Chapter 62: Roxette
Chapter 62: Roxette
"Hi, Penny, how have you been lately?" After chatting with Jeffrey and James for a while, Eric began to mingle among the other guests again.
Penny Marshall motioned to the two guests beside her, and they very tactfully turned and left. "Still the same old thing. I’ve received a ton of script offers, but I haven't been very satisfied with any of them, so I decided to take a break for a while. I'm not like you, tirelessly moving on to film your second movie so quickly."
Eric smiled and said, "I have no choice either. So many people are waiting to see me make a fool of myself, so of course I have to give them something to look forward to. Back to 17 has already reached 70 million dollars at the box office, right? It seems breaking 100 million is definitely only a matter of time. Making two movies that cross the 100-million mark within a single year—as a female director, your record won't be easily broken by anyone anytime soon."
Penny Marshall was very pleased with Eric’s compliment, but she still said, "Home Alone has taken in another 24 million or so at the box office just this past week, so I still can't compare to you."
"Alright, stop complimenting each other. It’s making me a bit sick to my stomach just listening to it," James L. Brooks suddenly interjected. "Eric, I have something to discuss with Penny..."
"Of course, no problem," Eric nodded, turning to walk toward other people.
As the cocktail party was drawing to a close, Eric intercepted Kapoor, who was about to leave. "Kapoor, come with me for a moment, will you? I have something to discuss with you."
Kapoor nodded and followed Eric up to the second-floor study. The study appeared somewhat cluttered. On the whiteboard occupying one wall, the original newspaper clippings had already been cleared away, and it was now densely covered with Eric’s hand-drawn storyboards for Pretty Woman. Near the window, the piano that had once been returned had been brought back by Eric.
Kapoor was clearly a bit surprised by the starkly contrasting, cluttered style of this room. Every other part of the villa was very tidy, so anyone coming here suddenly would feel a sense of incongruity.
Eric stuffed several folders from the desk into the bookshelf and explained, "This is the place where I create. The cleaners aren't allowed to come in, so it’s a bit messy."
"Doesn't Drew live here?"
Eric pulled out a chair and handed it to Kapoor. "The girl doesn't have that kind of self-awareness. It’s just me tidying it up occasionally."
"You shouldn't spoil her too much," Kapoor suggested with a smile.
Eric shrugged without answering. He inserted a cassette tape into the tape recorder and pressed the play button. "Kapoor, let's listen to this first."
Knowing that Eric wouldn't do something without a purpose, Kapoor listened along with him.
A brisk, rhythmic accompaniment began to play, and soon a highly infectious singing voice drifted out:
It must have been love,but it's over now.It must have been love,but I lost it somehow.It must have been love,but it's over now.From the moment we touched,'til the time had run out.Make-believing we're together,that I'm sheltered by your heart.But in and outside I've turned to water,like a teardrop in your palm.And it's a hard winter's day,I dream away.It must have been love, but it's over now.It's all that I wanted, now I'm living without.It must have been love, but it's over now.It's where the water flows,it's where the wind blows... [1]
A few minutes later, the song quickly finished playing, and only then did Eric ask, "Kapoor, what do you think?"
Kapoor spoke the truth. "I don't know too much about this field, but this song is highly infectious, and the female singer's voice has immense explosive power. Eric, why are we listening to this?"
"I plan to use this song as an insert song for Pretty Woman. But that's not the main point. Kapoor, have you thought about UTA's future?"
Kapoor nodded. "Of course I have. We’ve already signed Al Pacino. If your Pretty Woman can achieve success, plus Julia Roberts, as long as we have two superstars anchoring us, our talent agency will be able to establish a firm foothold in the industry. UTA is still very small after all; we can't rush our steps too much."
Eric said, "Have you really never thought about expanding into other fields?"
"You mean..." Kapoor glanced at the tape recorder. "Singers?"
Eric nodded. "The actors in both the film and television circles have basically already been carved up by agencies big and small. If we want to grow in this area, we can only do it slowly through poaching and cultivation. However, the music industry is still a virgin territory. Even giants like CAA don't pay much attention to this sector right now. This is a great opportunity for us to forge a new path."
