"Everything's ruined now. That bum must have taken it. He'll hop on a plane to Florida or Hawaii, or maybe Canada, Panama, Bermuda, and live the good life."
"What about Ronnie?"
"He'll kill me, Lola."
"You have to tell him."
"No way, he won't believe a single word."
"Why not?"
"Once I held back a carton of smokes, and he spotted it right away. He doesn't trust anyone. This deal was a test to see if I'm reliable."
"How much money was in the bag?"
"A hundred thousand dollars."
"What!"
"A hundred thousand dollars. Just a test."
"Oh, hell."
In the audition room.
Simon listened intently as Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves performed the dialogue, then made a stopping gesture. "Okay, that's enough for here."
They both stopped.
Simon waited for Keanu Reeves to stand straight again before saying, "So, Keanu, can you tell us why you're interested in this movie?"
"I think it's a really unique film," Keanu Reeves said, tilting his head slightly as he thought it over. "Unique structure, unique story. If I get to be part of it, I bet it'll be a one-of-a-kind experience."
Simon smiled. "Well, you should know this is totally a female-driven movie. It won't do much to advance your career."
Keanu Reeves smiled back. "Compared to my career, I'd rather try something fun."
"All right," Simon nodded. "One last question: the male lead's hair definitely can't be longer than the female lead's, so if you join the film, you'll need to cut yours. Any issues with that?"
Keanu Reeves shook his head. "No problem."
Simon said with satisfaction, "Then, thanks for coming in today, Keanu. We'll let you know the results as soon as we can."
Once Keanu Reeves left, Sandra said, "Simon, you seem pretty interested in that actor."
Simon glanced at Sandra, smiling as he asked, "You don't know Keanu? He's with WMA too."
Sandra rolled her eyes lightly. "WMA has over three thousand clients. How could I possibly know them all?"
Simon nodded as if it just dawned on him.
In his memory, Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves had become good friends after working together on Speed, but he hadn't expected them to still be strangers now. Thinking about it, though, their collaboration wasn't just coincidence—they were both under WMA. Back in the nineties, project packaging was already the standard way the big agencies operated.
With that in mind, Simon looked over at Ron McMillan on the other side. "Ron, what do you think of him?"
"Well," Ron said with a smile, "Simon, this time it's up to you to decide."
Simon noticed Ron's expression seemed off. "What's going on?"
Ron shrugged, not hiding it. "I happen to know Keanu's stepfather, Paul Aaron. He called me this morning."
Simon looked puzzled. "Paul Aaron?"
Ron explained, "He's a director, but mostly he makes TV movies for the major networks. We've worked together a few times, so we're pretty familiar."
Okay.
Simon inwardly griped a little.
Wasn't Keanu Reeves supposed to have had a rough childhood, striking out on his own in Hollywood and nearly starving at his lowest point?
How did he suddenly turn into Hollywood royalty?
He shook his head lightly, pushing aside those random thoughts, and evaluated Keanu purely based on his performance just now.
Keanu Reeves was only twenty-two this year. Even with the stubble, he couldn't hide his youthfulness, and he was far from the brooding, intense vibe he'd have years later. Playing a small-time crook made him seem a bit too handsome for the part, but it wasn't a huge mismatch.
In the original timeline, Keanu's first Hollywood film, River's Edge, had him playing a troubled teen. In the years that followed, he even tried his hand at comedy.
It wasn't until The Matrix that his on-screen image got locked in, making it hard to shake off the trench coat, shades, and savior persona of Neo.
After mulling it over for a moment, Simon quickly made up his mind.
He flipped through the remaining profiles—four left—but didn't call a halt, instead signaling the staff to bring in the next auditioner.
The day after the auditions wrapped, the Lola Run crew officially confirmed Keanu Reeves as the male lead.
As a Hollywood rookie with some TV experience under his belt, his pay from the production was still low—just $2,000.
Beyond the male lead, the other roles for Lola Run were nailed down in the days that followed.
Meanwhile, The Butterfly Effect had also finished casting the supporting roles and pre-production. During that time, Simon attended several of the auditions and offered his own suggestions on the picks.
At the end of September, as per his contract with Fox, Simon went back into lockdown mode to handle the final revisions on the Butterfly Effect script.
By comparison, Lola Run didn't have such a meticulous production process.
But then, a low-budget flick with a $650,000 investment and a $10 million blockbuster weren't really comparable.
Peter Sanders, the Fox VP overseeing The Butterfly Effect, even voiced his dissatisfaction when he learned Simon was juggling the screenplay while handling Lola Run, calling it a case of him not focusing on the job.
David Giler and Brian De Palma treated Peter Sanders like some kind of sacred cow, but Simon didn't pay him much mind.
September 26.
Friday.
Today was the last day for script revisions. Simon headed to the Fox lot bright and early for a full-day meeting with David Giler, Brian De Palma, and the other key creatives.
It wasn't until five in the afternoon that Simon drove home in his black Chevy SUV.
This was a car he'd just bought recently. Compared to the boxy, Santana-like shapes of most sedans these days, the similarly angular SUV at least somewhat matched his taste—and it wasn't too pricey, coming in at just over $32,000 with all the taxes and fees.
Simon couldn't swing the full amount right now, so he'd set up a three-year installment plan, with monthly payments under $1,000.
He'd barely gotten back to his place in the Montana district when he got a call from Janet. She got straight to the point: dinner together that night, his treat—she'd already booked the restaurant—and, a bit grudgingly, added that Katherine would be joining them too.