Chapter 8: The Referee Becomes the Basketball

[Chapter 8: The Referee Becomes the Basketball]

The moment Eric woke up, it felt like a stone had been stuffed into his head. He shook it vigorously a few times, then instinctively reached for his phone beside the pillow. It didn't take long for him to realize his situation. With a faint smile, he sat up; it was already past nine in the morning.

This was Eric's bedroom on the second floor of the Williams house. The summer sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors of the south-facing balcony, unabashedly flooding the room with light. It was August already, and even before noon, one could already feel the stifling heat of Los Angeles.

Having been reborn for almost two months, Eric had been busy with various matters, his heart floating aimlessly. He hadn't even had the time to take in this brand-new world. Now, everything seemed to have a good start, and his heart finally settled.

The bedroom was spacious, over thirty square meters. Despite the presence of a large bed, wardrobe, desk, bookshelves, and other odds and ends, it still felt rather empty.

Eric remembered that Ralph had once thought about dividing the bedroom into two rooms. However, he never went through with it, as there were only the two of them in the house, and there were plenty of rooms. It didn't seem necessary to create another room for no purpose, a thought that had made Ralph gloomy for many days. Yet, he never took any action to find a wife before he passed away.

Was it true that every alcoholic man had heart-wrenching stories behind them?

After coming down from the second floor, it took Eric half an hour to tidy up the chaotic living room from the party. Once he finished breakfast, he got into his car and left the house.

...

He spent a few hours, first heading to the specialty store to order a Strauss piano. After leaving the delivery address for the deliveryman, Eric went to the bookstore to select a hefty stack of books on music arrangement.

Eric wasn't just whimsically wanting to become a singer; he was preparing for future film scoring. With so many classic films in his mind, to perfectly recreate them, he needed to understand some basic arrangement knowledge. At the very least, he should be able to write the melodies already playing in his head into sheet music; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hum them in front of the professional film scorers. That was out of the question!

In Hollywood, music was a crucial component of films. Thus, the production had to be refined to perfection. Not to mention the background music; just the theme songs alone produced countless classics. Many iconic movie soundtracks were globally recognized, such as "Unchained Melody" from Ghost, "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, "New Divide" from Transformers, "Young and Beautiful" from The Great Gatsby, "Let It Go" from Frozen, and the delightful tracks from Juno could easily fill an album.

...

When he returned home with the books, the deliveryman soon brought in the piano. Eric directed them to place it in the study on the west side of the living room. Though he called it a study, it didn't even have a bookshelf -- just a large desk and various odds and ends. All of Eric's books were upstairs in his own bedroom, and Ralph had never been one for reading anyway.

Once the piano was set up, it was customary to test the sound. Eric sat down confidently, placing his hands on the keys. Then, to the horrified and disdainful looks of the deliverymen, he proceeded to play a slightly off-key version of "Happy Birthday." He shot a sidelong glance at the stunned deliverymen and thought, "Did I scare them or what?" With skills like his, one could barely call him a prodigy in the circles he had come from in his past life.

To punish the deliverymen for their disdain, Eric decided to half the tip he intended to give. However, the deliverymen seemed oblivious to this. Until they got into their truck, one tall, lanky driver muttered something about Strauss, the specialized piano costing over twenty thousand dollars, with a tone that implied one might as well marry a twenty-eight-year-old maiden off to an eighty-two-year-old man. Eric felt a twinge of embarrassment but also a little helpless.

...

"What, an audition?" Eric asked, puzzled. "Penny, I thought my role was already secured?"

He had been holed up at home for a few days, spending each day learning music, practicing basketball, and working on his acting. He thought this situation might last until filming began, yet in just three days, he received a call from director Penny Marshall.

"Of course, Eric. I meant you to participate in auditions for other roles. You are the screenwriter and can provide input on the casting choices, right?"

Eric inwardly sighed, realizing he would probably only be able to contribute a few suggestions, with no real authority in decision-making. However, he cheerfully agreed to Penny. He had intended to be involved in the movie's production to gain some experience.

He drove to the Fox Studios lot and met with Penny Marshall and James Brooks. Casting for a movie was a significant matter, so both the director and producer had to be present. It was the same room where he had auditioned just days before, with several other staffers present, but Eric was the only young person there.

With over ten minutes until the auditions started, Penny Marshall initiated a conversation about the preparation for 17 Again.

"The success of Big has given 20th Century Fox a lot of faith in our project, allocating a budget of twenty million dollars. However, they want us to finish the production quickly to release it around Thanksgiving. Therefore, we need to wrap up preparations within two weeks and film the school scenes before summer ends."

Eric accepted the audition actor list from a staff member and thanked them, responding to Penny Marshall, "As long as the shoot goes smoothly, three months should be enough for this film. There are only a few simple special effects shots; post-production won't take too long."

