King of Hollywood

"Don't think so much, it's just a matter of a few days, Kubrick won't delay for too long." Adrian wanted to say something, but in the end he just waved his hand. Of course, as always, there was a soft slap on Charlize's ass. Charlize immediately gave him a blank look, and walked quickly across the room amidst Adrian's cheerful laughter without looking back.

In the next few days, Adrian took Emma to play around without doing anything. The little guy was very happy with his coming again. He specially learned a dance and sang and danced in front of him. It was very cute. In addition, Adrian also made a special trip to Edinburgh, and talked with Rowling, who is finishing the second part of the Harry Potter series, about publishing issues. Although the sales of "Magic Stone" in the UK are not particularly good, But in the United States, it is quite good, and it is still at the bottom of the "New York Times" bestseller list. Rowling has completely got rid of the embarrassment in life and entered the ranks of the middle class.

"You don't need to do this, Joe, you deserve this, don't you?" Facing Rowling's repeated thanks, Adrian said this. After thinking about it carefully, he decided to wait until the second "Chamber of Secrets" was published. It seems a little early to talk to Rowling about adapting the film.

On the fifth day after the home visit, Kubrick's eldest daughter Anya invited Adrian and Clarkson to the small manor again. The old man who was lying on the bed, unable to speak or move, finally agreed after thinking for so long. .

"In principle, my father allows Mr. Adrian to take over, and at the same time allows Mr. Adrian to make adjustments according to his own requirements. However, after the film is produced, it must be reviewed by my father. If my father is not satisfied, then the film cannot be edited from any Channels." In the bedroom of the last visit, Anya stated the conditions in front of her father, sister and other family members leaning on the bed.

"I don't think it's a problem, right, Pine?" Adrian looked at Clarkson, because he asked him to ask, so Warner put the matter entirely on him.

"It should be... no problem." Clarkson said helplessly with a sigh.

"I suddenly felt that I made a big mistake. You are so sure to satisfy Stanley? He is a picky guy. I have dealt with him more than once. Sometimes he is not satisfied with his own things, let alone ...This time it is unprecedented to let others take over his things." Clarkson said with a wry smile after coming out of the small manor again.

If Adrian takes over the production and Kubrick is not satisfied, if the box office of the movie is not good, you can use video tapes and other means to recover part of the cost, but if it doesn't work at all, it will be a complete loss.

"It's definitely impossible to be 100% satisfied, but I believe it won't cross the bottom line in his heart." Adrian said vowedly, and then smiled at Clarkson's frowning face: "Okay, Payne, many times when making movies It’s no different from gambling. You don’t know what the outcome will be until the last moment. You admit that Kubrick’s letting someone take over this time is unprecedented, so why don’t you believe that I can create miracles?”

"Indeed, you are the director of a miracle, so I hope that a miracle will really appear in the end." Clarkson sighed again, and smiled to himself.

Although it will take some time to sign the contract, after all, just verbally saying "If the father is not satisfied, then the film cannot be sold through any channel" has no legal effect, and it is easy to be exploited, but those are all Regarding the lawyer's affairs, Adrian returned to Los Angeles to start some preliminary work after getting the promise.

For example, after Kubrick immigrated to the UK, his films were basically shot in the UK, and soon moved to other places. Although the script of "Eyes Wide Shut" was written in New York, he still insisted on shooting in the UK. , Before that, he had already contacted the studio and planned to build a New York street scene here. This kind of cost is quite a lot. It can be said that most of the cost of the entire movie was spent on it.

But now that Adrian has taken over, and the plan to build the set in the UK is only on paper, it is better to pull it to New York for on-site shooting.

In addition, you have to meet with the crew members. Many of them have worked with Kubrick several times. Although Adrian will bring a few people he is familiar with, most of them still have to be reserved. After all, they I am relatively familiar with Kubrick's style, so it is necessary to establish a good relationship in advance, but the most important thing is to communicate with the hero and heroine.

"Payne, I remember that I agreed to play because of Stanley's invitation, but now why is it Ed?" In the box of a private club, Tom Cruise looked at Payne Clarkson and asked, his tone There was a hint of questioning in Li, but then he looked at Adrian with a signature smile: "Sorry, Ed, I didn't mean to offend you, I just wanted to understand why things became like this. "

"I understand." Adrian smiled and didn't say much, his eyes were completely focused on Cruise, as if Nicole Sandman beside him didn't exist.

"You know, Tommy, Stanley has had a stroke so badly that he can't even speak, let alone direct a movie, but he sold the rights to adapt the novel more than ten years ago, and he is absolutely not willing to give up halfway. Now that Adrian has expressed in time that he can take over, and has impressed him with his ability and sincerity, why can't he continue?" Clarkson said sincerely, spreading his hands.

