Page 58 of Jace 4Ever
“Sorry, darling. I’m a New Yorker through and through.”
She quickly typed in the names and contact information in the text, hit send, and handed the phone back to me. Taking a deep breath, she motioned us both to the chairs. “Thank you. Sincerely. I didn’t know what to do with those two. And thank you for writing your own PR. I know that’s my job…”
“You’re three days away from the Oscars and that’s enough.”
“Good. Thank you. Let’s get down to business here. You looked at the three scripts?”
“I did. I didn’t like the DeMarques one, like you said. It’s too…arrogant and thinky. And not a good kind of thinky either. It’s just someone who read too much Nietzsche and thought they understood the whole world. Pass on that one. The other two I’d be interested in reading for, but more theDarling Murder. That seems like a good break from the Xavier Renegade, so I don’t get pigeonholed.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. I didn’t want to tell you until you read it, but for theDarling Murder,they don’t even want you to read. They want to go straight into negotiation. Apparently, the writer had you in mind for Gaspar when he was working on it.”
I cocked my head. “Is this aBeing John Malkovichkind of thing? Small production?”
“It is, to a degree. I dug a bit, and they dedicated sixty percent of the budget to your salary.”
“Nope. Show me their budget numbers.”
The script sat on top of a printout, and Cary handed it to me. It was a great script, and I wasn’t going to screw up a new director’s and writer’s chance to make it big. After scanning down the sheet, I nodded. “It’s a nice number, but tell them I’ll take a quarter and gross points.”
“You are going to make them the happiest people on Earth.” Cary scribbled down the information and looked up at me. “And the other script?”
“Eh. I was indifferent, but if they want me to read, I will.”
“They want you to read. Can you do it tomorrow at two?”
A quick glance at Jace, and I saw his head bobbing a yes. “Sure. I can do that.”
“Good.” She jotted that down and put the pen on top of the paper. “Now. Let’s talk about this Xavier Renegade script you apparently created for Max. What’s going on with that?”
“The script was terrible, and the writer walked away. We couldn’t let that happen, so Jace and I rewrote the whole damn thing in a month. We’re happy with it and so is Max. We’re able to write at least two if not three more movies based on that script alone.”
Her fingers twitched and she grabbed the pen again, tapping it on the paper. “Do I need to get a contract for Jace? Does he need representation? What’s your takeaway on that? Have you been paid already?”
“We’re fine.” I sat back in the chair. “Max already gave us our committed ten percent, and I’m happy with that. It was a one-point-three-million deal for the script, and I don’t think Jace wants representation. He’s a freelancer and works with me.”
“Exclusively,” Jace said. “I am not going to write alone or with anyone else.”
“That’s limiting.”
“I’m a key grip by training and I’m happy there.”
Thoughts flittered across Cary’s face for a few seconds as she processed what we’d said. “Good deal. We can get you on some sets out here as a grip. There are a few productions starting up—”
“I’m committed to a Netflix series,” he said proudly. “I won’t move on from that until we’re done filming. I’m having a lot of fun there.”
He wasn’t the only who was proud of that job. After the mess with Denis and the hitman, he’d quickly started hunting around and found the new show they were filming. He was happy, and they always had weekends off. They seemed to be good at getting things filmed in a time constraint, because he was also home most nights before six.
“Well, when you’re done, tell me and I’ll get you on some sets,” she said. “They are always looking for good lighting techs.”
“I have a bachelor’s in Film Studies and an electrical engineering degree from Rutgers. I’m not just a lighting tech.”
“Wait,” I said, holding up a hand. “You have an engineering degree?”
He blushed deeply. “Yes. I do. I haven’t really had the chance to use it much because of the...my situation before this. Now that I’m free of that, I can start to use that and the film degree.”
“That’s excellent,” Cary said. “They are always looking for super-qualified people to assist on set. And with a Netflix show behind you, you won’t be a hard sell at all.”
“Thank you, I’m committed there through June.”
