King of Hollywood-Chapter 551 - 272 "The Deceased" Sean

Gandalf holding a rifle was an idea that came to Adrian from a parody image he saw in his past life. The image left a deep impression on him, so when he reproduced the scene where Gandalf reunites with Aragon and the others, it involuntarily popped into his head. With that in mind, he casually mentioned it to get a laugh and lighten the mood on set. Of course, the specific lines might be a bit different, but that didn’t matter.

This approach was indeed effective. After the laughter, everyone relaxed quite a bit, and work efficiency also improved somewhat. The only side effect was that every now and then, McLaren would ask Adrian, "Do you really think it’s funny for Gandalf to have a rifle? How about we try filming that?" He really was like a big kid.

After three or four days of piecemeal filming, the actors had mostly adjusted to each other, and Adrian immediately organized the crew to start shooting the first big scene—the last battle between the Rings Protection Team and the Uruk-hai in the first part of the trilogy. Thanks to his foresight, there was no need to agonize over the location. The props were prepared early as well. Despite looking obviously fake when lifted, the broken statues seemed nearly real once placed on the forest floor and decorated with soil and branches.

However, filming didn’t go smoothly. Action scenes while being filmed were completely different from what’s seen on the silver screen, not as fast or as fierce. They were better described as flashy but ineffectual, with the movie effects being wholly dependent on post-production editing and processing. Since the actors didn’t need too much acting skill, it all came down to the director’s control, and action scenes sometimes proved quite dangerous.

"Cut!" Adrian shouted, then hurried over, "Are you okay, Vigo?"

"It’s nothing, just a light knock," Mortensen said, holding his forehead, then joked in an attempt to keep things light, "John is too tall. Lose concentration for a second, and you can’t react in time."

"It wasn’t my fault," said John Rhys Davies, who played Gimli and currently had a large beard on his chin, shrugging innocently.

Gimli, as a Dwarf, was one of the shortest members of the Rings Protection Team, but his actor, Davies, was actually very tall—at six feet, he was almost as tall as Adrian, and the tallest among the team’s actors. Heaven knows why Fat Peter originally cast him as Gimli in the first place; Adrian couldn’t be bothered to speculate. Since the original used him, and he was good, Adrian thought to just "continue" with him.

Although Mortensen was only lightly hit by the prop axe and it wasn’t a big deal, Adrian still gave him a break. Filming didn’t fall behind because when filming Gimli in full body shots, dwarf actors were needed as stand-ins. Even though Hollywood had plenty of dwarf actors, not many were suitable for the role, because Dwarves and Hobbits were short, not deformed.

Fortunately, faces and bodies were filmed separately, so not only could they stand in for Gimli, but they could also replace Frodo, Sam, and other Hobbits as needed. Because of this separation, injuries should not have occurred, but sometimes unexpected events just happen.

"Anyway, everyone stay sharp and let’s get this scene done, guys. I still have to make it to the Oscars," Adrian said while prepping for another scene.

The Rings Protection Team wasn’t just Aragorn and Gimli. Legolas and Boromir had many scenes too, especially Boromir’s noble sacrifice for atonement, which could stand alongside Gandalf’s mutual downfall with the Balrog as one of the most emotional moments in the entire first part.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Director, we won’t let that happen," Silver, dressed as the Elf Archer, said with a cheerful grin, waving his Longbow, "Besides, you are the famous Miracle Director; they’d have to hold the Oscars until you arrive, right?"

That immediately drew laughter from everyone.

"Shut up, Silver. If you can’t get today’s shot in one take, then I’ll show you how a real Miracle Director works," Adrian shot back directly.

"Oh, hell, I was just..." Silver hurried to defend himself, but upon catching Adrian’s teasing gaze, he quickly swallowed his words, and the laughter around him grew even louder.

"Alright, guys, let’s get started," Adrian said, clapping his hands.

Silver had indeed performed quite well during his week and a bit in New Zealand, getting along nicely with the other actors. Especially with Elijah Wood, the two young men, being close in age, had a lot to talk about. But because of this, Silver could get a little too excitable, prompting Adrian to rein him in from time to time.

Soon, Legolas’s scenes had all been shot. Every time after a take, Silver was in his best form, so you couldn’t blame Adrian. What director wouldn’t hope their actors could nail every shot in one take? Next came the shooting of Boromir’s death. Tolkien’s novel didn’t make this part particularly sentimental, with Aragon just lamenting, "The son of Denethor has died here. Is this the will of the heavens?" and leaving it at that. freewebnøvel_com

However, movies can’t be filmed that way. After all, in the original, Boromir was indeed tempted by the ring and had acted against Frodo, but he immediately redeemed his dishonor by dying in battle. With that in mind, why not make his death more heroic and stir the audience’s emotions as much as possible?

