Chapter 133: Lunch

In a refined restaurant, after Eric finished ordering, he watched Julia with a smile and great interest as she elegantly communicated with the waiter and skillfully arranged the tableware in front of her.

“What are you looking at?” Julia soon felt Eric’s gaze and asked curiously.

Eric shook his head. “Nothing. I just suddenly remembered the first time I ran into you at Jeff’s restaurant. You feel very different now.”

Julia clearly did not want Eric to mention the most miserable period of her life. She shot him an annoyed glare. “Are you trying to claim credit?”

“Of course not,” Eric said with a smile. “I just think it’s… interesting. Cinderella turned into a lofty princess in the blink of an eye.”

“Don’t mention that ‘Hollywood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cinderella’ thing in front of me, okay? I’m sick to death of that title.” Julia rolled her eyes. Although the title contained envy from the media and the public, it also carried plenty of teasing.

“Alright. Then why did you suddenly come back?”

“I accepted an endorsement and rushed back to shoot the ad. And… and came to visit you while I was here.”

Julia stuttered slightly at the end.

In truth, she had mainly come back to visit Eric. Shooting the ad could be considered an excuse. If she wanted, the ad could have been shot in Louisiana without any problem. After all, she was already in a film crew, and much of the equipment and staff were readily available.

But Eric had been unconscious for more than ten hours before. Although he was ultimately safe, the matter had caused a huge stir in Hollywood. She had been personally elevated by Eric from an unknown young actress into a Hollywood star. If she did not show her face at all while Eric was recovering from his injury, some media outlets would inevitably label her ungrateful.

As for why she waited for Eric outside the soundstage today instead of visiting him privately, that was a little thought of Julia’s own. Nothing else. It was to create a little exposure. In this regard, Julia could also be considered self-taught. Although Pretty Woman was still screening hotly, she herself had disappeared from the media for an entire month. The small Louisiana town where Steel Magnolias was being filmed was too remote, and director Herbert Ross was worried about reporters disturbing them, so news of the filming location had been sealed fairly tightly. Even if a few scattered paparazzi found the place, they could not get any valuable news.

At the same time, Julia was also somewhat afraid of privately visiting Eric. She still clearly remembered the time she secretly visited Eric in private. Every time she recalled how Eric had given her a harsh and biting scolding until she could not help crying, Julia hated this unromantic man so much her teeth itched.

“Thank you for your concern, Julia,” Eric replied seriously, then asked curiously, “Right, what ad are you shooting?”

“A Lancôme perfume endorsement.” Julia proudly raised several fingers and waved them in front of Eric. “One year. This amount.”

“Wow, that’s really… a huge sum.” Eric was too lazy to tease her. Girl, I don’t mind a little vanity, but if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you want to show off, can you at least pick the right person? Is it really appropriate to do that in front of me?

“Fine, I know you don’t care for it. You don’t have to make that face.” Julia pursed her red lips in dissatisfaction, then remembered that doing so would make her mouth look even bigger, which was something he was dissatisfied with about her, so she quickly relaxed the corners of her lips. “I can’t compare to you. You suffer a small injury, and the whole country’s attention gets drawn over. You even stole the spotlight from the Oscars that were just held.”

“You should say I acted as a shield for this year’s Oscars,” Eric said with a shrug. “If I hadn’t gotten injured, this year’s Oscars would have been criticized even more. Actually, the Academy should thank me properly.”

“I don’t really know about that, but in Louisiana, all I saw was that Allan Carr, the director of this year’s Oscars, announced that he would never accept an invitation to direct the ceremony again. But it shouldn’t be as bad as you say, right?”

“It was much worse than you imagine, but I can’t tell you too much detail, because I and many other award presenters and performers already signed a confidentiality agreement promising not to mention any inside details of this Oscars to the public for twenty years. And these past few days, Disney also came to join the chaos, threatening to sue the ceremony for using Snow White’s image without permission. Anyway, it was a mess. If my injury hadn’t attracted more than half of the media’s attention, the Academy would at least have had to issue a public apology to calm the anger of the media and the public.”

Julia widened her eyes as she listened to Eric’s account, but in the end, she could not grasp too much from it. After all, she had not personally attended this Oscars. She had not even had time to watch the ceremony that night because she was rushing to shoot some scenes. So the topic was soon shifted back to Eric’s injury. The young woman was still most concerned about the wound on Eric’s forehead.

“Hey, it wasn’t convenient in the car just now. You can tell me now, right? What exactly happened to the injury on your forehead? I don’t believe it was as simple as falling down the stairs. There must be something hidden.”

Eric spread his hands helplessly. “But that’s the truth.”

