Chapter 399: Chapter 121: Regardless of Them

“Citing an insider source, after Legendary Director Stanley Kubrick had a stroke, the new film adapted from Schnitzler’s novel ‘Dream Story,’ which was previously on hold, is now back on track with Miracle Director Adrian Cowell taking the helm. This is indeed a surprising piece of news. Everyone knows that Kubrick was a very unique director with extraordinary talent and a volatile temper. He didn’t produce many films, but each was thought-provoking and covered a wide range of topics–from the sci-fi movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ to the horror thriller ‘The Shining’ to the violence-promoting film ‘A Clockwork Orange’–still banned in the United Kingdom to this day, even though it was his own request, as the film did indeed spark some bad violent incidents in the UK at the time.

Kubrick was fully able to showcase his talent partly because he was able to do as he pleased in film production, always having full control on the set, no matter whether it was Jack Nicholson or (someone else) who had been scolded by him. It is said that the film rights to ‘Dream Story’ were purchased by him 30 years ago but only now has it gotten a chance to be put on screen, due to issues with film censorship, etc. However, Kubrick unfortunately fell ill and might not be able to stand again, and given his domineering and autocratic nature, this film would likely have been shelved rather than let someone else take over. Yet now it has been handed over to a young director, which inevitably leads to speculation.

Adrian Cowell is also a talented director who has worked on a variety of subjects. Since he started directing in 1990, he has become the youngest Oscar-winning director, an achievement not easily earned. Of course, his works, although good, still have quite a distance to go to match up to Kubrick’s; however, in terms of vision and film company, he far exceeds expectations. Adrian has indeed already taken over this film. Although Warner is the investor, they are unlikely to persuade Kubrick on such matters. Thus, there’s only one possibility: Kubrick recognized Cowell’s capabilities.

This conclusion will certainly surprise many, but as Sherlock Holmes has said, after excluding all possibilities, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. No one knows how Kubrick made such a decision, just as this matter has only now come to light. Reporters from this newspaper have tried to interview Mr. Cowell on set. Although he declined to comment, he appeared to be very confident. Indeed, since Mr. Cowell has the title ‘Miracle Director’ and has indeed created many miracles, perhaps he does not consider taking over a Legendary Director’s work a difficult task.

So, what will the result be? It should be noted that ‘Dream Story’ is a famous erotic novel with astonishing descriptions, and Mr. Cowell seems to be venturing into this genre for the first time. Yet it’s believed that he will definitely give it his all, as the matter involves a comparison between two excellent directors. So let’s wait and see,”

— Los Angeles Times, Jeff Harris

Like many news stories, full of “informed sources” and conjecture, this one quickly piqued the interest of those journalists who had previously followed the news of Kubrick’s stroke and hospitalization. In truth, they too had already gleaned hints of these developments through various channels but could not compete with the geographical advantage of the Los Angeles Times. Since they were now outpaced, the subsequent reporting had to be different. Hence, journalists flocked to the parties from Warner’s side, Adrian’s side, the United Kingdom’s side, and Cruise’s side–where it was already confirmed before this that he and his wife would star in Kubrick’s new work.

Since there were prior agreements, all parties consistently declined to comment, which if neither confirmed nor denied, often suggests confirmation. The fact that Warner’s actions were especially telling led to the birth of various versions of the story. Some say that Kubrick decided to hand over the project after viewing Adrian’s work, others suggest that Warner approached Adrian to take over, and there is no narrative where Adrian himself volunteered to take on the task. Nevertheless, the most heated debate revolves around whether the Miracle Director can replace the Legendary Director to produce this work.

Soon enough, many critics joined the fray, with a well-known film critic stating that if the situation was indeed true, it was simply a farce. Both directors are extremely talented and have covered many topics, but Kubrick had his own unique style and ideology, whereas Adrian’s works leaned more toward commercialization and due to the age difference, it would be nearly impossible for Adrian to grasp Kubrick’s ideas.

“Perhaps Adrian thinks he can understand Stanley’s thoughts, but some things that may seem insignificant are, in fact, insurmountable gaps,” he wrote in his column.

However, others believe it is too early to draw conclusions. Regardless, the fact that Kubrick agreed to let Adrian take over can be taken as certain. With Kubrick’s temperament, he would never let anyone touch his work without his permission, which indicates that Adrian must have some qualities that he appreciated. Since the Miracle Director has created many miracles before, creating another one is not out of the question.

But the fiercest opposition comes from Kubrick’s fans. His films, although niche, are not without supporters–most of whom want to show their unique tastes–but the smaller portion of true enthusiasts are very fervent. Almost unanimously, these fans expressed that letting Adrian take over was an absolute mistake.

“He will ruin the film! Kubrick should have left it to rot in a warehouse rather than let someone else take over!” such answers were distinctly present in some media surveys.

