Chapter 4
I just wanted to give a shout-out to Locker55 for my first Power Stone. Thank you, and I hope you keep enjoying my story.
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"He always has this notebook on him. Even to this day, he has a notebook with him. That is the only thing I can honestly say I remember about him during the filming of Se7en." Gwyneth Kate Paltrow.
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-1995-
"Cut." The voice of David Fincher yells out while letting out a sigh of relief.
It was finally over, he thought to himself. The filming of Se7en had finally wrapped up today. After three long months of grueling work, the most challenging part of making a movie was over. To say he had not been sleeping well these last few months would be an understatement. As the film director, and after his failure with Alien 3, he was all too aware that this may be his last chance to direct a major motion picture. So, getting past this bump in the road was a significant relief for him. Even if he knew the stress he had been feeling lately was only the beginning, well aware now came the editing, which was another nightmare in of itself.
Looking around him, he spots the young man who made all this possible—the writer of the movie he directed—looking as calm and cool as ever, while he wrote in his black notebook. Something he always seemed to have on him. Honestly, when he first met Caesar, he didn't know what to make of the young man. Oh, sure, David could recognize Caesar's raw talent in his writing. But as for the young man himself, David didn't know what to think of Caesar.
His initial impression of Caesar was that he was just a typical hoodlum kid with a chip on his shoulder. That, however, evolved into your typical hoodlum who was also very dangerous and angry at the world. Only to change once again during the revisions of the script for Se7en. David had met many writers over his time in the business, and he could honestly say none of them were even half as calm and cool as Caesar was when it came to someone criticizing their work. They often only got angry and defensive at someone pointing out their mistakes or when someone thought something could be improved.
That wasn't Caesar, however. The young man was in as few words as possible, ice cold. He took the criticism and questions with hardly a word. Then asked how that person thought it should be changed, and God help you if you didn't have an answer. He may have only been 18 years old, but the way Caesar talked to someone who didn't have an option other than criticism was brutal. More than once, David had to step in during the revision process to play peacemaker when one of the writers for New Line had lost their temper and tried to get in Caesar's face. Something that wouldn't have ended well for them, as David could tell Caesar was not the type to pull his punches. If you started something with him, you had better be ready to take a few before it's over.
That said, Caesar was also a surprisingly diligent worker. Whenever Caesar was told to do something, he was all in. There was no such thing as doing things by half for the young man. For example, casting. David knew all too well now how tedious even the last rounds of auditions can get, and Caesar was involved from the beginning to the end. Yet the casting director had nothing but positive things to say about Caesar. Stating clearly that Caesar didn't complain once, and went over each file carefully before tossing it aside or bringing it up. That was surprising, as David was sure Caesar would complain at least once, but never did.
Then came his work in lights. It was clear to anyone watching that Caesar was given the worst and hardest jobs to do with lighting, but again, he said nothing. He did his job with care and precision. To the point that Darius gave him a small crew to get things done quicker and more efficiently. Nothing essential, but things that needed to be done on set but didn't require a lot of technical know-how, Darius sent Caesar's way. David was pretty sure Darius even wanted to hire Caesar at this point. If only to see how much Caesar could learn from him.
Getting up from his chair, David walks over to Caesar as he is writing in his notebook and says, "Hey Caesar."
Looking up from where I was writing, I stood up and said, "Hey, what's up, boss?"
"Nothing much. I just saw you sitting here and was wondering what you were working on, " David says.
"Ah, I'm just taking down some notes and thoughts. I submitted a script a few months back to the WGA. But after watching all this, I am now thinking it's not good enough," I say to David.
"Come now, this was one hell of a script you wrote, and it will make one hell of a movie. So, I am sure this one will be just as good." David said, but wasn't really sure if he believed that. After all, Se7en was unique in itself. It would be hard for any writer to top something like this.
"Thanks, boss," I said to him, then heard one of the guys call me. It was time to start taking down the lights and stuff.
"Have to go, boss. Talk later." I say to him.
