Chapter 010: Even Starting a Conversation Requires Skill
Chapter 010: Even Starting a Conversation Requires Skill
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Jennifer Aniston stood somewhat absentmindedly by the roadside waiting for a car. She could not really say she was very disappointed about this audition. After all, she had not held much hope to begin with. Since graduating from acting school last year, she had successively performed in several stage plays. By chance, she heard news that this film was recruiting actresses, so she tried submitting her résumé. Unexpectedly, she actually received an audition opportunity.
Just as she was about to wave down a taxi, she heard someone behind her call her name. Turning around, she saw that strange boy from the audition room who had been staring hard at her.
“Hello, you’re that...” Jennifer Aniston subconsciously waved her hand and gestured a couple of times before realizing she did not know his name.
Eric stretched out his hand. “Hello, Miss Aniston. My name is Eric, Eric Williams.”
Jennifer Aniston stretched out her small hand and politely showed a smile. “Hello, Mr. Williams.”
Looking at Aniston’s sweet smiling face from such a close distance, Eric became slightly dazed. After holding Aniston’s hand, he even forgot to let go.
“Mr. Williams, you...” Aniston struggled slightly. Feeling the warmth from that large hand, she became a little embarrassed and gave Eric a reproachful glare.
“Oh, sorry. Just call me Eric, Miss Aniston. May I call you Annie?” Eric withdrew his hand and awkwardly scratched his head. Inwardly, he thought, Although I wasn’t exactly surrounded by countless women in my last life, I still had plenty of experience. Why am I acting like a green boy now? It must be this body’s hormones causing trouble. Mm, that must be it.
Aniston looked doubtful and faintly guarded. “Alright, Eric. But we don’t seem to know each other, do we?”
Eric gathered his thoughts and smiled. “Don’t we know each other now? All friends start out as strangers. Annie, it’s already noon. May I invite you to lunch?”
“That’s too sudden, Eric. We’ve only exchanged a few sentences,” Aniston refused.
“Then I’ll take you home.” Eric retreated and settled for the next best thing.
“Uh... alright.” Aniston froze for a moment. Since she had already refused him once, Aniston, who had never been good at rejecting others, subconsciously agreed.
In fact, Eric had only used a small social trick. If he had started by asking to take the girl home and got rejected, what then? He could not exactly keep pestering her. That would only have the opposite effect.
The two got into Eric’s car together. After asking clearly for the address, Eric started the car and drove toward the destination.
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Aniston spoke first. “Eric, are you part of the crew for Back to 17?”
Holding the steering wheel, Eric nodded. “Yes. I’m the screenwriter of this film, and also the male lead.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. You should be around my age, right? Right now, I’ve only played small roles in a few stage plays.”
Eric smiled. “I was just lucky. By the way, you said just now that you’re performing in stage plays?”
“Oh, yes.” When the topic turned to something she was interested in, Aniston immediately opened up and began talking nonstop. Eric occasionally added a few words, making Aniston giggle.
How could a nineteen-year-old girl who had stepped into society less than a year ago be a match for Eric, who hid the soul of an uncle inside him? Under Eric’s subtle guidance, as the conversation continued, Aniston gradually opened her heart. She even began talking about her current life in Los Angeles.
“Although working at the convenience store is exhausting, and I have to stand for at least eight hours every day, I feel that my life is very fulfilling now. From time to time, I can still act in stage plays and attend auditions. I believe that even without relying on my irresponsible father, I’ll succeed one day.”
Although Eric knew that in his previous life, Aniston eventually entered the television industry through her father’s introduction, in this parallel time and space, that was already two years later.
In his memory, Jennifer Aniston in his previous life somewhat resented her father for abandoning her and her mother when she was young. For more than two years, she kept refusing her father’s help, and because of that, she wasted more than two prime years in Hollywood. In the end, Aniston’s father, John Aniston, took the initiative to do certain things to ease the father-daughter relationship, and only then did the stubborn Aniston accept his help. When she obtained her role in Friends, Aniston was already twenty-five. In Hollywood, once an actress passed thirty, if her career still had not improved, it became very difficult to achieve major development. It had to be said that Aniston was still very lucky.