However, regardless of the media, critics, and fans’ disputes, Adrian paid them no mind and deliberately avoided the reporters’ entanglements while methodically continuing with the filming.

“Don’t worry about them. The quality of the movie will be known when it’s released. And in the current situation, Warner is actually quite pleased to see this,” Adrian said as he walked through the amusement park, speaking to a tall woman by his side.

With her brown hair hanging straight down and sporting large black-framed glasses, as well as a beauty mark drawn on her lips, you definitely wouldn’t recognize her as Julia Roberts without a closer look.

“It looks like you’re really full of confidence in yourself,” Julia teased with a light hum.

“Of course, I wouldn’t have taken the initiative to take charge if I wasn’t confident,” Adrian said with a laugh, shrugging his shoulders. He had also carefully disguised himself, so even though there were crowds at the amusement park, he chatted and joked with Julia without any worries.

“Ed, Ed, can we go check that out over there?” The little legs perched on Adrian’s shoulders suddenly started to kick, and two small hands scrambled about on his head.

“Emma, how many times have I told you that’s very impolite?” Julia looked up at her niece, frowning, but the little rascal just pouted her mouth and said, “But Ed said I could do this.”

“Alright, let’s go take a look,” Adrian laughed heartily, making peace, as he hoisted Emma Roberts higher on his shoulders. “But if you’re thinking about going on the roller coaster, you’d better ditch that thought right now.”

“Then… can we ride the spaceship instead?”

“That’s off-limits too, let’s stick to the merry-go-round.”

“I don’t want that, I always ride it. I want to ride the spaceship! If not, I’ll cry out loud, attract the police, and let them take you away!”

“I regret to tell you, Emma, that if the police take me away, you can forget about playing anything else today.”

Compared to the other Emma, this Emma, though a year younger, was more lively and unruly, often causing trouble at home and giving Julia a headache. Only Adrian’s words would she completely obey, although she always managed to argue like now.

“It’s a good thing when kids make a fuss; it means they aren’t bottling up too much inside,” Adrian said, leaning against the railing outside the gaming area, watching Emma run around in a sea of plastic balls, “Like Emma, she was so traumatized initially. If she hadn’t cried it out in time, those scars might have stayed with her for life.”

Julia silently listened, not responding, the Emma he referred to was obviously the one from the United Kingdom.

“In any case, making her behave is simple: if she’s wild, just outdo her, be so wild that she can’t handle it, and naturally, she’ll listen to you. Being with kids means having a child’s heart,” Adrian continued.

“So should I say, Lily– that should be her name, right?– is lucky to have you as a father?” Julia suddenly said this, with a mix of teasing and a hint of sarcasm.

“If you really want to know, you could have one yourself,” Adrian said nonchalantly.

Julia immediately showed a choked expression, then a hint of red flushed her cheeks, and she glared fiercely at Adrian.

“You have such a cute expression, can I give your cheeks a kiss?” Adrian continued to tease.

Fortunately, at this moment, Emma ran out with her shoes on, “Ed, did you see just now? From climbing here to there, I left everyone else far behind.”

Following that, she seemed to sense something and looked at Adrian and then at her aunt. Although she wasn’t as smart as the other Emma, her intuition was still very sharp.

“Did you guys have a fight?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Of course not. I was just discussing with Julia whether it might be a good idea to give you a little brother or sister,” Adrian raised an eyebrow.

“A little brother or sister?” The little one’s eyes lit up immediately, and she started circling her aunt, “How do you add one? Is it like what the books say, coming out from the aunt’s belly? But how does one get in there before that?”

“Okay, Emma, he’s just joking with you,” Julia gave Adrian a hard glare again and bent down to coax Emma repeatedly.

“How can you do that,” the little one said, hands on her hips and pouting discontentedly, “How can you deceive a child? Don’t you know that deceiving children will get you taken away by fairies?”

“Alright, to avoid being taken away by fairies, how about we go over there to watch the performance?” Adrian laughed and picked Emma up.

Children are children, their attention shifts faster than anyone’s, and she immediately started clapping her hands in excitement, “Let’s go, let’s go! Let’s go now!”

Seeing the pair, one tall and one small, heading towards the performance hall, Julia sighed and followed. Her expression was complex as she looked at Adrian. Honestly, at the beginning, she had indeed entertained a certain thought, but after learning about Kate’s pregnancy and the birth of her child, she realized that Adrian would definitely not agree to certain things.

Selfish, self-centered, he was just playing games. Julia had more than once bitterly criticized him in her heart. But afterward, she did as she was supposed to do, even indulging him by getting involved in a threesome with Monica without resisting.