"Sure, but before you go, can I see what you have written so far?" David asks, interested in Caesar's writing. It would be worth checking out if it were half as good as Se7en.
"Yeah, sure, it's just notes, however. If you want to read the script, you're going to have to go to the WGA," I say to him before handing him my notebook and walking off.
Opening the notebook after Caesar leaves, David sees a lot of broken sentences, one-word lines with question marks, and scratched-out parts. Like Caesar said, it was just a bunch of notes and random thoughts. But after flipping the pages for a bit, he comes across several names. The first is someone named the Ghost, and the second is a girl named Casey. The dialogue is all over the place again, but as he reads on, one line jumps out at him.
"Do you like scary movies?" David says to himself. He doesn't know why, but this one line hooks him, and he keeps going until he reaches the end.
After reading the whole notebook, David looks up to see that the work on taking down the setting is nearly done. He had lost track of time reading Caesar's notebook. It was all over the place, and the few scenes he did write needed work, but if this was just random thoughts and the real script was at WGA….
Should he call Arnold? No, Arnold was already taking a risk by producing Se7en. He wasn't about to take another risk by buying another script from Caesar. Not before he knew if Se7en would be a success or not. In fact, David was still surprised he was able to convince Arnold to buy the script in the first place. No, he would have to go elsewhere, but where?
After thinking about it, David remembers Cathy Konrad at Woods Entertainment. She liked slasher movies, so maybe she would be interested in the script. It wouldn't hurt to make a few calls after all.
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So, the filming was over on Se7en, and I wasn't invited to take part in either the editing or watch the final product. It wasn't surprising. The fact that I was involved as much as I was in the movie in the first place was a miracle in itself. I couldn't ask for more and was smart enough not to. That doesn't mean I was done, however. Not even close.
You see that notebook I let David read from was all part of my larger plan. I already knew Se7en was going to be the dark house hit of the year and would put David's name on the map, and I planned to ride his coattails all the way to the top. However, I had to make him think I was working on more scripts to do that. So, when Se7en became a hit, he would immediately think of me and hopefully come looking for another.
However, that doesn't mean I was putting all my eggs in one basket. You see, after I was done writing up Se7en, I had worked and submitted three other scripts. One for '96 and two for '97. If things went the way the information in my head said they would, all of them should be picked up at some point in time before those years. If not, well, I still had over 30 years of scripts in my head, so I was in no rush. With that said, again, I got lucky.
Now you may ask how? Well, the answer is simple: in Hollywood, things may seem bigger than life from a distance. But in reality, things were much smaller than they appeared to be. What I mean is Hollywood was, in fact, a tight-knit community of people who didn't like each other but collaborated with each other to make a profit. And that wasn't only for the executives at the top. That went for the people at the midlevel and bottom as well. To see what I mean, go to LA and try to get a job on any set for any major studios. You won't find one easily, unless you have connections, like I seemed to have.
In an effort to keep me busy and in the Hollywood scene. David and Darius called in a favor for me and got me a job in lights on another movie set. A low-level job, of course, but it was something, and hey, I always enjoyed the movie Heat. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro come on, who didn't want to see those two up close and personal at least once in their lives? Not that I got to talk to them, mind you, but that didn't matter. I was there, and that was all I needed. After all, I had my notebook with me and was a hard worker.
Like pretty much everything else in Hollywood, everything was about how people saw you. They see a hard worker like I was, and they remember you. Next, show them you're the guy who can get things done, and they like you. Lastly, show them you know what you're doing, or at least fake like you know what you are doing. Then sit back and watch as they take notice. Now, of course, I wasn't the only one who was working hard. On an active movie set you won't' find anyone fucking off. They all wanted to stand out, but I had an advantage over everyone else. While I may not have known anything about lighting, like with the scripts in my head, I could also watch how those movies were made in what felt like real time. Like a personal home theater, which included on-site filming. I knew where to put the lights before being asked to put them up. I didn't know how to adjust them or the difference between light settings, but it was impressive nonetheless for someone who was supposed to know nothing. Of course, if you give me enough time, I will figure out how to set the lights, but it was like editing. You could sit me in front of an editing table, and I may be able to do something with the info in my head. But it would be a slow process, and I would most likely fail in the end.
