Taylor's words took Ethan by surprise. He hadn't expected this girl to confess so openly.
Of course, he wasn't an idiot—he had long noticed her feelings for him. But the reason he hadn't responded was simple.
A girl like Taylor Swift would definitely be clingy. If they got together, she would surely announce it to the whole world.
So Ethan couldn't agree to her so easily. At the very least, he needed to wait until she matured a little.
"What kind of liking are you talking about?" Ethan didn't react much to Taylor's words and simply turned his head to ask her.
"Just liking. Nothing else. I like you—isn't that enough?"
Taylor's expression was extremely serious.
"Yeah… it's enough." Ethan smiled. "But you're only 17, right?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has a lot to do with it," Ethan explained. "If you were dating a boy your age, no one would care. People would say it's pure love, something to be blessed and respected."
"But if you were with me—if we were together—then those people would say it's abduction, deception, an adult man preying on an underage girl." Ethan smirked. "What do you think?"
"Let them say whatever they want. I don't care! What does it matter?" Taylor's expression was stubborn.
"You're right, and honestly, I don't care much either." Ethan laughed, and just as Taylor started to feel happy, he added, "But I just don't like you that much yet."
His words were unusually direct. Taylor felt a little hurt at first, but then she suddenly realized something.
"What do you mean, 'not that much'?" Taylor pressed him for an answer.
"It's just that… we haven't spent enough time together, Taylor. And whenever we do, we're always talking about music. Haven't you noticed?"
"You… you're right."
"So we don't really know each other that well. And to be honest, I like strong, independent women—the kind that shine on stage…"
"Like at the Grammys?"
"Yeah… exactly. Imagine yourself singing on the Grammys stage while I'm sitting in the audience. If we lock eyes, that feeling would be intense."
After Ethan finished speaking, Taylor rested her chin on her hand, feeling a sense of anticipation. "Yeah… if I were standing on that stage, singing…"
Would confessing to him then finally get her a definite answer?
Taylor secretly glanced at Ethan, then covered her mouth, lost in thought.
"Alright, I get it. I will stand on the Grammys stage." Taylor stood up and made a vow to the campfire. "Ethan, you will see me from the audience."
"To be honest, I think you're pretty charming right now."
"Really?" Taylor turned to Ethan in surprise, seeing him nod.
In the next second, all her previous sadness disappeared, and she became happy again.
The next day, Ethan had Tom and the others send Taylor and her brother back to Texas.
Then, he dove back into filming.
During a break from No Country for Old Men, MGM's Harry Sloan called Ethan.
The purpose of the call was to ask Ethan to fulfill his previous contract and direct a movie for them.
The film was called Valkyrie, a project MGM had been preparing for a long time in hopes of making a comeback.
Ethan knew about this film, mainly because it had been released in China and did fairly well at the box office.
But if you looked deeper, you'd see that this movie had a troubled history.
First, it faced restrictions because Germany didn't approve of the characters, limiting many filming locations. Then, after finally negotiating filming permissions, they had to reshoot a large portion due to damaged film reels.
Later, during the tank scene, an explosion occurred, injuring 12 people.
MGM had to pay a huge sum to settle the matter.
But it didn't end there. The original release date clashed with Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie. To avoid competition, they postponed the release by several months.
In the end, the film grossed $83 million in North America and $200 million worldwide.
But with a production cost of $75 million, MGM barely broke even—it wasn't exactly a profitable success.
It did little to ease their growing financial crisis, leaving MGM executives disappointed.
Ethan believed the movie's underwhelming box office performance boiled down to one reason: it was too straightforward.
The film depicted the entire July 20, 1944, Operation Valkyrie plot—from the initial plan to the ultimate failure. It was a real historical event.
But it was also a well-known one. No matter how they adapted it, they couldn't change the fact that the plotters failed to kill Hitler and escape.
So the ending had zero suspense for audiences, making the film less engaging.
The original movie spent too much time on the buildup before the assassination, weakening its dramatic tension. Even with Tom Cruise's star power, a lower-than-expected box office was inevitable.
To boost the film's performance, Ethan thought it needed a different storytelling approach.
But that would require MGM's approval, and they had to give him the compensation he deserved.
Currently, they were offering him a $10 million directing fee.
That was a solid paycheck. While not at the very top of the industry, it was still an A-list director's salary.
But Ethan felt it was too low. He demanded a share of the box office profits.
Box office cuts were the defining factor separating A-list directors from top-tier directors. Every elite Hollywood director had profit-sharing deals.
Take Christopher Nolan, for example. For Dunkirk, he secured a 20% box office share.
On top of his $20 million base salary, he typically made $40–50 million per film.
That's the level of a top director—on par with Hollywood's biggest stars.
However, MGM's Harry was hesitant about this proposal and did not immediately agree.
Although Ethan's films—Fifty Shades of Grey, Saw, and Memoirs of a Geisha—had already proven his strength and box office appeal, he still lacked experience with large-scale commercial productions.
Nolan only officially entered the ranks of top-tier directors after Batman made him a household name.
Ethan had yet to truly prove himself, so MGM was not entirely convinced by his demands.
The two sides negotiated over the phone multiple times but failed to reach an agreement.
It wasn't until No Country for Old Men had wrapped filming and Ethan returned to New York that Harry finally agreed to meet him in person to discuss his salary.
