Chapter 890: Chapter 296: Properly Controlled
The same scene, the same setup, the same plot, the same segments, yet in different people’s hands, it can yield different outcomes, much like the current version of “Transformers” that’s being screened now.
On the big screen, Bumblebee is in a fierce battle with Rollbar, and the beauty of their powerful clash, combined with excellent sound effects, makes the audience in the cinema hold their breath without realizing it. Cameron didn’t cut out the first clash between Transformers as in the original, for one, it was Adrian’s request, and two, in the eyes of this machine and robot enthusiast, there’s nothing more wonderful than scenes like these.
Fortunately, Adrian repeatedly emphasized that Transformers must be designed to be heavy and robust; otherwise, it would be hard to embody that feeling. As mentioned before, overly delicate things always give the impression of breaking with a touch, and fighting them would seem light and feathery. Heavy robots may lag in flexibility, but their style is entirely different, not to mention the editing involved.
Cameron’s control over the camera is also reflected here. The appropriately compact shots make the audience automatically overlook problematic areas, plus the semi-humorous interspersed scenes of the male and female leads dealing with small robots make the Bumblebee and Rollbar’s fighting scenes particularly wonderful.
Basically, in comparison with the original, the changes aren’t particularly much. At least Frenzy single-handedly toppling the US Army base, and the hidden shocking secrets underneath Hoover Dam, along with the final city battle, are still quite good. Thus, besides the robots not being as intricate, the Autobots appear somewhat earlier, some bugs have been corrected, and the US Army isn’t as formidable.
Of course, the Pentagon is certainly not pleased, and when communication breaks down, they directly express their unwillingness to support the movie. To this, Adrian doesn’t care at all. The sponsorship from the Ministry of Defense is largely dispensable to the film; bringing them in was mainly to get support for free military equipment of various kinds. If it were two or three years ago, the lure of free equipment would still be substantial, but in this era where CG technology is becoming more mature, it is merely an additional expense, for the profits of the “Transformers” series, or rather the profits poised to be created, it’s just a drop in the bucket.
Just these few changes give the movie a completely different feel; even though there are still plenty of bugs, at least compared to Explosive Shell’s version, it’s a notch above, and that’s ability.
“It’s wonderful, James, I love this movie, it’s fulfilled a past dream.” After the screening ended, the lights came on, and applause swept through, Adrian gave Cameron a hug.
“As long as you like it, if you didn’t, I probably wouldn’t be able to pull any investments anymore.” Cameron glanced at Megan Fox, cuddling beside him, and said half-jokingly, half-tauntingly, “Let’s confirm it once more, are you satisfied with everything? The robots, plot, CG, and your… little girlfriend?”
Megan felt slightly awkward but didn’t let go of Adrian’s arm, while Adrian laughed heartily and said, “Satisfied, satisfied with everything, I can basically confirm the box office of this movie isn’t problematic, so… why don’t we start talking about the sequel now.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Cameron’s voice suddenly raised a few octaves, in a manner that seemed like he would never work on this series again.
Okay, that’s understandable. Although “Transformers” is of very good quality, the bugs are indeed numerous. It’s not that a movie can’t have issues, even for a perfectionist like Cameron; if you nitpick, there’s a heap of bugs in the film.
There’s no flawless work in the world, so bugs are tolerable as long as the story can move the audience. But when there are too many, especially those bugs that don’t reconcile front and back, they can breed contempt. For instance, in the original “Transformers,” Frenzy sweeps the US Army base upon appearance. If the Decepticons truly wanted to find Megatron, shouldn’t they have used a covert method? Why cause such a commotion? And they used weapons of mass destruction at the start, but when entering the city later, they’re not used? As soon as Megatron emerges, the Decepticons turn into humanitarians?
Adrian and Cameron spent quite some effort filling these loopholes. The former eventually deduced from the chronological actions of the Decepticons and the Autobots’ understanding of them that initially, they didn’t take Earthlings seriously, creating such a scene, then restrained themselves later. While the latter conveyed through Megatron’s words that their energy weapons would harm the Allspark, hence couldn’t cause wanton destruction.
This barely stitched the plot together, but it also added quite a few unnecessary frames, which is really taxing. Cameron, being a perfectionist, naturally doesn’t want to touch it again, not to mention he has other matters to attend to.
“You wouldn’t use… that to threaten me, would you?” He followed up with this, with a nervous appearance, but it seemed somewhat feigned.
“Of course not, I’m looking forward to you bringing a groundbreaking work,” Adrian shrugged with a smile, “though it’s quite regrettable—I heard the camera developed by Sony for you is now mature? How about IMAX?”
“Very well, we’ve achieved consensus; I must say, working with IMAX is a wonderful idea, the effects will definitely be more outstanding.” Mentioning this, Cameron instantly became excited.
