After the recording of The Tonight Show ended, the audience once again gathered around, but Hugo did not stay, since his schedule afterward was rather tight. Hugo had no choice but to leave in a hurry with Joseph. Once the recording of the other two shows also wrapped up, Joseph drove with Hugo back toward the company. These past few days, Joseph had no time to deal with business matters; the audition schedule for The Firm still had no clear arrangement, and Joseph was planning to call Paramount Pictures.
Back at the company, Joseph busied himself at his desk while Hugo sat nearby flipping through the latest issue of the Los Angeles Times.
Nicholas McCallum was truly an interesting character. He had previously clashed head-on with Hugo several times, but after the release of Scent of a Woman, he had voluntarily spoken out in favor of the film. And now, regarding the prospects of A Few Good Men, he once again had a different view.
"Rob Reiner, Hugo Lancaster, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore—it's hard to imagine what kind of sparks such a lineup might ignite.
From When Harry Met Sally to Misery, Reiner's last two works demonstrated the abilities of this bearded director. In fact, ever since 1984's This Is Spinal Tap, Reiner has not disappointed us as a director. Though not every film can be called a masterpiece, his works have always been above standard.
So this time, with Reiner choosing the script of A Few Good Men, we have reason to continue trusting his vision. Although screenwriter Sorkin is still unknown, the iron triangle formed by these three actors is enough to inspire confidence.
As one of America's greatest actors, Nicholson's abilities need no questioning. Though he hasn't had any films released in the past two years, no one doubts his superb acting. Moore, since Ghost, has suffered consecutive failures with her last two films, but this time, supported by two male co-stars, playing a decorative role will be no problem.
Lancaster, in the midst of adversity, not only persuaded Reiner to give him this important role, but even secured it over Tom Cruise. This makes everything all the more incredible. The success of Scent of a Woman showed us Reiner's reason for choosing Lancaster: ability. Though this ability still requires time to be proven, at least we no longer need to fear a repeat of the Hudson Hawk nightmare.
Reiner's directing skills are nothing to worry about, and when it comes to acting, Nicholson guiding a resurgent Lancaster gives us even greater confidence.
But the greatest highlight of A Few Good Men lies in its story. A courtroom drama—facing overwhelming evidence, how does the protagonist discover loopholes and ultimately stretch out justice so that the crime is truly punished by law? The story indirectly echoes the Rodney King incident that has raged since last year. People's sympathy for King easily finds resonance in A Few Good Men, offering them psychological solace. This will become the film's greatest weapon for success.
Although A Few Good Men will face tremendous pressure from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which will have been in theaters for three weeks, it still has hope of opening to twelve million dollars. Perhaps this forty-million-dollar film will bring us a new surprise."
From this review, it was clear Nicholas was optimistic about the prospects of A Few Good Men. Though he lavished much praise on Hugo, his conclusion was still a positive affirmation. This subtle shift could be seen as the continuation of the favorable impression left after Scent of a Woman. The only question was how long such a favorable impression would last.
"The review is positive?" Joseph noticed the smile at the corner of Hugo's mouth and asked.
Hugo nodded, chuckling. "I think Nicholas might be doing it on purpose, trying to attract attention by expressing opinions different from others."
"I don't think so." Joseph put down the receiver in his hand and shook his head. "Right now, the opinions on A Few Good Men are split down the middle. Half see promise, half don't. The Los Angeles Times is just one of them."
As for the film's prospects, part of the media, led by the Los Angeles Times, believed the movie was very likely to achieve success. Another part, led by Vanity Fair, did not believe Hugo could replicate the miracle of Scent of a Woman—on the contrary, they felt Hugo might drag the entire film down. After all, Demi was also an unpredictable factor, while Jack was only a supporting player.
So far, a total of eleven media outlets had done early reports on A Few Good Men. They based their analysis only on the trailer, posters, publicity, subject matter, and story summary, then made their predictions. Though such predictions were unreliable, they could still serve as a barometer of media sentiment.
