Chapter 858

"Don't you think there's too little footage in this part? These undead warriors are rebellious. Even if Aragon is the heir of the royal family and wields the Holy Sword, it's not easy to recruit them. Besides, if we remove the pirate part, don't you think it's too sudden for Aragon to appear in Whitetown with his undead army? "Jackson asked anxiously.

"Yes, I admit that what you said makes sense, Peter, but we have to consider the whole picture." Adriaan was not dissatisfied. They had had this conversation countless times. Jackson was not a person with low EQ, but he liked Tolkien's novel too much. Otherwise, he would not have abandoned his work and shamelessly come here. Besides, he was only a director now, and did not need to look at things from the producer's point of view.

"There are three novels in 'The Lord of the Rings', and it's a huge world. It's indeed a great achievement to show this world to the audience, but a movie is only three hours long at most. I'm not David Griffith, and I'm not filming 'The Party Against Dissent'. It's impossible for the audience to bring cups, toothbrushes, and blankets to the cinema. So, it's necessary to make some trade-offs." Adriaan said unhurriedly. "Do you know, when I decided to adapt 'The Lord of the Rings' to the big screen, someone suggested that the investment was too big. Why not just compress the three books into one? Rohan and Gondor will become one country, Boromir and Falamore will become one person, Éowyn will become Aragon's sister, and Lord Elrond will be in charge of Galadriel's scenes."

"Really?" Jackson revealed a surprised expression, his face filled with disbelief.

"Yes." Adriaan smiled. Of course, it was true. These were indeed the difficulties that Peter Jackson had faced in the past.

"I didn't agree. It's too bad. If I did that, the essence of the entire book would be lost, and it would be a complete failure." He continued, and Jackson gave him a look of approval. "But what needs to be cut should still be cut. After all, it's impossible for us to film all the content. In the third movie, there are three key points: the Battle of Whitetown, the Battle of the Black Gate, and the trip to the Volcano of Doomsday. The three hours of the movie have to serve these three points, so there's no need to describe the undead army and the pirates. "

"… Indeed." Contrary to the expectations of the people around them, Jackson did not insist on his own opinion. He scratched his head and nodded.

However, this wasn't out of Adrian's expectation. Previously, such arguments had happened between them many times. Previously, even though he was younger than Jackson by a few years, no matter how many opposing opinions there were, Jackson would always do as he requested, and he would even do it well. Peter Jackson, who had yet to experience great success and was unable to extricate himself from the unprecedented joy, was more agile in his thinking. He knew how to observe moderation and be flexible. Naturally, he was more flexible.

Therefore, Adriaan had been taking good care of him. Apart from exploiting him, he did want to guide him down another path. Therefore, appropriate encouragement was necessary.

"But your opinion is also worth considering. In the future, we can release the director's cut on videotape or DVD. At that time, we can add in the judgment that we had to give up because of the length of the movie." Adriaan then said, "So, give me an opinion about this plot, Peter. It must be concise, and there are trade-offs."

"No problem!" Jackson was overjoyed. He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice. "By the way, Eide, I have a plan …"

The stuttering look on Jackson's fluffy face was rather comical, but Adriaan did not care. He raised his chin and gestured for him to speak.

"What do you think of the movie 'King Kong'?" After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked.

"It's a good sci-fi movie. To be able to reach that level in the 1930s was quite impressive, and it influenced many people. That's why there were so many remakes and sequels." Adriaan raised his eyebrows. He already knew what Jackson wanted to say. "Why, are you planning to remake it again?"

"Yes." Jackson nodded affirmatively. He looked a little excited. "Just as you said, to be able to produce that kind of effect in the 1930s was a very impressive thing. But technology is always improving. From silent to sound, from black and white to color. Now, the special effects of CG are more realistic and better. Why can't we enrich the movie with more gorgeous colors and make it more spectacular and realistic?!"

"It sounds like you're already prepared?" Adriaan asked with interest, rubbing his chin.

"Yes, I had this plan when I was still working on 'Spectre of Terror.' I also talked to many investors. Originally, there were already film companies interested, but there were other movies about monsters being filmed at that time. So, after a brief contact with Universal, they rejected it." Jackson sighed, a little depressed, but immediately looked at Adriaan with hopeful eyes. "I think, maybe you will …"

He was not a fool. He also knew that Adriaan had high hopes for him when he promoted him to be the team leader. Coupled with all the rumors about Miracle Director, he worked so hard and tried to make a request at this time. Of course, more importantly, Adriaan owned the various copyrights of "King Kong."

