Chapter 802: Chapter 208: A Qualified Comrcial Film
Selena kept her promise and didn’t take the little girl nad Vivian back, but she also didn’t return to the Vampire’s base. Instead, she went directly to their race’s laboratory, wanting to find out what was going on. Coincidentally, Amilia was also there inspecting, and the story of the Eternal Ancestor Alexander Corvinus and his three children unfolded in their conversation.
This was the first ti the origin of Vampires and Werewolves was explained in a modern sense. Although it’s not possible to really study it, for the audience, it indeed felt refreshing.
Then, the differences from the original version appeared again. In this story, both Vampires and Werewolves realized what the blood of Alexander Corvinus’s third, unmutated son’s descendant ant to them. In fact, both Vampires and Werewolves had tried countless thods to solve their vulnerabilities to ultraviolet light and silver weapons, and in modern tis, they experinted on humans.
The Vampires, being slightly luckier and more technologically advanced, discovered the secret from a collateral line and imdiately started searching for and hunting the third son’s descendants, eventually finding it in the little girl Vivian. Although the Werewolves were lagging behind, they had a mole within the Vampires, but Klein, the mole, wasn’t very clear about these things. Thus, under his ans, the little girl and a couple escaped, but they were being targeted by the Werewolves, and the Vampires quickly reacted, sending their best to pursue, resulting in the opening scene of the movie.
Knowing the truth, Selena was caught in a dilemma. She had to temporarily turn to another direction, returning to the base to confront Klein about Lucian, who he claid to have killed, bringing back only a skin. Of course, Klein denied it, and the two parted on bad terms. After collecting so evidence, Selena had to break the rules and awaken Victor.
However, the awakened Victor was not grateful and didn’t believe her story, sensing that she began to develop feelings for humans. Thus, he used the excuse of Selena breaking the rules to awaken him to order her to reflect on her actions. Playing this role again was the renowned British actor Bill Nighy, who, besides Kate, was the only one to reprise his role from the original, delivering an impeccable performance.
The subsequent plot did not undergo much adjustnt. Selena did not follow Victor’s orders to reflect but instead sought evidence on her own. anwhile, Klein secretly t with Lucian, and after so complaints, decided to act prematurely. Thus, Alia, one of the three elders, t an attack on her return, and then, unable to recover due to blood loss, died—not so miserably this ti, without even a frontal shot.
anwhile, Selena was followed by Klein’s n and just returned to where Vivian was hiding when the Werewolves arrived.
“Hide quickly, hurry!” Selena shouted to the little girl, then drew her two guns to confront the Werewolves.
Though they had begun to establish trust, the indifferent little girl, seeing the outside world so close, couldn’t help but feel tempted. Coupled with the intense fighting, she eventually made a risky move, secretly climbing onto the outside fire escape and sliding down to the street. However, two Werewolves disguised as police were waiting there. Though the little girl didn’t trust them and wanted to escape, how could she possibly evade the Werewolves with her fragile capability? Thus, she was captured amidst screams.
Even though Selena heard her scream, she was entangled by the Werewolves above and couldn’t break free. Finally defeating them, it was too late to catch up, and she couldn’t find any trace. Helpless, she took a heavily injured but still alive close associate of Lucian back after inspecting the Werewolves’ bodies.
With this guy as a witness, Victor naturally no longer doubted, and upon receiving news of Alia’s death, imdiately assembled the troops to prepare a counterattack. Here, many details began to get a bit ssy—there’s nothing to be done about it, considering the film’s limited runti. Adrian was rely a spectator, nowhere near a producer, unable to control it, but to reach the current extent was already comndable, given it was a mid-budget comrcial film.
The final battle arrived, Selena fought her way through, first entering Lucian’s lair and getting to Vivian ahead of the rest.
“I’m sorry.” The little girl, usually indifferent, finally cried, clinging tightly to her, unwilling to let go.
“It’s okay. No one will hurt you anymore.” Selena, rare in showing tenderness, held her and softly comforted her, simultaneously feeling a bit lost, not knowing what to do next.
Just then, Lucian, along with the colluding Klein, barged in. Lucian wanted to inject himself with blood and quickly evolve to counter the incoming Vampires, but Klein was exposed with nowhere to go, relentlessly tailing him, thus they t in such circumstances.
Instantly, a war of words ensued. Klein suddenly drew a gun loaded with nitrate silver bullets and shot at Lucian, who was utterly unprepared and fell to the ground. Klein breathed a sigh of relief, believing that as long as he brought back Lucian’s head, Victor would forgive him, and of course, also the little girl.
