The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 196: Tom Cruise's Troubles]

In Malibu, the large seaside villa hosted a stream of male and female models arriving from the afternoon onward.

By evening, the lights illuminated the venue as guests trickled in. The pool and private beach were filled with dozens of models.

"Buddy, choose whichever you like; you can take them all if you want!" Brian announced jovially to Hawke from the villa's rooftop terrace. "All the models and little stars brought over this time are required to present the latest health reports. I guarantee they are free of any contagious diseases."

Hawke stood behind the glass railing, watching the swimsuit beauties on the beach. "I remember you planned to pursue a Hollywood actress to prove your innocence."

Brian spread his hands, "Not that I didn't try."

Hawke shot him a glance, sensing something was off. "You didn't get rejected, did you?"

Brian replied frankly, "Among the women we considered, only Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz were single. Aniston was out of North America, so I reached out to Cameron, and she wasn't opposed to a brief fling with me."

Feeling proud, he added, "Compared to your bland face, the handsome and dashing Brian Ferguson is surely way more charming."

Hawke inquired, "What about Cameron Diaz? How come I haven't seen you both in public together?"

Brian coughed lightly, "It's all your fault! You made it hard for me to face these Hollywood starlets!"

He leaned in and confided, "When I asked her for health reports, she called me a creep and then blew me off."

Hawke encouraged, "You did the right thing; it's about being responsible to both parties."

The two raised their drinks and toasted.

Hawke asked, "How's the recall election going?"

Brian responded, "The election process has been cleared, and we'll soon enter the actual voting phase. Sacramento is too busy to be distracted; the decisive moment is approaching."

Hawke remarked, "I hope Schwarzenegger gets elected."

If Gray Davis won, they likely would face quite a bit of trouble.

...

Footsteps echoed from the staircase as someone came upstairs.

"I found out you two were hiding up here," the newcomer said while walking over. "You invite me over and then disappear; I thought you took some models to party."

Hawke turned to see Tom Cruise.

Last year at the LAPD's social appreciation dinner, he'd seen Tom Cruise and Brian being quite familiar; Brian had even introduced him to Tom.

Tom Cruise recognized Hawke and quickly remembered, "Hawke Osment, founder of Twitter."

Hawke shook his hand and said, "Didn't expect to run into you here."

Cruise chuckled, "I made a last-minute decision to come over; the parties in the industry are seriously dull. Since Brian invited me, I came to unwind."

He turned to Brian, "Congratulations, Mr. Mayor."

Brian replied, "This is just the beginning."

"Wishing you a speedy entry into the Oval Office," Cruise, who had been following Brian's rise, added, "It was an incredible election. You left your opponents with no chance."

Brian looked at Hawke, "All of this is his doing. Without Hawke, I would have lost."

Cruise seemed a bit surprised, "I heard about West Coast Studio. I thought you had made a shift in careers."

Hawke clarified, "The business consultancy has always been ongoing."

Brian poured three glasses of wine -- one each for Hawke and Cruise -- and added, "Haven't you been running into some problems lately, Cruise? You could ask Hawke for help."

Tom thought for a moment, "Things are still manageable."

He raised his glass to Hawke: "If I need help, can I reach out to you?"

Hawke clinked glasses with him, "Always welcome."

The conversation shifted to Hollywood gossip and amusing anecdotes.

During their talk, Tom Cruise shared some of the troubles he was facing.

Hawke recalled from media reports.

During the last Oscar Award ceremony, Cruise had yet again failed to clinch an Oscar, while his ex-wife Nicole Kidman, backed by Harvey Weinstein, had successfully won Best Actress.

Media reports suggested that Nicole Kidman had left Cruise to live authentically and had truly built her own career.

This left Cruise humiliated.

Even after their divorce, his agent was still CAA's Pat Kingsley, and Cruise felt that Kingsley and CAA were prioritizing Kidman for Oscars, neglecting his side of things.

In a fit of anger, Cruise fired Kingsley and severed ties with CAA.

Their conflict escalated; perhaps to prevent other clients from following suit, CAA and Kingsley began to tarnish Cruise's image through media narratives, alleging strange beliefs and restricting Kidman's freedom.

Hawke vaguely remembered that things seemed only to be starting.

Tom Cruise then changed the subject and asked Hawke, "I attended a screening session recently; is director Eric Emerson your friend?"

