Chapter 105: Circles
Chapter 105: Circles
Jonathan was almost so happy that he wanted to dance with excitement. Of course, that was only an impulse in his heart. He definitely would not show it outwardly.
“Eric, thank you. Thank you for giving me this directing opportunity. I guarantee I’ll make a work that satisfies you.”
Looking at the barely concealed excitement on the middle-aged man’s face, Eric also smiled. “Jonathan, you can go to Firefly tomorrow and discuss the specific directing contract with Jeffrey. Right now, I think what you need most is to go home and get a good night’s sleep.”
“Huh?” Jonathan felt Eric’s words were somewhat out of nowhere. He really had slept very little these past few days, but right now, after successfully obtaining this directing opportunity, every cell in Jonathan’s body was in an excited state. He did not feel tired at all. “Eric, I’m not tired. Maybe we can continue talking about this film? I still have a lot of ideas.”
As Jonathan spoke, he patted the thick stack of materials in front of him.
Eric firmly shook his head. “Jonathan, I understand the effort you made to obtain this opportunity. Maybe you haven’t looked carefully in the mirror these past few days?”
Jonathan touched the stubble on his face. “Sorry, Eric. Before coming out, I only washed my face. I didn’t have time to shave.”
“No,” Eric said. “Not that. It’s your eyes. They’re filled with blood vessels. That’s from excessive lack of sleep. So listen to me. Go back and properly rest for a night. Your health comes first.”
Under Eric’s insistence, Jonathan Demme could only stand up and head home. Eric also drove away from the café.
The next day, Jonathan signed a directing contract with Firefly. Facing the agreement Jeffrey offered him — a 500,000-dollar directing fee with absolutely no profit participation — Jonathan signed it without even thinking. Because this opportunity itself was what mattered most to him. If The Others succeeded, he would completely break free from the B-movie circle he had belonged to before and step into an entirely new world.
On the surface, Hollywood was the place where the American Dream occurred most frequently. Some unknown actors and directors would suddenly step into the ranks of top-tier stars and top-tier directors because of one blockbuster film, receiving pursuit and praise from film companies and the public alike.
But in reality, Hollywood contained even more invisible barriers.
Independent films had their own circle. B movies had their own circle. Low-budget productions had their own circle. Big-budget productions had their own circle. Even adult films had their own circle.
Although these circles overlapped somewhat, people originally belonging to one circle would discover obstacle after obstacle blocking their path if they tried to jump into another circle. Gradually, many people gave up struggling and honestly remained within their own circles.
Of course, lucky people did exist. Occasionally, someone would successfully leap from a lower-level circle into a higher-level one and suddenly shine brilliantly. Then they would become representatives of the American Dream in people’s eyes.
After Jonathan Demme signed the contract, all the directors for the films Eric planned this year had finally been decided. Steel Magnolias had already begun filming. Next came the concentrated casting stages for Running Out of Time, Scent of a Woman, and The Others.
Although the three films had already finalized part of their main cast, the remaining roles were still extremely sought after. In Eric’s previous two films, even supporting actors had seen their careers rise to entirely new levels. Therefore, after Firefly released the audition notices, Hollywood’s second- and third-tier actor circles nearly exploded with excitement. Quite a few first-line actors also sent probing inquiries to Firefly.
Because of reasons everyone understood, the casting for the three films would definitely favor actors from United Talent Agency. As a result, within just a few days, over a thousand cooperation applications were delivered to Kapur. Many agents even bundled their artists together, hoping to collectively join UTA.
After Kapur and Eric held an in-depth discussion, they both agreed that now was not the best time for UTA to expand aggressively.
Blindly increasing the agency’s scale without being able to provide enough opportunities for artists would only damage UTA’s own reputation. Therefore, almost all cooperation applications were rejected. Facing the still endless stream of applications, Kapur could only publicly release a statement, and only then did the matter temporarily settle down.
Among the supporting-role audition lists for the several films, the hottest one was not Running Out of Time directed by Eric himself, nor Scent of a Woman starring Al Pacino. Instead, it was the seemingly least eye-catching The Others.