At this moment, when Eric heard Aniston’s words, he still encouraged her. “I also believe that. During the audition just now, your performance was excellent. There wasn’t much trace of stage acting, and it felt very natural. Mm, you know, when a girl auditioned earlier, that stage-play style of hers almost dragged me into it too.”
At the mention of the audition just now, Aniston suddenly fell somewhat silent. After a while, she asked softly, “Eric, had Maggie’s role already been decided before my audition?”
“I have to say, Annie, your insight really is sharp.”
“I noticed all of you seemed a little distracted. Maybe you were just going through the motions.”
Eric did not beat around the bush and said directly, “Barring any accidents, Maggie will probably be played by Drew Barrymore. Her performance during the audition was very outstanding.”
“Drew Barrymore? That cute little girl from E.T.? By my calculations, she should only be thirteen now, right? Isn’t Maggie a high school student who’s about to enter college?”
Eric asked curiously, “What, Annie? When you were waiting for your audition, didn’t you see Drew? She’s already a grown girl now, although... mm, she really is only thirteen.”
Aniston said somewhat embarrassedly, “Well, for today’s audition, I switched shifts with a coworker last night and worked until midnight, so I arrived a little late.”
“It’s fine. Actually, I don’t know whether I should tell you...”
Aniston looked up curiously. “What is it?”
“After you left just now, they all noticed that I... liked you.”
Aniston’s small mouth immediately opened wide. She was somewhat surprised by Eric’s directness and became stammering. “And... and then?”
“James, the producer of this film, told me that in the vast sea of people, once you miss some good girls, it’s hard to meet them again. So he encouraged me to chase after you. He also said that if I did, he would give you a role and create more chances for us to spend time together.”
Eric sold James out completely in one breath, silently apologizing to James Brooks. Inwardly, he thought, It’s not easy for me to chase a girl either.
“Ah, well, I... I, I...” Faced with Eric’s almost confession-like words, Aniston appeared somewhat flustered. At the same time, a faint sweetness rose in her heart.
Seeing Aniston’s panic, Eric quickly said, “No, you don’t need to feel any burden, Annie. We’re already friends now, aren’t we? It’s normal for friends to help each other. Actually, that role isn’t anything major. It’s only one of Maggie’s three friends, with just a few minutes of screen time. But if you accept it, it can add a credit to your résumé for future auditions. I believe this film of mine will definitely achieve good results.”
“Thank you, Eric. I really don’t know what to say.”
The car drove for more than ten minutes and arrived at a neighborhood in Burbank. Aniston pointed toward an intersection ahead. “Eric, I’m here. Just stop there.”
The car stopped at the entrance of a somewhat narrow alley. The two fell silent at the same time for several seconds. Aniston also made no move to get out of the car, and Eric naturally would not be foolish enough to ask her to leave.
They sat quietly for a short while, and the atmosphere inside the car gradually became somewhat ambiguous.
Finally, Aniston mustered her courage and said, “How about I treat you to lunch, Eric? There’s a small restaurant up ahead. I often eat there.”
Eric felt relieved. “How could that do, Annie? Letting a girl pay isn’t proper. Of course I’ll pay. Let’s go. You lead the way.”
...
Aniston eventually accepted that role.
During the following period of film preparation, the two talked on the phone almost every day. Their conversations were scattered and casual, such as someone stealing things at the convenience store where Annie worked, nearly being late in the morning because she overslept, discovering several cockroaches in her closet, and other such things.
Eric also occasionally talked about trivial matters in his own life while comforting the loneliness in the heart of this girl living alone away from home. Although Aniston interacted with quite a few people, she did not have many true friends she could confide in. In a short time, Eric had practically become her emotional support.
