King of Hollywood

Chapter 120 Contest

"I'm really sorry, Ed. There was some small problem in the middle, so I'm here now." Tom Cruise, who finally came to the studio, greeted Adrian with a smile, but the smile didn't seem sincere no matter what. look.

"It's okay, anyone will have unexpected things to deal with, isn't it?" Adrian shrugged, as if he didn't seem to take it seriously, "As long as the shooting is not delayed."

But then he patted Cruise's arm hard, and his expression became somewhat meaningful: "However, I still hope that there will be no next time, understand?"

Cruise's face froze, but he nodded with a smile: "Okay, I see."

There has been a long history of conflicts between big directors and big stars because of the right to speak on the set. Kubrick once had disagreements with Marlon Brando. Since Cruise has never had a good impression of Adrian, and this time he came for Kubrick's fame, and suffered a loss when preparing for "Mr. Sweetheart", even if Adrian persuaded him It is also inevitable that there is no idea of ​​showing one's power by playing big names.

But he can only go so far, and Cruise can look stupid occasionally, but it doesn't mean he is always so stupid. After being persuaded and reminded by Jinsili last time, he somewhat understood Adrian's strength, so no matter how unhappy he was, he had to restrain himself honestly after being warned.

Many people think that big stars have more power on the set, but they are not. The reason for this illusion is that the popularity of big stars is much higher than that of big directors. In fact, the key to determining the ownership of the right to speak on the set lies in who is also the producer, and the director is also the producer. If the star wants to continue filming, he must be honest and obedient; if the star is also the producer, Then the director must consider the star's request. No exceptions, except Adrian.

As for the reason, it's very simple. There is no other big director who can achieve such great success in film production and also be the chairman of a major emerging media company like Adrian. Although Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic occupies most of the special effects production market, and although Spielberg is one of DreamWorks' Big Three, he still cannot compare with Adrian.

Not to mention that in the past few years, the blockbuster movies and TV series have more or less something to do with Adrian; not to mention that his eyesight is very accurate, and the actors and directors he instructed have all shined. Just by owning TBS and two broadcasting companies, it is enough to be on an equal footing with Murdoch, Lei Shidong and others. With such strength, even the most popular stars dare not show him face. Katharine Hepburn also took advantage of the media in the 1950s and 1960s to a large extent. If she were placed in the current environment, she would definitely not dare to refuse to attend the Oscars four times.

"By the way, where's your wife?" Adrian asked again immediately.

"She has other things to deal with, and she really can't spare time today, but I believe there will be no next time." Cruise replied immediately, staring at Adrian without blinking.

"Okay, so we'll shoot the scene where Dr. Williams sorts out his boss's nasty business at the party, and we'll retry that scene just before you come. If it goes well, we'll then shoot the scene in the pool room, at the party. Let's talk about the group play tomorrow, so get familiar with the script quickly." Adrian replied casually, as if he just asked casually just now.

"No problem." Cruise nodded, and while beckoning the assistant to bring the script, he walked to his place. After a few steps, he turned back to look at Adrian, seeing that he was busy with other things before Continue to take a step.

"Note, Sidney is going from here to here, take a big step to reflect your mood at the moment, otherwise you are still free to play, just be careful not to exceed the mood of the fifth test shot. As for You, Tommy, when you get here, you have to pause for a while, and don't stay too long, and you need to master how much time..." In a small lounge built on the set, Adrian The two actors explained in this way, and he made a frame with his hands while talking, which is equivalent to explaining the scope of shooting to the photographer.

"Okay, that's it, let's start shooting right away." Adrian said and sat back on the chair.

The story of "Eyes Wide Shut" is actually very simple. The couple who have been married for several years began to feel tired of marriage because of some misunderstandings at the reception. But he misunderstood that he was having an affair with another woman, and was almost hooked into bed by an old man.

Then Alice confided her sexual fantasies to her husband through the excitement of smoking marijuana. Dr. William, who was troubled, had many bad associations. He happened to meet a classmate who played the piano in a bar. Instigated to sneak into a special party like a religious ceremony held by an upper class, which caused a bigger disturbance.

In my memory, someone commented that Kubrick wanted to discuss the relationship of marriage here, but no one knows the truth. The old man never told others what his movies wanted to express. Maybe for him, he just wanted to shoot a movie. Not a typical teal movie. At least according to Adrian's knowledge, some people in the upper class did hold such parties, but not only were they few, they were quite secretive, and they would not be on the scale as in the movie.

