Chapter 895

At the beginning of the new year, commercial blockbusters were no longer released every week during the Christmas period, and the market began to fall. In addition to the movies that continued to make money, various companies also began to consider their arrangements for the new year, such as the movie schedule, the upcoming awards, the investment and production of new movies, and so on.

Adriaan was no exception. He was now eager to find someone to take over Cameron's position and set up the framework for the next two "Transformers" films.

It was not easy, very difficult. Cameron had done the first film very well. Not to mention anything else, the film had so far earned 1.1 billion at the global box office! And some regions had not gone offline yet. Whether or not it could reach 1.2 billion in the end, it was still an amazing record. Although it was almost half of the two billion for "Titanic", it was undeniable that the two highest-grossing movies in the world were produced by James Cameron.

Thinking about the original, the worldwide box office was only a little more than 700 million, and it almost doubled. Cameron really lived up to his name. In the face of such an insurmountable mountain, which could be compared by film critics and fans at any time, and the box office was the most obvious evidence, anyone would have to weigh themselves before taking over.

The person Adriaan considered the most was Michael Bay. At least he knew what the audience wanted to see, and even if the plot was flawed, he could use other means to attract the audience's attention. As for the plot, after the Harry Potter series, he had realized that it was impossible to maintain the quality of the series at the same level.

It was just that, firstly, it was not easy to take over Cameron's position, and secondly, Michael Bay himself did not like to take on sequels — he had probably realized that if he took on sequels, he would inevitably be compared to the previous directors, and he did not like that feeling. However, many things had not been going well for him in the past few years. After he parted ways with Bruckheimer, the few movies he produced had all lost money, but the horror films that he invested in with Bosworth had been profitable. Perhaps he could make an issue of that? And he had a good relationship with DreamWorks …

In the end, Adriaan decided to let someone contact him for the time being and see how he reacted. Then, he turned his attention to his own movie.

Because the film company did not particularly care about the January schedule, the previous pre-screening movies would basically be released around this time, so "Out of Control" was set to be released in mid-January. Because many film critics had watched and written reviews during the pre-screening, it did not cause too much of a stir. But because of this, the debate about the movie never stopped, and it was divided into three camps.

First of all, there were the professional film critics. They were all very serious about the movie, and their opinions were similar. Natalie's acting was very good, and there was an inexplicable sense of awe in it. But the whole movie was controlled well, and the suspense was hidden until the last moment. But the details that had been handled well, had been handled well. Out of control was that compared to Adriaan 'work.

Then there were the fans, Adriaan and Natalie. Rational fans would analyze the story and the acting, but die-hard fans would always find a point of view to prove that their idol was the best. Especially Natalie's fans. Those who liked her because of "Star Wars" and because of Amidala were very fanatical. Her performance in "Out of Control" was also very wonderful, so there were always some words praising her on the Internet.

Third were the people who attacked for the sake of attacking. There were all kinds of people, and they all had one thing in common, which was that they hated Adriaan. So, as long as they could find a loophole in the director's work to criticize him, they would be very happy. Plus, there were people adding fuel to the fire, so the momentum was not small. As for the purpose of Adriaan's making "Out of Control", they were the most publicized. Previously, with his actions in the past few years, it was not difficult to guess at all.

So, "Adriaan bought the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences?" This kind of headline had been circulating on some websites for a long time, and there was no need to explain his purpose. The die-hard fans naturally wanted to defend their idols. In their opinion, not to mention a few awards, they could even give all the Oscars to Adriaan or Natalie. As for the film critics, well, this kind of thing had nothing to do with their profession, so there was no need to pay attention to it.

Adriaan also did not pay attention to it. This might make him a little passive in the public opinion, but it really did not make much of a difference. If he was the boss of a film company, or just a producer, he might be troubled by this, but don't forget, he was a media mogul.

Therefore, the effect of these tricks was at most half of what it usually was. At this stage, he was already prepared for whatever he was going to face, and no one could stop him.

"Everything is settled. All you need to do now is wait patiently, my dear Nada," Adriaan said in a joking tone, caressing the body in his arms.

Natalie, whose eyes were half-closed, made a few meaningless noises. She was still immersed in the aftertaste of the previous scene, so naturally, she could not hear the teasing tone in his words. Adriaan did not say much. He lowered his head and kissed her soft lips, then began to tease her up and down again.

Of course, in reality, there was still one thing that needed to be done. It was not easy, but it was not impossible.

Bang! A gunshot rang out, and a black-tailed deer fell in the bushes in the distance.

