Alright, that was just a joke. Since Adrian intended to work with Universal Pictures, he was not going to let them suffer any loss, or it would have a huge impact on the image he had been building for himself. From what he recalled, the reason ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ had box office sales of less than 30 million dollars was related to ‘Forrest Gump’ that was screened in the same year, or it would not have been listed as one of the saddest films in the movie history.
Needless to say, it was also because the production team did not do a good job in publicizing it because their lack of resources and their inability to capture key points resulted in a low number of good reviews during its release. Fortunately, it received a number of Oscar nominations and was valued by Columbia. It eventually succeeded for the first time in the videotape market and was the top rented film in video rental stores for a long time.
Adrian could replicate the film almost perfectly since he had a general manager who was amazing at publicizing work and Universal’s participation. If the film ended up being like how it did, he could simply quit.
‘Speaking of which, should I rope Universal in for that film too?’ At a corner, Adrian suddenly remembered his aim of joining the party. He recalled from his memory that the budget was between 50 to 60 million dollars, and he definitely had enough, or his company, Claude, and himself could contribute a third of the budget each.
‘There’s no need to share the cake if I’m going to eat it, but…’ Adrian shook his head again because being selfish was not a good trait, whereas sharing and creating win-win situations were the right things to do in this era. Moreover, he chose to build a relationship with Universal because of a person, and because the conflict between him and Universal would be the smallest in the future.
‘But I can also compensate them by creating many more profitable scripts for them, the cake this time is really too big and tempting…’ Adrian suddenly chuckled. ‘I’m already worried about what’s going to happen before discussing with them, do I really think that everything will go as planned? It’s good to be confident, but I’ll be too complacent if I go overboard, so I should let this go for now.’
After making up his mind, Adrian decided to look for a seat somewhere but was startled when he took a quick glance around the hall. That was because the person he had been waiting for was conversing with a few people by the first window at that moment.
“Yes, she’s an angel. She didn’t have many scenes, but her noble and graceful attitude can’t be learned,” Steven Spielberg said to the others as he rubbed his chin. Though he was wearing a suit, his iconic oval glasses and beard could be seen.
“Excuse me, did you mean Madam Audrey Hepburn, Mr. Spielberg?” A voice was suddenly heard. It was hoarse and low, but it was pleasing to the ear.
“You are?” Surprised, Spielberg asked the young man in front of him.
“Adrian Cowell,” The young man introduced himself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you here, I grew up watching ‘ET’ and ‘Jaws’.”
“Pleasure to meet you too, young man.” Spielberg smiled. After reiterating Adrian’s name in his head a few times, he suddenly raised his eyebrow. “You’re the wizard director.”
“You’re praising me too much.” Adrian shrugged. “I just had different thoughts, so I expressed them through my films.”
“You don’t have to be so humble.” Spielberg laughed. “I watched ‘Memento’, the concept and editing are indeed wonderful, you’re a person with ideas.”
“I feel honored to be praised by you, Mr. Spielberg—alright, Steven, please call me Eddy—actually, I hope that I can shoot works that have some childlike innocence in them sometimes.”
“Some things can’t be forced, Eddy, as long as you know what you’re shooting.”
The two of them began talking about films, including ‘Always’, a film that Spielberg worked on with Audrey, and ‘Memento’, Adrian’s film that was still being screened in cinemas. Adrian who knew a lot of information was able to make the conversation enjoyable.
“Yes, I admit that I was influenced by the failed marriage of my parents when I did the film, loneliness doesn’t feel good. And… I was also affected by my failed marriage, especially during the last few months…” Spielberg subconsciously sighed. The fact that he told Adrian about his experience—though it was by accident—meant that Adrian gave him a good impression.
“I suppose that’s Madam Audrey’s final film?” Adrian changed the topic after. “I’d love to go back to the ’50s to witness her glorious days.”
Spielberg instantly burst out laughing. “Every man probably wants to. She’s indeed an attractive woman, and there’s just something unique about her that makes people drawn to her.”
Following that, he looked at the time, then apologized to Adrian, “Eddy, I’m sorry but I have to leave, I have something to attend to. I had an enjoyable conversation with you.”