If you think about it, Schnitzler's "Fantasy Stories" was written in the early 20th century. Needless to say, what era was it? But in today’s media-developed world, holding such a large-scale party is absolutely courting death, so it is actually very awkward for Kubrick to move the stage to modern New York. Of course, no one knew what was going on in that half-bald head, and Adrian only took over for other purposes.

"You don't need to act too deliberately, just live in your own home, forget the camera and us, understand?" After spending three days filming the scene of treating drug-overdose prostitutes in the lounge, Nicole ?The arrival of Kidman began to shoot some shots of the doctor and his wife at home.

After both Cruise and Nicole nodded for the famous watch, Adrian then waved to the others to start, as before, treating Nicole completely as a stranger. Fortunately, there are not many lines in these shots, and they don't need too much acting skills. Finally, it didn't take three days to finish filming to see a doctor.

Adrian is not Kubrick. He has his own standards for judging performances. In addition to his long-term habits, he does not have a nearly distorted pursuit of perfection like Kubrick. Obviously, the actors have performed very well. , but still kept shooting repeatedly. Even so, it took almost three days to film an uncomplicated rescue scene. It is conceivable how poor Cruise's acting skills are.

Even if there are some external reasons, such as Cruise's poor state at the beginning of filming, or there will always be such and such small problems, Cruise's acting skills are indeed an important reason for the slow progress. It is precisely because of this that he had to disband the extras who had been hired to participate in the shooting of the reception to concentrate on filming the rescue scene, so after Nicole came, he couldn't shoot the scene of the reception.

Fortunately, it went smoothly. It took a day and a half to shoot those relatively simple scenes of life, and there were also a few scenes showing the work of the male lead doctor.

"Very good, then, let's clear the scene next." After watching the video and seeing that the break time has come, Adrian immediately said to the director's assistant, and the staff quickly acted to adjust the required lighting and colors. After that, except for a few key figures, everyone left the studio one by one.

"You look a little nervous." Adrian walked up to Nicole, who had already changed into the costume she needed.

A black thin-shouldered evening dress, most of the smooth back is exposed, and because of the high heels, the front is not very convex but the back is well curled. Her hair is tied behind her head, revealing her fair neck, and her slender legs are looming under the split ends. I have to say that she is at her most charming right now.

"Fortunately, I have no problem at all." Nicole replied simply, her eyes were fixed on him, but Adrian quickly averted his eyes without any hesitation.

"Is that okay with you, Tommy?" he asked. "Maybe we can put Nicole in green underwear and composite it in post-production."

"I don't think so at all." Before Cruise could speak, Nicole had already answered first. The displeasure flashed across Cruise's face, but he finally echoed his wife's words.

"Yes, no need," he said, in a deliberately relaxed tone.

Laughing secretly in his heart, Adrian still maintained a calm and indifferent look: "Then let's start."

There are two shots to be taken, the first is Nicole Kidman undressing in front of the camera - but the back. This is the reason for clearing the scene, but in Adrian's view, this is simply an act of deception. After the movie is released, it is not known how many people will see it.

Although her back is facing the camera, even though this is a movie, Nicole still looks extremely attractive, especially when her back is exposed a little bit, and she takes a step after her clothes fall to the ground, her slender and well-proportioned right leg slightly The movement of raising and lowering made Adrian hear several sounds of shortness of breath. After all, there are not many opportunities to see this stunner undress so openly.

"Very good." Adrian yelled to stop immediately, and the female assistant who had been waiting nearby stepped forward immediately and put the towel on Nicole. Adrian glanced at Cruise. He stood not far away and stared at Nicole on the set intently. On the surface, he looked indifferent, but the unhappiness in his eyes could still be seen.

"Let them in and prepare for the second shot." Adrian said immediately after Cruise and Nicole both returned to the dressing room. Although he wanted to see her take off like this again, he also knew which was more important ,not to mention……

The next shot was the same type, so the staff spent tens of minutes changing the bathroom into a bedroom and backed out again, followed by Cruise and Nicole, who were also wearing white towels, came out.

"I don't need to say anything more, just relax and treat it as if I were at home." Adrian said, and then waved his hand to signal that he was ready to start.

The second shot is naturally the one where a part of the shot was intercepted and used as a poster. When the naked couple is kissing and kissing in front of the dressing table, the wife is looking at the person in the mirror with evil intentions.

With the sound of "n", the two who removed the towels immediately stood in their positions. In order to ease the atmosphere on the set, Adrian also found the songs used in the soundtrack and played them on the spot. Nicole, who was facing the mirror while taking the earrings, twisted her body slightly to the music, and then Cruise came from behind and hugged her and began to kiss her.

