[Chapter 377: Quite Hot]
Eric parked the car and walked towards the set of Point Break, which had set up a perimeter with police tape.
This location was in a community called Fox Hills, southwest of Culver City. Of course, this Fox had nothing to do with Fox Hills; if one had to nitpick, they could only blame the weak naming talent.
The crew recognized Eric immediately and greeted him warmly, lifting the tape to let him through. Ahead was a temporarily blocked-off street corner. Even before reaching the filming site, Eric could smell the acrid fumes from burning gasoline. He navigated around a trailer used for props and saw a gas station nearby, where a few vehicles were still smoking, and several crew members were busily wielding fire extinguishers.
As he scanned the area, Eric quickly spotted Kathryn Bigelow. Her typical appearance was hard to miss. She wore a white baseball cap and a fitted white long-sleeve T-shirt, layered with a black short-sleeve T-shirt. She had on a simple pair of faded jeans, and a small shoulder bag was tied around her waist, giving her a very capable look.
At that moment, Kathryn was discussing the script with the two lead actors, Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, occasionally gesturing with her hands. According to the script, this scene depicted John Utah discovering the identity of the bank robbers, including Bodhi, waiting outside a bank Bodhi had previously scoped out, leading to a chase scene.
One of the assistant directors spotted Eric and rushed over, "Mr. Williams, do you want me to call Ms. Bigelow?"
Eric shook his head, "No need. How's the shooting going?"
"Pretty good. We've already completed seven shots today. Next up is the chase scene between Utah and Bodhi," the assistant director explained.
"Great. Find me a place to rest. I just came by to take a look; I won't disturb her," Eric replied satisfactorily.
"Sure, this way please," the assistant director led Eric to a designated break area, apparently set aside for the actors.
...
A middle-aged man with a full head of silver hair had been sitting and drinking water. He stood up upon noticing Eric. "Mr. Williams, hello."
"Gary, just call me Eric. That last scene must have been tiring," Eric said, smiling as he shook hands.
The silver-haired man was Gary Busey, playing Utah's boss, Angelo Pappas, in the film. Eric had seen plenty of Gary's films in his past life. Interestingly, Gary Busey was much like Virginia Madsen's brother, Michael Madsen, in that both existed in a parallel world where they had participated in numerous Hollywood films but had always seemed to have a weak presence.
"It was fine. I finished my scenes in the morning. Keanu and Patrick are going to have it much tougher; they have a long chase to shoot, and they might not finish today," Gary said with a smile, offering Eric a bottle of water from a nearby box.
Eric took it and pulled up a folding chair to sit next to Gary, casually chatting with him.
...
As Kathryn Bigelow called out for another shot to begin, Eric noticed they were seated in direct view of the director's monitor, about ten meters away. Kathryn still hadn't noticed Eric. Once back behind the monitor, she instructed for the cameras to roll, standing with arms crossed as she focused intently on the scene where Keanu's Utah was in a fight with the masked Patrick Swayze.
Gary and Eric coincidentally stopped their conversation, enjoying the view of the woman's silhouette from afar. Kathryn wasn't just beautiful; she was strikingly attractive, especially with her height of 6'0".
After a moment, Gary turned to see that Eric's gaze was similarly fixated on Kathryn Bigelow. The middle-aged man flashed a toothy grin and said, "Quite hot, don't you think?"
Eric exchanged a glance with Gary, both of them displaying a slightly cheeky smile. "Yeah, quite hot."
Gary seemed to have found a kindred spirit and stated plainly, "Cameron is one lucky bastard."
"Ha, well, this..."
Gary looked back at Kathryn, who was still working on the scene with Utah and Bodhi. The shot hadn't worked, so she walked over to discuss various aspects with the two lead actors. "Eric, believe it or not, I've known Kate for over ten years."
"Wow, I didn't know that," Eric said, surprised.
Gary reflected, "That must have been in 1977, but I can't recall the exact time. I was doing theater on Broadway and would occasionally take film roles. I remember a friend introducing me to Kate because she was looking for a lead for a short film she wanted to make. I can still picture the first time I saw her in a cafe in Manhattan's Soho. She wore a black turtleneck sweater and black jeans, with her brown hair down, looking quite shy, embodying that intelligent vibe typical of artistic young women in Soho. She was not great at socializing; even now, she gets shy around strangers. The moment I saw her, I fell for her like many men did around her."
"And then what happened?" Eric asked, intrigued.
"Later, I starred in her short film, which I think was called The Set-Up, about two men in a standoff. We became good friends. Over the years, we've all hit middle age, but Kate seems to have hardly changed, which drives her female friends crazy with jealousy."
"Just good friends?" Eric inquired.
Gary shrugged, "I got married young, or else I would've pursued her. But chasing her would have been tough; she's a very powerful woman, extremely talented, and has a strong self-control. Deep down, she's a feminist. For years afterward, she stayed single. We all thought she'd remain that way, yet three years ago, she suddenly married Cameron."
