Chapter 374: The Biggest Threat

[Chapter 374: The Biggest Enemy]

As noon approached, Julia was busy in the kitchen with the maid, preparing lunch. Suddenly, the phone rang, causing Julia to instinctively shrink her neck; the bowl she was stirring with eggs nearly slipped from her hands.

These past few days, she developed a mild case of phone ringing anxiety. After that night when Elisabeth not only rejected Eric's request but hung up on him mid-sentence, Julia felt a wave of apprehension every time the phone rang, worrying it might be Eric calling to confront her.

In fact, from the very next day, Julia considered calling Eric herself to tell him she no longer wanted that role. Although Eric could be intolerable at times, she understood deep down that everything she had in Hollywood was thanks to him. He simply wanted her to let go of a role that wasn't all that significant -- his request wasn't unreasonable at all.

However, as days passed, Julia never managed to make that call. Inside, she secretly hoped Eric would call her again and say some sweet nothings to charm her... well, that possibility seemed slim, and more likely, he would sternly reprimand her, at which point she would easily agree to drop the role.

The phone rang several more times without anyone answering. Seeing Julia dazed, holding the mixer and stirring the eggs mechanically, the maid finally spoke up, "Miss Roberts, the phone has been ringing for a while."

Julia snapped back to reality and handed the mixed eggs to the maid, walking out of the kitchen. "Hey, Liz, Drew, the phone has been ringing! Why didn't you answer?"

After calling out, she glanced towards the living room and saw a pile of scripts scattered around, but the two ladies were nowhere to be found. Straining her ears, she caught murmurs from outside; it seemed Elisabeth and Drew were playing badminton in the backyard. Julia then walked over to a nearby extension and casually picked up the receiver.

"Why did it take you so long to answer? I'm outside your house; let me in," that familiar direct tone rang through the receiver before she could even reply.

"Ah, Eric! Uh... okay, I'm coming!" Julia hurriedly hung up the phone and made her way to the door.

She opened it to find a plain black Chrysler parked outside -- not particularly eye-catching -- but she immediately recognized Eric in sunglasses behind the wheel. The car rolled into the driveway, and Julia closed the door behind her, noticing that Eric had already parked and stepped out.

"What have you been doing? It took you forever to answer!" Eric asked casually, handing her a briefcase as he rummaged for his mobile phone.

Julia took the bag into her hands and explained, "I didn't notice the ringing."

"Oh," Eric said nonchalantly while closing the car door. Then he continued, "Are you home alone? I thought Liz and Drew were here."

"They're in the backyard," Julia pointed towards the back of the villa as Eric turned to walk towards the house, and she quickly followed him.

"It smells fantastic; looks like I arrived just in time for lunch," Eric remarked.

Mary, the middle-aged maid, overheard and crept her head into the living room curiously. Not immediately recognizing Eric, she quickly retreated, adhering to the strict confidentiality clause of her employment, which forbade her from prying into her employer's privacy or sharing it, or else risk facing severe consequences.

Julia placed the briefcase aside, opting not to join Eric on the sofa. She felt slightly apprehensive and said, "I'll go call them."

...

Upon seeing Julia reappear, Elisabeth, who had just missed Drew's serve, set down her badminton racket. "It's time for lunch; I'm done," she declared. "Julia, I still think we should turn this place into a tennis court; badminton is just too light and boring."

For once, Julia didn't argue back. "Eric is here."

Elisabeth looked confused. "What?"

Drew dropped her racket and dashed into the house. Elisabeth watched Drew's retreating figure and shrugged. "Okay, I get it; her master has arrived."

Julia let out a small laugh and playfully tapped Elisabeth's shoulder. "Watch it! You might end up saying it in a way that Drew hears."

"What if she does? Maybe she'll be happy!" Elisabeth replied casually, then lowered her voice, "So, Eric, how did it go?"

"I... didn't really look closely. Who knows if he's angry? After all, you were the one who hung up on him," Julia said.

"I did it for you! You need to take some responsibility!" Elisabeth shot back in a tone that suggested she thought Julia was being unreasonable.

With Eric not present, Julia quickly retorted. "If you weren't feeling guilty, why ask that?"

"I'm not guilty! It's just... that guy is insufferable," Elisabeth snapped, casting a glance at the villa's entrance where Drew had vanished. Immediately, she pulled Julia in for a quick embrace and whispered, "Sweetheart, we must unite against him! We absolutely cannot back down; this isn't just about a role -- it's about our dignity as women."

Julia squirmed free from Elisabeth's hug. "Stop! Eric is right here; if he sees us, it'll be a disaster!"

"Let him see! That'll make him completely give up!" Elisabeth said defiantly.

The two women stepped into the villa, where they found Drew cozied up beside Eric, whispering something in his ear.

...

Seeing them enter, Eric looked up and said, "Julia, once lunch is ready, let the maid take the day off. We have matters to discuss that shouldn't involve outsiders."

Elisabeth was about to reflexively argue, but Julia gently pulled her sleeve, urging her to be quiet.

"I'll tell Mary," Julia affirmed.

Lunch was prepared quickly, and the maid, obeying Julia's orders, left the villa without protest.

"I'm telling you, Eric, this time we absolutely won't back down," Elisabeth declared, chin up, as she faced Eric at the table.

As Eric sliced into his steak, he glanced at her with a sly grin. "No problem; I have plenty of experience managing stubborn women."

