The taxi came to a stop, and Luc Besson and Jean Reno stepped out one after the other, glancing at the villa. This must be the place.
"This is truly a crazy situation, isn't it, Jean? I'm actually following the lead of a little girl, eagerly coming all the way from Paris to be here," Besson remarked.
"But Luc, you're a madman yourself. All geniuses are mad, aren't they? Maybe this little girl is a madman too," Reno replied with a casual shrug.
"Let's hope the leading lady she mentioned doesn't disappoint me," Besson laughed as he strode toward the entrance, where an elderly butler was already waiting.
"Mr. Luc Besson and Mr. Jean Reno?" the butler inquired.
"Yes," Besson and Reno both nodded politely.
"Please come in. The young lady has been expecting you for some time," the butler said, opening the door for them.
"Young lady?" Besson mused as he walked, casually observing his surroundings. A beautiful garden, a luxurious villa, a butler, and a young lady—seems like the rumors were true. Hopefully, she's not difficult to deal with.
"Hello, Mr. Luc Besson and Mr. Jean Reno." An elderly man was already waiting for them in the living room, with a refined-looking middle-aged man at his side.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Mason," Besson said as he and Reno took their seats.
"Yes, but this has nothing to do with me," the old man laughed, waving his hand before introducing the man beside him. "This is Mr. Jack Sparrow. He just arrived from Los Angeles yesterday and is my granddaughter's agent. He'll be handling the negotiations with you, so I'll leave you to it."
After the old man left the room, Sparrow stood up and shook hands with Besson, who cleared his throat and was about to speak when a girl's voice came from upstairs, "Are Mr. Besson and Mr. Reno here?"
Besson and Reno looked up to see a cute and pretty girl descending the stairs, a smile on her face. Though she seemed very young, there was a subtle sense of maturity about her, especially in her emerald green eyes, which seemed to speak volumes—a mix of innocence, a hint of confusion, and a touch of sadness.
She's Mathilda. She is Mathilda! Besson immediately discarded all his reservations from the phone call yesterday. To him, this girl was undeniably the perfect choice for the leading role.
The girl approached Besson and extended her hand. "I'm glad you could come. I'm Catherine Mason."
"I had to come; otherwise, I'd be sued for copyright infringement," Besson shrugged.
"I assume you've made all the necessary preparations?" Catherine asked with a playful smile.
Though they had discussed this over the phone yesterday, Besson still felt a bit embarrassed. After all, starting to work on a project without the original author's authorization was clearly problematic.
"You see, when you sent the script to Jean, there was no return address, so we couldn't contact you," Besson explained with a wry smile. What kind of situation was this? You send a script to Reno but don't include an address—what's that supposed to mean? If it weren't for Roger finding you, if Reno hadn't seen 'The Parent Trap,' if Amanda didn't happen to know that Hollywood had a child prodigy, would you have waited until the film was released to sue us for copyright infringement? Were you playing a joke on us or what?
"Alright, I was joking. The script was sent out by accident. I hadn't finished it yet, and I'm sure you noticed that the last third of it is written more like a novel. So, if that caused you any trouble, I apologize," Catherine said sincerely, relieved that she had already found Natalie.
Besson wanted to ask, since you knew Reno's address, why didn't you write a letter to retrieve it? But he thought better of it and decided not to complicate things, so he returned to the main topic. "Let's not dwell on that. Before we start negotiations, may I ask what inspired you to write this script, Miss Mason?"
As expected, her age was an issue. Catherine sighed inwardly, but she had already prepared her answer. "I just wanted to write a fairy tale—a fairy tale about a hitman. I didn't think much beyond that. But after watching many films about hitmen, I became curious about their lives, so I wanted to write about a very pure hitman. As for the leading lady, she wasn't part of the original idea because I didn't know what kind of person the love interest of such a pure hitman would be until I watched 'Lolita.' That's when the character of Mathilda came to me because I found it intriguing. That's about it."
"I must say, Miss Mason, you have quite an extensive range of reading," Besson said, slightly surprised.
"It's not unusual. My favorite activities are drawing, music, reading, and writing. Everyone says I'm quite precocious," the young girl replied with a mischievous smile.