"Oh, of course, Ed is a well-known director of miracles." Cruise smiled, a slight disapproval flashed in his eyes, and immediately followed him and asked suspiciously: "But, as far as I know, based on Stanley's Personality, you never allow anyone to intervene in your own movie, how did you convince him, Pine?"

With that said, Cruise looked at his agent, and Kingsley immediately took over the topic: "Yes, Mr. Clarkson, everyone knows that Stanley Brick is filming "The Shining" and "Space "The Odyssey 1" had trouble with the original authors Arthur Clarke and Stephen King because they disagreed with their reading of the script, Arthur chose to back down and Stephen criticized the movie version of "The Shining" more than once."

Then she waved her hands, the meaning is obvious, how can you convince this stubborn old man? Or is it that you, Warner, want to unilaterally kick Kubrick because of the stroke?

"It starts with two points. The external reason is naturally that Stanley has been preparing for this movie for many years, and he is unwilling to give up now, and the internal reason..." Clarkson said and looked at Adrian, with some doubts in his heart. As a Warner executive, of course he knew that Adrian was cooperating with Cruise on a movie. The relationship between the two should be pretty good. Why did Cruise have that expression?

Cruise thought he was doing it very covertly, but several people present could see it clearly.

Although thoughts kept turning in his mind, Clarkson's mouth did not stop: "As I said just now, Ed impressed Stanley with his sincerity and ability. Before today, we have been to England and Stanley had communicated with him face to face, and the idea shown by Ed was approved by him. After all, without his consent, even if someone wants to take over, it is impossible. You can ask his family for confirmation on this, and I guarantee that you will get what you want answer."

Kingsley immediately started talking with Cruise in a low voice, and asked Nicole a few words from time to time. Nicole seemed to have no idea, and stopped after only saying a few words each time. But as long as Cruise will quickly grab the conversation after she speaks a little longer, some things can be guessed.

"Tommy, can you tell me why you hesitate?" Seeing that they had discussed for a long time without any results, Adrian finally asked.

"Well... the key is that Nicole and I agreed because we wanted to cooperate with Stanley." Cruise gestured hard, and then he continued as if explaining something: "I didn't mean that I didn't want to Working with you, Ed, I just thought, if we're going to work together, why not pick a new movie?"

"I understand how you feel, Tommy, making a movie is sometimes like gambling. It looks like a good script, but it may be a mess when you shoot it, especially when you take over the work of a director with a unique style," Adrian lightly said. He smiled and said, with a careless look on his face, "But when did I miss it, Tommy? Even Stanley admits that I am qualified to take over his work, why can't I try?"

Adrian crossed his hands on the table to support his chin, and looked at Cruise leisurely, with a little provocation hidden in his eyes. Unlike Cruise's self-concealed behavior just now, no one can see it except face to face. In this regard, Cruise is not Adrian's opponent.

"I believe you can shine in "Mr. Sweetheart", why can't you believe that I can manage "Eyes Wide Shut"?" He continued to ask in a leisurely tone.

Cruise pursed his lips, put away his smile, glanced at Adrian and took a deep breath, frowning for a while before looking at his wife again.

"What do you think, Nicole?" He put on his signature smile again. Although it was very sunny and charming, it would feel a little fake after watching it too much.

"Maybe..." Nicole looked at Adrian uncertainly, and the latter lowered his head and was sipping the coffee in his cup, as if he didn't care about her and Cruise at all.

Nicole's hand under the table clenched into a fist involuntarily.

"Perhaps try," she whispered to her husband.

Cruise raised his eyebrows when he heard the answer, and after pondering for a moment, he pointed his smile at Adrian again: "Okay, I have no objection."

"It's a pleasure to cooperate fully with you, Tommy." A meaningful look flashed across Adrian's eyes, and then he stood up smiling and held out his hand to Cruise.

Now that the negotiation has been made, Adrian has no need to stay any longer, and soon shook hands with the Cruise couple and their manager Jinsili to say goodbye.

"I remember you seem to be working with Tommy, aren't you, Ed?" Clarkson couldn't help asking after leaving the club.

"What do you want to ask, Payne?" Adrian said casually.

"Don't you think Tommy seems to be so hostile to you?" Clarkson simply picked up the topic.

"Yes, I know, but if you want to ask me why, I don't know." Adrian shrugged.

He didn't lie, Cruise did this not once or twice, but he really didn't know why, God knows what was going on in Cruise's head. However, combining some of Cruise's words and deeds since several contacts, and comparing it with some things in his memory, Adrian probably guessed something, not sure, but it should have something to do with it. Self-regulating people, that's... pathetic.