“Definitely not.” Julia revealed a sly smile. “I read the newspapers from the other day very carefully. After you were injured that day, it was Drew and your girlfriend named Jennifer Aniston who took you to the hospital together.”

“And then?”

Julia leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice. “I think your girlfriend Aniston must have suddenly gone to your house that morning, found you and Drew in the same bed, and in a fit of anger, grabbed a vase or something and smashed you with it, right?”

Surprise flashed across Eric’s face and disappeared. Although Julia’s guess was very far from the truth, one point was real. He had been hit again by that girl Aniston’s innate talent for emotional torture. Fortunately, Virginia had been smart enough not to show herself during the whole incident. Only after his injury had fully stabilized did she visit him at the hospital together with the others.

Julia sharply caught the momentary change in Eric’s expression. Her red lips parted slightly, and she showed a shocked expression. “No way. Did I guess right?”

“Absolutely not. I swear on the lamp.” Eric smiled and pointed at the crystal chandelier above them. “I just fell by accident. My medical report was published in plenty of newspapers. You must have seen it. I had bruises all over my body. You don’t think Aniston had the ability to cause such widespread injuries, do you?”

“That’s not necessarily true.” The young woman refused to concede and looked Eric up and down, as if considering how she would start if she wanted to cause injuries like that.

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about this unpleasant topic. Tell me about Steel Magnolias. After all, I’ve only communicated with Mr. Herbert Ross a few times by phone. Since you, the person involved, are here, how does it feel?”

Julia honestly shook her head. Even now, she still was not sure why Eric had taken a liking to this film and even forcefully suppressed her pay to make her act in it. In Julia’s view, Steel Magnolias was a trivial story with no central point. A group of housewives lived ordinary lives day after day, with all kinds of holidays, separations by life and death, and daily trivialities.

“I still feel this story is a little too ordinary. There’s no… no highlight?”

Eric was just about to answer when the waiter brought over the dishes they had ordered, then opened the red wine in front of them. Eric patiently waited for the waiter to finish everything. Only then did he fiddle with the food in front of him and ask, “Then what highlights do you think a film should have?”

Julia took a sip of red wine, put down the glass, thought for a moment, and waved her hand. “At least… at least…”

“At least there should be an unforgettable love story, with the male and female leads loving each other to death, or else grand scenes, speeding cars, explosions, flames shooting into the sky, and things like that?”

The young woman quickly nodded. “Right. At least there should be those things, shouldn’t there?”

“This is a public place, so I won’t criticize you. If you want to know why, come to my house tonight. I’ll analyze in detail for you what exactly makes a film successful.” As Eric spoke, he even narrowed his eyes and sized up the young woman opposite him, a wicked smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.

“Uh… let’s forget that.” Julia seemed to be scratched by Eric’s gaze and instinctively leaned back, quickly refusing. She knew that if she went, she would definitely be lectured again. Maybe late at night, this hateful womanizing man would even drag her into bed.

Eric was only teasing her a little. Soon, he put away his frivolous expression and analyzed seriously, “Actually, whether a film succeeds or fails mainly depends on whether the director’s story can resonate with the audience. I studied the script of Steel Magnolias carefully. It’s a good story that places warmth in ordinary life into scene after scene of triviality. While making the audience feel a familiar resonance, it will also unknowingly move them to tears.”

Julia showed an expression of not fully understanding but thinking it sounded impressive, and nodded as if convinced. Then she asked the question she cared about most. “Then… how much box office do you think this film can get?”

“What do you think?” Eric asked back.

Julia hesitated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a while and held up two fingers. She quickly felt this number underestimated herself too much, so she added two more, then hesitated and withdrew one. She thought it would already be pretty good if this film could get thirty million at the box office. With the film’s investment scale, Firefly could still earn a small profit. In truth, Julia felt that if she continued acting in romantic comedies, even if the subject matter was fairly similar, with the influence created by Pretty Woman, the film would definitely get fifty or sixty million at the box office. But as for this film that felt like family trivialities, Julia really could not muster much confidence.

“You have that little confidence in me?”

“I just… I just don’t have confidence in this film,” Julia said honestly.

Eric calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled. “How about we make a bet? I’ll bet this film’s box office won’t be lower than fifty million.”

“What’s the wager?” Julia asked curiously.

Eric showed another wicked smile. “If you lose, come to my house and be a maid for a week. If I lose, I’ll be your driver for a week.”

If Eric’s expression had not been too evil when he said the word maid, Julia would almost have agreed immediately. She felt her chance of winning was over seventy percent, and in this era, maid was still a very proper profession. But after noticing Eric’s expression, Julia keenly sensed something wrong and decisively refused. “No. I’m not betting with you.”

“How about sixty million?”

Not only was Julia not tempted, she refused even more firmly. “Don’t even think about it.”

