King of Hollywood-Chapter 574 - 295: It’s Better to Have Some Sense of Proportion

Chapter 574: Chapter 295: It’s Better to Have Some Sense of Proportion

Rachel Weisz’s status could also be seen as not treating famous women as people, but she differed from Nicole and Zetajones. Adrian actually liked her, and their mutual entanglements weren’t as deep as with the others. His relationship with her was special, just as with Britney, Rachel had a unique attribute among Adrian’s women.

Adrian was very fond of Rachel in this way, liking the excitement that emanated from her desperate struggles. As for Rachel’s thoughts, they were unimportant, though she might have realized the root of her problem. If at first her masochistic tendencies were mild, now she was completely under Adrian’s control—understand, her masochism was psychological, not physical.

Now, back to the main topic, The Mummy had achieved considerable success. On its opening day, it garnered $15 million at the box office from 3,000 North American theaters. Over the next two days, not only did it maintain this momentum, it even grew, resulting in a final weekend box office of over $47 million, rightfully taking the top spot on the weekend box office charts.

"Amazing special effects and an interesting storyline; the actors’ performances are also very commendable," Variety appraised.

Roger Robert also affirmed the film, "It’s hard to say it’s exactly to my taste, but nearly every moment had me applauding. I won’t argue about the script, scene coordination, or the performances, including the Mummy, but I can definitely say I was never bored, and sometimes even found myself pleasantly surprised. It’s a good movie."

Even those who believed the Mummy in the film did not quite fulfill its role as a source of terror and that inappropriate jokes at times diluted the mood, they still recognized the film as highly entertaining.

Sommers was walking on air because of this, as the setbacks he had suffered from Deep Rising seemed much less significant now. However, it was not yet time to completely relax; despite the movie’s strong momentum, he had invested almost $80 million, so he would not feel entirely at ease until the cost was recouped. That’s why thoughts of a sequel had to be temporarily suppressed.

But even if he could temporarily set this aside, it did not mean others would.

"I know you might still have some concerns, so all we need to do now is outline the sequel and then gradually flesh it out. That way, when we start preparation, we won’t waste too much time. This has always been my approach," Adrian explained with a smile, "Besides, you know, movies have foreshadowing."

Of course, Sommers knew. Adrian had reminded him early in the filming to plant some hints for a sequel, like Immorton’s references to Evelyn—discussion had ensued between them about this.

"It’s simple, the average person couldn’t get involved in this sort of thing. We can work on the causality, like what important figure could Rick’s Evelyn have been in a past life—how about setting Evelyn up as the Pharaoh’s daughter? Yes, we’re discussing the sequel, but why can’t we lay the groundwork in the first film? In case there really is a sequel," that’s what Adrian had said then.

In that case, Sommers had nothing more to say; it was just a matter of changing a few lines of dialogue in the movie. So Immorton’s words when he first encounters Evelyn were altered slightly, followed by a change in his attitude towards her.

"Princess? Please come with me, Ansuna!" Immorton had said.

Moreover, after consuming the first American, Immorton’s reference to Evelyn also included the words "Princess." Of course, to prevent this title from seeming like a plot hole, the subsequent conversation in the library with the curator and others was also slightly modified.

"He called me Princess, and referred to me as Ansuna, what does that mean?" asked Evelyn to the curator.

"Ansuna was his lover, the reason for his punishment, as for Princess... Ansuna was no princess," replied the curator.

"Maybe after being buried underground for thousands of years, he’s gone senile?" Jonathan joked.

Ansuna was the daughter of a certain noble, and it would not be wrong to refer to her as "Her Royal Highness" — but let’s not get entangled in these details. The problem we’re facing is severe, he clearly still wants to resurrect her," replied Ades Bay, clad in black.

With these setups in place, it will be easier to come full circle with the story in the sequel, and those particularly attentive viewers who noticed the slight inconsistency will have an epiphany. However, it is indeed too early to talk about the sequel, so Adrian only asked Somers to prepare an outline for now, to be developed after the first film has fully matured.

After the premiere, Adrian stayed for two more days to confirm the weekend box office and then returned to New Zealand once more. Although Rachel looked quite good in "The Mummy" and was essentially under his control, Adrian did not play the game he had played many times before. There was plenty of time, no rush. Before leaving, he also did not forget to visit his daughter and the two heavily pregnant women who were becoming increasingly emotional.

Monica and Sophie both really hoped he would stay a few more days with them, but who chose "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy? As a result, Monica and Sophie both lost their tempers. If it were before, they might not have understood, but now they were pregnant women, pregnant for several months, so their feelings needed to be understood.

