Aniston did not attend the next date, and Eric sent Aniston home to meet the boss of the bankrupt film company alone.
When getting out of the car, Aniston said suddenly: "Eric, can you leave me a copy of the script of "Home Alone"? Let me take a look for you, maybe you can... I can give you some advice."
Eric nodded and said, "Of course it's no problem. I just made several copies."
Aniston got out of the car with the script, waved her little hand and watched Eric drive away, as if she had made up her mind, she turned and walked into her apartment.
In a coffee shop in Burbank, Eric met Jeffrey Hanson, the owner of the small film company called Firefly introduced by Drew, Jeffrey Hanson, a white man in his fifties with a somewhat Haggard, it seems that the bankruptcy of the film company has hit him hard, and he looks very decadent. Eric knew that it was best for a person to vent in this situation, so he was not in a hurry to discuss the crew, but patiently listened to the man who needed to talk about the past.
"My wife, Sorina, is a top student at USC Film School, you know? She ++ is a classmate of Francis Coppola, but unfortunately she is just a farm girl from Maryland, without the deep heritage of the Coppola family Otherwise, her achievements in film must be higher than Francis, and she won many awards for the short films she shot in school."
"At that time, I was studying finance, and everyone called me a nerd. For some reason, my young, beautiful and talented wife fell in love with me. She said she wanted to be a director, so I stayed with her in Los Angeles to develop, and we started from the most basic I have been doing this job for about nine years. I still remember the happy look of Sorina when she got the first investment for her script, and the smile was better than when I put the ring on her finger when we got married. It was even more brilliant in time. Later, we opened Firefly Film Company, and she acted as the director, and I helped her as the producer, taking care of everything. We made several films together, and all of them made money for investors. We are still in Venice. The film festival won a special jury award. Unfortunately, a year ago, when Solina was driving back to Maryland to visit her parents, an accident happened... "
Jeffrey Hansen with a bearded face began to choke when he said this, and it was obvious that he and his wife had a deep relationship. Eric sat across from him, handed Jeffrey a tissue, and then quietly Waiting quietly for him to continue.
"After my wife passed away, I felt that I should inherit her ideals. She always wanted to develop Firefly and become a great director recognized by Oscars. I thought that having been a producer for so many years, being a director must be more than sufficient. So I mortgaged the company and raised a sum of money to shoot my first movie in memory of her, but unfortunately the result was not so good... "
"It's okay, Jeffrey, it's just a failure. Which director in Hollywood hasn't experienced failure."
Jeffrey wiped his wet eyes and said: "Thank you, thank you Eric, I can listen to me nagging for so long, I feel much better now, after the company went bankrupt, my son almost severed the father-son relationship with me, he originally I don't agree with me as a director. I think I ruined her mother's hard work for many years. I don't blame him. I just regret it. Okay, let's not talk about it. Listen to Drew, you need someone to help you Make a movie?"
Eric nodded: "Yes, but it's just a low-cost movie with a million dollars."
Jeffrey shook his head and said, "No, one million is already a lot. My wife only spent more than seven hundred thousand for her first movie. By the way, may I know your age?"
"Of course, I'm eighteen now. Jeffrey, you don't think I'm too young and impatient, do you?"
"No, I just want to make sure that you are an adult and a person with full capacity. After all, one million dollars is not a small amount."
"oh?"
Jeffrey said: "Don't be like this, young man, I think it is you who are not confident. I have no prejudice against young people. Many directors made their best movies when they were young. The bigger the film, the more mediocre the film. Young people are always full of creativity, and film is a job to create dreams. Also, I believe my team can help you complete your film very well, they are all my wife The team I personally trained is very professional and full of understanding. Unfortunately, because of me, they will lose their jobs, and it is a good thing to receive your film. Um, by the way, can I read your script?"
"No problem," Eric took out the script and handed it to Jeffrey, and then quietly waited for Jeffrey to flip over his own script.
After more than ten minutes, Jeffrey closed the script and handed it back to Eric: "It's a good comedy script, it's not complicated to shoot, it's very suitable for practice. I have to say, it's still very wise for you to choose such a script of."
Eric put the script back in his backpack and said to Jeffrey, "So, Jeffrey, can you help me be the producer of this movie?"
Jeffrey Hansen wondered: "Eric, are you sure? My company just went bankrupt because of me."
Eric said: "Jeffrey, you may not be suitable to be a director, but through your narrative, I think you are a very good producer. If this movie is successful, I will set up my own film company. You can help me take care of it when the time comes, and I can take over all the team left by your wife, so they don't have to lose their jobs."
