Dinner lasted over two hours, but eating was secondary; Theron and Eric still had half their food left on their plates.
The wine, however, had been refilled twice.
The two spent most of their time chatting, starting with inception, where Eric explained the world-building and plot in detail to Theron.
But Theron said she still didn't fully understand and needed to see the complete script.
Later, the conversation branched out to other areas. They discussed their views on movies, who their favorite commercial film director was, and who their favorite art-house director was.
What was their favorite movie?
Who was their favorite actor?
Then they talked about their views on the film industry. Theron was both surprised and incredulous by Eric's explanations of filmmaking techniques and philosophies, as well as his ambitious predictions for the future trends of the film and television industry.
For example, Eric said that comic book adaptations would become hugely popular in the future.
Theron, however, expressed her inability to understand, stating that the success of one spider-man didn't mean much, and that the 90s also saw the rise and fall of batman, and even earlier, the same applied to the Superman series.
In between, there were various other superhero comic book adaptations, most of which ended in spectacular failure, making it seem unlikely that they would ever truly rise.
Eric even suggested that if she had money, she should buy some Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon stocks and hold them long-term, as these were blue-chip stocks that were guaranteed to make a profit.
The dinner was a pleasant experience for both host and guest, as they exchanged their views.
Leaving Leonard's restaurant, Eric walked Theron to her car, a white Land Rover.
The tall vehicle certainly suited her resolute, queen-like demeanor.
He opened the car door for her. In just over ten days, they had become quite familiar, and tonight's discussion deepened their understanding of each other. They shared a brief, light hug.
"Eric, your knowledge surprises me. I'm very curious, have you really never studied film before?"
"No, I've only recently started to get into it."
"Perhaps that's just genius. Truly remarkable talent," Theron mused, like anyone who finds something hard to believe.
"Haha, just like your beauty, some things are destined by fate."
Eric said, half-complimenting, half-teasing, and Theron smiled faintly.
"Oh, right, I need to confirm again, are you sure the wine is fine? I don't want to end up in the news for drunk driving and then get a criminal record doing community service."
"Don't worry, it's just a little wine, the alcohol content isn't high enough. If you're still concerned, I can drive you home."
"No, thanks, you also drank. Since it's fine, I'll be going then."
Refusing Eric's offer, Theron drove off alone. Eric could only helplessly get into his own car, rev the engine, and speed away.
Watching the high-rise buildings flash by outside, for a moment it was strikingly similar to a scene from inception.
This film is definitely going to be made next year. Eric had already planned it. What he told Heath Ledger when he auditioned for the male lead in transformers was this.
The main reason it's not starting this year is that inception's investment is a bit high.
Eric had estimated that if he directed it himself, he wouldn't need a single cent in remuneration. There would be no screenwriting or directing fees plus bonuses; this applied to all the films he participated in.
Anyway, the company is his, but after it goes public, he will need to draw a salary because it will involve accounting, and then the company's money will no longer be solely his.
And if Eric wasn't the lead, and Nolan took over, the bonuses plus fees would cost upwards of $20 million.
Actors could also save a bit, plus he wasn't a practical effects fanatic like Nolan, so there was no need to actually build an ice tower.
After various calculations, it should be possible to save forty to fifty million dollars, but even so, at least 80 million dollars would be needed to make inception, with 90 million being more reasonable.
The actors will be decided as discussed during dinner; Christian Bale is much more cost-effective than Little Li. Eric believes Bale is not only cheaper but also a better actor.
Moreover, Little Li's height is only 180cm, and standing next to the 177cm Theron and 180cm Nicole, he is clearly not as suitable as Bale.
In the original inception, the role of the phantom Mal was played by Marion Cotillard, known in China as Ma Liang.
This person is also an old acquaintance Eric doesn't know.
la vie en rose was originally her crowning achievement, but now it's given to Nicole.
inception is also one of her representative works, now reserved for Theron.
Poor Ma Liang, I wonder if she'll still win an Oscar in the future. After all, good works are once-in-a-decade occurrences, and perhaps all her luck has been taken away in this lifetime.
No choice, who told you that you weren't my woman, yet you got so many quality resources?
If I get reborn again in the next life, let's meet earlier, and I'll compensate you then.
The most significantly altered character is the dream architect Ariadne, played by Elliot Page (or Ellen Page before transition).
Nolan set this character as a very talented young girl, but without experience, needing a period of learning to integrate into the team.
But since Nicole is playing the role, Eric decided to change this character into a dream architect no weaker than the male lead, Cobb.
She doesn't need to learn and can provide more help to the team.
In Nolan's version, Ellen Page's character was strong in concept, but her actual role in the action wasn't very prominent.
In Eric's revised script, the battles in the dream world will be more intense, and Nicole's abilities will be more prominent.
Then, he would set up a direct scene between Nicole and Theron. These two beauties have never shared the screen before, which would undoubtedly be a great selling point and have more commercial appeal.
Before crossing over, the two had collaborated on a film called Bombshell, but the script was somewhat weak, and the final box office was only over 80 million dollars, failing to live up to the acting of the two Oscar winners.
Back home, Eric sent Theron a text message, asking if she had arrived home safely and if she had encountered any police.
She replied that she had arrived home, followed by a smiley face.
Taking off his coat, the house was much quieter without Joshua's shouting.
The kid went back to the San Francisco team a few days ago, seemingly because his mysterious girlfriend broke up with him, and he returned heartbroken.
Eric still doesn't know who his half-month girlfriend was.
But it's good that he went back to study management and prepare for the future.
"Eric, Billy is here, waiting for you on the second floor," his mother said as she took his coat.
"Hmm, I know, I asked him to come over. Has he been here long?"
"Not too long, about ten minutes."
