Chapter 65: Scripts

At night, at Arthur's house in North Ridge.

"Arthur, was that man just now the lead actor from Sleeping with the Enemy?" Jennifer Aniston asked, holding onto Arthur.

"Yes, British actor Hugh Grant. He's one of the foreign actors I have high hopes for," Arthur said and kissed Jennifer Aniston.

After some time, Jennifer Aniston was lying in bed, propping her head up. She stroked Arthur's hair and said, "I'm about to go to Louisiana for a shoot, and I need to go back to New York first. I won't be able to stay by your side."

"Okay, I have to leave California too. I'll come find you in New York," Arthur said, pulling Jennifer Aniston into his arms. "Let's rest."

The next day, after dropping Jennifer Aniston off at the airport, Arthur went to Tracy Jacobs' office at ITA.

"I inquired for you. The Italian movie script you wanted, Scent of a Woman, they agreed to sell it for $150,000," Tracy Jacobs said. Arthur had previously commissioned her to purchase the remake rights to a 1970s Italian film, Profumo di Donna.

He's about to go shoot The Silence of the Lambs, a thriller, so why does he need an art film script?

"$150,000!" Arthur thought for a moment. "Agree to their terms. Also, Lawrence Kasdan has a script called The Bodyguard. Though Lawrence Kasdan is a famous screenwriter, I heard The Bodyguard was rejected dozens of times. I want to buy it, so get in touch and negotiate a price!"

Arthur had wanted to develop the movie that gave Al Pacino the Best Actor Oscar, Scent of a Woman, which is a remake of the old Italian film Profumo di Donna.

As for The Bodyguard, Arthur remembered it as a future blockbuster starring Kevin Costner. The script existed for a long time, but no one had faith in it!

Tracy Jacobs nodded. "Are you starting to stockpile scripts now?"

Arthur nodded, smiling, "You wouldn't expect Galaxy Pictures to only make my own scripts, and I want the adaptation rights to some novels too. But I lack resources."

"Michael Crichton's newly published bestseller Jurassic Park, everyone knows it's going to be huge. I want it too. Any chance?"

Tracy Jacobs rubbed her temples, her lips twitching. "Arthur, stop joking. Michael Crichton has been preparing this novel for years."

"Last year, he sent the draft directly to the six major studios for competitive bidding. Each studio had its own plans."

Arthur shrugged. "So, without money and fame, I have to look for scripts others ignore."

"Okay, I'll contact them as soon as possible," Tracy Jacobs said, looking at Arthur. "I got you an audition for Thelma & Louise. The director is willing to give you a chance. Why did you decline?"

Arthur sighed. "Not a good fit. Geena Davis is 13 years older than me, and there's a bed scene. Also, I thought the pay would be higher, but it's only $6,000."

Tracy Jacobs was exasperated. "Who cares about the pay for such a role? People offer to pay the crew for a part like this."

"Forget it, it's just a cameo," Arthur said nonchalantly. "I need to visit the set of The Silence of the Lambs in Pennsylvania these days. By the time Sleeping with the Enemy wraps up, keep an eye on Jurassic Park. I'm quite curious."

Arthur knew Jurassic Park was directed by Steven Spielberg, and Universal obtained the adaptation rights by agreeing to fund Schindler's List.

However, Spielberg was currently preparing the fantasy adventure movie Hook and couldn't focus on Jurassic Park.

If Galaxy Pictures volunteered to support Spielberg in shooting Schindler's List, could they perhaps stop Spielberg from making Jurassic Park?

No one wanted to invest in Schindler's List because no studio saw potential in such a movie.

But Arthur knew that Schindler's List could win favor from the Jewish community and be a critically and financially successful film.

Schindler's List is adapted from the novel Schindler's Ark. Spielberg had acquired the adaptation rights early on and approached the Polish-Jewish French director Roman Polanski, who declined.

Spielberg then asked renowned director Martin Scorsese to direct, but Spielberg regretted it this year. As a Jew, he deeply wanted to direct the film about the Holocaust himself.

Consequently, Spielberg exchanged his upcoming thriller-revenge project, a remake of Cape Fear, with Scorsese to regain the directorial rights to Schindler's List.

Schindler's List had been looking for investors. Although Universal had a special relationship with Spielberg, they didn't believe in the film's prospects!

In the afternoon, Arthur arrived at the set of Sleeping with the Enemy in Burbank.

"We'll wrap in half a month. Then we'll enter post-production. It should be done by late July or early August," Director Joseph Ruben explained, assuming Arthur was worried about the film's progress.

Arthur shook his head. "The release of Sleeping with the Enemy is scheduled for November. There's enough time. I need to go to Pittsburgh. Any problems here that need solving?"

"Problems?" Joseph Ruben thought and shook his head. "No real issues."

"That's good," Arthur said. The set had various production managers commissioned by Orion, so Arthur could leave with peace of mind.

Arthur quickly paid $150,000 for the Profumo di Donna script, and Tracy Jacobs contacted the owners of the The Bodyguard script for a price.

In a Pittsburgh hotel, Arthur received a call from Tracy Jacobs. "Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars? For a script rejected 66 times? Can't it be cheaper?"

"$250,000 is the final offer. However, Lawrence Kasdan agreed to help revise the script for a low fee. The script is slightly outdated."

Arthur thought, "I'm a screenwriter myself, and I can make the changes. Buy it for $250,000!"

Did he still want to earn an adaptation fee from me?

Galaxy Pictures' strategy of stockpiling scripts relied on funding. In no time, Arthur spent $400,000!

*****

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