Chapter 588: Dark Adaptations

On the evening of July 7th at 8:30 PM, at the Durban Stadium in South Africa, the semi-finals between Spain and Germany began.

The day before, the Netherlands had won against Uruguay in Cape Town, securing their place in the finals.

Charles Capet and Charlize Theron, dressed in overcoats, sat in a private box. The massive crowd in the stadium created an electrifying atmosphere from the very start.

Suarez from Uruguay and Villa from Spain both scored five goals, and Arsenal was receiving more transfer inquiries than ever.

"Those dogs are treating Arsenal like a supermarket!"

"Charles, when are you heading back home? After the finals?" Charlize Theron suddenly asked.

"Yeah, aren't you?"

Charlize shook her head. "I came to South Africa for a week only. I'm heading back tomorrow. The finals are four days away!"

Charles nodded. It was hard to tell if celebrities came to the World Cup for their love of the sport, especially Hollywood actresses.

In the 73rd minute, Spain's Puyol scored a goal, which they maintained until the end, eliminating Germany and moving to the finals.

Germany's youthful team showed the potential of many of their players.

Durban is the largest seaside city on the Indian Ocean side of South Africa. Its prime location and gold production make it naturally advantageous.

In the evening, Charles and Charlize stayed at the Belair Beach Resort Hotel in Durban, enjoying the vast Indian Ocean views from their rooms.

In the high-floor suite, Charlize, in a bathrobe, handed Charles a glass of champagne and smiled, "Guess what? I might win a few million dollars in a few days. Much faster than shooting commercials!"

With her blonde hair flowing, Charlize wore a loose and sexy silk robe tied with a belt, her long legs on display, revealing her perfect figure. She truly epitomized Hollywood's Venus.

Charles wrapped one arm around her waist and took a sip of champagne with the other. He said, "No wonder even Mandela praised you for putting South Africa's name on the map."

"Which man could resist your allure?"

"Mr. Mandela is a great man," Charlize chuckled, shaking her head. "I heard he's supposed to make an appearance at the closing ceremony."

"A great man! Maybe, but the transformation of South Africa from a developed nation to this state owes a lot to Mandela," Charles laughed. "Alright, let's stop talking about that."

He put down his glass and hugged Charlize from behind, kissing her neck and fondling her.

"You haven't released anything new in a while. You've been in Africa for a long time. Aren't you planning on working on a new movie?" Charles asked while caressing her.

Charlize leaned into him, allowing him to touch her, and replied with a smile, "I got a comedy script from Jason Reitman. I'll start shooting once I'm back home."

"And there's a biopic about Edgar Hoover. I heard Leonardo DiCaprio is interested in this low-budget drama!"

"But I'm more interested in powerful female roles now. I don't like playing mere decorative or timid roles."

"Big female roles are often villains," Charles laughed.

"I don't mind villain roles. Dark female characters are more appealing to me than weak female leads."

Before she could finish, Charles kissed her, and she passionately responded...

After a while, in the bedroom, Charles said, "Recently, Disney's adaptation of the live-action Alice in Wonderland has achieved amazing results. Now, many film companies are eyeing fairy tales for live adaptations."

"Alice in Wonderland, although based on the fairy tale, still heavily drew from Disney's animated version, right?" Charlize, having been in Hollywood for over a decade, understood these things.

"Hah, with more than $1 billion in global box office, who wouldn't be tempted?"

Charles propped his head up and looked at Charlize, "Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella... many companies are preparing scripts for these adaptations. They can't just copy Disney's animations; they need fresh takes, so stories are bound to break traditional ideas. Don't you think the evil queen suits you perfectly? Sexy, cold, beautiful - a powerful villain," Charles smiled.

Charlize laughed with him, "If there's a script, I wouldn't mind reviewing it. If it's good, I won't say no."

"I know Warner Bros. is working on a thriller version of Little Red Riding Hood."

Warner Bros.' Red Riding Hood is a thriller based on Grimm's fairy tales, a monster film about werewolves, directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Amanda Seyfried.

The original Little Red Riding Hood story, passed down, is childish and lovable, but the original Grimm tales are horror-filled and bloody.

Grimm's original Little Red Riding Hood was a story about blood, danger, deceit, and love. Warner Bros.' adaptation overturns traditional views, reverting it to its terrifying roots.

"Warner Bros.' Red Riding Hood is almost done filming and will be out next year," Charles understood Warner Bros.' motivation; Disney's Alice in Wonderland was too successful.

Even Capet Universal couldn't resist seeking fairy-tale adaptation scripts, so why would other companies?

Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror, Mirror are both script ideas for Snow White adaptations.

The success of Alice in Wonderland with its whimsical story, exaggerated characters, and stunning effects pioneered dark adaptations of classic fairy tales in Hollywood.

However, compared to Disney's Alice in Wonderland, Charles wasn't optimistic about these other adaptations.

After all, most of these stories merely borrowed the names of classic fairy tales, injected dark elements, and added new characters and settings.

Besides, Tim Burton's direction of Alice in Wonderland matched his style, with the plot at least deriving from early Disney animations.

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