The Last Don - Mario Puzo [64]
During the last five years Athena had had short affairs. One had been with a young producer, Kevin Marrion, the only son of Eli Marrion.
Kevin Marrion was her age but a veteran of the movie business. He had produced his first major film at the age of twenty-one and it had been a hit. Which convinced him he had a genius for movies. Since that time he had produced three flops, and now only his father gave him credibility in the industry.
Kevin Marrion was extremely good-looking; after all, Eli Marrion’s first wife had been one of the greatest beauties in the business. Unfortunately his looks iced out in the camera and he failed all his screen tests. As a serious artist his future was as a producer.
Athena and Kevin met when he asked her to star in his new film. Athena listened to him in rapt wonder and horror. He talked with the particular innocence of the very serious-minded.
“This is the best movie script I have ever read,” Kevin said. “I must tell you in all honesty that I helped rewrite it. Athena you are absolutely the only actress that deserves this role. I could have any actress in the industry but I want you.” He looked sternly at her to convince her of his sincerity.
Athena was fascinated by his pitching of the script. It was the story of a homeless woman living on the streets who is redeemed by the finding of an abandoned infant in a garbage pail and who then goes on to become the leader of the homeless in America. Half of the film consisted of her pushing the shopping cart that held all her possessions. And after surviving alcohol, drugs, near starvation, rape, and a government attempt to take away her foundling, she goes on to run for president of the United States on an independent ticket. Not winning, however—that was the class of the script.
Athena’s fascination had really been horror. This was a script that would require her to be a homeless, despairing woman in a desolate background in old clothes. Visually, a disaster. The sentimentality was rank, the intelligence level of dramatic construction, idiotic. It was a bewildering, hopeless mess.
Kevin said, “If you play this part, I will die happy.”
And Athena thought, Am I crazy or is this guy a moron? But he was a powerful producer. Obviously sincere, and obviously a man who could get things done. She looked despairingly at Melo Stuart, and he smiled back at her encouragingly. But she could not speak.
“Wonderful. Wonderful idea,” Melo said. “Classic. Rise and fall. Fall and rise. The very essence of drama. But Kevin, you know how important it is for Athena after her breakthrough to select the proper follow-up. Let us read the script and we’ll get back to you.”
“Of course,” Kevin said and handed both of them copies of the script. “I know you’ll love it.”
Melo took Athena to a small Thai restaurant on Melrose. They ordered their meal and flipped through the script.
“I’ll kill myself first,” Athena said. “Is Kevin retarded?”
“You still don’t understand the movie business,” Melo said. “Kevin has intelligence. He’s just doing something he is not equipped to do. I’ve seen worse.”
“Where? When?” Athena said.
“I can’t recall offhand,” Melo said. “You’re a big enough star to say no but you’re not big enough to make unnecessary enemies.”
“Eli Marrion is too smart to back his son up on this one,” Athena said. “He must know how terrible this script is.”
“Sure,” Melo said. “He even jokes that he has a son who makes flop commercial movies and a daughter who makes serious movies that lose money. But Eli has to make his children happy. We don’t. We say no to this