Bab 30: Internal Screening (new edited chapter)
After waiting for few days, Eve finally got the call from Kevin that studio had called them to come sign the contract tomorrow.
'Thank God, Finally a good news in a long time.' A smile appeared on Eve's face after hearing the news.
The next day, she went with Kevin to the headquarters of Universal Studios. In fact, it was Kevin who did most of the work like negotiations, bargaining and other contract related things. She just sat in the other room waiting for Kevin to call her.
It is a tradition and common practice in Hollywood that actors are not generally present at the time of contract negotiations. It's easy for studios to pressure them, and actors too get pressured in most cases.
Following the common practice, Eve waited outside like a well behaved girl. She was only invited inside at the time of contract signing.
She looked at the conditions of contract briefly. The shooting period will be of three months, from the start of next year till march. The salary was finalized at 4 million dollars.
Very good. She was infact expecting much lower, between 2-3 million. Maybe that's the advantage of having an agent like Kevin Huvane.
So, after a brief overview, Eve signed the contract. Her signs are actually just a formality because the contract will only be finalized after Liam signs it. She's not eighteen yet, so her signs don't hold any power.
In hollywood, no news remain hidden and the same goes for Eve's new project. After people learnt that she was signed by Universal to star in one of their key projects for the next year and that too in leading role opposite to Hollywood's heartthrob Brad Pitt, there was indeed a bkacklash from the industry insiders. People expressed evny, jealousy, and some even showed hatred, but there was no one without any reaction.
But the most intense reaction came from Miss Gwenyth Partlow. It is said that after she heard the news, she destroyed almost all of the furniture of her home, and had a fierce quarrel with her boyfriend Brad Pitt that night on the phone.
Scandals come and go, and so did this news also dried down after some time.
....
Time has entered the last days of october, and the premiere of "Titanic" also entered the final countdown.
The whole industry is waiting to see the jokes of "Titanic", and those sharp media people are even more merciless, doing their best to ridicule the film.
The people from Fox, Liam, Leo and James, everyone's appearances are so miserable that Eve's glad that she knows that "Titanic" will be success, otherwise looking at the faces which were became paler with each passing day, she couldn't imagine herself becoming one of them.
Eve arrived at Fox's headquarters in Century City in West Hollywood in her car. Fox's high-level executives in charge of the project appeared collectively, including Peter Chening, the chairman who strongly supported James Cameron, also came specially.
As the leading actor in a movie and a young actor starring in a commercial blockbuster for the first time, Leonardo is under a lot of pressure.
He was wearing a more formal casual suit today, and even his hair was not done before he came here. He couldn't help but have a handsome face, even though his usual smile seemed like crying.
Eve sat next to him, watched him take a long, deep breath, and couldn't help teasing. "Do I need a brown paper bag to help you decompress?"
Leonardo couldn't help but give Eve a
sideways glance, "l really appreciate your damn sense of humor!" He laughed at himself as he said that, and exhaled exaggeratedly, "Tell me, Eve, How can you be so calm, you're not even agitated especially after you broke your promise."
Eve understood he was complaining about not going to France with him. But it's not completely her fault, she had to apply for college and most of her time was spent in admission procedures. "I have said sorry many times, and didn't I promise to compensate the vacation next time. Can you please forgive me once."
Leo snorted: "You better remember this." he wasn't angry, he mean yes he was angry, but not much. His man's pride was hurt, not much though. He had made so many plans, but they all failed because a girl broke her promise.
Eve moved her face to other side to not laugh. Looking at Leo's face, it clearly looks like a child who didn't get his candy on time. Even his anger looks so cute.
Leo titled his head to look at Eve with warning eyes, but this completely broke her self restraint. She laughed loudly. Oh God, Leo's so funny and cute.
The other people in the screening room saw the interaction between the lead actors, and couldn't help twitch the corner of their mouths. How can they be in mode to laugh even in this deadly atmosphere, and by the way, are these guys really not dating. Look at the closeness and frankness between. It clearly looks like a fight between a couple.
The movie started playing.
Fox's internal projection room was very quiet. First, a salvage scene from a shipwreck evoked the memories of the elderly Rose, and then went back decades to see the first appearance of the steel giant moored on the pier and the heroine Rose.
Eve was mainly observing her perfirmance carefully in the movie. Others too looked at the beautiful Rose on the screen.
Her "Rose" makes people feel depressed and contradictory. Underneath the calm and beautiful appearance is an undercurrent. Standing on the deck of a ship in the sunset, it seems that there is a cliff in front of her, and her heart is sinking. But it is precisely because of this that the heroine is particularly lovable.
Especially when Rose met Jack, her repressed vitality transformed instantly, like a rose blooming in the cold wind, making the whole movie scene warm and Iively.
However, for the producers, all this is not enough.
Fox insiders are secretly communicating, so far they have not recovered their confidence in the film from the internal preview.
"A somewhat clichéd love story."
"The Titanic is like an old Hollywood myth, full of decay and decay."
"Fortunately, we have a good cast, Eve Thompson and Leonardo DiCaprio. Both have a lot of irrational teenage fans, especially their couple is loved so much. It is good."
"It's not too bad, but it's definitely a money-losing business."
A loss of more than 100 million $. Maybe after the movie is released, we will be fired collectively."
By the end of the nearly three-and- half-hour-long film, the room was filled with sickening smoke, so much that Eve went out to get some air before the end, because she had seen what she cared about most.
Leonardo, who usually smokes, couldn't stand the group of old smokers in the screening room, so he followed Eve out shortly after she left. Seeing her wiping her fingers with a disinfectant wipe, her eyes were empty and unfocused, thinking about something.
He walked over and asked, "Hey, what do you think of our movie?"
Eve seemed to be immersed in her own thoughts, she first straightened her body subconsciously, then raised her eyes to look at Leonardo, showing a habitual smile:"The Titanic is more beautiful than I can imagine. The shock is even more outstanding."
Leonardo also smiled and said: "Now my worries are gone. No matter what the final box office results are, each of us performed very well, and the whole movie moved me."
"Don't worry, you won't have to die for me in reality."
Leonardo also laughed out loud: "You are quite knowledge. But don't worry, I will still save you with a rope."
Eve grinned: "My pleasure then. Now let's go, get something to eat."
The two left the place to eat.
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P.S. All the chapters after chapter 25 are new and edited.
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