Chapter 906

"Did you really agree?" Adriaan repeated, staring at the girl in front of him as if he still couldn't believe it.

Charlize didn't answer this time and just shrugged.

"Well …" He smiled bitterly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You should understand that I asked them to find you because I wanted you to say no to them."

"Oh?" Charlize raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Didn't you want to agree but were too embarrassed to say yes directly, so you asked me to do it for you?"

There was no doubt that she did it on purpose. Although Adriaan hated her to the core, he couldn't do anything about it. He stared at her for a long time before saying, "Why did you agree? You've never acted in a movie before. "

"They said that this role is just a vase and doesn't require much acting skills. When I was a secretary, I visited your set a lot. I've also produced some TV series in the past few years, so I'm very familiar with it." Charlize said in a light tone, "Besides, Kate and the others all have their own roles. I think I can give it a try."

"You can give it a try? Ha … "Adriaan rolled his eyes and scratched his head." Well, but don't forget, Charley, you're now the vice president of ABC. How can you have time to participate in a movie? "

"I haven't taken my annual leave this year, and Stan Lee promised me that Little Chili won't have too many scenes. It won't take more than a month." Charlize had a smile that he hated, as if he had won.

"I won't agree." In the end, Adriaan could only use this trick.

"It doesn't matter, as long as Krau agrees." Charlize then looked to the other side, at Claude, who had been sitting there and hadn't said a word since the beginning. He was playing a vertical pen game in boredom.

"Me?" After hearing himself being mentioned, he finally raised his head and made a thinking gesture without hiding it. Obviously, he hadn't been listening before. Then, he shrugged and looked at Adriaan with a smile. "No problem, I agree."

Hearing this, Adriaan's mouth suddenly twitched, and he asked with a black face, "Are you going against me, Krau?"

"No, no, no, Eide." Claude waved his hands and said with a smile, "I really think that Stan's suggestion is very suitable for you. Think about it, a genius, a billionaire, and a playboy in real life. How exciting would it be to play a genius, a billionaire, and a playboy in a movie?"

"In that case, why don't you try?" Adriaan retorted.

"I really want to, but the problem is that, first of all, I need to manage the company, and I don't have as much time as you. Second, I don't meet the third condition, and I don't have a close lover who went from secretary assistant to vice president." Claude smiled and shook her finger, then smiled apologetically at Charlize. Charlize made a gesture that meant she didn't mind at all.

"And …" Before Adriaan could speak, he said, "And most importantly, Eide, you are the brand of AC Media. You are already so dazzling. Do you want to cover up your own light? Why can't you be more dazzling? What's more, you can use this opportunity to instill another image in people. "

Hearing this, Adriaan, who was about to refute, couldn't help but be stunned. For the first time, he thought about it seriously. In fact, he didn't have any resistance to playing Tony Stark. In fact, he was even a little eager to try it. As Stan Lee and Claude said before, playing a genius, a billionaire, and a playboy was indeed a gimmick. Even Adriaan couldn't help but be tempted. This unprecedented feat was very much to his liking.

What's more, he respected Howard Hughes very much. He was a real genius, a technical genius. Even if such a person was full of eccentricities, he was everywhere. It was no wonder that Marvel created Tony Stark based on him. It was definitely not possible for Adriaan to play a real person, but it was not a problem to play a virtual superhero based on him.

The key was that before this, before winning Best Director three times in a row, he had always maintained a pattern of one foot in the front and one foot behind the scenes. Now, he was basically standing in the front. This situation had to be controlled. If he really wanted to attract attention, he could continue to find ways to win Best Director and become the person who won Best Director the most. He couldn't do it now, but he could do it in a few years.

So, even though Marvel described the prospects as very attractive, and he was indeed a little tempted, in the end, he had to refuse in a euphemistic way. However, he didn't expect Charlize to set him up and even help to pull Claude in. After hearing her affirmative answer, Adriaan really wanted to "teach" her a lesson on the spot.

However, Claude's words opened another door for him. After all, actors and directors were different. An excellent director didn't necessarily mean an excellent actor. This was a process from 0 to 1, not from 10 to 1,000. What's more, this was a commercial film. It had nothing to do with honor or Oscars. People would only find it interesting and incredible, not excessive.

At the same time, this could also allow Adriaan to appear in front of the public with a new image, especially since his characteristics were extremely similar to Tony Stark's. So why not agree?

"I have to admit, Krau, your proposal is very tempting, but …" Adriaan said unhurriedly. Unfortunately, he was interrupted. "Come on, Eide, can't you be more straightforward and answer 'yes'?"

Adriaan couldn't help but be a little angry. He glared at him before looking at Charlize. "Is this completely your opinion?"

