The car was silent. The air inside felt a bit tense, even though nothing particular was happening. However, the faint roar of engines outside the parking lot seed like a blazing fire, gradually making everyone inside anxious and restless, constantly shifting in their seats.
"Mackie…"
Eric could hardly bear it. Mackie was fidgeting in the driver's seat as if it were full of thorns, continuously shifting his position, causing the seat to creak and groan, which was grating on Eric's ears. He couldn't help but call out.
Mackie responded imdiately, turning his head and tucking the loose strands of hair behind his ear. He looked at Eric with a puzzled expression, completely unaware of the noise he was making.
Eric hesitated, words swirling on the tip of his tongue before swallowing them back.
Before Eric could say anything, Mackie started mumbling to himself, trying to calm down.
Since Mackie was driving, Eric turned to look at Anson in the back. When he was about to speak, he realized his mind was a chaotic ss, causing his words to catch in his throat. He blinked in confusion.
Anson looked at Eric and said, "They agreed to cooperate."
Mackie, who was beside them, was slightly startled and didn't say anything. He just opened the car window, looked out, and tilted his chin up to bask in the sunlight.
Seeing the eager faces of Eric and Mackie, Anson couldn't help but chuckle, "Let's leave here first, shall we?"
Eric: ??? When did that happen?
But Mackie couldn't be bothered to respond to Eric. He quickly glanced at the rearview mirror.
"In-and-Out, I need to grab so energy. It's already past lunchti, right?"
Mackie let out a startled cry, and Eric looked up to see Anson erging from the elevator, both of them in a flurry of motion.
They had been sitting restlessly, anxious without any updates. But now that the eting had ended so quickly, a sense of dread gripped their hearts.
The space in the underground parking lot seed confined and stifling, with the air and ti feeling suspended. They finally understood the feeling of being trapped in amber—unable to move, cut off from the outside world. Ti seed to pass, yet also felt like it wasn't moving at all, leaving them disoriented.
After leaving Warner Bros., Anson and his team headed straight to New Line Cinema, also located in Century City. Anson went upstairs alone, getting straight to the point. They had been busy all morning without realizing how much ti had passed, completely missing lunch.
"We had a brief eting, exchanged opinions, and confird our ideas. New Line Cinema is willing to invest in this project, with as the producer. They'll also assign an executive producer to handle the specific work."
A wave of unease spread through their eyes.
Mackie and Eric exchanged glances, both seemingly not fully comprehending what Anson had just said.
Despite this, Mackie couldn't stop biting his nails, savoring the mont as if he were reluctantly refusing a steak, trying to taste every bit of flavor.
Ti seed to freeze briefly, and then Eric silently turned around, raised his right hand, and bit his coat, letting out a muffled shout—
"Mackie?"
Mackie still hadn't unbuckled his seatbelt. "Don't mind , I'm fine. Anson… Anson!"
Eric hurriedly moved forward but barely took a step before Anson ca over, so they both returned to their seats. Eric, acting like a bodyguard, escorted Anson into the back seat, then quickly rushed back to the front passenger seat, eagerly turning to look at Anson, afraid he might miss sothing important.
At this mont—
Anson didn't notice the exchange of glances between Eric and Mackie, but he knew the two screenwriters must be anxiously awaiting the outco, so he didn't keep them in suspense. As the car left the underground parking lot, he revealed the answer directly.
Mackie, acting like a chauffeur, turned to Anson and asked, "Where are we going now?"
There was no imdiate response from the front seat.
"In-and-Out," Anson said, referring to a hamburger chain that operates only in California. Their specialty is that, to ensure quality, they only have locations in California. Their juicy burgers have made them famous far and wide, becoming sothing of a local specialty.
In 2013, after Ang Lee won his second Oscar for Best Director with "Life of Pi," a widely circulated photo showed him holding a burger from In-and-Out, which beca an iconic image.
Mackie turned to Eric, and the two quickly exchanged glances:
Based on their experience, etings that end this quickly usually indicate failure—the other party isn't interested and just wants to get rid of them, or they ask for the script only to never follow up.
Just as Anson wondered why Mackie was acting like the male lead in a romantic teen drama, Mackie suddenly yelled at a passing car without warning.
After first eting with Warner Bros. and then heading to New Line Cinema—
"We're going to make a movie!"
Eric had already jumped out of the car and taken a few steps forward before noticing Mackie wasn't with him. He turned and called out.
"Never mind, just wait."
"Cough, cough."
Stamring, hesitant, a bad thought swirled at the tip of his tongue but didn't dare to be spoken, for fear that saying it out loud would make it true—
One second, two seconds.
"I'm thirsty; I wanted to ask if you'd like to get a coffee…"
Casually, Anson dropped a bombshell.
Originally, Eric was already extrely nervous, but with Mackie's added anxiety, his tension doubled. His throat felt like it was on fire, and his heart was racing so fast it seed on the verge of exploding. He thought he might pass out.
The car started and moved out.
This is New Line Cinema.
Mackie slapped his forehead, "Right, right, right."
To be precise, it hadn't even been thirty minutes—at most, only twenty-five minutes had passed before Anson finished his eting with New Line Cinema. It seed like he hadn't even had ti to warm up his seat before it was over.
As he spoke, Mackie couldn't help but glance back at the elevator in the parking lot.
Mackie lunged forward but was pulled back, realizing he hadn't unbuckled his seatbelt. He fumbled with the seatbelt in a panic, struggling to unbuckle it as his anxiety mounted.
Eric was seriously considering whether he should go outside to get a coffee. Even if he wasn't thirsty, he could at least get so fresh air.
"Anson."
"Rember our last eting with Universal Pictures? We waited nearly two hours just for the producer to show up. Now, it's not even thirty minutes; Anson must be bored to death waiting in the guest room."
"You just went up there and ca right back down. Did you not et with them? Or…"
Thirty minutes?
"Anson, uh, so, did everything… go smoothly?"
"Uh, do you an…?"
Ah!
Ahhhh!
Ah!
All the screams were muffled in his clothes, but the intense tension could still be felt.
Mackie nodded vigorously like a pecking chick, "I was just telling Eric that we need to fill our stomachs."
"We're about to start filming a movie, woohoo."
Tears flew in the wind.
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