Chapter 714

It had to be admitted that Spielberg and DreamWorks were extremely capable. Needless to say, Spielberg's directing and production abilities were top-notch. If it weren't for his foresight, Adriaan wouldn't be able to compare with him at all. In addition, the three giants of DreamWorks were also one of the best in Hollywood. Coupled with the box office record set by the first "Jurassic Park", it was reasonable for "The Lost World", which was released in more than 3,200 cinemas, to top the North American box office chart.

But this didn't mean that "The Matrix" had completely failed at the box office. In addition to horizontal comparisons, there was also a vertical comparison. If Adrian's memory served him right, the original version of "The Matrix" was released in April in more than 2,700 cinemas. In five days, it only earned about 30 million yuan at the box office. However, the version he produced only contacted more than 2,500 cinemas and earned more than 55 million yuan in three days. Needless to say, this was a figure that could be easily achieved.

With the support of sufficient fame and resources, coupled with appropriate marketing methods, if the box office still couldn't surpass the original version, then Adriaan should stop making movies in the future. The box office of the original "The Lost World" was more than 90 million. Now that it was delayed by a year, the figure that should have risen fell a little. Obviously, some of it was squeezed out by "The Matrix". As a result, who could say for sure who would win and who would lose?

Although Spielberg didn't have foresight like Adriaan, he could tell something from it, so he was very polite on the phone. Adriaan didn't say much. It wasn't a big deal. Anyway, the movie wasn't affected much, even though "The Matrix" broke 100 million in North America a week later than "The Lost World".

The fierce competition for the summer vacation began, and various film companies tried their best to make their movies sell well. Unfortunately, they were destined to not be the ones to make the most profit this summer. Three weeks later, just after Independence Day, another movie under AC Media was released. It was the comedy "Pretty Woman" starring Sarah Michelle Gellar in the popular TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

"To be frank, this is a very interesting movie. The director and the film company seem to want to change people's perception of blondes with big breasts and no brains. So, although the heroine is slightly clumsy and frivolous, she is bright, innocent, and kind-hearted. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't reflect much of the heroine's wisdom. The final comeback looks more like luck. It's a pity. As for the heroine, Sarah, she has a good grasp of that light and simple feeling. It's just that whether the fans accept it or not is another matter. "Reading this, Adriaan finally stopped and then laughed.

"They really know how to talk. Sarah, whether the fans accept it or not … Well, even I am starting to regret letting you act in" Buffy the Vampire Slayer "." Adriaan shook his head and sighed.

"It doesn't matter. It was my choice back then." Sarah shrugged indifferently and continued to peel the Apple in her hand.

The opening box office of "Pretty Woman" was not good. It only earned 18 million from 2,500 cinemas. Of course, this was just Adriaan's opinion. In the eyes of others, it was already very good for a small production with a cost of less than 20 million to get such a opening box office. However, Adriaan knew that the box office of this movie should be higher.

This situation was actually very normal. After all, the character of "Buffy" was deeply rooted in people's hearts. Just like "Rachel", the fans didn't want to see any changes. The previous "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was very popular. Other than the theme being somewhat similar to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", they were both in the thriller genre. The heroine also had the same characteristics of "Buffy" in terms of strength.

However, "Pretty Woman" was different. The heroine, Allie, was very sweet and cute. Sometimes she looked very clumsy, but she was very kind, simple, and smart. She was a completely different person from Buffy. Faced with such a character, one could imagine how the fans of "Buffy" would react. How could one expect them to cheer and praise? In fact, on the second day of the movie's premiere, some people went to the official website of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to complain, saying that the character of Allie had ruined Buffy's image.

"Oh, I really can't imagine that Buffy, who can deal with vampires without fear, who can shoulder the heavy burden for her friends and lovers without hesitation, would become like this. Even if she is sometimes confused and cute, she is definitely not a big-breasted, brainless blonde stunner. This is terrible!" A fan left such a comment.

Of course, there were many relatively rational fans who thought that the movie was not bad. At least Sarah's performance was on point, and the whole movie was good. The big reversal at the end was especially surprising.

"Buffy is Buffy, and Sarah is Sarah. You can't reject Sarah's other images just because you like Buffy so much, right?" a fan responded.

Just like Rachel's fans quarreled endlessly over Aniston's role in "The Matrix," Buffy's fans were also divided into two factions, but overall, the atmosphere was better than that of "Friends." This was unavoidable. Because of this, Adriaan arranged a sweet and lovely role for Sarah, just like how Aniston played an action role.

