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“So glad to hear you say that.” Zimmerman leaned in conspiratorially. “You would not believe how many authors expect to see their book directly translated to screen.”
Chris smiled. “Personally, I can’t imagine anything more dull.”
He’d argued about saying that, but Daphne had insisted. It was true. A direct translation of any book would be boring. There were long passages of Theo alone, working and planning and worrying. That worked for a book; it would not work on-screen.
Chris continued, “We’ve all seen adaptations where the translation stuck too close to the source material. It doesn’t do either of us any favors. I want a good film because that’s how I’ll bring in new readers.”
Zimmerman beamed. “That’s the spirit, my boy. All right then. Let’s dive in. We’ll start small. I see Jennifer Lawrence playing Theo.”
Chris hesitated, but quickly recovered with a small laugh. “I would love to see a Jennifer Lawrence type in this. She was amazing in The Hunger Games.”
“No, I mean the Jennifer Lawrence.”
“I…” Chris cleared his throat and managed another laugh. “She’s a little older than Theo, but makeup can do wonders.”
“We’re aging up the character. I’m thinking thirty.” He jabbed a finger at his assistants. “We want them in those seats. Young people who grew up on Hunger Games.”
One of the two young women cleared her throat. “I was only nine when—”
At Zimmerman’s glare, she squeaked, “And I loved it.”
“That’s what we want,” Zimmerman said. “Kids who grew up with the Hunger Games, only they aren’t kids anymore. They’re adults, and they’re looking for something a little sexier, a little more…” He snapped his fingers. “What’s that movie?”
Blank looks from all four.
“With the bondage. Based on books.”
“Fifty Shades?” one of the young men said tentatively. “But that came out in—”
“That’s what we want. Sexy Hunger Games.”
“With zombies,” one of the other assistants said, grinning like she’d guessed a Jeopardy! question.
“Zombies?” Zimmerman snapped. “No one’s had a zombie hit in three years. Go stand in the hall.”
Daphne started to force a smile, presuming he was joking, but the young woman slid from the table and slunk into the hall.
When the door closed behind her, Zimmerman leaned over and said, “I’m thinking vampires.”
CHRIS
“We loved the book,” said the woman who’d just entered the room with her quartet of assistants. Meeting number four. By this point, Chris no longer bothered with names.
“I loved the book,” the woman repeated. There’d been no long handshake this time. Just a fist bump. As they sat, she enthused over Edge. Wonderful. Amazing. So good. Could not put it down. Pure genius. The plot, the characters, the setting. Absolutely wonderful.
That was what they all said. So wonderful, and all it needed was, well, a complete overhaul of that wonderful plot, characters, and setting, depending on what was currently hot. Or what the boss thought was currently hot.
“So good,” the woman said. She turned to her four underlings. “Right?”
They agreed, as always.
“I just…” The woman fluttered her hands. “I don’t think I can convey how excited we are about this project. We cannot wait to put your wonderful book on-screen and share it with the world. That would be exciting, wouldn’t it?”
“It would,” Chris said.
The woman shifted, as if this wasn’t quite the level of enthusiasm she expected.
“Your book,” she said. “On a screen. If I were a writer, it’d be a dream come true. Your words come to life. The chance to see the story you wrote.”