Of course, Adrian was not the type to be inconsiderate. He made a considerable effort to appease them and promised to return to Los Angeles at the end of the month, when all his time would be dedicated to them. In any case, everything was relatively calm in the upcoming period, and there wasn’t anything that urgently required his attention, as long as the progress of "The Lord of the Rings" didn’t fall behind.

In fact, falling behind wasn’t even an option, as Jackson was doing a really terrific job. The tasks that Adrian left with him when he departed for the "Entrapment" premiere were completed to his satisfaction, and this time, before going back for "The Mummy," he specifically arranged a few main scenes for Jackson to try directing. The results were just as impressive.

More importantly, he wasn’t as fixated on the grand scenes and epic narrative techniques as he was at the start. The things Adrian had instilled in him were clearly having an effect.

"Well done, it seems that even without me, you could independently produce this trilogy," he teased Jackson, "It looks like I can leave the remaining shots in your capable hands."

Of course, that was just a joke. Though his version was mostly similar to the original, there were still quite a few adjustments, and those could only be handled properly by someone who knew the strengths and weaknesses of the original like himself. However, some scenes could indeed be entrusted to Jackson, but that would have to wait for over a month, as the southern hemisphere had fully entered winter by then.

"What should I say? Offer my sympathies for the unfortunate weather you’ve been encountering?" Cameron quipped with a beer bottle in hand after Adrian had complained about the weather.

"No, no, no, James, all I need from your studio is to produce the best possible effects at the lowest price. That would be the best help to me," Adrian replied, shaking his head like a bobblehead.

"That’s not my problem, you know, my pursuit of perfection is endless," laughed Cameron.

"The problem is, I’m not you, and I don’t plan on pouring unlimited funds into a movie," Adrian said, taking a sip of his beer.

"Ha, you’re admitting it then, at least in some aspect you’re not as good as me," Cameron exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent.

Who knew Adrian would just spread his arms, "When have I ever said I’m better than you in every way? Yes, I’m good at some things, but I’m not a genius in every field. Is it shameful to admit that there are things I’m not as good at as others?"

"Damn, can’t you let me be happy for just a few minutes?" feeling like his punch had hit the air, Cameron sighed and then raised his beer bottle to clink against Adrian’s with a ting of a clear sound.

"You know, to produce good special effects, necessary expenses are certain. Of course, if you have any extraordinary suggestions, you can tell them," said Cameron afterward.

"Speaking of which... I do have a suggestion," Adrian suddenly recalled something, "Don’t you think outsourcing some of the special effects could make the studio more efficient?"

"Outsourcing? Are you joking?" Cameron raised an eyebrow, "Or are you trying to tell me that you think my studio isn’t good enough, so you plan to outsource to Industrial Light & Magic?"

"Of course not," Adrian laughed, "I know what you mean, James, I just meant, what about outsourcing the lower tech stuff, like those hand-drawn distant CG images—how about outsourcing to China?"

"China? That authoritarian country? What kind of CG can they produce? If you were talking about Hong Kong, maybe."

"My company began dealing with the Chinese four or five years ago. I may not say I understand that ancient country deeply, but surely more than many do. They may not be up to it now, but who’s to say about the future?" Adrian said leisurely, then swallowed the phrase "In a few years, you’ll have to go there to promote your new films" back down.

As a reborn individual, he was aware of the vast market in China, so when Hollywood studios began planning to test the waters in China, he used the "market" as a reason to persuade Claude to get involved. Initially, due to limited influence, they mostly worked with Paramount to "break new ground." A few years later, as the company grew stronger, and after acquiring one of the Seven Major Film Companies, Universal, he gradually began to deal with Chinese officials independently.

This didn’t impact anything much—finding the right people and pathways made cooperation a piece of cake, and in these intricacies, Adrian undoubtedly knew more than others at different film companies. Besides, he had registered quite a few things with the China Intellectual Property Bureau—including that penguin.

Although the China Patent Bureau was established in the ’80s, few people cared until the Japanese stole countless technologies and registered them worldwide, then turned around to charge them patent fees, which led to much regret. Interestingly, Westerners venturing into China to develop the market today still lack this awareness; they might register trademarks and patents in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other places, selectively forgetting about mainland China.

The most famous example would have to be Apple; Western companies held advantages, means, and supports, unlike China in the ’80s, which even when aware of being undercut by Japan, could do nothing about it. Even so, many Western companies suffered losses in this regard, hence Adrian wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen to himself. He was now a capitalist.

However, while casually securing the trademarks for the iPad worldwide—undeniably, Jobs was a crazed and formidable character, and Apple was already making its way out of hardship, even beginning to make a profit. While the IT stock bubble was inflating, Jobs’ personal capabilities played a significant role too. Perhaps the iPad concept was already brewing in his mind, and preemptively obtaining the trademark might necessitate schmoozing later.

