Chapter 857

"I'm just talking about the accident." Adriaan repeated again. "For me, when the audience walks into the cinema after a day of work, they can completely relax after watching my story. They can be sad, happy, and excited for the characters in the story. That is the best reward for me. Of course, if they can still feel a little bit about life and family after the story ends, that would be perfect. "

"Looks like you like optimistic movies, not unbearable tragedies." DeGeneres made a face of sudden realization.

"No, no, no, Alan." Adriaan laughed. As expected of one of the best talk show hosts, he was good at guiding the topic in the direction he wanted. "No matter what kind of movie, as long as it has a good story that resonates with the audience, it is a good movie. But from a personal point of view, I hope that no matter how cruel and painful a tragic story is, there should be a ray of hope at the end. "

"Why?" DeGeneres was surprised.

"Because this is a movie." Adriaan spread his hands.

"If I want to understand the cruelty of reality, there are plenty of documentaries and materials to watch. If I want to change this, I can donate, I can volunteer, and the effect that these can produce is far better than a movie." He quickly continued, "Never forget the first attribute of a movie. Never forget that only hope can lead people forward!"

Adriaan sat up straight. "This is why I think European movies are dead. Their movies have either become a show of life, or they have forgotten the original purpose of movies. And more people make movies that are full of suffocating atmosphere just to be famous, just to make themselves happy, and even to challenge the bottom line of society. A few years ago, I saw a script — I want to apologize to the young scriptwriter. Although I don't know where he is now, I was indeed a little too strict at the time. "

"Ha, for you to apologize so solemnly, the script must be good, and there must have been … a strong conflict between the two of you?" DeGeneres immediately asked, full of interest.

"It is indeed a very good script, a story about drugs destroying a family. A young couple and their friend are deeply addicted to drugs, and their mother has always been seriously drug dependent. They want to get rid of all this and find a new life, but no matter how they struggle, it is useless. The mother is finally sent to a mental hospital, the male lead and his friend are sent to prison and amputated, and the female lead is reduced to selling her body in exchange for drugs." Adriaan gave a brief introduction. "If the appropriate changes are made, this will definitely be a good movie, but the problem lies in two places. First, when the male and female lead fight for a new life, like opening a clothing store or something, they always fail, and the reason for their failure … is coincidence."

"Coincidence?" DeGeneres frowned and quickly understood what he meant. "You're saying that all the failures that caused them to be unable to pull themselves together and start using drugs again were all coincidences and not because of the drug itself?"

"That's right." Adriaan nodded hard. "At first, I didn't feel it, but later on, I found that there were more and more coincidences. So, in this way, the whole story has a very obvious and deliberate theme of drug abuse being destroyed."

"I guess the other party definitely didn't agree to change it." DeGeneres smiled.

"Of course, I raised more than a dozen questions, and they were rejected without even discussing." Adriaan shrugged. "Very unique, isn't it? In fact, he's not bad. Some European directors are completely self-centered and demand things from others. No matter what the problem is, it's not themselves that's wrong, but the world. "

"I guess you're definitely not talking about Lars von Trier." DeGeneres smiled wickedly.

"Of course not. I'm friends with many European directors, such as Luc Besson, Giuseppe Tornadore, and so on. I also respect Mr. Bertolucci very much, although I don't like his style." Adriaan shrugged. "But for some directors, some directors who only know how to take and never give, and have never thought about social responsibility …" He suddenly raised his hand. "I know what you want to say, Alan. Let's give an example."

His gaze became deep. "Now, here's a script. There's a girl who is very unfortunate. She was raped by her stepfather when she was a child, and her mother was weak and incompetent, unable to protect her. After she finally escaped from home, she wandered around. She experienced many hardships and did many things to cheer herself up. She also met some good people, but fate always played tricks on her, and the cold society always closed the door to her. So, after selling her body for a cheap price, she finally lost the courage to live, and finally, on a wet and rainy night, she rushed towards an oncoming truck. Do you think that if I filmed it, it would become an outstanding movie that would cause a huge reaction, an accusation of the indifference of society? "

"There's no doubt about it," DeGeneres replied carefully, instinctively sensing that there was a problem.