“Very well, very well, James, we…” Adrian glanced around, noticing most people had already filed out of the theater, “let’s talk while walking, and perhaps celebrate for ‘Transformers’ a bit.”
There’s no doubt that commercially, “Transformers” achieved tremendous success, easily breaking a hundred million in its opening week across 4,000 theaters. The group who watched the cartoon has grown up; they have enough economic ability and friends, family to go to the cinema for nostalgia, not to mention the James Cameron-directed tag that predictably prompts a viewing frenzy.
However, the reputation aspect fluctuates quite starkly; some believe it has many highlights, others think only the effects are worth watching, while a portion deems the entire thing foolish. This is fundamentally a commercial film; critics won’t bother discussing its artistry, hence opponents harp on the script’s loopholes. As previously mentioned, nitpicking is an easy task, and film bugs are unavoidable, “Transformers” isn’t “Terminator,” the world settings and various setups were entirely devised by Cameron.
Even so, it cannot stop “Transformers” from monetizing globally, not to mention the enraging North American opening week nearly reaching $1.7 billion at the box office; just the new round of hot-selling toys by Hasbro would generate unmeasurable profit. Additionally, new animations and games are all slated, and Universal Studios is preparing to develop a new themed game based on “Transformers.”
Of course, besides the Transformers, the two leads, Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, also garnered worldwide fame, especially Megan’s alluring waist, quickly making her a sexy goddess in many people’s hearts.
“Is it really that alluring? Mine isn’t bad either…” Jessica stood before the mirror, spun around, and muttered, she was wearing a mid-rise bra above, paired with hot pants below, her slender figure revealed entirely, and her flat belly shows no sign of having birthed Mary.
“Look, Jesse’s jealous.” Adrian quipped from the bedside, wearing just loose boxers, while Megan beside him wore nothing, indicating what had transpired earlier without needing further words.
“Do I need to be jealous?” Jessica turned around, planting hands on hips with a gentle snort.
“Not a bit, Jesse has a figure as good as mine, can equally charm many in those sorts of shots.” Before Adrian could reply, Megan leaped up from the bed and quickly went to Jessica’s side, hugging her buoyantly and said.
However, she kept herself intentionally or unintentionally glued to Jessica, shaking her own curves that hadn’t left a trace of fat after having Evelyn, stirring her waist along. Watching her subtle moves, Adrian couldn’t help but chuckle, and Jessica soon sensed Megan’s little antics but didn’t mind, instead placing her arms around Megan and faced him together.
“Stop dreaming, dear, you are both my pretty flower vases.” Adrian laughed heartily, then jumped up, hugging their waists on either side, “Don’t even think I will judge.”
And before they could react, he gave a spontaneous spank on their curves, “Alright, let’s head out, it’s still… five in the afternoon, consider where we’ll head tonight.”
“Petty man.” Jessica and Megan spoke in unison, as they started putting on clothes together.
After tidying up, the trio headed to the garden, and Mary played with Betty and the nanny soon came bouncing over.
“Mommy, what were you doing just now? Why when I wanted to come over, Aunt Betty said it was not suitable now, can’t disturb you all?” The little one’s first words were this.
“Well… Mommy and Daddy do have some things to deal with, dear,” Jessica stammered in response.
“Is Aunt Megan involved too?” Mary widened her eyes, looking back and forth between her dad and Aunt Megan.
“Well… yes,” Jessica forced a smile at her daughter, then gave Adrian a stern glare, “Come over to the swing with me, okay? Don’t play with Daddy; Daddy bullied Mommy just now.”
The little one looked at her mom, then at her dad, and immediately nodded, replying in a childish voice, “Okay.”
Adrian could only shrug helplessly. Clearly, Mary always leaned slightly more towards her mother.
“Are you going to keep doing things like this during the day?” Megan asked with a giggling laugh as she hugged him from behind.
“Why not?” Adrian snorted indifferently, then took Evelyn from the nanny.
Unlike the lively Mary, 7-month-old Evelyn, due to being born prematurely, always preferred sleeping. Although she’s physically well at the moment, she’s still relatively weaker compared to her sisters. Fortunately, she wasn’t asleep right now; instead, she was blowing bubbles and looking around with wide eyes, so Daddy and Mommy took turns cuddling her affectionately.
“Thanks to Jessie, although you prepared a lot for me and told me so many things to be careful about, some things you can only understand after doing them yourself,” Megan said after giving her daughter a kiss, then leaned closer to Adrian and whispered, “Do you really think we’re only fit to be trophies?”
“Hehe… at least for now,” Adrian pinched her chin, “Don’t underestimate the role of a trophy, Megan. It’s not that easy to remain a trophy that attracts everyone for a long time. I know what you and Jessie are thinking, dear, and that’s normal. Every actor thinks like that. But, honestly speaking, your talents are slightly lacking, so you need time to polish them.”
