Undisputed_ How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps - Chris Jericho [147]
He stared at me for a moment longer, then drove away in his Jaguar. I got into my Taurus, and realized I was the shizznit no longer.
Later that day I took another meeting at New Line Cinema, and when I walked into the execs’ office I was surprised to see my old friend Jeff Katz sitting behind the desk. I’d first met Katz when he’d gotten a job as an Internet reporter in WCW at age sixteen. Bischoff had admired his drive and determination and hired him to work in the then fledgling online division. I respected his gumption for getting himself employed by his favorite wrestling company at such a young age. If I’d had the chance when I was sixteen, I would’ve done the same thing.
In the years since I’d last seen him, he had moved to L.A. and been the driving force behind the Freddy vs. Jason movie, simply because it was a showdown he’d always wanted to see. He approached the task of getting the film off the ground the same way he’d got himself hired in WCW—with pure determination. Freddy vs. Jason was a huge hit, making $115 million, and a few years later Katz was one of the top young executives in town.
Jeff started introducing me to his friends in Hollywood, including an up-and-coming director named Eli Roth. Eli had just released his first movie, Cabin Fever, which had become a surprise box-office hit, and I thought it was great.
We met at a breakfast place in Hollywood and hit it off instantly when we found out we were both obsessed with American Movie, a little-known documentary about a scatterbrained small-time filmmaker from Wisconsin. We entertained ourselves by trading quotable quips from the movie, excited to find somebody else who had actually heard of Mark Borchardt. I started to hang out with Eli whenever I was in L.A., and eventually he extended the offer to stay with him whenever I was in town.
Eli and I were kindred spirits, both of us obsessed with Italian horror movies, Iron Maiden, and everything ’80s. The first time I went to his place in the Hollywood Hills, it wasn’t surprising that his address was the last house on the left. The first thing I noticed when I went inside was a movie poster for the early-’80s Willie Aames/Scott Baio classic Zapped. He got me a cold pumpkin beer, and as I took the first delicious sip, I recognized the weird synth music playing in the background.
“Hey, is that the soundtrack of Zombie?”
“Yeah, it is!”
I nodded approvingly. “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you’re playing the soundtrack to Zombie or the fact that I recognized it.”
One night we were discussing the intricacies of Cannibal Holocaust when he told me he had an idea for a movie that he wanted to make quickly in between the projects he already had booked. It was called Hostel and was about a group of college kids (aren’t they always?) in Europe who get kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder to be tortured and killed. He explained the plot in great detail (including the Japanese girl getting her face burned and her eye cut out), and I thought it was a froot concept.
He eventually pitched it, got it greenlit, and Hostel ended up earning $80 million worldwide, making Eli one of the hottest directors in Hollywood almost overnight.
Months later after he’d completed filming he invited me to a private test screening for the Lions Gate studio executives. They were literally putting the finishing touches on the print while we watched.
“Could you add some color there? We need some contrast here.”
It was incredible to see Eli’s vision translated onscreen almost exactly the same way he’d described it to me initially. I reacted loudly to some of the gory parts and afterwards two of the execs quizzed me about what I liked best about the film and took notes when I gave my answers. So it’s quite obvious to me that without my amazing feedback Hostel wouldn’t have been half the success it was … right?
My time squatting at Eli’s place came to an end when I came home one night and found the front door open. I snuck inside and saw Eli working diligently in his office with his back