Because Eric still had filming work in the afternoon, the meal ended after half an hour. But it still gave the paparazzi plenty of photo material. In any case, tomorrow’s media would definitely have gossip about Eric and Julia.

After lunch, Julia sent Eric back to the soundstage.

“When are you returning to the crew?” Eric asked when they parted at the soundstage entrance.

“My flight is at four in the afternoon,” Julia answered from inside the car without getting out. “Right, Eric, the crew’s filming budget seems to be insufficient. It might need at least another two million dollars.”

“Mr. Ross asked you to say that?”

Julia nodded. Herbert Ross did not know Eric had already noticed the crew’s tight budget, or that he had even prepared to add to the budget. Considering Julia’s relatively close relationship with Eric, he had asked the young woman to test Eric’s attitude when she came back.

After all, this was a low-budget film. If another two million was added, the cost would reach ten million dollars, meaning the box office would need to reach more than thirty-three million to recover costs. Although Julia had joined the film, even Herbert Ross himself could not be sure whether this family film without comedic elements could reach a box office scale of more than thirty million.

“That’s no problem.” Eric nodded. “Tell Mr. Ross to ask Jeffrey for the money.”

“Then I’ll thank you on Mr. Ross’ behalf.” Julia smiled and said goodbye to Eric before driving away.

The first thing shot in the afternoon was still the scene between Andy and Yoyo in the small restaurant. For some reason, after one meal, Brooke Shields returned to her unenlightened state from the morning. This shot NGed over and over several more times. Although the young woman repeatedly apologized with that pitiful expression, Eric still could not help losing his temper. At the same time, he drew a big cross over Brooke Shields in his heart.

No more cooperation. This beautiful vase was truly exhausting. Those many Golden Raspberry Awards really had not wronged her. She could go back to harming others in independent films.

At the same time, Eric also dismissed the idea of having a more-than-friendship relationship with Brooke Shields. Hollywood was so big, and there were so many pretty girls. He was not short of this one.

After struggling for half an hour, the restaurant scene finally ended.

“Eric, I’m really sorry. My performance was a little poor.” Brooke Shields had finished her shots, which meant all her work for the day was complete. After gathering her things and changing in the dressing room, she came over to Eric again just before leaving.

At this moment, the young woman was no longer wearing the black office-lady outfit from the shot. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, she was now wearing a pair of tight dark-blue high-waisted jeans, and the hem of her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shirt was tucked into the waistband. The curves of her pert hips and her long, beautiful legs were displayed before everyone without any concealment.

Almost all the men in the crew cast their gazes toward the young woman, intentionally or unintentionally. At the same time, they remembered Brooke Shields’ famous jeans ad, and many of them even had the thought: was there really nothing between the young woman and her jeans right now?

Although Eric had dismissed some thoughts, he did not mind enjoying this tofu delivered to his door. Admiring Brooke Shields’ delicate appearance and perfect body curves, his expression eased slightly. “It’s fine, Brooke. I hope you can seriously understand your remaining scenes after you go back. Those are all exterior scenes. If we waste too much time like this, it will definitely affect the shooting schedule and consume unnecessary budget.”

“Mm, I’ll definitely work hard.” Brooke Shields nodded and looked seriously at Eric. Her high heels rubbed and shifted against the floor a few times, and her long legs followed by assuming a slightly seductive posture. After waiting for a few seconds, she found that Eric had already withdrawn his gaze and had no intention at all of inviting her to dinner.

Brooke Shields did not dare make it too obvious. If she did and was still rejected by Eric, then she might be mocked by the crew, especially Cruise, whom she had clearly rejected earlier. So she could only say with some disappointment, “Then, goodbye, Eric.”

“Goodbye. Someone will notify you of your next scenes.” Eric raised his chin and nodded to the young woman, then used his pencil to make several marks on the script and turned to instruct his assistant.

Brooke Shields stopped for another few seconds, but could only leave in disappointment. She had hinted so clearly just now, yet Eric still remained unmoved. This made Brooke Shields feel somewhat defeated.

“How long until Hanks arrives?” Eric paid no attention to Brooke Shields’ departure. Although he had noticed her hints, since he had already made a decision, he naturally would not change it. In Hollywood, if one could not resist temptation, it could very likely bring terrible consequences.

“Ten minutes,” Allen said.

“Alright. Hurry and clean this place up. We’re moving to another set.”

Eric looked at his watch and thought silently.

Cruise’s solo scenes were already complete. Next, Eric planned to film several bar scenes between Cruise and Hanks. Today would also be the two protagonists’ first confrontation. Thinking of the nearly parallel acting careers of these two major stars in his previous life, Eric could not help feeling faintly excited. He was looking forward to what kind of sparks would appear when the two of them acted opposite each other.