Chapter 19: Director Visit

Evan Bell could sincerely swear that when he first met Eden Hudson, this guy was like an iceberg, expressionless and calm. But, the man in front of him now, even with the same expressionless face, was full of gossip. He was definitely not the Eden Hudson Evan knew at the beginning. Normally, in front of strangers, friends, and even good friends, Eden Hudson was an iceberg who might not utter a word for hours. But in front of his true best friends, although Eden Hudson still had an iceberg face, the gossipy blood in his bones immediately boiled up. There must be an active volcano hidden under this guy's iceberg.

Eden Hudson was Evan Bell's roommate. They met when Evan came to Harvard University. As one of the top students in the law school, the British-Swedish mixed-race Eden Hudson was famous for his cold aura and handsomeness. His deep facial features, sharp eyes, and aura of keeping strangers away made Eden Hudson the most handsome man in law school. Eden Hudson was an iceberg, except for gossip. He wasn't enthusiastic about social activities and was just a nodding acquaintance with ordinary friends. If Evan Bell and he weren't roommates and hadn't been together for more than two years, they probably wouldn't have even become friends.

Evan Bell, used to Eden's gossip, replied casually, "We just met, we're just acquaintances." Then he asked, "Why are you here anyway?"

Eden Hudson knew that Evan Bell would not lie when it came to women. If he said he had just met her, then he must have just met her. For example, his female companion today, Heidi Montgomery, was just that: a female companion. So even if Heidi was having a hot relationship with another man, Evan wouldn't care at all. Eden Hudson didn't press further. "I was originally going to leave after supporting your performance, but I heard something interesting and came to share it with you." The object of support was naturally Evan's opening performance with Melancholy, his band. 

"There's a young man blocking the entrance of the dance, and he keeps asking if anyone knows where you are," Eden said, his face remaining calm. If it weren't for the gloating in his eyes revealing his current emotions, he would still appear as an iceberg. "He looks about 25 or 26 years old, quite strong, with short hair and a hammer face. He looks quite the honest type at first glance, but his eyes move quickly, so he must be a quick-witted person." Eden Hudson's poisonous tongue was effective, swearing without using any dirty words, making people unable to refute.

Just by listening to Eden Hudson's simple description, Evan Bell had a general impression and shook his head, saying he didn't know him.

"That's probably Montgomery's pursuer or something like that." Although he was Evan Bell's good friend, it was clear that Eden Hudson was also happy to see Evan's misfortune. "He probably came to settle the score with you."

Eden Hudson turned around and patted Evan Bell on the shoulder as if nothing had happened. Then he said, "By the way, the copyrights of your two songs have been registered, and the certificates will arrive at the dormitory this afternoon."

Copyright is very important in the United States. Evan Bell planned to send two of his songs, "Oceans and Skies" and "Boundless Sky," to various companies to try his luck. Although success wasn't guaranteed, he wanted to prevent a record company from taking the songs for themselves, so he registered the copyrights before sending them out. Since copyright registration costs money, he only registered the two best songs.

The procedure is simple. You need to send the application form, a copy of the work, and the registration fee to the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington. If there are no major errors, a registration certificate will be issued. Generally, it takes four to six months. The email sent in March should arrive in the next few days.

Evan Bell was used to Eden Hudson's evil intentions. He ignored the gloating and focused on the copyright issue. "It's finally here. I was planning to send the songs to the record company these two days. Let's go back to the dormitory. I'll tell you about the Eagle Rock Music Festival."

Although they came to the homecoming dance with high hopes but left disappointed, they were still in a good mood. Evan Bell and Eden Hudson did not return to the dance floor but walked back to the dormitory. When they passed the door, the dance was in full swing, so the entrance was very deserted. The man Eden Hudson mentioned was seen at a glance.

The man immediately noticed Evan Bell and Eden Hudson. There weren't many people at the door, and Evan and Eden were eye-catching, so it wasn't surprising they were seen.

