Darkstone Code

Chapter 1208 - 1206: Adaptation

After Little Fox’s speech summarizing the past, present, and imagining the future, the lights in the hall dimmed.

This was a very traditional premiere; it just had more academic elders, more film critics, and fewer lucky people who won premiere invitations through lotteries of various purchased goods.

Yes, this is also one of Laridemo’s traditions: when you buy any product in Laridemo, you can enter a lottery.

The lottery jar comes from the Actors’ Union, usually filled with ordinary movie tickets, and if there’s a premiere, some premiere invitations too.

Holding these invitations allows one to attend the premiere, probably the whole city or even the entire industry provides some benefits like this to ordinary people, encouraging them to spend in this city.

After all, the bigger the premiere, the more heavyweight stars are present, and the desire to get close to these people can make others spend their last penny!

The movie’s plot made slight alterations to the true story, after all, no one wants the heroine to only appear in the "first half," they want her in the second half too.

With Penny and Nelly’s on-screen rivalry, the two girls had new storylines.

As soon as the male lead appeared, some viewers exclaimed, a very handsome young actor.

Of course, compared to Lynch, he was still a bit lacking, but he was undeniably very handsome.

"Because of this guy, the filming schedule was delayed...," Penny explained to Lynch quietly; this actor was the one selected from the open casting.

Chosen from tens of thousands of applicants, he needed more than just luck; he had to pay much more, such as... signing a contract.

"Fox signed a six-year, twenty-film contract with him, and he gets very little!"

This was inevitable; the purpose of choosing newcomers was to exploit the actor’s value to the greatest extent.

In the Federation, there was no shortage of agencies and production companies skilled at discovering newcomers, but their discovery and nurturing were not without costs.

Many only see the glamorous side of the stars, unable to see their reality.

For example, now the incredibly handsome male lead on the screen, bound to explode in the film circle, regardless of how high his market value climbs in the next six years, he will still film for the company’s rate initially signed, about twenty thousand per movie.

Apart from this, for any endorsements, Fox takes eighty percent, and he gets only twenty percent.

It seems almost... unbelievable, yet even so, many are still willing to sign contracts with the company.

Everyone has a star dream, some are willing to pay any price to become a star!

Moreover, with the company’s strong support, after the contract ends, he could enjoy the contract of a top-tier star, provided he doesn’t leave the industry midway.

Looking at it the other way, this contract isn’t entirely unreasonable; at least it’s necessary to promote an unknown newcomer, and the company must bear various risks.

Every time a new movie begins filming, with every event, should he not turn into a big star in the Federation as imagined by the company, all the company’s investment would be for naught!

This is indeed a very fair deal; one party bears all the risks, so naturally, they require greater returns.

And the actor’s side does not bear any risks, thereby having to exchange labor for equal returns.

Some people try to negotiate with the company after becoming popular, but this was impossible from the start; capitalists understand better than judges how to properly utilize every law term to protect their interests.

Perhaps in this world, there indeed are agencies, production companies, or directors good at discovering new talent, but their goals are not limited to just filming a movie, but in pursuing greater monetary value!

Lynch continued to watch the film, in the movie, the story started with the ship’s boarding, shot very realistically, because they indeed rented the ship where the incident occurred.

The ship belonged to Every Moment, which used to travel twice a year; if the company didn’t use it during other times, they would let it be used for sightseeing tours by travel companies.

In other words, as long as you pay, they’re willing to rent the yacht out, not to mention that after surviving disasters and being filmed in a movie, this yacht would become even more valuable, so Every Moment Company had no reason to refuse Fox Film Corporation’s request.

Initially, everything was more or less like what really happened: pirates hidden among the crew, a deviated course, the pirates’ appearance, the pace was very tense.

From the beginning, it didn’t give people much time to relax; many people’s bodies tightened watching the contents of the movie, becoming increasingly tense following the plot.

The plot changed somewhat after the pirates boarded, Lynch’s storyline didn’t change, but Penny’s storyline did.

Initially, she was just hiding and waiting for everything to end, but in the film, she was entrusted with the task of repairing the telegraph machine.