Hawke nodded slightly, "His new film, Dark Journey?"

Cruise replied, "The film turned out great; Paramount wants to buy the distribution rights from Castle Rock Productions. I really like his style."

Hawke affirmed, "Eric is a talented director."

Eric had helped him out numerous times, so he extended a courtesy to Cruise, "You like Eric's style? He has another new script; he showed it to me, and I found it quite interesting."

Cruise, who also ran a production company, responded, "Really? Let's find a day to have Eric come out, and we can chat."

Hawke, being proactive, offered, "Should I call him now?"

Cruise replied, "Sure."

Hawke pulled out his phone and dialed Eric's number. After explaining the situation, Eric said he would come right over.

...

In less than half an hour, Eric hurriedly arrived in Malibu and was taken upstairs.

Having participated by chance in the screening of Eric's new film, Tom already knew him.

Hawke made the introductions, then pulled Brian away from the terrace, leaving the space for the two to chat.

With Brian and him present, even if Cruise was indeed interested in men, he wouldn't act on Eric.

This bowl of delicious soup has been simmered for more than 40 years and has not become mushy. Even with the support of Scientology behind it, it is enough to prove that Cruise is not a fool.

As for whether they would reach a collaboration, that was beyond Hawke's control.

The party didn't last too long; most guests had dipped out.

Everyone on Brian's team left with at least one model each.

After all, the boss was footing the bill.

...

On the way back, Eric also jumped into Hawke's car, with Katherine's assigned driver following behind.

Hawke queried Edward, who was driving, "Why didn't you pick one?"

Edward, serious-faced, replied, "They all scolded me."

Eric, curious, asked, "Why?"

Edward shrugged: "When I asked around, none of them had children..."

"Don't be so rigid with your standards," Hawke interjected. "Loosen up a bit; it's a forest out there."

Edward managed a reluctant smile, "I'm a principled person."

Truthfully, his mood had soured; he'd met Deborah that morning, who was highly dissatisfied with him vanishing for extended times. She had strongly demanded he resign from West Coast Studio.

Though Deborah claimed she would support him herself, Edward wasn't naive; there was no comparison between own money and a partner's financial independence.

He firmly rejected her request, leading to a heated argument.

Hawke then asked Eric, "How did the conversation with Tom Cruise go?"

"He reviewed the script I wrote, the one based on you and Edward," Eric shared. "Tom thinks the script is quite fun and suitable for a film adaptation, but we haven't talked about how to collaborate yet."

Hawke remarked, "If you can work something out with Cruise, it'll be much smoother moving forward."

Eric grinned, "Not just smoother, but significantly more so. Generally, the director has the upper hand in collaborations, but that's not the case with superstars like Tom Cruise."

He pondered for a moment, adding, "But Cruise hasn't discussed an actual collaboration with me; I think he's waiting."

Edward recalled their previous discussion about whether Cruise was gay and chimed in, "Waiting for you to proactively offer?"

"Not at all!" Eric retorted, sensitive to the notion, "I would rather not work with him! Cruise is waiting to see how Dark Journey performs before discussing collaboration."

Hawke queried, "When will the film be released?"

Eric replied, "A while back at the screening, Paramount was interested, but Castle Rock isn't keen on selling. If all goes well, it should premiere in August."

Hawke noted it down, "We'll go to the theater to cheer you on when it comes out."

"Buy a few extra tickets, please," Eric responded without being shy, "This is my first real theater film, and if it fails, I'll be stuck making B-movies."

Hawke thought of a plan, "No problem! I'll arrange for Twitter to book a whole screening."

Eric laughed, "You're too generous, boss."

Edward added, "I'll rally my buddies to go watch too."

...

Upon entering North Hollywood, Eric got out and left.

Hawke received a call from Megan Taylor, instructing Edward to take him to Fox Television Center.

Aside from Twitter, Fox 11 played a significant role in the election's public relations.

Using Megan's goodwill would cost Hawke tens of billions if not hundreds to pay back.

Upon entering the underground parking of the Fox station, Hawke retrieved a spare key, opened Megan's BMW 7-Series, and got inside, then called her.

In under ten minutes, Megan came down, hopped into the passenger seat, and asked, "Off to your place?"

Hawke felt it inappropriate to bring another woman to the villa he rented in Santa Monica.

He replied, "Let's go to your place instead."

*****

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