"Well …" Claude couldn't help shaking his head with a smile. "Well, Charley persuaded me first, and then I … thought so."

Just as Charlize understood Adriaan, how could Adriaan not understand Charlize? Since she dared to set him up so blatantly, there must be a reason. Well, although most of it was definitely to tease him, this reason was indeed acceptable. Also … deep down, Charlize also wanted to appear in the film with him, so —

"Then let's do it this way. I'll make the film a little more interesting." Adriaan sighed, but when he said the last sentence, he smiled slyly and then muttered, "Damn, my Paladin is only level 30."

Basically, as long as Adriaan agreed, the matter was almost settled. However, there was still a long time before the start of filming, and a formal contract was essential, even if Marvel Comics was the parent company of AC Media. Not a single business rule was missing, otherwise, it would be very troublesome to argue in the future, even if there was a contract.

Moreover, any requests could be brought up for discussion at this time. Only after sufficient communication could they reach a consensus. For example, Adrian's request to not leak any information before the filming was completed. At the very least, they could not let the media know that he and Charlize were playing Stark and Chili Pepper respectively. Both Marvel and Universal agreed, but immediately offered a salary of two million, and hoped to sign at least four film contracts.

Of course, this was impossible, and Adriaan, who knew what they were planning, immediately refused. Two million was acceptable, after all, from the perspective of an actor, he was still a newcomer, but signing more film contracts was impossible. Although he knew that this was a series, and that the Iron Man trilogy and The Avengers had been arranged, it didn't mean that they could do whatever they wanted, so —

"Sign one film at a time, I can guarantee that the increase won't be too outrageous," Adriaan said to the group of people in Marvel.

Their purpose for looking for him, in addition to having enough gimmicks, was to save money. As mentioned before, if Adriaan acted as a newcomer, it wouldn't cost much, and it would be even better if they could negotiate for the next few films at this price. It sounded exaggerated, and Marvel even wanted to squeeze their own boss, but just think about how they 'used' to treat newcomers, and you would know that these guys were completely capable of doing it.

However, after all, Adriaan was not one of those newcomers, so two million was acceptable. In the future, depending on whether the box office was a hit or not, it would also be acceptable to gradually increase it to 10 million to 20 million, but the share would definitely be higher than others. Who knew better than him how popular the Iron Man series was?

In addition, after the initial formation of the crew, it was also necessary to hold a conference, otherwise, how could they cooperate? One could imagine the expressions on the faces of the crew, including the director and producer, when they saw Adriaan enter the conference room with Charlize and sit down in the male and female leads' seats.

"He … Hello, Mr. Kewell, I am … I am … Jon Ferru, you can call me Jon," the fat director stammered as he greeted Adriaan.

In the end, Marvel and Universal chose Jon Ferru as the director of "Iron Man". Firstly, his storytelling ability was not bad. Although "Game of the Brave 2" had failed last year, at least 60% of the responsibility was on the publisher. Secondly, and most importantly, he was relatively cheap, and Marvel was "stingy" enough to think about their own boss, so they naturally chose him.

What's more, this choice was approved by Adriaan. In his opinion, Ferru did a very good job. At least, as a superhero movie, Iron Man had all the elements it should have, and he had a good grasp of the theme, how an ordinary person or an ordinary genius became a superhero. Since that was the case, why not continue? Superheroes would always be superheroes, and commercial blockbusters would always be commercial blockbusters.

By the way, because of his interference, Kristen Stewart still starred in "Game of the Brave 2". She occasionally needed one or two films that did not do well at the box office.

"Hello, Jon, please call me Adriaan or Eide." Adriaan smiled and took the initiative to shake hands with Fei Ru and the others, and also introduced Charlize to them.

"Don't worry, Jon, you're the director of this movie, I'll listen to you," he said immediately. If there were people who had been holding onto a fluke before and thought that he had only chosen the wrong position, after this sentence, there was no doubt about it.

"Al … Okay … Sir … Oh, Eide …" Fei Ru could not help but smile bitterly.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Eide." Don Chandler, who played Stark's good friend, Colonel Rhodes, was slightly better, but he also had a bitter smile on his face.

Out of the entire crew, only Adriaan, who had chosen this role, interfered. Marvel had originally wanted to invite Terrence Howard, who had acted in many good movies and was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars. He was famous enough. However, compared to the top black movie stars, such as Denzel Washington and Will Smith, his value was much lower, so he was a very good choice.

However, Adriaan asked Barkley and the others, what if Howard asked for a pay increase after this movie, a pay that exceeded their bottom line? Therefore, they chose Don Chandler, who was cheaper and had more room to move around.

