King of Hollywood

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As the gentle tremors gradually subsided, the plane, having entered the stratosphere, began to fly smoothly. Adrian withdrew his gaze from outside the window and turned to Dennis Knight beside him, "What's up, feeling airsick?"

"It's okay, this is my third time flying, so it's inevitably... a bit uncomfortable." Dennis, whose complexion was not very good, took a deep breath but eventually unbuckled his seatbelt and headed straight for the airplane's restroom.

Interesting guy, Adrian thought with a laugh as he shook his head, turning his attention to the other side of the cabin where the executive producer, assistant director, and director assistant recommended by Laverne were seated. Besides, he had already contacted his acquaintances in the United Kingdom, who would provide a series of supports for Adrian's filming.

This was the advantage of acquiring a film company, with a complete operational team and ready-made connections. Especially with the Bossworth Film Company, which was painstakingly selected based on the information provided by Claude; though small in scale, its early establishment had granted it extensive connections, even with several vice-presidents of the American Film Academy.

Don't think that Americans don't value connections, it's just that their connections seldom override rules. Take Adrian's script, for instance, if it weren't for the connections left by his parents, which hadn't been squandered during the chaotic past two years, how could a newbie writer without even an agent attract several big companies to send representatives to visit?

After arriving at London's Heathrow Airport, it was 2 a.m., and taking a temporary rest at the airport hotel to adjust to the time difference, Adrian, along with several others and the actors and staff prepared in the UK, went to a small town called Edwin in the northeast of London to vigorously begin filming.

He chose Guy Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" as his "directorial debut." Its multi-threaded narrative style filled with surprises and coincidences, tight and intricately interlocking plot, and omnipresent black British dry humor were eye-catching, so even though the investment kept reducing during filming until it was only 80,000 British Pounds (Note 1) in the end, it received considerable acclaim once released.

The only issue was that it was a British film, but upon pondering it, there wasn't a film with a lower budget than this one—even "Saw" had a budget of about a million, and besides, from a profit maximization perspective, "Saw" should be released after "Seven Deadly Sins." Anyway, Adrian's maternal grandfather was British, so he and his mother also had British citizenship. Although his memories didn't include spending much time in the UK, his British accent was pretty good, so it also made sense for his "debut" to be a British film.

"Gentlemen, I think I made it clear to you, please don't let small issues cause an NG again!" Adrian raised his head from behind the camera, exclaiming with some irritation and motioning to start again.

After three days of filming, he easily grasped the feeling. Although before reincarnation, he didn't handle cameras often, he had practical experience. Besides, he had watched and analyzed many films, so filming wasn't too difficult. This was why Adrian confidently told Laverne he would complete the shooting and editing within two months and then get it into the Venice exhibition.

However, a good movie couldn't rely on the director alone. Among several actors, besides Dennis and the ones playing "Axe" Harry and several gang leaders, most were somewhat out of form. It's no wonder, since to save money, famous actors were out of the question; third- and fourth-tier actors, although some could be quite outstanding, could only be recruited based on luck.

"If you want to add a lighting technician, Mr. Adrian, then the costs might exceed the budget." The financial assistant came over, holding a pile of reports, saying this.

"Over budget? That's not acceptable, the budget is only 200,000 US Dollars." Adrian couldn't help but frown; although he had already calculated meticulously and allocated double the budget, it was still exceeding. How could this happen?

Flipping through the reports, Adrian felt a bit of a headache; the reports surely had no issues, and every expense was clearly documented, so why was this happening? Additional investment wasn't a problem, but why additional investment was needed had to be clarified; otherwise, how could he replicate those classic films in the future? Damn it, how did Guy Ritchie do it back then?!

Looking at the sky, it was getting late, and after contemplating for a while, Adrian had no choice but to gesture to call it a day.

The sound of running water stopped, and Adrian let out a long breath, pulling aside the shower curtain and wrapping a bath towel around himself. Standing in front of the mirror, he wiped away the fog on it, unconsciously touching his face in the reflection.

It was almost half a year now; although the integration had been good from the start, for instance, showing a demeanor and poise while persuading Claude and negotiating with those script reviewers and assistants, the discomfort never ceased—sometimes he felt he was completely Adrian, other times completely Zhang Haoxuan. Fortunately, from the beginning, he set his goal and began working steadfastly, so he was fully integrated by now.

