Chapter 766: Chapter 173: The New Year
A desolate yet deep horn sound rose, and within Helm’s Deep, which had been already breached, Aragon led Legolas, King Théoden of Rohan, and the rest of the few remaining warriors to a front-line charge against the vast Orc army, prepared for their final desperate stand. At that mont, at the entrance of the valley, where the sun was rising, the sound of horse neighs could be heard—Gandalf had returned on ti, together with thousands of Rohan cavalry.
Soon, the Orcs noticed them, quickly turned their spears around, and ford up, while the Rohan cavalry, led by the roars of Gandalf and Eor, charged together at the Orcs. The dawn light at the edge of the horizon grew ever brighter, a dazzling radiance pouring in from the valley’s mouth, much like the light that dispels darkness. The Orcs couldn’t even keep their eyes open, their formations fell into disarray, and the Rohan cavalry struck deep into their ranks…
The movie finally ended, and as the lodious tune played, when the lights in the projection hall were turned back on, enthusiastic applause unsurprisingly erupted, Even though, like the first part, the plot was slightly long-winded, the final turnaround was very inspiring. The scene where Gandalf led the cavalry charging through the Orc lines in the dawn light, was just as morable as Boromir’s last-minute oath to Aragon in the first part.
Sotis, a movie that leaves a scene that lingers long in the hearts of the audience, stirring emotions each ti it’s revisited, is indeed a good movie.
Adrian also breathed a sigh of relief at this ti, although he had tried his best in the editing, the pacing inevitably felt a bit slow. After all, many details needed to be explained, and the second part had three threads: Helm’s Deep, Isengard, and Frodo’s journey. Moreover, the first part was three hours long, there was no reason for the second part to be cut down to two and a half hours.
However, thankfully, compared to the original, it was already much tighter, and the final battle of Helm’s Deep was a sight to behold, so the quality of the movie could only be higher, not lower.
“Thank you, I’m glad you all liked it,” Adrian managed, dealing with the congratulations until most people had dispersed before he left the theater. The first week’s box office should be good, but whether it could break a hundred million like The Matrix was unknown.
“I believe it definitely will, it’s a perfect movie,” said Peter Jackson, who attended the premiere and had not yet left the outer lobby of the theater, speaking with excitent when the subject was brought up.
After all, this movie was his dream, and he had put a lot of effort into its production. Of course, Adrian felt no sense of sha for his actions; he thought Jackson should thank him. Without the post-trilogy ego inflation of The Lord of the Rings, the currently in-production King Kong was going very smoothly. Jackson was not only carefully controlling the costs but also being particularly cautious in choosing actors, such as the lead male role no longer being Jack Black.
Choosing a codian to lead a thriller was quite a baffling decision. Essentially, the cast of this version, besides Naomi, whom Adrian recomnded, and Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann, who shared his na, were all different from the original.
But let’s not talk about that now. It’s a pity Naomi didn’t attend the premiere tonight; even if she had, Adrian wouldn’t have been able to give her much ti—this was The Lord of the Rings premiere after all, and Gwyneth, Blanchett, and Liv were all eyeing him intently. Nevertheless, when leaving, he didn’t accompany them; there were still many paparazzi outside, and it was for this reason that the amusing incident happened afterward.
“You can’t do this to , I didn’t co by car!” At the theater exit, Silver, holding a phone, complained loudly, “Oh, damn it! Why do I have such brothers?”
“Hey, what’s up, Silver?” Adrian imdiately walked over, curious.
“Er… this…” Silver scratched his head, seeming a bit embarrassed, but after a few seconds of hesitation, he still spilled the beans, “Here’s the thing, Joaquin drove here, and I didn’t take my own car. We had agreed that he’d pick up, but he just called, saying sothing ca up with River, and told to figure it out on my own! Absolute hell!”
He exhaled deeply, looking utterly dejected, “Seems like I’ll have to call a taxi company now, who knows what the dia outside will make of it.”
Adrian couldn’t help but chuckle, taking over the conversation, “Alright then, I’ll give you a ride ho.”
“You’ll give a ride?” Silver stopped dialing, squinting at Adrian—he knew him quite well. So, his familiarity with Adrian and Gwyneth’s relationship was also clear, and it sounded almost like he had an ulterior motive for offering a ride rather than going on a date with them.
“Yeah, I need so ti to shake off those damn paparazzi anyway, so I might as well give you a ride back,” Adrian said as he grabbed him, locked his neck with his arm, and his tone turned vicious, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking, Silver. You dare to speculate about with such petty thoughts. Looks like it’s been too long since I’ve taught you a lesson, hasn’t it?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I apologize,” Silver quickly begged for rcy.
Then he got into the car with him. On the way, there was no shortage of talk about movies, both his own and those of River and Joaquin. When certain topics ca up, Adrian couldn’t help but stroke his chin, thinking back on his plan. River and Joaquin were bound to play a significant role.
