King of Hollywood
Chapter 514 - 235: Finally Released

Chapter 514: Chapter 235: Finally Released

Appropriate modifications were necessary; every singer had their own style that suited them, and since Britney and Christina’s styles had been proven successful in my previous life, why spend time and effort exploring other directions? Of course, a singer cannot maintain one style forever, even MJ or Madonna continuously sought change, but that would be much later. First, one needed to become famous, find the right style, and solidify it.

This wasn’t a concern, though Adrian focused more on the record company than the film company, after the merger with several powerful competitors, it had become one of the top second-tier companies. Especially after the launch of Britney, which was extremely popular with teens, the company was poised to level up. The company had expanded considerably, and Adrian only needed to provide some key inputs, the rest could be easily managed by them.

This situation was somewhat similar to commissioning Valve Studio to develop Counter-Strike, but Counter-Strike could not be produced at the moment. Not because Adrian lacked creativity, but because the game’s 3D engine was based on Quake, yet used Half-Life’s modeling. And Half-Life had not been released yet. According to the news from Valve, they had released a demo at E3 last year, but it hadn’t attracted much attention, so they were mostly redoing levels, aiming to release a new demo at this year’s E3.

From the few game memories in Adrian’s mind, Half-Life was indeed slated to release this year, but even if Valve released a demo in August, it would be at least three to four months before the full version would be released. There was no rush; after that, discussing Counter-Strike with them wouldn’t be too late. It might not make a lot of money, but the company’s reputation could benefit greatly from online dissemination, making the deal still quite worthwhile.

Whether it was Counter-Strike or Christina’s new songs, those were topics for the future. Adrian’s main focus was now on something else—the premiere of The Matrix!

The movie had already been completed at the beginning of last year, and as most of it was shot in secret, the media knew little about it. The coverage focused on why a movie completed at the beginning of last year was only preparing for release now. Hence, the targeted attention began after the release date was confirmed earlier this year.

On this front, Bossworth was still sparing with details; so far, only a trailer and six posters had been released—one overall, one for each of the three main characters, and one for each of the two antagonists. Besides these, there was nothing else, not even Jennifer Aniston, who had a role in the movie and had been heavily covered by the media.

Even so, people were still filled with anticipation for the movie. The most important point of hunger marketing was how to whet the audience’s appetite, without revealing too much information to satisfy them, or holding back so much that they lost interest. Bossworth did well in this regard—for instance, right after the Cannes Film Festival, they abandoned the original plan and linked Mulholland Drive with The Matrix, dreams, reality, illusions, the pursuit of truth, etc. The audience’s anticipation was largely because of Adrian, who had a significant role as the director and producer. Naturally, this advantage had to be leveraged.

However, an unexpected situation occurred; someone had leaked the novel version of The Matrix online and repeatedly inquired if the movie was adapted from this book. After consulting Adrian, the film company confirmed this, so the novel’s sales slightly increased.

Adrian wasn’t worried that the novel’s content would prematurely reveal the plot to the audience, diminishing their passion for the movie. After all, a novel and a film are different mediums—a novel requires the reader to actively read and use the text to sketch the images, whereas a film integrates sound, light, and color to impart a more layered experience.

Moreover, many movies adapted from novels had been very successful. Of course, when Adrian wrote the novel, he carefully expanded and cut content, so there was no need to worry overly. The only thing that should have been corrected was letting people know from the start that it was adapted from a novel, rather than keeping it as secretive as the plot and filming progress.

Nonetheless, the premiere was fast approaching, and even a small mishap like this was not really a concern, especially since The Matrix wasn’t a bestseller when originally published.

The car silently stopped in front of the theater, the door opened, and a tall man in a crisp suit stepped out with a refreshing smile, instantly attracting numerous shutter clicks. Then, he stepped aside and extended his hand into the car, a fair hand took his, followed by a shapely leg extending out. A mature and sensuous woman emerged in front of the reporters.

Clad in a black, thin-strapped evening gown, her prominent bust was particularly eye-catching. The high slit, though only up to mid-thigh, already sparked ample imagination. Her attire was simple yet perfectly highlighted her sensual nature, contrasting significantly with the individual poster at the theater entrance of someone in sunglasses and a black, tight-fitting outfit, exuding an extreme coolness. For a moment, it seemed to annihilate many a film roll.

Despite the incessant calls of "Mr. Adrian" and "Miss Monica" on the short red carpet, both of them, smiling, did not respond, and the reporters could only focus on taking photos. After all, the two were openly walking arm in arm—a perfect topic for gossip.

