Chapter 168: Freddy’s Little House
Chapter 168: Freddy’s Little House
While Chandler and the others were chatting, Ross suddenly appeared behind the couch in the café like a ghost. Holding an umbrella in his hand, he lowered his head and picked at his fingers like a child before weakly greeting them.
“Hi…”
The previously cheerful atmosphere instantly dissipated, and Chandler and the others’ expressions all fell.
“My God, the moment he opens his mouth, I suddenly feel the urge to kill myself.”
The moment Chandler finished that line, they were immediately stopped.
“Not good enough. Ross, your little movements just now were very good, but the emotion in the line still isn’t there yet. I need you to look even more dispirited. Build up the mood properly. I already told you during the scene explanation earlier that this shot is extremely important for you. I want the audience to laugh the moment they hear your first line, while also remembering you firmly.”
Eric patiently explained things to the actor playing Ross in the middle of the set, even directly addressing him by his character’s name. Nobody found it inappropriate. Everyone quietly watched Eric do his thing, letting him guide the scene freely. Even Aniston, still waiting nearby in a wedding dress, looked at her boyfriend with obvious admiration as she watched him seriously explain the performance.
Although Eric was young, as a major director whose films had already accumulated more than a billion dollars worldwide at the box office, the fact that he had come to direct a television series was enough to make everyone on set behave respectfully toward him.
“Alright, everyone get ready. Let’s do it again.”
After finishing his explanation, Eric waved at the group and sat back down in the director’s chair.
Because Eric’s requirements for Ross’s entrance scene were extremely strict, that tiny scene alone was filmed more than ten times. By the end, the actor playing Ross had clearly become nervous, but they finally managed to pass it.
“Jennie, your turn.”
Only after several more shots did Eric finally call out to Aniston, who had been waiting nearby the entire time. The little woman quickly lifted the hem of her wedding dress and moved outside the entrance of Central Perk Café.
Since it was the first day of filming, the crew did not shoot many scenes. The main purpose was to help the actors build chemistry with each other.
And because it was a sitcom, although there was no canned laughter on set, the overall atmosphere during filming remained very cheerful.
Originally, due to Eric personally directing, most people on set had been extremely nervous. But as they spent more time together, everyone gradually got to know Eric better and stopped feeling so tense. Some even began joking around with him harmlessly.
After several days of adjustment, the filming pace of Friends gradually accelerated as well.
Eric had only reserved two weeks to personally direct the first two episodes, which was already considered very relaxed. After all, once the series later entered simultaneous production and broadcast, the crew would essentially need to produce two episodes every week.
“Eric, how about we go out to eat together tonight?”
After filming ended one day, Aniston, having already changed out of costume, hugged Eric’s arm and acted coquettishly.
Since everyone around them already knew about their relationship, the little woman had no intention of hiding anything.
“I already have dinner plans with someone,” Eric replied casually while scribbling notes onto a document. “If you don’t mind, you can come along.”
Aniston lightly frowned, but still could not resist asking, “Man or woman?”
“Uh… of course it’s a man.”
“I knew it,” the little woman still pouted unhappily. “If it were a woman, you definitely wouldn’t bring me.”
“As far as I remember, aside from you, I’ve never privately gone out to dinner with any woman,” Eric said as he capped his fountain pen and clipped it onto the folder before reaching out to pinch the little woman’s cheek.
Aniston unhappily slapped Eric’s hand away.
“Like I’d believe you. Who knows what you’ve been doing behind my back? And what’s the deal with that Nicole Kidman?”
“What do you mean, what’s the deal?” Eric pretended not to understand.
“You…”
Aniston originally wanted to directly ask whether Eric had slept with the woman, but the words stopped at her lips.
And what if she asked?
Even if they had not slept together yet, the little woman felt Eric would probably get her into bed eventually.
And if they already had slept together, then what?
Break up with him?
Eric quickly finished reviewing another document, signed it, and handed it to his assistant Allen before wrapping an arm around the little woman’s waist.
“Alright, let’s go. Go back and get ready first. I arranged to meet him at seven o’clock. We still have two hours. How about stopping by my place for a bit? Drew misses you.”
“Hmph, I miss her too,” the little woman immediately ground her small white teeth together when she heard Drew’s name.
Ever since the conflict between the two girls at Eric’s hospital bedside last time, they had never seen each other again. Over the past several months, Aniston had never visited Eric’s house either. Usually, it was Eric who went over to Aniston’s place to spend the night.
Because of that, the little woman had never discovered Nicole’s existence the entire time. Only after newspapers published the casting news for Eric’s new film did Aniston learn that such a woman even existed.
After saying goodbye to the crew, Eric drove Aniston back to the Beverly Hills mansion.
