Just Another Hollywood Story

Chapter 14

Hi everyone, sorry for the wait. I've been a little under the weather for the last couple of days. So, instead of a release on the weekend like I had hoped, I am late by a few days.

Anyway, I have a question for all of you. How well do you all wish to see the movies that are coming out for the MC? Scream 2, of course, does well, just like in our history, but this is a different world and history if that wasn't clear. So I will let you all pick. Do the two other movies bomb or do well or half and half? Reads choice and all that.

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"He didn't say that." David Letterman says.

"He did; he absolutely said that. I don't even think I was in the room for more than five seconds before he looked at me and said in that calm, manly voice of his. Well, Miss Lopez, I think we found what we are looking for." Jennifer says to David with a broad smile on her lips. Remembering that day all too well.

"Wow, I mean, how did you feel in that moment?" David asks her.

"Well, at first, I thought I was being rejected. Then I was upset because he took all but five seconds to look at me and thought I was no good." Jennifer says, much to David's disbelief.

He voices this by saying, "Oh, come on, Jennifer. Do you honestly think we will believe that he thought you were no good?"

Looking at the audience who isn't buying it, Jennifer says, "Well, come on, you got to remember I was like 28 at the time, and he was already a success at the age of 20. It was bad enough that I had been in the business longer than him, but he was also much more successful, and now he is judging me. What else was I to think."

"That didn't last long though, did it," David asks.

"Nope, not at all. I don't really remember what I said after he told me I had the job, but I am pretty sure it was something brilliant. Like, what or maybe, huh?" She says, making the audience laugh.

David is right there laughing with them in good cheer, and he asks, "What do you remember about that moment."

After a moment of reflection, Jennifer smiles widely—a beautiful smile that makes everyone think about how pretty she is.

"I remember wanting to smack the shit out of that son of a bitch after I saw him smirking at me. Like he was laughing, saying haha, I got you. Asshole." Jennifer says, and everyone busts out in roaring laughter.

David is bent over laughing at this and, after a few moments, asks, "Did you?"

"Oh, not that day. No, that came much later and God did it feel good." Jennifer says with a smile.

Making David laugh even more.

"Okay, okay, I need a moment here. Okay, let's be serious for a moment. Caesar has been a big part of your life. Both professionally and privately, has he not?" David asks.

Nodding her head, Jennifer says, "He has."

"Is that something you're willing to talk about? I mean, I only ask because despite his relationships being all over the media for years, he never really talks about his private life regarding the women." David says.

Taking a moment, Jennifer says, "That is true."

"Why is that?" David asks in an engaging voice.

"Well… I guess… you can say it has to do with respect. Despite how the media presents him, Caesar has always been very respectful regarding how he treats women. I mean, you will never find him leaking pictures or personal tapes of his home life to the media. That said, he doesn't really care if other people talk about his personal life on his behalf. So give me a moment." Jennifer says, starting to think of what would be a good story.

It doesn't take long, and after a moment, she smiles and says, "Okay, here is a good one. While everyone knows that Caesar wrote some of the songs on my first album, what isn't known is he played a larger part than most people think in making that album happen."

"Really, I have never heard about this. Can you tell us more?" David asks.

"Of course, you see, on the day I went to meet the rest of the cast for the very first time, Caesar came up to me and said in that really calm voice of his. Miss Lopez because on the set and at work, it doesn't matter if you're sleeping with him or not, you're Miss whatever." The audience starts to laugh as she continues. "I have someone I would like you to meet. I, of course, have no idea who Caesar wants me to meet, but this is Caesar we are talking about. So I went with him to meet whoever it was he wanted me to meet, and he introduced me to Thomas Daniel Mottolawho, who was friends with Arnold Kopelson."

"Thomas Daniel Mottola was one of the main producers of your first four albums, right?" David asks.

"That is right, and as a personal favor to Arnold, who is a close friend of Caesar's, he came down to the set to meet me."

"Wow, that must have been big for you at that point in your career," David says.

"It was, it really was, but you know what, David, it's what Caesar said next that will stick with me till the day I die."

"What did he say?"

She smiled even more, happy to remember that day because she would definitely never forget it. "He said, Mr. Mottola, this is the woman I was telling Arnold about. This is Jennifer Lopez; she has the talent, she has the looks, and she has the voice to set the world on fire. You need to sign her now before anyone else does." Jennifer says, still not fully believing that day really happened like that.

"Oh my God, that is amazing," David tells her.