Six outlets continued to disparage Hugo, while five offered support. Although this was still not too optimistic, it was far better than before the release of Scent of a Woman. It showed clearly that Hugo's outstanding performance in that film had indeed earned him some recognition, rekindling goodwill from the media—and of course, also reviving the nightmare of the past three years.
As for box-office analysis, the media so far had only offered rough estimates. Real predictions would have to wait until after the premiere. At present, only four outlets had forecast box office. The highest came from the Los Angeles Times at twelve million, the lowest from Vanity Fair at six million. The disparity was vast, making it impossible to paint a clear picture of A Few Good Men's prospects.
"So what? None of them have even seen the movie yet." Hugo's mindset had improved. Although he still cared about the reviews, he knew that what truly mattered were opinions after the media actually saw the film. Now, it was only trend speculation. "Are you done with your work?"
Joseph came back to his senses. "Oh, yes. The audition time for The Firm still needs to be pushed back. I guess they want to see the box office for A Few Good Men first." Joseph said this somewhat uncertainly, but for investors, it was perfectly normal. If A Few Good Men succeeded, then with Hugo playing another lawyer, The Firm's likelihood of choosing him would rise dramatically. If it failed, perhaps Hugo would be eliminated from contention even before the audition.
Hugo could only sigh helplessly. From Moment of Death to the Golden Raspberry, the "debts" from that period could only be repaid little by little. Although he had since taken on two films and gained a certain rise in fame and popularity, returning to the peak was by no means easy.
"Then let's wait." Hugo said with a sigh, glancing around. "Anything else? If not, let's go home."
Joseph checked his watch. "Yes, there's a meeting at five."
Hugo widened his eyes. "Then what am I doing here? I've got nothing to do. I might as well go home and read the original novel of The Firm. Who knows how long this meeting will take."
Joseph stood up, motioning for Hugo to follow him. "No, you need to attend this meeting as well." Leading the way, Joseph took the elevator to the eighteenth floor. Since they shared office space, they naturally had no private conference room, so they had to use the common meeting room on the eighteenth floor. "Paramount is taking your premiere of A Few Good Men very seriously. They want you to appear in full formal attire."
"Formal attire? How much more dressed up can a man get? It's just a suit. Do they expect me to wear a Scottish kilt?" Hugo muttered, clearly not understanding why picking clothes required a meeting.
Joseph was amused by Hugo's words and laughed. "Choosing clothes is not that simple."
In Hollywood, selecting attire came in many different forms. The most basic was like when Hugo attended the premiere of Final Analysis, where he went to a store himself and bought something. Beyond that, there were sponsors who approached actors, partner brands that reserved clothing in advance, professional designers creating exclusive designs, and even bespoke haute couture.
These methods applied to different levels of actors and different levels of events. For example, there was a clear distinction between top stars and ordinary actors attending a premiere. Similarly, at the Oscars red carpet, nearly all actors could expect sponsorship—the only difference was the level of the sponsorship. If it was for actresses, competition would be even fiercer, though male actors also faced dazzling choices.
They entered the spacious conference room, thirty-three feet (ten meters) long, empty yet pristine, the kind of room where one could easily imagine countless important meetings being held. Hugo and Joseph hadn't been seated for long before assistants began rolling in racks full of clothing. Soon, the room's every corner was filled. Seeing this dazzling array of outfits, Hugo's eyes widened. "Does it really need to be this serious?"
Joseph smiled and nodded. "Of course. This is the nationwide premiere, and Columbia Pictures intends to make it as grand as possible. As the leading man, you are the center of attention, and all these brands want you to choose their clothing."
In fact, for the Scent of a Woman premiere, Hugo's attire had already been sponsored, a significant step up from before. But this time was clearly an even higher level, once again leaving Hugo in awe of Hollywood's extravagance.
As Hugo's gaze swept over the rows of clothing, it finally stopped on one man. Hugo studied for a moment, then tapped Joseph on the arm. "Why does that man look so familiar—the one standing at three o'clock?"
Joseph followed his gaze, thought for a while in silence, then said uncertainly, "Isn't that the Armani branch manager… uh, Frank?"
...
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