Before Adrian could dwell on it, Silver would turn his head to look out the car window at the night scene to avoid disturbing his thoughts. However, on the third ti, he suddenly spotted sothing on the side of the road. His face changed imdiately, he took another careful look, and after making sure, he suddenly called out with an urgent voice, “Stop the car! Stop the car, quick!”
Although he didn’t know what had happened, Adrian instructed the driver in front to follow Silver’s orders. The car wasn’t moving fast, so it quickly pulled over to the side of the road. Silver, in a rush, jumped out of the car, uttered “Sorry, please wait for ,” and ran off towards an open space on the street.
Adrian leaned over to peer out, seeing a group of young n and won frolicking, looking very young and dressed in flashy outfits—typical of youngsters who co out at night looking for fun.
Could it be that he had spotted his girlfriend among them? Adrian thought maliciously. Well, that’s a joke. As far as he knew, Silver hadn’t officially dated anyone. The three Phoenix brothers were sowhat different from most n in Hollywood. Though they would sleep with soone they liked, they were serious when choosing girlfriends, and up to now, River only had one official girlfriend, Kristen Bell, whom he t in 2000.
As he was thinking, Adrian suddenly noticed sothing not quite right over by the open space. Silver was pulling a girl and talking to those youngsters, seemingly quite worked up, and the young people were making threatening gestures, swinging their arms as if they were about to start a fight.
You’ve got to be kidding ! Adrian exclaid inwardly and dialed The Bodyguard’s number, who was following in the car behind, then quickly got out and walked briskly towards the scene.
“Get back to your posh party, Mr. Successful. This ain’t the place for you,” a man’s rough voice shouted before Adrian could approach, followed by a chorus of jeers.
However, Silver, standing there, ignored them completely and just stared at the girl, “How many tis is this now? Or should I walk the streets every day so I can pick you up again?”
“I don’t need you looking after ! Get lost!” the girl shouted ungraciously, clearly very upset, “Who do you think you are!”
“Hear that, Mr. Successful? If you’ve got any brains, you’d leave before we start swinging,” one of the youngsters yelled, then a commotion erupted.
“If I were you, I’d shut up. Otherwise, get ready to explain to the cops why you’re bringing out a girl who’s barely 16 to bars at night!” Silver said coldly.
Instantly, the group fell silent, looking at one another, then at the girl. After all, they were just a bunch of energetic young people out for a good ti, not street thugs.
“Don’t listen to him, I’m already over 18…” the girl began to explain in a panic, but Silver, who had lost patience, reached out and twisted her ear.
“Ow, ow, stop twisting, stop it! I’ll go back with you!” the girl imdiately panicked and scread, and her previous fiery deanor disappeared in an instant. The sudden change also stunned the group of youngsters for a second.
Silver didn’t care about that and just kept twisting the girl’s ear as he walked towards Adrian.
“I’m sorry for making you wait so long.” Approaching him, he sighed embarrassingly, “Could I maybe… give her a lift too?”
Although Adrian had stopped in his tracks upon hearing so words, Searle saw everything, including the bodyguards who had approached but stood at a distance.
“No problem,” Adrian smiled and made a welcoming gesture.
Searle then twisted the girl’s ear and pushed her into the car, while Adrian discreetly signaled to the bodyguards and sat in the front passenger seat. Glancing in the rearview mirror, the girl seed on the verge of crying but never resisted. However, her reddish-brown long hair and the freckles on her face looked sowhat familiar.
“Please go straight, then take a left after two intersections,” Searle instructed as the car started.
“I’m not going back!” The girl suddenly burst out, “Anywhere is fine, just not back there! Never!”
Searle didn’t treat her the sa way as before but just rubbed his head, troubled, “You must go back, Lindsay, or…”
“No! Never! Never, never, never!” The girl scread, flailing in the car with hint of a sob, like a spring pushed to its limit and trying to bounce back desperately.
Searle was sowhat annoyed but couldn’t say anything, just sighed while looking at her. Adrian remained silent too; from his earlier reference, he had recognized the girl, the epito of a fallen Hollywood young lady. Surprising, how did the two of them get mixed up?
“Alright, Lindsay, no matter what… that’s still your ho,” Searle eventually said, after which the girl plunged into his arms and begged in a pleading tone, “Can I go to your house, Searle, please…”
Searle frowned, clearly distressed, “You know what happened last ti, Lindsay, if…”
“It won’t, it won’t,” Lindsay Lohan quickly waved her hands, “I’m sixteen already, they can’t use that against anymore.”
So, they had been dating before this? That’s unexpected, Searle. Adrian, sitting in the front and listening, was slightly surprised. However, looking at Searle, it didn’t seem to be quite like that.
“No, Lindsay, it’s complicated, I can’t be sure what your parents would do.” Searle was refusing, but his tone was not firm, which made the redhead clutch his arm even tighter.
“Can we do introductions now?” Adrian coughed to break the ice.