“yes！” Adriaan, who was dressed in hunting clothes, put down the shotgun, clenched his fists, and waved them in the air. There was indeed a look of excitement on his face. Then, he gestured for someone to go over and pick up the deer.

"I have to say, well done, Eide. It's a pity that there are only three forks. If there were five, it would be perfect." John Campbell, who was also dressed in hunting clothes, put his hands in front of his eyes and looked into the distance.

On the winding hills, at a glance, there were large patches of shrubs under the tall oak trees, which made the surroundings look full of vitality. This was the San Antonio Valley Nature Reserve in southern California, one of the most famous hunting spots on the West Coast. Every October to January, many people would come here to hunt wild deer. However, not many people came to the east where Adriaan and Campbell were now, because it was not open to the public. Of course, for a big shot like Adriaan, this was not a problem.

"It's okay, I've found the feeling. From now on, this will no longer be your exclusive area," Adriaan said proudly, then asked someone to load the shotgun.

"Is that so?" Campbell laughed. "I admit that your marksmanship is very good, Eide, but if you want to hunt prey, not only do you need good marksmanship, you also need patience, tenacity, and a little luck."

As he spoke, he glanced at the prey that belonged to him, which was put together in the distance. There were about three wild deer, which was a pretty good harvest.

"Good marksmanship is the foundation." Adriaan smiled. "It's just like if you want to win an award for a movie. Although the decisive factors lie in many aspects, quality is always the foundation. Without this foundation, everything is just an illusion."

Campbell did not reply. After checking his shotgun, he walked forward. "I hope to hunt a wild boar. Here."

Adriaan did not care. He followed and continued, "You know, guns and cars are men's favorite things. I'm no exception. Other than collecting cars, I'm also a member of several top gun clubs. I've played with many famous guns. Maybe they're not the best, but they're enough for me to hunt my prey after I'm familiar with them, and …"

He smiled meaningfully. "My luck has always been good."

Campbell still did not answer. After walking for a long distance to the raised hills, he raised his binoculars to look at them and shook his head. Then, he turned to Adriaan and sighed. "What else do you want, Eide? You've achieved your goal. I can reveal some news. The academy is debating about 'The Pianist'. You only need to give it a little push, and you'll get what you want and achieve something no one else has ever achieved. "

He knew very well that Adriaan did not invite him to hunt in the San Antonio Valley Nature Reserve just for the sake of hunting.

"Of course!" Adriaan, who was also holding a shotgun and following behind him, replied in a relaxed tone. "I've prepared for so long not to fail, but — don't you think 'Out of Control' is also a good movie? Don't you think Natalie's performance in it is the highest level of her acting career? "

"Oh?" Campbell immediately raised his eyebrows, revealing a look of interest. "It looks like you really like that girl, Eide."

"Natalie is an outstanding actress. I think she deserves her own reward," Adriaan said calmly.

"No, no, no, Eide." Campbell shook his head. "Even ten years ago, it would still be impossible for her. You should understand that perhaps the academy would be willing to see the first actress to win the Best Actress Award in a row, but it would never be a young woman like her."

"But she's a very good template, the template that Hollywood wants the most." Adriaan said leisurely, "This is good for enhancing the image of Hollywood and even the entire film industry."

"I know what you mean. Every year, there are countless young people who graduate from high school or don't even have a high school education who want to come here to seek a job and seek opportunities to become famous. But only a small number of them can appear in movies and TV series, and then a small number of them can get official roles, and then a very small number of them can become famous, and most of them are just …" Campbell shrugged. "So in the eyes of the public, or the conservative people, Hollywood is a place of decadence, and the stars are shallow people who don't even have higher education. This place is full of bad girls."

He paused and then looked at Adriaan. "Indeed, this is a problem. Although Dante said to go his own way and let others say it, we all know that image is very important, especially for a huge entity, but —"

Campbell changed the topic. "It's not like there aren't any stars with high academic qualifications. Why must they choose Natalie?"

"It's not just a matter of high education, John." Adriaan was still as calm as ever. "In my opinion, the template we need should be this: smart, highly educated, temperament, and acting skills. Her appearance is not so beautiful that it's easy for people to ignore other aspects, but she still has to be attractive. So, she should be a child star. She doesn't need to be too popular, but she must be controversial. Secondly, she doesn't need to be too beautiful, but she must have temperament and character. Thirdly, she should have a high education, preferably from an Ivy League school. Lastly, the roles she has played must show both the weak side of women and the strong side of women. "

Campbell, who was stunned for a few seconds, showed a surprised expression, and then sneered. "I have to say it again, Eide, it seems that you really like that girl. You actually … went through so much trouble and spent so much effort. Don't tell me you prepared this more than ten years ago?"

