[Chapter 139: This Was Obvious]
After learning about Eric's invitation, John Aniston agreed almost without a second thought. Among soap opera actors and television producers, very few would willingly choose the former. In Hollywood, whether it was screenwriters, actors, or even the upper-echelon directors, once their careers reached a certain level, they always tended to move towards producing.
To make this happen, John Aniston also resigned from his position at NBC and significantly reduced his role in the soap opera. Though he was already over fifty, about the same age as Jeffrey, his ambition was no less than when he was younger.
...
Even though the box office profits from the two movies hadn't come back at all, thanks to Eric's two hefty loans, Firefly Films wasn't lacking in money. The budget for each episode of the series was around $200,000, and the total investment for the production was only $5 million, which was just a fraction of what had been invested in the films.
With John Aniston's involvement, the project quickly got underway in early May. The crew rented two massive soundstages at 20th Century Fox for basic setups, which were mostly done at the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles.
Although Eric didn't want Fox involved in the television series, it would have seemed too deliberate to seek out Warner or Columbia just for soundstage rentals. During one meeting, Eric had suggested building a dedicated soundstage, but he faced joint opposition from Jeffrey and John, both of whom believed that this was too costly and not worth it, so Eric had to drop the idea for the time being.
On the casting side, Eric fantasized about gathering the original six actors; it would have been perfect since they were reuniting five years earlier than last time. By that timeline, the oldest actor, Lisa Kudrow, would only be twenty-six, and the others ranged from twenty to twenty-four. Starting the filming now meant that ten years down the line, they wouldn't noticeably show their age on camera.
The reason the show ended at the tenth season in his past life, although actor salaries played a part, was mostly because the actors' ages no longer fit the classic roles. By the tenth season, Lisa Kudrow was already forty-one and had begun to take on mother roles in movies, so trying to play a goofy character like a younger person would seem incongruous.
Of course, gathering the original six was destined to be nothing more than a dream. Matthew Perry, who through Aniston had played a young, dim-witted thief in Home Alone, was now a leading film star. Getting a Hollywood A-lister to do a sitcom was nothing short of absurd.
As for the others, Eric did have some of their movies stored in his memory, but before this year, he could only recall Courteney Cox from her minor role in a film. The rest were virtually ghosts of the past, making it nearly impossible to find them, so Eric had to patiently begin selecting replacements among the auditioning actors for those five beloved friends.
...
On Sunday, May 10th, the filming came to a close, and if no major accidents occurred in the following week, they would successfully wrap up production. That was why Eric was able to take time today for the final auditions, the last round of selection. Due to Eric's insistence, the crew's first task was actor auditions, so in just ten days, the sets in the two rented Fox stages were still only in initial build-out even as they moved into the final round of casting.
Eric planned to insert classic shots from mid-May to mid-June into the movie, while the actual filming for the television series wouldn't begin until at least July after its premiere. According to Fox's schedule, the series premiere was set for early September, just as the summer movie block ended and the fall television season began.
Additionally, Eric estimated he would only spend two weeks personally shooting the first two episodes of the series. After that, he would have to hustle on the pre-production of two more films for the second half of the year and take care of distribution for three more films, making it nearly impossible for him to find any downtime.
...
At eight in the morning, Eric walked into the office and saw a number of men and women waiting in the hallway. These people clearly knew Eric; after he appeared, they all greeted him. Several young women even unabashedly threw meaningful glances his way. Eric nodded in acknowledgment but continued into the audition room.
Until then, he hadn't seen the final round of the casting list, and due to everyone's uncertainty, Eric had to conduct the interviews personally instead of just making simple selections as he did during the casting process.
"Jeffrey, John, good morning," he said as he entered the audition room and spotted Jeffrey and John Aniston talking amongst themselves. They stood up to greet Eric upon his arrival.
"Good morning, Eric."
"Hey, Eric."