“This is…” It was then that Lindsay noticed Adrian, and she quickly let go, lowering her head sheepishly. It seed her feelings for him and his for her were not quite the sa.
“Um, this is Mr. Adrian Cowell, Hollywood’s famous Miracle…” Searle took the opportunity to change the subject, but before he could finish, Lindsay scread again.
“Oh God! The Miracle Director, I can’t believe I’m in the Miracle Director’s car!” The girl was uncontrollably excited, and it looked like if there wasn’t a roof over her head, she might have jumped right into the sky. Then she grabbed Adrian’s shoulder and leaned in close, “I absolutely love your movies, Director, especially ‘Forrest Gump’. I didn’t understand it when I was younger, but now, every ti I watch it, I gain a deeper understanding. And of course, ‘The Matrix’, that’s just so cool, a hundred tis cooler than ‘The Lord of the Rings’!”
As she said this, she suddenly realized sothing and shyly stuck out her tongue after glancing at Silver, then once again grabbed his arm affectionately and said, “But ‘The Lord of the Rings’ has so good parts too, the Legolas that Silver plays is really cool.”
Her sincere and unpretentious deanor made Adrian laugh. After all, she was just a 16-year-old girl, not the fallen young woman she would beco later on.
“Thank you for liking it,” he nodded and said, then reached out to shake hands with Lindsay.
Only then did the girl rember that she had interrupted Silver’s introduction, and a bit self-consciously she looked at him and sheepishly introduced herself, “My na is Lindsay, Lindsay Lohan. I’ve been modeling since I was 3 years old, and have acted in quite a few movies. This year’s ‘Freaky Friday’ is a film I did with Jamie Lee Curtis.”
“You starred in Nancy yers’ ‘The Parent Trap,’ right?” Adrian suddenly asked, then he elaborated a little, “I’ve worked with Nancy before and am familiar with her work.”
“Wow, that’s so cool!” Lindsay got excited again, “I can’t believe the Miracle Director knows my na.”
Adrian smiled, then pointed to her and the silent Silver, asking, “So, how do you two know each other?”
Imdiately, both of their expressions changed. Lindsay seed awkward and hesitant as if unsure how to respond, while Silver frowned and seed reluctant to speak, even pulling her back as she was about to start talking.
Seeing their reaction, Adrian chose not to press further. Flipping through his past life mories, he could almost deduce the reason. Lindsay’s parents were known to be even more eccentric than the typical showbiz parents. It’s likely that Lindsay t Silver at so event, developed a fondness for him, and one day, when she couldn’t stand the dostic abuse any longer, she ran away to seek refuge with Silver. Then her parents undoubtedly showed up at his door, threatening him under the pretense of abduction of a minor, until the Phoenix family settled the matter with money.
It was the kind of story that neither party would want to speak about.
“Alright, then where to?” Adrian promptly asked.
Silver pondered for a mont, and with Lindsay giving him a pitiful look, he eventually let out an exasperated sigh, “Sorry, let’s just… go to my place.”
This was a small episode following ‘The Lord of the Rings 2’ premiere; although it was a minor incident, Adrian was once again reminded of the power of the butterfly effect. Although the two of them felt differently about each other, he could almost envision Silver’s future frantic situation. The Phoenix family n were known for their strong character.
It was interesting how such a small gesture could lead to such intriguing changes, and Adrian was now quite eager to see even more entertaining variations like this. Since the foundation of AC dia was solid, it set the stage for future events.
Of course, the focus returned to the present. Though ‘The Lord of the Rings 2’ launched to much anticipation, it unfortunately did not break ‘The Matrix Reloaded’s record, only bringing in 90 million dollars at the box office in the first week, which was a pity. Many book fans, movie buffs, and dia felt a sigh of disappointnt, as ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ had a four-year interval since the first installnt, and the pent-up demand that exploded in a short ti was quite frightening—the root of ‘hunger marketing.’
Fans of ‘The Matrix’ were naturally very proud, but due to different interpretations of the plot which led to nurous factions, they did not have the energy left to boast. Therefore, although discussions about ‘The Lord of the Rings 2’ were ubiquitous online, they were relatively calm.
However, the reception was, as always, excellent. The dia gave it high scores, and Gandalf leading the Rohan cavalry into the Orc army under the blaze of light beca iconic. The na of the Miracle Director echoed once more throughout Hollywood and the world. Terms such as “the energetic Miracle Director” began to circulate behind Adrian’s back at various events. After all, releasing three movies in a year is extrely rare in film history, and transforming such a special circumstance into a norm was sothing only Adrian could achieve. Plus, for those in the know, this title carried an additional connotation…
Then, Christmas finally arrived, and various films aiming for next year’s Oscars began to have their limited screenings, like ‘The Hours’ or Zhang Yimou’s ‘Hero.’ Adrian was aware of these works, but his main focus was still on Christmas, just like Thanksgiving, spending it with his daughters, and then welcoming the New Year. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welco you to co to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
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