Why did she willingly let him toy with her? She had also asked herself. But these were just self-consoling thoughts; she knew the reason, only she didn’t want to admit it explicitly.

Whether resting or working, everything was always smooth. It was just that now, with the attention of the media, Adrian had slightly adjusted the shooting schedule. After completing some miscellaneous shots, he went straight to the party scene described by the media as scandalously titillating.

“Simply put, before I say action, you need to maintain your current posture like a statue, as if looking at a still life painting, as if you yourself are a part of the still life painting. Understand? And when the action starts, only the top two people move, the rest continue to keep like a still life painting,” Adrian told the group of masked men and women. The men were all dressed sharply, and the women were draped in towels – needless to say, one could imagine what was underneath.

Then he called one of the mask-wearing men to the side of the door, “Tommy, you come in from here, then walk over there like we rehearsed earlier. There will be a close-up, and you need to express the emotion with your eyes.”

After making sure everything was in order, he waved his hand to signal the start of filming. He had issued a strict order regarding these shootings; anyone who dared to leak information to the media would be held legally responsible. Although the shoot had been closed from the start, and the media had not found out anything so far, he emphasized the importance of secrecy once again just to be safe.

Thankfully, filming for these scenes was swiftly completed. Adrian hadn’t expected that the party scene would turn out to be the easiest part of the entire movie to shoot. The reason was simple: in the majority of the shots, men and women wore masks, naturally concealing their faces, which meant that there was no need for expressive facial cues. Moreover, the solemnity of the party itself didn’t require much exaggerated body language. Just having Cruise not having to express emotion with his face saved a considerable amount of time. This efficiency was surprising, given the number of extras involved.

Okay, that might sound a bit harsh. Cruise did have some acting skills, after all–at least in the part where he finally takes off his mask to confront the mysterious host, he didn’t cause any significant delay to the schedule.

Besides that, there was another issue. Since lower body parts couldn’t be exposed during the premiere, many shots involving men and women had to be carefully filmed. By late May, the party scenes, including the private argument between Doctor William and the boss, were complete, and Adrian immediately took the crew to New York for outdoor shots.

The reporters, ever-eager for movie news, swarmed to New York like sharks drawn to the scent of blood. For over a month, their only scoop had been the name of the movie, “Eyes Wide Shut.” The specifics of the shooting remained a mystery; their copies of “Dream Story” were practically worn out from trying to devise stories to write. Naturally, they couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

Now it was Adrian’s turn to have a headache. Filming in the busy streets of New York made it difficult to prevent paparazzi snaps entirely. When he filmed “The Professional,” his fame wasn’t as prominent as it is now, and the production hadn’t drawn much attention, so journalists hadn’t bothered him.

But things were different now. Over the past month, the news of the Miracle Director taking over the Legendary Director’s new project, though not especially eye-catching, had never ceased to be a topic of discussion. So far, about 80% of people were skeptical of Adrian’s ability to emulate Kubrick’s distinctive style, which was not easily replicated. The more likely outcome was an odd mishmash.

“What a pity, Kubrick didn’t want to leave any regrets, yet now it seems inevitable,” someone sighed.

In their eyes, Kubrick’s agreement to let Adrian take over was driven by not wanting years of preparation for his film to go to waste; his desire to finish it had clouded his judgment. After all, to many–especially those with peculiar tastes–Kubrick was considered a master filmmaker, and no matter how talented or miraculous Adrian was, replicating the master’s style seemed impossible.

Of course, some things are forever unpredictable.

Back to the topic of filming in New York; even though reporters were lurking around and eventually a few photos did leak, these images didn’t reveal much about the main storyline. At most, they could prompt speculative associations with certain scenes, like the ones involving prostitution. Therefore, Adrian wasn’t too concerned, as long as the staff maintained efforts to guard privacy. Leaked set photos were manageable, so what truly troubled him was something else.

“Cut!” Adrian called to a stop. Several young actors playing disreputable youths immediately ceased their act and helped Cruise up from where he had been lying on a car, enquiring after his wellbeing. Cruise smiled, exchanged a few words with them, and then gestured inquiringly at Adrian.

“It’s nothing, my fault. Let’s take a five-minute break, let me think a bit, and then we’ll finish this last shot,” Adrian replied loudly.

The crew relaxed, while Adrian sat in his chair and pondered. It seemed he was struggling with this last shot, but in reality, his thoughts were on something entirely different.

Alright, giving the reporters the slip was not difficult, but it required cooperation, and time was tight. The premiere was tomorrow… Adrian drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair. Looking around, he saw Cruise walking by. Adrian raised an eyebrow but quickly furrowed it again. Within the span of a few seconds, his expression smoothed out, like a magician performing a trick.

No matter. As long as he was careful, there shouldn’t be any problems. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on . Your support is my greatest motivation.)