King of Hollywood-Chapter 63 - : The Male Protagonist

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Male Protagonist

To tell the truth, which director or producer could achieve what Adrian has? His first film won the Best Newcomer Award at the Venice Film Festival, and his second film received the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Though luck played a role, it didn’t overshadow the excellence of these two films—people in the industry refer to him as a genius director! These two low-budget, high-box-office films pushed Adrian to the pinnacle of second-tier directors and producers. Laverne was almost certain that, with proper management after the release of “The Shawshank Redemption,” Adrian’s promotion to top-tier director and producer was almost a done deal.

Besides, his screenwriting ability was also widely acknowledged. He had written the scripts for all three films, and the first four scripts he sold to various companies had all made money after being produced into films. Particularly, “The Bodyguard,” which he sold to Warner, was the most profitable among those scripts. Although Warner had to adjust the release date to mid-July to avoid clashing with “Terminator 2”, having passed one hundred million in North American box office to date was no longer a pie in the sky.

As for other achievements, there was no need to mention them. But most importantly, all these were achieved in just over a year! Consider this: “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” took about two months from filming to production, “Memento” took three months, and “The Shawshank Redemption” would have taken about four months if Adrian wasn’t tied up in London. Therefore, even though Laverne didn’t agree with such a rushed development, she couldn’t deny Adrian’s unparalleled vision and competence. Since that was the case, it was best to keep following along.

“So, which film have you decided to pick for your new project?” Laverne asked.

“Of course, it’s remaking that Italian film. It only needs some modifications to the original plot,” Adrian replied with a smile, “In fact, I already managed to write part of the script when I was in London; the rest will be handled by Jules from the script editing department. I aim to have it completed within a week. She is currently the best among those screenwriters.”

“Alright, what else?” Laverne noted down his words.

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“Set up the framework as soon as possible. I hope it won’t be later than mid-September. Apart from the leading actor, other roles and shooting locations will be managed by their respective departments,” Adrian continued, pausing briefly before speaking again after thinking for a few minutes, “I’m afraid when it comes to inviting the leading actor, you might need to help me brainstorm, Laverne.”

“Oh?” Laverne raised her eyebrows.

“I plan,” Adrian continued, giving her a meaningful look, “to invite Al Pacino to play the blind colonel.”

“Scent of a Woman” — this was the new film Adrian was preparing.

Question: How can you ensure you win first place when you know the answer and really want to win?

Answer: Just replicate the entire critical calculation process faithfully.

Since Al Pacino had won the Best Actor for his role as the blind colonel Frank at the 65th Oscars, Adrian only needed to perfectly replicate “Scent of a Woman” and invite Al to play the lead role. The rest would depend on Laverne’s marketing and public relations strategies. It was opportunistic and cunning, but Adrian didn’t care. As long as he could achieve his goals and the means were within the rules, he was willing to go to great lengths.

Although Laverne didn’t know this, she very much agreed with Adrian’s approach. It was simple—Al, who rose to fame in the 70s, had narrowly missed the Best Actor Oscar several times. Just looking at performances, whether it was in “The Godfather II,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” or “And Justice for All,” he was more than worthy of an Oscar statuette; unfortunately, Al wasn’t very lucky.

However, now that very lack of luck had become an asset—nearly everyone knew the Film Academy owed Al an Oscar statuette. As mentioned before, if you can’t vastly outpace your competitors in quality, then other factors will decide the outcome, and such a background was precisely one of those factors. So, as long as Adrian could indeed guarantee the quality, Laverne was fully confident in pushing Al to clinch the Best Actor award.

With that settled, it was time to get to work. Although the heads of various departments were surprised that Adrian was nonstop in getting another new film rolling, they had no major objections. His track-record over the past year was evident to all.

Indeed, if possible, Adrian would have preferred to first produce among the three prepared films the one that would win Emma Thompson the Best Actress Oscar: “Howards End.”

“Howards End,” by the well-known deceased British author Edward Morgan Foster, was a classic of British literature. It told the various reluctant, awkward, and unforeseen stories revolving around Howards End manor—an estate. In some ways, this novel was more of an extended allegory.