"So," Besson glanced at Reno before continuing, "from your drawings, we can tell that you based the character of Léon on Jean. Why do you think he's suitable for this role? By the way, your drawings are beautiful."
"It's just a feeling. After watching 'The Big Blue,' I thought Mr. Reno would be perfect for a character who seems rough and stoic on the outside but is actually very sensitive. By the way, Mr. Reno's nose looks even more distinctive in person than it does on screen," Catherine quipped with a grin, handing over a notebook and pen she had prepared in advance.
"Could I trouble you for an autograph, Mr. Reno?" The young girl blinked, causing Besson to chuckle.
"You're quite charming, Miss Mason." Reno smiled as he took the notebook and pen. Just like the previous pages filled with autographs, he wrote a short message before signing his name.
"Now, shall we discuss the details with Mr. Sparrow?" Besson asked with a smile.
"Of course, but could I see the full script first?" Catherine asked.
"Oh, no problem." Besson pulled a bound copy of the script from his briefcase and handed it to her. "I already had a rough concept for a hitman story, so I incorporated that into the revisions. I don't think there should be any major issues."
Hearing this, Catherine was internally startled—her unexpected intervention had come just in time. She quickly turned her attention to the script in her hands. It didn't take her long to go through it. The script was mostly unchanged, as the version she remembered was already the best and most popular. However, Besson had added some details to the relationship between Léon and Mathilda, including the infamous deleted scene.
The deleted scene refers to a moment in the original "Léon: The Professional" where Besson had conceived of a scene to depict the closeness between the two characters: Mathilda is taking a bath, and Léon naturally walks in to hand her clothes, which Mathilda accepts without hesitation. However, this scene was opposed by Portman's parents and thus never filmed, earning it the title of the "deleted scene." Now, Catherine had no intention of letting that scene be included, so she decisively crossed it out of the script before handing it back. "Aside from this scene, everything else is fine."
Besson looked at the crossed-out part and was about to say something when Catherine cut him off, "Mr. Besson, the protagonist is just a young girl over ten years old."
"Alright, you're the writer," Besson shrugged, but then added, "So, may I invite you to play this role, Miss Mason?"
The young girl frowned and put away her smile. "Mr. Besson, I believe I made myself clear on the phone yesterday."
"I don't mean to offend you, Miss Mason, but in my opinion, you're the perfect choice for Mathilda. You might not see it that way, but I'm asking you to trust my judgment as a director," Besson said sincerely.
Catherine was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "Did you bring my drawings?"
Besson immediately pulled out several pages of sketches from the script and placed them on the coffee table. Catherine picked up the one of the girl sitting by the window, looked at it for a moment, then walked over to the front door. Besson followed her.
"In a way, this script was written for her," Catherine said softly, holding up the drawing and gazing at the girl depicted in it. Even after all these years, she could still draw her from memory with remarkable accuracy.
"Wait a minute, Miss Mason, didn't you just say that in the original script, there was no…"
"These sketches were made after I finalized the script," Catherine explained without further elaboration, pointing to the lower right corner of the drawing. "This is the date the drawing was completed."
Besson leaned in for a closer look. Among the colored pencil lines, he could just make out the date: October 1989. He looked at the young girl in confusion. "And then?"
"I just met her in person yesterday," Catherine replied softly, a trace of bewilderment flashing in her green eyes.
It took Besson several seconds to process what she was saying, and then he blurted out, "Impossible!"
The sound of his exclamation caught the attention of Sparrow and Reno, who both looked over in surprise.
"I'm telling the truth," Catherine said calmly, her gaze sharp and unwavering. "I can handle the entire film's score and theme song—don't doubt my ability—and I'll do it for free."
Besson understood the unspoken message. If he didn't comply with her terms, everything was off the table. In the past, as a renowned director, he would have walked away from such demands. But this time, his curiosity was piqued. A girl she had never met, yet could draw with such accuracy? It was beyond belief, but he could see Catherine's sincerity.
He sighed and finally said, "Alright, let's have her audition. Is that acceptable?"
After a moment of silence, Catherine also sighed lightly. "Fine."