King of Hollywood-Chapter 550 - 271: Gandalf with a Rifle

"So-called ’a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a stealthy affair,’ truly has its reasons. The allure that draws countless men and women to an affair lies in the taboo-filled thrill, which could be interrupted or discovered at any moment. Especially in the case of Adrian and Nicole, the danger is great, and so is the excitement. Hence, a very satisfied Adrian proceeded to pay five times the ’prostitution fee’—indeed a ’whopping’ sum."

Whenever he thought about Nicole accepting the five-dollar bill, trying to pretend she didn’t care, he felt quite smug. As long as he could continue this subtle strategy of provoking her anger without giving her an outlet, Nicole would eventually realize that complete submission to him was her only choice.

"You’re turning into a real asshole, Ed," Charlize warned him afterward.

"Don’t worry, it won’t happen again," Adrian said. He knew what his female secretary meant, after all, she was the one who knew about his affairs with countless women. Many of his dates were arranged through her, including the recent meetings with Nicole and Cruise.

Frankly, when he had arranged for them to meet, he hadn’t had much in mind. He just wanted to tease them a bit, see if Nicole would put on a good show—after all, they had not appeared in public together since the divorce proceedings began. Nicole’s act was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision, but of course, the effect was better than he could have hoped. Such things would be no more, however, as the divorce agreement was about to be signed. But as Charlize had reminded him, it was better not to go overboard with such matters.

As for Cruise—who cared anymore? He had already transferred the ’Mission: Impossible’ rights to him at a bargain price. What was there to be discontented about? As for the future, Adrian didn’t care one bit. Could anyone really see Cruise as a threat to him now? Unless he was a mortal enemy, there was no need to be ruthlessly thorough. In Hollywood, where one sees others only from a distance, deep-seated vendettas were rare. Being too arrogant would only push neutrals into the arms of the opposition, something Cruise’s behavior illustrated well.

In a way, Adrian did understand Cruise. After all, Cruise had worked his way up from the bottom—though the man was no good at socializing and his character was questionable, one had to admit his perseverance. It was normal for him to become blindly arrogant after becoming a megastar. If Adrian had not lived two lifetimes, having gained ample experience and always observing everything from the sidelines to maintain calm and reason, he wouldn’t necessarily be much better than Cruise.

There was really no need to worry about him. In a place like this, when an actor becomes a hit, there are many to sing their praises; and when an actor is on the decline, there are plenty to kick them while they’re down. Even without Adrian, Cruise would fall from the clouds—apparently, he had been quarreling with his agent Kingsley lately, which was foolish of him. They were so blind to the fact that this packaging-savvy woman had done so much for him. So, it was best to just watch from the sidelines. Besides, he had sold the ’Mission: Impossible’ rights to Cruise, so if Cruise still lost in the fierce battle and couldn’t recover, it really had nothing to do with Adrian, right?

After dealing with these matters, Adrian said his goodbyes to his women, particularly the two expectant mothers whose bellies were already protruding, though they hadn’t begun to show any severe emotional changes, their pregnant anxiety was evident.

"Don’t worry, it’s only New Zealand. I can come back anytime, and I promise to be there on the day you give birth," Adrian comforted Monica and Sophie, who were beginning to gain weight.

Despite their reluctance—they were used to Adrian coming over to chat no matter how busy he was—knowing he was off to direct his new movie, Monica and Sophie let him go. Naturally, they couldn’t resist half-warning him; after all, there were as many as three women involved with him listed in the cast.

Besides, his daughter had to be dealt with.

"Mommy says New Zealand is very far away," Lily pouted, fiddling with her toy.

"Yes, in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are different from here. Do you know what seasonal change is?" Adrian asked gently.

"I know, it’s... it’s winter here, so it’s... summer there. Daddy always likes to treat me like a dummy," the little one frowned even more.

"Alright, alright, my Lily is the smartest," Adrian said affectionately as he stroked her small head. "Anyway, make sure you behave when I’m not home. If Mommy isn’t here, you can listen to Mrs. Wendell. If Mrs. Wendell isn’t here, you need to listen to Aunt Charli or Aunt Sarah. And besides them, you also need to listen to Aunt Yukie."

With that, he looked up and smiled at Yukie standing beside him.

"I understand, I’ll have to listen to a lot of people’s advice," Lily said with a mock sigh and a wave of her hand. Then, as if remembering something, she asked, "Can I come to see you?"

"Of course, just give me a call if you want to, and I’ll make arrangements," Adrian replied, kissing her on the forehead.

"It’s a deal then." The little one finally seemed happier. After talking with her for a while longer and making her giggle with laughter, Adrian stood up and went over to Yukie.

"This time I’ll be away from home for quite a bit longer, so just help Mrs. Galen a bit, like before," he instructed.

