Chapter 70: A Desire to Direct

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: A Desire to Direct

After a full night’s sleep, the morning sun dispelled the chaos and temptations of yesterday, and Irene Coppola’s mind became exceptionally clear and calm.

She had completely woken up from those two surprises.

One, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, was a true treasure, while the other, Almost Famous, was merely a sugar-coated trap.

To avoid any potential complications, she obtained the phone number of Nia Vardalos, the screenwriter of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, through Shelly.

As the first ray of sunlight appeared before her, she dialed it without hesitation.

The phone rang a few times before it was answered, and a female voice filled with a hint of doubt and caution came from the other end: "Hello?"

"Good morning, Ms. Vardalos. Sorry to disturb you, I am Irene Coppola."

Irene Coppola’s voice was clear and energetic, carrying just the right amount of respect.

"Irene Coppola?" Nia’s tone shifted from confusion to surprise, clearly not expecting to receive a call from this Hollywood upstart.

"Is this Director Coppola who filmed Legally Blonde?"

"Yes, that’s me." Irene Coppola confirmed with a smile.

"I’m calling to personally tell you that I have received your script titled My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

She paused, her tone becoming incredibly sincere and enthusiastic. "I must say, this is one of the warmest, funniest, and most vibrant scripts I have read in the last year or two."

"Toula and her large, noisy, and deeply loving Greek family. Every character is so vivid, as if they were living right beside me."

"The laughter and tears amidst the cultural conflict, the quest for self-identity, and the eternal core strength of family deeply moved me."

Nia seemed flattered on the other end of the line, momentarily unsure how to respond. "Oh... thank you, Director Coppola, that is truly high praise."

"No, it deserves it." Irene Coppola further expressed her desire. "Ms. Vardalos, I believe this script possesses a unique magic. It will surely resonate with audiences around the world."

"Therefore, I gathered the courage to make this call to personally express my most sincere wish to you."

She took a deep breath and said clearly and firmly, "I am very, very eager to direct this film."

"I hope to use my lens to bring the wonderful story of Toula and your Greek family to the big screen, and to convey the joy and emotion it contains, in its original flavor, or perhaps even amplified, to every audience member."

"Receiving this script is my honor. If I could get the opportunity to direct it, it would be one of the most cherished gifts of my career so far."

This direct, enthusiastic, and respectful confession clearly deeply moved Nia, the original creator of the story.

For a screenwriter who poured her personal experiences and family stories onto the page, there was nothing more exciting than meeting a director who truly understood and loved the core of her work and was willing to go all out.

"Director Coppola..." Nia’s voice held a trace of excitement and became a little choked up.

"Hearing you say that, I... I don’t know what to say. This story is too important to me. I’m so happy that you see it this way!"

"Please call me Irene, Ms. Vardalos. I am currently still in Park City attending the Sundance Film Festival. Can we discuss this further when I return?"

Irene Coppola’s voice held a hint of longing, which further deepened Nia’s positive impression of her.

Since she had written her story into a script, apart from her good friend Rita Wilson and her husband Tom, she had never received such positive, enthusiastic resonance and affirmation from anyone else.

But Rita herself had Greek heritage, and Tom was Rita’s husband. It was reasonable that they could understand, accept, and love this story, as it stemmed from deep emotion and shared cultural background support.

Irene Coppola was different. She was a completely independent person with no connection to Greek culture.

Furthermore, she was such a young director who had achieved dazzling success in commercial genre films.

She had no direct connection to Greek culture, yet she could have such a high evaluation of her work. This was even more extraordinary, valuable, and moving for Nia.

For a moment, a strong impulse surged within Nia, wishing she could finalize the collaboration with Irene Coppola right there on the phone, entrusting this story that carried her heart and soul to this young director who understood it so well.

But reason told her that she had already entrusted this project entirely to Tom and his production company, Playtone.

Such a major decision could not be made based solely on her momentary excitement.

"Okay, Irene, thank you, really. Your words mean a lot to me."

"Please focus on the film festival first. I will communicate with Tom and the team as soon as possible, and I will definitely convey your wishes and situation to them in detail."

"We will definitely wait for you to return from Sundance to discuss it further..."

After receiving a positive response, Irene Coppola felt much more at ease.

But it was no longer possible for her to completely relax and attend the film festival as leisurely as before.

She began to record the movie in her mind in the form of scripts and sketches.

So, in the last few days in Park City, she did not follow in Sophia’s footsteps to watch those perhaps profound but obscure art films.

Instead, she holed up in the homestay, recording the script and drawing storyboards while waiting for Vera Cecil’s more detailed background investigation on the My Big Fat Greek Wedding project.

Three days later, the Sundance Film Festival was about to come to an end, and the most important part — the jury awards — would also be announced on this final day.

The entire Park City was permeated with a special emotion mixed with anticipation, nervousness, and the atmosphere of farewell.

On the eve of the awards ceremony, the creators of the shortlisted films arrived at the venue one after another.

The actors related to The Virgin Suicides also gathered together.

In the slightly noisy lounge area, Irene Coppola saw that young actress with a sweet and unique face again, Kirsten Dunst.

At this time, she was no longer the child star who stunned the world in Interview with the Vampire, but she had not yet risen to become a globally watched superstar with the role of Mary Jane in Spider-Man.

In the Hollywood hierarchy, she was in a somewhat awkward position. She was famous, but lacking a breakout role that truly established her A-list status, barely qualifying as top-tier third-line or bottom-tier second-line.

However, the entourage of a female star who started as a child star and was accustomed to cameras and attention was no joke.

She was followed by an assistant who helped her carry her coat and handbag, while she herself lifted her chin slightly, carrying an innate, unintentional but definitely existing sense of aloofness, her eyes scanning the surroundings.