"They seem to wish we would just stand there forever," Monica said softly to Adrian once they were inside the theater, her tone teasing, though it was unclear whether she was poking fun at the reporters or Adrian himself.

"Should we grant them their wish then?" Adrian replied with a smile.

"That’s for you to decide," Monica said with a shrug.

Adrian chuckled and then wrapped his arm around her waist; Monica naturally leaned into him a little more. In fact, he had wanted to do this earlier outside. He had used the media at his disposal to fabricate a few baseless scandals for Monica, and the tabloids had not been shy about speculating on every little thing about him and Monica. Once that sort of news piled up, readers would lose their interest unless something particularly scandalous came out, like them going on a trip together or even having a tryst in a car. But would Adrian allow that to happen?

However, Monica did not seem to mind, and the reason was obvious, which pleased Adrian greatly. There were many people attending the premiere. Of course, the main cast goes without saying, and Yuan Heping as the martial arts director naturally had to be there. Jet Li, who was filming "The Expendables," also made an appearance, along with Wu Bage, the director of the soon-to-be-released "Face/Off," and someone Adrian had not expected to see.

"Mr. Jack, you are quite impressive. I’ve seen most of your work; it’s both interesting and exciting. No wonder you’ve become the most well-known Asian kung fu star in the United States after Bruce," Adrian said with a smile to the middle-aged Asian man in front of him, whose distinctive large nose was quite eye-catching.

"Thank you," Jackie Chan said with a very pleasant smile, modest and even somewhat humble—a far cry from his usual Hong Kong bravado.

Adrian inwardly shook his head slightly, then exchanged a few more words and left with Monica. New Line, as he remembered, had invested in "Rush Hour," which had boosted Jackie Chan’s fame in Hollywood by another level. He happened to be in Los Angeles these days, and since Yuan Heping, Jet Li, and Wu Bage were all invited by Adrian himself, who developed a fondness for Chinese kung fu during the production of "The Matrix," the movie company simply extended an invitation to him as well.

Adrian found this somewhat amusing, but since the man had come, it would be rude not to meet him, so he exchanged a few words. Of course, they spoke in English; his Mandarin was far less fluent than Jet Li’s, and though his English wasn’t great either, it was certainly better than using Chinese for communication.

Speaking of Jet Li, Adrian had just seen him talking with Jackie Chan when he arrived, and though both wore smiles, their demeanor wasn’t exactly friendly—especially with Jackie Chan using his height advantage to seem rather condescending. After speaking with Jackie Chan, Jet Li quickly found an excuse to leave; the two of them really didn’t get along.

Adrian had no qualms about Jackie Chan. Kung fu movies might enjoy some popularity for a few years, and since New Line already had "Rush Hour" in hand, all they needed was to find the right moment to produce "Shanghai Noon." Besides, Jet Li was a better candidate to promote. His assertiveness and humility at first, whether feigned or genuine, were a tad more credible than Jackie Chan’s earlier arrogant then obsequious behavior.

Despite his own set of issues, such as the various dramas surrounding his ex-wife or the ridiculous decision to take a picture with a Snow Mastiff, he was still slightly better than the other option. To use an awkward metaphor, both fruits were rotting, but one was less rotten than the other; when only two choices were given, he had to opt for the one that was slightly less bad.

More importantly, Adrian had only had to ask a simple question, and Jet Li immediately agreed without hesitation.

"If ’The Matrix’ gets a sequel, there’s a role that I think you would be perfect for," he had said.

"No problem," the other party answered simply and decisively.

Although Adrian was known as the Miracle Director, the box office results for this film weren’t out yet; regardless of what the other party was thinking, this kind of sensibility was endearing. After all, even if the kung fu movie craze died down and they lost their value, he wouldn’t suffer any loss.

This was just a minor incident at the premiere, Adrian’s attention was primarily on the leading actors, like teasing Keanu Reeves for being an "average bass player."

"I’m only slightly worse than the professionals, and ’average’ is completely the wrong word to describe me," Reeves retorted, annoyed, then glared at his friend, "How could you describe me like that, River!"

"Isn’t it true, Keanu, can you deny it?" Joaquin laughed and interjected before his brother could speak—being Keanu’s friend, and favored by Adrian, the Phoenix brothers were both there to support.

Reeves liked rock music even more than acting; he even formed a rock band, but unfortunately, he had no talent for music, whether it was singing or playing instruments. That’s why River had given him such a nickname. Despite this, Reeves still loved rock music and had invested his entire salary from "Speed" into maintaining his band, and if everything went as expected, his salary from "The Matrix" would probably go the same way.

