King of Hollywood
Chapter 298 - Chapter 298 Chapter 25 Preparing the Large Boat

Chapter 298: Chapter 25 Preparing the Large Boat Chapter 298: Chapter 25 Preparing the Large Boat “What are you laughing at, Ed?” Don Simpson, who was conversing with Jerry Bruckheimer beside Adrian, was the first to notice his smile and looked curiously in the direction he was gazing at.

“Nothing,” Adrian turned his head, his smile unabated, “I bet Michael Bay is thinking right now: just you wait, I’ll surpass you someday.”

“Surpassing Jamie won’t be easy,” Simpson shrugged as he watched, “Michael is certainly a talented director, but he’s still quite a distance from Jamie. He’s a bit too fascinated with dazzling and explosive visuals, always wanting to make the film look cooler and more impactful, thereby neglecting the development of the story.”

Admittedly, Simpson had hit upon Michael Bay’s Achilles’ heel, an issue that continued to hamper him for years to come.

“It’s good for young people to have drive, even with this or that flaw, as long as he realizes it, he will naturally find a way to correct it. Jerry didn’t grow under your guidance?” Adrian said, though deep down he didn’t really believe Michael Bay would make adjustments, but who knew the future would definitely follow his memory?

“Indeed,” Simpson nodded and then something came to mind as he looked at him, “Wait a minute, you’re a young man too, aren’t you, Ed? Not to mention Jerry, Mike seems to be a couple of years older than you, right?”

“What, you and Jerry are allowed to play the old card, and I’m not?” Adrian jested.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything.” Jerry Bruckheimer, who was suddenly dragged into this, quickly raised his hands in defense.

The three of them laughed together, and Adrian glanced over at a nearby location before taking his leave. After taking a few steps, he turned his head back, having thought of something, and said, “I believe this will definitely be a box-office hit, Don, so are you interested in collaborating again?”

Simpson looked at Adrian with a surprised expression: “What’s the good idea now, Ed?”

“Yes, it’s a story that’s exciting, explosive, and stunning. I’ve already picked out the producers and directors,” Adrian said, glancing at Bruckheimer and then at Michael Bay, who was still conversing with Cameron in the distance. The implication was clear, “I even have candidates for the three main actors. I believe if we continue to collaborate, this will be another box-office hit.”

“Can you tell me the rough concept?” Simpson was immediately interested.

“Now? Or shall we wait until after the premiere of ‘Bad Boys’? I need to systematically organize this concept first so that I can explain it better to you,” Adrian chuckled and walked away, “Excuse me.”

Simpson shrugged his shoulders, somewhat disappointed but not minding. Adrian had said as much, so it was better to wait for his detailed concept. This young man had proven on many occasions that his words were always genuine.

“Oh, sorry, my boyfriend’s here.” Before Adrian reached the bar front, a long-haired girl who had spotted him left the man she was talking with and walked over, taking Adrian’s arm and beaming with a sweet smile.

Adrian was surprised but did not show it on his face, smiling and looking at her: “Did I interrupt you?”

“You never told me you already had a boyfriend,” the man, who looked to be somewhere between his twenties and thirties and still somewhat handsome, immediately showed a disappointed and somewhat unwilling face, ignoring Adrian’s presence completely.

“Did I not?” The girl thought for a bit and then laughed, “Sorry, I might have forgotten.”

“Why did you come here, Liv? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” By now, Adrian could clearly see what was going on and affectionately asked, leaning in to kiss her attractive cheek.

“I saw you were having a good talk and didn’t want to disturb you, so I walked around by myself,” Liv shrugged.

“Sorry, darling, I’ve neglected you. Can you give me a chance to apologize?” Adrian asked with a sincere tone. Liv quickly glanced at the man, pretended to ponder, and then playfully smiled, “Okay.”

Adrian then led her away and politely smiled at the man, though he was a bit arrogant, Adrian could not afford to be. The man subsequently raised his hands and muttered something as he walked off in the opposite direction.

“This is your date? Not fun at all,” Adrian had barely looked away when Liv asked with dissatisfaction.

“What’s wrong? Is there something unpleasant about the movie premiere?” Adrian asked, puzzled.

“No, but it’s not much different from a party. I thought I’d see something else,” Liv pouted and continued, “I’ve been attending parties since I was born, enough is enough, can’t life offer more than just parties?”

She paused for a moment, then looked around and added, “Of course, I admit this premiere is different from parties, but… I just had a birthday party a few days ago, so…”

Liv gestured without speaking further, but the pout did not fade, adding to her charm.

“It’s a pity, I couldn’t attend on July 1st, otherwise I would have livened up the party,” Adrian said with a smile, “I hope you liked the birthday gift I sent.”