Selena naturally wouldn’t hand Vivian over to him; the mont they disagreed, they imdiately started to fight again. Klein, though no match for Selena, was vicious, each ti attacking Vivian, and Selena, in a careless mont, was finally sent flying, leaving Vivian in his grasp.
The jubilant Klein smugly mocked them—as villains do in movies, “Underworld” being no exception, otherwise, how could the protagonists make a coback? However, the final puzzle was also solved with this. The love between Lucian and Victor’s daughter, Sonia, was also revealed. This lodrama was essential and actually quite fitting for an important supporting role.
anwhile, Klein explained why Victor adopted Selena; she resembled Sonia, indirectly explaining why Lucian spared her twice.
“Wasn’t it him who killed my family?” Stunned, Selena involuntarily asked another question.
“Of course not; it was Victor who killed your family, poor little girl.” Klein laughed, arrogantly like all villains do, so he imdiately faced retribution.
The half-paralyzed Lucian suddenly attacked, breaking one of his legs. Enraged, Klein without thinking grabbed Vivian and threw her out, the little girl screaming in pain and rolling onto the ground. This act infuriated Selena, who let out a furious roar, picked up a weapon from the ground, and swiftly killed Klein in an instant.
Then, Vivian, lying on the ground, began to moan painfully. When Klein threw her onto Lucian, his teeth grazed her arm. Werewolves have no females, as won cannot withstand such brutal power, so won bitten by Werewolves generally die, and given Vivian’s small size, she certainly couldn’t endure.
“Bite her…” Dying Lucian called out, “She is the last direct descendant of Corvinus… she can rge the blood of both races…”
With no other option, Selena bit Vivian, also setting the stage for her final rift with Victor. When the elder entered with his n and learned of Vivian’s condition, he ordered her to be killed; he absolutely wouldn’t allow this situation. So ruthless, coupled with the truth-seeking Selena repeatedly questioning, the conflict between them beca unavoidable.
This final fight scene, unlike previous ones, featured Victor and Selena wielding longswords, the sharp clashing sounds showcasing the elegance of Vampires. Of course, this did not last long; after all, Victor being one of the three elders and having lived for thousands of years carried an imposing aura, causing Selena to retreat repeatedly.
But seeing the still-weak Vivian constantly evading other hunters, Selena’s fury filled her chest. After enduring a sword strike from Victor, she leapt and swiftly dispatched those fellows. However, the pursuing Victor then pierced her shoulder with a sword. Facing life and death, Vivian suddenly erged, distracting Victor for a few seconds, allowing Selena to seize the opportunity to pierce his heart with a sword.
Once everything ended, Selena looked at Vivian, finally asking, “Are you willing to co with ?”
“Will you protect ?” Vivian countered.
The film finally ca to a close. Of course, so aftermaths, clues for a sequel, had to be left, such as the blood from the killed guy dripping into Marcus’s coffin in the awakening chamber, or the absence of Lucian’s body, and Victor rely having his heart pierced. In their past lives, these two characters were very popular. Thus, under Adrian’s intervention, they were temporarily preserved in this way.
If the movie achieves success and their characters are indeed popular, there’s no doubt they’ll be resurrected in a sequel. So, how is this movie? The box office can answer that—Universal linked nearly 2,500 theaters for “Underworld”, and during the first week, it grossed $29 million in North Arica.
For a comrcial film with moderate investnt, this is an excellent start. Generally speaking, as long as the first week’s box office figures and the number of theaters are roughly similar, the movie has significant potential.
After undergoing modifications and utilizing various promotional tactics, it also leveraged the hype of being the movie previewed on YouTube. Moreover, around the millennium, Adrian arranged several comrcial films for Kate, like “Miss Congeniality” or “Tomb Raider”, which were essentially solo performances. Thus, her comrcial value increased, and such results are normal.
anwhile, comnts from various dia and film critics suggest that about half of them find it acceptable.
“As a comrcial movie, ‘Underworld’ is undoubtedly qualified. It not only subverts the traditional stories of vampires and werewolves but also boldly innovates. The modern Gothic style makes the whole movie appear very fashionable, with a convincingly arranged plot. The director found a perfect balance between horror and action, and Kate Beckinsale’s performance is comndable. Although she mostly maintains a stoic face, any change in expression leaves a deep impression.” A critic described it this way.
Of course, remarks like “a stupid movie, like a role-playing clearance ga” and “the war between vampires and werewolves is no more than gang warfare” are also common, with an IMDb rating of just 7, and Rotten Tomatoes freshness of only about 55%.
