Chapter 829

"Welcome back to the studio. I'm Jon Stewart, and I'll be bringing you The Daily Show." Accompanied by the familiar music, the camera moved from top to bottom to the middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes sitting in the middle with a hint of cynicism.

"Just now, we formally discussed President Bush's … sad speech, and FOX News Channel's … exquisite interpretation, so now let's change the topic." His drawn-out voice, coupled with his trademark cheeky smile, made the audience burst into laughter. "Remember who I said today's guest was? That's right, the great director who always creates miracles, Mr. Adrian Kewell! "

Then he put his hand up to cover his mouth and said to the audience with a mysterious look, "Of course, you know, he's my boss, so … do you understand? Give him some face."

"Don't worry, Jon, I won't let anyone dock your salary." At this moment, Adriaan walked out from the back and sat in front of him.

"Really?" Stewart played along and pretended to be pleasantly surprised.

"Of course!" Adriaan spread his hands. "But I'm considering whether the paid vacation should be changed."

The audience roared with laughter, and Stuart's face fell. Adriaan laughed.

"Okay, I'm kidding. Do I look like such a stingy person to you?" he said with a grin.

"Okay, then let's get back to the topic at hand." Stuart also laughed. "I think everyone knows what happened recently, and there are many people who want to invite you on the show to talk about it."

"So I left it to you. I like you, Jon," Adriaan said, pointing at him.

"Thank you, it's my honor." Stewart immediately pretended to be flattered. He got up and shook hands with him, then put his hand in front of him and looked at the camera again. "See? This is the benefit of being close. Of course, I have to work hard for … um … to continue my paid vacation. "

The expression on his face matched his tone, and then it turned into depression and helplessness. It was very smooth and not at all out of place. It immediately caused another burst of laughter.

"Okay, we all know that since the screening of Brokeback Mountain at the end of last year, the public has had different opinions about it. After the official screening a few days ago, the conflict reached a climax." Stewart said and looked at Adriaan. "So, what do you think about this, Eide?"

"Frankly speaking, I didn't think too much when I first read Ms. Prue's novel. To me, it's just a story about love." Adrian gestured with his hands, emphasizing his tone. "And just a story about love."

"Just a love story?" Stewart repeated and then widened his eyes. "Are you sure you didn't see Jack or Ennis as Jesse or Agnes?"

"Of course not. Because of work or something else, a man and a woman fall in love on Brokeback Mountain, "Adriaan laughed along with the audience." In fact, if you change one of the characters to a woman and change some of the details, you'll find that the story isn't any worse than Romeo and Juliet. For example … a man and a woman fall in love on Brokeback Mountain because of work or something else. However, due to various reasons, such as their clans, their engagement, and the distance between them being too far apart, the two were unable to be together. Even so, they were deeply in love with each other. Even though they had their own separate lives, they were still able to reunite at Brokeback Mountain. This painful yet happy life continues until the woman passes away, and the grieving man holds her belongings and looks at Brokeback Mountain, promising that he will always remember and live on. "

"Wow, that's so touching." Stewart immediately applauded. "This is what you wanted to film, right?"

Adriaan smiled and continued, "I know what you want to ask the most, Jon. I also know that many people are concerned about it. Maybe there are already people who are unhappy that this movie is compared to Romeo and Juliet, but I want to say this — I don't support homosexuality. Don't worry, I don't oppose it either. In fact, supporting and opposing are not accurate terms. I prefer to let nature take its course. If I really want to support something, I support something else, and that is the right to choose freely! "

"Oh?" It was rare that Stewart didn't make a joke. Instead, he used an exclamation to finish Jon's sentence.

"This is what we have always insisted on, and what we are most proud of. We are free. We can choose what to do, and we can also choose not to do." Adriaan finally threw out his point of view. "No matter who it is, be it Ernest, Jack, me, or you, we all have the right to make the choice we want without harming others, family, or society!"

Enthusiastic applause rang out. As the thing that Americans were most proud of, the word "freedom" resonated quite well. At this time, there wasn't much time left for the guests on The Daily Show. After a few more casual chats, the time for the episode was up.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Jon. That was very good." After returning backstage with Stewart, Adriaan patted him on the shoulder and said.

Before Stewart could speak, a voice interrupted from the side. "If that's all, I can do it too. Why can't you be on my show?"

"You're here again, Alan." Adriaan looked in the direction of the voice and couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you here?"

"You chose Jon's The Daily Show instead of mine. Of course I have to come and see what's so good about him." A short-haired woman walked over.

