บท 139: Chapter 139: Hard Candy
In Tribeca, Lower Manhattan, at Charles' riverside villa.
Kate Beckinsale, who came to New York, was brought here by Charles. Having just finished bathing, Kate Beckinsale was pulled to the villa's private cinema by Charles to watch a movie together.
"Charles, what movie? You're really interested in it?"
Kate Beckinsale was a bit puzzled but still sat down with Charles.
As the screen lit up, Charles explained with a smile, "It's something I found recently, a low-budget indie film that was released in January, with global box office earnings of around six million dollars."
"You'd be interested in this type of movie?" said Kate Beckinsale, wearing a robe and looking enticing.
"Cost a million dollars to make, let's watch!" With Charles' explanation, the movie title appeared: Hard Candy.
Charles had indeed unintentionally discovered the Hard Candy DVD and specifically bought a copy because he had a vague memory of the actress, Ellen Page, in it.
Hard Candy was a story about a young girl taking revenge on a twisted older man. Ellen Page played the female lead, and though she had been 17 last year, her petite figure allowed her to convincingly play a fragile 14-year-old girl.
Moreover, Ellen Page was still female at this time, not having transitioned to a man yet, and the fragile girl vibe was very much present.
"This young actress has good acting skills, reminds me of the actress in Homeless to Harvard. Both are very talented," Kate Beckinsale commented while watching.
Charles was aware of Homeless to Harvard, a touching inspirational movie based on real American figures, released in 2003. Ellen Page played the younger sister of the protagonist in that movie.
However, inspirational and touching movies didn't have much market value, except for sports inspirational films, which had some commercial value. Most other types barely earned anything at the box office.
Just like the future American version of Hachi: A Dog's Tale, which wouldn't have much box office success, or the French touching movie The Intouchables, which also didn't perform well in the US box office.
Staring at the screen, Charles suddenly realized that the actor playing the twisted older man was Patrick Wilson, who would later star in James Wan's Insidious and The Conjuring series.
"This actress has a bright future!" Charles remarked, obviously thinking of how Juno, the low-budget feminist film about a teenage pregnancy, made Ellen Page famous.
Kate Beckinsale was taken aback, then smiled, "You have another idea?"
Charles smiled, pulling Kate Beckinsale onto his lap, "I've got an idea for a story about a teenage girl who, after a tryst with her boyfriend, is at a loss of what to do and eventually gives the baby up for adoption."
"Teenagers and all..." Kate Beckinsale couldn't help but laugh.
"Bold as it might be, it's also a way to express feminism; it should have a market. I think it could be developed," Charles had already planned to go straight to the Writers Guild to check if the script for Juno had been written.
If it was available, he would buy it directly; if not, it was certainly his own idea, and he would then find someone to write the script.
Anyway, the process from the initial draft to shooting usually involves revisions from a few to twenty or thirty times.
"Your ideas are always good; I'm sure this time is no exception. You came up with the idea because of this actress?" Kate Beckinsale, being an Oxford graduate, quickly made the connection.
"More or less!" Charles nodded, regardless of whether Kate Beckinsale believed him or not, he certainly believed himself.
"By the way, why are you suddenly in New York?"
Kate Beckinsale had returned to London after filming Underworld: Evolution early this year.
"Click is filming in New York for a while," Kate Beckinsale said, straddling Charles directly, "You're also in New York, and I haven't seen you for a long time. If I didn't come, you'd probably forget me. The beauties of Hollywood are lining up, waiting for your call!"
Charles chuckled, hands roaming inside her robe, "Just busy with lots of things, or I'd have gone vacationing abroad already! But Click is a comedy with Adam Sandler; it probably won't do badly at the box office."
Adam Sandler was a generation's comedian, though not as famous as Jim Carrey, has a different style of comedy. Additionally, Adam Sandler could also handle some romance and inspirational films.
"He's got a sports comedy The Longest Yard this year that's drawing quite a bit of attention, an inspirational movie," Kate Beckinsale reminded him again.
"I know about this movie. It's being released in May, another remake of an old film. Original scripts are indeed getting rarer in Hollywood," Charles said, smiling, keeping his focus on the movie's box office and profitability.
As for the advancement of American cinematic art? Charles couldn't care less. Novels, games, comics, and toy adaptations, or remakes of old movies, were all safer than original scripts.
Kate Beckinsale didn't speak, instead responding with a passionate kiss. Soon, her moans completely overshadowed the sounds of Hard Candy in Charles' ears.
After a while, Kate Beckinsale got up from Charles and knelt on the carpet.
Leaning back on the sofa, Charles observed the scene of Ellen Page's character preparing to chemically castrate the tied-up Patrick Wilson's creepy character on-screen.
Charles reached out and dialed a number for Phyllis Jones, explaining his new idea.
"Call it Juno, named after the Roman goddess of motherhood. It fits the story about teenage pregnancy quite well," Phyllis Jones, having been in the film company for some time, knew quite a bit about movies.
"Right!" Charles' breath was slightly uneven.
"I'll check with the Writers Guild if there's a similar idea or script. If not, I'll register it. Is this project urgent?"
"No rush, the most important thing right now is the licensing with Marvel and Hasbro's Transformers," Charles was focusing on these two major tasks, with the Marvel acquisition being top priority this year.
"Phew," After hanging up the phone, Charles finally relaxed completely.
After a little while longer, Kate Beckinsale stood up from the carpet, looking at the ending credits on the screen, "The movie's over too?"
Charles smiled, "Ending together!"
*****
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