But in the eyes of ordinary people, it is an excellent movie. Despite the Rotten Tomatoes freshness of only 55%, audience approval reached 89%. Vampire culture is still highly sought after in the West, coupled with Laura starring, the tight leather outfit, and modern Gothic style fascinated many.
“If Laura is wild, lively, and proud, then Selena is cold, stunningly beautiful, only showing emotion towards those worth caring for. Of course, both are elegant and charming.” A netizen’s remark seems to reflect the sentint of most people.
Moreover, whether critics—both those with a negative and a positive stance—or regular viewers agree, the scene where Selena watches over the sleeping Vivian is the most emotionally stirring part of the whole movie. Especially those critics with negative views, they acknowledged this shot barely prevented the film from seeming too diocre.
Dakota also further garnered popularity, perhaps because she is too young, or the role easily evokes sympathy. Even critics didn’t give her much flak, making the character Vivian the one receiving 99% approval in the whole movie.
Of course, if talking about popularity, Kate is still the highest. She is the main lead, and removing the male protagonist was to better emphasize her. The image with a tight black leather outfit and trench coat has beco her trademark, just like Laura.
“Look, dear, quite impressive, right?” Adrian teased when accompanying her and their daughter over the weekend, holding the data, “Isn’t it?”
Following this sentence, he said it to Lily. After thoroughly scanning the newspaper for a while, the little one sighed, “I feel like I’m missing sothing.”
“Oh?” Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“I was thinking,” the daughter cradled her face, looking at her mom, “if that role was mine, it should be great, right.”
“What, you want to be an actress too?” Adrian showed an expression of surprise.
“No, but I think…” Lily tilted her head in thought, “appearing on cara with mom… if I played Vivian and acted opposite mom… that would be cool!”
Seeing his daughter’s ambitious look, Adrian shrugged, not planning to say anything. When the little one first began dismantling the DV, he thought she might beco a scientist. When she led her sisters to wreak havoc at ho, he thought she could be a leader. Now… it’s okay, she’s still young, plenty of ti to adjust her thoughts. Whatever she does in the future is her own affair, he just needs to be a spectator, carefully protecting her.
“Looks like a sequel is certain now.” After the little one ran off to play, Adrian said this to Kate.
“It’s still early. Maybe next week they won’t be interested in… in a tight black leather outfit anymore.” Kate shrugged.
“It’s fine, as long as I’m still interested.” Adrian said cheerfully, Kate rolled her eyes at him, not speaking.
Adrian didn’t mind; as long as the current box office situation continues, the sequel is inevitable. If things go well, related peripherals, such as comics, character models, gas, etc., will also be scheduled.
So he shifted to another topic: “By the way, dear, there’s a script I think you should consider. It’s not mine, and the background setting is sowhat chaotic, requiring high investnt, running the risk of loss if not careful, but… I hope you take it.”
“Oh? Why?” Kate was imdiately intrigued.
“Because I can almost picture you in it, oh, it’s really charming.” Adrian exaggerated sowhat with a tone of admiration.
With a little thought, Kate understood what he was talking about, promptly rolling her eyes at him, but she couldn’t resist asking: “What exactly is it?”
“You know, Universal once used to produce many horror films, with lots of classic monster images like Frankenstein. This ti they want to bring these monsters together in one movie and have found Stephen Somrs to be the director and producer…” Adrian then explained.
Unquestionably, this movie is none other than the Universal monster mash-up “Van Helsing” from past lives. According to the previous trajectory, this movie should’ve been launched long ago, but Universal has developed quite smoothly these past few years. Marvel’s superhero series also earned them vast fortunes. Although the producer had this idea, action was not taken. However, the person in charge, Somrs, convinced Universal’s executives, making them believe there’s more potential to be tapped, so it was then scheduled.
Adrian knew what the situation was with “Van Helsing” in the past. But he didn’t intend to interfere too much, just like with the sequel of “Underworld” and “X-n”. After all, he couldn’t always teach them hand-in-hand what to do. Besides, “Van Helsing” had an average box office in the past, but the DVDs and videos sold extrely well, with North Arican sales nearly equaling the box office briefly, suggesting no major issue with the film’s quality. Likely, the problem arose during distribution and promotion.
After AC dia acquired Universal, they thoroughly revamped this aspect, having those trained by Bossworth, and recruited so talented individuals, making Universal’s distribution ability unmatched before. ntioning it slightly, it should be better than the original version, so Adrian’s attention was primarily on the female lead.
Lara Croft is already in his bed, Selena, currently the most mysterious, elegant, and fashionable vampire, is almost there; could the traditionally charming Princess Anna still escape? (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welco to visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets, monthly tickets; your support is my greatest incentive.)
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