King of Hollywood-Chapter 564 - 285: What Are They Doing?

Regarding Adrian’s promotion of the New Zealand director, Peter Jackson, to head one of the groups, no one in the crew had anything to say. Everyone knew that Miracle Director liked to promote directors who weren’t very famous, and they also knew that his judgement was almost always right—especially since Jackson’s achievements spoke for themselves.

"If you all could achieve this standard and fully grasp the script like this, my job would be a lot easier," Adrian said to the other group heads during the meeting, as he showed them a clip shot by Jackson.

Being the boss had its advantages. Besides, everyone present had worked with him on three or four movies and knew that the Miracle Director always dealt with matters objectively. So, having that tolerance was expected. Additionally, working alongside Adrian—where the replaced group head was now assistant director at headquarters—was somewhat busy but definitely less stressful than handling a group’s activities.

By May, time had started to flow, and with The Expendables being released in other regions, this star-studded blockbuster quickly swept across both sides of the Atlantic. Not only did the box office soar—having already exceeded one hundred million in North America—the action stars whose popularity had been waning seemed to find a second wind. Besides the action-packed collaboration of the Three Giants, other actors, including newcomers Diesel and Jet Li, and even The Rock who barely had any lines, were praised for looking cool while firing a machine gun with a straight face.

Hence, merchandise related to the movie was also planned. Each actor had merchandise designed specifically for their unique skills and props, and fans who liked them definitely wouldn’t be stingy. In addition to this, an album filled with explosive rock music was about to be released, and Marvel was preparing to test the waters by producing a comic issue. Everything was progressing smoothly according to Adrian’s plan, and even if there were occasional diversions, the overall direction was correct.

This was the power of a well-operated group. Although Adrian played a decisive leading role, once he set the direction and achieved results, they naturally started to expand on that.

ABC was a prime example, finally running alongside their old rival NBC, largely thanks to the TV shows and reality shows provided by Adrian. Their own built-up capabilities were also part of the reason. The Practice, a drama with good ratings that had won the Emmy Award for Best Drama Series the previous year, was acquired from Fox. Likewise, NYPD Blue, another law drama that supported them before AC Media acquired ABC, was purchased from Fox too.

Besides The Expendables, two other movies under AC Media debuted at the beginning of May. First was Swordfish, which was supposed to release at the end of the previous year but was delayed. After seeing The Matrix, director Sena wanted to remake the opening scene—a decision Adrian strongly supported given his impression of that opening.

It turned out that remaking the opening was the right move. The stunning intro, combined with Sean Penn’s performance, which rivaled Taravolta’s, attracted a lot of attention from the movie fans. In the first weekend, it grossed over 30 million across 2200 theaters in North America. Although this figure was slightly below the forecast, it was significantly better than the original. Even with some flaws in the movie and without Adrian spending time and effort on guidance, this performance was quite good. At least, covering the production cost through the box office was not an issue, and it was indeed a decent debut for Halle Berry, who, despite lacking a bold scene, still displayed all the charm expected of the Black Pearl.

Following Swordfish, Blade was released. Despite starting production later than Spider Man, it had fewer scenes and special effects, resulting in a quicker production, which let it complete sooner. Adrian later agreed to let Blade be the first superhero movie based on a Marvel Comics series adapted in the ’90s, and he postponed the release date of Spider Man to the Christmas season.

The original Spider Man debuted in 2002 and was a massive success due to various factors, one of which was the significant popularity that Blade and X-Men had already created for Marvel Comics. Although this was not the only determining factor—the popularity of the Spider Man comics and its relatable settings also played significant roles—it couldn’t be ignored.

Therefore, even though this version outperformed the original in several aspects, and the youthful Maguire and Liv resembled their comic book counterparts better, having other comic book movies lay the groundwork was still necessary.

With around 2000 theaters, "Blade" had a slightly poorer opening North American box office compared to "Swordfish," earning just over $20 million, but this was still very encouraging, especially since the movie cost much less than "Swordfish" to produce. Marvel Comics breathed a sigh of relief, as it proved that their comic superheroes still had a market, and they were increasingly hopeful about the end-of-year release of "Spider Man."

"The future belongs to Marvel?" The New York Times soon used this headline, noting that before "Blade," the popular superheroes on the screen were only Superman and Batman, both owned by Marvel’s rival DC, which had made a fortune for DC and Warner. Now, with the decent performance of the "Blade" movie, it seemed that Marvel was ready to step up. Considering that "Spider Man" was already being publicized unusually early in its production and was almost certain to be released at the end of the year, perhaps future superhero movies would truly belong to Marvel?!

