Chapter 830: Chapter 236: An Even More Dazzling Halo
Originally, Brad Pitt, who should have gradually established his position in the 1990s after surviving the 1980s, became even more unfortunate due to the appearance of Adrian. Well, you can’t say more unfortunate, at least as a pretty boy, that handsome face still won him quite a few female fans, and in Hollywood, he could basically be considered a top-tier actor, though without those roles that honed his acting skills, he was somewhat nondescript.
In this situation, when Adrian extended an olive branch, one can imagine how ecstatic he would have been. Everyone knows what a nod from the Miracle Director means, even though it has only been a little over ten years since he started directing, he has discovered too many stars. So even if this was a gay role, Pitt still agreed without thinking, and even before it was confirmed, he began detailed preparations to leave a good impression on Adrian.
Of course, he didn’t know that Adrian had planned to do this long ago.
The movie "Brokeback Mountain" is very important in Adrian’s plan, far more than "Walk the Line" which is currently in post-production. So he acquired the novel’s adaptation rights early on, and then he needed two better male actors for the leading and supporting roles, even though the original actors did quite well. The lead actor was a no-brainer, he almost without thinking chose River, despite the only major intersection being the life-saving event in ’93. Despite the media consistently emphasizing afterward that River was no longer that genius boy, Adrian knew he could definitely do it.
Even though he hasn’t cooperated with him, several of River’s brilliant roles were recommended by Adrian. Plus, he maintained a good relationship with the Phoenix brothers, and Joaquin could now joke about Adrian being "bisexual," so Adrian was well aware of River’s state. Moreover, the role he played in "My Own Private Idaho" also somewhat resembles Ennis Del Mar, the lead in "Brokeback Mountain," and he has probably thought about using an outstanding role to counter those attacks.
With this kind of thinking, and given a worthy role, River would undoubtedly put in ten or even twelve times the effort.
The choice of Brad Pitt was similar, although part of it was due to Adrian not finding actors of comparable age and excellent acting skills like River’s—Leonardo DiCaprio and Toby Maguire had the looks, but in terms of acting, both still needed a few more years of honing.
Especially since both of them are baby-faced. With Maguire playing a high school Spider-man, and DiCaprio just last year playing a character from 16 to nearly 30 years old in "Catch Me If You Can," and baby-faced actors are among the least favored types in the Film Academy. For a film with ambitious goals, casting them in important roles is definitely the wrong choice.
Although handsome, Pitt isn’t favored by the Academy either, but his rugged face easily displays acting skills and he himself is quite mature—originally, the two lead actors received praise partly because they looked mature, momentarily misleading regarding their actual ages.
In fact, Dennis could also fit this role; his appearance and acting skills are adequate. However, he has been embroiled in personal troubles recently. As is well known, Winona visits his house without reservation, so the reporters catch useful photos often. Even though every time she visits, Aniston is also at home, and the two women appear very close in front of the reporters, rumor mills spin on as they see fit.
So some time over a month ago, when Adrian was traveling to East Asia, Winona was once again asked if she was still entangled with Dennis. She directly shot back, "Why do you always think I come here to rekindle things with that guy? Couldn’t I possibly be coming here for Jenny?"
These seemingly off-the-cuff remarks caused an uproar immediately. "Winona Ryder comes out for Jennifer Aniston?" stayed on the front pages of various media entertainment sections for quite a while, with countless analyses on why she came out. The theories ranged from falling for her during a "Friends" cameo to seeking revenge on Dennis and Aniston, to Dennis being gay or bisexual with a sham marriage, and more. It’s endless on what they could come up with.
Adrian, upon hearing this, was first surprised and then laughed. If Winona did it on purpose, it was quite amusing. However, because of that, the possibility of Dennis taking this role diminished considerably. Using common sense, it’s easy to deduce that if he played a supporting role in such a movie, journalists would write incredible reports.
More importantly, Adrian could confirm that Pitt could deliver 200% performance, proven after thoroughly reviewing his information. Yes, as mentioned earlier, despite his popularity and status as an A-list star, Adrian’s interference meant he was still living based on his looks, so he desperately needed a role with substance and acting to elevate himself further.
Under these circumstances, when Adrienne invited him, he would certainly seize it at any cost—in fact, his subsequent actions all proved Adrian’s judgment was not wrong. Despite his age being somewhat older than River, it wasn’t much of a concern; after all, River wasn’t a greenhorn, was he?