Jeffrey was obviously moved. Originally, he was already disheartened and planned to return to his hometown farm for the rest of his life. But after hearing Eric's plan, another thought came to him. The crew left behind by his wife had been working with the couple for many years. The relationship between them was not only an employment relationship, but also a very good friend. Because of his mistake, his old friend who has worked with him for many years lost his job, and Jeffrey was still quite guilty.
Without thinking about it for long, Jeffrey nodded and said, "Okay, Eric, I promise you."
"Then, happy cooperation." Eric picked up a cup of coffee excitedly, touched Jeffrey, and the cooperation between the two was officially concluded.
Next, the two began to discuss the preparations for "Home Alone" straight to the topic.
During the discussion, Jeffrey also learned about what Eric had done during this time, and couldn't help being a little surprised. Now that the cooperation has been confirmed, Eric also confessed his plan to Jeffrey.
"I'm going to finish the movie in a month or so, and then take advantage of the influence of Jurassic Park and Seventeen to get Home Alone out over Christmas. The screenwriter and lead actor of "Return to Seventeen" put on the halo of a director in order to create greater box office benefits. Presumably 20th Century Fox will not be stingy in releasing "Home Alone" for us, so as long as we work hard to make the film Well, this family Christmas comedy is sure to make us a buck."
Eric thought of the box office of "Home Alone" which was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records in his previous life, and his heart was full of longing. Even if "Home Alone" only got half of the box office results of his previous life in this life, it was more than enough for him to realize his ideal.
The two discussed in the coffee shop until the lights came on, confirmed a lot of things, and after leaving their contact information, Eric drove home.
As soon as he got home, Eric received another piece of good news. The Langkels agreed to let Stewart play Kevin. Eric discussed the details with the couple. The Langkels also agreed. The proposed remuneration of 50,000 US dollars and 1% of the box office share.
Although the film salary is only one-tenth of Eric's in "Return to Seventeen", if the box office results are as amazing as in the previous life, only one percent of the box office share can make the couple laugh from ear to ear , Eric doesn't feel bad about it, after all, this movie needs Stuart Runkel to play the leading role.
The next day, Eric asked Jeffrey Hansen to come forward and sign a contract with the Longkels. The couple also knew that Eric would be the director of the movie. After Rick specially prepared a check for 50,000 US dollars, he directly signed the contract.
The next step is to prepare funds. Eric originally had $590,000 in his hand. After negotiating with Michael Krauss, Michael readily agreed to advance his royalties of about $200,000 within ten days. The owner of the piano shop reluctantly agreed to return the product after checking it out, but still calculated a depreciation fee of 2,000 U.S. dollars.
In the end, there was still a shortfall of about 200,000 US dollars. Eric gritted his teeth, contacted a pawn shop, and quickly mortgaged the house at a low price of 200,000 US dollars, with 10% interest per month. If the money is not paid, the pawnshop will take back the house. To put it bluntly, it's a loan shark.
Looking at the check in his hand, Eric sighed, now that he is in a desperate situation, if he fails, I don't know if Aniston will take him in.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but think of Drew again. With the experience of a forty-year-old uncle in Eric's body, I can't see that Drew has already liked him to the bone. If possible, after filming "Return to Seventeen" , Eric doesn't want to have too much intersection with Drew anymore. His feelings for Drew may even be more like a daughter than a woman.
Maybe after a long time, the girl's feelings for him will gradually fade, but for the sake of "Home Alone", he had to ask Drew for help, and entangled the two of them again.
After all the filming funds were prepared, Eric and Jeffrey began to cast for the crew non-stop. Eric planned that the two fools, Harry and Marvin, would choose from TV comedians. After getting an invitation, the other party either couldn't meet the schedule or felt that the salary was too low.
After running around for two days, Eric suddenly received a call from Aniston.
"What, you said your father wants to invite me to dinner?"
Aniston's voice on the phone was full of joy: "Yeah, haven't you been worrying about the actors of "Home Alone" these two days? I told my father about it, and he promised to help you contact some comedians."
Aniston's tone on the phone was very relaxed, but Eric knew that things were not that simple, and at the same time he was a little moved. Aniston's relationship with his biological father John Aniston is very cold, and John Aniston's behavior of abandoning his wife and daughter for his own career has made Aniston still bitter. In the previous life, John Aniston had to work hard to get his stubborn daughter to forgive him. It can be seen that now Aniston seeking help from his father for himself is not as easy as he said
Eric said gratefully into the microphone: "Thank you, Anne, I will be there on time."