"You were so strict just now, Eide." The little girl came out of nowhere and climbed onto Adriaan's thigh nimbly. He had planned to sit next to Kate, but he had to stop.
"Do you think it's a little too strict?" Adriaan asked as he rubbed her head.
"A little, although I don't quite understand." Emma pouted. Her cheeks puffed up, making her look very cute. However, her eyes glanced at Kate from time to time, and there was a hint of well-concealed uneasiness in her tone.
"Is that so …" Adriaan found it a little funny. He pretended to rub his chin and put the little girl on the ground. "Then I'll go comfort Sophie."
Kite wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he decided to keep his mouth shut.
He pinched Emma's chubby cheeks and told her to stay here. Adriaan then walked to Sophie's trailer. The reason why the little fellow was uneasy was that Kate's bulging belly reminded her of her adoptive mother. Although there were many women around Adriaan, they were different from the little fellow. If he had his own child, then the energy he put on the little fellow would be divided.
Although Emma was smart, she didn't understand this very well. She just instinctively felt afraid. After all, the attitude of her adoptive mother's family was in front of her. Of course, Luo Delin was still very good to her, so the little fellow wasn't too sad. However, it was different for Adriaan. The close relationship between them made it difficult for her to accept this change.
However, although Adriaan guessed the little fellow's thoughts, he didn't take it too seriously. Even if his child was born in a few months, he wouldn't change his attitude towards the little fellow. He believed that Emma would come to her senses.
"Can I come in?" Adriaan knocked on the door of the trailer. At this time, only Sophie was inside.
"The door is open, and there is no sign prohibiting entry." Sophie, who was reading a book on the sofa, said without raising her head. Her tone was indifferent, as if she didn't care about anything.
Adriaan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. He had been talking like this for the past few days, but Sophie had always been calm. She had never acted like this before. It seemed that what she said today was indeed a little too much.
"Sorry, Sophie." He sat down in front of her. It had been like this every day. After the scolding, during the break, Adriaan would come over to comfort Sophie.
"Unfortunately, I'm sorry, but I can't buy back the time I wasted." Sophie continued flipping through the book in her hand.
"Then, maybe I should change my opening remarks?" Adriaan laughed. "What should I use? A Moliere comedy? A sonnet by Goethe? Or a cappella aria? "
"You have no sincerity at all, Eide!" She finally raised her head and frowned slightly, but soon realized that she had been fooled. Her dissatisfaction immediately turned into annoyance.
Adriaan looked into her eyes with a smile. Sophie's reaction was all within his expectations.
"Well, I'm a little angry." Sophie sighed and looked at Adriaan seriously. "I've done my best. I think I've captured Isabella's characteristics and done a good job — I believe everyone will agree — but you're still not satisfied, so I can only assume that you did it on purpose."
She then sighed again. "God, I've never had such trouble making a movie in France."
"That's the difference." Adriaan smiled. "I prefer to tell stories."
"Can I understand that you're saying that French movies have no stories?" Sophie was a little unhappy.
"Of course not. But French movies, or European movies, don't pay much attention to stories. They focus more on the surface." Adriaan gestured. "For example, they express a kind of emotion through a very impactful picture, neglecting the things that a good story should have. They often even sacrifice the rhythm of the story for this feeling."
"I don't agree with you. You've only seen part of it." Sophie shook her head.
"Yes, part of it. But it has a great impact on the movie and the actors' acting skills." Adriaan leaned forward slightly and looked at the beautiful woman in front of him. "What I'm going to say next may be a little rude, Sophie, but undressing and acting are two different things."
Sophie's expression suddenly changed. Her hands on her knees clenched into fists. She gritted her teeth and stared at Adriaan for a long time. Her tense body relaxed, and she pursed her lips and said nothing.
"You're very good, Sophie. Very good. You can do better. I have no doubt about that." Adriaan looked at her and continued, "You just need to adjust your mentality and understand the difference between American and European movies from another angle."
"Business and art?" Sophie asked noncommittally.
"We may have different understandings about the definition of business and art. We can find a chance to talk about it in detail in the future." Adriaan didn't intend to dwell on this issue. Some ideas were not so easy to correct. Besides, this was also an opportunity.
"Get ready. We're going to continue." He said and stood up.
Sophie nodded silently. Then she thought of something and moved her lips. After hesitating for a while, she asked in a tentative tone, "Are you married, Eide?"
"Married?" Adriaan smiled. "Of course not. Kate is just my girlfriend. The child was an accident."
"So, you're not going to get married?" Sophie's eyes wandered. No one knew what she was thinking.