The nineties were still the golden age of the record industry. While preparing the soundtrack for Pretty Woman, Eric had put in quite a bit of effort to find that famous song from the movie, It Must Have Been Love, only to discover that the performing group, Roxette, had not yet broken out of Sweden.
In his past life, Roxette had been active for more than a decade. After debuting in North America, the very first single released by this duo swept the music charts, taking the number one spot on the singles charts in 24 countries. How could Eric pass up this kind of growth stock?
"Kapoor, the song we just heard is performed by Roxette, a group that is currently gaining serious momentum in Sweden. A song like this, which is fully capable of reaching the top of the Billboard charts, hasn't been heard by many people yet. So, this is an opportunity for us, do you understand?"
Kapoor said, "It seems I'll have to make a trip to Sweden personally."
"Of course, the faster the better. Since even I could find this song, other record companies will notice it very soon too. After all, their vision in this field is much more professional than mine. There isn't much time left for us."
"Eric, are you going to establish a record company?"
Eric shook his head. "It’s still too early to establish a record company. My current focus is still on films. After securing Roxette’s talent contract, you'll have to figure out the specific operational model yourself."
Kapoor nodded to show he understood. After the two of them discussed a few more details, the other party stood up to take his leave.
Having seen Kapoor out, Michael Kraus quickly edged over. "Eric, it’s already been so long. Haven't you finished writing Resident Evil yet? Aren't you always a fast shooter?"
The final phrase happened to be overheard by a hired waitress. The girl reflexively darted a glance at Eric’s lower half, wanting to laugh but not daring to. Her small face twisted slightly as she hurriedly walked toward the kitchen carrying her tray.
Eric looked utterly exasperated. "Michael, can't you be a bit more careful with your words? If that girl accidentally leaks what you just said, there's no telling how those gossip tabloids will fabricate stories about me."
Michael Kraus grinned and apologized with very little sincerity, but he still relentlessly pressed for updates on Resident Evil.
"Alright, take it." Eric ferreted out the manuscript and handed it to Michael. "The contract is the same as before. Just get it ready and bring it to me to sign."
As they were speaking, Drew suddenly popped out. Spotting the manuscript Michael was flipping through, she shouted and pounced over. "Hey, hey! Eric, I haven't finished reading it yet!"
Michael extended his arm, executing a few Tai Chi moves as if slicing a watermelon, fending off the girl’s outstretched little claws. He stuffed the manuscript into his bag, ignored Drew’s protests, and said, "Eric, then I'll be leaving first. Goodbye."
With that, Michael grabbed his bag and bolted, looking as though a little demon star were chasing after him.
"Alright, no messing around." Eric rapped Drew on the forehead. "I haven't settled the score with you yet for skipping school. You actually went behind my back and deleted the voicemail message the principal left for me."
Drew instantly lost her aggressive momentum and transformed back into a well-behaved little girl. She hid her hands behind her back, though the slyness in her eyes remained. "I'm sorry, Eric. I'll never dare do it again."
Eric’s gaze turned serious. "Drew, did you touch those things again?"
Drew shook her head in a hurry. "No, truly I didn't. I just took a few classmates to the Rose Bowl to watch a game. Eric, I swore an oath that I would absolutely never touch those things again."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Eric pulled the girl into his arms for a hug. Recalling Drew’s words just now, he suddenly couldn't help but laugh as he slapped her little bottom. "No wonder your principal sounded a bit frantic over the phone. Not only are you failing to behave yourself, but you’ve even corrupted those good girls at your school."
Drew let out a soft moan and burrowed against Eric’s chest, lifting her small face. "Eric, those female classmates of mine are all very beautiful, you know. Do you want me to introduce them to you? They're all still virgins; I checked specially."
"Uh..."
Certain images surfaced in Eric’s mind, causing him to instantly stand frozen in the wind. "Too ridiculous. Go to sleep right now. You're not allowed to step out of the door before school starts."
"Hmph, so tyrannical. Be careful or I'll sue you for false imprisonment of a minor."