CHAPTER 64 DONT GETCAUGHT

Most men like sports cars and Eric was no exception, however he could only be at the training grounds the first day. He was so busy that he didnt have time to drop by again.

Beverly Hills, in a temporarily rented villa, Eric and Jeffrey were directing the staff in arranging the props for an upcoming scene.

Al Pacinos acting was book-standard, while Julia according to Erics knowledge of his past life tended to play more based on feel. This time, Eric had her follow Als method, which means she would first have to get into Vivians character completely before shooting.

Filming scenes in disorder could affect performance results, so in order to prevent that and let the actors immerse themselves into their roles, Eric decided to shoot in chronological order.

In the original movie, Edward was first seen at his lawyers party, Philip Stuckey, and through the latter and a few other guests small-talk, the viewers learned a bit about the main characters identity and personality.

Eric and Jeffrey discussed for a bit, and finally decided that, to shoot this scene, they would throw a real party to celebrate the start ofPretty Woman. They didnt even hire extras, instead inviting the majority of the crews family to appear. The scene wasnt a major one, so Eric didnt worry about it going wrong.

I went to the Foxs headquarters yesterday to tell them that we wanted to release the movie on Valentines Day, it took more than an hour to convince Carter Hunt that we would deliver in time before he finally agreed that he would launch a promotion campaign two weeks before d-day. Honestly Eric, two weeks is areallyshort amount of time.Road House, the movie Richard Gere will star in, wont be out until march.

Eric was writing down something on a notepad when he heard Jeffreys words, he said: Dont worry, Jeffrey, right now the entire countrys media circle is promoting my movie, albeit they do it with criticism and jeer. I dont think theres a lot of people in the states right now who dont know aboutPretty Woman. Besides, our biggest publicity stunt has yet to come.

Jeffrey curiously asked: What publicity stunt ?

Erics lips curved into a confident smile: Do me a favor, count for me, how many weeks hasHome Alonebeen trending at the box office for, and how much will its final grossing be ?

Jeffrey did a quick mental calculation, he reckoned that the movie had been screening for about 12 weeks, and that the box office was likely to soon reach the 200 million $ mark.

Seeing his friend relax a little, Eric said: Do you understand ?

Jeffrey nodded his head: Home Aloneis likely to pass the 200 million mark at the box office, which, according to an article I saw in Variety magazine, is a feat that no one in the country has been able to achieve for three consecutive years. OnceHome Alonereaches that milestone, the media will have a field day again.

Exactly, so as long as I can make a decent movie quality-wise, theres no need to worry about it failing because of a lack of publicity. And for United Artists to releaseRoad Housea month afterPretty Womanmeans that they wont even be able to ride on our coattails.&r

dquo;

Since he had no recollection of the movieRoad House, Eric wasnt worried at all.

It will be difficult for Richard Gere to rise back again after missing thePretty Womans opportunity though, after all, as Eric remembered, the actors acting wasnt even good enough to warrant him an Oscar nomination in the past.

Right, Eric, when I went to the Fox yesterday, Carter Hunt raised the issue of a movie adaptation forJurassic Park. And theyre also interested in the bookResident Evilthat you just published, I just avoided the topic.

Thanks to Michaels efforts,Resident Evilhad been released the other day, and had soon started some controversy. Most newspapers article were criticizing the novel, while some reviewers and people even wondered if Eric had only been riding on his fames momentum, and written the book to rack in the profits as the genre was completely different fromJurassic Park.

Faced with those kinds of reactions, Eric didnt even bother to reply.

Written for profit ?

With his current fame and fortune, did he really need that little bit of royalties that would ensue ?

As soon asResident Evilhit the shelves, Michael Klaus called and told him that the book was actually selling well, and that people were very interested in this new type of zombie-related science-fiction. There were even some readers who had wrote to both Michael and Eric, hoping for a movie adaptation.

Jeffrey, if someone ever contacts you for the movie rights, tell them I definitely wont let go of either novel unless they can come up with a satisfactory cooperation plan.

Jeffrey nodded, before suddenly remembering something, and smiling: ForHome Aloneto actually get nominated at the Golden Globes for Best Comedy really gives us pride.

Eric followed with a laugh: Whether the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards, they will always bow to the box office. Just wait and see, there will probably also be some Oscar nominations as well.

Jeffrey tentatively said: Your shooting schedule is so compact, Im afraid that when the time comes we wont be able to attend the Golden Globes ceremony.

No worries, Eric put away the notepad and tucked the pen behind his ear, he said: Since the Golden Globes have done us the honor, well attend even if it means putting the shooting on hold for a day. They know that were in L.A, if we refuse to attend just because of the filming, we might attract some ill will.

Thinking back to how even DiCaprio had never gotten an Oscar, Eric felt he neednt to tread with them carefully.

Although some claimed that Leonardo couldnt get one because he wasnt a good enough actor, others speculated that it was because he hadnt attended the 70th Academy Awards ceremony, since he was sulking at the fact that he hadnt been nominated for Best Actor inTitanic.

The two men chatted about shooting arrangements, then went to eat lunch in the vicinity at noon. After a while, Eric looked at his watch and said: Jeffrey, you take care of things this afternoon, I have something to do.

Jeffrey looked at him inquiringly, what could possibly be more important than the shooting right now ?

Eric helplessly said: Im driving Drew to school, she got into some trouble last time and her principal wants to see me.

Jeffrey was stunned for a second before he smiled and shook his head: Are you seriously thinking that the girl is your daughter ?

Eric threw his hands up: When I signed that contract with her mother, it was similar to getting Drews custody, so I should at least take responsibility.

Right, I read a flattering newspaper article about how you saving Drew from her mothers greedy hands and sending her to boarding school was a great act of heart-warming kindness.

Eric wore his jacket and casually said: I paid a guy to write that, I was tired of people bothering me about Drews issue. Im a pretty okay guy, and I felt people should know that.

Jeffrey who was in the midst of taking a sip of coffee, sprayed it out: Youre really.

..

Drews principal was a woman seemingly in her fifties with a gentle overall feel.

Eric sat alone across the woman as he listened to her: Mr. Williams, we usually never give up on our students, however Ms. Barrymore seems to be quite the unusual case. All of our ladies are from respectable and influential families, if their parents were to learn that their daughters had skipped class, Im afraid that the school would be the one at the receiving end of their ire. We cannot possibly take coercive measures against Ms. Barrymore, so if this kind of thing were to happen again, Im afraid we will be left with no other choice than to have her transferred to another school.

Ms. Gillian, you can rest assured, I have severely reprimanded Drew.

Good, good. Ms. Gillian nodded her head, and proceeded to ramble some more before letting Eric go.

Outside of the office, Eric looked at Drew who was dressed in her school uniform and said: I got an earful thanks to you, do you plan on making me go through this a second time ?

The girl smiled and grabbed Erics arms as she said: Dont worry, I definitely wont.

I dont hear any sincerity in that statement. Eric smiled helplessly, not only did the girl not seem sorry in the slightest, she looked like she was enjoying herself.

At the entrances door, Eric sighed. Sweeping his surroundings with his gaze to make sure no one was around, he whispered: Dont get in trouble, Ill be busy from now on, and if you intend to skip class again. at least dont get caught.

Oh, Eric. you know me so well. Drew tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek.

Eric smiled and patted the girls head. He went to his car, started it, waved good bye through his window, and drove away.