At that moment, not only Fei Ru and Chandler were upset, but the others also secretly rolled their eyes in unison. As one of the giants of Hollywood and a legendary figure known as the "Miracle Director", it would not be a big deal if he was working with him as a director, but as an actor … Even if Adriaan did not do anything, just standing there was enough to make many people tremble.

"Sorry, everyone, I'm a little late." Marvel's Kevin Figo and Universal's Ron Meyer arrived at the conference room, and the meeting began.

Generally speaking, this was no different from the usual preparation meetings. It was just a mutual exchange, a preliminary understanding of each other, and a confirmation of the start time. However, with Adriaan around, no one could truly calm down, especially when Figo and Meyer personally admitted that the "Miracle Director" would play the role of Tony Stark. The last glimmer of hope was shattered. There were still a few days left until April 1st.

Of course, a bigger blow had yet to come. Although Adriaan had introduced Charlize to everyone, it was only a simple introduction. None of the people present read business magazines, so when Figo revealed Charlize's identity, they were once again thrown into chaos. They basically thought that Charlize was Adriaan's new lover and that the "Miracle Director" had planned to use this movie to promote her. They did not expect that this beautiful and somewhat cold woman was not only one of the shareholders of VI Network Group, but also the vice president of ABC.

What the hell?! A billionaire wasn't enough, and now a billionaire woman was involved! What were Marvel and Universal trying to do? This was what all the crew members were thinking.

"Although Ms. Theron has never acted in a movie, she has produced many shows and TV series. She has a lot of experience in acting. Whether it's secretarial assistant or company management and operations, she has a lot of experience, so … don't worry too much." In the end, Figo had to cough to ease his embarrassment.

But after this sentence, some of the quick-witted people guessed something, but they were not sure, so Adriaan quickly spoke.

"Here's the thing, before Charley went to work as a management at ABC, she worked as a secretarial assistant for seven to eight years. You know, even though I've made cameos in many movies, I don't have much acting experience. So I thought that if there's someone who knows me well but doesn't have any acting experience, I might be able to immerse myself in it faster. So I thought of Charlie. It just so happened that Charlie doesn't have too many things to deal with at the moment, so I agreed to play this role, "he said straightforwardly, sounding rather dignified.

Well, since this beautiful woman had been his secretarial assistant for seven to eight years, there was no doubt that she was one of his many lovers. Then, since a billionaire was invited to play the role of a billionaire and a playboy to play the role of a playboy, why couldn't he invite a secretarial assistant to play the role of an assistant? This … was really a big deal. If this news were to spread, it would attract a lot of attention. But, what did they think they were? Accompanying the billionaire game?

"I know what you're thinking." Adriaan spoke again with a faint smile. "Don't worry. Since I agreed to play this role, I will definitely hold myself to the standards of an official actor. I will definitely not interfere with the filming, and I will try my best to cooperate and respect your requests. Even if I have any ideas, I will fully communicate with you. I promise."

Although this was still not completely reassuring, as a big shot, the people present did not have any other thoughts. They once again expressed that it was an honor to work with him.

"To be able to direct the first movie with a miracle director as the main character, I believe my name will be left in countless people's hearts." Fei Ru, who had adjusted his mentality, also joked.

"I believe so too. I also believe that this will be an outstanding commercial movie." Adriaan was not stingy with his opinion at all, in order to boost everyone's morale.

Then, he thought of something and patted Fei Ru's shoulder. "Oh right, Jon, why don't you play a role too? You started out as an actor, didn't you?"

"Um … Yes." Fei Ru was a little embarrassed. He only officially became a director after the turn of the millennium, and before that, he was active as an actor in Hollywood — even though he was only a C-list comedian. Therefore, before that, he had always had a nickname, "Those who can direct better than me are not as good at acting as me, and those who can act better than me are not as good at directing as me." However, once Adriaan became the male lead of "Iron Man" and succeeded, this nickname would probably be thrown away.

"Very good!" Adriaan continued. "Then how about you play the role of Stark's chauffeur and bodyguard? There won't be many scenes, but it's very comical. You're just right for it. "

"No problem." Fei Ru, who had returned to normal in just a few seconds, replied readily. Nothing like a title was more important than the opportunity to be in charge of a commercial blockbuster.

After the failure of "Game of the Brave 2", he hesitated for a few days whether or not to take on "Iron Man". It wasn't until Universal repeatedly persuaded him and told him that Adriaan had high hopes for him that he made up his mind. Although he didn't expect him to act in it personally, it seemed like a good idea.

At this point, the big-budget "Iron Man" was completely decided, and they were going to start filming immediately?