"You, you... if you dare do that, I'll call the police!" Elisabeth shot back immediately.

Meanwhile, Julia recalled the events of that night, her cheeks warming, as some unexplainable anticipation grew inside her.

Yet that anticipation left Julia feeling somewhat frightened. She knew all too well that this feeling was entirely abnormal; thus she swiftly stated, "Eric, I'm not doing Hook anymore. I'll call Kepler in the afternoon to withdraw from the project. You can offer it to anyone else."

Eric raised an eyebrow at Elisabeth, who slammed her cutlery onto the table, glaring at him. She shot Julia a disdainful look, then stood up abruptly. "I'm full; you two can enjoy your meal."

With that, she exited the dining room and made her way upstairs.

Julia thought that with lunch over, Eric would achieve his goal and leave. Yet, to her surprise, he had no intention of departing. He lingered until both she and Drew had cleaned up the dishes.

...

Finally, when the two women emerged, Eric, who had been watching TV in the living room, said, "Go get Liz. I have something to discuss with you both."

As Julia nodded, Eric stood up. "Forget it; I'll go."

"Eric, don't... don't bully Liz," Julia said hesitantly, watching him walk toward the stairs.

Eric gestured reassuringly at her and went upstairs. Since he had been there once before, he was aware of where their rooms were. He stopped at the second door on the left, knocked twice, and pushed it open. Upon seeing Elisabeth lying at an angle, hiding her face in the pillows, he whispered, "Liz, are you asleep?"

Hearing his voice, Elisabeth flipped over, hugging the white pillow to her chest as she glared at him. "Hmph! You jerk! I don't want to talk to you."

"Enough of this! Come downstairs and eat something; I have something to say," Eric said, gently pulling the pillow from her embrace.

Elisabeth, petulant, snatched the pillow back, cradling it once more. "Didn't you achieve your purpose? What's left to discuss?"

"If this was just about the role in Hook, I wouldn't be here. There's something else very important I need to discuss; come downstairs and listen."

"I'm in a bad mood today; I don't want to hear it," Elisabeth whined, stretching out her voice as she kicked her legs in frustration, sending her sandals flying onto the floor.

Seeing her resolve not to budge, Eric couldn't help but think of an ostrich with its head buried in the sand.

...

"Have you read this book?" Once he successfully 'persuaded' Elisabeth downstairs, the four of them gathered in the living room, and Eric retrieved a book from his briefcase, placing it before them.

Elisabeth glanced at the cover. "I haven't read it. Why'd you bring this book? Even if you're trying to get the rights to make a movie, what do you need us three for? I'm telling you right now, we're choosing the script ourselves -- absolutely will not let you interfere one bit," she answered defiantly, not wanting to show any weakness in front of Eric.

Eric merely smiled, explaining, "This book narrates a story from the Civil War period about a lieutenant named John Dunbar, who gets injured and is sent to the West to guard a post. He interacts with the local Native Americans. Read it when you have time; the writing is excellent, and it's important for you all."

The three women focused their attention on the book as Elisabeth added, "I don't understand. Can you clarify?"

"Actually, this book was originally a script, written back in 1980. It was initially called something like Knight X; I can't quite remember the exact title. Kevin Costner got the script from the author Michael Blake in 1986, but after years of searching, he couldn't find a production company to back it.

About a year ago, Michael Blake, at Kevin Costner's suggestion, turned the original script into a novel called Dances with Wolves. With the novel selling well, a small production company finally showed interest in turning it into a film. But even then, they had trouble finding a director willing to take on the project, so Kevin had to step in, write, direct, and star in the film himself.

From what I gathered, the movie was completed last year. Because of his insistence on perfection, Kevin spent all the initial $15 million budget, and when the little production company refused to invest more, he had to chip in another $3 million out of his own pocket. Then the film faced issues with distribution; none of the major studios were interested in handling it. It wasn't until recently that it found a distributor in Orion Pictures. You've heard of them, right?"

Elisabeth nodded. "Yeah, but what's your point?"

"I'm stating a fact: from the start of its production until now, this film has never been perceived favorably. That's actually very beneficial for what you all plan to do."

Elisabeth seemed to understand but asked, "So, you're optimistic about the film?"

"Yes, but I arrived too late; the small company producing the film signed an agreement with Orion just over a month ago. They plan a limited release by the end of the year, going for Oscar nods first, hoping to leverage awards to garner more attention before gradually recouping their investment through cinema and home video sales.

The important takeaway here is that this film poses a significant threat to The Silence of the Lambs. You should understand that the Oscars typically show bias against horror films; if there's any viable alternative, the Oscars will never award a horror movie."

Elisabeth remained confident about The Silence of the Lambs. Hearing Eric say this, she asked with confusion, "If this film is as good as you say, why wouldn't anyone distribute it?"

"High-quality films don't always translate to box office success. Just take a look at the past Oscar winners -- you'll see tons of micro-budget films winning awards; many films that were doubted before their release became very successful once they hit theaters. Of course, there are also plenty of counterexamples, so it's understandable that distributors wouldn't want to risk it.

What I'm saying is that Orion has positioned this film as an Oscar contender. From the novel's perspective, the film's theme is about the racial integration of white settlers and Native Americans, a topic that often attracts Oscar's attention. Plus, Orion has substantial experience in Oscar campaigning. Therefore, if you don't take action, this film will undoubtedly become The Silence of the Lambs' biggest threat at next year's Oscars."

*****

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