King of Hollywood
Chapter 448 - 170: He Should Be a Director from the United Kingdom!

Chapter 448: Chapter 170: He Should Be a Director from the United Kingdom!

In short, the movie depicted Elizabeth’s naive, simple, and lively side too much, yet focused little on her resoluteness and determination, showing spirit only when she sarcastically mocked various nobles and bishops with her resolutions. Moreover, the transformation of Elizabeth lacked convincing elements, leading the pace to become increasingly loose toward the end, leaving many matters unresolved and hastily concluded, resulting in a very anticlimactic ending.

Of course, this is not to say that "Elizabeth" is entirely without merit; the film has many strengths. For instance, the costumes and sceneries were meticulously and rigorously done, matching the late Middle Ages setting well, while also not strictly adhering to it, and the use of colors was excellent, making it a fine picturesque viewing in itself when other factors are discounted; the portrayal of Elizabeth also matched the general British public’s view of her—from a naïve and lively girl to an initially hesitant but eventually firm and decisive Queen, growing stronger in the face of consecutive setbacks. These were all aspects that added to its credit.

Additionally, several key scenes were handled quite well. They effectively portrayed the debates and even the mockery of the nobles and bishops, not to mention the final scene where Elizabeth paints her face white and declares her marriage to England, which was quite powerful. Coupled with the fact that biopics are particularly popular among film critics, especially those about historically famous figures, these strengths were especially magnified, thus overshadowing the flaws and it’s no surprise that the movie was highly acclaimed—particularly by the British—and favored at the Oscars.

However, masking these flaws doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Covering up once with strengths doesn’t mean it can always be done, so when the original producer made a sequel to "Elizabeth" ten years later, the same issues persisted, resulting in the movie being a third-rate commercial production.

Whether it was to make the story more appealing or to protect his own reputation, Adrian was not going to let these issues persist, therefore the script of "Elizabeth" underwent more modifications than "Shakespeare in Love." If "Shakespeare in Love" involved adding more appropriate details, then "Elizabeth" involved a complete overhaul of the details, a task that was no easy feat and severely taxed the top British screenwriters.

Initially, Adrian exchanged ideas with them occasionally, but as time passed, he largely left it to them, only checking in sporadically. He wasn’t worried they would ruin the script because the main plotline was off-limits, which had already proven popular. Thus, even if there were any issues with the details, it wouldn’t be worse than the original version. Adrian was very confident in his control.

Yet, apart from the reasons listed above, another very important factor for the film being highly praised was Blanchett’s performance. From the naïve young girl, to the newly-crowned yet enlightened young Queen, and finally the Elizabeth I who after profound disillusionment, sat resolutely on her throne. Blanchett exceptionally portrayed the three faces of the virgin queen, becoming the major highlight of the movie and causing many to feel she was unfairly snubbed by the Oscars for Best Actress.

In Adrian’s memory, before Blanchett officially starred in the movie, she had performed in stage plays for several years in Australia, especially Shakespearean dramas, which she was particularly familiar with. This not only honed her acting skills but also allowed her a relatively thorough understanding of the Elizabethan era, thus delivering an outstanding and atmospheric performance in the movie and becoming more widely known.

However, now with Adrian’s intervention, she arrived in Hollywood several years ahead of schedule. Although "Speed" did not make her a breakout star, it did make her well-known. Although she occasionally returned to Australia to perform in stage plays, it was too infrequent, and with another side of her character deeply explored and developed by Adrian, could she still deliver that kind of flavor?

The answer is definitely yes.

"Remember who you are, you are a princess, and they can’t do anything to you," Robert Dudley whispered comfortingly beside Elizabeth.

Elizabeth timidly glanced at him, her hands pulling at her cloak, her eyes filled with reluctance; she didn’t want to leave him. But the Queen’s knights were watching closely beside, and she couldn’t do anything but mount her horse and constantly look back as she left after a maid brought warmer clothes.

"Good!" Adrian, who was operating the camera himself, called out, clearly quite satisfied with the shot.

Indeed, Dennis didn’t even need to mention it; he had already filmed several shots of Dudley a few days ago, and he had already captured part of the feeling. With Gwyneth’s arrival, since there were no scenes for him in "Shakespeare in Love" at the moment, he did not have to switch back and forth between roles, which allowed him to immerse himself even more deeply.

