Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm Chapter 251 - 248: The Lord of the Rings Trailer, Stunning

The year was October 2001.

The pain of the disaster had largely passed, and the ordinary people of Arica had returned to their normal lives, while the entertainnt industry began to revive.

The first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had been edited and was ready to be released.

On this day, in the Warner Brothers screening room.

Executives from Warner Brothers, New Line Cinema, and Myers Studios gathered together to watch the trailer sent by Peter Jackson.

The overall effect was well-received, and the film's stunning visual effects left many Warner and New Line executives in awe.

The only question was—

"Doesn't Martin's elf character appear too little? After all, he's our biggest selling point."

Martin wasn't sure if Alan Horn's statent was genuinely his opinion or just a complint, so he spoke up to explain Peter Jackson's decision:

"Mr. Horn, Peter and I discussed this. He edited five trailers in total, deliberately leaving out so of my scenes in the first one. But the scenes included are ant to be eye-catching, to create a sense of anticipation and mystery for the audience. In the following four trailers, my scenes will gradually increase. What do you think?"

"That's a smart marketing strategy, I have no objections."

"Then let's get the trailer on TV as soon as possible."

With a few words, they made the decision.

Francesco Cusa was an Italian, seventeen years old.

His father, Patrick Cusa, was a first-generation immigrant who ca to Arica in the early 1970s. After thirty years of hard work, he had built a successful bakery for his family.

Patrick, now forty-five, was an overweight, artistic middle-aged man—a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Out of all Tolkien's novels, his favorite was The Lord of the Rings.

When he heard that soone was adapting The Lord of the Rings into a movie, he kept a close watch on the news.

To be honest, he was reluctant.

He didn't believe that the director, Peter Jackson, could handle such a monuntal adaptation of the epic.

He feared the director would ruin the classic novel.

But what could he do? It had been over a year since the adaptation was announced, and the movie was already finished, about to be released.

"Francesco, don't go out tonight. Stay ho with and watch TV. It's an important day."

"Oh no, Dad, I've already made plans with Peter, Annie, and the others."

When he heard Peter's na, Patrick couldn't help but feel irritated—after all, the director shared the sa na.

"No, you're staying ho tonight. We're all watching TV as a family. We're Italians, we value family."

"Why? Why?" Francesco was upset. "Just because you want to see how that guy adapted The Lord of the Rings, I have to stay ho and watch a boring trailer with you?"

"Yes! And after, we'll have a big family discussion about it."

"My God, I wish I were French. Peter is French, and his dad never forces him to watch TV. Every ti he goes out, his dad slips a couple of condoms into his bag."

"You're dreaming. The French are all studs, obsessed with sex. We Italians don't do that."

In the end, Francesco reluctantly stayed ho, as did his sister, Ksenia Cusa, with both of them clearly unhappy about it.

After dinner, Patrick sat with his wife on the long couch facing the TV, while Francesco and Ksenia sat on the smaller couches on either side.

"I don't know what's so exciting about this," Ksenia muttered.

Francesco was about to agree when a beautiful sound of bagpipes filled the TV, followed by a grand overhead shot.

"Oh my God, this is Rivendell, this is the Rivendell I imagined!" Patrick, the long-ti book fan, exclaid, his earlier doubts vanishing, replaced by anticipation.

The subsequent scenes were even more thrilling—dreamlike Lothlórien, the majestic White City, the terrifying Mount Doom... an entire Middle-earth was laid out before his eyes, breathtaking him.

And his reluctant children, Francesco and Ksenia, were also drawn in by the huge special effects, staring in awe.

Then ca the shots of the main characters—the hobbits—Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and rry, the most prominent in the trailer.

Next was Gandalf, the wizard in white, followed by Aragorn, the heir to the throne of Gondor.

"Oh, Aragorn is really heroic!" Francesco jumped up from the couch, mimicking Aragorn's sword strike.

On the other side, Ksenia nodded in agreent and was about to say, "He's really handso," when she suddenly fell silent.

Because, at that mont, the elven prince—Legolas—appeared on screen!

As Martin rode a majestic white steed, appearing on a mountain peak in the early morning sunlight, the eyes of countless won across North Arica were imdiately drawn to the screen.

"Oh my God!" Ksenia clutched her chest, her heartbeat racing, fearing it might jump out of her, "That's Martin! Yes, it's Martin. He's playing the elf prince in The Lord of the Rings, I heard that news, but he—"

Ksenia couldn't find the words to describe him, as though no words could capture the beauty of this person, a living work of art.

It wasn't just her; it wasn't just the won—n were equally srized by Martin's portrayal.

Appreciating beauty knows no gender.

For instance, Patrick, the artistic middle-aged man, kept muttering, "Incredible," "He brought the elf to life"...

And Francesco, who had just been dreaming of becoming a heroic warrior like Aragorn, had now completely forgotten about Aragorn.

"Who's Aragorn? If I'm going to be soone, I want to be Legolas. If I looked like him, the girls at school would definitely flock to ..."

He was already imagining the scene of being admired, a mysterious smile forming on his face.

The scene changed, and after a few more shots of Legolas, the focus shifted back to Aragorn.

At that mont, the four family mbers shared the sa thought: "Don't look at him, we want to watch Legolas!"

"Dammit, why does Legolas have so few shots? Is the director cutting him out?" Ksenia couldn't help but complain.

But despite the complaint, she remained glued to the couch, her eyes never leaving the screen, hoping for more Legolas.

And across North Arica, countless others shared the sa hope.

But they were destined to be disappointed—Legolas only had three shots in this trailer.