Of course, the plot adaptation was not frivolous, everyone knew the girl hadn’t been to college, she couldn’t have independently repaired the telegraph machine.

Her task was to come up with a way to go to the working area on the transmission level to fetch the spare parts needed for the machine’s repair.

Below the deck, there were many pirates on every level, though this was a small loophole, there shouldn’t have been so many pirates, but who cared?

Such obvious loopholes did not affect the viewing experience, but rather the increased number of enemies made people more expectant of the exciting plot.

Thus Lynch, on the deck, tried to navigate his wits against the pirates, while Penny ventured downward, always at risk of being killed, to move forward; the entire movie plot change was considered a success.

Nelly’s character was arranged to be a tourist on board from the beginning, having an initial conflict with Penny; when the pirates took control of the entire ship, she stepped forward to begin her storyline with the whole plot.

Very tense and exciting, coupled with mature filming techniques, the screenwriter had unique insights, and the eighty-minute length left not a moment to relax!

The academicians’ expressions were serious; regardless of whether they were interested in the film, they were clear about its value, its market value.

They didn’t acknowledge its artistry, because its filming technique and story lacked depth, only pursuing sensory stimulation, neglecting the sublimation of the mind and character; without these aspects, it wasn’t art.

But it was bound to be profitable, people would like such a movie, which left the elder critics somewhat resentful.

They worked all their lives, maybe the most impressive film they had ever made only sold for tens of thousands, yet any random film nowadays could sell for hundreds of thousands, even millions, which made their status in the industry increasingly awkward.

Although called pioneers, indeed there was nothing particularly classic, or particularly commendable, that’s probably why they pursued artistic merit fanatically.

Because art is priceless.

The film critics watched very seriously, their perspective on this film leaned more toward commercialization.

In a commercialized society, film critics must adjust their positioning, some pursued the film’s artistry, but these people’s columns in movie newspapers or magazines became more marginal, less content.

Maybe a batch of loyal fans supported them, but the pure art critics had little market; instead, commercial films were booming, and publishers were willing to provide this type of critics with more space and more prominent positions.

It showed that they were earnest, which further proved it was an excellent film.

As for those ordinary lucky ones, they had long been so tense that they even breathed lightly.

On the second floor, observing these viewers, Little Fox breathed a sigh of relief; he succeeded!

At seven o’clock, the movie ended, accompanied by a huge blaze, several speedboats broke through the waves amidst the fireworks; the film’s male and female leads successfully rescued themselves, and with the cooperation of Coast Guard, eliminated the pirates.

The first audience member stood up and clapped spontaneously, then more and more people stood up, filling the cinema with a wave of applause.

The Imperial Palace Theater’s screening room could accommodate two thousand people; this was also Laridemo’s largest screening room. Whether people were willing or not, when the majority stood up and clapped, they had to follow the crowd.

Applauding, and praising the film’s success.

Next was a lavish dinner; Fox Film Corporation had been preparing for this day for a long time; they wouldn’t be stingy.

After the viewing, under the guidance of staff, everyone entered a huge dining hall, already filled with chefs and ingredients, anyone could eat whatever they wanted.

Little Fox greeted Lynch, then left first; he had to entertain those old fellows.

To let those old fellows feel Fox Film Corporation’s respect for them, Little Fox hosted them separately in an adjacent dining room.

Elegant and calm surroundings, comfortable slow-paced piano music, beautiful waitress, and delicious comprehensive meals made every pioneer of film art very satisfied; they felt Fox Film Corporation’s emphasis, they felt respected.

Isn’t this what they wanted?

They sat by the dining table, waving pure silver utensils, continuously consuming food, their complimentary exchanges making everything appear so harmonious.

In the adjacent lively dining hall, people were still talking about the movie they had just watched, critics rarely discussed the film’s plot with pure audiences.

Lynch sat in a corner, someone wanted to come over and chat with him, but all were stopped.

The rejected were not angry about it but instead apologized for intruding on Mr. Lynch’s thoughts and turned away.

If this were a painting, its title would undoubtedly be "Vanity Fair"!