Because the audition list for The Others actually contained openings for two child actors around ten years old.
Although the film’s director and female lead were not famous, and aside from the movie title The Others, no information regarding the script’s genre or content had been revealed, the screenwriter credit carried Eric’s own name.
Many people naturally thought of Stuart Runkel, who had risen to fame through Home Alone. Before Home Alone, Stuart Runkel had merely been a somewhat precocious little boy from Eric’s neighbor’s family. Who could have imagined that this child would become globally famous now?
As a result, while the roles in the other two films had only received several hundred audition applications, the candidate list for the two child actor roles had already expanded to five thousand people and was still continuously increasing. As news of the auditions spread, Firefly even began receiving child actor portfolios from Europe, Australia, and other regions.
“Really sorry, Charlison. It’s not that I don’t want to use Stu. It’s just that this film really doesn’t need an actor at Stu’s level… No, it’s not a salary issue. I know, I know. It’s honestly because that little boy doesn’t have much screen time… No problem. If you have time, feel free to visit my house sometime… Alright then, goodbye.”
After hanging up the phone, Eric rubbed his swollen temples. Ever since Firefly released the role audition list, no matter whether he was at home or at the company, he received endless phone calls from people pulling connections to recommend actors.
The call just now had been personally made by Charlison Runkel, little Stu’s father, whom he had not contacted for a long time. He wanted to fight for the role of the little boy in The Others for Stu.
To outsiders, Stuart Runkel appeared infinitely glamorous. But only people inside the industry knew that little Stu was currently in an awkward state of being “valuable but lacking a market.” His salary quotes were outrageously high, yet not many people dared invite him to act. Most of his income came from commercials and endorsements. Perhaps Charlison Runkel also understood that maintaining Stu’s popularity was the most important thing, which was why he lowered himself to personally call Eric and even offered the low price of 3 million dollars. After all, Creative Artists Agency’s public salary quote for Stuart was 8 million dollars.
Without realizing it, Eric discovered that although he did not participate in many social activities, his social network had become astonishingly vast.
This was probably the saying: “When poor, no one asks about you in the busy city; when rich, even distant relatives come in the deep mountains.”
Even people who had only met him once or chatted with him briefly would now speak to Eric in an overly familiar tone, casually discussing things like the weather for a few minutes before naturally recommending some actor or another.
A burst of fragrant perfume drifted over. Two milk-white arms wrapped around Eric’s neck from behind the sofa, while a little face affectionately rubbed against his cheek.
“Hey, alright already, stop fooling around.” Eric pulled away Drew’s small arms that were wrapped around his neck and inwardly sighed that this girl truly was favored by God. Years of alcoholism and drug abuse had still failed to damage the girl’s milk-like skin in the slightest. It still felt smooth and tender to the touch.
Drew giggled after Eric pulled at her and immediately lifted her legs, climbed over the sofa backrest, and pounced into Eric’s arms.
“You’re almost a grown young lady already, yet you’re still this mischievous.” Eric could not help smacking Drew’s plump little backside.
“Mmm… that hurts…” After taking the hit, the girl immediately looked tearful, but the large blinking eyes she turned toward Eric practically seemed to say: Again, again.
Eric had already become accustomed to the teasing Drew could throw at him anytime and anywhere. “Alright, tell me. Why did you suddenly come back?”
“Hmph, can’t it just be because I missed you?”
“Is that your hometown accent? It sounds strange. Who taught you that?” Eric asked with a smile.
Drew looked confused by the sudden Eastern-style English phrase Eric used. “What does ‘hometown’ mean?”
“It means… uh…” Eric nearly got sidetracked by her. “Don’t change the subject. Why did you come back?”
“I really did miss you, Eric. I saw that Lamborghini Diablo in the garage. I never expected that just because I once said I liked that car, you actually remembered it. I’m so touched.”
“You misunderstood. I was actually planning to give it to Jennie.”