Many film companies were getting restless, but they were all too slow, as Marvel Comics had already been acquired by AC Media, which now owned several impressive film companies, including Universal, and had a Miracle Director who knew how to make movies. It wasn’t easy to acquire rights from them.

Even so, many producers tried to contact Marvel. If they tried, there might be a small chance, but if they didn’t try, there would be no chance at all; however, Adrian remained non-committal about these contacts.

"Don’t rush; let’s talk after the end of the year." This was his response to Marvel Comics. After "Spider Man" was released, Marvel’s potential for superhero films would be further demonstrated, and they would have more bargaining chips for negotiations. In fact, Marvel’s executives were aware of this, but they didn’t understand, as Adrian did, how much "Spider Man" could bring in.

As media coverage of "Blade" and Marvel Comics increased, entertainment journalists started looking for news about the Miracle Director. Time had shown that they had been optimistic about Marvel Comics long before, and it was rumored that "Spider Man" being made into a movie first was due to Adrian’s insistence.

But the problem was that they couldn’t find Adrian. Even before Vanity Fair reported that the Miracle Director would bring "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy to the screen, journalists had been scouring for information, but it wasn’t until Adrian attended the premiere of "The Expendables" that they got any news, and it was unrelated to "The Lord of the Rings," mentioning only that the next two parts of "The Matrix" would be made concurrently.

The reporters were at a loss; they had checked possible filming locations from Montana to Ontario, from the British Isles to the Nordic countries, and still had not found the Miracle Director and his "The Lord of the Rings" crew—it was unbelievable. Did they go to Mars for external shots?

So, even though "Blade" stirred up the movie market in May, operations in New Zealand remained smooth. A confidentiality agreement with the local government in Queenstown was a factor, as was the reporters’ blind spot. No one expected Adrian to come to the Southern Hemisphere to shoot this epic.

Thus, he was unconcerned about the reporters and quietly continued with the production of "The Lord of the Rings." With Peter Jackson’s involvement, the efficiency of the crew had at least doubled, and any slight dissatisfaction from other leaders dissipated during subsequent work. However, what replaced it was astonishment—Peter Jackson’s understanding of the script was just too thorough!

As far as understanding the novel was concerned, the leaders considered themselves no less competent. They had been instructed by Adrian early on to spend time reading it. But when it came to understanding the script, Jackson often got it after just a quick explanation, as though he had read it countless times before. Even if there was something he didn’t understand, a single discussion with Adrian would clear it up—really incomparable.

However, for the actors, the changes within the crew were not significant. They continued to work hard at their roles after rotating breaks. Ringwraiths chasing Hobbits, orcs attacking human villages, the Rings Protection Team experiencing mishaps in the mines... As these scenes were sequentially filmed, stories of Lothlorien and Rohan soon began, and then, the male actors started to feel envious again.

Last month, they had already seen Adrian flirting with Liv, Kate, and Charlize. Now, as the next two segments unfolded, the three main female leads—Blanchett and Gwyneth—arrived in New Zealand, and Adrian started flirting again! This was just infuriating!

"This is too exaggerated. So many women revolving around one man, don’t they find it strange? Or do they not know there are more women?" Davis, who played Gimli, had sighed more than once in private.

No matter how frustrated or how much they gossiped, the affectionate interactions of Gwyneth, Blanchett, and Adrian, whispering sweet nothings, were not feigned. They dined and rested together, and it was just like last month when Charlize and her group were here. Thus, the male actors could only lament that the Miracle Director truly loved creating miracles.

Of course, there was one person who was very unhappy about this, and that was Liv, who had returned to Los Angeles to rest and returned to the set two days later than Blanchett and Gwyneth.

It was infuriating! Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at the somewhat gloomy sky outside, Liv bit her lip and thought angrily. She had finally waited for the weekend, hoping to ask Adrian to visit the North Island in New Zealand, but he had excused himself, claiming he had other commitments!

What could his commitments be? They were nothing but fooling around with those two women! And surely rolling around in bed together, utterly shameless! Liv still remembered how, the afternoon before yesterday, Adrian had invited her to take a walk in the nearby forest while the daytime temperature was still pleasant, because they had finished filming early. But because those two women had followed them, she had refused. Yet, feeling somewhat defeated later, she had driven after them.