Adriaan didn't take it to heart. Although the opening box office did not meet expectations, he believed that it would get better soon. Although they didn't cooperate with Sha Xuan to organize a blonde promotion day, the promotion was still very good. Not to mention that "Buffy" had a strong appeal, and Sarah's performance was quite good. Although the plot had been modified, it would only be more attractive, because …

"Your afternoon tea." A soft voice rang in their ears, and Yukie Nakama appeared in front of Adriaan and Sarah with a teapot and teacups.

"Thank you, Yukie." Adriaan smiled and took these from her hands.

"Let's sit and have a chat, Yukie." Sarah also said.

"No … it's okay, I still … I still have something to do …" Yukie stuttered with a red face, then she bowed and left the balcony.

"To be frank, I really don't understand Japanese people. They always have a cautious, humble, and polite look, as if … they think that if I speak a little louder, I will offend them." Sarah curled her lips.

"How could that be? Wasn't Yukie very cheerful on the night of the premiere?" Adriaan looked at her with interest.

Although Pretty Woman was a good comedy, it was still a little monotonous in terms of characterization. To put it simply, the other characters existed and served the male and female protagonists, and even the male protagonist existed and served the female protagonist. This certainly helped to highlight the female protagonist's image, but at the same time, it weakened the framework of the entire story. Because Sarah needed to interact with the characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it wasn't easy to change the original script, so Adriaan asked several scriptwriters to find a way to add another character, a Japanese girl who was a little naive.

This girl had been a good friend of the female protagonist since high school. Because the female protagonist was also a little naive, she followed the female protagonist to Harvard. Although she usually made a lot of small jokes, the female protagonist would always get inspiration from her at critical moments. For example, the big comeback at the end was because when the female protagonist was about to interrogate the victim's daughter, she encouraged her with a few words of encouragement and mentioned shampoo.

She didn't have many scenes, but she was very likable. She continued the path of her most popular character, the one in Friends. Even if she wasn't as popular as Western actors, her popularity would still rise a lot.

"It's because she was very cheerful that night that I wanted to talk to her. Previously, when filming was over, she would sit in the corner without saying a word and almost never talk to anyone." Sarah sighed, grabbed the fruit knife and poked at the peeled Apple a few times. "I thought she had changed."

Adrian couldn't help but laugh. The premiere of "Pretty Woman Legally" was much smaller than the premiere of "The Matrix", and the number of people who came to support the premiere was also not as many. There were even fewer Asian faces. Among them, Ji Hui looked especially petite and delicate, so many people came over to strike up a conversation with her. This gave Sarah the wrong impression. "That's right.

"After all, she's not a real Japanese. She's only been in the United States for a little more than two years, so it's normal for her to not be used to it." Adriaan explained to Yukie a little, "She has actually changed a lot. Since you said there's something, there must be something. Don't mind it so much, Sarah."

Sarah snorted and was about to say something, but then she thought of a problem and froze. Just now … Yukie was wearing a maid outfit?! And it wasn't a normal maid outfit. It was laced with lace, and the upper half revealed her shoulders and arms, while the lower half … was so short that it almost reached her thighs. And when she left, the back part was accidentally exposed, as if she wasn't wearing any underwear.

There was no need to explain why Yukie blushed when she came in. Sarah's face also turned red at this time. She glanced at Adriaan, who was holding his chin and looking at her calmly. Sarah wanted to glare at him, but she hesitated and didn't take action. With his lecherous personality, how could he let go of Yukie who was right in front of him? No wonder Yukie was already quite famous, but she still lived with Adriaan, and even did things like a personal maid.

Sarah sighed in her heart. She didn't want to think about these things, but Adriaan was really annoying. He actually stared at her like this, and the words "I know what you're thinking" were clearly written on his face!

"Oh right." Sarah coughed and wanted to change the topic, "Why do you need to peel the skin of an Apple? Isn't it more nutritious to eat them together? "

Unexpectedly, Adriaan gave an unexpected answer, "Yes, of course. I've never peeled the skin of an Apple before."

Sarah looked up at him in shock, then looked at the fruit knife in her hand and the almost peeled Apple. She peeled very carefully, and the skin of the Apple was not only thin, but also not broken.

"Then … Then why do you still want me to peel it?" She glared at him, seeming a little angry.

"It wasn't easy for me to let Charley take care of Lily, and I left the two Emmas with a certain aunt. Of course, I have to find something meaningful to do." Adriaan shrugged, "For example, watching you peel an Apple for me on this quiet afternoon."

His words were full of tenderness, and Sarah immediately lowered her head. She coughed softly and began to peel again, but this time, her peeling was unusually slow. Originally, she could have done it in two or three strokes, but after ten minutes, the knife was still slowly grinding in the same place. Even though the summer sun shrouded the earth, the two of them were like a still life painting, not the slightest feeling of heat.