But Blanchett indeed gave Adrian a surprise. He had been worried before because, by intervening himself, although her acting was beyond reproach, she might not be able to portray that particular style. However, the shots that had just been filmed proved his worries were unnecessary. Whether it was the scene where she was being taken away by the knight, looking tense and frightened as she sought help from her beloved, or an earlier one where she danced joyfully with the maid to the music, she expressed it all nearly perfectly.

Especially that scene depicting a maiden in the throes of first love yet shy, while still maintaining the decorum and restraint befitting a member of the Royal Family, was truly captivating.

"I don’t even know what words to use to praise you," Adrian said in an admiring tone to Blanchett, who was sitting in front of the makeup mirror in the trailer, having her hair done by the stylist.

"That’s enough already," Blanchett shrugged her shoulders. Once the stylist had left, and they were alone in the trailer, she turned towards him and smiled with a pursed mouth.

In the past few days, both Gwyneth and Blanchett had been radiant, obviously very well-tended by Adrian, and even though Blanchett’s current demeanor was less bold and chest-thrusting than Gwyneth’s earlier one, it was even more charming.

"Is it really that good?" she asked softly with a smile.

"Of course, especially now," Adrian raised his eyebrows, "I might even... think you are trying to seduce me."

"What if I really am?" Blanchett said, her words laden with meaning.

If that were actually the case...

Nevertheless, if someone were to provoke him, he would definitely not pretend not to see it, especially when the other party indeed aroused his desire, like Blanchett during the day. Although it was still a scene with three people, most of the attention was focused on Blanchett, exhausting her to the point of depletion, using her once before and once after before calling it quits.

Gwyneth was clearly displeased. After a short rest, she straddled Adrian and took the initiative to attack. Since she was so enthusiastic, Adrian was happy to oblige. Their competition became more proactive, which was a good sign.

The two movies were quietly filmed with Gwyneth and Blanchett staying close by his side every day, and he could harass Charlize whenever he wanted. Even though the tasks were heavy, Adrian still felt quite relaxed. Over the weekend, not only did he take Emma to Edinburgh to visit Rowling and get a signed copy of the best-selling "Chamber of Secrets," but he also invited Keira to join them.

Keira screamed with excitement when she learned that Rowling was the author of the two Harry Potter books. She bombarded Rowling with cute questions and behaved completely differently from how she had been acting on the way there, making faces at Adrian and giving nonsensical, bizarre answers. This depressed Adrian somewhat, but it also made him more interested.

From Keira’s reaction, one could see how popular the two novels were among children. After the full fermentation of "Philosopher’s Stone," the first printing quantity of "Chamber of Secrets" was almost the same and sold out immediately upon release. It was foreseeable that when the third volume was released, it would gain even more popularity.

"I think it’s time we talked about the movie rights, Joe," Adrian said as he was leaving.

"You’re really preparing..." Rowling was surprised and made a gesture. Upon receiving a positive response, a mixture of uncertainty and bittersweet expression flashed across her face.

"Don’t worry, I won’t let you suffer," Adrian said with a smile, knowing what she was thinking, "you know, I’m not the kind of person who is solely profit-oriented."

Anyone who knew him well enough would know that this statement was complete nonsense, but Rowling obviously didn’t, so she was somewhat relieved. After all, she owed her current success to Adrian, and if he had proposed stringent conditions for the movie rights, she really didn’t know how to refuse.

It was a classic case of helping someone count their money even after being sold by them, but if Adrian said she wouldn’t suffer a loss, then she wouldn’t. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as passive as dealing with Warner, but Rowling wouldn’t be shortchanged, especially since the entire Harry Potter series played an important role in his plans.

Well, that was a matter for later. First, they had to finish the current two movies. After the weekend, everything returned to normal. Interestingly, Adrian flirted with Gwyneth and Blanchett on the respective sets, and surprisingly not many people made much of it, despite many already knowing he had relationships with them.

But that was exactly why they didn’t bother to think too much about it; even if some were jealous or envious, by now they had had enough of those feelings. At most, they admired how a man could keep two women related to him so close and amicable without any fights, truly a paragon of men.

However, since it is said that not many noticed, it means some did catch on—specifically, two people who had to run between the two sets.

