Chapter 176: The Seven-Colored Criminals

[Chapter 176: The Seven-Colored Bandit]

"Hello, Mr. Williams. I really liked your film Running Out of Time. The plot was great, and the soundtrack was outstanding, especially that piece during the bus encounter. I heard you composed that piece yourself; that's amazing," Quentin said, his friendly demeanor allowing him to chat easily about Eric's film that was still in theaters. While he admired Eric's success in the industry, he didn't have much of an opinion on Eric's earlier works, aside from this recent one that had a unique style.

Eric smiled modestly and replied, "Actually, the composer put in a lot of effort. I just provided some inspiration."

"No, you can't say that! Inspiration is the most important thing when it comes to music," Quentin immediately countered.

Lawrence Bender, sitting nearby, felt a bit anxious. He knew their meeting was limited to just one hour, and observing the crew around them, he realized work could begin at any moment. While discussing music was a nice way to get close, they couldn't waste too much time. Nevertheless, he didn't dare interrupt their conversation and could only discreetly gesture to Quentin.

Noticing Lawrence's urgency, Eric decided not to prolong the chat. He said, "Let's go talk in the lounge and grab a working lunch. I noticed you guys haven't eaten yet."

"Of course, thanks, Mr. Williams," Quentin replied.

"Just call me Eric," he said, glancing over at Drew and Jennifer. It seemed like the two girls were about to start something again; if they got into a fight here, it would turn into a big deal.

...

"Hey, Drew, Jen, what are you talking about?" he asked as he approached, seeing the two girls glaring at each other, ready for confrontation.

Upon seeing Eric, Drew immediately abandoned her standoff with Jennifer and ran over, hugging Eric's arm as she complained, "She started it, Eric! I just said hi, and then she got all mad. So petty!"

"It's you..." Jennifer exclaimed, her face showing a mix of indignation and anger as she glared at Eric instead of Drew. This left Eric confused, prompting him to ask, "What did you say to Jen?"

Drew seemed oblivious to Jennifer's irritation and shrugged it off. "Nothing much! She came out of her room, and I just patted her on the butt and said, 'Hey, big girl, your butt looks rounder!' Then she flared up."

Eric's mouth twitched at Drew's remark. He could easily understand why Jennifer was upset without needing to see the little fire in her eyes. Drew's comment was likely meant to tease about Jennifer's weight gain and had inadvertently touched on a sensitive topic for her. Jennifer probably thought Drew had been informed about her embarrassment.

Realizing this, Eric released Drew and pulled Jennifer into a hug, whispering, "Okay, Jen, Drew didn't mean anything by it. Don't take it to heart."

"Are you sure?" Jennifer blinked back her irritation.

Eric gently patted her back. "I swear! I mean, how could that possibly be? Right?"

"Hmm..." Once Jennifer recognized that it was simply a misunderstanding, she pushed Eric away. "Those two guests are still waiting. You go deal with them. I'm off to eat."

"I'm going to eat too. I wonder what the lunch is like here," Drew said, her big eyes rolling around before she turned to leave.

"Remember, this is a film set. You two better behave," Eric cautioned, feeling uneasy.

"Hmph!"

"Didn't need your advice!" The two girls said as they walked away from him, not looking back.

...

As Eric watched them go in different directions, he felt relieved and led Lawrence and Quentin towards the lounge while telling his assistant to bring three lunches.

"Drew has already filled me in on everything, so can I see the script now?" Once settled at a simple table, Eric began.

"Sure thing," Lawrence Bender said, pulling a thick script from his bag and sliding it over to Eric.

Eric glanced at the title, not recognizing it initially, but the name intrigued him. That said, it matched a concept from his past life about a group of robbers with color-based codenames. He understood that many writers had ideas floating in their minds for years before they wrote them down. Despite time passing, the essence of the story could remain similar.

Most people wouldn't appreciate such nuances, but as someone who'd lived through different timelines, Eric found it fascinating.

His assistant quickly delivered three boxes of lunch and a few bottles of water.

"Quentin, Lawrence, you two go ahead and eat. Don't worry about me," he said, watching the two men eagerly gaze at him.

"Thanks," they both replied, hastily grabbing their utensils and opening their boxes. However, neither had much appetite, resembling anxious students awaiting test results. As Eric buried himself back into the script, their eating slowed down.

Noticing their hesitance, Eric didn't encourage them further and simply turned another page.

The plot seemed to follow closely what he remembered -- a crime boss gathered a group of strangers to rob a jewelry store, only to be ambushed by the police. However, where there were six robbers before, now there were seven.

From the start, Quentin's trademark verbose style shone through in this script. Soon enough, they detailed the botched robbery, with two robbers making a desperate escape.

Thanks to his familiarity with the original material, Eric finished reading almost a hundred pages of the script in just over twenty minutes.

Setting the script down, he glanced at the two anxious men. "Not bad; let's eat."

Both Quentin and Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief. Eric's approval increased the likelihood that this film would get made. To bolster their chances, Lawrence had included a budget outline at the end of the script -- approximately one million dollars.

They believed this uniquely styled movie would interest Eric. Moreover, with a budget of just one million dollars, investing in this film was a no-brainer for someone with Eric's financial standing. Truthfully, if it hadn't been for wanting to direct the film themselves, they might not have pursued Eric so earnestly.

With this in mind, Quentin and Lawrence relaxed and began to eat. After waiting around for two hours outside the Fox lot, they were quite hungry.

Once they finished lunch, Eric picked up the script again. "Drew mentioned you two were planning to produce this film yourselves?"

"Yes, Eric. We... we both have experience from making one film before, so we figured we could handle this one," Quentin explained.

Eric nodded, noncommittally, flipping through a few pages. "So you have your own film company, right?"

They exchanged puzzled glances, unsure why Eric suddenly inquired. Lawrence then nodded, "Yes, it's called A Band Apart, a name Quentin came up with. It was inspired by the early film of Godard."

Eric recognized that Godard had made some famous films, but he didn't delve into understanding the meaning behind their company's name.

"Well, Lawrence, Quentin, would you be interested in joining Firefly Films?"

"Hmm?"

"Ah?" They both replied in confusion.

Eric clarified, "I meant, your company is just a shell at this point. Would you be interested in merging with my Firefly Films? You know my company is growing."

Quentin and Lawrence exchanged glances. They had some knowledge of Firefly Films; even though it was Eric's personal company and most of the films were his projects, its strength was undeniable. Joining would be a great opportunity. However, they couldn't understand why Eric would extend an olive branch to two unknowns like themselves.

*****

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