"Okay, I understand."
Taking two bottles of beer from the fridge, Eric went up to the second-floor room.
The door was open. Billy was sitting in a chair, holding a photo album.
Hearing footsteps, he looked back: "Eric, you're back."
Eric handed Billy a beer, and they clinked bottles and took a sip.
"Just got home. What are you looking at?"
Billy held up the photo album: "Photos from our college days. Warren was still very thin back then."
"Thin my ass, he was 200 pounds in college!" Eric glanced and retorted.
"I mean compared to now. Look at him, ever since he started managing your company, his belly is bigger than a pregnant woman about to give birth."
"Haha, that proves he's very happy. I sent Bema Hardy to take charge. I originally wanted him to learn and then take over, but I didn't expect them to get together."
"What!" Billy's eyes widened in surprise.
"I've met that woman, she looks great, I mean her figure and looks. Warren actually managed to get her? That's quite incredible."
"Exactly, I thought so too. That fat guy got lucky."
Billy sighed: "Warren actually has a girlfriend now. Out of the five of us, only I'm still single."
"What are you talking about? I am too," Eric said, pointing to himself.
Billy scoffed: "Oh please, you're single? Nicole Kidman and Gal Gadot, aren't they both top-notch? Besides them, there are a few others, only you know the full extent."
"I fly all over the place every day, I don't even have time to date. Sigh!"
Eric laughed heartily: "If you don't want to fly anymore, I can give you a different position."
"No, thanks. Flying actually has its advantages. Although I don't have time for romance, the takeout food is very comfortable. Just wait until I get tired of it, then you can change my position."
After a brief chat, Billy walked over and closed the door. Although the villa was very safe, closing the door felt more comfortable when discussing serious matters.
Eric crossed his legs and said, "Tell me, how was your trip to London?"
Billy took out a USB drive from his pocket: "Everything you want is in here."
Eric took the USB drive, opened his laptop, plugged it in, and clicked on it. A video lay quietly inside.
Click, click!
After clicking the mouse, the video started playing.
The picture wasn't very clear, and the shooting angle was also problematic. It was clearly a Secret photography (candid shot).
The sound was a bit muffled, but what was being said could be understood.
In the center of the frame was none other than that scoundrel BBC reporter Martin Bashir. Besides him, the arms of two other people were visible.
The few people were sitting around a dining table, most likely eating at someone's home.
The initial part was all meaningless dialogue, with a few people chatting and bragging. Billy dragged the progress bar, and then interesting dialogue appeared.
"Martin, you're really in the spotlight now. The Michael Jackson interview was truly brilliant. The eyes of the whole world were drawn to you, no less than with Princess Diana."
By this time, the few of them had drunk a lot of wine and were quite excited.
Coupled with it being a private gathering of good friends, they naturally started speaking without restraint, saying what they should and shouldn't, with much less caution.
In the video, Martin Bashir laughed heartily: "This is my career masterpiece. Princess Diana, that was my first beautiful battle."
"To get the interview rights for Princess Diana, I forged quite a few documents and tricked her and her idiot brother completely."
"Hahahaha, that stupid woman actually believed it. Can you believe it? She just believed me like that."
"At the time, I showed her a bank statement and told her that people around her had been bought off by the Murdoch media group to be informants monitoring her, but the statement was actually computer-generated."
"Princess Diana didn't understand these technologies at all. She let me manipulate her, answering whatever I wanted. It truly was an interesting memory."
Next to him, friends whose faces weren't shown laughed and complimented Martin Bashir, constantly praising him.
"Martin, what about this time with Michael Jackson? You must have used quite a few tricks again, didn't you?"
Martin Bashir continued to laugh wildly: "Of course, I spent a lot of time to get Jackson."
"For a whole year, I even said I knew UN Secretary-General Annan and could arrange a children's charity event in Africa for him."
"Finally, Jackson agreed to my filming and interview. It was a long process, but thankfully the result was good and didn't betray my efforts."
The friends also laughed along: "Exactly, after the documentary aired, Michael Jackson was completely ruined by you."
"What King of Pop, what greatest artist, we reporters are the uncrowned kings. In your hands, Martin, he was just a pawn to be manipulated and used."
Martin Bashir took a big gulp of wine and said with increasing animation: "Well said, I really couldn't stand that guy. He's clearly a black man, but he disguised himself as white, thinking that would change his skin color and class?"
"I just wanted to destroy him. Even if he never did anything to molest children, I could make him seem like that kind of person through editing and camera work."
"Even if he tried his best to defend himself, it would be useless. The moment the documentary was released, it was destined that many fools would believe it. Michael Jackson, like Diana, was just a foolish person."
"Martin, so you chose Michael Jackson as a target because you hated his skin color?" A friend continued to try and probe deeper.
But this time, Martin Bashir didn't continue, instead smiling without a word and lowering his head to start eating.
Seeing that he wasn't talking, the other person tried to entice him: "No, no, we're all journalists. There are many people with greater influence than Jackson, no need for it to be him."
"Let me guess, I once heard rumors that he had deep conflicts with Sony Music, seemingly over copyright issues."
"Sony Music wanted to buy out the copyrights Jackson held, but he never agreed. Last year, he even had a public argument with Sony Music."
"Martin, it wouldn't be Sony hiring you to do this, would it?"
In the video, Martin Bashir showed a playful smile and said meaningfully: "You guess. Perhaps this secret will only be revealed after all the relevant people are dead."
After that, there was no more relevant content in the video. Everything returned to chatting and bragging, without much substance.
Although the last question wasn't explicitly answered, this video was enough to prove many things.
Eric patted Billy's shoulder with satisfaction: "You worked hard!"
Billy smiled: "Why be so polite with me!"