Chapter 58: A Complicated Prince
Chapter 58: A Complicated Prince
“Eric, Drew… moved into your house?” After an intense round of passion, Jennifer Aniston lay on Eric’s chest, lightly scratching his pectoral muscles as she asked.
Eric Williams nodded and told Aniston the entire sequence of events from beginning to end.
Aniston spoke with a sour tone of suspicion. “But… you’re not related to her at all, so why are you spending that much money on her? One million dollars! You’ve never spent that much on me before. Hmph, you definitely have ulterior motives.”
Eric reached under the blanket and smacked the girl’s smooth backside. “I only treat Drew as a younger sister. You, however, are my girlfriend. If you wanted it, I’d be willing to spend ten million, even a hundred million, on you.”
Aniston heard a trace of sincerity in Eric’s voice. Her heart sweetened a little, but she still pouted. “I don’t want to spend your money.” Although she said that, her small hand began groping emotionally beneath the blanket. Very quickly, Eric’s interest was stirred again.
“You brought this on yourself, little girl.” Laughing loudly, Eric pinned Aniston beneath him.
“Ah… not there, it hurts…” Aniston cried out. Restrained by a pair of powerful hands, she desperately twisted her waist, but it was rather useless.
After struggling for a while without succeeding, Eric could only give up some evil intentions.
In a soft, sticky voice, Aniston muttered, “Eric…”
“Don’t even think about it,” Eric joked.
Although she knew Eric was joking, Aniston’s body still trembled nervously.
…
“Al Pacino, huh? Al was so masculine in The Godfather series. It’s a pity he hasn’t made movies these past few years.”
After being thoroughly pampered the previous night, Aniston’s little face was glowing radiantly as she carefully tied her boyfriend’s tie. Seeing the faint jealousy in Eric’s expression after hearing her praise another man, she quickly stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.
“All right, all right. My Eric is the most handsome. Al Pacino is already an old man.”
“I originally planned to invite you to watch Al’s Broadway play tonight, but hearing you say that, I think I’ll forget about it.”
Aniston smiled and refused. “Even if you really planned that, I genuinely don’t have time. Christmas break is almost here, and the director has been rushing filming progress these past few days, so we’ve been working overtime. Eric, are you staying in New York during Christmas?”
Eric shook his head. “I’m not sure either. If Al Pacino accepts the invitation, then I can stay for Christmas. Otherwise, I’ll have to rush back to Los Angeles to audition male leads.”
“Oh.” Disappointment filled Aniston’s tone.
“Annie, why don’t you come back to Los Angeles with me then? Isn’t your family all in Los Angeles?”
Aniston shook her head. “No, I don’t want to go back. They… all have their own families now. I feel like I’m unnecessary if I insert myself into them.”
“How could that be? They still love you.”
“You wouldn’t understand, Eric.” Aniston sighed lonely. Then she adjusted her boyfriend’s collar. “All right, Eric, let’s go.”
…
“Hello, Mr. Pacino.” Although Eric had seen countless images of Al Pacino in films, he still felt somewhat excited seeing the real person.
“Hello, Eric. Just call me Al.”
After Kapoor introduced them, the two shook hands and sat down together.
Without much small talk, Al Pacino said, “Eric, I’ve read the outline for Pretty Woman. You may already know this, but because of what happened in 1985, I haven’t acted in films for four years. Although I appreciate that you extended an invitation while everyone else is still hesitating, I still feel this script doesn’t suit me very well.”
Eric asked, “Al, can you explain the reason?”
Al Pacino replied, “This script is a female-led film. Also, I asked Kapoor before this, and you want a newcomer named Julia Roberts to play Vivian. I specifically went to watch the film Mystic Pizza, which Miss Julia Roberts is currently appearing in. Honestly, her acting is very ordinary. If the script isn’t modified at all, then with me playing Edward, the female lead Vivian’s performance will be completely suppressed by mine. With the actors’ abilities being so unequal, the finished film will feel awkward and out of balance.”
At this point, Al Pacino paused and stared at Eric with bright eyes, speaking with complete confidence.
“Eric, this isn’t arrogance. I’ve already received five Oscar nominations. Although the Academy’s prejudice against young actors kept me from winning, that doesn’t negate my abilities.”
Eric thought for a moment, then quickly revealed a smile. He already understood Al Pacino’s intentions. This acting fanatic actually really wanted to take the role, but he was dissatisfied that the script centered on Vivian. That was why he had cautiously invited Eric to New York for a face-to-face discussion, hoping to persuade him to revise the script.