The man walked up quickly. It was obvious that he had finally met Evan Bell and was unwilling to give up this opportunity. Though Eden Hudson was gloating, he still stood forward a little to stand side by side with Evan. If the other party really came to cause trouble, they would face it together.

"Mr. Bell?" The voice still sounded a little uncertain, but when he got closer and saw Evan Bell nod, his voice became more confident. "Hello, I'm Richard Kelly, a director. I contacted you through the Screen Actors Guild."

"You're a director?" Evan Bell frowned slightly. Why would a director be waiting for him at the homecoming dance? He wasn't a famous actor, so it made sense for him to wait for Natalie Portman.

"Two weeks ago, I contacted your agent, Teddy Bell, hoping you could participate in my movie interview, but you refused." Richard Kelly spoke quickly and clearly.

Evan Bell remembered Teddy Bell mentioning this to him after he came back from Los Angeles. At that time, he had to meet with a professor, and the new semester had just started, so he had no time to go to Los Angeles for an interview. He had asked Teddy Bell to turn it down. He didn't expect the director to come all the way to Cambridge from Los Angeles.

"Are you sure this is an interview? Why do I feel like a superstar?" Evan Bell's words made Richard Kelly laugh. Seeing the smile, Evan was relieved. Confirming it wasn't trouble but a happy event, Eden Hudson's muscles also relaxed, though he still stood by with an iceberg-like face.

"Since we're here, let's find a place to sit down and talk. No matter who's interviewing whom, we have to talk." Evan Bell decided and took Richard Kelly to a bar outside the school. Eden Hudson, seeing there was no good show to watch, went back to the dormitory alone.

Arriving at the Hungry Student Bar at the school gate, which was usually bustling, but seemed a little deserted today. Because the people who were normally here were at the homecoming dance. 

Although any actor would be happy to have a director come to him, Evan Bell wasn't flattered. Instead, he calmly confirmed Richard Kelly's identity and the Directors Guild's ID, and took the script that Richard Kelly was handing over. It wasn't that Evan Bell was too cautious, but he simply has no recollection of this director. 

Looking at the white cover with "Donnie Darko" written on it, Evan Bell seemed to remember the script but had no specific memory. He didn't focus on the script but talked to Richard Kelly.

"Mr. Kelly, I've never appeared in any movies or TV shows. Even fewer people know that I'm registered with the Screen Actors Guild. I wonder how you know about me?" Evan Bell put the script on the table, seemingly uninterested for the time being.

Richard Kelly's eyes flickered. He didn't know that Evan Bell had casually refused the interview because he had no time to go to Los Angeles. He thought Evan had no confidence in him, a 25-year-old director, so he was thinking about how to convince him to look at the script.

Evan Bell didn't know what Richard Kelly was thinking, but he continued, "What's more, I'm a newcomer with no qualifications, and there are at least 800 if not 1,000 other more willing people in Hollywood to act in your movie. But, even though I rejected your interview, you still came to Boston in person and I'm flattered by such treatment." Although Evan said so, his eyes didn't mean that at all; he was just being polite.

"Mr. Bell, I saw your performance on the Broadway stage in Cats two weeks ago." Richard Kelly's words surprised Evan Bell. He never expected it would be the Broadway stage. "After learning that you refused the interview, I also interviewed several young people in Hollywood, but unfortunately, I couldn't find a suitable candidate. After hesitating again and again, I still felt that you were very suitable for this role, so I came to Boston."

Richard Kelly had interviewed in Los Angeles for two weeks and met with more than a dozen young actors but wasn't satisfied with any of them. As a last-ditch effort, he made a big decision to come to see Evan Bell this time. Usually, actors would be the ones seeking out directors for an interview or audition, but now, Evan was the one being sought out by a director trying to recruit him. This was also Richard Kelly's last gamble. If Evan Bell still didn't agree after this interview, he didn't have much hope for the upcoming meetings with other young actors.

Although Richard Kelly's words were short, they contained a lot of information. Evan Bell reacted immediately. Regardless of the script, Richard Kelly's sincerity alone was praise-worthy. As a complete rookie actor, since Richard Kelly valued him so much, what was wrong with an interview?