Hollywood (我就是好莱坞) Part I

CHAPTER 18 - DRASTIC MOVE

Annie didn't participate in the next appointment, Eric sent her home and planned to go see the owner of the bankrupt film company alone.

Getting off of the car, Aniston suddenly said: "Eric, can you leave your Home Alone script with me ? Maybe I could look at it and... help a little ?"

Eric nodded and said: "Sure, no problem, I made several copies."

Aniston took the script, waved her little hand as Eric drove away, and went back into her apartment, a trace of resolve and determination now visible in her eyes.

In a cafe at Burbank, Eric met the owner of a small film company called Fireflies that Drew had talked to him about. Jeffrey Hanson was a white man of about fifty years old, with a somewhat haggard face. It looked like the termination of his company was a great blow to him, he appeared downright dispirited. Eric knew from his past experiences that the man probably needed to vent a little, so he didn't rush to business right away, and patiently listened to him.

"My wife, Solina, was the valedictorian of the Southern California Film Academy, you know ? She and Francis Coppola were classmates, but she was just a girl from Maryland, her family heritage didn't run as deep as his, otherwise, her achievements in the movie industry would be even higher than Francis'. She received a lot of awards when she was still in school."

"At the time, I studied finance, I was what you'd call a nerd, God knows why a talented and beautiful woman like her would fancy me. She said she wanted to become a director, so I told her to stay in L.A so that we could develop together. I remember everything, from the way we struggled in the beginning to our first script investment; the happy smile she had back then, it was even more bright than the day of our wedding, when I put a ring on her finger. Later, we opened a film company and we named it Fireflies, she was the director, and I was her producer, I would help her take care of everything, we shot several films together, we even won a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Unfortunately, a year ago, when Solina drove to Maryland to visit her parents, there was an accident ......"

Jeffrey Hanson's voice started to choke under his beard, anyone could see he had loved his wife deeply. Eric handed him a tissue, then quietly waited for the man to go on.

"After my wife left, I thought I should inherit her dreams, she wanted to make Fireflies grow, wanted to be a director with an Oscar as a recognition. I thought I could do it, I've been a producer for so many years, so directing shouldn't be that difficult. So I mortgaged the company to raise funds in order to shoot a movie, but the result, was out of my expectations...."

"Don't mind it Jeffrey, that's only one failure, which Hollywood director has never experienced a setback ?"

Jeffrey rubbed his moist eyes, and said: "Thank you Eric, thank you, you listened to me blab for so long, I feel much better now. When the film company went bankrupt, my son almost broke ties with me as he blamed me for destroying his mother's painstaking years of hard work.... I didn't resent him, I was just sorry. Anyways, Drew said that you needed some people to make a movie ?"

Eric nodded: "Yes, but it's only a 1 million $ project."

Jeffrey shook his head and said: "1 million is plenty enough, the first movie my wife and I made cost us about 700,000$. Right, may I know how old you are ?"

"Of course, I'm eighteen years old. Jeffrey, you don't think I'm too young or too impatient, right ?"

"No, I just want to make sure that you know what you're doing, a million dollar is not a small sum."

"Oh ?"

Jeffrey said: "I don't have any prejudices towards young people. Many directors shot great movies when they were younger and turned mediocre in their later years. Youngsters have always been full of creativity, making movies is about transporting people, and I believe our team can help you with that. They were all personally brought up by my wife, they're very professional and diligent, but because of me, they're out of job. So you being here is really a good thing. Right, can I see your script ?"