Adrian didn’t intervene; having one’s own conviction was a good thing, and if Reeves’s band could produce a good record, he wouldn’t mind helping them release it.

Besides Reeves, Adrian also made a point of speaking with Hugo Weaving, inquiring about his future plans, because...

"I’ll have a big production next year that you might be interested in taking a role in," Adrian said, then added, "Of course, this time you definitely won’t be playing the villain."

Weaving immediately smiled, "No problem, I’ll try to keep my schedule open for you."

"What new inspiration do you have?" Monica curiously asked afterward, "You seem to always have ideas."

"Of course, if I didn’t, how could I be called the Miracle Director?" Adrian said with a smile, pinching her chin, "Too bad you’re too sexy, otherwise you could play a role in it too."

"It’s okay, having you by my side is enough for me," Monica wasn’t concerned at all.

Dennis also attended the premiere, of course, with his fiancée. It looked like he had smoothed things over with Aniston; what was interesting was that whenever he talked a little too much with another woman, Aniston would casually yet sternly give him a glance, and Dennis would immediately become incredibly honest.

Adrian could hardly keep from laughing out loud as he watched Knight, but he was soon struck by surprise when he learned they were actually going to get married.

"The wedding date is tentatively set for November. There’s still a lot to prepare, so we haven’t announced it yet, but you must come, Ed," Dennis said earnestly, with Aniston sweetly clinging to his arm, her smile genuine and devoid of any previous strictness or pretense.

"No problem, I’ll definitely attend," Adrian said on the spot. How could he possibly miss Jennifer Aniston and... Dennis Knight’s wedding? It was just too amusing.

However, as they spoke of marriage, Monica’s hand tightened on his arm before quickly relaxing. All Adrian could do was gently pat the back of her hand in response.

Despite the large turnout, Adrian felt a tinge of regret, as many influential people were at another movie premiere – Spielberg’s "Jurassic Park: Lost World." Through established connections, he, Geffen, and Katzenberg had managed to invite even more celebrities; in this respect, AC Media still lagged a bit behind.

Initially, Spielberg had jokingly talked about battling it out with Adrian, and it seemed he actually went through with it, making Adrian silently grumble. It was like handing out freebies to others. However, he understood Spielberg’s position. After all, AC Media owned a small share of DreamWorks, but DreamWorks did not own a share of AC Media.

This time only, never again, Adrian muttered to himself. Although slightly displeased, he quickly adjusted his mood; he knew he would have done the same if he were in Spielberg’s shoes, and the latter had also subtly expressed his apologies over the phone. Besides, whether it’s "The Matrix" or "Jurassic Park 2", both were excellent sci-fi movies that were likely to fluctuate at the box office but definitely not lose money.

Moreover, by doing this, DreamWorks was helping AC Media. Although they had become more stable and no longer needed DreamWorks as a shield, DreamWorks still had something they needed. At least Adrian had his eye on something, so the other party could afford to be more ostentatious.

Soon, people began trickling into the screening room as the movie was about to begin.

Just like in the original, following a brief typing conversation, countless green squares fell, eventually forming the name of the movie. But here, Adrian did not use Japanese hiragana or katakana but only two scripts: Roman letters and Chinese characters. He didn’t plan to say anything about paying homage to "Ghost in the Shell", although the animated film had been released in ’94.

The start of the movie surprised the audience; when Monica delivered a 360-degree mid-air kick that sent a policeman flying, a few low gasps echoed through the hall. Her swift disposal of the incoming cops, along with the cool pose she struck afterward, especially in that tight leather outfit that showcased her sexy curves, undoubtedly captured the attention of many men.

The subsequent rooftop chase also felt unusual, particularly Monica and Weaving’s superhuman leaps, constantly reminding the audience that something was off in this world. Here, Adrian made a slight modification – the shot of Monica entering the opposite building from multiple angles, adding fast cuts and slow motion, made the scene appear more realistic and impactful, rather than the original’s dreamy feel.

On this front, Yuan Heping personally took on the role of martial arts director and, with the help of the crew’s technical staff, merged some Hong Kong techniques with Hollywood’s, resulting in the scene before them.

As for the shot of the broken window hinting at three o’clock, Adrian chose to retain it. He was not fond of making hints or planting Easter eggs since, while interesting, too many could become tiresome. One reason for the decline in reception of the later "Matrix" films was precisely because of this, along with the audience excessively indulging their own imagination, leading to uncontrollable speculation.

But to have none at all wouldn’t work; there had to be something for the audience to enjoy, especially with a mystery film. Many people like to observe repeatedly to uncover details, in hopes of dismissing widely accepted conclusions and thereby... gain a sense of superiority.

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)