Action Movie Plan

"Mr. Walker..." Irene was about to raise her glass and greet him.

"Just call me Ira. No need to be so formal. Let me introduce you. The man beside me is from 20th Century Fox..."

"Mr. Griffin, hello."

"Oh," Ira Walker said, raising an eyebrow. "Have you two met before?"

"Yes, I had the pleasure of meeting him once." The brown-haired middle-aged man was Adelaide Griffin, head of distribution at 20th Century Fox. He and Irene had met privately before.

Back then, he had praised Irene to the skies and hoped they could work together. But Irene had had her heart set on MGM. Who could have guessed how things would change? Now she really was on the same boat as Fox.

"Hey, Irene, I told you last time to call me Adelaide. You've worked hard these past few months. Take a break for a while; we'll need you involved in post-production." Adelaide lightly clinked his glass against Irene's, adopting an extremely deferential manner. He was treating her like one of Hollywood's top directors.

Ira Walker stood off to the side, a little surprised.

To be honest, he was only attending the wrap party because he happened to be in Toronto on business, and Shelly had invited him. Since he was free, he'd come along.

But it wasn't as if he particularly valued Irene.

After all, he managed several box-office superstars, and Steven Spielberg was one of the top directors under his agency. In his eyes, Irene's modest achievements might have owed more to luck.

But seeing Fox's attitude now, perhaps Miss Coppola hadn't succeeded on luck alone. Maybe she had real talent?

"Thanks, Adelaide. We'll definitely finish post-production before the New Year. I'd recommend releasing the film during the summer season. Most of our audience is still made up of students." Irene took the opportunity to make her suggestion. According to her plans, the next few years would be all about popcorn movies, and she hoped to release every one of them during the summer season, Hollywood's most popular and lucrative time of year.

"Of course, we'll do everything we can to support you. The theaters have all seen the miracle you just worked, and you'll definitely have a place in next year's summer lineup." Adelaide sounded certain, as though he could finalize the decision without even consulting the company.

In reality, he'd already discussed it with the company before coming. They'd watched some of the footage Irene had shot, and overall, it looked pretty good.

The style carried over the easygoing, natural feel of her previous film, with another handsome leading man and beautiful leading lady, and another witty, humorous story. It was likely to find an audience among teenagers. Whether it could surpass Legally Blonde at the box office was hard to say, but it certainly wouldn't fall far short.

"Perhaps our genius Irene has another plan in mind after she finishes this film?" Ira Walker, unwilling to be ignored, eagerly raised a subject they were all interested in.

Irene certainly did have a plan for what came next.

In fact, her original plan had been to make one more romance with a slightly bigger budget, completing her three-film debut series, and then move on to action movies and officially join the ranks of the great directors.

But after what had happened in Hawaii, she'd added Pirates of the Caribbean to her slate.

Pirates of the Caribbean was set to premiere in July 2003. Given that a film took a year from planning through production and post-production—and a large-scale effects film needed even more preparation—that meant it would have to be greenlit in the first half of 2002.

To get ahead of the competition, she needed to lock down the script and key creatives in 2001.

But with her current standing, even if she presented a project proposal right away, no one would be willing to fund it, let alone agree to cast Captain Jack.

So before she could officially get Pirates of the Caribbean off the ground, she needed to deliver results that would earn investors' trust. She had to prove she could build a project on such a massive scale.

"I do have a new plan, Mr. Walker. I'd like to make an action movie next." Irene spoke softly, as if it were still a secret.

Adelaide lowered his voice too. "An action movie? I thought that even if your next film didn't continue the school comedy style, it'd be a romance or something. That's quite a leap..."

When Irene saw that he hadn't immediately questioned or dismissed her decision, she felt there might be a chance. "It's only a plan for now. You know, action movies are the real test of the market. Making school comedies all the time isn't much of a challenge."

That fit with the way young people tended to jump from one idea to the next.

"Then could we hear the story in advance?" Ira Walker asked, stepping in when Adelaide didn't respond.

"Of course. It's an action movie about a group of thieves who team up for revenge and pull off a gold heist in Los Angeles. The story is based on the 1969 British film The Italian Job. I just want to make an adaptation."

Starting with a story that wasn't original would make the challenge a little less daunting.

"When will you have a script?" Hearing that it was an adaptation, Adelaide relaxed without letting it show. Action movies were certainly popular in Hollywood, but only if they were good.

Every year, countless obscure, unsuccessful action movies died in theaters. Irene was the young director he had the highest hopes for. MGM had inexplicably decided to pass on her, and he wanted to do everything he could to bring her over.

"Once post-production on my current film is finished, I'll start writing the new script. It shouldn't take long."

"Then we'll talk more once your new script is ready." Adelaide raised his glass to Irene.

"Sounds good." Irene smiled and clinked glasses with him.

"Don't forget about me, either," Ira Walker said at once. Even an ordinary action movie needed more crew than a school comedy like Mean Girls. He couldn't afford to miss out.

"Of course, Mr. Walker. It's my first time directing an action movie, so I'll need CAA's help with things like stunt coordination." At this stage, she still depended on CAA, and having them bundle their services would make things easier for her.

"We'd be happy to help with anything you need." Ira Walker raised his glass, and Irene and Adelaide followed suit, saying together, "Here's to CAA."

After Ira Walker and Adelaide left, Irene finally relaxed and found a quiet corner to enjoy her dinner.

When Edward saw Irene sit down, he grabbed a plate and came over.

She glanced at it. It held her favorite escargots with cheese and a serving of charcoal-grilled pork ribs, already cut up. He must have saved them for her on purpose.

"You haven't eaten all night, so I picked out your favorites and saved them for you."

"Thanks." They'd known each other for so long that there was no need to be formal.

"What were you talking about for so long?" Edward asked curiously.

"My next movie, obviously. What else do they think I do besides make movies?" Irene speared a piece of meat and ate it.

Her plans might be a secret to outsiders, but her friends knew all about them.

Edward didn't have many scenes in Mean Girls. She'd told him early on to work on his fitness in his free time, so this didn't come as a surprise to him.