There’s no need to mention Dennis; he knew all about the women around Adrian, and given his personality, it was impossible for him not to have engaged in a threesome. But Geoffrey Rush had purely observed it, and as an actor of over ten years, he certainly had that capability.

Certainly, he didn’t tell anyone; after all, as an actor who had been in the business for over a decade, he knew very well what could and could not be said. Moreover, Adrian was not just a famous director. However, privately he often marveled at how the Miracle Director could impressively manage everyone around him.

If such low-profile filming could have continued, that would have been great, but beautiful dreams are always just that—dreams. As soon as Queen Elizabeth II returned from the royal lodge and promised to hold a grand funeral for Diana, Buckingham Palace also made an exception by lowering the flag to half-mast, which immediately dispersed the focused attention. Then, the news that Miracle Director was going to the United Kingdom to shoot a new movie with one of the female leads being Gwyneth Paltrow, who played Rose in "Titanic," quickly appeared on the entertainment pages of the newspapers.

This immediately attracted a great deal of attention from people who were already tired of the tragedy of the princess; after all, "Titanic" was still dominating the summer box office with a $300 million investment, and the male and female leads, as well as the theme song, were the topic of countless enthusiastic discussions. "My Heart Will Go On" even soared across various music charts because of the movie. Now, that big-spending Miracle Director who invested in "Titanic" and had a knack for producing widely acclaimed movies, coming to the United Kingdom to shoot a new movie with the female lead from "Titanic"—how could that not excite and intrigue people?!

Soon, various kinds of news emerged as swiftly as bamboo shoots after a rain. For example, another female lead was Miracle Girl Kate Blanchett, and the new movie was about the era of Elizabeth I. Some even claimed the story was about the love affair between the literary giant Shakespeare, his muse, and the queen who admired him, Elizabeth I!

This was indeed sheer nonsense, but some people actually believed it. "The Sun," which published the article, soon received letters of protest from readers. The opposing party thought it was all nonsense—Elizabeth I did admire Shakespeare, but it was ludicrous to think that Shakespeare could have any romantic relationship with the virgin queen. An American intending to make a movie about this was absurd!

"He clearly hasn’t watched Adrian’s ’Howards End,’ otherwise he wouldn’t think Adrian couldn’t produce a movie in the British style," a columnist from "The Sun" seriously commented on this letter, "Of course, whether the story is actually this cannot be confirmed, as we haven’t received approval from the director himself. In fact, we haven’t even seen him in person. But it is certain that Adrian Cowell should be considered a British director."

Ah, what an absurd yet amusing topic; however, the British could discuss it with a completely serious demeanor. They dug up Adrian’s never-seen British grandmother and analyzed from "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" to "Howards End" to "Emma," um, leaving out "Braveheart" completely, concluding two points: First, Adrian is British; second, he has directed many excellent movies in the British style.

Considering the above, he is an outstanding British director!

This conclusion only proved one thing: British folks really had some thick skin. Yet some, either out of joining the bandwagon or out of pride, overwhelmingly supported this conclusion, which was utterly dumbfounding. This was not strange; this kind of thing was not exclusive to the British, although they did pay some regard to concrete evidence—they hadn’t gotten as cheeky as the Zentradi.

"The Sun" publishing such an article naturally provoked a rebuttal from the Americans, who mocked the British for their desperation for a master-level director. But the problem was that although the United States did not recognize dual nationality, it also didn’t deny it, so technically speaking, if Adrian were claimed to be British, it somewhat held water, which naturally became the best shield for the British. Let them mock as much as they want; literally speaking, the statement wasn’t wrong.

Thus, the two sides engaged in a heated verbal battle, eliciting a good deal of public debate, thoroughly entertaining people. However, these arguments were limited to tabloids; mainstream newspapers didn’t treat this as a big deal. They continuously requested interviews with Adrian, hoping to feature him, but unfortunately, each request was refused.

"Adrian is very busy with work and needs to fully commit himself, so he is not accepting interviews at the moment," a spokesperson chosen from the crew commented internally with a wry smile, knowing all too well that there were more suitable candidates around Adrian, but he didn’t want Charlize to take up the role, so he had to choose someone else.

The media, of course, were not content, but Adrian did not give them any chance until Diana’s funeral, where the media finally managed to capture several complete and clear photos of him. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)