SF Chapter 124: After the Premiere III
The next day, at breakfast. Dani was at his house, with Lexi and Mischa also present.
The two had a rare Monday off from filming and decided to spend the day together, enjoying the beach. They had come early in the morning.
Lexi, who was holding a newspaper, read aloud the headline from the movie section, which had Superbad as the main cover.
"Vulgar. Crude. Funniest Movie of the Year. And Now a Box Office Hit. Superbad premieres with a striking $42.1 million opening weekend."
She continued reading, "It wasn't the biggest opening of the month, losing to The Matrix Revolutions with $48.5M. But it was the biggest opening for a comedy film this year."
"Additionally, Superbad had a budget of probably less than a fifth of The Matrix, the $110 million blockbuster."
"With this movie, screenwriter Dani Harper proves he is not a one-hit wonder, building anticipation for his upcoming films," she finished, staring at him.
"My photo turned out great, right?" He pointed at his photo in the article. He had his usual smirk in the picture.
Lexi just rolled her eyes.
[Alexandra commentary]
"There it was - Dani becoming more and more unbelievable," Lexi remarked.
"It was one thing to think the movie was funny and would be a success. It was another to see that confirmed in numbers - especially when those numbers are so ridiculous." She was in a bit of disbelief.
Lexi, being in the industry and a cinephile, knew what an opening box office more than double the budget meant - a big hit.
"Yet he's still the same dumb boy as always," she added, trying but failing to hide her smile.
[Commentary ends]
Lexi continued flipping through the newspaper. "Easy A, the next movie, uses a marketing approach connected to the previous film.
'What if Karen was not dumb?' But the studio clarified that it is neither a sequel nor a spin-off of Mean Girls," she read.
The newspaper featured a poster of the film, with Amanda alone at the center as Olive.
"In an interview last night, lead actress Amanda Seyfried stated that the film has a tone of humor much closer to Mean Girls."
"To the relief of some fans, who were shocked by the unrestrained jokes of Superbad, and to the disappointment of others," Lexi finished reading.
Mischa joined the conversation. "In this teen magazine, they talk more about you, Dani." She held up one of the magazines.
"The precocious prodigy whose name is now circulating around Hollywood had already found success very early in another field - books.
For those who don't know, Dani Harper is also the writer of the bestsellers Wimpy Kid and Percy Jackson."
"At 13 he wrote... and at 15... Wow, I didn't know you were so young when you wrote those books," she muttered.
"Don't worry, Mischa - no matter how awesome I get, I'll still be willing to be your friend with benefits," he said, giving her a thumbs up.
Mischa deadpanned and threw one of the cupcakes at him, but Dani reacted quickly and pulled Lexi in front of him, making her take it to the face.
"Oops, sorry, Lexi," the blonde said.
The brunette turned at Dani stone-faced and quickly punished him with a cupcake to the nose.
He escalated things by grabbing a can of whipped cream, spraying some into his hand, and smearing it across Lexi's face.
"Come over here, Daniel!" Lexi said, pissed.
"No way!" he ran, but he did the same to Mischa, irritating her as well.
What followed was two girls chasing the little menace.
After their playful fight, Dani was covered in cream, sitting on the couch as he cleaned himself off.
"You are such a child," Mischa scoffed, but soon sat down beside him and rested her body against him.
Lexi did the same on the other side.
Daniel started laughing, which quickly spread to the other two.
After they calmed down, Lexi asked, "What?"
"Even in my own house, I still get scolded for food fights," he chuckled.
They fell silent for a moment as he wrapped an arm around each of their waists.
"Oh, yeah," Dani remembered. "Lexi, Mischa, I started a new tradition - family and friends are eligible."
He then explained the make-a-wish and what had happened yesterday.
"So, what's your wish?" he asked.
Lexi ended up being the first to respond. "There are some movies I'd like to watch, but you don't have them in 35mm. And VHS or DVD would be lacking in quality by comparison. So-"
"God, Lexi, you're a lost case," he joked. "But done!" He pulled her closer, making her cling to him as she kissed him on the cheek.
"And you, Mischa?"
"Wow, I don't know... what I want..." she murmured. "Maybe more shoes?"
"Sorry for insulting you, Lexi. At least yours is less boring than Mischa's."
Mischa elbowed him.
But she asked curiously, "What did your family ask for?"
Dani started listing, "A video game, a laptop, a suit, a dress, a camcorder... a car, but that one is still under review. And finally, I proposed a horror movie for my sister."
He explained the idea behind the last request in more detail.
"You know how to write horror?" Lexi raised an eyebrow.
"I think I can," he commented. "I've watched tons of horror movies. My repertoire is huge."
Lexi looked even more surprised. "Really? We've basically never watched one together..." she pointed out.
"Oh, that's because it's a tradition between my sister and me. I'm her only real partner when it comes to watching horror movies. Phil, her husband, sometimes watches too."
"But the truth is, he's not really a fan of the genre," Dani revealed. "He only watches because of my sister, and sometimes he makes up excuses to avoid watching."
Lexi just kept looking at him.
"Besides," he continued, "although I'll put in the effort, since it's my sister's wish, we won't spend too much. She would veto it."
"So it's really just for us. I don't think it will have much commercial value."
"Did you start writing it?" Mischa asked.
He nodded. "Yep, I did. It'll be called Paranormal Activity."
Lexi just rested her head on his shoulder, not thinking much of it. But she soon asked, "And you? What's your wish?"
Dani replied cheesily, "Having you two here is already my wish."
"Aww," Mischa made a mock-cute sound. "Now he'll add something that involves us being in a sexy outfit, naked, or something like Penny did," she predicted.
Dani made a face at her. "Your Honor," he said, turning to Lexi, "I plead not guilty."
"The prosecution has offered nothing but wild speculation." He placed a hand over his chest.
"The Constitution of the United States, signed in 1787, guarantees due process of law. Under the Fifth Amendment, I must be regarded as a pure and innocent young man until proven guilty!"
Lexi looked at him flatly, "How do you manage to memorize all that and still forget where the frying pan was?"
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