"Yes." He nodded and didn't hide his thoughts at all. "You have to know that marriage is more about responsibility. If you want to get married, you must be prepared to take responsibility. If you don't have the thought and ability to take responsibility, then getting married will be a bad thing for both of you. "
"In the end, you just don't want to take responsibility." Sophie's tone was a little teasing.
"If you have to put it that way, you can, but." Adriaan shrugged. "I'm different from most people. I know very well how big this responsibility is. If I really want to get married, I must work hard to be a good husband. This is my principle — once I've decided, I must take the responsibility that comes with it. "
"You're so honest." Sophie sighed after a few seconds of silence.
"Thank you. Can I take that as a compliment?" The smile returned to Adriaan's face again.
In the following filming, Adriaan finally restrained himself a little. After seven or eight NGs, Sophie finally met his requirements. However, today's filming came to an end.
"Did you really talk to her about this in the trailer?" Kate asked in the hotel room in the town at night.
"Well … it seems that I should bring a tape recorder with me next time, so I can record the conversation and tell you." Adriaan smiled and hugged Kate from behind. His hand reached under her clothes and moved around her bulging abdomen. "Is he sleeping?"
"He's already asleep. Don't try to change the subject, Eide!" Kate hit his hand and turned around to glare at Adriaan. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!"
"Really? Then what am I thinking? "Adriaan grinned and kissed her cheek.
"Do you dare say that you've never wanted to sleep with Sophie Marceau?!" Kate snorted through her nose.
"Do you want to hear the truth?" Adriaan pinched her chin and looked into her eyes with a faint smile.
They stared at each other for a long time. Kate's body softened as if she was deflated. "No, no need."
"With your personality, you don't have to guess to know the answer." She sighed faintly and looked out of the window.
Adriaan didn't answer. He just kept kissing the back of her neck and his hand on her abdomen did not stop.
"Have I been too sensitive recently?" Kate suddenly asked.
"Why did you suddenly think of this?" Adriaan smiled and bit her earlobe.
"Eide!" Kate groaned half-reproachfully. "I just feel that sometimes I can't control my temper. I know how some things are, but … I still can't help but want to make a scene."
"It's normal. It would be strange if I didn't think so." Adriaan touched her head. "You're just putting your thoughts into practice. Pregnant women are like this, so don't worry."
After a pause, he smiled and said, "Besides, you know your limits, don't you? At least you didn't disturb the normal order of the set. But the only thing I'm not satisfied about is that you're a little too stubborn. "
"This is not stubbornness." Kate immediately retorted. "Didn't you say that we can end filming in mid-April at most? Even if I stay until then, I can still take a plane. There's no need to worry at all."
"Okay, okay, do what you want," Adriaan said in a helpless tone.
"Hey, what's with your attitude? If you keep doing this, I'll tell my mother that I'm pregnant!" Kate said threateningly.
"This is the most terrible news I've ever heard. I surrender." Adriaan raised his hands exaggeratedly.
Kate suddenly laughed and reached out to punch him. Adriaan didn't dare to do anything bad to her because she was pregnant, which encouraged Kate's arrogance. She laughed even harder.
After a long time, Kate rested in Adriaan's arms for a moment, then reached out to hold his angular face and stared into his black eyes. "You're a bastard, Eide."
"If you can." Adriaan smacked his lips. "Can you change the word?"
"Change the word? Then do you think 'jerk' or 'asshole' is better? "Kate raised her eyebrows and asked.
"Neither is good." Adriaan stood up and said, "Rest. I'm leaving too."
"Leaving? Where are you going? "Kate asked unhappily.
"Well, my dear, I've been with you for the past three days. The little fellow is going to protest." Adriaan kissed her cheek.
"She still wants to sleep in the same bed with you?" Kate asked in surprise and jealousy. "She's going to be five soon."
"Yes, I know, but I can't help it if the little fellow insists. You know how powerful she is." Adriaan spread his hands and sighed deliberately.
"Yes, she publicly announced that she wants to be your woman." Kate snorted softly.
"Don't tell me you're jealous of a little girl." Adriaan pinched her plump face.
"Okay, I got it. Go and accompany your little fellow." Kate wanted to say something, but she swallowed it in the end.
"Good night." Adriaan kissed her cheek again, then lifted her clothes and bent down to kiss her bulging belly. "Good night, baby. Don't torture your mother, understand?"
Kate couldn't help but laugh. After sending Adriaan to the door of the room, she returned to the chair. She recalled everything that had happened before, shook her head, and then stroked her belly with a loving look on her face.
