Capítulo 1027: Chapter 1029: Spread the Word
[Chapter 1029: Spread the Word]
Today, the crew filmed a series of shots capturing Ryan inside the space station.
The team had previously constructed a model of the space station's interior in another soundstage. It was actually quite simple -- a few green-screened, concave corridors. The scenes filled with high-tech equipment were all created using CGI.
Holding tightly onto the thick director's script, Eric concealed the issue of his arms not wanting to hang naturally at his sides. Although some attentive people might have sensed something was off, he didn't expect anyone would ask about these details.
"Hey, Nicole, just remember the feeling of standing next to the glass wall at the aquarium and watching the fish swim by. I want Judy's perspective in this shot to feel like a free-swimming fish. Your camera should be like the eyes of a tourist following the fish."
Beside the concave corridor, Eric was explaining his vision for the upcoming shots to Nicole when Jodie Foster walked out of the changing room in a special outfit designed for wire work.
To allow Jodie to perform various aerial movements, they used a total of seven wires, with thin cords connected from her shoulders down to her waist. Once the setup was complete, she looked like a marionette.
Gravity featured very few conventional shots; the scenes seemed to drift constantly, with an array of unique camera angles that regular handheld shoots could rarely achieve. At this moment, the outside of the concave slots was still equipped with camera tracks and robotic arms for precise movements.
After chatting with Nicole for a bit, she went off to prepare while Jodie approached.
Eric admired Jodie's beautiful blue eyes and sighed over a running gag from the original script that couldn't be used. "Today's shoot is going to be tough. Are you ready?"
Nicole still had some prepping to do. The harness under her T-shirt for the wires wasn't very comfortable, so Jodie just sat down next to Eric and said, "Is it going to be worse than a few days ago?"
Eric nodded seriously, "Of course. But don't worry, I've told the chef to add two eggs for you at lunch."
Jodie smiled sweetly but had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she assessed Eric casually. "With your wealth, only two eggs? That's quite stingy."
Eric made a pained expression, "How about I add one more? No more than that."
"Hehe," Jodie chuckled, her eyes narrowing with mischief. Suddenly, she reached out and precisely poked a spot on Eric's side with her finger.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, Eric jumped almost out of his seat, but more than anything, he was surprised that this woman had figured that out.
The busy crew members around them glanced over at Eric's yell. Upon realizing it was their star and director 'interacting,' they pretended nothing was happening and returned to their work.
Jodie was startled by Eric's reaction and quickly said, "Sorry, Eric, I just wanted to joke around."
"It's all good," Eric shook his head, feeling the confusion in her tone, generously forgiving her.
However, women naturally had a curiosity trait; after apologizing, Jodie quickly asked, "Eric, what happened to your waist?"
Eric shrugged casually, "Nothing, I just bumped into something."
"Oh," Jodie replied softly, but the look of confusion in her eyes didn't fade. After a moment, she seemed to come up with something, and her lips curled into a sly smile.
Noticing the faint smile, Eric wondered if she could possibly guess like someone else. So he asked, "What's on your mind?"
Jodie leaned in slightly, lowering her voice, "Did someone clutch you?"
Alright then.
It looked like Hollywood natives had quite an imagination.
Fortunately, Eric was somewhat prepared for this question and calmly glanced at Jodie's long, fair legs, "How about you try to clutch me and see if you have the power to hurt me?"
"We women might not," Jodie teased, winking. "But men are another story."
A shiver ran down Eric's spine as he threatened, "Careful, or I'll take away your eggs."
"Hehe," Jodie laughed but couldn't resist asking, "What really happened?"
"Just as you imagine, I got clutched by a woman," Eric decisively entered the 'tell-the-truth-no-one-believes-me' mode, "You've seen GoldenEye, right? I ran into a Russian female spy last night."
Jodie's expression instantly changed to one of realization: "Oh~~~"
"What does that mean?"
Jodie continued to smile, "Eric, actually, I'm quite familiar with Drew."
Eric tried to play dumb, "So what?"
Jodie raised her hand as if to poke him again, which made Eric hastily shield himself with the thick director's script. Jodie proudly lifted her chin and stood up, "Alright, I need to get to work, you silly director."
"You're judging me without any evidence."
"I'm a woman."
"..."
Fortunately, aside from Jodie, no one else noticed any of this.
The crew attached the wires connected to the ceiling tracks to the hooks on Jodie's back. After a few tests, the shooting for the day officially began.
...
Meanwhile, in a nondescript office building in North Hollywood, the headquarters of a talent agency was buzzing. Though it shared a name somewhat similar to CAA, it was just a typical small agency.
Agent Matt Gilson received a call from the script purchasing department at Firefly Group shortly after clocking in that morning, asking him to come to their Burbank headquarters to discuss a script he had in hand.
The agency was small, and Matt wore many hats -- both talent and script agent. However, in such a small company, being a 'jack of all trades' only served to make him feel less important.
