National Treasure was a good movie. There was deciphering, action, theft, and legend. It wasn't intense, and it was suitable for the whole family to watch in the theater. However, compared to the most popular movies of the same period, the box office was not as good as the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and it was not as impressive as the Bourne Ultimatum series. Therefore, Adriaan did not think about it for a while.
When he thought about it and was about to prepare, Bruckheimer came knocking on his door with Copman. This was the first time in more than a decade that Adriaan had encountered something like this. But it was not too surprising. In the past, when he wanted to replicate movies and TV series, even at the beginning of his career, he would have people gather information in advance to see if there were any similar ideas. Then, he would use various methods to make the idea known. In the past, he relied on the Screenwriter's Guild, but after he had his own media company, it became easier. Therefore, for many years, when he planned to produce a movie or TV series, the original author already had the idea.
National Treasure was an idea he came up with on the spur of the moment. Naturally, he had not started any investigation yet, so there was no need to be too surprised. After all, the world would not always move according to his wishes. Of course, there would be no shortage of plots that would showcase the talent of the ace screenwriter.
"… Although Gates was an adventurer who liked archaeology, he was not a criminal. Therefore, when Shaw planned to steal the Declaration of Independence, he refused to participate. Of course, the two fell out because of this. After Gates escaped from Shaw, he and his assistant went to the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the National Archives. But these departments did not believe him, so in order to protect the Declaration of Independence from being destroyed …
"Gates and his assistant stole the Declaration of Independence before Shaw did. It would be best if they did it during a party at the National Archives, where Gates would meet the female protagonist. She could be a real archaeologist, or she could be a person in charge of the archives. In short, she would be able to help Gates in this aspect, right?
"… After using a child to find the letters on the letter, they finally found that the remaining clues pointed to the Independence Clock, but they did not know what time it was, which became another problem.
"I remember that there was a picture of the Independence Clock on the 100-dollar bill, and there must be a time display. Since the whole story started with a one-dollar bill, it would be appropriate to insert a 100-dollar bill in the middle. Am I right? "
The normal conversation came to an end under such circumstances. Whenever Copman mentioned the key points, Adrian would always be able to continue the conversation, and the plot he mentioned was not much different from what Copman had in mind. At the end of his speech, Copman sighed and looked at Bruckheimer. Bruckheimer laughed.
"What do you think, Brian? I told you that Eide would see the value of your script," he said.
"Yes, Mr. Kewell is the best screenwriter in Hollywood." Copman shrugged, convinced.
"Actually, I just happened to be thinking of a story about a treasure, and it's also about the Declaration of Independence. It's just that I have an idea and some details, but I don't have a specific outline. It just so happened that your idea triggered my inspiration, so I filled in the blanks in one go." Adrian spoke very naturally, without a blush on his face.
"So, this matter is settled?" Bruckheimer said, striking while the iron was hot.
"Of course, but it might have to be postponed. I still have some things to consider, and you are busy with the last two installments of 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. How about postponing it to next year?" Adriaan laughed. "I have already thought of a suitable candidate to play the role of Ben Franklin Gates."
The two men in front of him were stunned, and then they both looked emotional. He was indeed the Miracle Director.
Since he had said so, and Bruckheimer indeed had a movie to work on, the matter was settled. The rest was up to Cage.
"Brian, if you have time, you can think about how to arrange the plot if you want to write a sequel," Adriaan added before Copman left.
Copman was stunned for a moment, and then happily agreed. Obviously, the Miracle Director was optimistic about this movie, and the movies that the Miracle Director was optimistic about had never failed.
This was as far as he could help him. If Cage couldn't learn his lesson, then there was nothing Adrian could do for him.
In addition to "Matchstick Man," "Summer of Jeans" was also released at this time. Because the cost was low, and the actors were not very well-known, there was no premiere. Of course, the promotion was very good. The box office was slightly better than the original, and the reputation was quite good as always.
"Frankly speaking, you did very well, Leighton. The critics were full of praise for your performance." Adriaan, who was sitting on a recliner under a parasol by the pool, said to Leighton Meister, who had come out of the water and was lying on the edge of the pool.
"It's just not bad, not as good as Alexis, not as good as Amanda," Leighton said with a pout, seemingly not very satisfied.
Adriaan couldn't help but laugh. Among the four female leads in "Summer of Jeans", well, four and a half female leads, there was a little girl with leukemia, played by Kristen Stewart. Because of the setting of the role, and because of her temperament at this time, she was more eye-catching in the movie.