Kate didn't stay in London for long. She went back after about a week. After all, her belly was getting bigger day by day. Although most of the reporters near the set had left because of the drop in popularity, there were still one or two lingering around. If they were to be photographed with a big belly, God knows what kind of storm it would cause.
The filming of "Braveheart" progressed according to plan. After the tabloids hyped it up for so long, because Adriaan and Sophie didn't respond to them, the public gradually lost interest in the film. Hence, they turned to other aspects, and more major scenes could be filmed. For example, the battle where Wallace was betrayed, the scene where he ran on the ridge while people were discussing it, or the first time he met the princess.
Because of Adriaan's adjustments, Crowe, who originally had a few days of vacation left, returned to the set early. Since there were only a few days left, it wasn't a big deal to come back early. He could also show his respect to Adriaan.
By the middle of March, the film, which should have been filmed for four months or even longer, had basically completed two-thirds of the scenes. Although it might not be finished before the end of the month, it was already quite fast.
However, in Adriaan's eyes, this was a very normal thing. He knew which scenes needed and which ones didn't, so he could avoid wasting his time. For a standard movie, 50% of the film's waste rate was already very good. However, with Adriaan's powerful memory, he could reduce this rate to 30% or even lower.
He had done this two or three years ago when he was rushing for work. Now, he was just picking it up again. Moreover, he had also cut some scenes because there was really no need to add such a gimmick. Naturally, the efficiency was much higher.
Other than that, there was also the benefit of reducing costs. The original version of "Braveheart" was directed and produced by Mel Gibson, so he naturally spent a lot of money on it. As a result, the total investment was more than 70 million yuan. Although the film's box office was not bad, it did not break 100 million in North America. Including the global box office, it could barely break even.
But now that it was in the hands of Adriaan, the initial estimate, even including the publicity costs, was only a little more than "The True Story of Argan". He had saved more than 10 million, which was almost the investment of a low-budget movie. It had to be said that he was really abnormal.
During this time, Adriaan also chatted with Sophie in private many times. The content of the conversation ranged from all kinds of things. From time to time, he would show off his skills, such as playing the guitar and singing old songs, or cooking some food that was not exquisite but tasty. These methods had been tried and tested. While Sophie was quite surprised, she also became more curious about him.
Of course, Adriaan did not stop instilling his views on so-called European art films in her. However, he was very skillful in instilling his views, especially when it came to comforting her.
"European films, especially art films, are sometimes too narrow. In a sense, they are made for film critics, not ordinary audiences," Adriaan commented.
For Sophie, who had been influenced by European movies since she was young, none of this was acceptable, especially when Adrian had stabbed her a little. Although it wasn't very strong, it lasted a long time. She was still brooding over it, and every time she got into an argument with Adrian, she would argue with him. This was a situation that Adriaan was very happy to see. Although he always kept a distance from Sophie, some things were born from arguments.
As the end of March approached, after calculating that it was impossible to finish shooting by the end of the month, Adriaan immediately slowed down the progress of the film and began to prepare for the Oscar Awards.
Even though he had been shooting a new film in England, he had never stopped paying attention to the Oscars. Even if there was some news that he did not have time to analyze, he would ask Charlize to record it first and look at it when he had time. Sometimes, he simply asked Charlize to analyze it, and he only wanted to see the results. According to the news from Laffern, the three most important awards, Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor, should not be too big of a problem.
Thinking about it, "The True Story of Argan" had received countless good reviews, and its reputation was excellent. It was also released at the end of the year. In addition, Laffern's public relations skills had become more and more outstanding over the years, and he had the help of the Weinstein brothers. If they still lost, then there must be something wrong with the world.
In addition to these three awards, Best Supporting Actress was also the award that he was most concerned about. It was already very good for Winona to be nominated for Best Actress. The disadvantage of her age could not be reversed. However, Best Supporting Actress was different. In the history of the Oscars, there was a precedent of an 11-year-old winning Best Supporting Actress. So, since Kirsten had been nominated, the possibility of winning was still very high. Moreover, she had an advantage that only Adriaan knew.
Since he had promised the little vixen that he would win the Oscar for her, Adriaan would not go back on his word. Moreover, the little vixen's performance in front of Adriaan was completely worthy of the Best Supporting Actress award. Therefore, under his instructions, at least half of Laffern's energy and public relations methods were used on this.
Soon, March 27, 1995 came. After asking the crew to stop shooting, Adriaan returned to Los Angeles three days ahead of schedule. The 67th Academy Awards slowly opened in the Sacred Auditorium.
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