King of Hollywood

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Deviation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Although Spielberg’s face remained calm, a storm had brewed inside him. He had seen Michael Crichton’s novel, which occupied a high position on the New York Times bestseller list, at the end of last year. After a cursory glance, he already had the idea of bringing it to the big screen.

Spielberg then had someone contact Crichton, but to his surprise, the answer was that the film adaptation rights had already been sold. This response left him sighing regretfully, and he didn’t think about it further. Unexpectedly, today a young director, whom he had met only once, came forward hoping he would make this novel into a movie!

“Why do you think I’m suitable to make this film?” Spielberg asked without revealing any emotion after flipping through the book, though his feelings were exceptionally complex at the moment. “Aren’t you a good director yourself?”

“If it were 7 or 8 years later, I wouldn’t deny that I would have the ability to make this film perfectly, but not now. I can grasp the plot well but am powerless when it comes to large-scale scenes.” Adrian shook his head. “As for why I chose you, I think there’s no need to explain further, Steven. You have an imagination and ability to control films that set you apart, and you can balance art and commerce well. Besides you, I can’t think of anyone else who could make it.”

“There are many directors other than me,” Spielberg responded ambiguously with a smile. “I have to admit, your persuasion is quite tempting, but, unfortunately, I might disappoint you, Ed.”

“Can you tell me where your concerns lie?” Adrian raised an eyebrow, not showing any sign of disappointment.

Not bad, quite calm. Spielberg praised in his heart.

“There are many, like how you plan to operate, what’s the budget? Besides, just creating realistic dinosaur models is a challenging problem,” he cited a few examples simply.

But Adrian was obviously prepared: “Before now, we had already done a detailed budget. The investment would be about 50 to 60 million. My company can come up with about 20 million, and I can pull in another 20 million investment from my friends. Universal can also contribute 20 million if they wish to participate. If they don’t, I personally can contribute 20 million. As for operations, we will hand over all authority to you. The company will only supervise financial operations. The screenplay will be jointly written by Michael and me. Of course, if you want to use your own people, that’s fine, but Michael must be involved.

“Quite a big bet.” Even Spielberg couldn’t help but be slightly surprised by his plan. Although the trend of significant investments had been growing since the late 70s, movies with 50 to 60 million investments were still not that common.

Adrian smiled lightly and moved on to other aspects: “And for the dinosaur models, I think Mr. George Lucas’s Industrial Light Magic would be very willing to take on this task. Moreover, Steven, don’t you think making a realistic dinosaur with computers is more appealing to the audience than a model?”

“Using computers?” Spielberg squinted his eyes thoughtfully.

“Yes, that’s right, computer generation,” Adrian nodded. “Because the company is now planning to invest in a movie, yesterday I specifically went to the workshop to see it. They created a liquid metal man with computers, not flawless but impressive enough to shock. I believe that with sufficient funding and the technology from Industrial Light Magic, it’s entirely possible to create dinosaurs on screen that are indistinguishable from reality!”

“Liquid metal man? Are you talking about the ‘Terminator 2’ that James Cameron is working on?” Spielberg took a long breath and suppressed his emotions, deliberately asking in a relaxed tone. Honestly, there were a few seconds when he really wanted to agree.

“Yes,” Adrian confirmed. “We have reviewed a lot of data and consulted many professionals. Near-realistic CGI is theoretically doable, and most of the 60 million investment would actually be spent on this. If you’re willing, I can immediately have the relevant plans and reports brought over, and you can decide after reviewing them.”

Spielberg fell silent. He sat in the chair with his hands together, his thumbs occasionally twiddling. Behind his round glasses, his eyelids drooped, giving no clues about his thoughts.

A few minutes later, he finally looked up and exhaled a deep breath: “I’m sorry, Ed, but my answer won’t change.”

Adrian’s brow finally furrowed: “May I know why, Steven?”

“I’ve been troubled by some things recently, and there’s also a film in post-production waiting for me. I don’t have the time…”

“We can wait.”

“That’s not the key, Ed… Unfortunately,” Spielberg finally spread his hands, though his refusal had been vague from the start to finish. Actually, the reason was simple: he didn’t like the feeling of being controlled or calculated.

