Chapter 257 What to Do

[Chapter 257 What to Do]

"Mr. Jaffee, since The Others proved successful with its ghost perspective, I believe a romantic film featuring a ghost as the main character could definitely have potential..."

The middle-aged man, who looked to be in his forties and wore glasses, had not finished his sentence when the person he addressed, Mr. Jaffee, interrupted him. "Alright, Bruce, I know you've been pushing that script of yours, but I'm really not interested. I'm currently preparing for another film."

The others standing by the dining table chimed in, "Bruce, give it a rest. Don't you think a love story with a ghost at the center sounds ridiculous? And it's a tragedy, no less."

"Many memorable stories are tragedies," Bruce countered.

"What good is being memorable?" a man with curly brown hair followed up. "I've heard about your script; it relies heavily on special effects, and the budget won't be under twenty million dollars. That's quite the investment for a production company, which makes it a huge risk. Bruce, if you're so interested in ghosts or supernatural phenomena, you should put some effort into writing horror scripts, like The Others, instead of wasting your time on some ridiculous ghost love story."

As Eric approached, he caught the tail end of what the brown-haired man said, and something clicked in his mind. "Ghost love story, Bruce -- just these two keywords led Eric to suspect that the screenwriter of that heart-wrenching movie, Ghost, was indeed Bruce Joel Rubin. And considering the timeline, without his presence, this film might have already been in production.

While Jonathan Demme directed The Others, there was no doubt that Eric was the one garnering the most attention at the party. As he drew near the buffet table, the group, already in conversation, immediately surrounded him, enthusiastically introducing themselves.

As Eric collected their business cards and politely handed out his own, he feigned disinterest and asked, "I think I just heard someone mention ghosts. What are you all talking about?"

The crowd hesitated, not knowing what to say to Eric. The middle-aged man called Bruce, whom they referred to as Mr. Jaffee, replied promptly. "It's a script about a bank clerk who was murdered and became a ghost to protect his girlfriend from evil men."

Eric recalled this middle-aged man named Charles Jaffee had just introduced himself as a vice president at Paramount. He figured that Jaffee must have been molded by Barry Diller's high-concept film philosophy; he succinctly encapsulated the plot of Ghost in a single sentence.

At the same time, Eric became even more convinced of his earlier guess. The bespectacled middle-aged man, now on the outskirts of the crowd, was surely Bruce Joel Rubin, the screenwriter of Ghost.

After entering Hollywood, Eric had reviewed and reminisced about the notable films from the past few years, hoping to secure filming rights for some. But after some investigation, he found that many movie rights were already held by the major studios, and some were simply impossible to trace.

Ghost was one of those scripts he couldn't track down. Before this film, Bruce Joel Rubin had no name in Hollywood, and despite his efforts, Eric couldn't even locate the man.

Ultimately, Eric resolved to take things step by step. Ghost was set to be released in the summer of 1990, and by the general production timeline in a parallel universe, this film should have already begun preparations this year; the script was likely available even earlier, perhaps before Eric made his entrance into this time. Thus, it would have been impossible for him to just copy and use it.

Eric didn't immediately show any interest in the script. He casually glanced at Bruce Joel Rubin before shifting his attention back to idle chatter with the group around him.

Though these executives from big companies and renowned producers seemed warm and welcoming now, from his experiences with his hit films, if he dared to show interest in the Ghost script, those same people would undoubtedly turn on him and dive into a frenzy to grab the script for themselves.

After some small talk, Eric finally disengaged from the group. Throughout the entire process, he hadn't exchanged a single word with Bruce Joel Rubin. Since the man was now present, it would be easy to find him later.

...

However, many situations caught him off guard. Just as he moved away, Bruce Joel Rubin quickly pursued him, saying, "Mr. Williams..."

Behind Eric, the red-haired middle-aged man who had just criticized Bruce watched with a smile, turning to Charles Jaffee, and remarked, "Looks like Bruce isn't ready to give up. He's still fixated on Williams."

Charles Jaffee gazed thoughtfully at the middle-aged man who was pursuing Eric. "Brian, do you think Williams will take a shine to that script?"

"Who knows? But given Eric Williams's taste, if he liked that script..." Brian paused, locking eyes with Charles, and then they both casually parted ways.

They were mere acquaintances, and since Charles was a vice president at Paramount while Brian worked at Warner, if Eric identified the potential in that script, it would certainly make them rivals in competition. Hearing Charles and Brian's conversation, others nearby directed their attention toward Eric.

Eric felt an immense headache coming on. Bruce Joel Rubin had already started to outline the plot of Ghost, and he was at a loss for what to do.

Should he ignore it completely, pretending not to care? After the party, he could still expect Bruce to approach him warmly, but Rubin wasn't naive, which could cause even more trouble.

Should he harshly criticize the script? That might eliminate any chances of collaboration altogether.

Neither of the first two options were viable. And what if he outright showed interest in the script right there?

This thought crossed Eric's mind, causing him to glance around. Many people were now watching them, particularly those he had just conversed with.

These were all sharp individuals; if he revealed any hint of his thoughts, the inevitable competition would turn into a frenzy, where a firefly would seem no more than a weak hyena amidst a pack of predatory wolves.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.