Chapter 318: Insider Information at the Breakfast Table
Chapter 318: Insider Information at the Breakfast Table
Francis Coppola quickly said, “No, no, Sofia, you have to believe in yourself. You have a lot of potential. Don’t listen to that little brat talking like an old man. If he can achieve that kind of success at nineteen, then of course my daughter can too.”
“Dad, I actually think Williams is right,” Sofia Coppola’s brother, Roman Coppola, suddenly raised his head and said.
“Roman!” Francis Coppola shot his son an unhappy glare.
Roman Coppola shrugged and quickly lowered his head again, while Cage had no intention of speaking at all.
Although he also agreed with Eric’s opinion.
After all, he had previously seen his cousin’s acting.
That feeling… best left unsaid.
Seeing the atmosphere beginning to turn awkward, Sofia quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Dad, stop it. I know you love me very much, and I love you too. That’s exactly why I hope The Godfather Part III can become even better. I’ve already made up my mind. I’ll start from small roles like Nick did. Didn’t Mr. Tim Burton previously recommend a girl named Winona Ryder to you? I heard her acting is excellent. Maybe you can let her audition.”
Francis Coppola glared at his son again before quickly turning toward his youngest daughter with a doting expression.
“Alright, Sofia. I’ll let that Winona Ryder try out.”
Roman Coppola was already completely helpless regarding his father’s favoritism. After thinking for a moment, he grinned mischievously at his sister.
“Sofia, since Eric Williams was the one who advised you like this, then you should make him compensate you with a role.”
“Hmph, I’m not as shameless as you,” the girl snorted lightly before lowering her head and continuing her breakfast.
This time, however, Francis Coppola did not scold his son. Instead, he sighed emotionally.
“Honestly, Eric Williams’ ability to make stars is just too strong. From that little boy in Home Alone to that Australian actress from the end of last year, what was her name again… Nicole Kidman. They’ve all become first-line stars now. I heard Tom Cruise not only rejected the invitation for Ghost, but also spoke badly about the movie afterward. Truly a foolish fellow.”
“Hey, Dad, Tom Cruise is one of my idols. How can you say that about him?” Sofia Coppola raised her little face unhappily.
“Little sister, Dad’s absolutely right this time. Tom Cruise’s actions were indeed rather foolish,” Roman Coppola continued. “Although he’s already been famous for ten years, the box office results of his personal films have always been extremely unstable. More importantly, Tom Cruise has one fatal weakness: he doesn’t have a successful franchise film supporting him.”
“In that kind of situation, once several of his starring films fail consecutively at the box office, he’ll very quickly fall from the position of first-line star.”
The girl argued unwillingly, “But lots of famous Hollywood actors don’t rely on franchises either.”
Roman Coppola continued:
“That doesn’t matter for many people. Take actors like Al Pacino or Robert De Niro. They’re acting-school stars. Their acting alone is enough to earn them popularity.”
“But Cruise is different.”
“Do you remember those hugely popular old films Grease and An Officer and a Gentleman?”
The girl nodded.
“Of course.”
“The male lead of Grease, John Travolta, and the male lead of An Officer and a Gentleman, Richard Gere — back then they were both considered idol-type stars. But these past few years, who still sees them around Hollywood?”
“The reason is that after those representative works, they were unlucky and never encountered another huge hit.”
“Tom Cruise is walking a very similar path. The only difference is that his luck has been extremely good. Every few years he runs into another blockbuster, which is why he’s managed to remain among Hollywood’s first-line stars.”
“But in Hollywood, luck is the least reliable thing.”
Francis Coppola also gave his son a rare nod of approval.
Sofia Coppola revealed a thoughtful expression.
“So you mean that if he had a successful franchise backing him, then even if his popularity declined, he could still gather momentum again through sequel reboots?”
“Exactly.”
“Look at Harrison Ford. A few years ago his popularity dropped badly, but after last year’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, he easily returned to the ranks of first-line stars.”
As Roman Coppola spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice, adopting a gossiping tone.
“And I heard at a party before that Tom Cruise’s very capable agent — I think her name is Paula Wagner — had originally found a franchise film project for Cruise.”
“But the adaptation rights for the related television series were snatched up by Eric Williams.”
Sofia Coppola immediately leaned closer toward her brother with great curiosity.
“What TV series? I’ll go find the videotapes and watch it.”
Roman Coppola poked around at the food on his plate with his fork before saying:
“I think it was called Mission: Impossible. But that show is already really old. You probably won’t be able to find videotapes.”
