If Kathryn Zeta Jones were to make a choice again, she might hesitate, but the result would not change. Although what Adriaan said at the time was really infuriating.
What does he think I am? A prostitute?! Even thinking about it now, Zeta Jones still felt dissatisfied. But it was undeniable that Adriaan had easily touched her heartstrings and left an indelible impression on her.
Four movies with a box office of more than 100 million in North America, a salary of 10 million, and an Oscar for supporting actress. Many well-known actors who had been in the entertainment industry for decades had never had such an achievement! Although Adriaan did not say it explicitly, Zeta Jones knew that this was a movie with her as the absolute female lead in the North American box office of more than 100 million, and it was rare for a movie star outside the United States to get more than 10 million.
No one could refuse such a condition, let alone the ambitious Zeta Jones. Even if she was a little dissatisfied with Adriaan's straightforwardness, so what? If she wanted to achieve her goal, she had to pay a price. And from a certain point of view, this also showed that he was determined to get her.
Thinking of this, Zeta Jones could not help but chuckle. At the end of the 1987, she became famous in the United Kingdom with a TV series. She was also a well-known actress in Europe. Naturally, she knew the rules in this circle, especially in Europe. The degree of chaos was sometimes shocking. So, her eyes were quite sharp, and she could always seize the best opportunity from countless opportunities.
Zeta Jones still remembered the scene when the American producer proposed to her and promised to take her to Hollywood. Although she had forgotten his name, she refused him without much consideration. She did not think that he could bring her much benefit, nor did she want to be bound by marriage at an early age. She did not think that she could not get a foothold in Hollywood.
Of course, reality soon taught Zeta Jones a lesson. In the six months that she had been in Hollywood, apart from acting in a small production, she had participated in many auditions, but she had not gotten a single one. It was said that British actors were more likely to get opportunities in Hollywood than other European actors, but why didn't it work for her?
But now, Zeta Jones was somewhat grateful for the predicament she was in during this period of time. When she first met Adriaan at Cindy Krau's party, although she had heard of the miracle director's name, she did not know much about him. In addition, she had just arrived in Hollywood at that time. Even if she wanted to get to know him, she gave up the idea after he was dragged away by Cindy.
Then, after hitting countless walls and learning about Adriaan in detail, especially the rumors about his affairs in the circle, Zeta Jones immediately made a decision. So, there was the scene at the party after the premiere of "Mission Impossible", and the passion in the car that followed.
It turned out that it was very worth it. Not to mention the tempting conditions given by Adriaan, only five days later, the outline of the script was handed to her. Another four days later, she got part of the script. This kind of efficiency was probably impossible for anyone else. Not to mention that he was famous.
If others had promised those conditions, Zeta Jones would only think that they were bragging. But even though Adriaan had only been in the entertainment industry for a few years and had less experience than most people, his achievements were there. He also had his own media company. There were not many people who were both powerful and talented.
In addition, he understood women's minds very well and was very good at it. Although he was a little overbearing and irresistible that night, he was very considerate and gentle on the subsequent date. Even in the narrow space of the car that night, he still gave her unprecedented satisfaction. More importantly, Zeta Jones was sure that he was still very infatuated with her. In bed, many things could not be concealed. Even if it was not very obvious, it did exist.
The beautiful woman driving the car smiled even wider. She had enough confidence in her body, appearance, and … methods. Even if Adriaan had many women, who said that she would not be the one laughing in the end? Of course, she was not naive to think that Adriaan was easy to fool, but it did not matter even if she failed. As long as he fulfilled what he promised, the deal was not considered a loss. Zeta Jones believed that with Adriaan's reputation, he would not break the contract.
She rolled down the car window, and the airflow caused her long black hair to flutter everywhere. Looking at the road ahead, Zeta Jones said softly, "As long as you don't let me down, Eide, I won't let you down."
However, Adriaan knew much more about her than she knew about him.
"Tell them that they did a good job. They don't have to ask me for anything else for the time being. Also, tell John that I will go to Pixar tomorrow at the latest," Adriaan said without looking up as he signed the documents.
"What about this?" Charlize pointed to the pieces of paper on the desk.
Adriaan finally raised his head, then looked at the female secretary with a meaningful smile. It was the unfinished script that he had shown Zeta Jones before. Charlize's question was obviously intentional.
"Give it to the editing team and ask them to improve the script as soon as possible so that I can start preparing." Adriaan leaned back, put his hands on his head, and smiled as he looked at the woman's graceful figure.
"Got it." Charlize obviously also realized that he was a little emotional, so he immediately said in a calm tone, put away the signed documents and the half-finished script, and was ready to leave.