"It was, it really was, and a moment in time I will never forget. By the end of 1998, when my debut studio album On the 6, I had done exactly what he said I could do. I set the world on fire. And this is the most important part of the story. He took this chance to call in a huge personal favor for me before even really knowing me, and all because he heard me singing softly in the parking lot the day I went in for my audition for Selena. He knew….. he knew then that I had what it took to be something truly special. No words express how thankful I am to him for that." Jennifer says, and she starts tearing up at that. David gives her a Kleenex, and the audience cheers.

"God, I am going to have to call that smug son of a bitch later and thank him again," She thinks to herself.

-1997-

Action is what people think when they hear you are making a movie: lights, camera action, and all that shit. But the truth of the matter was that all the action happens behind the scenes, away from the lights, the camera, and whatnot. That is where all the essential work was done, and that is where I am currently—working behind the scenes to get things done.

It may not have seemed like to someone looking from the outside in, but I was a very busy man. Currently, I have three movies with my name on them coming out in quick succession. The number one was Scream 2, which everyone was waiting for to come out. It was a hit before it even hit the movie theaters. The only question on my mind was whether it would be as big a hit as the first or if it would fall slightly short of the first as it did, according to the information in my head. Either way, I wasn't worried, as it would just be another feather in my cap, so to speak.

Good news, right, but next came Urban Legend, which I was worried about. It really wasn't a good movie, and I already knew people would see it as little more than a rip-off of Scream. Well, not a rip-off, seeing as I wrote both of them. More than likely, people would only see me as getting lazy and basically copying my first script and changing up a few things to make more money. Something that probably wouldn't go over well at all. So I kind of accepted that this may be my first flop, but it was an acceptable loss so long as my 3rd and most worrisome movie did well.

Even now, as I worked on the movie, I wasn't sure if my name would be enough to carry Selena to higher heights than what it was meant to do. The chances were it would do just what it did, according to the information I had in my head, which was why I moved fast to introduce Jennifer to Thomas Daniel Mottolawho. I needed a backup plan in case any backlash came my way if these two movies failed. Translating to the music industry for a while, where being a writer carried even less importance than in the film industry, would allow things to hopefully calm down before I made a comeback.

In other words, I was taking too many risks this year and spreading myself thin. I was jumping around between three movies. Mainly because while I may not have liked Harvey Weinstein, I wasn't in a position to tell him to go fuck off. So, I also had to do at least the bare minimum in working on Urban Legend. Hey, but that was Hollywood; I had to move and move fast. What were a few sleepless nights compared to success?

Hearing a knock at the door of the trailer, I say, "It's open."

"Caesar, we are about to file the carnival scene. You coming?" I hear Jennifer say.

Looking up from my desk, I say, "Hey, Miss Lopez, ya, I will be there in a moment."

I say, then rub my eyes, having just flown in to rejoin the set of Selena and was tried as fuck.

With a look of concern on her face, Jennifer asks, "You okay, Caesar? You look beat."

"Huh, ya, I am all right, Miss Lopez. Just some Jet lag, know what I mean? I haven't had time to rest, and I have to take off the day after tomorrow to see Mr. Rooney back in LA."

Upon hearing this, Jennifer's look of concern quickly became one of pure excitement, and who could blame her? After I introduced her to Thomas and she did a quick audition for the man, he moved quickly, signing her to a two-album deal. The man clearly saw what I already knew was true and didn't want anyone to beat him to her. Jennifer had asked me to work on her album with her in response to being signed. Further stretching my workload for the year. Not that I had to do much on her album but write a few songs for her, but I went the extra mile and put my admittingly limited skill with music to the test to copy the music I heard in my head. The lyrics to the hit song If You Had My Love were provided to me based on the knowledge I had in my head. The music sheet, however, was missing because, wouldn't you know it, there were some things I had to do for myself. Because of this, I could only write three original songs for the album that sounded somewhat like originals. It would be up to Rooney and the other producers to take it the rest of the way.

As for Jennifer herself, she was beyond excited that Caesar was working on the album he had largely made happen. However, asking him to write some of the music for her album was more of a spur-of-the-moment type thing than an honest desire to have him work on it. It couldn't be denied that Caesar was a talented writer, and she had reasoned that writing a few songs wasn't beyond his ability, and she was right. She didn't realize how right she was. About a month into filming Selena, he had brought her several rough drafts of songs he had written during his limited free time, and saying she was impressed wouldn't be doing him justice.

