"Every Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about how to decorate something new. It's not an easy task, especially when there are more and more family members. But overall, Thanksgiving has been pretty good in recent years, so I'm quite qualified, right? "Just as Adriaan was chattering, a sharp razor was pressed against his throat.
"Shut up, Eide. If you keep talking, I'll cut across," Kate said fiercely.
Adriaan immediately stopped talking and raised his hands in agreement. Then, Kate, who was kneeling in front of him, shrank slightly and carefully shaved off the white foam on his chin.
"It's refreshing. Your skills are still so good, Kate." After shaving, Adriaan rubbed his chin in front of the mirror. "But … I don't think it's necessary to keep this kind of old-fashioned razor. Of course, I'm not saying I want to change to an electric one, but it might be a good idea to use a short handle."
"Come on, Eide. You know I won't really cut it." Kate, who was washing the razor next to him, teased. "Although sometimes I do have such thoughts."
"Well, then should I thank Princess Anna, Selena, and Miss Krau for not killing me?" Adriaan teased as he hugged Kate from behind and rubbed his shaved chin on the back of her neck.
Kate rolled her eyes, turned around, and grabbed his collar. "You know what, Eide? I can sue you for sexual harassment just because of this."
"Oh?" Adriaan's eyes widened. "Are you sure? You know … "
"But we're not married." Kate sneered. "In order to play Qiao Qian well, I not only repeatedly read her experience, but I also learned about the relevant legal provisions on sexual harassment in detail. In addition, the definition of sexual harassment is much more detailed than the original ones."
"Okay, okay." Adriaan had to raise his hands again and play along. It was okay to satisfy her little sense of superiority.
"Go down. If I take too long, they'll think I'm cheating." Kate gritted her teeth and immediately walked out, but after a few steps, she stopped and turned back. She reached out and held Adriaan's face to take a closer look.
"I think you can try growing a beard. Maybe it will make you sexier," she said.
Stroking his chin, Adriaan nodded. "I can think about it."
Coming downstairs, the living room was a lively scene. Lily was running around noisily with Diva and Juliet, Eleanor was waving something behind them and giggling. Mary, who was a year younger than Eleanor, was sitting on the floor, pouting and ignoring everyone. Patricia and April were crying loudly, and Evelyn was sleeping soundly, even in such an environment. Carys was not there. She was probably taken away by her mother to feed her.
As for their respective mothers, the better ones like Sophie, Monica, and Blanchett were chatting by the side. The little ones were taken care of by the nannies and servants. They would only talk to them when necessary. The worse ones like Jessica, Julia, and Gwyneth had to spend time coaxing their children. Not only that, but there would also be accidents from time to time. For example, some things would be knocked over, some things would be broken, some little guy would fall, some little guy would bump into someone, and so on. If it weren't for the large number of nannies and servants, the house would definitely be in a mess.
Even so, it was not easy to relax. If the children were here, the mothers would come. Besides, Charlize, Sarah, Ivanka, and Yuji Hui all lived here. So … in short, whoever got the first piece of turkey cut by Eide might cause a silent confrontation. Especially this year, even the pregnant Nicole and Naomi came.
This was the Kewell family's Thanksgiving Day. It was a noisy, secret war, and they would have to do it again on Christmas Day. Sometimes, it was really asking for trouble, but Adrian never thought of canceling it.
"I don't deny it, but this is family life, do you understand?" Adrian said as he patted Lily's head, who was ready to sleep.
"But you and Mom are not married, nor are you married to the aunties." Lily made a face. "That's why the guys in school often laugh at me."
"Oh?" Adriaan raised an eyebrow. "Who's laughing at you?"
"Don't worry about it!" Lily waved her hand indifferently. "Since I punched a guy, this kind of talk has disappeared. Of course, I promise that even if the teacher knows, he will only stand on my side."
"Alright, you are indeed my daughter. However, there is only one thing you need to do now, and that is to sleep!" He pinched his daughter's cheek, then covered her with the quilt and turned off the bedside lamp. He kissed her forehead and said good night like before before leaving the bedroom.
That's right, family life. That's why Adrienne took the risk of having monthly get-togethers with her mothers and bringing them together on important holidays. However, even family life couldn't stop some things. It could even be said to add fuel to the fire.
"What you want is ready." After coming out of Lily's bedroom, Yuji Hui, who had been waiting outside, immediately bowed.
"Very good!" Adriaan nodded. "When the little guys are asleep, I will go over."