"Speaking of which, I finally found a woman who wears this dress and looks as good as you," Adriaan suddenly said.
Charlize immediately glared at him, "I know I'm a little early. If there's a next time, remember to inform me."
"Hey, I didn't say anything. I was just sighing." Adriaan spread his hands, looking quite shameless.
"Don't try to provoke me, Eide. I will never let you get away with it." Charlize immediately adjusted his emotions, looked at him, and raised his chin slightly, "I think there's nothing for me to do here."
"Okay, okay." Adriaan sighed and made a "please" gesture. Even so, he was very happy in his heart.
If it was in the past, Charlize would have already gone out after saying this, but now she stood straight and waited for him to speak before leaving. From this small detail, it could be seen that his position in her heart had changed.
On formal occasions, such as a cocktail party, in the office, or when going out for a meeting, Charlize would always dress very formally as an office lady. Filming didn't count, especially on an outdoor set. There were many things that required her to run around, so she could be more casual. Although there were very few changes to an office lady's attire, she looked very stylish when she wore it. She was a natural hanger, and she had been doing this job for more than two years. Her temperament had been tempered. She was sexy and a little domineering. No wonder Adrian always wanted to have sex with her in the office.
In fact, if Adriaan really wanted it, Charlize wouldn't refuse. After that day, he had gone one step further. When he hugged her and talked business, he could already enter the inside of her short skirt. He could choose a time to focus on a sensitive spot when she was defenseless, and he wasn't afraid that she wouldn't give in.
But Adriaan didn't want that. He wanted to see Charlize take the initiative to cater to him for many reasons, but the most important one was that the relationship between the two was a little special. She had the common characteristics of other women. For example, like Kate, they knew each other early, or like Sarah, who was cared for at a critical moment, or like Monica, who stayed for benefits. But when combined, they became unique.
As was often said before, Adriaan didn't hide most of his things from Charlize. She knew about the company's various acquisition ideas, various forward-looking strategies, various movie scripts, story ideas, and novels that needed to be adapted. She also knew about the women around him, including Kirsten.
Charlize arranged everything in an orderly manner. She was very smart and very capable. Although she made a few mistakes in the beginning because of her lack of experience, she quickly mastered it through learning.
"I really can't imagine what my life would be like without you." Adriaan often said this in a joking tone. It sounded like he was flirting, but it was true.
Take his women for example. Even if Adriaan knew how to properly arrange and deal with them, without Charlize's help, it would be a mess. The relationship between the two was very subtle. Although Charlize often mocked and ridiculed him, they were very close.
Therefore, he would rather spend more effort than to destroy this subtle but very attractive relationship. Besides, Zeta Jones's OL attire didn't lose to Charlize's in terms of seductiveness. Of course, Adriaan wanted to see her in another uniform.
Everyone was different. Although Charlize was special, Kate, Sally, Monica, and Julia were all special. Only when they were different would they be attractive, right? For example, Zeta Jones was very similar to Monica to a certain extent. They were willing to pay any price for an opportunity, but Monica's bottom line was undoubtedly much higher than Zeta Jones's.
Whether it was the way she conducted herself or her speech, Zeta Jones seemed more ambitious. Even though Adriaan had only asked her out three times after the car accident — of course, this was also because he brought up the topic directly from the beginning. She didn't need to pretend in front of him. If it were someone else, she would definitely act differently.
This kind of ambitious woman who didn't pretend wasn't bad. This was what Adriaan thought in his heart. This wasn't to say that other women would pretend, but they would always subconsciously avoid certain topics. This was inevitable. Even Gwyneth had developed a lot of feelings during their relationship, so she naturally rejected certain things.
Zeta Jones, on the other hand, was a naked exchange of interests. She was similar to Drew and Cindy, but the difference was that Adriaan wanted to include her in his collection. The meaning of a collection was to keep collecting things that caught one's eye. Rich people who liked famous paintings or antiques had never stopped collecting, and their collections were also graded. In addition to one or a few of the best and most worth collecting, there would always be some that were inferior. This way, there would be a greater sense of accomplishment when playing with them.
As long as he controlled the limit, he would remember that never going too far was as bad as not going far enough. As for some things, he believed that Zeta Jones wouldn't be so stupid. Since he had made a deal, he naturally had to abide by it. Otherwise, the consequences of breaking the contract would be very serious, especially since it was very easy for Adriaan to fulfill his promise.
There were four movies that had a box office of more than a hundred million in North America, such as "Zorro's Mask" that he had prepared for her. Banderas was already under his management company, and Hopkins was also on good terms with him. In addition, Zeta Jones had originally relied on this movie to gain recognition, so why not get it? Anyway, he only had to consider buying the copyright.