“Is this supposed to be encouragement?” Megan said with some annoyance, appearing a bit frustrated, “Can’t you just comfort me a little?”
“I’m sorry, darling, I believe it’s better to tell the truth in these matters,” Adrian said with a smile, kissing her forehead.
“Then how long do we have to wait?” Megan rolled her eyes.
“Until… a new sexy icon replaces you,” Adrian replied.
“Oh?” Megan raised an eyebrow, “In the movies, or does that include in bed?”
“What do you think, Evelyn?” Adrian asked his daughter in his arms. The little one stared at her dad, obliviously blowing more bubbles.
“Okay, okay,” Megan rolled her eyes. Seeing her like this, Adrian couldn’t help but laugh, “By the way, I suddenly thought of a good idea. Recently, Universal has several musical film projects, and they’re all idol-themed. Perhaps you could star in one of them.”
“Musical films? Idol-themed?” Megan first frowned but then relaxed immediately, “Well, at least until the new sexy idol replaces me, I’m still the sexy idol. Although, dancing is fine, but singing…”
“Don’t worry, it’s just dancing,” Adrian said with a smile as he kissed her again, “Jessie in ‘Sin City’ only had that brief exotic dance, but it attracted quite a lot of attention. Make sure you don’t lose to her.”
Just as mentioned before, both Jessica and Megan are not particularly talented actresses, and being famous for their sexiness makes them easily stereotyped. No matter how hard they try to act, the audience’s attention will always be on their looks and figures, so finding suitable films isn’t easy, especially for Megan.
Although as long as she behaves, she’ll always be the female lead in the ‘Transformers’ trilogy, eventually actors get replaced in long-running series. Without other representative works, that would be terrible. After pondering for a while, the musical film project that has been in the works since early last year came to mind. After all, her current positioning is as a trophy and sexy idol, and being so young, starring in some youth-themed movies seems feasible.
The massive success of ‘Transformers’ has once again left many film companies frustrated, which has become almost a yearly routine. Watching Universal Pictures sweep up one lucrative series after another, they’re understandably displeased. But what can they do with Adrian, such a genius, at the helm? Moreover, the grand performance at Cannes this summer has already caused a big stir, leaving any ideas they have temporarily shelved.
No one is willing to take risks for someone else, so Adrian focused confidently on the filming of ‘Locke’. With Natalie finally hitting her stride, the progress saw a considerable boost. However, he always kept a tight grip on control. As long as the film is released by the end of the year, he’s content. There’s still plenty of time, so why not enhance the quality even further?
And besides, there are always troublesome issues to handle at home, like the conflict between Little Emma and Kate.
This conflict is irreconcilable, especially since Little Emma outright challenged Kate to her face. Given Kate’s return to Adrian’s side, backing down is not an option. Yet, life is full of surprises. Kate should have the advantage, but who anticipated Little Emma allying with Lily?
Since it was initially agreed not to inform Lily about this matter for the time being, Little Emma could openly get close to Lily. Sometimes, Playmate Emma, with whom Lily grew up, proved a better confidant than her mother, especially with Lily about to turn 10 and starting to have her own little secrets. Although Lily was sharp and mature, realizing something peculiar between Dad, Mom, and Emma Sister, she hadn’t connected the dots, despite having many aunts.
Not only that, but even though Adrian constantly restrained his desires, Little Emma discovered a new way to tease: breast massages. After guessing that Keira’s chest grew bigger due to Adrian massaging them, Little Emma imitated by requesting the same treatment, serving as both a present lure for Adrian and a future asset. Why not?
Under these circumstances, from the start of summer to now, Little Emma easily brought the tally of times she slept with Adrian to double digits. There’s a plan to exceed this count within the summer, even intending to use her Anal. Imagine how disgruntled Kate must be, and the effort Adrian has to expend balancing their relationship.
Of course, they generally know their limits. Charlize, Ivanka, and Yukie are all on Adrian’s side, so the situation at home remains relatively stable for now.
But that’s just one aspect; on the other hand, music is also siphoning off some of his energy.
With the continuous growth of iTunes, the online download model has matured into a widely accepted consumption mode. The decline of the record industry is stark, with even BMG considering scaling back its operations. Adrian had been waiting for this moment; his alliance with Sony was all for this time, and he believes achieving his goal will be even smoother now.
Major music groups worldwide are discontented with iTunes. Apple merely provides a download platform, yet reaps considerable profits. Whether Warner, BMG, Pathé, or Sony, they’re all displeased with this model. Earlier this year, they even secretly discussed creating a new download channel to escape Apple’s exploitation and directly engage consumers. However, while the idea was nice, its likely outcome is failure.
First, Apple has indeed excelled in this field, possessing a loyal user base. Unless a new channel can make an immediate impact, it will only be suppressed by iTunes. Secondly, Universal Music’s stance is very ambiguous, suspiciously ambiguous, because AC Media… holds a significant share of Apple. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)