That's right, Universal Films had the rights to use King Kong's name and name, and Turner Broadcasting had acquired the movie library of RKO in the 1980s, thus obtaining the rights to remake and sequels of "King Kong." The two companies had also fought a lawsuit over the copyright of "King Kong." Now, after AC Media bought them separately, they no longer needed to quarrel over this issue.

Therefore, if Jackson wanted to remake the movie, as long as Adriaan agreed, everything would be fine.

"I'll think about it." Adriaan thought about it and said, "I promise, after 'Lord of the Rings' ends, we'll find a time to talk in detail."

"Thank you." Jackson smiled again. He believed that since Adriaan said so, he would definitely consider it.

In fact, Adriaan also wanted to see what kind of "King Kong" Peter Jackson could make without the inflated "Lord of the Rings" and the concept of special effects to serve the story. At the same time, Naomi's beautiful face flashed in his mind. The heroine would still be her.

The production of "Lord of the Rings" continued. With the addition of the fat Peter Jackson, the efficiency had improved a little, which made Adriaan's mind more active when the shooting ended in October. Of course, now was not the time. With the arrival of winter in the southern hemisphere, he had begun to reduce the frequency of the team's activities in the depths of the forest park. It would be terrible if there were any accidents along the way.

Therefore, for the next month, most of the scenes would basically be completed in the studio in Queenstown. At the same time, the actors would have more time to rest. Although Adriaan arranged the shooting phase very well, each actor could take turns to go home and rest. For example, the three heroines had to leave the crew again. However, because they needed to shoot the trilogy in one go, the few who had the most scenes — Mortensen, Wood, Davis, and Silver — still had a lot of work to do, so they were very happy about this hard-earned rest.

However, a new problem came with it. It happened that Gandalf had a lot of scenes, so McKellen was also on the crew. Therefore, during the break, the old man complained a little. It was very simple. He only went to gay bars, but almost no one in the crew went to gay bars except him, so he was a little bored there alone.

Although he could also go to ordinary bars with everyone, in the eyes of the old man, ordinary bars were equally boring and not open enough. Therefore, he often encouraged everyone to go to gay bars with him. Adriaan was also invited by him. Although he had been flirting with several women in the past two months, it was enough to tell everyone that he was not gay.

Surprisingly, a group of people really went with the old man several times, and Adriaan also participated once. In fact, gay bars were not as mysterious and reckless as ordinary people thought, and there were no men dressed as women. They were no different from ordinary bars, so there was no need to make a fuss. Even so, after seeing Wood and Silver dancing together on the dance floor, Adriaan almost choked. The two of them were the most … beautiful men in the crew — if men could be described as beautiful — standing together, they did sound like a good match.

Adriaan had only been there once, not because he was the director and the person in charge of the crew and had to ask a lot of questions, but because he had to receive many guests who came to New Zealand for vacation, such as Lavigne's family.

"This place is completely different from Canada, right?" Adriaan asked John Lavigne after taking them around the volcano in Dongariro National Park.

"Yes, it's very beautiful, somewhat similar to Canada, but with a completely different atmosphere." John nodded in response and waved to Judy, who was greeting the three siblings who were playing with each other not far away.

"You invited us here for a vacation," he said to Adriaan.

"It's nothing. It's winter here, and the filming progress is a lot slower, so I invited a lot of friends here for a vacation." Adriaan explained a little. "To be honest, your daughter is really good. She's improving very fast. Maybe she can consider releasing a single at the end of next year."

"Of course, she's always been very talented in music." John looked very happy to see the three siblings play, as if he was proud of his daughter.

However, Adriaan shook his head slightly. To be fair, John had done his duty as an ordinary father to Avril. At least he bought her a stereo and agreed to let her go to the market to sing. But it was just an ordinary father's duty, and Avril had tasted the "sandwich biscuits" many times. But now, she had improved a lot, especially after getting the signed albums of the two popular MCM Records idols for Matthew and Michelle. She was very proud in front of her brother and sister. As for the source of her improvement …

Lavigne's family didn't stay in New Zealand for too long. It was just a vacation, and they didn't need to stay for ten days to half a month. Avril was very lively and happy from the beginning to the end. After all, Adriaan invited her family because of her. However, Adriaan didn't talk much to her during that period. Instead, he chatted with John, who had watched "Lord of the Rings" before. No matter what thoughts he had, it shouldn't have happened now.

Then, the men in the crew began to sigh again, because the New Zealand crew was visited by another woman. Another woman who had flirted with Adriaan, even though they were two Asian women.

Yes, Asian women. They didn't expect this playboy to like all kinds of tastes. Luckily, they didn't come together. Otherwise, the men in the crew would have gossiped like the women.

