Chapter 233: Eric’s Suggestions
Seeing the astonished look on Eric"s face, Elisabeth looked at the script"s cover and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Uhh… nothing," Eric shook his head and replied as he opened the script and quickly began reading it.
After more than ten minutes, Eric put the script down and asked, "Where did you get this script from?"
Elisabeth recalled Drew"s words and how she had repeatedly asked the two of them to keep her involvement a secret from Eric as she planned to secretly make some achievements and give him a big surprise in the future. She decided not to tell Eric that the script came from Drew, but told him that she had accidentally happened upon it.
After hearing that Elisabeth had "accidentally" obtained the script, Eric could only sit there and shake his head in awe. If he had known that this script came from Drew, he would definitely give that little girl a nice good spanking for giving such a good thing to outsiders.
Elisabeth quickly asked, "Since you have finished reading it, what do you think? How do you feel about it?"
Although she had already decided to make this film, she wanted to get some affirmation from Eric about the script and possibly some of his notes or remarks about things that could be improved.
Eric looked at the cover of the script, and for a moment he had the idea of hiring Elisabeth to produce this film for Firefly. After all, The Silence of the Lambs was not only a superhit blockbuster, but it was also one of the few cla.s.sics to win all five of the most important Academy Awards. However, soon after he had this thought, he quickly dispelled it. After all, there was no need for him to take all the benefits in the world. Not to mention, he had only recently spent a very intimate night with Elisabeth.
Eric gently replied, "The story is not too special, but that will change after it"s made into a movie, so I think the film"s actor selection is crucial. Have you considered whom you will cast in the roles of the male and female leads?"
"I talked to Julia about playing Clarice Starling, and she agreed. For now, there are no other candidates. Anyway, this is my debut as a producer, so I plan to take things slowly."
Eric immediately shook his head and replied, "No, Julia is not suitable for playing Clarice. Clarice is a very complicated character. Julia"s acting skills simply haven"t reached that level yet."
Elisabeth frowned and asked, "Then, who do you think is suitable for Clarice?"
Eric blurted out, "Jodie Foster."
Surprised, Elisabeth uttered, "Ah... wow, I heard that the writer who adapted this script also suggested that Jodie Foster play Clarice."
Then, she asked, "But, Eric, this is just a horror film. What the audience wants when they watch a horror film is suspense and excitement, so I don"t think that we need a particularly skilled actress. I don"t expect to win an Oscar with a horror film. I don"t think there have ever been any horror films that won Best Picture."
Eric replied, "Just because it hasn"t been done before doesn"t mean it"s impossible."
Then, he said, "Of course, I"m only making a suggestion. You don"t have to listen to me."
Since this film had nothing to do with him, Eric did care to forcefully intervene. In fact, the future of Hollywood had already been completely changed due to his interference. Even if The Silence of the Lambs failed to reach its original glory, there may be other great movies.
Elisabeth cautiously nodded and said , "Then I will go back and think about it," before she looked back and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Professor Hannibal, you can try Anthony Hopkins."
"Anthony Hopkins?" Elisabeth repeated the name curiously, clearly she had never heard this name before. Although the famous Hannibal had already been in the film industry since the sixties, he didn"t catch a break until the success of The Silence of the Lambs. At that time, Anthony Hopkins was already in his fifties.
Eric didn"t know how to explain to her why he knew Anthony Hopkins, so he just vaguely replied, "He is an old Hollywood actor. He has partic.i.p.ated in numerous indie-art films, so there"s absolutely no problem with his acting. I can"t recall exactly which movie I had seen him in, but his image in that movie was very compatible with Professor Hannibal Lector. You can look for him and see if he fits the role."
"Alright, I will remember him," Elisabeth nodded before she quickly took out the notebook from her bag and carefully wrote down his name.
Eric observed her for a moment before he asked, "Have you heard of Jonathan Demme? The script of The Others that I wrote before was directed by him. After the release of The Others, he will certainly gain a lot of fame, so you should quickly approach him for The Silence of the Lambs. Although… I believe he"s still in Venice. Alright, once he"s back, I will introduce you to him."
Elisabeth continued to write for a moment before she looked up and said to Eric, "I don"t need you to compensate me!"
Eric glanced at her and immediately understood what she was thinking. He smiled and said, "You"re too sensitive. I"m not doing this to compensate you. This is just business. Jonathan Demme has signed with UTA, so UTA will also get a cut from his director"s salary, and I happen to be the majority shareholder of UTA."
Elisabeth frowned and said, "I will talk to Jonathan Demme myself. You don"t need to intervene, and you don"t need to give me any discounts. I will pay him a substantial amount for his services."
Eric shrugged and said, "Alright, as you wish."
After negotiating the matter, Elisabeth put the script in her bag and asked, "So, what work do you have for me?"
Eric handed a few doc.u.ments to her and commanded, "These things are to be taken out and shredded, and then thrown away. Also, the top one is the shooting schedule of Sleepless in Seattle, you should familiarize yourself with it. Once you"re done with this, there"s some doc.u.ments that need to be organized. There"s a desk in the outside room, you can stay there. If I need something, I will call you."
"Okay," Elisabeth nodded. She was satisfied with Eric"s att.i.tude of finally letting her do something productive. Holding the doc.u.ments, she stood up and was about to leave. Suddenly, she stopped and asked, "Eric, you seem to only have Alan as an a.s.sistant. Don"t you have any female secretary or something?"
Eric smiled and said, "I rarely left the company in the past, so I never needed one. However, after this year, I will need to handle more things, so I will definitely find a beautiful lady to handle the menial tasks."
At this point, Eric looked at Elisabeth and asked, "Why? Do you have anyone whom you wish to recommend, or do you want to recommend yourself?"
"Hmph, you can"t afford me!" Elisabeth proudly replied, turned around and walked out.
-TO BE CONTINUED-