This feeling was subtle; from another perspective, it could also be construed as trust. Everything was ready and up to you to command. The key point was that Spielberg had a rather contradictory perception of Adrian.

On the one hand, Adrian’s manners, qualities, and interesting ideas about movies left a good impression; on the other hand, he felt the young man was a bit too utilitarian and impatient. Plus, there were many issues troubling him, like a failed marriage, etc. So even though he was tempted, he also felt somewhat dissatisfied and didn’t want to agree just like that.

This was contradictory, so Spielberg eventually chose to refuse. It was almost by chance, like tossing a paper ball when you can’t make a choice, but many things in the world are coincidental like this.

Silence fell in the office, then after a few minutes, Adrian spoke again: “Actually, there’s another condition.”

Spielberg couldn’t help but show a look of surprise. He already refused directly, and what else could he say to convince him? He made a gesture of “go ahead.”

“Before I say it, I beg you, Steven, not to think I am threatening or forcing you,” Adrian looked at Spielberg, his tone full of sincerity. “Originally, I intended to bring this up at the end, after you agreed to take on the director’s role. I have no other intentions.”

He paused and then spoke word by word: “If you agree to take on the role of director and producer, Steven, half of this movie’s net income will be used to invest in the film you have always wanted to make.”

“Invest in the film I have always wanted to make?” Spielberg repeated, his body giving a slight tremor.

“Yes,” Adrian nodded. “Schindler’s List!”@@novelbin@@

After coming out of Spielberg’s office, Adrian let out a long breath. He finally got him to agree, which was no easy feat. Although he couldn’t guess what was going on in the other’s mind, he still noticed two things.

First, Spielberg did like the novel Jurassic Park and was very interested in adapting it into a film. Second, he seemed to have some minor opinions of him, not much, but enough to possibly affect his judgment. Needless to say, this was a leftover issue from his impulsiveness that night, but there was no other way since time was never enough in his plan.

Fortunately, that trump card still worked. Although Adrian left out one point—Spielberg didn’t know how much box office Jurassic Park could achieve, nor would he know what half of the net profit might be. But he still agreed after seriously looking at Adrian for a long time.

“Are you sure?” he asked him.

“I am sure!” Adrian’s face was all seriousness and solemnity.

Then, after a lengthy silence, Spielberg finally nodded: “Alright, it seems I no longer have any reason to refuse… but that will be a few months later.”

Although Adrian’s proposal had loopholes, Spielberg filled them in his mind. The more the film earned, the more investment he could get!

Adrian realized this after Spielberg agreed, and naturally, he had no intention of adding any supplementary explanation. This was to his advantage, wasn’t it? He had to admit that Schindler’s List held an extraordinary place in this great director’s heart. It’s just that this might cause his impression in Spielberg’s mind to lean slightly toward the negative, no matter how sincerely he spoke before presenting this argument. The behavior was still somewhat coercive.

But it didn’t matter. When Jurassic Park officially started its preparation, he could completely tell him that even if the box office wasn’t good, he guaranteed to secure 20 million in investment for shooting Schindler’s List. On his way back, Adrian told himself this in his heart. Moreover, he had only played half of his trump card, and there would be plenty of chances to play out the other half, making it no problem to win Spielberg over then.

Going all out to build a good relationship with this Jewish elder was still for the network and connections and other things. Considering his relationship with Lucas and others and his influence in Hollywood. Especially that Jewish connection network, although there were quite a few anti-Semitic extremists in the United States, it was undeniable that Jewish people still had significant power. The upper echelon of American society had a dual attitude of caution and wooing toward Jews. If Adrian utilized his identity, it wouldn’t be a problem to navigate smoothly.

Having managed to win over Spielberg and Jurassic Park, incidentally, Schindler’s List was also settled. After investing in Terminator 2, Adrian took a few good days of rest and watched the 63rd Oscar ceremony at home on March 25th.

Not much difference from memory, Dances with Wolves became the big winner, taking home awards for best film, best director, best adaptation, best cinematography, and several others. Unfortunately, Kevin Costner’s fate was as miserable as Clint Eastwood’s, never winning the best actor in this lifetime.

Adrian, who watched from beginning to end, didn’t feel particularly moved because he knew that by this time next year, he would be at the awards ceremony. After resting, he quickly began prepping his new movie—The Shawshank Redemption!