"Don't mind her, Eide. She's just jealous," Stewart shouted immediately. Stuart immediately shouted, while Adrian laughed and spread out his hand to the woman, "You know the reason, Ellen."

"Alright, I do know the reason. But no matter what, you should at least be on my show, right? Otherwise, it's too unfair, and people will laugh at you if word gets out. Hey, did you know that Jon Stewart managed to get the miracle director that's so hard to invite to his show? He even snatched it from Ellen DeGeneres, "the woman chattered. Clearly, this was her real motive.

Adriaan had no choice but to raise his hand and wave it off. "Alright, Alan, I promise you. If I have time in the future, I'll definitely be on Ellen's show. I promise."

"Then it's a deal." DeGeneres, who got the promise, was delighted. Stewart, who was beside her, rolled his eyes.

Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" and Ellen DeGeneres' "Ellen's Show" were two of ABC's well-known talk shows. Despite their different styles, they both had a large number of fans, especially DeGeneres' "Ellen's Show", which was known for being bold and spicy. She dared to talk about any topic, so she was once as famous as Oprah Winfrey and Larry King.

Logically speaking, Adriaan should be on Alan Show. After all, it was a talk show, and it was more well-known in America. DeGeneres and Eide had a good relationship. She started her talk show with Adriaan's help.

But the problem was that DeGeneres was a lesbian through and through. When she was shelved by ABC, her show was axed after the fifth season even though it had good ratings. This had something to do with her coming out publicly. Of course, ABC would never admit it. But later, because of Adriaan, she was still kept. After spending some time to transform, she finally succeeded in founding the brand Alan Show.

So, even though Alan Show was more professional, and DeGeneres and Eide had a better relationship, she was still put aside. Would the conservative groups believe her when she said she didn't support homosexuality in front of a gay person?

Even though Adriaan was one of the most powerful people in the world, he still had to be careful when facing a conservative group. It had been said countless times before that the size of a country was directly proportional to how conservative it was. The reason why the gay movement could flourish in the 21st century was because of the political correctness of anti-discrimination. If they went too far, they would still face the counterattack of the mainstream society.

Previously, Brokeback Mountain was only a pre-screening, but because the producer was Adriaan, it caused people on both sides to fight against each other. Now that it was publicly released, the debate became even more intense. Especially because of the previous ferment, as well as the strong flattery of the gay organizations, plus the slow pace of the movie, the delicate and strong emotions shown. Rui Fan and Peter's acting skills were also very good, and the last scene made many women cry. There were even neutral people on the internet who strongly urged everyone to watch this movie.

So, in the first week of its release, Brokeback Mountain received a box office of 10 million from 800 cinemas. Many residents of Salt Lake City specially drove to the surrounding cities to watch it. Under such circumstances, everyone knew that Director Miracle's movie had once again become a success. Naturally, the gay organizations were enthusiastically celebrating, while the conservative groups wanted to exert more pressure.

If it was just a pre-screening before, and the influence had not yet fully spread, Adriaan could have chosen not to respond. But now, he had to make a statement. After all, he was not a minority like Lee An in Hollywood. He was one of the richest people in the United States, a media mogul who represented AC Media.

Fortunately, although this intense situation was somewhat different from what he had expected, Adriaan had already prepared a trump card. It was a political stick that was one level higher than anti-discrimination: free will!

As early as the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union were fighting for the right to speak for democracy, they had raised the banner of freedom because they were at a disadvantage. Although after the fall of the Red Empire, the United States took over the banner of democracy, they did not give up on the banner of freedom. The left-leaning Hollywood took this to the extreme. In commercial movies, there were endless plots where the side of justice led the people to fight for their own freedom. Even Morgan Freeman inculcated Jim Carrey in comedies like The Fake God: You can't change free will.

As for whether ordinary people were really free under the various big and small legal frameworks, it was not important, as long as they believed in it.

Therefore, when Adriaan raised the banner of freedom, he said that he neither supported nor opposed homosexuality, he only hoped that people could choose the life they wanted to live according to their own free will, without hurting others, family, or society. Just look at the broken family of two men in the movie.

If he interpreted it from a higher level, and the media under his banner helped to wave the flag and shout the battle cry, there was no doubt that it would resonate among the neutral. The so-called debate was not to refute the other side, but to win over the neutral side. Moreover, whether it was the gay organization or the conservative group, Adriaan had not offended any.

This was a bit like riding the fence. In fact, he was riding the fence, and he was riding it very comfortably. If it was an ordinary person, they would definitely choose a side in the face of this kind of pressure. Riding the fence would only lead to an ugly death, but he was different. He was Adrian Kewell, a miracle director in Hollywood, the chairman of the board of directors of AC Media, a legend who single-handedly supported half of his media empire!