"I understand," Yukie nodded, her usual obedient self, then asked, "Are you really sure you don’t need me to come to New Zealand with you?"

Looking at her serious expression, Adrian couldn’t help but sigh, "Although critics have given ’Ju-on’ mixed reviews, it has pretty much moved you into the ranks of the nearly first-tier actresses. Don’t you really want to have your own place outside, Yukie?"

To his surprise, Yukie’s face turned pale at his words, and she quickly asked, "Did I... do something wrong? Or... make some mistake?"

"No, no, no, Yukie, you’ve done very well," Adrian quickly raised his hand to reassure her, "No one could do better than you. I just wanted to know if you have any intentions in that regard and... why."

’Ju-on’ premiered last weekend, and honestly, for the first time in many years, Adrian didn’t feel very confident. After all, there were too many changes this time; without the indoctrination of the Japanese version of ’Ju-on’ and J-horror, and still having a Japanese actress as the protagonist. Despite holding the media and putting a lot of effort into promoting the "unique style of Eastern horror," the outcome was still uncertain.

Luckily, fortune was on Adrian’s side. Due to the off-season, they managed to secure 2500 theaters, and over the weekend brought in about 25 million US dollars, averaging ten thousand dollars per screen. For a horror film released during the movie off-season, this performance was quite good. It might not reach the heights of the original, but it was certainly profitable, especially considering that the budget for this version was less than for the original.

Critics in the United States had polarizing views on the film; those who thought it was good found it refreshingly innovative, while those who found it bad thought it had no redeeming features.

"Can making a woman crawl around the floor in strange postures really provoke screams?" was the view from ’Variety’.

"Well-executed thrills. For an American horror movie filled with gory bloodshed, this entirely Eastern-style horror is more frightening," was the view from ’Empire’.

Meanwhile, in Japan, where the film was simultaneously released, the media unanimously praised it, from content to performances to direction, considering it a rare gem. Some surveys even showed that 90% of Japanese audiences felt very scared after watching it, with rumors from Sapporo claiming someone had died from fright during the movie.

Their reaction wasn’t surprising. Though it was an American movie, from its foundational story structure to the director and leading actress, all were native Japanese. Furthermore, the fact that the plot outline was proposed by a well-known American Miracle Director only deepened the Japanese attachment to Hollywood. It was another proud affirmation of Japanese culture in Hollywood, an honor worthy of celebration and special recording.

As a result, Yukie became one of Japan’s most well-known actresses overnight. The media extensively reported on her development, such as her family background and previous private life, how she came to Tokyo with her dreams, then met the Miracle Director by chance and was encouraged to pursue a career in Hollywood, and how after ups and downs in Hollywood, she gained the appreciation of the Miracle Director and became the leading actress in ’Ju-on’, and so on.

In short, the reports were filled with lyricism, painting a vivid story of inspiration, lavishing countless beautiful words upon her, and almost promoting her to the standard image of a modern "Yamato nadeshiko". Of course, certain matters were never mentioned, as if they never existed at all.

No matter how much Japan hyped her up, if she was not recognized in the United States, Yukie would ultimately still be a second or third-tier actress. Fortunately, Adrian’s tactics were very successful. From the beginning, the female lead was set to be a Japanese child adopted by Americans, born and raised in the United States, with an American boyfriend—hence, her entire style was Americanized—Yukie had put in a lot of hard work to achieve this.

Then, because of her background, she came to Japan as an exchange student, eager to see everything here but always feeling out of place. The story unfolded from there, becoming even more harmonious and smooth. Adding details such as a Japanese-American, completely Westernized in actions, struggling to gain acceptance in Japan, immediately won over many average Americans and artsy film critics.

These details were not something Takashi Shimizu could have accomplished; they were essentially handled by the American team sent over and by a Japanese-American—an efficient collaboration with Adrian mediating. Not only did they avoid conflict, but they also meshed very well with the details and the entire movie. As a result, even if someone wanted to secretly promote discrimination, there was temporarily no opening to do so. Plus, without the Japanese version’s set expectations, the horror was significantly intensified, which led to a satisfactory box office.

After hearing Adrian’s response, Yukie let out a sigh of relief. Then, with a soft smile, she bowed slightly, "For me, just being by your side is enough. Besides, even if I became famous in Hollywood, the attention I would get couldn’t surpass that of Kate and the others, right?"

Adrian couldn’t help but shake his head with a chuckle; he didn’t really want to let Yukie go. Although the girl was also cunning, she never targeted anyone—she simply wanted to stay by his side. Given this, there was no need to insist on anything further. Besides, having a star as his personal maid was quite a pleasing affair.

