the same as before. The actors needed to get into the right state in the shortest time possible. Because —

"Jeffrey, you seem to be in good condition. Why don't you try over there with me?" After letting the others rest, Adriaan, who had adjusted his mood, asked Rush in a half-joking tone.

"I'm fine with it, but I don't know if the makeup artist and costume designer have any problems," Rush said humorously with his hands spread out.

Although some of the important roles in the movie had been replaced, some hadn't, such as Colin Firth who played Sir Weiser, Judi Dench who played the female lead's personal servant, and Jeffrey Rush, who played the theater owner and had just won the Oscar for Best Actor at the 69th Academy Awards.

This British actor was not simple. He could play any kind of role without any difficulty, whether it was a wretched and cunning nobody, a sinister and vicious villain, or a serious and serious gentleman. Of course, he didn't have many scenes in Shakespeare's Love History. The reason why Adriaan still invited him to join the cast was because of another movie.

"Alright, I've said enough. Let's start." In an indoor studio not far from the set of "Shakespeare in Love History", another movie had begun shooting, and that was "Elizabeth".

Previously, when he said that he would shoot two movies at the same time, he was not joking. Adrian really wanted to challenge himself. It wasn't a particularly difficult thing for him. He had all the scenes in his head, and he had almost mastered them in the past few years. He had been preparing for the shooting since he decided to shoot, so he was very confident.

The biggest problem was that he couldn't mix up the two movies in his head. One of the main reasons for shooting at the same time was that they were both in the period of Elizabeth I, but one was in the early period, while the other was in the middle period. Universal costumes, props, and scenery could be used. But at the same time, it also meant that it was easy to mix up the two movies during filming, which would result in waste.

It was already a bit of a waste to shoot two movies at the same time. If Adriaan were to shoot this movie, then the production of that movie would inevitably be stopped, which would make the already high cost even more expensive. However, this problem was very troublesome for other directors, but it was not a big deal for Adrian. For him, it was a very simple matter for him to switch thoughts without being interfered with each other.

So as long as the staff of the two crews did not mix up, it would be fine. Adriaan was very confident about this. This time, he had brought both teams to the UK, and they had worked under his guidance for a long time. Even if there were still problems, as long as it was within a suitable range, it would not affect the progress of the shooting. Therefore, the last problem was the state of the actors.

As everyone knew, Adriaan could shoot movies very quickly. As long as the actors were in a good state, he could at least cut the time of the original movie in half, which would take two or three months to shoot. However, because he was in a hurry every time, most of the saved money was invested into overtime pay, so the cost of the movie was not much lower than the original movie.

This time, because he was shooting two movies at the same time, it would take more time, and the shooting cost would naturally be higher. It was impossible to save too much money and invest it into overtime pay, plus there were many other things to do in the middle, so he set the shooting time at four months. Even so, the actors needed to be quite cooperative and maintain their state most of the time to achieve this goal, so Denis was so severely criticized before.

"Very good, this scene is over." After rewinding the tape and watching it again, Adriaan thought for a while and announced the end of the shooting.

This was the interior of Balmoral Palace, which was built at the suggestion of a British historian. At that time, there was no Buckingham Palace, and the shot was the scene of Mary I becoming hysterical because of a miscarriage here. Because she had no children, once she died, her sister, Elizabeth, would inherit the throne. For Mary I, who was a Catholic and executed many Protestants in the country, the pagan sister of Protestantism was undoubtedly a good choice.

The actors in these scenes didn't have roles in Shakespeare's Love History, so the shooting went smoothly. They were supposed to finish the scene, but Adrian asked someone to rearrange the set for another scene.

"Jeffrey, are you ready?" Adriaan raised his voice to Rush, who was already wearing a gorgeous costume and was being styled by the stylist.

"Please give me a few minutes," Rush said. Rush said. Although he played all kinds of roles in movies, he was a nice guy in real life.

He walked back and forth on the set twice, took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and prepared for a while. Then he broke free and nodded to Adriaan. His temperament suddenly became a little gloomy and cold, completely different from the wretched theater owner just now.

Jeffrey Rush had roles in both the original version of "Shakespeare in Love" and "Elizabeth," but his role in "Elizabeth" was more important. He played Francis Walsingham, who was one of Elizabeth I's important contributors in history. He built a detailed spy network for her in Europe. Although it was not all-pervasive, no matter what happened on the continent could escape his eyes and ears. As for whether he was her gigolo or not, no one knew. Although Elizabeth I was known as the Virgin Queen, it was only because she was not married and had children. She also found many men.

Since Adriaan had invited him to play a role in "Shakespeare in Love" and "Elizabeth" was being filmed at the same time, how could he not take the role? In fact, to be exact, he was first invited to play the role of Francis Walsingham in "Elizabeth," and then, considering that "Shakespeare in Love" was being filmed at the same time, he was given the role in passing.

Rush was a little hesitant at first. Although he was confident that he would play two different roles in two movies at the same time, wouldn't it be a little too arrogant? However, Adriaan personally called him and moved his heart.