"You think I'm talking about Natalie?" Unexpectedly, Adriaan raised his eyebrows and laughed. "No, no, no. Wrong, John, wrong!"

The corners of his mouth curled up high, and with cunning insight, he said, "I'm not talking about Natalie. I'm talking about — Jodie Foster!"

That's right. As one of the most accomplished female stars in Hollywood, Jodie Foster fit all the requirements that Adriaan had mentioned. She began her career as an advertising model at the age of three, and became famous as a prostitute in Scorsese's Taxi Driver in 1976. This role made her the most popular child star at that time, and it brought about so much controversy that a few years later, someone even tried to assassinate the president for her.

After that, she entered Yale University and majored in literature. Her thesis on the black female writer Toni Morrison also made her gain considerable attention in her major. Although there were a few ups and downs after the assassination, many people thought that if "Calamity of Rose Flowers" and "The Silence of the Lambs" were consecutive, she might have become the first actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress in a row.

It was precisely because of these two movies that Foster became the spokesperson for strong women. Coupled with her independence, she was considered a unique sight in Hollywood. So even if she wasn't a standard beautiful woman, and her face was a little square, her temperament was indeed very attractive.

Of course, Natalie fully met these conditions, which was why Campbell asked without hesitation. However, after getting Adriaan's answer, he wasn't particularly surprised. He just remained silent and raised his binoculars from time to time to look for prey. Adriaan wasn't in a hurry and waited patiently by the side.

"Do you know why it's Jodie Foster?" After a long time, Campbell finally asked. Then, before Adriaan could answer, he gave the answer. "Because she's gay."

Adriaan opened his mouth, but nothing came out. This was indeed a problem. In fact, when he said those things before, he had intentionally or unintentionally overlooked an important condition.

The birth of a child star showed that Hollywood had a sound system for creating stars. Not every child star would eventually become depraved and fade into the crowd; a high degree showed that not all Hollywood stars were shallow and ignorant; a woman who wasn't considered pretty but had an elegant temperament showed that Hollywood didn't judge people by appearance; and a female's weakness and strength could be shown through the right role, so that a female star could present an image that was in line with the mainstream of society.

In addition, there was one more point. There couldn't be too much gossip, so as to show the stars' purity. As a lesbian, Jodie Foster's private life was extremely low-key. The paparazzi were never omnipotent, not to mention that she was favored by Film School and was one of the images of Hollywood. So even though countless people suspected that she was gay, there was no concrete evidence. So, she had always been the representative of strong women in Hollywood.

Although Natalie met all the other conditions, after the release of Out of Control, everyone could basically confirm her relationship with Miracle Director. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, everyone knew what kind of person Adriaan was.

Of course, since Adriaan had chosen to lobby Campbell for help, he must have considered all aspects of the situation. So, he quickly said, "For Foster, this is indeed an advantage, but many times, an advantage can also become a disadvantage. You know how many events GLAAD has held in the past two years, right? Two states have already allowed gays to marry, and in the future, more states will pass similar laws, even without Brokeback Mountain. So, more gays will be bold enough to reveal their sexual orientation to the public, and Foster will definitely be one of them. "

As mentioned a long time ago, the United States was generally a conservative country. Although gay organizations were popular in all kinds of movements, they were still on the fringes of society as a whole. It was just that the discrimination was not obvious. In this case, it didn't matter if Foster kept a low profile, but once he revealed his sexual orientation, even if everyone knew, the negative impact would be no less than Natalie's affair with Miracle Director.

"Some things are actually very easy to solve. As a normal female star, it's impossible not to have scandals. As long as it's within an acceptable range, it's fine. Anyway, Foster will be replaced sooner or later, and Hollywood has more than one template. So, why can't we let Natalie fill this empty spot? "Adriaan continued.

Campbell turned a deaf ear to him. He raised his shotgun and focused on aiming. From afar, a wild deer was buried between two oak trees, occasionally gnawing on something.

As for his attitude, Adriaan didn't take it to heart. It was normal. After all, Campbell's request was a bit ridiculous, and the awards he had won had put a lot of pressure on the Film school. Unfortunately, Adriaan never fought a battle unprepared. He still had a trump card that he hadn't used yet.

"Also …" Looking at the direction Campbell was aiming at, he spoke again, "Natalie isn't without an advantage. In addition to my support, she has something that no one else can compare to."

The corners of Adriaan's mouth curled up again, revealing his perceptive cunning. "She's from Jerusalem!"

Bang! A gunshot rang out, and the wild deer in the distance immediately ran away in fright.