The Last Don - Mario Puzo [146]
Bantz thought it over. Then he turned on the charm. “Ernest,” he said, “as a novelist you are a National Treasure. No one respects you more than me. And Eli has read every one of your books. He absolutely adores you. So we want to come to an accommodation.”
Claudia was embarrassed at how Ernest obviously swallowed this bullshit, though to his credit, he shuddered a bit at the “National Treasure.”
“Be specific,” he said. Now Claudia was proud of him.
Bantz spoke to Molly. “How about a five-year contract at ten grand a week to write original scripts and do some rewrites and of course on the originals we only get first look. And for every rewrite he gets an additional fifty grand a week. In five years he could make as much as ten million.”
“Double the money,” Molly said. “Then we can talk.”
At this point Vail seemed to lose his almost angelic patience. “None of you are taking me seriously,” he said. “I can do simple arithmetic. Bobby, your deal is only worth two and a half. You’ll never buy an original script from me and I’ll never do one. You’ll never give me rewrites. And what if you make six sequels? Then you make a billion.” Vail began to laugh with genuine enjoyment. “Two and a half million dollars doesn’t help me.”
“What the fuck are you laughing about?” Bobby said.
Vail was almost hysterical. “I never dreamed in my life of even one million and now it doesn’t help me.”
Claudia knew Vail’s sense of humor. She said, “Why doesn’t it help you?”
“Because I’ll still be alive,” Vail said. “My family needs the points. They trusted me and I betrayed them.”
They would have been touched, even Bantz, except that Vail sounded so false, so self-satisfied.
Molly Flanders said, “Let’s go talk to Eli.”
Vail lost his temper completely and stormed out of the door shouting, “I can’t deal with you people. I won’t beg a man on a hospital bed.”
When he was gone, Bobby Bantz said, “And you two want to stick up for that guy?”
“Why not?” Molly said. “I represented a guy who stabbed his mother and his own three kids. Ernest is no worse than him.”
“And what’s your excuse?” Bantz asked Claudia.
“We writers have to stick together,” she said wryly. They all laughed.
“I guess that’s about it,” Bobby said. “I did the best I could, right?”
Claudia said, “Bobby, why can’t you give him a point or two, it’s only fair.”
“Because over the years he’s screwed a thousand writers and stars and directors. It’s a matter of principle,” Molly said.
“That’s right,” Bantz said. “And when they have the muscle they screw us. That’s business.”
Molly said to Bantz with fake concern, “Eli is okay? Nothing serious?”
“He’s fine,” Bantz said. “Don’t sell your stock.”
Molly pounced. “Then he can see us.”
Claudia said, “I want to see him anyway. I really care about Eli. He gave me my first break.”
Bantz shrugged them off. Molly said, “You will really kick yourself if Ernest knocks himself off. Those sequels are worth more than I said. I softened him up for you.”
Bantz said scornfully, “That schmuck won’t kill himself. He doesn’t have the balls.”
“From ‘National Treasure’ to ‘schmuck,’ ” Claudia said musingly.
Molly said, “The guy is definitely a little crazy. He’ll croak out of sheer carelessness.”
“Does he do drugs?” Bantz asked, a little worried.
“No,” Claudia said, “but Ernest is full of surprises. He’s a true eccentric who doesn’t even know he’s eccentric.”
Bantz pondered this for a moment. There was some merit in their argument. And besides he never believed in making unnecessary enemies. He didn’t want Molly Flanders to carry a grudge against him. The woman was a terror.
“Let me call Eli,” he said. “If he gives the okay, I’ll take you to the hospital.” He was sure that Marrion would refuse.
But to his surprise, Marrion said, “By all means, they can all come to see me.”
They drove to the hospital in Bantz’s limo, which was a big stretch job but by no means luxurious. It was fitted with a fax, a computer, and a cellular phone. A bodyguard supplied by Pacific Ocean Security sat next to the driver. Another security