Caesar was a genius; everyone knew that, but he was proving he indeed had no limits. With his limited knowledge and skill in music, he had written and composed three songs for her. And while the music itself was borderline horrible, the lyrics were great and only needed some polishing. So she and the producers left him alone to see what he could do. After all, who else could claim to have nearly no knowledge of music and come up with something like this with only a few music classes to their name? The answer is that there were not very many people.

"Oh, oh, let me see, let me see," Jennifer says while holding out her head like an eager child.

Laughing just a bit at this, I hand over the music sheets, and she looks over them as she starts to hum them. At the same time, bobbing her head to the beat she could hear in her head. Stopping here and there to wonder about one part or another. Overall, she liked what she was hearing in her head but could also see its apparent flaws. Parts that didn't mess right or were just outright bad, but that was to be expected. From what she knew, Caesar couldn't do much more than hum in time, none the less play a instrument. Yet here it was, sheet music for her first song, If You Had My Love, to which she helped write some of the lyrics. Oh, they could definitely make something of this, she was sure.

"This is…. Well, this is…" Jennifer starts to say but stops, not wanting to be rude to the young man who has helped her so much so far.

"A cluster fuck of random sounds put together by someone who clearly has no idea what the fuck he is doing?" I say for her.

"Not the words I would have used, but now that you say it…." Jennifer says while giving me a mocking smile.

For a few moments, we both say nothing. Then, laugh at the same time.

"God, I can't wait until we are done filming this movie and for my album to come out, " She says to me.

"Ready to take on the world, are we?" I ask her.

"You know it, Caesar," Jennifer says with complete confidence in herself.

Something that I respected a lot about her: I had little doubt that she had her fears and worries about failure. After all, the possibility was always there, but after spending time with her, I found that Jennifer was like me. Failure may be possible, but she wouldn't let it define her actions. She was in it to win it, so to speak, and unlike me, she had nothing to go off of. It was sheer bravado and confidence in herself that let her walk down her path.

"Just remember to thank me when you do," I tell her.

"Oh, I will, Caesar. I will make sure to mention all the little people I step on to get to where I am." She says in a joking manner.

Making me laugh as I looked off to the side. Going deep into thought.

Something that made Jennifer think made him look incredibly handsome in a way.

"Caesar," Jennifer calls out to me.

"Hum?" I answer.

Looking a bit small now, Jennifer says, "Thank you for this. Really, I mean it. Thank you."

Waving her off, I say, "Think nothing of it, Miss Lopez. I am, after all, not doing this just out of the kindness of my heart."

"Then why are you doing it? You're taking a huge risk here, Caesar. Not just with helping me with my music career but with this movie. All of it is a huge risk for someone in your position." Jennifer says.

Showing how smart she really was. She wasn't just a pretty face. Rarely was anyone in Hollywood. She knew that as a writer, I was only as good as what I write next. If Selena flopped, it could be chunked up as a setback for him, but by going to bat for her on her music career. Well, he could be putting the final nail in a coffin he didn't even know he was lying in if she failed. She didn't have a career yet and never would if she failed here. But he did, and he was risking it all on her. This was more than just about business, and no, it wasn't so he could fuck her. She had already come on to him a bit and found him completely cold to her charms.

Looking at her, I lean back and say, "Because I know you're special, just like Selena was. It's something people forget or try to pretend isn't true. Some people are just born to be better than everyone else and accomplish more. It's just how it is, and there is no stopping it. That is what you are destined for. Greatness."

I can see her blush at my words, but a knock is heard at my door before she can say anything in turn. One of the assistant directors calls out to Jennifer, letting her know she is needed on set. When she leaves, I sit there for a time and think about things. For example, there was a white boy who was also about to become a big star himself in the coming years. I would also like to get on top of that if I could. I will have to wait and see first; till then, I better get ready for my meeting with partners in crime, so to speak.

"Danny, do you want your stake medium rare or well done?" David Fincher asks as he flips a stake on the grill he is cooking on.

"Medium rare, man. I hate well done," Danny says as he pops the top of another beer and lounges in a chair in the backyard of David's house.

Okay, maybe calling this a meeting was not entirely accurate, I thought to myself as I drank my beer while sitting beside Danny and watching Salma and Tiffani talk by the pool in their swimsuits. About what? I had no idea, but by the way, they kept looking over at me. I had a feeling it was about me. That couldn't be good, right?

"Stop thinking about carnal. You're just going to drive yourself crazy trying to guess what a woman is thinking." I hear Danny say.

"I can't help it," I say to Danny grimly.