The first to visit was Yuki Nakama. She had promised Adriaan before he left Los Angeles. They spent a few days together, and the hot springs in Auckland made Yuki Nakama miss Hokkaido and her hometown.

"There will be a chance. I will go back to Japan with you. It's been so long, and I miss it," Adriaan promised in the hot springs, and Yuki Nakama served him even more gently.

The second to visit was Lin Chi-ling. She didn't have many scenes in the movie version of "Resident Evil." Moreover, the filming had already ended a long time ago, and it was now in post-production for the release at the end of the year. So, she was still receiving acting training.

"There will be a good role soon, in the second half of the year. So, you have to work harder." When Adriaan was talking to Lin Chi-ling, the beautiful woman turned her body sideways and placed her hands on the floor-to-ceiling glass window of the hotel suite. She lifted one leg high and placed it on the man's shoulder, trying her best to cater to him. She worked even harder after he told her to work harder.

For a woman like her, being straightforward was always the best way. Moreover, she was Chinese, and if she wanted to make a name for herself in Hollywood, she could only rely on him.

If the arrival of Yuki Nakama and Lin Chi-ling had slightly triggered the nerves of the men in the crew, the women who arrived in New Zealand were enough to make them hit their heads against the wall.

"Your movies have a kind of magic. They always seem to show the beautiful and independent side of women," Motson said as he gazed at the woman in front of him.

"That's right. I have watched 'Pretty Woman', 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', and 'My Best Friend's Wedding' several times." Austin nodded, and many people echoed.

"Thank you. I'm glad to hear your compliments." Julia, who was sitting in the middle, nodded reservedly. She crossed her legs, her body was slightly slanted, and her iconic big mouth was slightly upturned, making her look very charming. "The scripts of these movies are very good, especially the characters. They fit me very well, don't they?"

The last word was said to Adriaan, with a hint of sarcasm. Adriaan smiled as if he didn't notice. "Of course, these roles were specially designed for you, my dear Julie."

There were a few faint sighs around them. A few quick-witted people had already figured out the reason for Julia's sarcasm. A big star who played all kinds of independent female characters in romantic movies was constantly involved with a playboy in real life. Was there anything more ironic than this?

This was also why the men in the crew wanted to hit their heads against the wall. Everyone knew that Julia was the first Miracle Girl and the only Miracle Girl who had been photographed having intimate scenes with Adriaan. Therefore, even though she had never worked with Adriaan, everyone knew that she was indeed worthy of the title. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible that she had not slept with Adriaan.

But here was the problem. If the two had only been together for a short period of time, or simply a one-night stand, it would have been a very normal thing. But looking at the situation today, Julia obviously knew that Adriaan had other women, but she still looked intimate with him from time to time. This was too …

Troubled by these thoughts, the people even suspected that the little Emma that was introduced to everyone was the daughter of Adriaan and Julia. The so-called irresponsible brother of Julia and his girlfriend who had a child was just an excuse.

"I have to say, Adriaan is really … admirable. He is the man I admire the most!" Davis, who always liked to summarize the works of the Miracle Girl, once again concluded.

Although so far only Julia, Blanchett, and Gwyneth had appeared, there was no doubt that every Miracle Girl was very likely to be the same. This kind of charm and ability … was really incomparable.

But some people didn't think so.

"Tell me, how many women have been here before me?" Julia, who was wearing sunglasses and a scarf with her hair tied up in a bun, asked while traveling under the crimson Ayers Rock. She exuded the charm of a mature woman.

That's right, they went to Australia, not just New Zealand. Anyway, the two countries were not far apart, and the private plane was on standby. More importantly, New Zealand's scenery was all on the south island, and in the past few months, Adriaan had almost traveled all over the south island. Moreover, the media under AC Media had begun to further disclose the filming location of "The Lord of the Rings" according to plan. In order to prevent a large number of reporters from swarming over, it was not a bad idea to go to Australia.

"Not much — do you really need to care about this?" Adriaan, who had his arm around her waist, laughed.

"Of course, this will help me understand your heart and your opinion of me." Julia snorted softly, and at the same time, there was a subtle sense of helplessness and confusion.

Adriaan promised that he would make her the first Best Actress of the 21st century, but until now, there had been no movement. Although producing in 2000 and participating in the 73rd Oscars was also within the scope of his promise, why couldn't it be earlier? It wasn't like he didn't have the ability. At the beginning of this year, he had both Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Blanchett nominated, and he had even let Kate Blanchett take the crown. It was really … indescribable.