"Very good. Now that the movie has been produced and released, it has received great acclaim, and people have begun to reflect on this society." A strange smile appeared at the corner of Adriaan's mouth. "Then, now, there's a girl who is very unfortunate. Her weak mother couldn't protect her, and she was raped by her stepfather when she was very young. She endured until she was 16 years old, and finally escaped from that family, wandering around in society. She met many bad people, and also met many good people, but she always wandered on the edge of society, and no one cared about her. Then, after running into a wall again and again, on a wet and rainy night, she was in despair and didn't know what else she could do. So, she spent her last few dollars to watch a movie. One of her favorite directors had just released a work that accused society, and it was very well received. "

He paused here, and DeGeneres's expression turned a little ugly. The audience also fell silent.

"What I want to know is, what will she do after watching this movie." The corner of Adriaan's mouth curled up slightly, looking cruel and sarcastic.

"No, no, no!" DeGeneres shook her head. "This example is too extreme."

"With great power comes great responsibility." Adriaan didn't argue with her. "In the eyes of many people, especially those who think they are superior, this is just a line from a comic, but I know that some things have to be done. I'm a playboy and I have a lot of shortcomings, but I know what I should do and what I can do. Let them pursue their so-called art. I only want to do my best to help others. I'm disdainful and ashamed to be associated with these people! Even Michael Bay is so much better than them. "

When this sentence was said again, it suddenly had a different meaning. Before DeGeneres could speak, the audience applauded.

"Looks like everyone is very supportive of you." She could only smile like this in the end.

"Thank you. At this point, let me talk about my definition of art in my heart." Adriaan smiled and finally changed the topic. He gestured to the staff backstage and asked for a bottle of drinking water and a cup.

"This is life." He raised the cup and swirled it, then opened the bottle and poured the water inside. "This is accumulation."

The water quickly filled the cup.

"When a person accumulates to a certain extent …"

The cup was finally full, but the water overflowed and flowed down the side of the cup onto the table, causing DeGeneres to gasp.

"It will overflow." Adriaan said calmly, "The part that overflows is mostly useless. At least the water in the cup can still be drunk."

He stopped pouring the water, pointed at the water droplets on the table, and then pointed at the liquid in the cup.

"And on top, you see, the part that pops out because of the surface tension of the water," he said as he lowered his head, his eyes level with the mouth of the cup. "Only after countless accumulations, after thousands of tempering, after the great waves of washing away the sand, can it be called art! It's noble, it's rare, it's elusive, and it's breathtaking. Only by stretching out your hand in time at the moment of the flash of inspiration can you truly grasp that trace of extreme beauty! "

"In that case …" After a long time, DeGeneres smiled and said, "I know the shortcut to making a real art film, and that is to honestly tell a hundred stories with different styles."

Adriaan laughed.

The whole talk show was almost over. After that, both sides of the Atlantic Ocean were speechless again on this topic. The Europeans originally wanted to make an issue out of the phrase "I'm ashamed to be associated with you", but Adriaan had already made clear the target of this sentence in the talk show, which made them feel like they were punching cotton.

But more importantly, what was even more unbearable was that they suddenly realized that they were losing the right to speak about art. In the end, Adriaan used pouring water as an example to explain art. Although it was still a little rough, it was vivid and simple. Most ordinary people would not study what was considered art, but if someone could explain it in words that they could understand, they would definitely be willing to accept the other party.

If it was someone else saying this, it would not have mattered much, but since it was Adriaan, it was different. Not to mention his headache-inducing achievements, just the fact that he was doing what he preached was enough to give the European filmmakers a headache. DeGeneres' last teasing words were almost a reflection of him now. How many movies had he produced in the past ten years? What kind of movies were there?

It was so perfect that the Europeans could not help but complain in their hearts. Why did such a pervert appear in Hollywood? Even if someone publicly said that the miracle director's view of art was too shallow, that the miracle director was too arrogant, and so on, it would be meaningless. At the beginning, Adriaan said, "I'm a storyteller."

Because of this, although many people in the United States did not quite agree with Adriaan's speech in the talk show, they still stood by his side after they were rendered speechless. How could they let go of such a rare opportunity to trample on the Europeans? Moreover, his words were very in line with the needs of mainstream society. Coupled with the momentum caused by "The Pianist", many sharp-minded people had vaguely guessed his thoughts.

"So what? Can they stop it? I've been preparing for this day for so long. " Adriaan, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and still basking in the sunlight, said indifferently into the phone.

That's right, before 9/11, he separated the charity funds that belonged to him. Those that were the brand had to pay attention to the transparency of the accounts to be able to deal with all kinds of inspections. After that, taking advantage of the Red Cross scandal after 9/11, he made his already good charity funds even more famous in one fell swoop and further deepened the supervision. Therefore, those charity funds that could be placed in the light of the sun were basically impeccable, which was why he could publicize them in the salon.