In short, among the four and a half female leads, Megan had to be a vase for a long time. Alexis had a lot of acting experience, and this role was very suitable for her, so she acted the best. Although Amanda wasn't as experienced as Alexis, she didn't plan to give up any opportunity. Also, Adriaan obviously preferred capable women, so she worked very hard and received only a little less good reviews than Alexis.
In this case, Leighton could only be ranked third. In fact, for her, it was already very good that she was rated higher than Kristen. The younger the girl, the better the acting skills. Her performance in "The Trembling Space" was also impressive. So Leighton was unhappy with Amanda. She was much later than she was with Adriaan. However, she had already filmed a few movies, including two in the past two weeks, and the reviews were good. Of course, Leighton wasn't satisfied.
Then, with a splash, the girl jumped out of the water. Her swimsuit was basically a piece of string that was pulled from the top to the bottom, covering only three spots. It looked no different from being naked, but in fact, it was much more attractive than being naked. Before this, Leighton would swim in front of Adriaan without wearing anything or only her underwear. However, after Adriaan told her that he preferred her to dress like this, she immediately changed her style.
From this point of view, Leighton was very obedient, so Adriaan didn't mind fulfilling her request. Moreover …
"Can you give me a lead role?" Leighton lay on Adriaan's chest, her still young body slowly twisting. "I don't need a high box office or a good reputation. I … I just want to be a lead role."
"No problem," Adriaan agreed immediately. His speed was so fast that the girl couldn't believe it.
"You deserve it." He smiled and changed the topic. "By the way, how are you doing at Burbank High School? You said that Blake got more cheerleaders to join her team, and they won more times than you did?"
"She's just relying on her parents' connections to gain this advantage." Leighton showed a disdainful expression when she heard the name. "If it's a fair fight, I won't lose to her, and …"
She took a deep look at Adrian and shook her lower body even harder. "If you're willing to support me, it'll be a piece of cake for me to beat her."
Hearing this, Adriaan chuckled. Leighton was a little disappointed, but then she thought of something and widened her eyes.
"Eide." She climbed up, and excitement flashed across her face. "Do you want to play with her?"
"Oh?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows with interest.
"I know her very well. After all, we're rivals. Although she had a boyfriend at school, they broke up because she wanted to deal with me. I believe she didn't sleep with him. You must be very interested in her," Leighton said carefully.
"What do you think if we do the same thing again?" Adriaan rubbed his chin and suddenly asked. "Maybe I can give you a little sidekick."
Leighton was stunned for a second, and then she revealed an ecstatic expression. "She'll fall for it, I promise."
Adriaan nodded with satisfaction. Did he send Leighton to Burbank to watch the movie and plan something? Now it was time to prepare for the harvest.
Of course, there was still some time before that, so his attention was still on the movie. In late September, when the summer break was about to end and the fall TV series had begun, Julie and Julia, which had been fully promoted, finally had its premiere in New York.
Adriaan didn't attend. He only went the next day. As for the reason …
"… Natalie once again showed her amazing talent. When I watched the movie from my seat, I watched Julie Powell recreate the dishes that Julia had introduced on TV. I didn't realize that she was only a 22-year-old girl, and a vegetarian at that. That kind of mature and pure contradictory feeling was perfectly reflected in her. When she appeared in the movie, she was the Julie Powell who couldn't find her goal even at the age of 30, but was full of curiosity about many things and wanted to keep trying. Even though she didn't have any scenes with Streep in the movie, her acting skills didn't lose out to her at all. It was as if the two of them were facing off against each other across decades of time and space. This is a classic. " When he finally finished reading, Adriaan threw the newspaper on the table and looked at Natalie standing on the balcony.
The young girl was only wearing striped pajamas and white underwear. Her legs were exposed, and her toes were on the ground. She was barefoot and had no shoes. Although the curve of her calves wasn't perfect, it was still quite tempting. She leaned against the railing, basking in the morning light and enjoying the breeze. Every time she reached out to comb her messy hair, she looked different.
"Most of them are good reviews. Your performance was really good, Nada. You've greatly exceeded my expectations." Adriaan walked up to her and hugged her from behind. "When I watched the demo, I thought that the scene where you remade the French braised beef in red wine was very good. The intoxicating feeling was clearly conveyed to me, and now it's conveyed to the critics."
"I did it myself several times," Natalie said calmly.
"I know. You are very talented and very hardworking. I heard that your father quarreled with you because of this?" Adriaan leaned over and kissed her ear gently.