The reason Adrian initially wanted to start shooting this movie was because he was confident he could persuade Emma Thompson to star in it. As one of the most well-known actresses in the United Kingdom and a talented woman with her own insights into screenwriting and production, not to mention that the movie was an adaptation of a famous British novel, he just needed to convince her he could do the movie justice, and she would undoubtedly agree. Moreover, another main character in the movie, Anthony Hopkins, had verbally agreed to cooperate during the Berlin Film Festival.

Unfortunately, despite his good intentions, there was an unavoidable embarrassing issue; “Howards End” was a bona fide money-loser. Being a typical movie of the Victorian Era from United Kingdom, just that fact could make many viewers lose interest. Adding that the story itself was neither suspenseful nor thrilling, merely about human interactions, it could turn away a portion of the audience. Simply put, it was a very niche art film, and its potential box office returns were predictable.

Of course, since Adrian had decided to invest in this movie, he wasn’t concerned about losing money, just that now was not the right time. Though “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Memento” had earned quite a bit for the movie company, the expenses were also substantial. With the company expanding and several movies invested in, losing money now was not wise. Thus, he had to turn his attention to “Scent of a Woman,” but that movie also had issues that needed resolving.

It had been mentioned before, Adrian’s first choice was “Howards End” because he was sure he could persuade Emma Thompson. But persuading Al Pacino would be much harder.

Pacino, unlike Freeman or Robbins, had been famous for a long time and had experienced many things. In Hollywood, he was a top-tier star; persuading him to take a role was not simple.

It all came down to Adrian’s lack of experience. If he could maintain his current momentum for another three to five years, these big-name stars definitely wouldn’t refuse to work with him, but for now, it was difficult.

As it turned out, Adrian’s worries were justified. Pacino’s agent was a tough character, not only slick in his methods but also tight-lipped in his dealings, making it impossible for Adrian to have a private conversation with Pacino.

However, Laverne was not without resources; after several negotiations and inviting him to the final screening of “The Shawshank Redemption,” they finally got past the agent, and then it was up to Al himself.

“Let me put it this way, Al, I created this character with you in mind, especially the speech at the end. I’ve seen many of your films, your long declarative monologues, your dramatic performance style, those signature gestures that no one else can replicate. I really hope you’ll take on this role,” Adrian said during their meeting, making slightly exaggerated gestures as if he were very excited.

“I have to say, Ed, your body language right now is much richer than mine,” Pacino laughed heartily, being a congenial person off the screen, “Frankly, I really like the character of Frank and that speech. After reading your script, I specifically watched that Italian movie. Although the main plot hasn’t changed much, I think this colonel is more appealing than the captain, so I don’t think I can refuse.”

“I’m glad you’ve agreed, Al; I promise you won’t regret it,” Adrian immediately extended his hand.

“Believe me, as a genius director you won’t disappoint me,” Pacino laughed and shook his hand.

Direct contact with Pacino made things much easier; including this time, they had only talked twice. The script clearly had something that attracted Pacino, otherwise why would he have “accepted” this role? Of course, this was also related to Adrian catering to his preferences, such that when they left, Pacino’s agent meaningfully told Laverne, “You’ve got a good boss.”

Regardless, Pacino had agreed, and after sorting out the compensation issues, they could sign the contract. This required negotiating with Pacino’s agent Adad, but Adrian left that to Laverne.

Although the primary target was secured, starting the shooting would still take some time. Since “The Shawshank Redemption” needed promotion, preparations for the new movie were relatively slower. Additionally, the movie required complex external sets like schools, the Waldorf Hotel, etc., and casting also needed manpower. Thus, by mid-September, the basic framework was set up, but further preparations still needed time.

It wasn’t a big issue, as representing the Method acting school, Pacino also needed to visit and study at a blind institution—he admitted, he was a dedicated actor, having contacted the blind institution the day after signing the contract. Therefore, a slight delay wasn’t a serious matter this time, unlike with “The Shawshank Redemption,” which had many extensive scenes to coordinate. As long as the actors were well-prepared, Adrian was confident he could complete the shooting in six weeks.

Interestingly, while he was dealing with agents for roles, other agents were contacting him for roles as well.

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