I'm in Hollywood

Reading Pretty Woman's script carefully, Jeffrey had some misgivings and said: "Eric, I really feel that this story is great, just like a modern version of a Cinderella story, but do you think the audience will be okay with a prostitute ? You said that you wanted to portray a fairy tale, but it seems more similar to Boule de Suif and The Lady of the Camellias - minus the tragedy - I'd say."

Eric sighed in his heart, it was a perfect fairy tale indeed.

Pretty Woman's original script was actually a darker one called 3000, and narrated the story of a sexual-only based relationship between a man and a woman following a 3000 dollars transaction. It was a script that accurately pictured the living conditions of prostitutes in L.A.

But during the filming process, because the budget was insufficient, the director and producer repeatedly kept revising the plot, and it finally turned into a romantic comedy. The most surprising thing was that the movie that had been tweaked beyond recognition, had actually made a North American box office of 170 million $, which led the enumerable actors and actresses who had refused to be a part of the cast because of its initial setting, to drown in frustration. It was also Julia's rise to fame.

"Jeffrey, that aside, what do you think about Vivian's character ?"

Since it was only a plot and he didn't have anything to refer it to, Jeffrey thought for a bit before saying: "Outspoken personality, cheerful but somewhat vulgar, and even though she's a prostitute, she's no pushover…."

Eric patiently listened to his old friend's opinion before saying: "Jeffrey, you probably didn't notice, but when you spoke about Vivian, your mouth curved into a smile. Meaning that not only do you not have any ill feelings towards her, you've even started to like the girl."

Jeffrey had just spoken subconsciously and didn't notice anything, he said: "Did… Did I, really ?"

Eric nodded: "You did. And since even you feel this way, once the film is done and released, I'm convinced people will certainly like her too."

Jeffrey nodded, but soon frowned as he seriously asked: "What do you mean by 'even you'…. Are my standards really that high ?"

Eric quickly denied: "Not really, you're just kinda long-winded."

"……"

Eric smiled and patted Jeffrey’s shoulder: "Don't be too down, older people are usually like that, don't mind it."

A depressed Jeffrey glared at Eric: "Well, you're the boss, and you've proven that your vision is also better than mine, so since you've made up your mind, when do we start preparations ?"

"Of course the sooner the better, we should complete the preparations and the casting before Christmas, then immediately start to shoot after the New Year and release it near Valentine's Day."

Jeffrey started counting the days: "The Valentine season is indeed the ideal time to release it, but we won't have enough time to make it, it should take more time to shoot than Home Alone, right ?"

Eric shook his head: "Jeffrey, you’ve witnessed Home Alone's making process, I won't need more than a month for Pretty Woman. We'll also have to consult the Fox during the post-production about the publicity."

"Alright, so when do we start casting, do you have anyone in mind yet ?"

Eric said: "I settled on Richard Gere and Sophie Marceau as my initial choice. So Jeffrey, I'll require your help to get Marceau's contact information and send her an invitation, and if she doesn't consent, then I'll go with Julia Roberts. As for the other supporting roles, well we'll have to hold a casting for them."

"Sophie Marceau …. ? Ah, are you talking about the french actress ?"

"Right, you know about The Party, right ? The image I got from her then is the same one I'm picturing for Vivian, I just don't know if she'll agree to it."

"Well, I’ll send her an invite as soon as possible, and if she refuses…. Eric, I think Meg Ryan would be a better fit than, ehm, what was her name, that girl who stayed at your place…. Eh, Julia Roberts ?"

Eric remembered Meg Ryan as another 'America's sweetheart', some of her movies, like Sleepless in Seattle, had left a deep impression on him, but now that he had met Julia and knowing how things had transpired in his past, he wouldn't give that opportunity to anybody else.

"Jeffrey, there's a reason why I chose Julia Roberts, just trust me on this one. By the way, I want you to contact that agency’s owner, Kapoor Sid, as soon as possible."

Jeffrey took the data Eric was handing him, and said: "Eric, I know that Kapoor Sid is very capable, I heard that he handled several A-level projects two years ago, but he and Michael Ovitz had a fallout and he was driven out of the CAA. They hold considerable power in the entertainment industry, so it would be unwise to intentionally offend Michael Ovitz."

Eric snorted coldly in his heart, they had snatched away Stuart Runkle so quickly, it left him with a bad aftertaste. While Michael Ovitz was now hailed by some media as Hollywood’s most powerful man, Eric knew that the CAA could only act this way for about five to six more years, until the second part of the 1990s. Although they'd still have considerable weight after that, it wouldn't be as grand as before.

Right now he wasn't much better than an insect in the eyes of the CAA, so they would probably not pay him too much mind anyways. True, they had contracted many superstars, but Eric could create more.

"Just do it Jeffrey, we're nothing to them, the CAA will probably be too lazy to care."

Jeffrey shrugged helplessly: "As you wish."

……

Detaining Jeffrey for lunch, Eric was planning to go back to his study to keep writing Resident Evil when the living room’s phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, you've reached the Williams' residence ?" Eric picked it up, but made sure to put the microphone slightly farther away from his ear. Over the past few days, he had received several harassing phone calls, and a guy had almost made his eardrum bleed with his shouting. It was to the point that he was considering changing his number.

The other side kept silent, and Eric was about to hang up thinking it was a prank, when he heard: "Hello, Eric."

The familiar voice made him jump on the sofa in excitement: "Annie, hi, I-I’ve been meaning to call you, what you saw that morning, it was just… just a misunderstanding, I asked Drew and the girl told me that I was only really drunk and went straight to sleep, she was just messing around."

"That….. it doesn't matter to me, we've….. we've broken, up, haven't we ?"

Manhattan, in an apartment building in New York, while Aniston listened to Eric's hurried explanation and his somewhat stuttering voice, she found herself slightly resenting his slow-mindedness.

On her third day in New York, she didn't know how, but Drew had found her contact information to explain everything that had happened.

That hateful guy, so many days had passed, but not only did he not come to find her, he hadn't even called once. If she hadn't had something important to tell him, Aniston would've never taken the initiative to call the bastard.

If Eric knew what was on the girl's mind, he would probably scream injustice. So much had happened since that day, he didn't even dare go out anymore, what was he supposed to do ?

_ _ _ _

Chapter 46 – Annie’s Call

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