“Not bad, but now you’re wasting the chance I’m giving you, Ed,” Liv suddenly released his arm, planted her hands on her waist, and looked at him, “I won’t comment on the dragged-out agreement, or the perfunctory dates we’ve had before, but if it continues like this, then I’ll have to say goodbye.”

A charming girl. Watching the girl’s slightly discontented blue eyes, Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly, then he laughed, “How about this, tomorrow or the day after, I’ll take you to a very beautiful place, you’ll like it.”

“Really?” Liv blinked, showing a hint of surprise.

As Adrian was about the say something, surprised by her reaction, Cameron’s voice suddenly came over: “Hey, Ed, you’re here, no wonder I couldn’t find you over there.”

“Looks like you finally got away from them,” Adrian said with a smile as he shook hands with him.

“Not too bad, where did you find this newcomer to direct? That kid has some great ideas about special effects,” Cameron rambled on, and then noticed Liv standing by Adrian’s side, “Who is this?”

“There are always a lot of people looking for you, so I won’t bother you anymore, Ed. I’m waiting for our date,” Liv said, pulling a funny face before quickly walking away without waiting for Adrian to speak.

“Liv Tyler, the leading actress in the movie I’m working on with Tim Burton,” Adrian explained.

Cameron gave a meaningful ‘oh,’ as if he wanted to say something else, but after glancing at Adrian, he went back to his original question, “How’s it going now?”

Although the question seemed out of the blue, Adrian knew what he was concerned about. The reason Cameron came to the premiere of “Bad Boys,” besides being invited by Adrian, was that “True Lies” was closing in on roughly 100 million US Dollars at the North American box office.

The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee had somewhat affected the movie’s box office performance, yet it couldn’t stop the hot screening of “True Lies.” It was clear to almost everyone that after the third week, breaking 100 million in North America was inevitable. As for the international box office, a unified ban by Arab countries might cause some loss, but it wasn’t a problem for the film to recoup its investment. The only question remaining was just how much profit it would make, so Cameron was eager to find Adrian again.

“Pretty well,” Adrian said with a smile, but then he brought up another topic, “How has the past half year been for you, Jamie?”

“Great, what about it?” Cameron didn’t understand why he was being asked this but still patiently answered.

“I mean, have you done any interesting activities, like travel or something?” Adrian continued, gesturing with his hands.

“Of course, at the beginning of last month, Linda and I went on vacation to Hawaii. We deliberately went to a deeper diving area. The world beneath the sea is just so beautiful,” Cameron reminisced.

“That’s not necessarily the case,” Adrian said with a smile. “In deeper places, it’s pitch-black, with few living creatures–nothing beautiful about it. Like the spot where the largest ship in the world at that time sank decades ago.”

“The largest ship in the world at that time?” Cameron paused, then his eyes lit up. He had been trying to figure out why Adrian was telling him all this since their conversation began, and now how could he not catch on?

“You want to make a movie about the Titanic?” Excitement tinged his voice.

“You know, just last weekend, as simple as it was, ‘Twisters’ easily knocked ‘True Lies’ off the top of the North American box office, so I want to make–or rather have you make and direct–a disaster movie related to the Titanic,” Adrian said bluntly, “Of course, not just a disaster, but also including a deeply touching love story, like between a poor boy and a rich girl. What’s more important is–”

He made a lengthy pause, watching Cameron hang on his every word before continuing, “I’m personally investing 200 million US Dollars for the shooting. I don’t care how you splash the cash. You can rent a submarine to observe the wreckage up close, or build a 1:1 scale huge model ship for filming, or even take three to four years to produce it. I just want to see a beautifully crafted super-production that will astonish and amaze the whole world–Don’t tell me you can’t do it!”

“200 million US Dollars? Are you sure?!” Even for a maverick like Cameron, that figure made him swallow hard; his eyes were fixed on Adrian, afraid he would next tell him it was all a joke.

“Yes, 200 million US Dollars, for you to spend as you wish,” Adrian spread his hands, “This is absolutely no joke, Jamie. I’ve said I want to create miracles with you, and I can definitely keep my word.”

Then, he added, “Of course, only 200 million US Dollars!”

Although Adrian remembered the final cost of this unprecedented production was $240 million, he only offered a budget of $200 million. Once Cameron started burning money, he wouldn’t hesitate to splurge, not even hesitating if the budget doubled. Despite knowing the potential profits the movie could bring, it didn’t mean Adrian could tolerate Cameron’s unrestrained spending, especially since it was entirely funded by him personally.

So, Adrian directly offered $200 million in funding, which meant that even someone like Cameron would need to think twice before burning through the cash. And should Cameron brazenly ask for additional investment later, the favor owed would naturally be much greater.

