After the Thanksgiving holiday, the Christmas holiday arrived. In addition, the momentum of "Spiderman" began to slow down, so the box office war was still fierce. For example, MGM, which had been reduced to relying solely on the "James Bond" series, released the 19th movie about the legendary MI6 agent James Bond: "Black Sun Crisis"!
The role that should have made Sophie famous in Hollywood had to be abandoned because she was pregnant by Adriaan. Then, Zeta Jones got the role under Adriaan's recommendation. Although the production and investment of this movie had nothing to do with him, with Adriaan's current fame and identity, it was very easy for him to recommend an actor. The villains were basically vases, and he could also buy some face for the miracle director. Why not?
Zeta Jones' performance was no worse than Sophie's. They each had their own sexy and enchanting points, which Adriaan knew very well. In comparison, the female lead played by Zeta Jones was sexier, and at the same time, her viciousness was more prominent, fully explaining the meaning of a snake and scorpion beauty. Although the Sophie in his memory was also very good, she was indeed a little worse in this aspect. However, her melancholy temperament made people unable to hate her, even if she had done too many bad things.
"That's the difference." Adriaan, who attended the premiere of "Black Sun Crisis", said so after watching the movie. Then, he celebrated Zeta Jones's performance.
Of course, there were also similarities. The villains were still better than the good ones. It had to be said that Denise Richards was indeed one of the worst Bond girls. Many critics praised Zeta Jones, and many praised Brosnan, but only a few praised Richards. The New York Post even called "Black Sun Crisis" the worst James Bond movie in 25 years.
However, this did not extinguish the enthusiasm of the fans. The James Bond series had cultivated a large number of loyal fans over the decades. Plus, the quality of the movie was not really bad, and there was the gimmick of the first Bond girl to die under Bond's gun. Therefore, after the movie was released, it immediately topped the North American weekend box office.
Even so, "Black Sun Crisis" did not break 100 million in three days like "Spiderman" did. Therefore, even if it continued to be popular, it could not stop other film companies from taking a share of the market. "Notting Hill" was released at this time.
As the last installment of Julia Roberts's love quintet, Adriaan had already made her an iconic figure in America. Of course, this was how Adriaan and Julia called it. To the public, it was still another romantic comedy masterpiece by Julia. "Notting Hill" had received a lot of attention since the start of filming. Needless to say, there were a lot of gimmicks, such as a big star playing a big star, or a fairy tale love story between a big star and a small character. However, the most eye-catching thing was Julia's 20 million salary.
She was the first actress to enter the 20 million club. Not many male actors could get such a high salary, and because of the inherent disadvantage of women, it did not mean that the 20 million club was open to them. No matter what, it was something worth writing about. More importantly, although the crew offered 20 million, it was still unknown whether Julia was worth it. If "Notting Hill" suffered a big loss at the box office, even if she entered the 20 million club, she would have to quit immediately. Therefore, many people were waiting to see a good show.
"Let them wait and see." Adriaan, who was accompanying Julia to the premiere, said to his woman.
Inspirational stories were always popular, especially those that were close to life, and a small character hugging a big star was exactly this type. Even if the possibility of this happening in reality was very small, there were still many people who liked to see it. What's more, Adriaan also had a cameo role in the movie, as the selfish producer boyfriend of the female star Anna in the movie.
In the original version, this role was also an actor, but since it was Adriaan's cameo, of course it should be replaced by the producer. Although he only appeared for a few minutes, when he came out, the guests who knew him at the premiere exclaimed in a low voice, full of curiosity. Even Julia, who was sitting next to him, could not help but laugh.
"Looks like I acted very well, Julie. I can't believe I made you so happy." Adriaan teased, but Julia rolled her eyes.
Frankly speaking, his performance was actually very good. Adriaan had always made cameos in his own movies, unlike Stan Lee who completely treated himself as a living prop. This time, Stan Lee's cameo in "Spiderman" was not cut, and he played an old man who Spiderman swung past. Adriaan's cameos were always very important. For example, the man who listened to Argan's conversation on the bench in "The True Story of Argan", or the boss who warned Neo who was still Anderson in "The Matrix". His acting skills were relatively better, and he fully showed the frivolous side of the producer.
"You're just playing yourself," Julia said to him half-sarcastically. Of course, she paid the price later.
This was an excellent gimmick. The scandal between Adriaan and Julia was already well-known, and he even held Julia's arm to attend the premiere that night. Although they were on the red carpet in front of countless reporters and cameras, they still avoided certain questions, but their faces clearly said: Yes, we're in a relationship, but we won't admit it.
