Irene reached for her water glass, only to find it was already empty.
Vera, sitting by the door, noticed and hurried over quietly to take the glass from her.
"So everyone only has reservations about two roles now: 'Queen Bee' Regina and Janis." Irene sat expressionlessly behind the monitor.
The sun had already set, and today's auditions were all over. Most of the roles had been cast, but the two were still being debated.
"I still think Lucy Liu is better suited to play Janis. Her performance in Ally McBeal was charming, and Charlie's Angels is coming out next year, which would give us some good publicity," said the Fox representative.
Irene tapped her fingers on the table. "But her age..." She had nothing against Lucy Liu. On the contrary, she admired how Lucy had made such a successful career in Hollywood despite her distinctly East Asian looks.
"Lucy Liu may not have much of an advantage age-wise, but East Asians naturally look young. With the right hair and makeup, I'm sure she can handle the role."
"All right. What about Regina?" There weren't many candidates for Janis to begin with. The only reason Irene hadn't made a decision was that she didn't want all the conflict to center on Regina.
"Sarah Michelle Gellar has an established fan base, and she's willing to lose weight for the role. She also worked very well with Reese Witherspoon on Cruel Intentions..."
"She was the lead and Reese was in a supporting role then. Is she willing to switch places now? And how much is she asking?"
Those two questions killed the discussion.
In terms of looks alone, Rachel McAdams was far more youthful and radiant than Sarah Michelle Gellar, but the latter was much better known, so each had her own strengths.
Neither of them had played this kind of outrageous bitch before, either, so they were on equal footing in that regard.
The issue now was Sarah's fee. As an established actress with name recognition, she would ask for at least a million dollars. Since she was being offered a supporting role, she'd only demand more to compensate for the lower billing.
If the supporting actress's fee was too high, the lead would start comparing.
That would drive the film's overall cast costs sky-high, making it much harder to build a "close-knit, friendly" team.
"Five hundred thousand dollars. That's the most I'll offer for Regina. You can negotiate with her. If you reach an agreement, she's in; if not, we'll find someone else." Irene stood up without giving the other side a chance to respond. "That's enough for today. Coordinate start dates with the actors we've cast. For the roles you're still unsure about, give me an answer within three days."
Before three days had passed, Fox sent word that Sarah Michelle Gellar had withdrawn from the audition due to health reasons. That was the official story; in reality, they hadn't agreed on her fee, leaving Rachel to land the role.
Once the entire cast was confirmed and Irene's funding was in place, CAA and Fox held a joint signing ceremony before the official start of filming.
Unlike the low-key, overlooked start of production on Legally Blonde, Fox and CAA invited nearly fifty reporters to a press conference, all for publicity.
"Reese was always my first choice. The first time we worked together, her sincerity and hard work impressed me deeply. So when I created my second project, I didn't hesitate to write her into it. She even cleared her schedule for me. We make the perfect team..."
Before she went onstage, the publicist had prepared her for the questions she might face, so she could handle them with ease.
"This is a story of brutal competition at school. I'm sure you'll recognize experiences like your own in it."
The event was lively, with one question after another. Reese was besieged by questions just as much as Irene was.
While things were bustling on their side, some people weren't so happy.
In the conference room of MGM's head of marketing, the ashtray in front of Julia Roberts was nearly full. Ulysses Mayer stood up and opened the window.
Just then, an assistant came in and set this week's box office figures on the table.
Julia picked them up first, quickly finding the numbers she wanted.
Ulysses hadn't even turned around when he heard a sharp smack. A sheet of paper had been slapped down on the table.
Newspapers and sheets of paper were scattered all over the table and floor. He motioned for the assistant to leave, then, once the office door had closed again, resigned himself to picking them up.
The first report he grabbed read that Runaway Bride had earned $11.03 million the previous week, ranking fifth. Right after it came Legally Blonde, with $8.56 million, ranking sixth.
Runaway Bride might have earned $2.47 million more, but it was only in its fourth week of release, while Legally Blonde was already in its sixth.
No wonder Julia was so angry.
"Darling, at least you're still ahead, aren't you?" His reassurance sounded painfully weak.
"Do you know what that bitch Nicole Kidman said behind my back? That I'm old and it's only natural I can't compete with two young girls." Julia ground her teeth and crushed her cigarette butt into the ashtray. "She and her short husband spent $70 million and got only $68 million at the box office, and they still have the nerve to laugh at me?!"
"Why bother with her? Apart from being Mrs. Cruise, she's worth nothing."
Ulysses sat beside her and gently rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.
"You're fine with them humiliating me and walking all over me?" Julia angrily brushed his hand away.
She had thought that after Ulysses refused to work with Irene, she would be able to deal her a serious blow. She hadn't expected Irene to latch onto 20th Century Fox so quickly.
Even CAA had gone through Julia's agent to tell her to stop using those dirty tricks.
She had gone to all that trouble only to inflict a minor scratch. How could she accept that?
She had to do something to make them understand that the world didn't revolve around them.
"They have CAA protecting them now, and Fox held a signing ceremony for their new movie today. Some tactics are off the table." Ulysses was at a loss.
His title as head of marketing might sound impressive, but everyone knew MGM was in decline. Even the James Bond franchise, the only thing they could still boast about, had been drawing plenty of criticism lately.
Someone had told the board about his refusal to work with Irene, and he'd been swamped with problems ever since. He couldn't think of a way to help Julia.
"If I can't use unconventional methods, I'll beat them with a movie. Have you heard about any promising film projects?"
"I don't have any good projects on hand right now, but I know someone who does. I'm just not sure whether it would suit you."
"Who?" Julia asked urgently. Every worthwhile Hollywood project was fiercely contested. God knew how hard she'd worked to land a role in Runaway Bride.
"Your old friend, director Garry Marshall. He recently adapted a screenplay. I hear it's a romantic comedy, but I haven't seen the script."
"Garry? I'll call him and ask."
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