Joseph froze for a moment—he hadn't expected Rick to have a gift prepared for Hugo. What was going on now? He realized he must have missed something important while he'd been lost in thought earlier. Hugo and Rick must have discussed something crucial, but it was too late for regrets; all he could do was follow behind them into Rick's office.
Once inside, Rick didn't take out any gift. Instead, after Joseph closed the door behind them, Rick lowered his voice and said, "Hugo, this topic is extremely sensitive within the company right now. It's best not to talk about it outside."
Hugo gave an awkward chuckle. "I thought it was just another film project. Didn't realize it was so confidential. My mistake."
Joseph looked utterly confused—he clearly had no idea what the two were talking about. Noticing the puzzled look on Joseph's face, Hugo decided to offer a brief explanation. "I just asked Rick about that major project involving Universal Pictures, and he pulled me in here."
Hugo's explanation didn't help much—Joseph still looked lost. So Hugo added, "You remember—the one Ron and Tracy have been negotiating with Universal about?" At that, Joseph immediately understood.
During his earlier casual chat with Rick, Hugo hadn't meant anything serious. He'd just jokingly mentioned the project, curious about what kind of production could possibly draw more attention than The Firm, which already had a sixty-million-dollar budget. But to his surprise, Rick had quickly cut him off, his expression turning mysterious. He told Hugo to drop the topic and used the excuse of giving a "gift" to bring him into the office.
"This project isn't settled at all yet," Rick explained. "Even Universal is still sitting on the fence, undecided about whether to invest. Paramount and Columbia Pictures are also considering jumping in."
Rick's connections were clearly far stronger than Joseph's. He knew much more about what was happening behind the scenes—and even this small piece of information left Hugo astonished.
"I thought the project was in Tracy's hands," Hugo said frankly, voicing the question on his mind.
In Hollywood, there are many ways a film project can be created. Most commonly, a top producer discovers or develops a new project, then—through agents—finds a director and actors interested in collaborating. Once a studio agrees to finance it, the project is greenlit, and the crew is assembled for production.
Of course, that order can vary. Sometimes a leading director, writer, or actor initiates a project and, with the help of agents, brings the rest of the team together. Usually, however, it's the producer who serves as the origin point. Studios also sometimes develop projects internally and then hire collaborators, while independent filmmakers make low-budget films first and seek distribution afterward.
This system evolved dramatically in the late 1980s, thanks to one of the "Big Three" talent agencies—Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where Brad Pitt is represented. They pioneered what became known as package deals: agents and producers worked closely together, and once a project was set, the director, writer, and lead actors were all chosen from the agency's own clients. The finished "package" was then sold to a studio as a complete unit.
This practice effectively stripped studios of much of their power—such as choosing directors or stars—while greatly boosting the influence of agents and producers. It also led to skyrocketing salaries for talent. CAA was behind many of the trends that reshaped Hollywood after 1986: the surge in actor pay, the introduction of box-office profit participation, and the overall inflation of production costs. Yet the major studios could do little but comply.
Against that backdrop, Hugo had always assumed that this mysterious "major project" was in Tracy's hands that she had teamed up with Ron to build her own director-actor team and was now seeking Universal's backing. But from Rick's tone, that clearly wasn't the case.
Rick chuckled and shook his head. "If Tracy were running the show, it wouldn't be a secret. She and Ron would be shouting it from the rooftops—and we wouldn't need to be whispering in my office right now."
Joseph finally focused, setting aside his earlier doubts and realizing the weight of the conversation.
"The project," Rick continued, "is actually being led by Steven Spielberg."
Both Hugo and Joseph froze. Rick went on, "He's been developing it for ten years, but it still hasn't gone into production. A lot of people are trying to get in on it. Tracy and Ron are just two among many. Plenty of folks in the company are watching carefully, waiting to see how it plays out. If we'd talked about it outside, trust me—there would've been a dozen pairs of ears listening in."
Steven Spielberg—one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood. No wonder the project had sparked such fierce competition. It also explained why Tracy and Ron were so eager to attach themselves to it. Both had built impressive careers, but compared to Spielberg, they were still a tier below. Whether or not the project ultimately materialized, just being associated with Spielberg could open doors and elevate their standing immensely.
"You too?" Joseph suddenly asked. "Are you trying to join this project as well?"