Eric knew that as long as he confessed, Aniston would definitely agree to become his girlfriend, because the girl had occasionally begun acting spoiled toward him on the phone.
However, Eric was not eager to do this. He did not want Aniston to form any bad association between that film role and becoming his girlfriend. Therefore, at the very least, he had to wait until Back to 17 finished filming. In any case, in her current state, this little girl could not escape his palm no matter what. So Eric only needed to wait for everything to naturally fall into place.
During this period, another matter also showed progress: the publication of Jurassic Park. More than half a month after signing with Michael Klaus, Eric finally received the sample copy of Jurassic Park. The cover showed a huge Tyrannosaurus rex chasing a speeding off-road vehicle, a rather sci-fi concept. This inspiration came from Eric’s memory of the Jurassic Park film. Michael Klaus thought it was excellent. Connecting an ancient dinosaur with a modern off-road vehicle created a huge suspense for readers from the cover alone.
Eric specifically asked for one extra copy and gave it to Aniston.
Over these days, without realizing it, Eric had already branded the image of a gentle and considerate good boyfriend into Aniston’s heart. For Aniston, who lacked fatherly love since childhood, this was enormously powerful.
After receiving Jurassic Park, Aniston, who already admired Eric’s screenwriting and acting talents, immediately had a little worship in her eyes. Naturally, in her heart, she placed another label on Eric: talented man.
...
The preparations for Back to 17 were still proceeding tensely. During this period, Eric participated in several more crew preparations and also met the other actors in the crew.
As for the role of Mike’s son, the crew did not choose Brad Pitt. Of course, they also did not choose that thin boy named Blake Quinn. Instead, they chose another slightly stronger eighteen-year-old youth.
Eric did not complain about this. After all, he had soon afterward met Aniston, and because of a certain standpoint issue, Eric immediately lost his favorable impression of Pitt, who had abandoned Aniston in his previous life.
He even thought with some mischievous malice that after he became a great director in the future, perhaps he should have that former superstar couple, Pitt and Jolie, make cameo appearances in his film together. Mm, with Aniston as the lead. Absolutely!
Everything proceeded smoothly. On August 16, 1988, after Eric’s rebirth, the first film carrying the ideals of both his previous life and this life officially began production.
In the end, James spoke. “Alright, Drew, be a little more steady. Let’s begin.”
“No problem, Mr. Brooks.” Drew wore a sweet smile and instantly turned back into an obedient girl next door.
Eric really wanted to shout: Demon, face my staff! Old Sun will subdue you!
...
“Stop, Maggie. I’m not that kind of person.”
The scene was Ned’s bedroom, another opposite scene between Maggie and Mike. Mike kept dodging his daughter’s attempts to pounce on him.
“No, you are.”
“No, I’m not. You’re a good person. You’re different from them.”
“I’m very different from them. I’m extremely different from them.” Mike spoke in a flustered rush.
The little lioness in heat suddenly understood something and could not help sitting on the bed in disappointment, looking distressed. “Oh, I... I understand.”
“What? What do you understand?”
“Your hair is already so neat, but you still have to make it even more noticeable.”
“What are you talking about?” Mike became even more confused.
“I’m saying... dude, your jeans are too skinny?”
Mike looked down at his lower body in confusion, then suddenly said, “No, I’m not gay. I’m in love, Maggie. I fell in love with a girl when I was seventeen.”
Maggie, relieved, stood up and quickly asked, “Is she from our school? Do I know her? What’s her name? I want to know her name.”
“Alright.” Maggie moved close to Mike and pinched his face the way her mother did. “You tell your girlfriend she’d better keep a close eye on you. Rawr, rawr!”
...
Everyone in the room watched the two perform with deep focus. If not for the issue of the setting, their performance at this moment could have been used directly in the film.
Some people even could not help sighing inwardly that God was truly unfair, giving these two such outstanding acting talent. The people in charge of the audition had all been in the industry for many years. They had seen many actors who had acted for years and could not be said to lack effort, yet still received torrents of bad reviews, as if possessed by the Golden Raspberry Award. But the acting talent of these two young people seemed innate and completely natural.