Then he thought of something and looked at Yuji Hui a few times. He smiled and let her turn a few times in front of him. Finally, he clapped his hands and said, "I changed my mind, Yuji Hui. Relatively speaking, 2D animation is still a bit too ethereal. So, I need you to play the role of Kasumi in DOA. Is that okay? Don't tell me that you don't have props. Don't think that I don't know that you have bought them. "
"So, is it Kasumi in love or Kasumi in prison?" After the surprise, Yuji Hui asked with a soft smile.
Adriaan didn't say anything. He just looked at her meaningfully. Yuji Hui waited for a few minutes, then bowed again. "I got it, I will go prepare now."
She was always so considerate and perceptive. Whenever the women at the party were in a stalemate, Adriaan would stay at her place and play some tricks. On this point, the women also tacitly agreed. First of all, Yuji Hui had always been submissive and had never offended anyone. Second of all, she was the only Asian here. At least on the surface, Adriaan stayed at her place for the night.
Not to mention the family matters, 2005 came to an end. Without the competition from AC Media, major film companies breathed a sigh of relief and received a lot of box office. Even so, "Amazing Magic", which was released after Thanksgiving, still achieved a good box office, even though it didn't have the opening and ending animation format. As a vase, Liv was once again praised and criticized by film critics.
"That's it, Liv. Continue working. Being a princess is very suitable for you." Someone teased.
In addition, there was a new Disneyland movie that was somewhat related to Adriaan. It was an adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by British author C.S. Lewis. The first person to target this novel series was Robert Shay, the CEO of New Line. Even without The Lord of the Rings trilogy, New Line's financial situation improved greatly under Adriaan's care.
However, this did not satisfy Shay. Which company's head did not want to produce more and more profitable movies? Especially when he saw that Miramax, which was also a subsidiary of AC Media, had made a huge profit from Pirates of the Caribbean, Shay couldn't sit still. This time, he didn't want The Golden Compass. This time, he wanted The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
However, this kind of thing usually had to be reported to the higher-ups. So, Adriaan came forward and suppressed it. Then, he recommended it to Disney and made a small deal.
"It's undeniable that C.S. Lewis's novel series is good, but it's not suitable to be adapted into a movie. Or rather, completely adapted into a movie. You have a good eye, Robert. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a good choice. As long as the movie reaches the standard of Hollywood, the box office won't be a problem. The real problem is the next movie. If we're not careful and deviate a little, the next movie will fail. This is my judgment. This series is relatively less connected to each other, "Adriaan explained to Shay, who was angry but didn't want to lose his temper.
Then, he gave the other party a sweet date. "Okay, Robert, I know what you're thinking. I can give you a series next year. The cost isn't high, but the returns will be amazing if it's done properly."
Shay understood what he meant. After struggling for a few minutes, he nodded and said, "I'll follow up."
Because of Adriaan's attention, a certain novel series had been officially published in the second half of this year through his publishing company. If things went well, it wouldn't be a problem to start preparing for the movie next year. It just so happened that the New Line needed a movie series, and Adriaan planned to give them one. This series, which didn't have a high investment but was highly profitable, was theirs.
However, there was no such thing as a free lunch. If this melodramatic series wanted to have a high box office, in addition to attracting a large number of young people who loved to fantasize, it also needed a lot of commercial operations. Therefore, Adriaan had to send a representative to follow up, so that he could give a few reminders at key points, and also intervene in the internal affairs of the New Line.
After all, although AC Media had acquired the New Line, Shay still had a part of the shares. Because of the original agreement, he had always been in the position of CEO, so the New Line had always been semi-independent. Therefore, even though Shay had always been honest and diligent, AC Media still hadn't given up the idea of controlling the New Line, and this was a good opportunity.
Shay understood this as well. Although he was reluctant, AC Media had always been abiding by the rules. They were also fair when it came to movie resources. He had seen the development of the company over the past few years, which was why he said, "I'll follow up." As long as Adrian did not go overboard, he would probably turn a blind eye to it.
Just like that, 2005 passed. Although many film distributors were happy that there was no competition from AC Media, they soon couldn't smile, because at the end of December, there were several films that had been pre-screened for the Oscars, such as Paul Haggis's "Tower of Babel." This film was very similar in technique and editing to "Crash," which won Best Film last year, so some film critics who participated in the film laughed at him, saying that he had no innovative ability at all. He had only upgraded the scope of the story from Los Angeles to the whole world, but most people still gave it a good review.
"Maybe when you watch it, you will feel that Haggis is completely forcing himself to arrange these coincidences, but there is no doubt that they are all portrayals of human helplessness in a difficult situation. The whole film is both depressing and brilliant, and Denis Knight and Jennifer Aniston also gave the best performance in history. Haggis deserves another Academy Award, "someone praised.