"It's normal. It's a surprise that we didn't quarrel every day." Natalie glanced at him. "It's just a small matter. I just ate a little meat according to your instructions."
"That's a good living habit." Adriaan laughed and then took a deep breath on the back of her neck greedily. "Look at you now. You're not fat or thin. It's very suitable, and I'm more and more fascinated."
Natalie was silent. After a long while, she said faintly, "I can only perform wholeheartedly."
Adriaan didn't care. "Yes, I know. That's why I chose to come here today instead of attending the premiere last night. It's to tell you that I'm ready to start."
"You're going to start?" Natalie immediately turned around and looked at him in disbelief, although she was still calm a few seconds ago.
"Of course. I said before that it would start this month at the latest." Adriaan smiled meaningfully. "Everything I've done so far, including 'Julie and Julia' that was released last night, is to pave the way for next year."
Although she was a little uncomfortable under his gaze, Natalie still showed a look of expectation. After all, she knew very well what it meant. She had lost a lot along the way. Although she hated Adriaan, she also knew that if she wanted to get what she wanted, she had no other way but to rely on him.
"In a few months, as long as' Julie and Julia 'brings what it needs, next year or early 2005 will basically not be a problem," Adriaan said immediately.
Of course, this was not true. Although he was already one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, if he made Sophie the best actress this year, the award would basically be his for six years in a row. Film school's reaction to this was really unpredictable. Although he still had some trump cards, it would not be easy to make use of Natalie's reputation if it did not reach a certain level, so he found a way to find a suitable movie for her before taking out 'Go Forth'.
He had not been particularly optimistic about 'Julie and Julia' before, but there was no more suitable one for the time being, so he had to use this one. But so far, it seemed that the result of this decision was very good. Not to mention the reputation, according to the report he just read, the film critics basically applauded. Although none of them gave full marks, the plot of the movie was still a bit slow. The food was very attractive, the theme was very inspirational, and the shooting techniques were also very good, but there were not many ups and downs. However, if converted to a ten-point scale, the scores of these film critics were basically 7.5 to 8, which was surprisingly consistent. In this respect, the movie was still very desirable.
The box office was also acceptable. The first four figures in the first week and the number of cinemas were equal, which was already very good for a medium-sized movie. It was completely possible to recover from the North American box office alone. With a good reputation and a good box office, it would become a hot movie next year with a little effort. Then the rest was public relations. It should not be a problem to get a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as long as it was not fake.
In this way, there would be a good show next year, and the role of this card in his hand would be even greater, which would play an important role in promoting his plan at the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006.
Of course, Natalie did not know any of this, and with her intelligence, she could certainly analyze the situation Adriaan was facing, but she still chose to believe him. In addition to the clear analysis that gave her a considerable shock, Adriaan had also left a very deep impression on her in the past few years. Not to mention that he had helped one actress after another to the throne of Best Actress at the Oscars, Natalie had also watched him develop from a small film company to a huge media company in ten years.
Although she could not access the confidential information, she could still do the most basic sorting and analysis. Adriaan had hardly made any mistakes, and basically promoted the development of ABC and Universal by himself. Therefore, even with Natalie's rational character, it was inevitable that a deep-rooted thought, "This person is irresistible," and "As long as he wants to do it, he will be able to do it."
"I'm ready," Natalie finally replied.
So, the love and inspirational film about Johnny Cash and his wife, Joan Carter, "Go Ahead", began shooting at the end of September. Well, wait, before the official shooting, Adriaan had one more thing to deal with. When he went to the studio to check on the situation, he unexpectedly met Sophie, who had refused to disclose the specific situation to him. She was directing her second short film, and he finally knew what kind of changes she had made to the short film.
When Adriaan first gave her the script, the name of the short film was "Sleepless in the Supermarket." Yes, it was the one that was nominated for Best Short Film at the Oscars. It depicted a man who, because of a breakup, applied for a job as a night salesman in a supermarket. In order to kill the eight hours of boredom at night, he observed strange customers and made up stories for them in his mind.
It was a very delicate short film, with some indescribable obscurity, but it did not affect the viewing. Although it was later expanded into a complete film, in the eyes of many people, the short film was more interesting.
Because the scene and story were relatively simple, they only needed to pay attention to the rhythm and the handling of the picture, so Adriaan gave this to Sophie to practice. Unexpectedly, after Sophie got the script, she made drastic changes, and did not let him know. In the end, the male lead was changed to the female lead. What surprised him even more was that the role was actually played by Cayden Cross!
