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"What do you want to eat? I have some…. uhm, chocolates and apples?" Eric asked as he opened his somewhat empty refrigerator.
Stuart Runkle who was sitting on the couch, shook his head and said, "No, eating late at night is not a good habit, but if you have milk, you can give me a glass since drinking milk leads to better sleep at night."
Eric's eyebrows raised as he poured a glass of milk for Stuart and asked, "Where did you learn these things?"
"From books; Eric don't think that just because I'm young I don't understand anything, I'm already seven years old, you know."
Eric laughed and nodded, "Alright, big guy, what were your parents quarrelling about today?"
"Dad resigned to start his own company, and when he told mom, they started to fight. *Sigh* women are really troublesome. When dad was still working there, she would nag him everyday about how the size of the company was too small and that it had no future. Now that dad finally mustered up the courage to resign, mom said he was irresponsible for giving up our only stable income."
Eric sat on the sofa and nonchalantly listened to Stuart's rant as he didn't really care about the Runkles' issues. He chewed on an apple and said with a smile, "I think that you, little fellow, are very smart for someone your age."
Stuart grinned and his eyes sparkled as he heard the compliment. He jumped off the couch, sat down beside Eric and asked, "Eric, are you still filming?"
Eric nodded, "Yeah, it'll be finished soon though, so don't forget to ask your mom to take you to watch it."
"Eric, do you think I can be in a movie?"
"A movie? Stu, how did you suddenly come up with this idea?"
Stuart's eyes glowed with hope as he replied, "I heard that movie stars are paid a lot, so if I became one, I would be able to make a lot of money and mom and dad wouldn't have to fight anymore."
If the Runkles had heard their child's words, they would have certainly felt ashamed.
Eric thought for a bit before he said, "But you're too young now. You may not know, but children are the most difficult to control during filming, and people usually try to minimize their screen time. There was once a director whose child actor started bawling on set, and the entire crew was paralyzed. There's also the California Child Actor's Bill, I think it's better if you wait until you're old enough, maybe when you're eighteen like me."
"C'mon Eric, do you think I'm like those kids? I'll behave, you know. I heard that you're a scriptwriter, you could also write a role for me, please Eric, I would be so grateful to you." Stuart looked at Eric with sparkling eyes.
Although this child was more clever than children his age, he was still a child after all. He was naive enough to think that so long as Eric wrote a role for him, he could be in a movie.
Eric's heart jumped slightly, he sat up and carefully sized up the boy. He had suddenly thought of another child: Macaulay Culkin, the global child superstar from Home Alone.
At this instant, an extremely bold idea involuntarily began to form in Eric's mind. It was still not complete, but he knew that if his plan became a success, he would instantly cross the most difficult stage for filmmakers that involved experience accumulation, age and investment troubles, as well as other factors that stood in the way of his dreams. Although it would not be easy, it would be the cause of regrets if he didn't even attempt it.
He looked at the kid who had unknowingly sat down on his lap and was acting cute; at least with Stuart's precociousness, the movie's biggest uncertainty could be removed.
"Stu, to be honest, I do have a role for you, and it's even the protagonist."
Hearing his words, Stuart raised his tiny head as he asked, "Eric, what's a protagonist?"
"The protagonist is…. the one who takes the biggest paycheck."
"I'll do it! I'll do it!"
"I'll have to get the consent of your parents first, so let's get you home, so I can ask them."
Eric had just walked out of the door while holding Stuart's hand when he heard the sound of the Runkles next door.
"I am warning you, Charlie Runkle, if anything happens to Stu, I'm going to divorce you!"
Charlie Runkle who had been on the losing side during the quarrel, suddenly roared, "Oh shut up bitch! If you hadn't stirred up this quarrel, would Stu have ran away?! Let's go and check the basement, he might be hiding inside."
Mary Runkle was frightened by her husband's sudden shout, as indeed, it was her fault. She started following behind her husband when Eric's voice sounded not far.
"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Runkle, don't worry, Stu is here," Eric said as held Stuart up.
The Runkles were relieved once they saw their child in Eric's arms.
Stuart returned to his parents' side, and once the Runkles heard Eric's words, they promised not to quarrel in front of their children again.
"Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Runkle, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. Stu just told me that he wanted to be in a movie, and I just happened to have a script that is perfectly suited for him. With how clever this little guy is, he would be able to play the role without a problem."
The couple was taken aback. If they didn't know about Eric, they would have probably treated his words as a joke. However, the youth had now even appeared in the newspapers, so although it was sudden, they had some expectations.
The couple had been disappointed with their life, that much could be observed by how often they argued. If their son became a movie star… What followed was obvious.
"Eric, would you tell us a little bit about the movie?"
Eric said, "Of course, it's a comedy about a little boy who finds himself at home alone as his parents have carelessly forgotten him…"
It took him around five minutes to sum up the film's basic plot before he added, "I just had a chat with Stu, and found out that his IQ is probably even higher than what I was hoping for, so if you're not against it, by all means, let him try."
The couple glanced at their son who was sitting nearby, pretending to be well-behaved.
"Daddy, Mommy, I think I can do it, and the story is really great."
"I think you're too young…" Charlie hadn't even finished speaking when he was pinched by his wife.
"Eric, can you let us think about it?"
"No problem," Eric nodded, but added, "But, you have to get back to me as soon as possible. The movie is due for Christmas time, and if it does well, it's likely to become a series. So if you agree to it, Stu will be the main lead."
A series… Even as ordinary people, they knew what it meant: the paycheck would just get higher and higher.
Meanwhile, Eric hadn't found an easy way to tell the Runkles that he would personally direct the movie. The plan hadn't even taken shape and he couldn't be sure it would succeed, but he didn't want to give Home Alone to Fox or any other film company; he was intent on making it fully independently by himself. For someone with only half a foot in the industry's circle, the difficulty of such a challenge could well be imagined.
Back home, Eric's excitement kept him awake as he sat in front of his typewriter and began writing the script for Home Alone while he furiously thought about the specifics of his plan.
The first was money, then actors. Apart from Stuart, the two robbers were the top priority, but Eric didn't plan to invite his past life's Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The two of them were already famous actors and Pesci had even been nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Raging Bull in 1981. With Eric's limited finances, he definitely couldn't afford them.
Eric would have to find TV comedians instead. During the '80s, the status of television and movie actors were like heaven and earth, some movie actors were even ashamed to tell people that they had worked in TV shows.
For the location, Canada would do. It was currently fall in Los Angeles, but northern Canada was sure to have many places with snow.
The other things to watch for would be ...
***
The lights in the room were on the whole night, and as the sunlight began to stream through the windows, Erich stood up and stretched his body.
After a few hours of planning, he put many things down. Home Alone during his past life had had a public budget of $18 million which, from Eric's perspective, went mainly into the actors, director and producer's pay and promotional publicity stunts. The filming alone would only cost a few millions dollars.
As for the publicity, he had his own plans. But no matter how frugal he was, he needed at least $1 million for the shooting.
One million… His paycheck from 17 Again would soon come in, so that was $500,000. Including the remaining royalties from the screenplay, he had around $600,000 in total.
Jurassic Park was also selling like hot cakes, and if he discussed it with Michael Klaus, he would be able to get $200,000 in advance, which left him in need of another $200,000 to fill the remaining gap.
Eric decided to cross the bridge when he got there, and started his preparations instead.