“Me too, Steven.” Adrian nodded. He waited until Spielberg took his first step to leave to act like he suddenly remembered something, then he said, “Oh right, Steven, I was wondering if you’ll be interested in a film of mine.”
“A film?” Spielberg squinted his eyes, and he instantly looked like he transformed from being a director into a businessman—in Adrian’s past life, people commented that Spielberg was a director if he was with a camera, but was a businessman without. Adrian agreed with that observation.
“Yes, a film adapted from a science fiction novel, and it’s full of imagination,” Adrian replied without blinking.
Spielberg pondered, then retrieved his name card from his pocket. “How about this, call my assistant on Monday, and he’ll arrange a time for us to meet.”
“Thank you.” Adrian accepted his card, then watched as Spielberg left the hall.
“Is this why you wanted to work with Universal?” Somehow, Laverne was already behind him.
“Yes, he’s one of the very few people who have amazing control over science fiction films. Besides…” Adrian paused when he looked at Laverne because he knew that he understood what he meant.
‘Am I… Am I rushing this?’ Adrian looked at the name card in his hand. ‘Forget it, I can’t care too much for now. In any case, I have another trump card, and I’m sure that I’ll convince Spielberg.’
“I’ll be leaving first, Lave.” Adrian then walked toward the hall’s exit. There was no need for him to stay there any longer since he achieved his goal.
At the elevator, Adrian pressed the button and waited for a few minutes. When he was already in the elevator and was about to leave for the lobby, a hurried voice could be heard. “Wait!”
Someone stopped the elevator doors that were closing, then an angry white man came into view. He looked like he was somewhere between 35 to 45 years old, and furrowed his eyebrows tightly at that moment.
Subsequently, another white man hurried over. “James, don’t be so impulsive, you’re being very impolite.”
He was smiling bitterly, and it was obvious that the first man caused him a lot of trouble.
“I’ve been restraining myself, Wendell, but I really couldn’t stay any longer.” The man whose name was James was unusually furious as he wielded his fists. “Did you hear what they said? It was simply intolerable!”
“Oh, Jesus, why don’t you think about what you want!” Wendell pulled his hair. “The investments have already accumulated to 100 million dollars! How many films have that?! You’ve set a new Hollywood record, you should be happy!”
“Didn’t you see the scenes I made on purpose? The scene where the T-1000 walked out from the sea of flames,” James was very agitated when he spoke, “You think that it’s a shock, right? You think that it’s incredible, right?! But I can tell you that if another 10 million dollars are invested in the film, I can make it more shocking and incredible!”
Wendell shook his head with a bitter smile. “Nobody will invest in it anymore, you should know what it means to have a total investment of 100 million dollars, nobody will take the risk.”
James fell silent. He knew this very well but did not want to accept it.
“Alright, James, how about this, utilize the remaining two weeks that you have. Even if it doesn’t become as perfect as you want it to be, I believe that ‘Terminator 2’ will still be an amazing film.”
“I know, Wendell, but I’m just not resigned to the outcome.” James sighed while holding his forehead.
All of a sudden, another voice was heard in the elevator. “If it’s only 10 million dollars, perhaps I can invest in it.”
The two men were startled when they realized that someone else was present. Though it was embarrassing, James mentioned, “I’m sorry, we were a bit agitated because of what happened earlier, so we didn’t notice you. You are?”
“Adrian Cowell.” The young man in the corner reached his hand out and smiled politely. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. James Cameron.”
“Do you know me?” James, who shook hands with him, raised his eyebrows.
“If James Cameron isn’t the director for ‘Terminator 2’, there’s no need to produce it.” Adrian grinned. ‘Honestly, I’ve been waiting for the sequel for 7 years.”
James could not help but laugh. He then remembered who Adrian was. “Adrian Cowell? You’re the wizard director.”
“You’re flattering me, I just did it my way.” Adrian remained calm.
“That was pretty good, most directors would follow a set sequence.” James waved his hand, then looked at him fervently. “Did you say that you’ll invest?!”