"No one told you to bring your current girlfriend to a cookout where your ex-girlfriend was going to be," Danny says.

"I didn't invite her. She tagged along." I tell Danny.

"Because you told her about it," Danny points out, much to my displeasure.

"He is right, you know. That was pretty stupid of you." I hear Brad Pitt's voice say to me.

Looking to my other side, I look at the man and say, "Why are you even here."

He looks at me in turn and smiles before saying, "I was invited."

Because, of course, he was. Forget the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for a moment. Everything in Hollywood wasn't just about parties, drugs, and sex. Like everyone else, even stars wanted to relax from time to time. Things as monotonous as a cookout didn't just happen; it was pretty standard in Hollywood. After all, even big-name stars need to unwind from time to time that didn't have anything to do with parties and media coverage.

That, of course, meant that Gwyneth was here as well. Seeing as she and Brad were now dating for real. No faking it for the media. They were really dating each other for now. This was a bit of a surprise for me as I didn't know they got on so well, but it was none of my business either.

"So tell me, Caesar, what is this script David has been telling me about? He said you were writing it with me in mind for the main character." Brad asks in a curious tone of voice.

"Hey, I thought we agreed that there would be no business talk before dinner." We all hear his girlfriend, Gwyneth, say as she walks over with a salad blow in hand. She was wearing a two-piece bikini and skirt combo that was more modest than she perhaps would have worn to an event or party. But then, she wasn't here to show off but to relax.

"Leave it alone, Gwyneth. They are men. You know they are only ever unable to think about two things. Business and where to put their dicks next." We hear Tiffani say with a teasing smirk that earns a laugh from Danny, an eye roll from me, and a huff from Brad, who gently grabs his woman by the hip and pulls her to shit next to him.

"Tiff, really watch the language. There is a minor present." Salma says while pointing at me.

I flick her off in turn.

"But really, Caesar, another script already. Don't you think you're stretching yourself a bit thin lately?" Salma says with some worry.

"Don't worry about it. Unlike some here, I am still young and can take it." I say to her while looking right at her.

"Ow shots fired," Brad says in jest.

"Sorry for worrying about your health, Caesar," Salma answered with no heat in her voice. Knowing full well that Caesar and the other men liked what they saw when they looked at her.

"Don't bother Salma. I have already brought up several times how overworked he was, and he just ignored me. First, he sold his two, now three movies, and now he is even writing songs for that Jennifer Lopez girl. It makes me wonder if something is going on between you two," Tiffani says but isn't really worried, knowing her man was loyal if nothing else.

It was why she was so cool with Salma being here. While Caesar, like all men, had a wandering eye, he didn't look at her with any hidden desire. Nor did he ever really talk about her other than to let her know when he was talking with her or meeting with her about this or that—hardly a reason to be jealous of Salma.

"Jennifer, Jennifer, why do I know that name?" Brad asks out loud.

"She was that girl in Jack with Robin Williams," Danny answers him.

"Oh right, that girl. Yeah, she is hot." Brad says with a smirk, earning a slap to the chest from his girlfriend.

"What?" Brad says at a scowling Gwyneth, making us all laugh at him.

"All right, everyone, come and eat," David shouts, saving Brad from his angry girlfriend.

As promised, none of us talked about business for the time being. We sit back and enjoy the home-cooked meal and drinks. Letting ourselves, for a moment, at least forget who we were. Not that any of us regretted being who we were, but it was still nice to act normal for a few moments. Soon, however, dinner is over, and it is time to get back to business. The first order, of course, is the movie Fight Club. It was a movie Brad was very interested in making happen.

While he hadn't read the book for himself yet, just from what David had told him, it was the type of role he loved to play. Dark and gritty. Just thinking of the role of Tyler Durden had his mind racing. The fact that I was the one writing it only had him more interested. Having won more than a few browning points with him for being the writer of Seven. That said, it wasn't the real reason why he was invited to this cookout today. No, the real reason was something completely different.

"So there is a real reason why we are all here today to talk, and it's not just because of Brad's hopefully soon-to-be-made movie. No offense," I say to the man.

"None taken," Brad says, knowing full well he wasn't just here for the hell of it. They wanted something from him. The only question was what was it that they wanted.

"We are here today because I met with Steve Jobs, the current CEO of Apple, a few weeks ago. To help you all keep up, the reason why he met with me is that, at the beginning of this year, Salma, Danny, David, and I bought over 1 million shares in the company," I say while looking at Brad and Gwyneth.