Indeed, not long after Haggis's version of "Tower of Babel" was completed, Adriaan watched it in a special screening room. Although, like "A Glass of Life," the edited scenes had almost no connection with the original version, Haggis used his own method to show the story. His mastery of the plot was better than that of "Crash," and the expression of the theme was not inferior to the original version.
It was worth mentioning that, although the plot of the Japanese version had been modified, Yuji Hui performed very well, especially when she couldn't keep up with the rhythm because of her deafness. In the end, the man she had finally hooked up with was stolen away by another woman. Her self-destructive feelings of loss and resentment were strongly transmitted to the audience.
Unfortunately, this was the United States, and the attention of the film critics was focused on Denis and Aniston, who also performed very well. Compared to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," this feeling was especially obvious, so Yuji Hui was ignored. But it didn't matter. Anyway, Adriaan's goal had been achieved. Next …
Haggis would have been the talk of the year in 2005, if it weren't for the pre-screening of another film. That's right, "Out of Control," directed by Adriaan, with Natalie as the main character.
This film didn't have a lot of publicity, and the trailer was only released after the middle of December. At that time, everyone was busy preparing for Christmas, but the posters of "Tower of Babel" had been put up everywhere two months ago. Even so, it still attracted a lot of attention. After all, the director and producer of this movie was the famous Miracle Director. At that time, "The Pianist" and the criticism of European filmmakers were still shining brightly, not to mention the new Best Actress, Natalie Portman, was the main character.
"This is an indescribable, atypical work of Director Miracle. It's not like Adriaan has never made a film with a female as the main character before. After Gwyneth was banned, he tried it in" The Female Devil. "Frankly speaking, I've always thought it was one of the worst works of Director Miracle. But this is the first time he has used a female as the main character in a thriller and suspense film. Unsurprisingly, Adriaan continued his precise grasp of the plot and the camera. Except for the first ten minutes and thirty to forty minutes, the film was basically compact. There weren't too many flashy scenes. The suspense was revealed at the last moment, and the audience couldn't help but sigh.
Natalie's performance is also unexpectedly wonderful. There's no trace of her passion as Joan Carter here. She's just a poor girl who's been hurt and lost in her own chaotic inner world. She's so devoted that she's almost integrated with the character. She deserves everyone's applause. Maybe, she can achieve even greater achievements. "
— — Richard Hansen, The New York Times
Good reviews were inevitable. Although it was a semi-original script, Adriaan had accumulated a lot of experience, and he had been thinking about it for a long time, so the overall standard was maintained at an average level. And because most of the characteristics of Natalie's character were almost a portrayal of herself, coupled with Adriaan's training during the filming, she performed at 150% of her standard. It would be strange if there weren't good reviews.
However, even though there were critics who gave good reviews, most people were focused on the other side. They weren't the ones who claimed that they could guess the ending from the beginning. Instead, they were focused on the female lead.
"As expected, Adriaan will always release another movie at the end of the year, and at least one actress will have a wonderful performance in it."
"Natalie's performance is indeed wonderful. Adriaan has once again made her play extraordinarily well."
"This is already the third time Natalie Portman has worked with Adriaan. It's also a minority among the Miracle Girls."
Ridicule, ridicule, envy, jealousy, gnashing of teeth, and so on. Director Miracle's direction, the female lead's wonderful performance, and the record of the past few years were enough to explain what Adriaan was planning.
This is ridiculous! Who does he think he is? Does he really think that Film school will listen to him?! Many people thought in their hearts, whether angry, hateful, or jealous.
However, thinking was just thinking. When it came to reality, they couldn't help but feel a little dejected. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Every time it looked like he wasn't going to get his way, he would always have the last laugh. Other things aside, the theme of "The Pianist" that he had released at Cannes this year, the anniversary of the victory of World War II, and how he had portrayed himself after that. Maybe the probability wasn't 100%, but what was the difference between 100% and 100%?
However, Adriaan didn't feel too proud about it. He was confident about the result of "The Pianist", but there was still some work to be done.
But he wasn't in a hurry. "Out of Control" hadn't officially been released yet, so he spent the New Year leisurely. As usual, he took his daughters to New York to visit his uncle. Of course, it was inevitable that he would be reprimanded. The daughters seemed to enjoy watching their fathers being reprimanded. The uncle seemed to have noticed this as well. After the initial comments on proper business, he began to act in an exaggerated manner. At this moment, a group of little ones, led by Lily, surrounded him, smiling as they watched their father deal with the scolding.
His aunt, who had always been protective of him, didn't say anything. She even smiled and teased, "It's nothing, Eide. You know, your uncle loves you."
"Yes, I know." At this time, Adriaan could only force a smile.