Eric took a seat behind a long table, and a blonde assistant approached him, placing a stack of materials in front of him. Leaning in, she introduced, "Mr. Williams, this is the complete list of actors auditioning today, already marked in order."
As she spoke, whether intentionally or unintentionally, her unbuttoned white shirt gave Eric a view he couldn't ignore. He mentally remarked, 'Wow, nice. Can't even wrap a hand around that.' Glancing sideways, he noticed John Aniston visibly displeased with the situation.
The production crew was assembled through John's connections in the TV industry, and the blonde assistant was someone he brought on board due to her experience. With her flirting in front of Jenny's boyfriend, it didn't seem like John would be too pleased, and Eric thought that she likely wouldn't stay long in the crew.
However, perhaps the assistant wasn't fully aware of the relationship dynamics between John Aniston and Eric, or didn't care much, which explained her boldness in flirting with Eric in front of John. With Eric's youth and burgeoning wealth, aspiring actresses in Hollywood would often make their move.
"All right, I got it," Eric said, nodding after the assistant finished her introduction, having sufficiently taken in the offer served to him on a platter.
"By the way, I'm Linda Grant. Mr. Williams, you can just call me Linda," she said, standing straight and unconsciously showcasing her curves wrapped in professional attire.
"Thank you, Miss Grant," Eric said with a smile.
Finally, John Aniston broke in, "Linda, let's get the young folks outside ready for their auditions; we're about to start."
"Right away, Mr. Aniston." Linda nodded and sashayed out of the audition room, striking a pose in her fitted skirt.
"Erm, Eric, just so you know, Linda... is already married. Her husband is the sound technician for the crew," John quietly remarked when Linda was out of earshot.
Eric shrugged innocently, "John, I didn't do anything."
"Eric, while playing the field in Hollywood is common, you'd better be careful not to hurt Jenny; she's actually quite naive."
Eric nodded in acknowledgment, "Don't worry, John; I'll be mindful."
John shook his head, "I honestly wish you'd break it off with Jenny on your own."
Eric quickly rejected the notion, "Unless Jenny wants to leave me, I won't break up with her."
As he spoke, Eric secretly added in his mind that even if she wanted to leave, he would find a way to bring her back. But he dared not say this out loud; otherwise, John Aniston would likely have a fit.
John Aniston couldn't possibly guess Eric's thoughts. After patting Eric on the shoulder, the audition process finally began. Eric got the chance to look down at the list of auditioners.
...
At a glance, he noticed there were no recognizable names among the list of future stars. Considering he hadn't watched many sitcoms in his past life, it was understandable that he wouldn't recognize anyone from the current crop of actors. After all, the twenty-somethings now had very few who would stand a chance at success; by the time the sitcoms became more refined and began to challenge films for status, these actors would be in their thirties or forties, often relegated to minor roles.
Flipping through several long pages of audition lists, he didn't find a familiar name. Haphazardly flipping to the last page, which listed actresses auditioning for the role of Phoebe Buffay, it was only then that he found a name he recognized, one he was quite familiar with: Nicole Kidman. This astonished Eric; how did Nicole Kidman end up auditioning for a television series?
He double-checked the spelling and confirmed it was the correct name, then waved over to Linda, who had just walked back in. The blonde assistant hurried over, "Mr. Williams, is there something you need?"
"Where's the detailed information on the actors? I want to see the materials for the afternoon auditions."
"Please hold on," she replied, stepping out and returning a moment later carrying several folders, "Mr. Williams, here you go."
"Thank you. Just call me Eric," he said while trying to ignore Jeffrey and John's intrigued looks. He quickly searched through the files until he found Nicole Kidman's profile.
Just a quick glance revealed the actress in the photo had brown wavy hair, a round face, striking blue eyes, a prominent sexy nose, and thin lips.
Upon skimming through, he noted that her resume was anchored around an Australian television series, and she'd also featured in a few other TV shows and films. This meant the project that launched Nicole Kidman into Hollywood must have fallen through; could this be the butterfly effect from his own actions?