“Ahem, alright, stop chatting and finish eating,” Francis Coppola said unhappily as he watched his son and daughter huddled together like two scheming little mice whispering to each other.
Then he turned toward Cage on the other side.
“Nick, work harder in Ghost this time. Do your best to maintain a good relationship with Eric Williams. It’ll definitely be very beneficial for your future career.”
“I know, Uncle,” Nicolas Cage nodded.
Jennifer Connelly listened as the family casually discussed all sorts of Hollywood insider rules and secrets that most people would never know.
Although the Coppola family frequently included her in conversation so that she never felt ignored, the woman still felt that she fundamentally did not belong here.
After breakfast, Jennifer Connelly hurriedly bid farewell to the Coppola family.
There was still another matter weighing on her mind — Eric asking her agent to meet him at Firefly today at ten o’clock.
The moment she walked out of the Coppola mansion, Jennifer Connelly immediately spotted a silver-gray sedan parked over ten meters west of the main gate.
Her agent, Jim Lester, was anxiously staring toward the entrance. The instant he saw her emerge, he immediately waved excitedly.
Connelly quickened her pace and walked over.
After receiving Eric’s call last night, Jim Lester had not slept at all.
He had remained in a state of slight excitement throughout the entire night.
However, he had been unable to contact Connelly.
Only this morning had Jim Lester shamelessly called Tony Brandt. Although the other man’s tone had been awful, he still informed him of Connelly’s whereabouts.
Thus, Jim Lester had arrived outside the Coppola residence early in the morning.
But after arriving, he became uncertain again.
How could Jennifer Connelly possibly have been allowed to stay overnight here?
This was the home of Francis Coppola, one of Hollywood’s four great directors.
Therefore, he did not even dare approach rashly.
He could only foolishly wait near the entrance, hoping Jennifer Connelly would come out early so he could bring her to Firefly Films together.
Although Eric had not explicitly said the two of them should go together over the phone, Jim Lester naturally assumed that was what Eric meant.
Besides, bringing Jennifer Connelly along also gave him a bit more confidence.
“Morning, Jim,” Jennifer Connelly greeted somewhat guiltily as she approached her agent.
But her agent had no time for pleasantries.
“Jennie, hurry and get in the car. We’ll talk on the way.”
“Um… do I… do I need to go too?” the woman asked hesitantly.
Jim Lester nodded.
“Of course. Eric Williams definitely wants to see you too.”
Dazed and confused, the woman was pulled into the car by her agent.
Soon afterward, they arrived at Firefly Films headquarters.
Jim Lester led the woman to the front desk and spoke briefly with the receptionist.
After checking the records, the receptionist politely said:
“You’re Mr. Jim Lester, right? Mr. Williams informed us you’d be coming. You can go directly upstairs to see him. However, he didn’t mention this young lady.”
Jennifer Connelly’s gaze immediately dimmed slightly.
Jim Lester quickly added:
“Mr. Williams must have simply forgotten. Could you notify him? Just tell him Miss Jennifer Connelly came too. I’m sure he’ll let us go up together.”
The receptionist glanced at Jennifer Connelly, reluctantly nodded, then picked up the phone and spoke for a while before saying:
“Please go upstairs. Mr. Williams’ office is Room 706 on the seventh floor.”
After thanking her, Jim Lester led the woman toward the elevator.
“Jennie… this time… stop being stubborn, alright?” Jim Lester hesitated briefly inside the elevator before finally speaking.
Jennifer Connelly fell silent for a moment before nodding wordlessly.
Jim Lester let out a sigh of relief, then could not help continuing to persuade her:
“Eric Williams is single right now. God knows how many women in Hollywood have their eyes on him.”
“And he obviously likes you very much.”
“If you can become his girlfriend, it’ll bring enormous help to your future career.”
“Hollywood is very realistic. I think you’ve already deeply experienced that during this past year.”
“Mhm…”
…
Inside the office, Eric multitasked effortlessly.
While listening to Allen recount his work schedule for the next few days, he simultaneously lowered his head and rapidly flipped through the information a consulting firm had submitted regarding Hollywood special effects companies.
Eric did not read the detailed content carefully.
He was merely searching through the material for any special effects teams he recognized from his memories.
He still trusted his memories a great deal.
If certain people had done exceptionally well in his previous life, then with his support in this timeline, they would definitely do even better.
Very quickly, Eric found a familiar name.
Stan Winston Studio.