Chapter 85

"An extra $10 million budget for Mr. & Mrs. Smith?" Dona Langley sounded puzzled on the phone when she received Charles' call.

"Brad Pitt needs to take some time off to shoot Ocean's Twelve..." Charles explained briefly.

"I think we should agree. What we need to do is finish the movie properly!" Charles said.

"OK, we can agree."

An additional $5 million each from Universal Pictures and Carpe Pictures wasn't a big deal for Dona Langley.

Just as Charles hung up the phone, he received another call from his mother, Evelyn.

"What's up?" Charles answered the call.

"When are you planning to go to France?" Evelyn asked.

"In a week, the Cannes Film Festival starts on the 13th. It lasts for 10 days, so I'll be there around the 15th and stay for about half a month."

"Good. Just so you know, Warner Bros. is investing in that young adult novel you inquired about, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The movie is set to start filming this year," Evelyn said with a pause.

"Megan Fox has a role. There are four major female roles, and she's one of them."

"Thanks!" Charles then inquired, "By the way, there's a reality show called Project Runway this year. The producer is Victoria's Secret model Heidi Klum. Has it started production yet?

Heidi Klum is an ETA artist, right?"

"The fashion design competition one?" Evelyn wasn't entirely sure.

"Yes, the fashion designer competition."

"I heard there was a reality show in development. Heidi Klum has a performance contract with us, but she wants to produce a reality show. This year, she found support from Miramax for her show. She's signed on as the host and executive producer, and she already has a production contract with Miramax."

Charles felt he missed an opportunity. Evelyn then asked, "Are you really optimistic about it?"

"Kind of. We just set up Carpe Television Production and plan to expand in that direction too."

In New York, Charles discovered that besides Disney's Touchstone Pictures producing Desperate Housewives, there was also Project Runway.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late. They had already found a production company and likely had a TV broadcast contract lined up.

After chatting with his mother briefly, Charles ended the call and drove to the Mr. & Mrs. Smith set in Brentwood, Long Island.

Upon arriving, Charles found Brad Pitt's wife, Jennifer Aniston, visiting the set.

"Hi, Jolie!"

"Charles, good afternoon!" Angelina Jolie greeted him.

Charles had been on the set for a few days and had gotten to know the key creatives. Regardless of whether Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were secretly seeing each other, Charles didn't care.

"The scenes shot this morning looked good," he commented. They had been filming family scenes from Mr. & Mrs. Smith, including the pivotal action sequences of the couple's showdown.

Angelina, wearing a long dress, looked stunningly sexy. Many regarded her as a top-tier exotic beauty.

"When filming Tomb Raider, I kept working out for a while, and it helped me gain a lot of experience with action scenes," Angelina Jolie said with a smile, sipping her coffee.

"Commercial films are mainly about action and sci-fi effects. They take more time and effort than artistic films," Charles noted. Angelina Jolie didn't particularly move him, although she had a universal appeal.

Still, Angelina Jolie thrived in Hollywood thanks to her sexy image and impressive acting skills.

However, her numerous commercial films and sex symbol status overshadowed a lot of her cinematic talent.

"I've done quite a few art films before. Good scripts are hard to come by," said Jolie, who was known for her wild nature and wasn't bothered by film content limits.

Last month's Taking Lives featured explicit sex scenes, making her a perfect fit for action-packed, sexy films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Previously, her highest acting accolade was an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

After a while, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston approached them.

"Charles, nice to meet you!" Jennifer Aniston greeted him warmly, chatting with him for a while.

At 35, Jennifer Aniston had been named People magazine's 2004 Most Beautiful Woman.

"We won't be seeing Rachel anymore, will we?" Charles said, slightly sad.

Friends had concluded with its tenth season last year.

Jennifer Aniston replied cheerfully, "We couldn't keep filming until I'm too old for people to like me, could we?"

"True," Charles nodded, feeling a bit guilty as if introducing Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie was a mistake.

"Now I'm an actress, and you're a producer. We might work together," said Aniston, who had transitioned to films after her TV success.

Jennifer Aniston had a strong market presence in romantic comedies, with an $8 million fee offering great value.

"I think so too, but I heard from Pitt that you're filming in Los Angeles?" Charles asked.

"Brad's movie Troy just premiered last week. I stayed a few days for the premiere," Jennifer Aniston clarified.

"Troy, right. That Greek epic war film," Charles recalled, realizing he had been too busy to keep up with entertainment news.

"Okay, Charles, I've got to go. Maybe we can chat more later," Jennifer Aniston said, hugging Charles before leaving to join Brad.

Charles shook his head, acknowledging Jennifer Aniston's genuine love for Brad Pitt. There was no denying Brad Pitt's appeal.

Seeing Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and Angelina Jolie together felt quite ironic.

Shaking off the slight guilt, Charles recognized that even without Mr. & Mrs. Smith, they would have met anyway.

Besides, Mr. & Mrs. Smith needed the publicity from their chemistry to boost its box office, which wouldn't reach past success levels otherwise.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.