The next day.
Zucker, still buzzing with excitement over a genius idea, arrived at the company early in the morning, ready to take his copycat plans all the way.
But to his surprise, he ran into Charlize Theron.
"Hey, Charlize. It's been over half a month, and you're still as beautiful as ever." Zucker had a talent for doling out compliments.
"Zucker, you're still as handsome as ever, too."
There was no denying that Charlize Theron, nicknamed "Charlize the Empress," was gorgeous. Today she wore a sky-blue blouse that showed off her generous figure to full effect.
Of course, the moment Zucker remembered her dating criteria—"lacking a father's love and wanting a boyfriend who could be like a dad"—he lost interest.
"Uh... What brings you here today?" Zucker asked curiously.
"Ohhh..."
Charlize put on an exaggeratedly disappointed expression. "Zucker, you've really let me down. We agreed we were friends, but you've actually forgotten that I'm the spokesperson for SpongeBob House. I'm here today to shoot an ad for them."
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I'll make it up to you by treating you to lunch later, okay?" Zucker said with a wave.
"Fine, I forgive you. You are the big boss, after all."
Charlize smiled happily.
Clearly, things had been going very well for her lately.
She never would have expected Run Lola Run, in which she starred, to gross more than ten million dollars. For a newcomer like her, that was a major credit to have on her résumé.
On top of that, she had caught the eye of Creative Artists Agency, one of America's biggest talent agencies, and successfully signed with them. Word was that the agency was currently looking for suitable movie roles for her.
"Then congratulations are in order. Hmm, it looks like you'll have to pay for lunch."
Zucker was pretty crafty.
One quick congratulations, and he'd scored himself a fancy meal.
Of course, when Zucker heard she had signed with CAA, he was happy for her—and proud of himself, too. The more famous Charlize became, the better it was for SpongeBob. After all, she was its spokesperson, and she was signed on for life.
The two of them chatted a little longer.
The mood was quite pleasant.
Before long, a Wald Pictures cameraman arrived and interrupted their conversation. Charlize had come in to shoot an ad, after all.
"We'll talk later," Zucker said with a smile and a wave.
After stepping into Victor's office, Zucker first asked about the progress on the script adaptation.
"Boss, the script is still being adapted. I expect it to be finished within a week. Of course, once we've settled on a director, I'll need to discuss it with him before we can finalize it," Victor said slowly.
Although Hollywood was a producer-driven industry where producers could, in principle, decide everything, including the final script, a small company like Wald Pictures still showed great respect for its directors' work. After all, a director could grow into a major talent and bring the company even greater profits. Harvey Weinstein, for example, had made a fortune after discovering Quentin Tarantino.
"Good. Hmm, have you assigned someone to register the script's copyright with the guild and the Copyright Office?" Zucker pressed.
"I had Martha take care of it first thing this morning."
"Have you found a director?"
"Not yet, but I've started looking."
Victor's presence certainly made things much easier for Zucker.
"Heh, Victor, I actually have a few candidates in mind," Zucker said with a smile.
"Uh..."
Victor couldn't help feeling curious. He'd worked with Zucker for over half a year and knew that, young as he was, Zucker never said things without a reason.
Zucker mysteriously pulled a few sheets of paper from his briefcase. Each one contained information about a film director.
Film: Wrong Turn. Proposed director: M. Night Shyamalan.
Film: Hard Candy. Proposed director: Zack Snyder.
Film: Juno. Proposed director: Richard Linklater.
This time, Zucker was clearly thinking big. He planned to shoot three films at once and break into the American market in one fell swoop.
M. Night Shyamalan's home.
"Wald Pictures? You want me to direct a movie?"
Shyamalan, an Indian American, stared at the visiting Zucker and Martha Hopkins in confusion and disbelief.
"Yes, we're certain you're the director we're looking for," Martha said earnestly.
???
There was no doubt about it: M. Night Shyamalan was completely bewildered.
Yes, he wanted to become a director and was working toward that goal, but he'd never imagined an opportunity would come along so suddenly.
He was only twenty-six!
He was incredibly young, and he hadn't officially directed a theatrical film yet. Student films didn't count.
Though he was thrilled, he still forced himself to keep calm and asked, "May I ask why you chose me?"
At that, Zucker and Martha exchanged smiles.
"Why couldn't it be you? Let me introduce him: Zucker Wald, the owner of our company, as well as a genius director, screenwriter, and producer. He's only nineteen, and his first film, Run Lola Run, is currently showing across America, with a box office total of fourteen million dollars so far. It was our boss who strongly recommended you to direct Wrong Turn," Martha said, emphasizing each word.
A genius director?
A screenwriter and producer, too?
Run Lola Run?
Fourteen million dollars at the box office?
Martha's barrage of four claims hit Shyamalan like a devastating blow.
Shyamalan immediately turned his gaze to the young Zucker.
Zucker sat on the sofa with a straight face, then pretended to scold Martha. "How many times have I told you? I'm just an ordinary young director, not some genius."
There was nothing like the feeling of showing off!
That was right—Zucker was practically bursting with delight inside.
In the end, M. Night Shyamalan accepted Wald Pictures' offer and became the director of Wrong Turn 1. They tentatively agreed on a fee of $150,000.
M. Night Shyamalan was indeed young, and he'd never directed a theatrical film. But he was also the screenwriter and director of The Sixth Sense, which would rank second at the North American box office in 1999. He was a future dark horse.
In other words, by signing him now, Zucker would also get the several hundred million dollars The Sixth Sense would make at the box office.
At the set of a music video.
Zack Snyder, the great director behind 300 Spartans, Man of Steel, and DC Justice League, was currently just an ordinary music video director.
When Wald Pictures brought him an offer, he accepted without hesitation.
As he put it, "Every music video director wants to become a film director. I'm no exception. An opportunity like this doesn't come along often!"
And so, Zack Snyder officially became the director of Hard Candy, with a fee of $150,000. That was right—his directing fee was the same as M. Night Shyamalan's.
After all, both of them were worth Zucker's effort to recruit. Anyone who could make him money was a good partner. He couldn't play favorites.
Before you continue