Now, this version of "Survive on Deserted Island" was also quite popular. After all, two-thirds of the movie was Tom Hanks's one-man show. With his superb acting skills and popularity, it was enough for him to be the backbone of a big production, not to mention the quality of the movie itself was not inferior to the original.
DreamWorks had invested a lot in this movie, winning nearly 3,000 theaters, and the three-day box office was close to 30 million. For a commercial movie, this figure was not particularly good, but for the opening box office of a movie that was both artistic and enjoyable, it was definitely a very good start, even though the investment and publicity cost had reached 100 million.
"You always have a unique eye for things like this, Steven, so it will be no problem for me to follow you," Adriaan complimented Spielberg on the night of the premiere.
"Come on, Eide, everyone knows that in Hollywood, no one can compare to you when it comes to unique eyes," Spielberg responded with a smile.
"That's not my credit alone. Even without me, the outstanding ones will still be outstanding. I just made them a little earlier." Adriaan shrugged. "Moreover, in Hollywood, only you, Steven, can earn hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office all over the world."
"You are always so humble, Eide." Although Spielberg maintained a smile, the pride and ease in the corner of his eyes were very obvious.
Although "The Matrix" had a global box office of more than 500 million, "Jurassic Park: The Lost World" had a global box office of 750 million. It was inevitable that Spielberg was a little proud, even though "The Matrix" had a good reputation. Don't forget why DreamWorks arranged for "The Lost World" and "The Matrix" to be released on the same weekend.
However, what they did not expect was that before the end of the summer, AC Media successfully acquired Universal from Seagram. If before this, DreamWorks had a little advantage over AC Media, which only had three medium-sized film companies, now it was completely incomparable. They just had to come out at this time to show their presence. Plus, AC Media owned DreamWorks shares. Who knew if they would make a move on them next?
Fortunately, at least so far, Adriaan had been expressing his goodwill and had always been respectful to Spielberg. In some ways, he was also very supportive of DreamWorks. Unlike some people, the three giants did not think that Adriaan was just a decoration in AC Media and only expressed his opinions on film and television production. That was why Spielberg felt relaxed now.
Well, this is all a digression. "Survived" and Hanks' acting were unanimously praised by film critics. The New York Times called it "a box office bomb with the soul of an artistic film," and the Chicago Tribune praised Hanks' acting, which further increased his popularity.
These were all expected. On the night of the premiere, Adriaan teased Hanks that the old men in Film school would have a headache again. He had single-handedly supported an outstanding movie. Should he be nominated for the Best Actor Award or not? After all, Hanks had won Best Actor twice in a row.
Whether the Film school nominated him or not, Adriaan did not care. Although he remembered that they had nominated him, unless there were no decent opponents, there was a very small chance that Hanks would raise the Oscar for the third time. Therefore, he immediately turned his attention to "Good Will Hunting." The premiere date of this film was the first weekend after "Survived" was released.
This film was very interesting, and it fully explained the phrase "by accident." In order to fight for Best Original Screenplay for "Titanic," Adriaan produced "Good Will Hunting" early and kept it as a reserve. However, "Titanic" did not win Best Original Screenplay, but broke the record by winning Best Makeup. At this time, because of the changes caused by him, Natalie did not have a contract after filming "Star Wars". Therefore, Adriaan simply gave her the supporting female role. After all, this film was also quite important, and Natalie's age was just right.
If the filming had started last year, the girl's acting might not have been a problem. Although playing the role of Amidala did not require much acting skills, she still did a good job, didn't she? However, she was still relatively petite. But after the filming was postponed until this year, she had grown slightly taller, and her appearance was more in line with the appearance of a university student. Therefore, it was only natural that she would be given this role.
"Although I only saw the sample, your daughter is indeed very outstanding, Shelley. She is climbing up the mountain step by step, and I have always been optimistic about her," in the front hall of the premiere theater, Adriaan said to Natalie's mother.
Although Natalie's career was managed by her manager, her mother had always been taking care of her life. This time, when she flew to Los Angeles to attend the premiere of "Good Will Hunting", Shelley naturally followed her daughter.
"Thank you, Eide. She has always been a hardworking child." Although Shelley replied, her eyes were fixed on Natalie, who was not far away, with a loving smile on her face.
Adriaan also glanced at them from time to time, but he did not linger for too long. This was because the person who was standing and laughing with Natalie was his little vixen, Kirsten Dunst. Originally, Adriaan did not plan to bring any women to the premiere of "Good Will Hunting". It was rare for Natalie to come to Los Angeles, but one of the supporting male characters was "Spiderman" Tobey Maguire. Kirsten had a good relationship with him, and Adriaan did not inform any women about it. Therefore, she managed to get the tickets from him.