Aside from that, the matter was finalized with a touch of Adrian’s own quirky interest. As for the two female supporting roles, the one partnering with River was Kirsten, although the little fairy had grown up and no longer had the Lolita-like allure, she had always been diligent in serving him, so she wouldn’t be shortchanged, and conveniently, the film featured people born in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
As for Pitt’s partner... hehe, if the poor gal doesn’t act fast enough and continues to disappoint, then it would be a pity.
Let’s temporarily set that aside and return to today’s premiere. As the last installment of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, it undoubtedly maintained its consistent quality, if not improved. Adrian wasn’t Peter Jackson; being a reincarnated individual, he was more aware of how to make this story more compelling. In the original version, Jackson clung too tightly to manifesting his grand vision of Middle Earth’s scenery. As a result, during the editing, many hard-to-give-up aspects forced the story’s rhythm to yield to the overall scenery, causing all three films to suffer from prolonged storytelling.
The most typical example was after Isengard was breached; Gandalf and company confronted Saruman at the tower, and a reluctant Saruman was eventually killed by his servant Grima from behind, falling from the tower. In the original, Jackson cut this scene, though it appeared in the extended edition, it left actor Sir Christopher Lee quite displeased, since his carefully prepared performance was entirely scrapped. Any excellent actor wouldn’t be happy about that.
But now this problem didn’t exist. Adrian managed to trim over a minute from certain scenic shots to retain this scene. Additionally, Aragorn’s journey with Legolas and Gimli to recruit the army of the dead had been extended by two minutes, and the subsequent destruction of passing pirates retained, not only made the plot more complete but also more compact.
Jackson’s cameo, where a pirate gets killed by Legolas, also got screen time, though no one noticed it was him.
"At least he got a close-up shot, so those familiar might recognize him, but I couldn’t spot my role at all," Adrian complained upon watching the scene.
He had indeed done cameos in his movies since "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Initially, they were purely background roles until he got a part with some lines in "Forrest Gump." Hence, he would cameo in his subsequent movies for fun, like in "The Matrix" as the Frenchman—though this was not requested, the reasons earlier also contributed to his acceptance. So, why would "The Lord of the Rings" be an exception?
"It’s better to be unnoticed than ignored, isn’t it?" Blanchett retorted immediately. Adrian could only roll his eyes.
In "The Matrix Revolutions," although his Frenchman character had limited scenes, and was predictably slick, everyone focused on Sophie and Monica’s chemistry instead, overlooking his character who had more lines than Sophie. It wasn’t even discussed online, indeed a failure, but how does that compare with an unrecognizable face?
Adrian cameoed as a Gondor soldier outside the Regent King’s door in "The Lord of the Rings 3." Although he didn’t get a frontal shot like Jackson did, the camera lingered on him for a few seconds, but unfortunately, with a helmet on, surrounded by other soldiers, and with Gandalf’s white horse and cloak being more eye-catching, you couldn’t tell it was him at all.
Of course, such comparisons are meaningless; Adrian was just speaking casually. Women are usually bullied by him and have gotten used to it, so teasing and ridiculing him has become an instinctive reaction when they get the chance.
Alright, let’s continue to pay attention to the movie. Like all stories where justice triumphs over evil, in the end, the forces of justice inevitably fall into a desperate situation, then a hero steps forward to boost morale and finally retaliates. In the first film, it’s Boromir’s confession and entrustment before his death. In the second film, it’s Gandalf leading the cavalry into enemy lines in the sunlight. And now, in the third film, naturally, it’s Aragon’s speech in front of the Black Gate.
"People of Gondor and Rohan, my brothers! In your eyes... I see the same fear that grips my heart. Perhaps one day, humans will lose courage, we will be abandoned by all, utterly defeated, but not today! One day, evil will prevail over good, the world of humans will be completely destroyed, but not today! Today, we fight to the death! I command you in the name of all that you hold dear, fight till the end! Warriors of the West!!"
Aragon, holding high the Holy Sword Narsil, galloped in front of his troops, shouting loudly, then charged first towards the massive orc army in front of the Black Gate. Following him, all soldiers roared and launched a desperate charge against the giant orc army.
Though the plot is quite clichéd, as long as the atmosphere is built properly, even the most clichéd plot can shine brightly. In fact, as storytelling techniques have developed to today’s level, some essential elements are already set in stone—it’s all about the setup, the development, the pivot, and the conclusion. The key is whether one can create something refreshing for the audience.
