Hollywood (我就是好莱坞) Part I

CHAPTER 200- Chills

Everyone present seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they had been a little worried that Eric would stubbornly choose the best screenwriter award. After all, the current Eric has achieved success in box office that most people wouldn't be able to match in a lifetime, so it was likely for him to have a stronger desire for personal film awards. If The Others won the Silver Lion Award, it would belong to the entire team, but if it won the best screenplay award, it would belong to Eric, alone.

"Eric, it's actually not a big deal. I think the Oscars is your real stage." As if to appease Eric, Bill Gallo joked and Jonathan Demme nodded quickly.

Eric shrugged casually, "Thank you, Bill, if only the old men of the Academy thought so as well."

The group laughed and talked some more before they separated. Eric returned to his room alone with the information about John Landis. This time, to avoid suspicion, Virginia did not live with him, while his assistant Alan lived in another suite downstairs.

There were still a few hours before the night in Venice, while the east coast of the US was still in the morning, so even though he spent more than ten hours on the plane, his internal clock resulted in him not feeling too tired.

After reading the information about John Landis, Eric stayed in his room until 7 o'clock in the evening before changing clothes and going out to meet him. The agreed-upon place was in a restaurant near the boutique hotel. Eric did not need a guide nor did he bring a date. Virginia is the female lead of The Others. As a result, if she was seen having dinner with one of the judges, it would definitely result in controversy. In comparison, Eric could remain anonymous. Even if he was seen having dinner with John Landis, it wouldn't be a big deal.

John Landis was about 40 years old, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses on his large nose. He had a beard and a standard Jewish appearance.

'It's another Jew!' Eric sighed as he thought.

"Damn all these Chinese authors are so racist. It's funny to see that they make fun of Jews when they're the butt of almost every joke in America. Just a thought lol."

According to the information he read, John Landis and Steven Spielberg are good friends, and both have had cameos in each other's films.

In fact, John Landis was a famous director at the same time as Spielberg. In 1975, Spielberg became a top Hollywood director with, and three years later, John Landis directed which earned a box office of more than $100 million. Coincidentally, both of them became famous directors when they were just 28 years old.

However, according to the information he read, John Landis' directorial career has been slipping since the late '80s. Therefore, Eric had no impression of him during his previous life.

In the restaurant, John Landis ordered food and watched Eric with interest as he spoke to the blonde waitress who was able to speak English. After she left with the menu, John Landis said, "Eric, you seem well-versed with Italian cuisine."

Eric smiled and explained, "My father used to be an Italian chef."

"Oh," John Landis nodded but didn't mention the topic anymore. Obviously, he knew that Eric's father had passed away.

While waiting for the dishes to be served, Eric and John Landis continued chatting. Of course, the topic was still movies.

"The thing I find most interesting about you is not that each of your movies is from a different genre, but the fact that all of them have achieved box office success. This is very difficult to understand. You know, I have also tried directing movies from different genres, but at their core, they're all satirical comedies. Even Steven has been trying to break through for so many years, but his most movies are all science fiction movies such as Jaws, and so on."