However, Adriaan did not expect Natalie to bring her mother along. There was definitely no chance for the two of them, so it was not a big deal for Kirsten to attend the premiere.
"Sorry, Eide. Mom has nothing to do at home recently, so I brought her here," Natalie found an opportunity to apologize to Adriaan in an empty corner of the corridor.
"It's okay. I can go to New York anytime." Adriaan waved his hand to show that he did not take it to heart. He then smiled and said, "After Christmas, I will go to New York as usual. The house that I just bought there has probably been renovated. I hope that you can be the first person to spend the night there with me."
Natalie hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I promise you."
Adriaan leaned forward and wanted to kiss her goodbye, but the girl took a step back and pointed at the crowd outside. Then, she smiled apologetically and slipped away. He could not help but frown in dissatisfaction. Originally, Adriaan had planned several programs for this day, intending to surprise Natalie. However, it seemed that it was impossible now. With Shelley by her side, she would definitely go back early the next morning. During this time, he could not spend time alone with Natalie.
Damn it, that feeling is coming again. I hate this situation! Adriaan said in his heart.
"Hi, Eide." A voice came from outside, and soon, Kirsten appeared in front of Adriaan.
She was wearing a white dress with a black belt around her waist, a beige trench coat, flesh-colored stockings, and dark heels. Her soft blonde hair covered her face, and she had a shy smile and a bold gaze. She was beautiful and attractive.
"Hi, Chichi, I didn't expect you to come to the premiere of Good Will Hunting." Adriaan smiled and greeted her.
"I wanted to give you a surprise." Kirsten came to his side and glanced outside. This corner was really a good place. It was very quiet, and if someone came over, they would be able to see them at a glance.
Surprise? Adriaan raised his eyebrows. There was no way Kirsten didn't know who the actors in the movie were. She had been talking to Natalie as soon as she arrived at the theater, and she came over right after Natalie left. She had been watching them from the outside the entire time. Thinking back to how she had competed for The Killer Is Not Too Cold, it wasn't hard to guess what she was thinking.
"This is indeed a surprise, Chichi." Adriaan smiled and reached out to hook her chin. "You can always … appear by my side at the right time."
Kirsten's eyes lit up, and then she chuckled and leaned against Adriaan. The meaning of this sentence was very obvious. Natalie had rejected Adriaan for some reason, and this was her chance. Kirsten did not think that the girl could escape from him, even though she was indeed very smart. She had chatted with her for a long time using the excuse that they knew each other before. Not only did she not get to know the other party's background, but she also almost got her own.
However, it did not matter. As long as Adriaan still spoiled her, she did not need to care about these things. Therefore, Kirsten took the opportunity to fill in the gap left by Natalie.
Facing the girl who was breathing like orchids, Adriaan did not stand on ceremony. He immediately hugged her waist and kissed her red lips, venting all the emotions that had accumulated because of his previous unhappiness.
"We... maybe we can... find a better place..." Kirsten soon gasped in the passionate entanglement, and one of her hands reached down and began to rub.
"Eide... I'm starting to miss you..." Her tone was full of desire.
To her surprise, after the passionate kiss, Adriaan did not pursue the victory. Instead, he gently pushed her shoulder away and pointed outside. "Now is not a good time. Everyone has started to enter."
"What does that matter?" Kirsten looked at him in surprise. It was just a movie premiere. It was not like they had not found a place to do it at such a time. Why was he making excuses now? Could it be...
"Don't worry, we have one night, unless you don't want to get up tomorrow." Adriaan smiled and pinched her chin. "If that's the case, it would be too bad. I wanted to ask you to go to San Francisco tomorrow."
"Really?" Kirsten, who was a little indignant, immediately showed a look of surprise.
"Of course, but before the movie ends, we have to maintain our previous posture." Adriaan nodded.
The previous posture was naturally referring to when Kirsten and Adriaan had first arrived at the theater. The girl was also a smart person, and she quickly understood what he wanted to do. Her previous indignation could not help but surface again. However, this emotion only lasted for a few seconds before it disappeared. It was not a big deal to cooperate with Adriaan and consider the girl's feelings. The more Natalie behaved like this, the less he had to worry about her.
That was the general idea. Adriaan did not want to act too recklessly in front of Natalie, but Kirsten was also thinking too much. It did not matter, as long as the overall situation did not go wrong.
The scale of the premiere of "Good Will Hunting" was similar to that of "Elizabeth" and "Shakespeare in Love History". It was not big, but it was as successful as those two movies, maybe even more successful.
In the beginning, the audience did not have much of a good impression of Will, who was played by Joaquin Phoenix. He did not want to be left out and wanted to show off his talent, but when the opportunity came, he did not care about it at all. However, as the plot developed, Will's experience was revealed step by step, and the audience began to sympathize with him.