Pondering on the feeling of the paper, Eric had to admit it was undoubtedly true that since he made headlines entering Hollywood last year, everything had changed in this world. It brought to mind what he'd seen about dominoes -- a single domino tipped over could set off a cascade, illustrating the butterfly effect in vivid detail.
In his memory, Nicole Kidman should have already been in Hollywood by now, having quickly hooked up with Tom Cruise and disrupting his family life to become Mrs. Cruise. Thus, she transitioned from an unknown actress to one of Hollywood's top stars, going on to win Oscar for Best Actress over a decade later.
Considering all these fragmented details, Eric concluded that this woman was undeniably formidable. Among Tom Cruise's former partners, only she had thrived; even after her divorce from Cruise, her career not only showed no decline but rose spectacularly. She made it into the $20 million pay club and eventually snagged an Oscar for Best Actress.
Throughout the morning auditions, Eric found himself increasingly intrigued by this woman.
...
During the lunch break, he caught Linda's eye and gestured to her, leading her out to the stairs at the end of the hallway.
"Eric, what's up?" Linda asked, both curious and a little nervous, as she felt unprepared for anything more.
"Here's the deal, Linda," Eric said, pulling out a piece of paper, "This Nicole Kidman, after she finishes her audition this afternoon, please bring her to my office; I'd like to have a word with her alone."
Linda took the paper, glancing at Nicole Kidman's photo, feeling slightly deflated since this woman was even prettier than her. Nonetheless, she nodded, "Sure, Eric, I'll let her know. Do you... need anything else?"
Eric shook his head honestly, "Nope, that's all."
"Oh," Linda lowered her head, her high heels scraping against the concrete floor. Just as she gathered the courage to say something, she realized Eric had already turned and left.
"That dense guy, he's so... infuriating," she muttered, stamping her foot in disappointment before heading back.
...
By the conclusion of a long afternoon of auditions, the remaining five roles were tentatively filled, and Eric met Nicole Kidman, who auditioned around four in the afternoon. Her performance was flawless -- yet when compared to Lisa Kudrow's character, Nicole appeared strikingly stunning.
The role of Monica Geller had already been assigned to a dark-haired beauty who resembled Courteney Cox slightly. If Pheobe Buffay also got cast as a great beauty, the sitcom would absolutely feel disjointed. So Eric and John, among others, unanimously chose to pass over Nicole Kidman in favor of a more ordinary-looking girl.
...
At five o'clock, auditions wrapped up, and Eric, John Aniston, and others remained in the conference room discussing shooting plans until around seven in the evening when they adjourned.
Eric's mind was swirling with random thoughts when he nearly forgot about the earlier conversation with his assistant. Stepping out of the office building, he suddenly remembered and turned around. It was now dark outside, and he wasn't sure if Nicole Kidman would leave early; but considering this woman's intelligence, it seemed unlikely she'd do that. She would likely be waiting in his office regardless of whether he showed up this evening.
Opening the office door, he found a woman resting on the sofa. The office was dimly lit by the desk lamp, but Eric recognized her immediately. As he stepped inside, she rose to her feet.
"Hello, Miss Kidman," he said as he shut the door and turned on the lights.
"Hello, Mr. Williams," she replied with a soft smile, stepping forward to shake his hand. Eric noticed she was barefoot, her high heels set aside.
What a considerate woman to notice such a detail about height. Eric was just over six feet, and perhaps Nicole was around that height as well. She must have thought that by removing her heels, it would prevent him from feeling uncomfortable.
Eric mused silently as he took his place, "I'm sorry, Miss Kidman, for keeping you waiting; I was in a meeting."
"Not a problem at all, Mr. Williams; you can call me Nicole."
"Sure, Nicole, and you can call me Eric." As he settled into his leather chair, he fell silent and regarded this woman before him keenly.
Nicole didn't seem in any hurry to ask why Eric had asked her to wait. Perhaps she felt it was self-evident, wasn't it?
*****
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