Therefore, when they saw this scene, most people felt happy and excited, especially since Hugh Grant's current fame was far less than "in the past." Unconsciously, the audience substituted the real identities of the three of them. Then, the gossip tabloids even made up a large plot of the emotional entanglement between Grant, Julia, and Adriaan during the filming of "Notting Hill."
Although they didn't dare to go too far, some things were obvious to all. Even a media mogul wouldn't care if they wrote a few lines based on this, right?
Of course, Adriaan didn't care. This was equivalent to a free advertisement for "Notting Hill." Besides, the plot didn't affect anything. Most film critics gave high marks. Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of AC Media, even gave the film a fresh rating of 84%. The Chicago Tribune thought the film was very cheerful, and the dialogue was full of wisdom. The Los Angeles Times said that Julia and Grant were very compatible in the film.
Although the first-week box office seemed to be a disappointment to the reviews, with only around 26 million yuan, this was just the beginning. Which romantic comedy of Julia's wasn't a long-term success? It was only a matter of time before the North American box office broke 100 million.
"See, everything is going according to plan, dear. And next year, I'll be directing it for you personally. Are you ready?" Adriaan said proudly to Julia.
Of course, that was all for next year. Even if there was only half a month left, it was still better to release this year's film that had been prepared for a long time first.
This film was, of course, "La Belle Legend of Sicily," which Adriaan had carefully revised for Monica's Oscar run. For such a literary work, it was really not a good time to release it in December. Although there were many literary films that chose to be released at this time, they all had a certain box office base.
For example, "American Beauty." Although it was also a literary film, it was about the story of the American middle class, which could resonate with many people. As long as one continued to watch it, they would gradually be attracted. Although "La Belle Legend of Sicily" was produced by Director Miracle, it was still a story about Italians. Even if the plot was more perfect and there was a lot more story, it couldn't change this fact.
When a film was produced, it was either for the box office or for the awards. Even the artistic fundamentalist directors in Europe, who did not dare to make films without a specific theme, wanted countless people to recognize them when they produced something — even if they pretended that they did not need others to recognize them.
However, it was not that easy to win an award, and there was no need to go into detail about it. If he could not win an award and did not have the most basic box office, he might as well go to Europe and become a maverick director. To put it bluntly, he would be a sensationalist director.
However, if a literary film wanted to compete for the Oscar, it had to be released at the end of the year, so that its name would constantly ring in the ears of the judges. So what should it do? There were two ways. One was to release it at the end of October and the beginning of November, avoiding the popular schedule of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. The other was to select pre-screening at the end of December to qualify for the competition, and then release it to the public after this period.
Both methods had their pros and cons, and the choice was up to the producer. In fact, Adriaan hoped that "La Belle Legend of Sicily" could be released in late October, so he would have enough time to slowly influence it. However, he had spent most of the year in New Zealand producing "Lord of the Rings." Therefore, although "La Belle Legend of Sicily" finished filming last year, it did not finish the post-production until the end of 1999. In the end, he had to choose the second plan.
It didn't matter, it was just a little more troublesome, not a big deal. Of course, there would not be a premiere.
"Look, this place is full of people. They obviously think this film is worth watching." Sitting in the pre-screening theater, Adriaan whispered to Monica, who had recovered well after childbirth.
No matter what, this was the work of Director Miracle, and it was the first film he produced in the past year. Plus, it was only being released in one theater, so naturally, it was full of people.
On the big screen, more than one-third of the plot had passed. The cameraman that was chosen did a good job, and he completely met Adriaan's requirements. Although Monica did not appear in many scenes, the sexy and amorous feeling in her bones was completely revealed. Especially in reality, Marlena was completely different from the Marlena in the male protagonist's imagination.
In reality, Marlena was sexy and dignified. Even if boys were whistling at her behind her, even if she was stared at by many men on the street, she could still walk on the street calmly, making people want to violate her at the same time. In the male protagonist's imagination, Marlena's sexiness was endlessly provocative, as if beckoning the other party to come quickly.
This formed a strong contrast and left a deep impression on people. But it would be a big mistake to think that was all. Soon, one of the four most classic scenes related to Marlena that Adriaan designed for the whole film arrived.
Because her husband had gone to the battlefield, some men began to harass her, and the women in the town were jealous and hated her, so they took her to court for seducing her husband. No lawyer was willing to defend her, except for a terrible old man. His defense was that it was because Marlena was too beautiful, and beauty was innocent. The court accepted this explanation and declared Marlena innocent. Then the obscene old man took Marlena that night.
When she sat in the middle of the court, her eyelids were lowered. Although she tried to look calm, the unspeakable sadness surging in the corner of her eyes made people feel very sorry for her.
But this was just the beginning. Then the situation became worse and worse. When the news of her husband's death came, her old father broke off relations with her, and then died in an air raid. Marlena lost all her sources of income. If she wanted to live, there was only one way.