But in this way, it also made Adrian do some things to feel more at ease. Thinking about the situation when he left, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but raise slightly. When saying goodbye, he and Nicole shook hands lightly and then withdrew their hands without hesitation, as if they were facing a stranger, and left without looking back.

After basic communication with the crew members, the two leading actors were settled. Adrian went to New York again at the end of April. There were not many real scenes in New York, and most of the scenes were still arranged in the studio in Los Angeles. Warner Naturally, he agrees with both hands. If Kubrick wanted to build all the sets in England, the cost would definitely be half as expensive.

Kubrick's films certainly don't make money, even with Marvel now in charge. Since Adrian has been approved by Kubrick, he will definitely not add commercial elements to it. Although Kubrick cannot control the filming, but don’t forget that if he feels dissatisfied, the film will not work. And Adrian won't joke about his reputation, so it's better to save it if you can.

"Okay, I admit that this place is very suitable, you stand, Kiki." Adrian said to the smiling girl while asking people to take a few pictures of the neighborhood.

"How about it? I told you that it would be useful to bring me." Kirsten said bluntly. She was wearing a light-colored long-sleeved T-shirt, and a dark-colored short jacket, trousers and sneakers. Vitality is on full display.

"Yes, yes, but can it be so loud." Adrian sighed and looked at the few people who were busy. Fortunately, there were not many people brought along, and Charlize also stayed in Los Angeles.

Kirsten appeared here because when he came to Adrian's office as usual that day, after hearing him say that he was about to go to New York to inspect the set of the next movie, the girl who thought about it immediately acted like a baby and came together.

"I've lived in New York for a while, and I'm familiar with the neighborhoods, especially Brooklyn, and I can find any neighborhood you want." Kirsten was riding on Adrian's lap with his arms around him. His neck has just recovered from the "guidance" of his fingers, the flush on his face has not yet faded, and his soft voice sounds like red wine before going to bed, quite comfortable.

She had indeed lived in New York, otherwise she would not have participated in the audition for "This Killer Is Not So Cold", and the request was made under such circumstances, and Adrian immediately agreed. But he was not dizzy, so Kirsten went to New York with his mother, Inez.

She told her mother most of the truth, except that she said that she had persuaded Adrian with the excuse of "going to New York with my mother" and that her mother had to help her out. Inez naturally agreed to her daughter's request, and she also knew that her daughter's achievements today had something to do with Adrian, so she had to try her best to maintain a good relationship with Director Miracle, but she didn't know that her daughter would go even further. Far.

"Okay, now that you've made the choice, I should take you back." Adrian said, and after explaining a few words to the person in charge, he took the girl into the car parked on the street.

"Since it's so early, why don't we go shopping elsewhere? We've been looking for the neighborhood you want these days, so it's time to rest." Kirsten, who was in the co-pilot seat, said with a smile.

"That's not okay. I promised your mother that I will send you back as soon as possible." Adrian shook his head, leaned over and tied the safety belt to her body, and flicked her round face: " Safety first, I rarely drive on the streets of New York."

"Oh, Ed, please don't be like this?" Kirsten took the opportunity to grab his arm and put her whole body up, begging.

Feeling the newly developed touch from his elbow, Adrian sighed: "Well, I will drive two-thirds of the way, and then walk back for the remaining one-third of the way."

"Okay." Kirsten's eyes showed undisguised disappointment. She knew that what Adrian decided would basically not change.

Seeing her like this, Adrian chuckled, and then started the car. How could he not know what Kirsten was thinking, but well, some things should be whetted, anyway, they are still within the warranty period , isn't it?

As he said, he drove a few blocks and stopped two blocks from Kirsten and Mom's apartment—Inez had a decent little apartment in New York, So I didn't stay in a hotel - I walked back with the two of them for a walk.

Although Kirsten was not very interested, he continued to laugh out loud at Adrian's humorous words. No one was better at coaxing women, no matter what kind of woman they were.

"Okay, let's call it a day, Kiki," Adrian said, after walking Kirsten down the steps of the apartment, stroking her head, "Don't be so impatient, you know, I like you a lot. "

"Yes, I know." Kirsten sighed, then rolled his eyes, and looked at Adrian hesitantly: "There are some things I don't know, can I tell you..."

"Oh?" Adrian bent down immediately, but the girl suddenly wrapped his arms around his neck, and kissed him firmly on the face in full view.

"Qiqi" Adrian called out angrily, and quickly glanced around. It seemed that not many people were paying attention, and there was no one behind the window of the apartment.

"I just want to take a souvenir." Kirsten grinned and grimaced, then quickly opened the door and slipped into the room.