"I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my... king..."

With that simple line, Boromir’s character was elevated, and it had to be admitted, the adaptation was excellently done.

"Very good, excellent," Adrian clapped his hands, and Mortensen, kneeling there, could finally breathe a sigh of relief and got up, helping Sean Bean, who was still on the ground with prop arrows sticking out of him, to his feet.

"Well done." Adrian reviewed the scene once more on the monitor and walked over with a smile, patting both men on the shoulders while handing a red envelope to Bean, "Here, Sean, this is for you."

"This is..." Sean Bean took it with a puzzled look, opened it, and inside were five 100-dollar bills.

"This is called a red envelope. In the East, or let’s say in Hong Kong, when they’re filming movies, if an actor’s character is going to die, they generally give a red envelope to wish them well," Adrian briefly explained.

"There’s such a custom?" Bean reacted with surprise upon hearing about it for the first time, then became even more puzzled, "But what does this have to do with me? We don’t need these for filming, do we?"

"Because you’re special, Sean," Adrian laughed heartily, "If all goes as expected, this should be your tenth death in a movie!"

"What?" Bean looked at him in astonishment, and at this point, Mortensen and the others were also drawn into the conversation.

"I’ve looked through your record, Sean," Adrian slapped his shoulder again, "Starting in ’86, you’ve continually died in movies as an important supporting character in all kinds of ways—shot in the head, stabbed with a knife, even thrown off a cliff. This time, you can add being shot with arrows. And I reckon this will keep on happening, so, maybe I should acknowledge that."

Bean frowned, then his eyes widened, and eventually, the corner of his mouth twitched. After a while, he asked in bewilderment, "I’ve... died that many times already?"

Mortensen immediately burst into laughter: "How come you don’t know how many times you’ve died, Sean?"

"Why would I bother to remember these things," Bean defended himself sadly, "If it weren’t for Ed telling me, I would never know... that I’ve died so many times already."

No sooner had he finished than Silver, Davis, and the others around them all laughed heartily.

"Cheer up, Sean. May you die many more times in the future."

"Maybe you could try out every single way to die in the movies."

"Shut up, you disaster-loving bastards," Bin threatened as he raised his large fist and shook it, but the action was useless aside from generating even louder laughter, so in the end, he could do nothing but stare, "Fine, have it your way, let’s see how long you can laugh."

Then, turning to face Adrian, he put away the red envelope: "Thank you, Ed, for making me realize how truly... ’special’ I am."

At this point, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes, and seeing his depressed yet laugh-seeking expression, Adrian couldn’t hold back a chuckle. From then on, Sean Bean garnered the nickname "Dead Man" in the crew, and many even often congratulated him on his unique record. After several unsuccessful protests, Bin just let it be, even frequently taking on important roles that were destined to die in the following years.

"I think, maybe becoming the Hollywood character actor who dies the most could be an interesting thing," he said in an interview once. Of course, that’s a story for another time.

The bright room was filled with the soul-stirring sound of high-pitched moans, the sky-blue air hostess uniform was crumpled, and the skirt was hiked up high, as the two bodies were intimately pressed together, moving continuously. With Adrian’s powerful thrust upward, the woman arched her back and let out a scream, her gloved hands pulling him closer, and her boat-shaped hat had been tossed onto the floor, her blonde hair moving along.

Moments later, the room finally regained peace, and the still-breathing pair slightly parted and began to caress each other.

"You’re still so charming, Ali," Adrian kissed the girl’s lips.

"You’re still as impressive, Ed," the girl giggled, "Do you want me to sleep with you?"

"Only if it’s okay with you," Adrian replied softly.

"Of course it’s okay, I don’t care what they say," the girl said without a care in the world.

"Alright then," Adrian laughed heartily, lifting her up by the buttocks, and carrying her into the bathroom, his luxurious private plane had all sorts of facilities.

After basically wrapping up the fight between the Rings Protection Team and the Uruk-hai, he immediately boarded his private jet to return to Los Angeles to prepare for the upcoming 71st Oscar ceremony, leaving the rest to be arranged by the assistant directors. He had brought several assistant directors with him, who split into several teams to shoot the less important scenes in various parts of New Zealand, just to ensure that the crew could continue working in his absence.

Moans once again filled the bathroom, Ali Larter, that’s the woman showering in the water with Adrian, clinging tightly together. Originally, according to her intended path, she should have entered the entertainment industry step by step as a mid-tier actress after drama training more than two years ago. However, for some reason, after her drama training and acting endeavors, she was not as lucky, and it didn’t take long before she changed her career—after all, this wasn’t her first career change.