This was another classic scene, and also the most proud modification that Adriaan made for this film. At the beginning, there were countless NGs.
Marlena, who had made the decision, sat in front of the sewing machine and sewed the clothes bit by bit. Her mouth was slightly trembling, and her eyes were filled with refusal and unspeakable sadness. Tears rolled down her cheeks silently. One, two. She loved her husband deeply, and she had always believed that he would come back, but now she had to take the initiative to do something that would let him down.
Monica, who had made numerous NGs here and even argued with Adriaan, interpreted this scene almost perfectly. The close-up of the tears flowing down her cheeks had a strong appeal. Not only was there a low sigh in the theater, but even Monica, who was sitting next to Adriaan, couldn't help but hold his hand tightly. Her eyes were fixed on the big screen, and her chest was heaving.
Adriaan patted her hand to comfort her, and then he let out a long sigh in his heart. It was very correct to let Monica perform completely with her body.
When Marlena, who was wearing heavy makeup, appeared in the town square, sat down, and took out a cigarette, countless lighters were extended to her from the hands of various men. They were all excited that their dreams were about to come true. Only the male lead, Renado, who had been watching Marlena's every move, felt the sadness in her heart. Unfortunately, he could do nothing but watch her socialize with those men, and finally get into the German's car.
Although he was also overwhelmed by hormones, although he was also full of lust for Marlena, and because of this, he peeped into her life and stole her underwear, but he was far more real, pure, and beautiful than those men. Even if his father had no choice but to take him to a brothel and use this method to comfort him, he still chose a plump prostitute and imagined her to be Marlena.
Even here, Adriaan still did not show any revealing scenes in the film. He did not need to be too straightforward like the European directors, who were too straightforward to the point of not having any standards at all. The most attractive part was the implicit temptation. Of course, a technique was used here. At the beginning, it was another actress, and then in post-production, Monica's face was dug out with a computer and pasted on it.
Then, the US army arrived, and the third classic scene appeared in front of the audience. When the US army arrived, the jealous women in the town immediately dragged Marlena out of her room, thinking that she was serving the German army. They beat her, abused her, tore her clothes, and cut off her hair. They forgot all the pain she had suffered, and they only wanted to vent their anger caused by jealousy.
The rapid changes and shaking of the camera made everything seem more real. Marlena, whose clothes were not covering her body, and whose hair had been cut off in a mess, curled up on the ground and screamed in despair. It was unbearable to watch.
In the end, she was chased out by the town's women, and like a walking corpse, she boarded the distant train numbly. However, all of this fell into the eyes of the teenager, Renado.
Here, the plot changed again. Marlena's husband, Li Nuo, actually came back. Although he had lost an arm, he did come back alive. When he looked for his wife, he was loudly laughed at. Renado, who had been watching from the side, finally did what he should do. He told Li Nuo about Marlena's whereabouts in a covert way, and told him that no matter how much pain his wife had suffered, she had always loved him.
Finally, the end came. One morning, Li Nuo quietly walked through the town square with Marlena. He did not care about other people's gazes, and he held his wife's hand tightly. Marlena also leaned her head on her husband's shoulder, turning a blind eye to the shocked people around them. The two's calm appearance made people sigh with emotion, and the theater could not help but burst into low applause.
The last classic scene came. Marlena, who had moved into her own house and resumed her peaceful life, went to the market to buy things. Although she was no longer beautiful, had gained weight, and had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, the women still refused to talk to her. They whispered to each other like before, until Marlena took the initiative to greet her. "Good morning."
This was the first time Marlena had spoken clearly in the movie. The close-up of the camera focused on her face for a long time. There was no sadness or resentment, only calmness that had been smoothed by time. In an instant, the atmosphere became lively, and the women greeted her one after another. She had already become like them …
On the way back, Marlena's bag broke, and the oranges fell to the ground. Renado went up to help her pick them up, but he did not say anything. He just quietly watched her leave. Until the end, he did not officially appear in Marlena's life.
"La Belle Legend of Sicily" came to an end. After the subtitles, the lights in the theater lit up. After about five or six seconds of silence, there was a thunderous applause.
Those who could watch an artistic movie at this time were undoubtedly fans of this kind of movie. At the beginning of the publicity, it had already been stated that this would be a movie similar to "Howard Manor", so even if they were die-hard fans of Adriaan, they had to consider it. They all liked to find the meaning of life from movies, and in the face of such an outstanding movie, it was normal for them to unanimously applaud.
Even so, it was still a very honorable thing. After all, this was not a premiere, and the audience came from different streets, so they did not know each other.
"I said that this is a movie, and it's worth watching." Adriaan, who had hidden his body, patted Monica's hand and said softly. Monica responded with a faint but emotional smile.
