|
THE |
In honor of booking the pilot, my two new agents, Nina Pakula and Joel King, offered to take me out to lunch anywhere I wanted. Since I can barely tell the difference between caviar and tuna fish, let alone fine cuisine, I let them decide the locale. And Spago does seem like the perfect Hollywood choice.
The food was very good. I had a burger and fries, which may sound foolish but I super-sized it so that I would get my money's worth. Actually, I had a glass of some Zinfandel the server recommended, then two of the shrimp cakes Nina and Joel ordered, then a small salad, then grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables, and finally a few bites of the chocolate "Bomb" for the table. Total damage for my vittles alone? Probably somewhere between 40 and 50 dollars. And I didn't even have to cover 10% of it. Then to top it all off, the chef came over to the table and said hello to us and thanked us for coming in. No other table, just ours. Now either he could sense my impending super-stardom or he wanted to see what sort of idiot would take the skin off of his prized chicken dish before eating it. Either way, I had met Wolfgang Puck.
The conversation was also intriguing. News on the pilot was very encouraging. ABC was happy with it. Brillstein-Grey was happy with it. All systems are go as they move into the market-research phase of the whole process. So that's all in good shape.
More intriguing? ABC was also quite happy with me. That's right. No typos. Joel received a call the morning after the taping asking if I would be interested in making an exclusive deal with ABC. They were very pleased with my contribution to the show, and they want to continue our association even if the show does not get picked up. Wow. That's a far cry from getting a good review in the Harvard Independent for a successful Currier House Fishbowl production.
My agents are pleased, to say the least. No numbers or specifics have been discussed yet, but they are very happy with the recognition of my abilities and they feel it is a great honor to be in this position regardless of how it turns out. "It is the highest compliment they can pay you as an actor," was how Joel put it. When I told my dad about this news, his remarked echoed what I imagine every successful actor must wonder when he or she is presented with such warm praise and such an exciting opportunity:
"Are you that good?"
Go on to the ABC Meeting