Chapter 304: Claiming the Spot Early
Chapter 304: Claiming the Spot Early
Nicole shrugged indifferently. “That’s fine too. I’ve also received quite a few other film offers recently. Staying here just gives Eric a chance to help me choose. His eye for projects has already spread throughout all of Hollywood now. I heard part of that is thanks to you.”
Hearing Nicole say that, Drew glared at the woman unhappily and asked, “Where’s Eric?”
“In the study, discussing business with a guest.”
“Put my things in my room,” the girl said as she shoved the suitcase toward Nicole, then ran toward the study door.
Nicole looked at the small suitcase in front of her and frowned slightly. Very quickly, a smile with an unclear meaning appeared at the corner of her lips as she pulled the luggage toward the stairs.
When she reached the study on the basement level, Drew rapidly punched in the code on the keypad lock. The door automatically opened. She walked down the spiral staircase, but did not see Eric anywhere. The girl immediately realized Eric must be in the second-floor study instead. This room contained so many scripts and other highly confidential things that Eric would never bring anyone in unless they were among the people closest to him.
Her footsteps clattered loudly as she ran up to the second-floor study. Pushing open the door, Drew immediately saw Eric sitting face-to-face with a brown-haired man discussing something.
Hearing the movement at the door, the brown-haired man turned his head. Drew saw his appearance clearly and recognized him at once thanks to her excellent memory. The middle-aged man was Michael Klaus, the owner of the publishing house that had published Eric’s Jurassic Park.
“Hello, Mr. Klaus.”
Michael Klaus seemed surprised that Drew called out his name without hesitation and stood up. “Hello, Miss Barrymore. I didn’t expect you to still remember me. We only met once at a party last year, right?”
Drew shook hands with Michael Klaus, then circled around the desk and threw herself into Eric’s arms like a swallow returning to its nest, rubbing against the man’s face.
“Eric, I missed you so much.”
Eric smiled and rubbed the girl’s hair. “Alright, stop fooling around. We have a guest here. Go help us make another pot of coffee. We just finished the last one.”
“Hmph. Ordering people around the moment I get back,” the young girl muttered unhappily, though she still bounced cheerfully out the door.
“Drew has always been like this. Sorry for the spectacle,” Eric helplessly explained while looking at Michael Klaus, who was staring in stunned silence.
Michael Klaus laughed awkwardly before saying, “N-No, it’s nothing. Let’s continue discussing The Matrix, Eric. I think the novel is a little too short. It’s only around fifty thousand words, and many things are written somewhat vaguely. I think it would be much better if it could be expanded to two hundred thousand words.”
“I’d like to do that too, Michael, but you should understand that I simply don’t have that much time right now. Being able to write fifty thousand words is already pretty good. Besides, you should also know that I only wrote this novel for the movie rights in the first place,” Eric said with a spread of his hands.
What the two were discussing was the world-famous The Matrix.
Because of the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along with several earlier incidents, Eric’s eye for films had already spread throughout Hollywood. As an industry with extremely high risks, Hollywood filmmakers inevitably developed a certain superstition toward such matters. That was why Drew’s quiet acquisition of rights had ended up being intercepted.
After this happened, Eric’s original plan of obtaining The Matrix screenplay from the “carpenter brothers” in the future could no longer be carried out.
The Matrix of his previous life did not appear until 1999. Right now, the concept was probably nothing more than a few scattered thoughts in the minds of the two brothers, who were still working as carpenters and painters. Naturally, Eric had no hesitation in writing it out himself.
Moreover, he deliberately made several ambiguous changes, making the novel quite different from the film in many places while leaving the main storyline mostly unchanged. Although he only wrote around fifty thousand words, it was already enough to “claim the spot” in advance so he would never have to worry about copyright issues again.
“Eric, actually, this story is quite brilliant, so I think maybe I could find someone to expand it to two hundred thousand words. Don’t worry, there absolutely won’t be any problems regarding the rights. I guarantee we’ll sign a complete contract with the ghostwriter.”
Eric immediately shook his head. “Michael, using a ghostwriter is very risky. Once the profits reach a certain level, I guarantee that ghostwriter will definitely jump out sooner or later, so I won’t take that risk.”
While the two were talking, Drew walked back in carrying a pot of coffee. After pouring coffee for the two men, she curiously picked up the manuscript between them.
“What are you talking about? Hmm… The Matrix. That’s a pretty interesting title.”
Michael Klaus glanced helplessly at Drew, who had casually taken the manuscript and sat down on the sofa nearby to flip through it, before looking toward Eric.
“It’s fine. Let’s keep talking,” Eric said, giving Michael Klaus a reassuring look.
He knew Michael Klaus was worried the girl might overhear things she should not hear and spread certain matters around.
Only then did Michael Klaus continue, “Then, Eric, since you disagree, forget it. I’d like to ask about Running Out of Time. Have you ever thought about turning that story into a novel?”
“Michael, the rights to Running Out of Time are jointly owned by Firefly and Columbia. The first film in the series already earned more than four hundred million dollars worldwide. Including the upcoming sequels, the total box office value could exceed one billion dollars. With that kind of massive money involved, Columbia would never agree to novelize the series just for a mere few hundred thousand dollars at most in royalties.”
“That’s truly unfortunate.” Michael Klaus shook his head.
After chatting a bit more about the publishing details for The Matrix, Michael Klaus politely declined Eric’s invitation to stay for dinner and announced his departure.
Eric escorted Michael Klaus out of the villa. Only after the man drove toward the estate gates did Eric return to the house.
“Wow, Eric, how did you come up with this? It can actually be done this way?” The moment he entered the living room, the girl excitedly waved the manuscript in her hand at Eric.
Eric snatched The Matrix manuscript back from Drew before asking, “When did you get back?”
“I came straight here after getting off the plane,” Drew said with a grin as she wrapped herself around Eric’s arm and followed him back toward the basement study.
“Then what were you doing on The Silence of the Lambs set? If it had been filming in Los Angeles, that would’ve been one thing, but you little brat actually ran all the way to Pennsylvania?”