King of Hollywood

Chapter 276 - 276 4 Many Issues

?Chapter 276: Chapter 4: Many Issues Chapter 276: Chapter 4: Many Issues If Jim Carrey is the kind of actor who can change his facial expressions at will, then Kevin Spacey is the kind who can change his character at will. If you watch his work consecutively, you’ll find that one moment he’s a rude guy swearing his head off, and the next he’s turned into a cold-blooded killer devoid of humanity, and then a cowardly man fearful of everything. From an actor’s standpoint, he is undoubtedly outstanding.

David Fincher, on the other hand, is one of the directors Adrian greatly admires. First, he knows how to tell a story; second, while telling stories, he retains a sharpness that’s his own. Spielberg is perhaps the best at storytelling among directors, yet often he inevitably bows to commercial and entertainment demands. Fincher seldom does this, and yet he doesn’t fall into the trap, like some auteur filmmakers, of only expressing personal views without considering the audience. He combines appeal with unique thoughtfulness—a rare kind of director.

However, because of this, he always hovered at the boundary of the mainstream, and the Film Academy wasn’t too fond of him. Although Fincher had once said, “I don’t know what the Academy thinks, nor do I know what a winning film looks like,” whether this was open-mindedness or helplessness was anyone’s guess.

Of course, all that was to come later. Right now, Spacey had just begun to make a name for himself. Although he received positive reviews as the vampire-like real estate agent in “Glengarry Glen Ross” two years earlier, he was still a step away from becoming a top-tier actor. Fincher was in an even worse predicament; the year before last he had barely managed to compete for the directorial role in “Species 3,” only for Fox to be dissatisfied with his product. They deprived him of the editing rights and released a differently edited version, provoking an indignant Fincher to declare that it was not his work, so in terms of movie production he was still a freshman director.

“This character belongs to the type of religious zealot who thinks the world is filthy and needs to be cleansed by drastic means; so by the end, in pursuit of his goal, he hesitates not even to sacrifice himself on the altar,” Spacey explained eloquently, indeed a quick-witted fellow.

“Shamosai is someone who has seen the ways of the world, unlike Mills, who grew up watching TV. He likes classical music and is adept at finding answers in documents, gradually solving the case. But because he is so used to the world, he looks on many things with dispassionate eyes, lacking passion,” Freeman commented on his role. “However, I like his last line, ‘Hemingway said the world is a fine place and worth fighting for; I agree with the second part.'”
“Although life is quite satisfactory, Mills, like most young people, is spirited and easily angered, so he ended up being chosen by John Doe as the spokesperson for ‘wrath,'” Dennis stated about his role.

“Very good, your insights are all valuable,” Adrian listened to the actors’ viewpoints and smiled as he nodded, then turned to Fincher, who had been silent from beginning to end, “What about you, David?”

Fincher kept his head down, rhythmically tapping his index fingers together on his intertwined hands. Because of the baseball cap, his expression was unclear. After a few seconds, he looked up thoughtfully at Adrian, “What is the theme you want to express, Ed? Or what were you thinking when you wrote this script?”

“What was I thinking?” Adrian raised an eyebrow, “If you’re asking about my view on John Doe, David, I regret to tell you that I have no views. I’m just writing the story. As long as the story is exciting, that’s enough. As for the theme the movie wants to express, that’s the director’s responsibility. The producer needs to ensure the story’s watchability, and even the director shouldn’t reveal too much of his viewpoint in the work, say half, let the audience guess the rest.”

Listening to Adrian’s words, Fincher stroked his chin and said nothing for a long while, but his eyes sparkled unabashedly.

“Come on, David, my terms are good enough; what are you hesitating for?” Adrian suddenly burst into laughter, “I’m not one of those idiots at Fox, don’t forget the kind of films I started making.”

At this point, he looked playfully at Fisher, “Or maybe Tom didn’t tell you?”

An innocent Fisher immediately shrugged, and Fincher couldn’t help but laugh, taking off his cap and scratching his head, “Alright, obviously, I have no reason to refuse.”

Indeed, aside from the final editing rights, Adrian had handed all the power of the set to Fincher, and even in post-production editing, he promised to fully respect Fincher’s opinions and ensure no repeat of the “Species 3” scenario. For a rookie director, these were very generous conditions.

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