Penny nodded, "That's true, but we also have to allocate time for promotion."

"By the way, Penny, which roles are we auditioning for today?" Eric asked.

"We're looking at adult Mike O'Donnell and Scarlett O'Donnell. We've already invited Dan Aykroyd and Susan Sarandon to those roles. For Ned's adult character, James recommended a friend of his, and today we're primarily auditioning Mike's children and other young actors in the film, so I thought you should take a look."

Although Eric knew he had no real say as the screenwriter in the casting decisions, hearing that several actors had already been predetermined without his knowledge still made him a bit glum. Fortunately, the two actors Penny mentioned matched Eric's expectations, and as for Ned's role, James Brooks wouldn't take a twenty million dollar investment lightly, so the actor for that part wouldn't be too shabby either.

Still, Eric couldn't shake off the feeling of dissatisfaction. He inwardly vowed to secure a stronger voice in future projects; this sidelined feeling was truly unpleasant.

Feeling dejected, Eric didn't have the heart to chat more with Penny. She, on the other hand, didn't notice Eric's unusual mood and turned to whisper something to James Brook.

Bored, Eric started flipping through the audition actor list. The initial entries were all male actors showcasing their youthful vigor in their photographs. After examining seven or eight pages, he finally found a familiar name: Brad Pitt. Interestingly, the role he was auditioning for was Alex. In the original film, Alex had been portrayed as a weak character, which Eric felt had been exaggerated. It seemed rather incongruous to see such a frail figure acing it on a basketball court.

Based on his analysis, the reason for choosing that skinny guy over a slightly taller, more attractive male was likely due to storytelling needs, and the director must have feared that the supporting character would overshadow the lead, Zac Efron, who stood at just 5'9" -- quite short, especially among actors. Those who watched the film in his past life could certainly sense that disparity.

Looking at the photo of Pitt, who was already twenty-five but still looked like a high school student, Eric thought that casting Pitt as a tall and robust character who struggled at first but excelled on the basketball court in the end could work well. Moreover, Eric had complete confidence that his performance wouldn't be overshadowed by Brad Pitt. After Pitt became famous, it would be quite amusing for people to discover he had once played Eric Williams's son.

With a slight smirk, Eric continued flipping through the list, but didn't find any more familiar male actors from his past life.

What followed were stacks of female actors' dossiers. When Eric saw the first audition material for a female artist, his jaw almost dropped -- Angelina Jolie! Today, it looked like her whole family had arrived. Reflecting back, he realized Jolie should have just graduated from acting school, ready to enter high school, preparing for her modeling career next year. He wondered why she appeared on Maggie's audition list.

In the photograph, thirteen-year-old Jolie already stood tall with her striking blonde hair and blue eyes, her signature seductive lips emanating a hint of wildness. Eric wasn't optimistic about her audition results, thinking that her presence might be a result of her Oscar-winning father's influence.

As he continued browsing, he found another intriguing girl.

"Hey, Penny," Eric called out, holding up the dossier, "What's the deal with Drew Barrymore? The awful things she's done in the past two years... You know, maybe she's not quite suitable for our campus comedy, right?"

Penny Marshall took a glance and chuckled helplessly, "That was a recommendation from Steven. That woman was relentless in begging him, and he was so annoyed he finally passed her along. But Steven also hinted that we shouldn't consider his opinion, so you know what to do."

"Steven Spielberg?"

Penny nodded, "Yes. You know, Steven is Drew's godfather."

Eric raised his eyebrows, realizing that the woman Penny was repulsed by must be Drew's greedy mother. 

Just as he was about to continue looking through the list, Penny Marshall patted Eric on the shoulder. "Alright, Eric, settle down. The auditions are starting."

Eric reluctantly organized the actor sheets in order, preparing for the upcoming auditions.

He had expected to simply be a spectator in the process, contributing a comment or two at best, only to find that after the first young male actor entered and answered a few questions, the performance phase began. Penny Marshall smiled at Eric and said, "Eric, why don't you go up and do a scene with Mr. Wolson?"

Eric shrugged, glanced at the script, and walked up.

...

As the fifth actor exited the audition room, Eric returned to his seat and jokingly complained, "Penny, I thought you called me in to officiate but ended up making me the basketball on the court!"

"Ha! That's a clever metaphor. Stop complaining, Eric. It was James's idea. He wasn't thrilled that I canceled your acting class, and we came up with this method to help you hone your skills."

Eric pretended to glare at the nonchalant James Brooks, lamenting, "Why didn't you just say that from the start?"

"Well, don't you know now?" Penny smiled at him.

"Fine." Eric threw up his hands in resignation.

*****

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