In short, whether the characters’ actions are convincing enough to resonate with the audience. A street thug who has always been a rogue suddenly becomes heroic at the end, sacrificing himself for others, would seem fake to anyone. But a character like Aragon, who has been portrayed, explained, and built up over many scenes, combined with perfectly matched colors, music, and camera work, will only make people’s blood boil with excitement.
"An epic movie has finally concluded, as the Miracle Director flawlessly presents Middle Earth to the audience. In a short time, there won’t be any movie comparable to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, even when compared to the Miracle Director’s own works like The Matrix trilogy. Whether it’s the actors’ performances, the special effects, or the control of the plot, The Lord of the Rings trilogy achieves perfection. This series is destined to be inscribed in film history!" — Variety
"Adrian boldly adapted while staying essentially faithful to Tolkien’s original work, thus creating one of the greatest epics and sweeping global fantasy adventures. Perfect visuals, a glorious ending, all the glory and praise shall belong to the dreamer behind the movie!" — Hollywood Report
"The last part of The Lord of the Rings has brought us a thrilling conclusion, ensuring this movie becomes the ultimate screen fantasy of our era. It depicts so many captivating moments, grander battles, more emotional conflicts, surpassing the sum of the previous two films. Although the Miracle Director ultimately deleted some key battle scenes, it remains an exquisite piece of art, a great movie, and a more glorious epic than the preceding two!" — Renowned film critic Roger Moore
After The Lord of the Rings 3 was released, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with praises piling up, elevating the film to the skies. Although Adrian expected such reception, he was a bit surprised by the extent to which it was liked. For instance, on IMDb, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had scored over 9, and its freshness on Rotten Tomatoes was around 97%. These scores were certainly not engineered by Adrian.
Although these ratings are bound to decline in the future, they still demonstrate some key points. After all, the original was already popular, and Adrian made it even tighter, so such strong reactions are expected. In any case, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is considered more brilliant and epic than other trilogies of this era, a consensus among critics by the end of 2003.
Under such circumstances, The Lord of the Rings 3 secured a first weekend box office of $130 million, decisively surpassing The Matrix Revolutions, which had received just over $100 million a little over a week earlier, once again adding to Adrian’s halo. By releasing two self-made films simultaneously at the end of the year, with both breaking the $100 million mark in their first week, only the Miracle Director has achieved this so far. Although his movies’ overall global box office receipts may not yet surpass Spielberg’s and others, it’s clear that if he wants to, exceeding them isn’t too challenging a task.
This result made many die-hard fans of The Matrix series lower their flags. Even though quite a few rational Matrix fans acknowledged the brilliance of at least this film upon its release, the die-hard fans showed disdain yet had no rebuttal given the continuous hit on its reputation and box office.
For Adrian, such was the case: he was proud, proud, and proud again. It wasn’t about pride in the movie itself, because this was, after all, his modification of someone else’s work. Adrian was proud as his plan was finally making the most crucial step forward, and the current warm reviews would make the entire plan smoother.
Of course, this is all for next year, and preparations have already begun. So under these circumstances, he took the time to attend a delayed wedding.
"Look at the beautiful bride, truly gorgeous. I guarantee that Jeremy will be speechless when he sees you like this."
"Hey, how can you say that? If he’s speechless, the wedding can’t proceed."
"What does it matter? Let someone else speak for him. Anyway, his big mouth nearly ruined the wedding."
A group of women surrounded the bride dressed in a pure white wedding dress, chattering nonstop. Although the bride kept agreeing with them, her eyes darted around as if a bit absent-minded.
"Alright, everyone, I need to head to the church in just over ten minutes. Can you let me calm alone in the room?" After checking the time, the beautiful bride spoke.
"Alright, alright," the women laughed heartily, "We didn’t expect you to be nervous too, Alizée."
While chattering, they gradually left one by one. Alizée patiently sent them out, then casually locked the door. She called outside, "Don’t worry, I won’t run away. I just want to cool down a bit."
As she listened to the sounds of giggling gradually fade away, Alizée finally breathed a sigh of relief, lifted her skirt, and hurriedly went to the inner room, opening the wardrobe door. Inside came out a man.
"Sorry, Ed, kept you waiting for a few more minutes." At the brink of entering the wedding hall, the pure and beautiful bride showed a flirtatious smile full of strong desire, as she quickly reached out to unbuckle his belt, then her hand gloved in lacy gauntlet reached inside.
"No worries, but soon..." Adrian wasn’t yet finished speaking when she knelt down, involuntarily letting out a sharp gasp.
Then, disregarding everything else, he grabbed her bridal headpiece and hair, coordinating the movement of his lower body. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian () for recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)