As for others, Adrian didn’t care much; he wasn’t noble enough to remind others. As for China, much of his success now came largely from his past life. There were issues he had to confront, but there was no need for worry—he always had plans in place, always many of them.

Alright, back on track. Adrian didn’t pursue the topic of outsourcing any further. While he indeed had given it some thought, it would depend on specific circumstances.

"Still leisurely on vacation? No other thoughts?" Adrian inquired.

"Who told you that? I am indeed on vacation, but I haven’t put down the work on shooting. I’m making a documentary about the ocean," Cameron said confidently.

"I heard that Fox is thinking of making ’Terminator 3.’ Don’t you want to direct it?" Adrian deliberately asked.

"Cut it out. I’ve told you, the series ended with ’Terminator 2.’ The director’s cut made my standpoint clear," Cameron expressed with mild annoyance, evidently not fond of Fox’s plan for a third installment. They had altered the ending he preferred for the sake of setting up a sequel, which he had to relegate to the director’s cut.

"But as a producer and screenwriter, they can’t do without you," Adrian laughed.

"Yes, yes, I know," Cameron sighed. "Let’s talk about you, Ed. You promised me there would be a movie suitable for me to direct. When do you plan to deliver? You know, I always thought you were talking about ’Spider-Man,’ and to think... that’s quite disappointing."

Listening to his sigh, Adrian couldn’t help but shake his head with a chuckle. Who knew that the "King of the World," before becoming enthralled with film because of "2001: A Space Odyssey," was a fervent fan of "Spider-Man." In fact, shortly after completing "Terminator 2" in the early ’90s, he had the idea of bringing "Spider-Man" to the big screen and even found a film company to support him. They had even obtained the film rights from Marvel.

Regrettably, or perhaps fortunately, because Marvel had sold the animation and television rights for "Spider-Man" to Sony, Sony also possessed a portion of the film rights, leading to an impasse between the two companies—Sony demanded two billion dollars—so the issue dragged on unresolved. The company had only purchased a five-year term, and Cameron got busy with "Titanic," which eventually led to the deal falling through.

Marvel’s comic book character rights have always been muddled, with one character being sold to multiple companies being a common occurrence. When AC Media was acquiring Marvel, Wall Street analysts had warned that if the rights issues couldn’t be resolved, the comic book characters would be difficult to be monetized, negatively impacting their value.

Therefore, after completing the acquisition, AC Media began integrating Marvel while also starting to reclaim comic book character rights. Sony could demand a high price from that company, but they couldn’t do so with AC Media. There was some cooperation between them for one, and AC Media having Marvel was another point—in a lawsuit, AC Media would have a significant advantage.

Moreover, the portion of film rights Sony acquired was permanent. Are there permanent rights in this world? Not to mention that AC Media is a US company. Once it went to court, the already slim chance of winning was reduced even further, so it was better to go with the flow and grant a favor.

Adrian thus secured the complete film rights for "Spider-Man" with a few unimpressive comic characters and scripts, and it was fortunate that at that time no one had realized the value of Marvel, or the deal wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

"That’s not going to work, my dear James; I’ve read the script you wrote for ’Spider-Man,’ and honestly, it’s not bad, but it’s a bit dark, and too adult," said Adrian.

"What’s the problem with making superhero movies a bit darker and more adult-oriented?" Cameron asked dissatisfied.

"Of course, there’s no issue. The greatest charm of Marvel’s superheroes is that they are people with flaws," shrugged Adrian. "But first, we need to establish Marvel Comics’ brand, to make everyone recognize the charm of Marvel’s superheroes, so the movie has to be at least PG-13 rated."

Cameron’s script didn’t have that mainstream appeal. Peter Parker was portrayed as a foul-mouthed bad boy who even made love with Mary on the Brooklyn Bridge, and such elements—at least before Marvel had made its mark—needed to be toned down.

"Don’t feel bad, at least this version of the script still keeps the device you designed for shooting webs from the wrists. If you want, I can have your name added to the scriptwriters," Adrian patted Cameron’s shoulder.

That’s right, in the comics, Peter Parker sprayed webs using his own designed equipment, but in Cameron’s original script, it was directly from the wrists. The current version set to be released at the end of the year kept his design.

"No need, I’m not a petty man," laughed Cameron.

"Alright, I must go. I need to arrange for everyone to go to the ski resort in Queenstown tomorrow; I have to check on it," said Adrian, looking at the time before finishing his beer in one gulp.

"Wait, Ed," called Cameron suddenly, with a somewhat unusual expression on his face.

"What’s up?" Adrian looked at him.

"We’re old friends, right?"

"Of course."

"...Sometimes, it’s good to measure things a bit."

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome tocast your recommend votes and monthly votes at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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