Without hesitation, Cameron agreed. How many people in Hollywood had the audacity to spend $200 million on producing a single film? Missing such an opportunity would be foolish.

Honestly, Adrian had considered directing the movie himself–after all, it was “Titanic”, a film that had broken global box office records and would be revered for centuries in film history. However, after giving it much thought, he decided against it, simply because he didn’t have the time to devote to such an extensive and energy-consuming project. Not to mention the myriad difficulties during filming, the myriad details were daunting enough, and Adrian couldn’t match Cameron’s pursuit of perfection in every detail.

He remembered reading an anecdote about Cameron’s production of “Titanic”. During the filming of the dining scenes, Cameron had discovered that the cutlery didn’t bear “Titanic” inscriptions and declared all previously filmed footage void until he could have cutlery custom-made from a British manufacturer. This back-and-forth cost nearly $100,000, and with the previous footage scrapped, that was how the money was burned.

It wasn’t that Adrian couldn’t produce the movie; with Cameron’s original as a reference, coupled with his own experience in “remakes”, he wouldn’t need to spend a year and a half in preparation and another year and a half filming. But even so, a rough estimate told him that it might still take almost two years to complete without building a 1:1 scale model.

That was far too long. It would also consume most of his own energy, and although Adrian didn’t mind gaining an additional halo of prestige, it wasn’t his main objective. Besides, he already had other plans to enhance the director’s prestige, ones that promised to be just as impactful as “Titanic”. Therefore, it was better to leave this honor and burden to Cameron, which would also fully demonstrate his acumen and boldness in judging people and films.

The two didn’t continue the conversation further. Adrian had made such a surprising commitment, yet the story was still only a concept without even an outline. Although Cameron was excited and invigorated by the promise, he also felt considerable pressure and naturally needed to go back and think carefully about how to prepare.

“Bad Boys” finally premiered, allowing the major film companies that were keeping a watchful eye to breathe a sigh of relief. Its number of theaters was similar to that of “Twisters”, but its opening weekend box office was only around $17 million. While it made it onto the North American box office charts, it was among the last few, nowhere near the momentum of “True Lies” or “Twisters”. No wonder a Paramount executive privately gloated to his assistant, saying that big investments bring big money, so in the end, they needed to be involved.

Yet, they seemed to forget that while “Bad Boys” didn’t match the earlier two films in its opening week, it cost only around $20 million, which was a quarter of “Twisters” and a fifth of “True Lies”. Moreover, all three films lingering on the North American box office charts were produced by Bossworth Film Company, with Fox and Warner only involved in investing and distribution.

When this sentiment reached Adrian’s ears, he simply laughed it off. Them having such thoughts aligned perfectly with his intentions. Although, after AC Media acquired TBS, the major film companies realized that it was less likely to completely suppress Bossworth Film Company. However, they hadn’t given up on trying to trip it up, considering that Bossworth had been too dazzling in the past three years.

Luckily, as Adrian anticipated, the early establishment of DreamWorks drew much attention. After securing financing for a robust capacity that other new companies lacked, Katzenberg ambitiously aimed to elevate DreamWorks to rival the Seven Major Film Companies and extended its reach into various fields, including movies, music, and animation.

Such a bold move was bound to capture people’s attention. Some believed that DreamWorks, with Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen, would become a new powerhouse not to be underestimated in Hollywood. Others thought it was too early to gauge how far DreamWorks could go. Executives from major film companies started to observe the impact of DreamWorks’ establishment on the industry, naturally diverting their focus from Bossworth Film Company.

With this mindset, there was even less to worry about. Moreover, with New Line and Miramax also under AC Media’s umbrella, any small moves by other companies were of little concern.

In any case, the success of the three films was already assured. At the same time, the popularity of “Bad Boys” Black actors Martin Lawrence and Will Smith was beginning to surge–regrettably, “Twisters” star was the tornado itself, so even though Kate was gaining attention, in terms of rising popularity, she couldn’t keep pace with the two “bad boys”.

Prompted by Adrian, the talent agencies quickly brought Will Smith on board, while Lawrence followed naturally. It wasn’t favoritism on Adrian’s part; Lawrence was from the Black neighborhoods and often spoke frankly to the point of controversy, while Smith was raised in a middle-class family, with a mindset closer to America’s mainstream society. Therefore, the former presented more challenges, while the latter gained wider adoration. Adrian had already prepared a new, very exciting sci-fi movie for him, one whose director’s agent had been employed by the talent agency even before it was acquired by AC Media.

Of course, before that, Adrian had a date to deal with.

(To be continued, for further information, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters are available there to support the author and for legitimate reading.)

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