In the eyes of the gay organization, although he expressed that he did not support or support it, "Brokeback Mountain" was enough to attract more attention to the gay community. Moreover, he had also reminded them that in the name of freedom. In the eyes of the conservative group, he had clearly expressed that he did not oppose it, nor did he support it. Moreover, he was holding the banner of freedom high. For a big shot like him, this was enough.

Besides, didn't he say that it was under the premise that it did not hurt others, family, or society? Homosexuality went against the natural course of human development and was harmful to society. As long as they worked hard to make this point accepted and affirmed by the majority of people, then he had to stand on their side.

Of course, the conservative group did not know that this excuse was within Adriaan's expectations. Let's not talk about whether such a somewhat discriminatory point of view could be openly expressed. Even if it was brought up — in fact, such an argument had already been made — the gay organization would immediately defend and refute it. All he needed to do was to watch the show from the sidelines.

Just like that, January of 2005 went by in the midst of the squabbling between the two groups. Following Adrian Kewell's statement on "The Daily Show," many celebrities came out to either support or oppose the idea. The two main leads of "Brokeback Mountain," Revan Phoenix and Brad Pitt, also expressed their support for the idea. Unfortunately, Revan already had a girlfriend. Many people who hoped for them to become a couple were disappointed.

Coupled with the cooperation of the media under AC Media, Adriaan quickly became the secondary focus of attention and returned to the backstage. "Brokeback Mountain" steadily increased its box office. Many paparazzi were not satisfied, but what could they do? Their omnipotence was just a rumor made up by the media.

"I knew it. Every time, you're going to struggle a lot, Ed." Claude teased him during one of their lunches. "Even if we don't cooperate with you, you can use this to divert the academy's attention elsewhere."

"No, no, no, Krau, if the academy finds out, all my efforts will be in vain." Adriaan said seriously, "Do you remember the verdict of an ancient criminal case in China that I told you about?"

"Of course I remember. The order of the same sentence is reversed, and the verdict is different." Claude nodded. "I know what you mean, but is that enough?"

"Of course not!" Adriaan said calmly and naturally. "There are still some conditions. In short, make sure that the specific situation is not exposed by the media before then."

As he spoke, he looked at the other side of the table. A fat middle-aged man with stubble on his face had just put a piece of tender beef into his mouth.

"Don't worry, you two. I don't understand what you said at all." Weinstein quickly chewed a few mouthfuls and swallowed the beef. At the same time, he complained in his heart that he did not understand the taste. He shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. In fact, I want to ask you for a favor, Harvey." Adriaan picked up the cup and took a sip before smiling.

"It's my pleasure to serve you, Eide." Weinstein was overjoyed.

Unsurprisingly, "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" was about to be released this summer. The three super strong public relations for Adriaan not only allowed him to satisfy his addiction of being a media mogul, but also gave Miramax a big gold mine. In this case, no matter what request Adriaan had, he would agree. Of course —

"I've been looking forward to your call." Weinstein smiled, his eyes almost narrowed into a line.

Weinstein roughly knew what Adriaan wanted. He knew it when he took the initiative to call him today to ask if he would like to have lunch together. If it weren't for the intense quarrel caused by "Brokeback Mountain", perhaps the relationship between him and Natalie, and whether the lineup of "Miracle Girls" had expanded would occupy an important position in various entertainment websites or newspapers and magazines for a long time. After all, this trend was very obvious in the three weeks after "Go Forth" was released.

As for the relationship between the two, Weinstein was not interested in knowing, not to mention that Adriaan was a rich and powerful playboy. Weinstein's interest lay in what he wanted, which meant that he could get more benefits from the hands of this miracle creator.

"Are you sure it's okay this time?" Adriaan did not say anything, but showed an expression that was not a smile.

Weinstein was stunned for a moment, then he reacted, and his face became a little embarrassed. He still knew what the other party meant. It had been six years in a row that his woman had become the best actress. If he wanted to continue, even a guy who was good at public relations would feel troubled, not to mention that Natalie was so young, and... Although Weinstein did not know what Adriaan and Claude were talking about just now, as an old fox in Hollywood, he could roughly guess. In this case, let alone 100%, it was already very good to have an 80% chance of success.

"Don't worry, Harvey." Adriaan patted him on the shoulder again. "What I want you to do is very simple."

He looked at him, and his eyes became a little sharp. "I hope to invite the respected Mr. John Campbell out for a chat."

Weinstein suddenly widened his eyes.