Especially when Professor Sean, played by Robin Williams, hit Will's heart hard on the park bench with some understated words. This was the line that Natalie liked very much. There were boos from the audience. It was not loud, but it was very clear in the theater.
In addition, when Natalie, played by Schuyler, said to Will in despair, "Say you don't love me" after the argument, and Will hesitated for a moment before turning his head away and saying, "I don't love you", the theater was also filled with sighs for Will's cowardly escape. This also had something to do with the wonderful performances of the two actors, especially this scene. Whether it was Natalie or Joaquin, they were several times better than in the original version.
Therefore, when the final ending came, although Will did not return to Professor Gerald to show off his talent, he embarked on a journey to Los Angeles to find Schuyler. The audience expressed their joy with warm applause.
"This is a heartwarming piece of writing." - USA Today
"Robin Williams and Joaquin Phoenix both showed extraordinary acting skills, and as a supporting actress, Natalie Portman is no less than them." - Variety
"Two injured souls are both revived in a collision, full of sincere emotions." - Washington Post
Most of the American media praised this movie, even more highly than "Elizabeth" and "Shakespeare in Love History". However, the European media did the opposite. This was not surprising. No matter how good "Elizabeth" and "Shakespeare in Love History" were, they were still British stories, while "Good Will Hunting" was an American story. Although some of the scenes were very cliché, the rhythm was on point, and the emotions were just right. Naturally, it was more popular in the United States.
This could be seen from the box office. The same number of theaters as "Elizabeth" and "Shakespeare in Love History" had 300 theaters, but the opening box office was 8 million, far exceeding those two movies.
Adriaan did not care. Whether it was "Elizabeth" or "Shakespeare in Love History", they were both works that had been developed at a later stage. The promotion was very good, and the rest was just a matter of time. In fact, "Good Will Hunting" was also such a movie. Although it did well in North America, it definitely could not compare to those two films overseas.
Let's not talk about this. As Christmas was just around the corner, he finally freed himself from the endless premiere activities. Then, he took Kate and his daughter to his godfather's house for Christmas.
"You know, if I stay at home, no matter what I do, people will be unhappy. But I can't not spend Christmas with Lily, so I have to come to your house." Faced with Claude's question, Adriaan said innocently.
In this regard, Claude could only roll his eyes. He really did not know what to say.
This was indeed a good way to solve the problem, but sometimes it also caused a lot of problems. For example, Aunt Beth often advised him from time to time that Lily was getting older, and it was time for her to marry Kate. In New York, it was Aunt Marsha who advised him. It was difficult for Adriaan to explain, so he could only listen obediently. Anyway, listening was one thing, and doing what he wanted to do was his own business.
However, things were always changing. In the future, Christmases would not be so easy, because...
"Hi, dear, what's the matter..." Adriaan, who picked up the phone, was stunned before he could ask. After a few seconds, he asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Eide, it's been two weeks. I'm really, really happy." The voice on the other end of the phone was filled with Monica's joyful voice. She even sounded like she was crying with joy.
"That's great." Adriaan laughed out loud. "Are you at home now? Very good, I'll be right there. "
After hanging up the phone, he let out a long sigh. Although he promised to give Monica a child, Adriaan still felt unreal when he succeeded.
"It's no big deal. I'm going to have another child, and Lily will also have a younger sister or brother." He quickly adjusted himself, looked at the time, and prepared to go out.
Just then, the phone rang again.
"This is Eide... Hi, Sophie, what happened? You sound a little... Ah?! "Adriaan, who was halfway through his sentence, opened his eyes wide." What... what did you say? "
"I'm pregnant, Eide. It's... it's been two weeks. You know, in the past few years, besides you..." Sophie's voice was filled with anxiety and excitement.
"Okay, I got it. Don't worry. Are you at home now? I'll be right there. " Having said that, after hanging up the phone, Adriaan was in a daze. Monica and Sophie actually called on the same day to say that they were pregnant?!
Before he could think of a conclusion, there was a knock on the door. Then, Charlize opened the door of the study. "Eide, someone is looking for you."
"Looking for me?" Adriaan was stunned. Then, he saw Ji Hui walk in with Britney.
Unlike usual, Britney looked timid, and there was anxiety and uneasiness between her brows. Thinking of the two phone calls just now, Adriaan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Was she pregnant too?
Charlize and Ji Hui quickly left the study and closed the door. The next second, Britney jumped into his arms like a frightened rabbit, hugging him and shivering.
"What happened, Bob? Don't worry, I'm here. " Although his brows were twisted into a knot, Adriaan still patted her back and comforted her.
"Eide... Dad... Mom and Dad know about us..."