He couldn't help it—his pulse quickened at the mere thought. If Ron had used Spielberg's project to tempt Hugo, that would explain everything. Who could easily refuse such an offer? Even Joseph felt a surge of excitement just imagining it. But that same excitement made his heart sink. His tone turned tight and uneasy as he asked, causing Rick to glance at him thoughtfully.
Rick wasn't entirely sure what to make of Joseph's tone, but he didn't dwell on it. With a light chuckle and a shake of his head, he said, "No. I'm not interested."
That answer took both Hugo and Joseph by surprise. Rick, however, didn't keep them guessing for long. "Even though Spielberg holds the final say," he explained, "this isn't an easy project. He's been developing it for ten years—not because he's been endlessly preparing, but because it's that difficult. One wrong step and the whole thing could collapse. He has to be extremely cautious."
It was a contradiction in itself. On one hand, the fact that Spielberg had refused to abandon the project after a decade made it deeply enticing; on the other hand, the fact that it still hadn't materialized in all that time spoke volumes about the studios' hesitation.
"It's still the same now," Rick continued. "The reason Tracy and Ron are even able to compete for a spot is that nothing about the project has been finalized. Not the director, not the producers, not even the cast and the script isn't complete either." He gave a wry smile, clearly skeptical about the whole thing. "The screenplay has been in the works for ten years. It's an adaptation of a novel, but the author never managed to finish the job himself. The latest draft runs over two hundred and twenty pages."
Hugo let out a low whistle. "Scent of a Woman was 160 pages long and ran 160 minutes. This one's sixty pages longer? What is it—Gone with the Wind?" He wasn't exaggerating; that film famously ran for 238 minutes.
Rick smiled but didn't respond directly. Instead, he went on, "After that, Out of Africa's screenwriter Kurt Luedtke took over. He worked on it for four years before finally giving up. Now it's in the hands of Steven Zaillian—you know, the guy who wrote Awakenings. He finished a draft earlier this year, which caused a bit of a stir." Rick's expression suggested that was probably when Tracy had first set her sights on the project. "But Spielberg rejected that version too. It's still being rewritten."
The screenwriting process alone had taken ten full years, which spoke volumes about how complicated the project was.
"The directors have changed just as often," Rick went on. "It's passed through Roman Polanski, then Sydney Pollack, then Martin Scorsese, even Billy Wilder—yet none have stuck." Every name he dropped was another bombshell. "The latest rumor is that Spielberg's considering directing it himself. He's hesitated because he wasn't sure he could handle such a heavy story, but now… it seems he's running out of other options."
The script remained unfinished. The director was undecided. The casting hadn't even started. The whole production was stuck in limbo.
"Technically, it's a Universal Pictures project," Rick clarified, "but the studio hasn't greenlit it. With no confirmed director or producer, they're not ready to take the risk. Other studios like Paramount and Columbia are just waiting and watching too. The project's too sensitive, too serious, and far too challenging. Universal supposedly only offered a $50 million budget but that's nowhere near enough."
Projects like this were notoriously risky. The higher the difficulty, the greater the chance of failure and the greater the potential financial disaster. From what Rick was saying, Hugo could tell the project had enormous potential but was burdened with just as many obstacles. After nine years of false starts and now another nine months since Tracy had begun trying to push it forward—Universal still hadn't made a decision. Their hesitation said everything.
It reminded Hugo of The Lone Ranger—that 2013 Disney film that faced endless setbacks during production and eventually cost the studio nearly $200 million in losses.
The situation seemed the same here: plenty of opportunists like Tracy and Ron, eager to gamble on the chance of glory, but none with the clout or leverage to make it happen. The studios remained cautious, leaving the project stuck in limbo. People like Rick, meanwhile, preferred to watch from the sidelines, waiting for the perfect moment to swoop in and benefit from the chaos.
Ron's grand promises were unreliable, and Rick's claim of "no interest" was equally hard to believe—after all, no one who truly didn't care would know this much detail.
Hugo suddenly found his curiosity piqued. He hadn't paid much attention to the project at first, but after hearing Rick's description, he couldn't help but wonder—what kind of story was powerful enough to haunt Spielberg for a decade? Was it destined to become a cinematic triumph or a legendary failure?
"Does this project have a title yet?" Hugo asked with a grin.
Joseph glanced at him, a heavy feeling settling in his chest at the eager look on Hugo's face. Rick, however, didn't seem to notice. He nodded.
"Of course," he said. "Schindler's List."
...What?!
.....
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