What they did not know was that Drew’s talent was genuine, while the other one was cheating. In his previous life, he had gradually accumulated some acting experience, and on top of that, the images in his mind played almost in sync. If he still could not act well, then he could only go test his IQ.
“Eric, your acting is really excellent. I heard you’re also the screenwriter of this film. That’s amazing.” When the scene ended, Drew looked at Eric curiously and said this.
Eric nodded. “Thank you. But you’re even better, Miss Drew.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Drew generously stretched out her small hand toward him.
Eric also reached out and shook her hand. At the same time, he felt the girl scratch his palm twice. Eric smiled faintly and did not narcissistically assume this was some special hint. Perhaps Drew only thought he had a say in casting and wanted to use this slightly teasing method to make him lean toward choosing her.
She simply did not know that he had only been called over to practice his acting.
After Drew Barrymore left, the people in charge were all somewhat silent. They all knew how Drew had gotten her audition opportunity. Originally, they had only planned to go through the motions, then eliminate her as a matter of course. Who would have thought that Drew was actually the best performer so far?
For the following auditions, everyone, including Eric, was somewhat absent-minded.
Nearly another hour passed. Around noon, Eric finally discovered that only the last auditioning actor profile was left in his hand. He casually glanced at the name: Jennifer Aniston.
Wow.
In less than a second, Eric reacted and cried out in his heart.
America’s Sweetheart, alive!
...
James Brooks spoke. “Miss Aniston, please introduce yourself first, alright?”
Jennifer Aniston keenly sensed that the only young man across from her looked at her somewhat strangely. It was an emotion carrying a slight trace of fanaticism. This made her feel a little pleased, but also somewhat restrained. After she introduced herself, the director had the boy perform several scenes opposite her, and then the audition ended.
It was obvious that the people holding the audition were somewhat distracted. Perhaps they had already decided on the actor. Aniston thought this in disappointment. Her parents were both people in this circle, so she understood more about the industry than outsiders did. Still, she did her best to complete her performance. Being able to obtain one of the other small roles would also be pretty good.
Only after Jennifer Aniston left the audition room did Eric reluctantly withdraw his gaze.
Just like the information he had seen in his previous life, Aniston at this time was indeed somewhat full-figured, but she could not be called fat. Moreover, with her height of 167 centimeters and high heels, she was still a graceful young woman in the prime of youth.
However, because the camera added weight, this flaw of Aniston’s would be greatly magnified on screen.
“What, Eric? Do you like this girl? I have to say, her smile really is very sweet.”
Penny Marshall’s teasing voice suddenly sounded beside him. The others also noticed Eric’s loss of composure and laughed along.
Eric came back to himself and scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. “Penny, stop making fun of me. I just... just...”
James Brooks sorted through the materials in his hand and said with a smile, “How is that making fun of you, Eric? If you like her, maybe you can chase after her now and take her home. Look, the audition is over. Of course, if you want to stay behind and eat a work meal with us old fellows, then forget it.”
“I think... I’ll forget it.” Eric felt that doing something like that would seem a bit abrupt. If it caused Aniston to dislike him, that would be terrible.
“Hey, Eric, be a little bolder,” James Brooks encouraged him. “In this vast sea of people, once you miss some good girls, it’s hard to meet them again. Although this girl’s figure is a bit full and affects how she appears on camera, her sweet smile can make up for it. So if you chase after her now, I can give her a small role, one of Maggie’s three good friends. That way, you’ll have more chances to interact with her.”
“Really? Then thank you so much, James. I’ll... go first.”
Eric had originally wanted to ask James to give Aniston a chance, but before he could think of how to bring it up, James Brooks took the initiative to mention it himself.
After speaking, Eric quickly packed up his backpack in a few movements and rushed out the door amid everyone’s encouraging laughter.