"The consciousness of the previous life should dominate, I guess?" Adrian murmured to himself, looking at his reflection. He quickly chuckled and shook his head; so what? Even if he was neither the previous Zhang Haoxuan nor the former Adrian, he was still himself—as long as he knew what he wanted to do and how to do it.

"Alright, stop overthinking it." Adrian patted his cheeks, wrapped in a towel, and walked out of the bathroom. Although this aspect of things wasn't over, things had to be taken one step at a time, some of which he was already aware. For example, continuing to integrate Cowell's resources—this couldn't be done in two or three days—or perhaps finding a way to visit China—to be honest, he didn't believe he would see another himself; it didn't fit the Grand Universe theory.

"So let's focus on this damn movie," Adrian cursed, changing into pajamas and then turning on the table lamp, "Can the lights be brighter? Does this inn not even afford a bulb?"

It was a typical English-style small inn; the yellowing walls and the old and rough patterns on the wainscoting seemed to speak of its long history. The somewhat dim lighting added a feel of stepping back into 18th or 19th-century London. It was okay before, as the desk lamp was quite bright and convenient for his writing—aside from directing the film, Adrian was also writing every day, including script outlines and… novels! However, the lamp broke over the past two days, and the inn didn't address it timely, so he couldn't rush things, which frustrated him as he desperately wished he could stretch every minute into two.

Adrian turned the desk lamp on and off; if not for various reasons, he would have moved to a hotel long ago. Forget it, he thought, tomorrow let the assistant buy a new one; obviously, he couldn't rely on the inn's efficiency, and who knows, the replaced lamp might be even dimmer, which would equal to… wait, dim!

He seemed to have thought of something and widened his eyes, staring blankly ahead for a long while; suddenly, Adrian clapped his hands. I get it! Brilliant! Guy Ritchie, you're a damn genius!

"You are saying… to shoot using orange filters from now on?" The lighting technician looked at Adrian, bleary-eyed and a bit begrudgingly irritated, as no one enjoys being woken from a sweet dream.

"No, no, no, it's to add a layer of orange-yellow filter paper inside," Adrian corrected, "This can reduce the need for other filters. Basically, minor adjustments allow continuous use, followed by some post-production processing to make the footage appear no different from other movies—do you understand?"

"This..." The lighting technician rubbed his forehead, "I'll need to think about it carefully, Mr. Adrian."

"Alright, we'll talk about it at the set tomorrow." Adrian realized he had been somewhat abrupt and rude coming over so late. After a few brief words, he left the room.

Guy Ritchie's cost-cutting method wasn't complex; simply put, the entire film's tones tended to be darker. By adding a layer of orange-yellow filter paper to the filter board, only minor color adjustments were needed to shoot straight through to the end, without affecting the viewing experience—as long as some post-production work was done. (Note 2)

The reason Adrian recalled this was that he watched a remastered HD version at that time. While it appeared nothing special in regular cinemas, the HD DVD version could make the whole picture seem overlaid with a layer of rust. Ordinary viewers wouldn't know why this happened, but for someone familiar with filmmaking and informed about this work, a bit of thought would make it clear.

Facts proved Adrian's idea was correct. The day after specially announcing a break, he, along with the lighting technician and cameraman, bustled around at the set—actually a rented small office—and finally confirmed this method after much activity.

"One must admit, this method will save us a lot of work," the lighting technician praised at last, saying, "You're a genius, Mr. Adrian."

"Can it be used? Then the upcoming shooting against the time frame should be pursued hastily." Adrian waved his hand.

Although this method didn't seem to save much at a glance, the accumulated figures after filming the entire movie were significant and not negligible. More importantly, through this, Adrian recollected more of Guy Ritchie's cost-saving details during filming, like casually moving props and shooting from different angles to transform one scene into another, and such things.

You're a damn genius, Guy Ritchie! Adrian once again praised inwardly. Your creations are safe in my hands now; I'll take good care of them!

(Note 1: Baidu Encyclopedia lists the film's cost at £80,000, but upon checking foreign sites, the cost was $900,000. The latter figure was found much later, and the storyline couldn't be changed, so it follows this error—a possible explanation: £80,000 is the cost from start to finish without including marketing, distribution, salaries, etc.)

(Note 2: These filming techniques are completely fictional; don't overthink it.)

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