Chapter 34: Trust in Estelle
After Bruce and Ross left Chandler's apartment, they said goodbye at the stairwell. Bruce headed upstairs to his place and, before taking a shower, checked his answering machine for messages.
Sure enough, there was one. A woman's voice he didn't recognize: "Hello, Mr. Bruce White. My name is Gwen Miller. I'm Director of Script Development at Miramax. Since I haven't been able to reach you by phone, I'm leaving this message. Please call me back at your earliest convenience."
Since the caller was from a film company, it had to be about his scripts.
Bruce wasn't in a rush to call back—he showered first, then dialed Gwen Miller.
When the call connected, a woman's voice answered, "Hello?"
Bruce said, "Hi, this is Bruce White. Is this Gwen Miller?"
The voice brightened noticeably, as if she was relieved to finally reach him. "Yes! This is Gwen Miller—please, call me Gwen. Thank you so much for calling back, Mr. White!"
Bruce replied, "Just call me Bruce. You're with Miramax, so I'm guessing this is about the screenplays I wrote?"
Gwen said, "Exactly. Quentin brought your scripts to my boss Harvey and pitched every single one of them. Apparently he succeeded, which is why I'm calling. Bruce, I'd like to set up a meeting—would that work for you?"
Bruce was surprised. "Wow, I didn't realize Quentin's recommendation carried that much weight at Miramax. When he left with those scripts, I never expected to hear from you guys this quickly!"
Gwen replied, "Of course it does. Quentin came back from Cannes last year with the Palme d'Or—the first ever for a Miramax film. When he recommends a script, Harvey pays attention. So what do you say about that meeting?"
Bruce paused for a moment. "You might not know this, but I have an agent—Estelle. She handles all the business side of my scripts—sales, contracts, everything. You should probably talk to her first."
Gwen laughed. "Bruce, I know Estelle very well. I met her when we bought your Inglourious Basterds script. In fact, some of the scripts Quentin just recommended to Harvey, I'd already seen at Estelle's office!"
Bruce said, "Then you understand—if you want to talk about buying the others, Estelle's the person you should meet with."
Gwen's tone became more direct. "Look, Bruce, let me be honest with you. The reason I contacted you directly instead of going through Estelle is that Harvey thinks very highly of you and your work."
Bruce was confused. "I don't see the connection. If Harvey likes my work, why go around Estelle and call me directly?"
Gwen explained, "Isn't it obvious? Miramax is only interested because Quentin pitched you to Harvey—Estelle had nothing to do with that. So why let her step in now and take a commission off the sale? Think of it as the company looking out for your best interests."
Bruce found that logic hard to believe. In a script deal, he and the studio were on opposite sides of the negotiating table—he seriously doubted the company was acting out of kindness.
Bruce said firmly, "Sorry, Gwen, you need to talk to Estelle. I trust her completely. She represents me."
Gwen sounded surprised. "Why? Whatever your contract says, the industry standard is ten to fifteen percent commission. The hard part—getting the studio interested—is already done. All that's left is negotiating price and details. Why give away ten percent for nothing?"
Bruce answered, "Like I said: I trust her. Cutting her out could create legal issues, but more importantly, I won't damage our working relationship. Estelle's an excellent agent and I plan to keep working with her."
Gwen pressed, "Business is business, Bruce. You and Estelle have a professional relationship, not a lifelong friendship. Being sentimental in business only costs you money."
Bruce chuckled. "If that's true, why is your company trying to do me a 'favor' by cutting her out? Sounds like you're being pretty sentimental yourselves."
Gwen went quiet for a moment. "Alright, I'll level with you. I don't know exactly what Quentin said to Harvey—or what he sees in your scripts—but Harvey's interested in making you Miramax's exclusive screenwriter."
Without thinking, Bruce responded, "Not interested. I'm too used to working freelance to tie myself to one studio."
Unfazed, Gwen said, "Fair enough. That wasn't going to be part of our immediate discussion anyway. I only mentioned it to explain why we're being so accommodating, but who knows what might happen down the line?"
She changed her tone. "But if you insist on having Estelle handle this, fine—after all, it's your money she'll be taking ten percent of. I'll contact her."
Bruce said, "Good. Talk to Estelle. She speaks for me. And by the way, I've only known her a few months, but I trust her completely—that's not something 'business is business' can change."
"Can you tell me why you trust her so much?"
"Because she's also my best friend's agent. Joey's like family to me, and he's been with Estelle for years. That's good enough for me."
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