Although the body is naked, the important parts are still covered. For example, Cruise is wearing a special flesh-colored briefs, and Nicole is also wearing a similar breast sticker on it. I will make sure to see it after a little processing. not come out. After all, they can't really expose their bodies completely, even if it's a bit of self-deception.

The funniest thing is that because of Cruise's height, the props crew had to put a long piece of something at least a few feet high on the ground, otherwise he would be a little shorter than Nicole in the camera.

"Very good!" Adrian clapped his hands. It was very difficult to pass this scene in one go. The few people on the set all heaved a sigh of relief. In this way, today's progress is considered complete.

"Okay, after these few days of running-in, we should be more aware of each other's situation, and hope that we can cooperate more smoothly and happily in the future." Adrian said after sending the Cruise couple outside the studio.

"I think, yes." Cruise smiled, still perfunctory, Nicole seemed to want to say something, but when she hesitated, Adrian had already walked into the studio, as always when she was passerby.

Looking at his back, Nicole bit her lips subconsciously, and Cruise called her a few times before realizing: "What?"

"What's wrong with you? Is there a problem?" Cruise looked at her displeased.

"No, it's nothing, I just..." Nicole took a deep breath and looked towards the studio again, "I just don't like him."

"I don't like him either," Cruise seemed pleased when she said it, "but now we have to work with him, he's still useful, so just ignore him—let's go."

Nicole gave Cruise a disappointed look, obviously having heard enough of his arrogant words, so she followed behind him without saying a word.

Adrian didn't know this, and even if he knew, he wouldn't take it to heart, because he was very clear about certain things. He was already prepared to shoot the scene just now, but he didn’t expect it to be over once. He is definitely not waterproof, at least according to his standards, the shot is in place, and the shot is zoomed in. The kissing When the couple was married, the wife turned her head and looked at the person in the mirror with some anxiety and resistance.

This requires very good acting skills to show the feeling of hiding careless things. It is still difficult for Nicole now, but she still did it, because although she looks in the mirror, what she really sees is Adrian in the mirror!

How could Adrian, who didn't seem to care but was actually paying attention to her, not notice? It's really interesting, and that says a lot.

"Mr. Adrian!" When he walked to the parking lot, a voice from afar interrupted his thinking, and soon, a slightly fat white man who looked about forty years old and wearing a baseball cap appeared in front of.

"Hello, Mr. Adrian, I'm a reporter from the Los Angeles Times. My name is Jeff Harris. May I ask you a few questions?" Seeing him stop, the other party immediately introduced himself.

"Sorry, I don't accept any interviews right now." Adrian shook his head with a smile, and walked to his car in a few steps.

"Director Stanley Kubrick couldn't complete the new work after he had a stroke, so you took over, right?" The other party continued to ask as if he didn't hear it.

Adrian's body paused, but he quickly turned his head and looked at him with a smile: "Sorry, where did you hear the news?"

"That means there is such a thing? This is the movie you are making right now?" Although the pause was short, the other party is a seasoned reporter after all, and any troubles can't be hidden from his eyes and ears , and he came prepared, so naturally he would not have noticed it, and immediately asked questions like a cannonball.

"Unfortunately, I have no comment." Adrian shrugged and got into the car, "I'm sorry, I'm going home, please don't delay me?"

As he spoke, he started the car and drove out of the parking lot in disregard of the other party's yelling, and he let out a long breath after driving a long way: "It's surprising that someone found out so soon."

Although Kubrick emphasized that no one should know that Adrian took over his new film before production, but paper cannot contain the fire after all. There are so many people in a crew, and there are too many people talking, it is inevitable that the news will spread. It’s okay to keep the content of a movie secret, but it’s not easy to keep the director of the movie secret. What's more, it is well known in the circle that the Cruises were invited to star in Kubrick's new work, and a conclusion can be drawn after a little thought about the news.

The old man who had a stroke also knew that this was impossible, so even if he insisted on this point but did not write it in the contract, he probably hoped that this matter would be known to the media as soon as possible. Reputation still has to suffer.

Warner also knows that the news will be delayed at most, and it is impossible not to let people know, otherwise how could they agree? However, judging from the current situation, it is difficult to say whether the news was leaked by himself or Warner deliberately spread it.

Adrian thought for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, who cares, it's just a matter of time, and the impact is not big. As for the reaction of the media, we will know in a few days.

That's right, two days later, the "Los Angeles Times" published this headline on the front page: A contest between a miracle director and a legendary director! \u003c/p\u003e

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like