Knowing how something is done after all is not the same as doing it. And just because I could watch the process in my head didn't mean I could copy it. Best I learn the old-fashioned way. With all that said, when I was told to put up lights in one area, I rarely did it wrong. Something Dante Spinotti, the cinematographer for the movie Heat, took notice of. He called me raw talent with no skill, and didn't mean that as an insult.
Now, while I was working on the set of Heat, things were going on behind the scenes that I didn't know about. Again, David stepped in to give me a helping hand, pushing my nonexistent career forward by leaps and bounds once more. I have to say, David was one hell of a guy.
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It was another stressful day for Cathy Konrad, who was sitting at her desk in her office when her secretary called her on the intercom.
"Miss Konrad, you have a call on line one." Her secretary says.
"Who is it?" Cathy asks, in no mood to take calls right now, if she could help it as she looked over another script. Hoping to find that hidden gem in a pill of shit. A gem she desperately needed at this point.
It was safe to say that at this point, she was looking for something good to make up for the last two failures. Well, maybe calling Kids a failure was a bit much, but Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead was. She needed something to set off her career, something to leave a mark, so to speak, but she was finding nothing.
"It's David Fincher, miss." Her secretary answers.
What could he want? Konrad asks herself. She didn't really know that man all that well. Oh, sure, like everyone else, she had met him a few times and even talked with him, but only a handful of times over the years. Hollywood being such a small community, you eventually meet everyone there is to meet. That said, they were not what some would call friends or even acquaintances. Still David was a young up and comer who was currently working on a new movie despite the cluster fuck that was Alien 3.
With that knowledge, Cathy picks up the phone and says, "This is Cathy. How can I help you today, Director Fincher?"
"Ah, Miss Konrad, so happy I could get a hold of you. I hope you don't think this is rude of me, but I sent a script to you the other day. Did you get it?" David asks.
Taking a moment to look around her office, she finds a package on her desk and picks it up. "I did, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet."
"Oh, I see. Well, I just wanted to see if you had. You see, the script was written by the same young man who wrote the script for the movie I am currently working on. I gave it a read myself and liked it, but I can't do anything with it while I am working on my current project. That was when I remembered our last talk, when you said you liked horror movies. So, I thought I would send it to you to read," David says to her.
Upon hearing this, it didn't take Cathy long to realize where this conversation was headed. David had taken a liking to this young writer and was asking her as a favor to read over the script and see if she liked it. While not a powerhouse director by any means, Cathy does remember that David had some pretty powerful friends in Hollywood and show business in general.
Knowing it would be best not to outright refuse him, Cathy says, "I see, Director Fincher. I will give it a read and let you know what I think."
"Thank you, Miss Konrad. I hope to hear your thoughts soon. I have to go now. Have a good rest of your day," David says in a rush.
"You to Director Fincher," Cathy says before hanging up the phone.
Thinking it was better to get this over with than putting it off till later, Cathy opens the package and pulls out the script. Reading the title out loud, "Scream, by Caesar Espinar."
Sitting back down at her desk, Cathy starts to read it. She is not expecting anything, but as she keeps reading, she quickly gets into it. Picking up a pen, Cathy starts circling one part and underlining another. Before she knows it, she is fully engrossed in what she is reading, much like David was when he first read Se7en. Though she is far less hyped about the script than he was about Se7en, she still finds herself liking it.
Keeping a cool head after reading the script, she sets it down, picks up her phone, and dials a number. When someone finally picks up the phone on the other end, Cathy says, "Yes, Cary, this is me, and I think I may have something here.... That is right... No, I don't know the writer, but something about it tells me it's a hit... Yes, yes, I know we need a hit. Just come over so I can show you it... Wonderful, I will see you in an hour."
Setting the script down, Cathy looks at it one more time before smiling. "Caesar Espinar, huh? "I don't know who you are, but I have to say your script is not too bad. Let's see where this leads us, shall we?"