Chapter 96: The Meeting of the Two Toms

[Chapter 96: The Meeting of the Two Toms]

A nondescript black van pulled up outside the Firefly office building. A tall man with wild black curls and sunglasses stepped out with his agent, quickly ducking his head as they headed inside. Across the street, Johnny, the convenience store owner, was just passing the time when he caught a glimpse through the glass. He immediately recognized the man -- Tom Hanks.

Johnny considered himself a bit of a movie buff; he made it a point to catch one or two popular films every week. Even though he was nearing forty and had moved past the age of obsessive fandom, he had a good handle on Hollywood stars, big and small. With just a pair of sunglasses on, he had no trouble spotting Hanks.

In Burbank, where countless film production companies dotted the landscape, it was pretty common to run into a few big names. Johnny didn't think much of it; he knew the owner of that particular film company was a rising star himself, Eric Williams. He figured Hanks must have been in for something related to that miracle kid director's new project.

After serving a couple of customers, a few minutes later, Johnny noticed another van pulling up across the street. Curious, he stared at the door as it opened. Down stepped a man and a woman. The man was still hiding behind sunglasses. Although he was a little shorter than Hanks, his stardom in Hollywood was greater. It was none other than the hotshot idol himself, Tom Cruise.

"Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise," Johnny pondered, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, he thought that the paparazzi might find this juicy tidbit interesting.

One celebrity showing up wouldn't usually be newsworthy. While the paparazzi kept tabs on the comings and goings of the big stars, they paid little attention to everyday activities. Only those celebrities who had recently turned the spotlight on themselves -- due to a box office hit, a scandal, a divorce, or a drug bust -- tended to attract the paparazzi's scrutiny. For instance, when Home Alone first hit theaters, Eric had been chased by paparazzi for a while since everyone was curious about the young miracle director.

But today, having two of Hollywood's hottest male stars appearing at Firefly Entertainment was something worth covering, especially since they both shared the name Tom. Given their close ages, they were considered rivals in the industry. This was definitely a piece of news fit for the entertainment section.

Feeling a rush of excitement, Johnny dug out a gossip tabloid and called their news hotline. Many papers offered bounties for tips on hot stories. Johnny knew better than to go to The Los Angeles Times or similar big-name outlets; they didn't need the news and wouldn't pay out well.

"Hello, is this Hollywood Insider? ... Yeah, I've got a hot story for you..."

A few minutes later, Johnny hung up with a grin, having landed a surprising $700 for the tip. The Hollywood Insider recognized the story's potential and was willing to pay generously -- under the condition that he wouldn't sell it to anyone else. For a small convenience store owner like Johnny, it was unexpected windfall.

Within twenty minutes, a few paparazzi from Hollywood Insider arrived quickly. After confirming with Johnny that neither Tom Hanks nor Tom Cruise had left, they happily paid him the tip fee. Then they patiently set up camp outside Firefly's headquarters.

...

After securing a deal with Columbia, Eric got down to business securing the two leading roles. Having successfully directed three films, Hollywood no longer discriminated against Eric's age; no big star would directly refuse his invitation, not even the likes of Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks.

Moreover, after reviewing the screenplay outline, both Hollywood giants recognized the story's brilliance, leaving no reason to turn it down.

Previously, neither had known the other was also considering the role. However, when Hanks expressed his wish to play a gangster and Cruise suggested numerous modifications, Eric decided to share the information with them to arrange a face-to-face meeting.

Both Toms sensed that with their star power combined, if they could successfully collaborate, the box office potential would be staggering. Plus, with Running Out of Time being such a captivating story, it could very well create another blockbuster miracle like Eric's previous films.

Everyone had a desire to be part of a miracle, which brought them all to this meeting.

Inside the Firefly conference room, only Eric, Hanks, and Cruise remained; Jeffrey and the two agents waited outside. Even though both Cruise and Hanks were signed under CAA, at their level, CAA's influence had all but evaporated. Thus, the agents could only dutifully handle their roles without interfering.

Of course, once they finalized their collaboration, it would be up to the agents to negotiate salaries. Both agents had received directives from higher-ups: bleed them dry!

In front of Cruise and Hanks was a complete script; previously, they had only seen an outline. After spending half an hour reading through and understanding it, Hanks rubbed his face and chuckled, "Eric, I've just realized I'm not suited for Andy. My looks would make it really tough to pull off a woman's role."

[T/N: Assume that Eric has read the script aloud for Cruise's sake.]

Eric laughed along, but Cruise seemed to miss Hanks' joke entirely, frowning slightly instead. "Eric, I still think it would be better to revise that plot point. Since Andy is a makeup expert, disguising as another man could be a solid option. Don't you think?"

Hanks, seated across from Cruise, raised an eyebrow. He thought Cruise was being overly cautious; playing a woman wasn't such a heavy lift, and as an actor, he would take on any reasonable request -- even if that meant playing a dog.

Plus, he'd just analyzed the script a bit; the disguise made sense. Andy posed as a woman to lower the villain's guard. The script mentioned that the villain sent Andy in disguise to retrieve the ransom, clearly supporting this. If it had been another hulk of a man, Hanks figured the villain might have pulled the trigger in a panic. The idea of two men showing up for a hand-off would seem odd, wouldn't it?

*****

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