"That's quite the heartbreaker," Eric joked.
Gary laughed a few times and nodded honestly, "Of course. Seeing the woman of your dreams marry someone else? That's bound to hurt."
The two shared a chuckle and returned their gaze to Kathryn Bigelow, who was now conferring with the lighting technician. She gestured animatedly, and it seemed the technician had a differing opinion as they debated energetically.
Witnessing this scene, Gary reflected, "It's tough for a woman to break into directing in Hollywood. If it were me, I would've left long ago. She's really persistent."
Eric had no intention of stepping in to help. He trusted Kathryn's strong character; she wouldn't want him to interfere. Seeing her argue with the lighting technician, Eric nodded and said, "That's true. As a director, not only is there a strong need for personal expertise, but the job also demands high stamina. The intensity of the work can be hard for most women. So whether in Hollywood or other film circles, female directors aren't too common."
The two chatted casually for over an hour until it was near noon when the crew paused temporarily for rest and lunch.
...
Kathryn Bigelow finally got the word that Eric was at the set.
"Hey, Eric, what brings you here?" Kathryn cheerfully approached him and gave him a hug.
Eric greeted the two lead actors following Kathryn before responding, "I was passing through and figured I'd stop by."
Kathryn skeptically twirled her finger in the air, "You mean to tell me you're coming from Malibu to Burbank and just 'happened' to stop here?"
Eric rolled his eyes and pointed westward, "Who told you I was going to Burbank? The Firefly team is about three miles west in Playa Vista for a location scout. Firefly plans to set up a studio base there, and I slipped away from the group."
Kathryn nodded, looking toward the west. She asked, "Aren't you needed over there?"
"Of course, I let the professionals handle the specialized stuff. Being there wouldn't help much. I just need to see the results they produce."
Gary chimed in, "Hey Eric, Kathryn, lunch is ready! Let's eat and chat."
The dining area for the crew was at a sizable restaurant not far away. This showed a stark contrast to the crews across the ocean. When Eric had participated in film shoots in the past, lunches often consisted of grabbing a box lunch from logistics and finding a random spot to eat.
This kind of dining approach meant higher costs for the production crew, but these details were meticulously outlined in contracts under the watchful eyes of Hollywood's various guilds. If you wanted to make films in Hollywood properly, compromises with the guilds were necessary.
Of course, some could sign special side contracts to change these rules. But this required enough clout and confidence; very few in Hollywood could manage that. As Eric knew, Spielberg was one such person; he could even get actors to sign contracts waiving guild pay standards, offering incredibly low salaries to actors. Yet, most would often choose to compromise just to work with Spielberg.
With Eric's status in Hollywood, he had the grounds to break the rules, but he hadn't yet encountered a situation where it was necessary.
...
After grabbing some lunch, Eric and Kathryn Bigelow found a table to sit, perhaps recognizing that a director and producer had business to discuss, the lead actors in attendance opted not to join their conversation. Although Gary wanted to move over, Patrick Swayze pulled him to their table.
"Little guy, I thought you wouldn't show up to the set for a while," Kathryn called out with a nickname that made Eric cringe.
"As a producer, it's quite reasonable for me to be here, isn't it?"
"Of course, but when it was your time to shine, you were off in New York for over a month. By the time you got back, filming had already started," Kathryn replied, half-complaining.
"That was because I had some important business to attend to. No worries; I'll be around the set more often from now on."
Kathryn seemed to have stepped outside of a certain circle, as she didn't inquire about how much Eric earned like others did. She merely said, "Aren't you supposed to be preparing your own film?"
Eric swallowed his food and wiped his mouth, "I've decided to take it slow. I have to leave some room for the other film companies, right?"
"That's quite... bold," Kathryn laughed. Yet, recalling Eric's previous film success, she realized his extravagant claims surprisingly held some merit. According to box office predictions, the summer release Ghost was the only film of that year projected to cross the $200 million mark.
"By the way, aren't you directing Home Alone this year anymore?"
Eric shook his head, "I've completely handed that project over to someone else. I won't interfere anymore, at most, I'll just have a producer credit."
"I saw the second one; it was quite entertaining."
"Thanks for the compliment," Eric responded.
"However, I found your earlier films lacked depth. I believe films should convey something to the audience rather than just provide entertainment. That was my reason for becoming a director. I initially studied painting, but someone told me that film was a more effective way to express one's ideas without the accumulation required for understanding the meaning in paintings."
Eric shook his head, "I don't agree with that. My films have always conveyed various messages to the audience; they just do so in a more subtle way. I believe that's the right way to communicate. Audiences often only see what they want to see, just like there are a thousand interpretations of Hamlet. They only accept the 'Hamlet' that aligns with their viewpoint. If you want to convey a message to the audience, you need to make them resonate with it. That way, even without having to say it outright, they can understand your intentions through your film. Otherwise, even the most cleverly constructed sermon often backfires. Just like the film you're currently shooting, Point Break, I've read the script several times. You want to know what I saw in it?"
*****
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