No matter how long the skin of the Apple was, there would always be a time when it was peeled. Sarah helplessly handed the peeled Apple back to Adriaan, but she immediately became happy again, because Adriaan took a big bite of the Apple.

"Sometimes it's not bad to have a peeled Apple," he said, and then winked at Sarah. After saying that, he winked at Sarah. The young lady hurriedly leaned back. Not only did she cover her mouth with the back of her hand, but she also shook her fist to show that if he dared to put the chewed apple into her mouth, she would not hesitate to retaliate.

Adriaan laughed and shook his head. He quickly finished the Apple, then threw the remaining core on the plate, wiped his mouth and hands with a napkin, and then stood up, "I have a gift for you."

"A gift?" Sarah looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, a gift." Adriaan walked to the cupboard and took out a DVD, "I couldn't attend your 21st birthday, so I only asked someone to give you a simple gift, which I think is very inappropriate."

"It doesn't matter, as long as you …" Sarah smiled, and just as she was about to say something, she immediately stopped. Adriaan raised his index finger and shook it seriously.

"The 21st birthday is very important." He continued, "Not only because you can legally drink in public, but it also means that you are completely independent."

After a pause, Adriaan looked at her and said in a gentle voice, "So I want to give you a gift that is not so expensive, but very meaningful."

As he said that, he shook the DVD in his hand and then made a "please" gesture. Sarah stared at him for a few seconds, then jumped up and walked over to grab his hand. Neither of them spoke. They went to the widescreen TV in the room and put the DVD into the player together.

Soon, a clear picture was played, and Sarah whispered. It was a scene from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Then, a very rhythmic sound rang out, and with this rhythm, the picture began to change. Each scene was from the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

"I love living every single day, but sometimes I feel so …" A magnetic, low, and somewhat sweet voice sang.

The beautiful lyrics were so appropriate to Sarah's experience, and it instantly captured her heart. In addition, the picture was edited very well, and with the rhythm, it constantly showed her face when she was Buffy. Passionate, indifferent, naive, strong, crying … She could only lean on Adriaan and hold his arm tightly to prevent herself from losing control.

"… All my life all the time so far away from home, without you ill be so far away from home." In the repeated singing, the sad but hopeful music finally stopped, and the picture also froze on Buffy's smiling and tearful face, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The room became quiet. After a long time, Sarah let go of his hand and asked in a low voice, "Is this … a gift for me?"

"Yes, I wrote a song, and then asked the people from the record company to help me complete it. Then, I asked the singers under the company to sing and record it. Then, I edited a music video based on the footage of" Buffy the Vampire Slayer ". Although all the details were in place, there were still some parts that were not satisfactory …" Adriaan still wanted to say something, but Sarah suddenly threw herself into his arms and blocked his mouth with her lips.

After a passionate kiss, the two separated. Sarah opened her eyes, and something flashed in her eyes.

"Sorry, it would be perfect if I could give it to you on your 21st birthday, and …" Adriaan sighed and reached out to gently touch her face. "It's a pity that I never went skating with you, so I could only edit that scene into the picture. Oh, your dexterous posture is so beautiful …"

"It's okay, Eide, it's okay." Sarah's voice was choked with sobs, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "As long as I have you by my side, it's enough. This is the best gift I have ever received! I love you! "

She kept kissing him as she spoke, and her eyes were full of tears. It was hard to tell whether she was crying or laughing. Adriaan responded with a smile and held her tightly in his arms. After a long while, he finally stopped.

"Tell me, Eide, how did you do it?" Sarah, who rested her head on his chest, murmured with her eyes closed. The beautiful song was still lingering in her heart, and the picture made her palpitate.

Adriaan slowly told her about how he wanted to comfort her after learning about her father's death, how he came up with the initial shape of the song based on some music fragments, how he found Eric Norton and the others to complete it, and how he asked the popular new singer Britney Spears to sing and record it. He did not mention or hide the relationship between him and Britney.

Sarah did not take it to heart at all. It was not like she did not know what kind of person Adriaan was. Moreover, her heart was now full of the song he had racked his brains to compose for her.

"Thank you, Eide, thank you." After listening to him, Sarah raised her head again. Although she had controlled her emotions, her eyes were still glistening with tears.

"Alright, don't cry anymore." Adriaan wiped away the tears on her face. "I only hope that even if you cry in the future, it will be because you are happy and happy, and not because of sadness and pain."

"I know, I can do it." Sarah nodded repeatedly, smiling while crying. She grabbed Adriaan's hand and placed it on her heart. "As long as you are by my side, I will not be too far away from home."

Adriaan smiled and held her in his arms again.

"Eide."

"Yes?"

"Will this song be released?"

"That depends on you."

"I have a small request."

"Say it."

"After the release, if there is a MV, you and I will star, okay?"