"Okay, sounds like a bad investment to me, but what does that have to do with us?" Brad asks.

"Nothing, and that is why you are here. When I met with Jobs, we talked about certain things, including his desire not to be ousted from his position as CEO of Apple again. To make sure that doesn't happen, he wants us to buy more stock so he can have one of us join the company's board of directors." I say to him

"So, he wants to use us our vote, huh? Makes sense." Danny says.

"Yes, but how much more do we have to buy to get on the board, and is it even worth the effort?" Salma asks. She may have been willing to risk some money on this crazy idea of Caesar's, but risking even more on a company that almost went bankrupt didn't seem like a good idea. God knows her accountant had a fit when he found out she was taking financial advice from a 19-year-old.

"About 5 million shares will do it," I tell them.

No one here was stupid. If they were, they wouldn't have made it as far as they had in Hollywood, and while not math wizards, they could guess the amount that would cost, and it wasn't cheap.

"How many shares do you already own?" Brad asks.

"1.1 million shares," I tell him.

"Only another 3.9 million. What is the current prince of the stocks?" Gwyneth asks. Not that she was interested in joining them, but seeing as she was here, she matters well ask.

"The stock has been bouncing around lately, but it sits at about 0.13 cents per share," David answers them. Having been keeping a closer eye on his investment than the others.

Brad whistles at that and says, "So, just about half a million dollars."

While it didn't sound like a lot for a bunch of movie stars, a writer, and a director, the fact of the matter was that none of us had that kind of cash on hand to shell out. Among all of us, Brad and Salma were the richest, and their net worth together was most likely less than 10 million. Their popularity was increasing, but they had not yet reached the status of multi-millionaires.

"That is why I am willing to put up another 50 thousand myself on top of the 60 thousand I have already invested, making my share a total of 110 thousand. David, Danny, and Salma have already invested 20 thousand each. So, if you want to join, you only have to match them and split the cost between the six of you to buy the rest." I say, and that gets their attention.

Gwyneth speaks first, "Let me guess, Caesar, you would be the main stockholder in our little group. If that is, we joined you four."

Looking at my somewhat friend, I say, "No, we go in as equal partners. Yes, one of us will be on the board, but we split the profits evenly among us."

"So let me get this straight: you take the majority of the risk, and we reap the benefits the most while you risk the most," Brad asks, now very interested. Sure, it was a gamble, but his whole life had been one big gamble, and it had paid off. If his calculations were accurate, the figure was slightly over 80,000. It seemed reasonable to request.

"If you want to see it that way, then yes, I risk the most by doing this, but I believe the returns will make it well worth it," I say to him.

"If there is a return, Caesar. You don't know if Steve Jobs will be able to bring Apple back from the brink." Tiffani Thiessen points out.

Looking at my girlfriend, I say, "It is called a long-term investment, Tiff. I am in it till the end and don't plan to see a turn before the end of the century."

No one says anything for a time. That is till Danny stretches out his arms and cracks his fingers behind his back and says, "Fuck it. I am in carnal. It's only money."

"Well, I can't say I look at it quite like you do, Danny; I say fuck it, why not. Before Steve Jobs was forced out, Apple was a fucking billion-dollar company. Now that he is back in charge, what is the harm in seeing if he can do it again?" Brad says. Being young enough and foolish enough still not to mind a little risk.

"Brad, really?" Gwyneth asks.

"Oh, come on, Gwyneth, why not? We are both doing fine. What is a little bit of cash between friends, huh?" He asks in turn.

Rolling her eyes at him, Gwyneth just huffs and says nothing. While Tiff says, "I am in. I mean, it would be a poor show of faith if your own girlfriend refused to join you in doing something stupid."

She teases, and I smile at her.

Something makes Salma a little angry for unknown reasons, so she says, "I am in, too. I am already invested, so I am not backing out now."

"Me as well," David says plainly. He already knew about this plan, and that was why he invited Brad over.

After a moment longer, Gwyneth says, "Me too. I will be in another one of your movies anyway, Caesar. Matter well, see where this is going."

I smile at all of them and thank them for joining me in this. All that was left to do was call the lawyers and work out the paperwork. Before this meeting, it was all about trust; Now, we were entering the type of money that would require a contract. Nevertheless, it represented a further advancement towards achieving my objectives. Once this all worked out, I would have the backing and friendship of several of Hollywood's most influential stars.

As we all get ready to leave and hit the road, Tiff comes over to me with Salma and says, "Caesar, hold up. We need to talk."

Well, that can't be good, I think to myself.