As for the charity plan that he teamed up with Gates and Buffy to donate half or more of his wealth, that was a coincidence. After Claude's wedding, he accompanied his uncle back to New York and stayed there for three days. Coincidentally, he met these two at a party in New York. After chatting for a while, Adriaan thought that some things would happen sooner or later, so he brought the topic up. Although he and Gates were only acquaintances, because of their relationship as Gates' uncle, he was quite familiar with Buffy, so they reached a preliminary agreement smoothly.

Of course, this preliminary agreement was still a bit crude. Even though they exchanged opinions on the phone later, there was still a long way to go before a formal draft. But this did not prevent Adriaan from using it at the salon to make himself look better. Anyway, he was determined to join in. His daughters did not need such a huge amount of wealth. It was enough to keep some of it. If he wanted to start a business, he had so many connections.

Besides, what was a charity fund? Rich people understood it. Even for people like Gates, Buffy, and Adriaan, as long as it played a part in charity, it was fine.

"If you're too careless, it's easy to cause problems." Ivanka's faint voice came from the other side of the phone.

"I know … Okay, then I'll leave it to you. Keep an eye on them for me, Yini." Adriaan thought about it and said so.

"I knew it." Ivanka snorted. "Okay, but you have to make the specific decision. I will send you the relevant information as soon as possible. Also, how do you plan to reply to Miss Kournikova?"

"Did she call the office? I remember ESPN's new magazine has agreed to invite her to be on the cover and do an exclusive interview. "Adriaan was a little surprised.

"Yes, but she obviously wants to keep in touch with you." Ivanka's tone changed. "Frankly speaking, your taste is getting stranger and stranger. Eide, what's so fun about that Slavic woman?"

"She's a tennis player!" Adriaan laughed. Now, Ivanka was like Charlize. She could say anything. "Let me think. Secretary, actor, singer, director, producer, host, gymnast. It's not bad to change my taste occasionally. Of course, it's just a change. Politely reject her for me."

"You bastard." Ivanka immediately gritted her teeth and hung up.

Adriaan could not help but smile at her little temper. It seemed that another younger beauty in the tennis world was slowly moving again. In fact, she was his target from the beginning. However, after Anna Kournikova withdrew from Wimbledon due to injury the year before last, she probably realized that her sports career was beginning to go downhill, so she had been desperately trying to find her commercial value for more than a year.

After ESPN released its own sports magazine, although it could not compete with Sports Illustrated, it had the support of AC Media and the influence of ESPN itself. So, Kournikova's agent came to fight for a contract. Just at that time, Adriaan came back from Cannes, so he beat around the bush and said that he wanted to talk to Miss Kournikova. If he did not play soon, it would expire.

What happened next was much simpler. So what if she had a boyfriend? For Kournikova, who was already focused on making as much money as possible, it was just a matter of a cheque. Of course, Adriaan did not do it too openly. He rarely did it, and he hinted that he would keep it a secret. So, he received high-quality rewards from the tennis beauty, such as playing tennis together in her own tennis court, which then turned into hand-to-hand combat.

Now it seemed that she enjoyed it, otherwise she would not have called to invite him. Well, of course, she might have other ideas, but unfortunately, he had no further interest. He did not know how the younger beauty in the tennis world would fare. It would be even more interesting if she could fight the twins alone.

After all, a playboy was a playboy. Even when he was carrying out his most important plan, he still could not forget to flirt with other women. Besides Kournikova, there was another one. The word lawyer had to be added to his list of professions.

"Hi, Eide, I heard your voice at the door. Who are you calling?" A warm body hugged him from behind, and a pair of hands moved down his pectoral muscles, all the way to the space between his legs.

"Josephine." Adriaan suddenly took a deep breath and called out the woman's name.

"Who asked you to stand here without any clothes on?" A typical Northern European woman's face appeared in front of him. Blonde straight hair and azure eyes made her look sexy and beautiful. "You haven't answered. Who are you calling?"

"My secretary — you should have met her — handled some work. Are you satisfied?" Adriaan blinked, then frowned. "You really want to continue? Aren't you afraid of me, huh? "

Josephine smiled and did not speak. She even licked the corner of her mouth teasingly, and the movements of her hands became more intense. Her name was Josephine Nordgreen, which was an ordinary name. However, she had a sister. Her twin sister was called Irene Nordgreen, and her sister's husband was called Tiger Woods.