Curiously, Eric asked, “Al, if you were to play Edward, what changes do you think should be made to the script?”
Al Pacino’s eyes lit up. After organizing his thoughts, he proposed his ideas.
“First, Edward’s screen time needs to be increased, making the character fuller and more developed. Also, I feel Edward’s personality traits still aren’t distinct enough…”
Al Pacino spoke continuously for more than ten minutes before fully expressing all his views. It had to be said that, as a veteran actor, many of his script revision suggestions genuinely gave Eric a refreshing feeling. If Eric had not possessed the background of a transmigrator, and if the script had truly been his own original creation, he would have almost nodded in agreement.
But now, such a thing was naturally impossible.
“Al, actually, you really want to act in this film, don’t you?”
Al Pacino froze for a moment. Seeing Eric’s understanding expression, he quickly spread his hands freely and laughed.
“That’s right. I really do want to take this film, because after revealing that I intended to return, this is the first script I’ve received. The other film companies are still hesitating about inviting me to act. I don’t know how long that hesitation will last, so I have no choice but to seize this opportunity.”
“Al, your suggestions just now were all very reasonable. I was honestly somewhat tempted. However, the script definitely cannot be changed in any way. Pretty Woman is a clichéd fairy tale about a prince and Cinderella. If I follow your suggestions, then we would certainly create a prince with a very distinctive personality, but at the same time, the fairy tale would become complicated and realistic. The reason a fairy tale is a fairy tale is because it almost completely separates itself from real life and gives people a beautiful fantasy.”
Al Pacino nodded somewhat disappointedly. His lips moved slightly, as though he still wanted to say something.
However, Eric spoke first.
“Al, do you know Home Alone?”
“Of course, Eric. Although I haven’t acted in films these past few years, I’ve still been paying close attention to Hollywood news.”
“Then you definitely know that because of my gambling agreement with Columbia, I’ll obtain a large sum of money in the future. So if you accept Pretty Woman, then after this film, I can promise to invest in another movie specifically with you as the male lead. And I guarantee you’ll definitely be satisfied with the role.”
Al Pacino hesitated. “Can you reveal some details about that movie in advance?”
“Of course.” Eric nodded. “I previously watched an Italian film called Profumo di Donna and plan to buy its adaptation rights. In the adaptation script I envision, you would play a blind lieutenant colonel who has lost interest in life because of his blindness and plans to enjoy himself one final time before committing suicide. So he hires a high school student as a guide and begins a journey filled with traveling, chasing women, reckless driving, and all kinds of indulgence. In the end, under the high school student’s guidance, the colonel rediscovers direction in life. That colonel possesses violence, arrogance, depression, pride, and integrity all at once. It’s an extremely complex role that would give you plenty of room to display your acting…”
The more Al Pacino listened to Eric’s description, the more excited he became. In his mind, he had already unconsciously begun considering how to portray the blind lieutenant colonel.
After Eric finished speaking, Al Pacino still could not pull himself free from the script of Scent of a Woman. A full five minutes passed before he suddenly raised his head and urgently declared, “Eric, I’ll take this script. I can even act for zero salary.”
“But, Al, I must first complete Pretty Woman before considering anything else.”
“No problem. I’ll take both together. During filming, I’ll follow your arrangements. I’ll… I’ll do my best to restrain my acting so it doesn’t affect Miss Julia’s performance.”
Eric sharply sensed this was a very good opportunity and cautiously spoke up.
“Al, I heard you currently don’t have an agency. How about joining UTA? Kapoor is an exceptionally outstanding agent…”
This time, Al Pacino hesitated slightly before asking, “Is this a bundled condition?”
Eric quickly shook his head. “Of course not. This is a very sincere invitation. Even if you refuse, I’ll still let you star in those two films.”
Al Pacino thought for a moment before saying, “All right. However, I know you’ve had some friction with CAA. If that causes obstacles for me getting film roles in the future, I hope I’ll be free to leave.”
Right now, Eric only wanted to recruit this genius actor under his banner first. As for the future, Eric was fully confident that with the countless outstanding films in his mind, keeping Al Pacino tied to UTA would not be a problem at all.
“Of course. I’ll have Kapoor draft an extremely relaxed agency contract. You can even leave UTA at any time.”
“All right, I agree.” Al Pacino quickly nodded.