"You know, I like to create miracles, and I have created many miracles. Why not try and see if you can create a miracle too?" That was what he said.

Cameras were soon in place outside the built windows, surrounded by a green curtain. In the later stages, the green curtain would be replaced by the scenery of European cities at the end of the Middle Ages. Of course, those were all beautified, just like the theater and market in "Shakespeare in Love". It was impossible to completely replicate the scenery of the Middle Ages. Anyone who saw the introduction of the various customs of life in the Middle Ages would not think of life in that era.

Alright, back to the topic at hand. After Elizabeth ascended to the throne, she summoned back the exiled Walsingham. However, her enemies knew that this guy was not easy to deal with, so they wanted to bribe the people around him to kill him. However, Walsingham was prepared and easily killed his bribed servant.

"Very good. Well done, Jeffrey." Adriaan was very satisfied with Rush's performance.

"Thank you, but if we do this a few more times, I will still have problems," Rush said after letting out a long breath.

"Don't worry, I will try to stagger the schedule." Adriaan laughed. "Unfortunately, we have to go back and finish the rest of 'Shakespeare in Love'."

"It's okay, let's give it a try." Jeffrey shrugged.

Next, they returned to the set of "Shakespeare in Love". Everyone here had more or less rested, and Denis seemed to have adjusted his state of mind, as if he could not wait to give it a try. However, Adriaan did not continue shooting the rest of the scenes. Rush had just returned from "Elizabeth" and spent a lot of energy, so he should be given some time to rest and adjust.

Although Denis had prepared for a long time, he still failed to show his temperament and made five or six NGs in the following scenes. However, Adriaan did not say anything. It was as if the threat of replacing him had been thrown to the back of his mind. Whenever he made a NG, he would just order him to do it again. Denis did not let him down. After the seventh NG, he finally passed the scene, and he did it in one take for the next few scenes.

Clap, clap, clap. After the scene came to an end, Adriaan gently clapped his hands with a smile of approval on his face. Then, everyone else applauded, including Jeffrey Rush. Amidst the warm applause, Denis bowed slightly and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well done, but this is just the beginning. Keep it up," Adriaan said as he walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

Unlike Joseph Fiennes, who played the lead role in the original film, Denis had never played a role in a Shakespearean play. Well, that was not quite right. At least, when he first started to make a living in Hollywood, he had played some roles in some theaters, including Shakespeare's "Macbeth". However, he played the guard of King Duncan of Scotland, and he was killed not long after his appearance.

However, there was one thing that Denis could not compare with, and that was that he was very flexible. From the beginning of "Two Smoking Pipes" to the present, he had played about ten roles. Although there were some similarities between these roles, few people would think that he was acting with a certain expression or a certain action.

With such flexibility and the fact that opportunities were not easy to come by, Denis was very diligent and learned things very quickly. After knowing that he was going to act in "Shakespeare in Love", not only did he watch all the main plays of Shakespeare, but he also often practiced by watching the stage plays on videotape or the previous film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. Because of this, Adriaan let him play this role.

This was also one of the reasons why Jeffrey Rush was invited to play a role in both films. He was also an actor who was good at playing a variety of roles, but his appearance was not very flattering. Denis could learn a lot from him. Moreover, he also had roles in both films. His scenes in "Elizabeth" were much more than Rush's in "Shakespeare in Love", so his task was relatively heavier. If he did not use some special methods to force him to master the temperament that people should have in that period as soon as possible, then the following filming would be very troublesome.

"Very good. Take a five-minute break and continue. Work harder to finish the rest of the parts in one go, and we can call it a day," Adriaan said immediately.

However, while others could rest, he could not. He still had to discuss the specific arrangements for tomorrow with the assistant director and the heads of each department.

"Are you sure this is okay, Savin?" Adriaan asked Savin McDonough, Keira Knightley's mother.

Screenwriters usually had to follow the crew, so that the director could make changes to the script. Since Adriaan handed the script to her, and she did a good job in contacting many professional British screenwriters to contribute to the script, then it was very suitable for her to take on this job.

"Yes, if you have any questions, I can consult them immediately." Savin nodded.

"Very good." Adriaan nodded, then added, "Your husband too."

"Thank you." Savin said with a smile.

Although Will Knightley was not very famous, he was still a relatively good actor. Last time in "Braveheart" had proved this point, this time giving him a supporting role in "Elizabeth" was not a big deal. Anyway …

"Oh yes, how is Keira? Did she like Nada's gift? When she came over this morning, she seemed a little unhappy. "Adriaan suddenly asked.

"Well …" Savin hesitated. "She seemed … to have quarreled with Emma."

"Quarreled?" Adriaan was slightly surprised. "When did it happen? Emma didn't tell me either. "

"Sorry, you know, children always have their own secrets." Savin shrugged.

"That's true …" Adriaan nodded, wondering if he should go and see Keira. This girl was very sensitive.

At this moment, Charlize walked a few steps in front of him and reminded him, "Eide, it's almost time to pick you up."