Although he remembered that this movie did not exceed a hundred million in North America, it was only a little short. With the publicity tools he had at his disposal, it was not impossible to make up for this gap. What's more, after entering the 21st century, there were many movies with a box office of more than a hundred million in North America. This was the advantage of knowing the future.
It was also very easy to get a position with a salary of ten million. No matter who acted as the female lead in four movies with a box office of more than a hundred million in North America, their salary could not be less than ten million. Therefore, the most difficult thing was the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Best Supporting Actress was indeed easier to get than Best Actress, but it was also relatively speaking. If Kirsten did not perform well in "Interview with the Vampire," Adriaan would not be able to get her the Best Supporting Actress award.
In addition, there were many other factors to winning the award, such as luck and environment. The value orientation of each time period was subtly different. If he moved "Chicago" to the present, there was a 60% chance that it would receive the opposite evaluation.
However, it did not matter. Anyway, Adriaan did not promise to fulfill it immediately. It was normal to delay it for a few years. This was a little backup plan. Besides, he had a better idea now.
Alright, let's put this aside for now and return to the current hottest movie of this summer.
"Let's talk about your new plan, gentlemen." Adriaan was still sitting next to Eide Kamel to show his respect. "After the first step is successful, the second step is very crucial. If the second step is also successful, then Pixar's position can be truly established. I hope everyone can understand this."
After a pause, he added, "Of course, success does not mean how high the box office. The key is whether Pixar's style can be established, and whether it can maintain a certain reputation after it is established."
After saying that, he made a gesture of invitation. Kamel immediately took over the conversation. "Then, everyone, let's talk about your opinions first."
There were not many people in the conference room. Other than John Last, Ann Drew Stanton, and a few others, there were also a few newly promoted technical staff. The content of their discussion was not beyond Adriaan's expectations. The popularity of Toy Story was so huge that producing a sequel was a certainty. Then, who would be in charge of it needed to be discussed. This was because they had sufficient manpower and funds. At the same time, they also needed to produce another animation. This also needed someone to be in charge.
After Adriaan finished speaking, he calmly watched the show. Since he had said that Kamel would be in charge, he would not interfere unless it was necessary. Besides, from time to time during their discussion, some technical jargon would pop up. Adriaan was not Steve Jobs, so he basically could not understand it. Therefore, it was best not to interrupt.
They were arguing very fiercely. Looking at their angry faces, it seemed like they could fight at any moment. However, there was no need to worry. This was just on the surface. No matter how fierce the argument was now, this group of people would laugh and laugh as they liked in the future. They would not take it to heart at all. They were such a group of people. Each of them had the side of a big child, working hard for their own dreams. It was precisely because of this that Finding Nemo and Wall-E could only be born from their hands.
Adriaan could understand their current feelings. Although they thought that Toy Story was outstanding, they did not expect the response to be so strong. Not to mention anything else, just the income from the peripherals was enough to make the studio's people speechless. Claude had already lamented this more than once on the phone.
"If they produce a few more animations, maybe we don't have to think about financing." That was what Claude said. For him to feel this way, one could imagine how large the income would be.
"Very well, then I have a suggestion." Adriaan immediately threw out the things that he had planned for a long time. "I'll ask Charley to fax the information to you. I believe you should be interested — at least now."
It was not a special idea. He just wanted to follow the path of Disneyland. After establishing a strong position in the animation field, he would rely on the huge and excellent peripherals to develop. Therefore, it was destined that Pixar would not be the only animation studio under his banner. Being able to see the future made it completely possible for him to reach this point.
Alright, back in the Pixar conference room. Because they had achieved unprecedented profits, the amount of investment in the animation film had also increased unprecedentedly. Naturally, the few people who were fighting for the production rights naturally made a lot of noise. In any case, they were used to being impolite. Fortunately, Kamore's control was extraordinary, and he could always bring the topic back to the topic in time every time.
"I have no opinion. I believe in you. Since you have created a miracle once, of course, you can create another one, right?" After the quarrel ended, when Adriaan was asked to speak, he summed it up in this way.
The second animation had not been decided yet. Several ideas were discussed in the meeting, including the prototype of "Bug's Secret Service" that Adriaan knew. He wanted to remind them, but after thinking about it, he gave up on this idea. It was better to let them decide themselves. Even if they changed the theme from his memory, he believed that they would still do well with their ability.
"However, I still have one more thing to say." Adriaan immediately said. Not interfering in the studio's affairs did not mean that he would not strengthen his influence. "I hope that our animation can maintain such a theme: suitable for all ages, with tears in laughter!"
After a moment of silence, there was a warm applause in the conference room.
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