Although she had said those things aloud, after discovering that the little girl was not home, Eric still secretly sighed in relief.
After the incident of sleeping with Nicole, Drew had only given Eric the cold shoulder for a single day. Once Nicole left, the little woman crawled right back into Eric’s bed that same night, hugging her human-sized body pillow and sleeping comfortably again.
Although this was Aniston’s second visit to Eric’s mansion, the experience the first time had been too terrible, so she basically had no impression of the place.
After discovering Drew was not home, the little woman wandered around the mansion like its mistress, inspecting everything inside and out, even bouncing twice on Eric’s large bed.
“Hey, what are you laughing at?”
Inside Eric’s bedroom, the little woman hugged a pillow and raised her head, just in time to see Eric staring at her with an amused expression. She immediately asked unhappily.
Eric shook his head.
“Nothing. I’m just curious what exactly you’re doing. Declaring territory?”
“Hmph.”
The little woman seemed to have her thoughts exposed and simply turned around, refusing to acknowledge him.
Eric shrugged and walked directly inside, opening the wardrobe to pick out clothes.
Aniston happened to be wearing a long dress today that already looked very much like formal wear. Combined with the little woman’s natural beauty, there was no need for her to change clothes before attending dinner.
“Alright, let’s go,” Eric said after changing clothes, turning toward the little woman still sprawled lazily across the bed.
“Mhm.”
Aniston responded, but did not get up immediately. Instead, she tilted sideways and pinched a long strand of hair from the bedsheet, waving it toward Eric with an expression that clearly asked whether he planned to explain it.
Eric shrugged.
“That’s definitely your own hair from just now.”
“…”
The little woman was instantly speechless. She angrily threw the strand of hair at Eric before gloomily flipping over and burying her face into the pillow.
Eric walked over and slapped her raised backside.
“Alright, stop sulking. Let’s go.”
“Mmhm…”
The little woman wriggled slightly but still did not move.
A mischievous smile suddenly appeared at the corner of Eric’s mouth.
“Jennie, there might be Drew’s drool on that pillow.”
“Ugh… bleh bleh bleh, that’s disgusting!”
The moment Aniston heard that, she immediately sprang up like a startled cat, threw the pillow at Eric, and rushed straight into the bathroom.
“Alright, stop being mad,” Eric said after getting out of the car and handing the keys to the valet. He turned to the girl linked to his arm. “I already told you, absolutely nothing happened. That’s my pillow, so even if there’s drool on it, it’d be mine.”
“Hmph, your drool is even more disgusting,” the little woman muttered while subconsciously touching her lips again and rolling her eyes at him.
The two walked into the restaurant together.
Under the guidance of a waiter, they arrived at a table where a middle-aged man was already waiting. Upon seeing Eric appear, the man smiled and stood up, taking several steps forward while extending his hand.
“Hello, Mr. Shaye.”
Eric shook hands with him before introducing Aniston beside him.
“This is my girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston.”
The little woman politely shook the man’s hand before quietly sitting beside Eric.
“Eric, just call me Robert,” the middle-aged man said as he sat down as well.
Eric did not see much information revealed through the man’s expression and did not particularly care.
After all, there was no way things would be finalized over a single dinner. Eric understood this was merely a mutual probing between the two sides, and it would be difficult for them to reach any real consensus.
So after ordering food, Eric casually chatted with Robert Shaye.
“A Nightmare on Elm Street really is a classic among horror films. The concept of killing through dreams is very innovative, and as a master of horror, Wes Craven has unique insight when it comes to creating terrifying atmospheres. To be honest, Firefly also just completed production on a horror film recently. Back when we were selecting a director, I had considered Mr. Craven, but unfortunately, due to various reasons, we couldn’t collaborate.”
As the conversation continued, it naturally shifted toward New Line’s breakout work, the A Nightmare on Elm Street series.
Although New Line had already begun independent film production in 1979, it was not until the first A Nightmare on Elm Street became successful in 1984 that the company rose to an entirely new level.
Because of how important the A Nightmare on Elm Street series was to New Line, the company had even earned the nickname “The House That Freddy Built.” Freddy was, of course, the protagonist of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Hearing Eric’s lightly flattering praise, Robert Shaye also looked somewhat pleased with himself.
“Even so, it still can’t compare to your Home Alone. I heard Home Alone only cost one million dollars to make, but earned five hundred million worldwide. A return ratio of five hundred times the production cost… a return on investment like that may never be matched by another film again.”
“There definitely will be,” Eric said with a smile.
At the same time, he recalled The Blair Witch Project from his previous life.
Although the success of that film carried a strong element of coincidence, no one could deny the miracle it had created.