"Let’s leave it at that. I’ll be in New Zealand for quite a long time, and I’ll call you over if needed," Adrian said as he embraced her, kissing her gently. Lily, playing with a doll nearby, was oblivious to this; she was used to seeing her father hug and kiss women other than her mother.

"If there’s time midway, we could also visit Japan. It has been a long time since I’ve been there, just the two of us," Adrian whispered into Yukie’s ear.

"Mm." Yukie smiled softly and hesitated before adding, "We could also visit Ayu; she’s now a popular singer."

Adrian gave her a look but didn’t say much more. After agreeing, they kissed again.

On a clear afternoon, Adrian arrived in Queenstown, New Zealand with the film crew. While the Northern Hemisphere was still in the mild climate of late winter and early spring, the Southern Hemisphere was exceptionally hot, not yet fully cooled down.

Because preparations had been underway for years, as soon as it was announced to start, teams rushed to Queenstown to build studios. The local government was very supportive, especially after hearing that the Miracle Director would film "The Lord of the Rings," an epic saga here. Sensitive commercial departments even gave the green light. Thus, after a brief rest and adjusting to the time difference, the film crew started getting busy.

The first scenes shot were very fragmented, allowing the director and actors to find the feeling and adjust. In addition, many small groups went to different locations to shoot. Since the content of the three movies had to be filmed within a year, it was not feasible for Adrian to personally shoot every scene. Those shots that didn’t require the main characters or needed many—like the birth of the Uruk-hai or the wide shots of the siege at Helm’s Deep—could be delegated to others. Adrian just needed to give clear instructions and review the completed work. He brought a large team; there were four or five assistant directors alone.

Even so, there were continuous troubles after shooting started. The most prominent issue was Gandalf’s robe. In one shot, Gandalf was in a grey robe, and in the next, he changed to a white robe, so you could often hear Adrian’s stern rebuke on set: "Where is the costume designer?! We need Grey (White) Gandalf now, why is he wearing a white (grey) robe!"

"If I really could cast spells, it would be great. Just a tap of the staff and the robe’s color could change at will," Ian McKellen would often say jokingly.

"I think inventing a kind of paint would be better. Splash it on, and it immediately changes color. To change it back, just throw another bucket on," Adrian said in rare good humor the next time Ian mentioned it, and then signaled the others to prepare for shooting.

They were filming content from the second movie, where Aragon, Legolas, and Gimli were chasing the Uruk-hai who had kidnapped Pippin and the others, but they came to a forest and encountered Gandalf, who had battled the Balrog and ascended as the White Wizard—in Tolkien’s trilogy, wizards were a race, not a profession, and they distinguished their hierarchies by the color of their robes.

Mortensen was certainly an outstanding actor and was multitalented. Not only was his acting good, but he could also write poetry and paint. Apparently, he had published several poetry collections and art books. However, being skilled at many things often meant that expertise in any one area could be diluted, and it would be difficult to achieve breakthroughs anywhere. But that was okay, as long as he could play the role of Aragon well now, which he indeed did.

Silver doesn’t even need mentioning; the men of the Phoenix family are all very handsome, and after getting dolled up, they’re even more dazzling. I bet there will be even more women screaming for him. Plus, he is truly talented and has actually practiced archery, so the role of Legolas isn’t going to require much acting, and he’s got it well under control.

As for McLaren, he’s an old hand at this, is there any need to worry about his condition?

"Good!" After Gandalf had been playing his tricks in front of Aragon and the others, Adrian began to clap his hands in praise.

"Thank you!" McLaren, the old rascal, took a bow in front of everyone as if taking a curtain call, eliciting a wave of stifled chuckles.

Adrian smiled and shook his head, moving forward to speak when he suddenly stared at McLaren, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The other actors, not understanding the situation, looked back and forth between the two, while McLaren, also confused, gave himself a once-over: "What’s wrong? Is there something off about me?"

"Nothing, nothing," Adrian was trying to hold back his laughter, "it’s just that an amusing image, completely different from the current mood, suddenly popped into my head."

"Oh? What kind of image?" McLaren asked curiously.

"Nothing much, just a playful image that’s completely different from the current mood," Adrian repeatedly waved his hands dismissively.

"Come on, tell us, it can’t be that bad," someone in the crowd egged him on, and then a majority seemed to agree.

"Alright, are you sure you want to hear it?" Adrian glanced around at everyone.

"Absolutely, we’re all waiting," McLaren urged.

"Well, simply put, it’s Gandalf standing here, in his white robe."

"Mm-hm, the White Gandalf."

"He has a rifle in his hand, held upright, just like holding a staff."

"A rifle?!"

"That’s right, a rifle, and one with a wooden stock at that. Then, with a serious face, he says to the camera, or rather to Aragon and the others, ’Stand back, let me handle this!’"

The place fell silent for a moment, then erupted into peals of laughter. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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