After several rounds around the forest edges, she almost gave up, but then she spotted them near some tall trees. Then, that scene was deeply etched into her mind. Adrian leaned against the car parked by the trees, holding Blanchett on one side and Gwyneth on the other, his head buried in Blanchett’s lifted shirt, sucking at her chest, while his right hand pulled up Gwyneth’s skirt from behind, diving deep and teasing unabashedly.

Even from afar, Liv could still hear intermittent sounds, then later, they lay on the spread ground cloth and started their primal activities amidst the woods. Had she not left halfway with blushing cheeks, she wouldn’t have known what else might have occurred, given that before leaving, she had already reached down between her legs.

Shameless! The more she thought about it, the angrier Liv got, cursing inwardly again. She even kicked the carpet, completely forgetting that last month, when Kate and Charlize were rolling in bed with Adrian, she hadn’t said a word. Moreover, she had previously not been averse to threesomes with Adrian and Sarah, even trying it out in the garden.

"Alright, Liv, stop it, don’t be so childish." Standing in front of the mirror, she said to herself, "It’s nothing, right? Just like before, don’t mind."

Actually, there was no real conflict between her, Blanchett, and Gwyneth. Despite knowing each other’s roles, during their conversations, they didn’t treat her as an outsider. Gwyneth might be somewhat arrogant at times, but she was mostly nice. Her discontent was probably because she always felt that she couldn’t match their elegance. They always managed to exude a graceful demeanor. Yet, a deeper reason might be... she had gotten somewhat used to the one-on-one time with Adrian last month?

Thinking this, Liv suddenly threw a fierce punch into the air, gritting her teeth and glaring at the mirror, her chest heaving as if hitting Adrian’s face. Recalling the smirk on his face when he refused her earlier, it was obviously deliberate. And maybe he also knew about her following him the previous afternoon and spying on him.

How despicable, always making fun of people! Liv thought angrily, her cheeks turning red, yet a small part of her couldn’t help but harbor some thoughts.

She bit her lip and paced the room, then decisively clapped her hands together. After tidying her clothes and undoing her tied-up ponytail—Adrian had really liked her black, straight hair since the shooting of "The Lord of the Rings"—she then headed out the door.

The corridor outside was deserted, as the film crew had booked these two floors of the hotel, and being a weekend, most had gone out to relax and wouldn’t return until late. Liv quickly arrived at the door of a suite, looked around, and softly huffed as she took out the key and slid it into the door. Aside from Adrian, only she had his room key.

She tiptoed inside and gently closed the door behind her. Liv let out a sigh of relief and walked further in. She hadn’t gone two steps when she heard noises from the inner room, coupled with intense dialogue that startled her.

Could it be that he and they didn’t go out? This was troublesome. Liv, who originally came for a prank, started to have second thoughts, but the strange dialogue that gradually became clearer made her involuntarily stop in her tracks.

"No...you can’t do this...Sauron..." That was Blanchett’s voice, filled with moans, some sadness, but more so...

"You have no choice but to submit to me, Celeborn! You are now my servant!" That was Adrian’s voice, deep and somewhat wild.

"No...you can possess my body... you devil... but you cannot have my soul!"

"Wrong, soon you will be lost in your own desires, soon you will lose everything, soon your soul will completely submit to me, Elf Queen!"

Liv reached the slightly ajar inner room door and while gently catching her breath, she listened intently. The sounds mixed in the dialogue became clearer—it was indeed noises that could only come from that kind of activity. Her mind involuntarily flashed back to the scene she had seen from a distance in the woods two days before. She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t step away.

"Submit to the will of your master, noble Celeborn Your Majesty, you shall receive supreme glory and eternal pleasure!" Gwyneth’s voice then rose, filled with seduction, but also moans that suggested something floating.

"Oh, why, Eowyn, why do you do this... wake up... you are the daughter of Ithilien... you are the shield-maiden of Rohan... you shouldn’t be this way..."

"No, Your Majesty, I am now only Sauron’s servant, when I wholeheartedly served my master I understood what truth is. Drop your reservations, Your Majesty, see how enticing you are now."

"I... I... Sauron... master... I am willing to become your... no... I can’t... can’t..."

What are they doing? This is too... too strange... Standing at the door with her hand over her mouth, Liv couldn’t help but think this as she listened to another type of noise accompanying the speech, her cheeks blushing so hard they were nearly dripping water. It’s truly... truly absurd, I should leave here, yes, I should leave!

Just then, Adrian’s voice suddenly emerged inside: "Ah, I feel there’s another elf here, yes, the elf that is destined to be mine, right outside the door. Bring her in, Eowyn!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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