He only represented a few newcomers and a few lesser-known screenwriters. The script called Pirates of the Caribbean, written by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, was underwhelming, especially since its creators had previously worked on the 2D animated film Aladdin, and there hadn't been any standout scripts since. The influence of Cutthroat Island meant that Pirate scritps had spent years without attention.
However, since last week, Matt had sensed a shift.
This script, buried for years, suddenly drew interest, and it was Firefly Group showing it. That realization made him feel an opportunity.
This script wasn't entirely finished -- it resembled more of a treatment than a fully-formed screenplay, and selling it now, considering Rossio and Elliott's minimal clout in Hollywood, it would be tough to command a price over $100,000.
But Matt thought, if he could link this script to a certain someone, its value might multiply significantly.
He sensed intuitively that this script could be one that Eric Williams had personally picked. After all, Cutthroat Island's box office disaster was etched in the Guinness World Records, and Hollywood had largely avoided pirate films in recent years. A cautious executive wouldn't easily step into that territory.
Moreover, Cutthroat Island was connected to Disney, which was now a subsidiary of the Firefly Group. Many executives now had roots in Disney and were likely acutely aware of how poor the film's reception was. So naturally, it would seem unlikely they'd be interested in pirate films, suggesting only Eric could unreservedly select a pirate-themed script.
...
With these thoughts in mind, Matt Gilson wasted no time in heading over to the Firefly Group headquarters. Indeed, even the big three agencies couldn't compete with Firefly, and as an unknown agent, he had no room to act big.
Although the $100,000 offer seemed generous for the script, Matt didn't immediately agree; he stated he needed to discuss it with his clients.
The manager handling his negotiation at Firefly didn't appear too eager either, and they arranged to follow up later. Matt left the Burbank headquarters feeling a bit deflated as he recalled their conversation, which had revealed nothing of substance.
However, the recent sensation of The Ring prompted Matt to think about taking a chance.
Due to Eric's attention, this horror script from Japan had soared at the box office; it had easily grossed over $170 million in North America alone, outperforming most major summer blockbusters, all produced on a mere $30 million budget.
At the same time, every film associated with Eric during that summer was raking in big bucks. By that standard, if Pirates of the Caribbean was indeed Eric's interest, it would likely be worth at least $500,000.
As an agent, Matt's income was quite unstable, averaging around $5,000 a month. Selling Pirates of the Caribbean at a high price would give him commission money that could rival almost ten months of income.
Making ten months' worth in one go, Matt couldn't conceive of any reason not to take the risk.
While calculating his potential gains, Matt didn't keep this information from his clients. Upon returning to the office, he called Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott to explain his theory in detail. Both were intrigued. After lunch together to discuss it thoroughly, they reached a consensus.
...
In the afternoon, Matt began contacting acquaintances at various major studios in Hollywood, claiming to have a script that Eric Williams might be interested in personally.
Due to the massive success of The Ring, Hollywood was shamelessly eager for any projects that might catch Eric's attention, even resorting to corporate espionage. However, Eric had learned from past mistakes and certainly wouldn't repeat them.
Despite this, Matt's mention of the script still held significant interest. Even years later, few studios dared to venture into making pirate films, especially something as high-budget as Pirates of the Caribbean seemed.
Outside of Eric Williams, very few in Hollywood would show interest in such a script.
While Matt prudently stopped short of making a 100 percent guarantee, it was still before the end of the business day when many executives had copies of the Pirates of the Caribbean script on their desks.
...
While the crew hadn't wrapped for the day yet, Eric received several phone calls from various folks, including a call from Drew and Elisabeth, along with inquiries from several others. Spielberg even wondered if Eric needed to come in and discuss strategies.
"Let's tell the script department to pause contact with them and see how things develop," Eric concluded after a chat with Spielberg.
Standing in a corner after hanging up, he felt helpless. The current Pirates of the Caribbean script and the film itself were practically different stories. Eric wasn't worried that the script would be snatched away to replicate past box office successes; however, it would be a shame if such a potentially immense franchise was ruined.
"Eric, we tried again, but it still doesn't work," Nicole said as she returned to the filming area. "Trying to get Judy to maintain the fetal position in the wire setup is just impossible."
Nearby, Jodie was still tied to the rigging, only able to rest against the specially constructed model of the space station.
Eric approached the monitor and replayed the last shot. This shot was filmed from the side, creating the illusion that Jodie was floating inside the capsule. In reality, she was still hanging vertically on the wires, and her drifting rotation was achieved through the relative motion of the camera.
With the wires on her back, maintaining balance meant Judy could only extend her legs. It was tough for her to curl up like a baby.
The scene depicting Ryan curled up in solitude within the capsule was both classic and deeply symbolic. Eric had no intention of modifying or glossing over that.
But, with thoughts of Pirates of the Caribbean weighing on him, Eric felt somewhat anxious. After discussing with Nicole and Robert Byers, he couldn't come up with a fitting solution. With time running short, he decided to call it a day early.
*****
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