"Ethan, I know you have a lot of confidence in yourself," Harry said in his office, arms crossed. "But your demands are a bit… well, you know."
"I understand, Harry." Ethan smiled, took a sip of water, then set the cup down. "Ten million dollars plus a 10% cut of the box office does sound a bit like I'm being greedy. But Harry, I've never lost money."
"Or rather, I've always been earning, always been winning. Haven't I?"
If anyone else had said this, it might have sounded arrogant. But coming from Ethan, Harry found it entirely reasonable.
In his twenties, Ethan's films had already grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide. He was undeniably a phenomenon, a genius.
That was precisely why Harry wanted him as the director.
"Well then, I think we could sign a betting agreement," Harry mused. It seemed like the only way to get both parties on board.
But Ethan shook his head. "No betting. This is what I deserve."
"What do you mean?" Harry looked puzzled.
"I can get Tom Cruise to sign on." Ethan didn't hesitate to throw his future business partner under the bus.
"Really?" Harry was pleasantly surprised. A top-tier actor was exactly what a big-budget film needed.
A star like Tom Cruise would boost box office appeal, help marketing, and his rugged looks fit the role perfectly.
But what surprised Harry even more was Ethan's confidence. He spoke as if he and Cruise were like brothers, able to make decisions for each other.
"Absolutely. 100%." Ethan's confidence didn't come from their partnership.
It was because he knew why Tom Cruise had agreed to this role in his previous life—it was simply because the real-life Colonel Stauffenberg's profile photo resembled his own.
Cruise had always been spontaneous, as evidenced by his recent eccentric behavior in interviews.
Ethan privately suspected that Cruise might be going through an early midlife crisis.
After Ethan played his Tom Cruise card, Harry hesitated. He clearly hadn't expected such a surprise.
Sensing the hesitation, Ethan continued, "To be honest, this movie is going to be a challenge."
"Uh…" Harry didn't respond, but his expression betrayed his thoughts.
"A movie with a well-known ending—how do you make that compelling? That's the biggest challenge here. I assume that's why you sought me out—because I'm good at suspense."
"Hmm, you're right. We originally considered Bryan Singer—you know, X-Men. He's always done commercial films, so he fit our criteria. But he's not as good as you." Parent spoke more candidly in the privacy of his office.
"He excels at big action scenes but lacks finesse. You, on the other hand, Ethan—you may not have experience coordinating massive set pieces, but your grasp of suspense and human nature is far superior. And… you're more cost-effective."
Harry chuckled. It aligned well with MGM's cost-conscious approach.
"So, Parent, I plan to make some unique changes to this movie." Ethan smiled slightly and laid out his vision.
Ten minutes later, Harry's secretary heard a burst of applause from inside the office.
Then came Harry's voice: "Ethan, you've convinced me."
"Hiring you as the director is turning out to be a brilliant decision."
Harry hadn't expected Ethan to surprise him yet again. After hearing Ethan's ideas, he immediately recognized that this director was vastly different from most commercial filmmakers.
Perhaps because many directors in the commercial industry prioritized explosive action and thrilling visuals to draw audiences in, the end result was often a film where spectacle took precedence over story.
While this approach did attract viewers, it frequently led to weak word-of-mouth and limited long-term box office growth.
But Ethan's philosophy was entirely different. He focused on crafting a compelling story framework first, then used spectacular sequences and visuals to enhance it.
Audiences would be drawn in by the surface-level excitement but stay for the gripping narrative, making the film more likely to spread through word-of-mouth.
To Harry, this mindset likely stemmed from Ethan's background in low-budget and artistic films. Compared to commercial directors, he placed greater emphasis on narrative integrity and plot twists.
It reminded Harry of someone—Christopher Nolan.
Nolan was a similar type of director, capable of telling a powerful story within a commercial blockbuster.
"If this film could perform like Batman at the box office, that would be amazing," Harry thought for a moment before shaking his head. That seemed unlikely.
After all, Batman had the advantage of a comic book IP, top-tier visual effects, and an incredible script. Valkyrie didn't have that kind of built-in appeal.
Meanwhile, after leaving MGM, Ethan got into his car, contract in hand.
He had finally taken another step forward—he was now a director entitled to a box office share.
If all went according to plan, No Country for Old Men would be the last film he directed without participating in the box office profits.
Tapping his fingers lightly on his knee, Ethan seemed in a good mood. Tom, who was driving, noticed and turned on the radio, playing a song.
However, just as they were about to arrive at their company, Ethan received a call from Heath Ledger.
"Hello, Ledger. What's up?"
"Hey, Ethan. There's someone who wants to talk to you."
"Talk to me? About what?" Ethan was puzzled.
"It's director Nolan. He heard you're about to start filming Inception and wants to meet with you."
"What?" Ethan was even more confused.
"Yeah. I mentioned to him that your film is about dreams, and he got really excited. He wants to know more, so he asked me to contact you."
"Alright. When and where?" Ethan thought for a moment and quickly understood why Nolan wanted to meet him.
He recalled that before Inception was made, the script had been refined over six years.
But that was just something filmmakers often said. Many writers claimed they had been working on their projects for decades, when in reality, they had only started writing in the past few months.
The rest of the time was just spent thinking about it.
Nolan was probably no exception. At this stage, he likely only had a concept and some rough ideas.
That's why he wanted to meet Ethan—he had sensed a shared vision and wanted to confirm it.
Fortunately, Ethan was already prepared.
....
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