This time, Ali Larter applied for flight attendant training, and after graduating with good grades and a bit of luck, she eventually became a crew member on Adrian’s newly purchased private plane. Initially, Adrian had no knowledge of this; his new plane was mainly for domestic travel between his women, until he flew on the new private plane domestically and found this woman somewhat familiar. After checking her background, he promptly transferred her to this plane.

Ali Larter was not the good girl type, so even with Adrian’s playboy reputation, a slight flirtation led her to sleep with him, and things spiraled from there on. Although the salary of a private jet flight attendant was much higher than that of a commercial airline, how could that compare to being the mistress of a billionaire? Despite having seen plenty of women come and go with Adrian on the plane, despite the other flight attendants whispering behind her back, Ali never cared.

"Feeling better now?" Ali asked after giving Adrian a massage.

"Not bad, your technique could almost rival a professional’s," lying comfortably on the bed in the bedroom, Adrian moaned in pleasure before saying.

"Because I’ve studied it before," Ali said proudly, and then she was pulled into the arms of the flipping Adrian.

"Coming again? I’m already exhausted, and the little energy I had left I used to give you a massage," Ali said, startled.

"This is high altitude, Ali, the human body is especially rich in oxygen ions up here, so it’s easier to get excited. That’s also why some people enjoy doing the deed on airplanes," Adrian laughed and then kissed her, "Okay, let’s rest. Don’t forget you have to sleep with me."

Ali giggled, reached out to turn off the airplane bedroom’s bedside lamp, then pulled up the duvet and snuggled into Adrian’s embrace.

Adrian was quite clear about her thoughts but didn’t mind; after all, it was just for fun. Ali Larter was merely average—if she hadn’t been a stewardess whom he’d discovered, he wouldn’t have noticed her at all. The world was changing in such interesting ways, always giving him surprises. Speaking of which, he wondered if the black card-purchased airplane, currently unused in the hangar, might bring some surprises too?

It was now the season of clear autumn skies in New Zealand, and California was welcoming a blooming spring. Well, actually, aside from the temperatures, the seasonal changes in both regions weren’t that pronounced. Ignoring the difference between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, you could say that it was spring in New Zealand and autumn in California right now. The advantage was that Adrian wouldn’t need to change clothes after getting off the plane.

After spending two days to overcome jet lag, the 71st Oscar ceremony officially took place at the Torres Tent Theater. Although the Film Academy was considering changing the constantly shifting venue, they were eyeing the Kodak Theater, which was not yet in use, so they had to wait one more year. Adrian regretted this because, due to antitrust laws, he could invest in the Kodak Theater but not own it, although AC Media controlled some theaters in Canada and Europe.

Like previous Oscars, many journalists arrived to cover the red carpet walk. And just like before, their attention was on the Miracle Director. Three Best Director nominations in one round—this hadn’t been achieved in decades—instantly seemed to proclaim him the Best Director in advance.

Indeed, some media said just that, believing most people felt the same. Three nominations were enough to secure another Best Director award. There were many more topics to explore about him, for instance, in the last year, the two movies he directed had led both Miracle Girls to Best Actress nominations. Gossip tabloids wrote countless versions of scandals and entanglements between him and them, and the hit "Good Will Hunting" was also something he personally directed and cast. There were even rumors that DreamWorks had planned to invite him to direct "Cast Away," and if he had agreed, perhaps today there would have been four Best Director nominations?

"How could that be? Three nominations are already the limit for the Film Academy. There’s precedence, after all. If there really were four nominations, they might as well give me the trophy now," Adrian laughed heartily when Dennis asked him this question on the red-carpet amid the flashing cameras.

"Don’t lose heart, Dan. You’ll get a nomination someday," he then patted Dan’s shoulder before turning to his wife accompanying him, "Right, Jenny?"

"Of course, Dan is the best," Aniston said with a cheerful smile, holding her husband tightly.

They were also a focal point for reporters, being a celebrity couple. So, after saying a few more words, Adrian immediately left, walking ahead amidst the reporters’ questions.

"Guys, how does it feel?" A few steps later, Adrian arrived behind a pair of young men leaning on each other and asked with a smile.

"Hey, Ed," River was the first to snap out of it and shook hands with him, followed by Joaquin. In the last round, River had received a Best Actor nomination, and this time around, Joaquin had received the same. The movie’s quality was one factor, the Phoenix brothers’ acting was another.

"Silver hasn’t caused any trouble, has he?" After the greetings, River immediately asked, still very concerned about his younger brother.

"Don’t tell me you haven’t spoken to him on the phone," Adrian said, laughing.

"You know, we can’t trust just Silver’s word," Joaquin replied earnestly.

"Okay, he’s doing well. As I’ve said, if he’s willing to put in his all, walking this red carpet would be a breeze," Adrian laughed, then turned to other people. Several key members of the "Good Will Hunting" crew were here.

"Hi, Robin, Gus, and... Natalie." (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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