Zenith of Desire: The Hollywood Incubus

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Only after the pair disappeared into the crowd did Marvin turn back to the executives waiting for him.

The next few minutes went exactly as he expected.

A producer from one of the studios wanted to talk about a project he had in development. A senior Miramax executive tried to steer the conversation toward a potential first-look arrangement. Someone else brought up The Talented Mr. Ripley before casually asking whether Marvin had any interest in working with Matt Damon.

And even Howard appeared long enough to tell him they should talk about ”something bigger” before being pulled away by another guest.

Marvin smiled, nodded and gave everyone the answers expected of him.

None of it held his attention for long.

He eventually excused himself and slipped back into the party.

The ballroom was packed now. Actors, producers, directors, agents and studio executives moved between tables beneath the chandeliers, drinks constantly appearing in people’s hands. Marvin kept to the edges, weaving through the crowd rather than getting trapped in another conversation.

He was also careful about where he stood.

He’d already known enough about Hollywood parties to know that an innocent glass of wine could become considerably less innocent when it landed across an expensive suit.

There were women who had perfected that particular accident.

Marvin had no intention of giving anyone the opportunity tonight.

He made his way toward the food, where waiters moved between trays of smoked salmon, oysters and caviar.

He slowed near the table, looking over the selection, and had just reached for a plate when someone called his name.

”Marvin?”

A man in his mid-forties stood a few feet away, drink in hand. He looked relaxed, dressed neatly without seeming to have made much of it, and carried himself with the easy confidence of someone comfortable in the room. He wasn’t surrounded by assistants or making any effort to draw attention to himself.

He simply walked over.

”Ron Howard,” he said, extending his hand. ” Listen, I know you’re getting pulled in a hundred directions tonight, but I had to come over and introduce myself before the suits and gowns swallow you whole.”

Marvin took his hand. The name immediately meant something to him, and the polite smile he gave him carried more warmth. ”Mr. Howard. It’s a genuine pleasure. I appreciate you taking the time.”

”Please, call me Ron,”

Marvin smiled. ”Ron.”

”Much better.”

They released their hands. Ron glanced around the room.

”You’ve been working your way through everybody, haven’t you?”

”Trying to survive.”

Ron laughed. ”Yeah. I remember that part.”

Marvin looked at him with mild surprise. ”You do?”

”Oh, absolutely. You think being the one everybody wants to talk to is the good part until you’ve answered the same question twenty times.”

”That’s exactly what I’ve been discovering.”

”Give it another hour. Somebody will ask you what your favorite color is and whether you’re available for lunch next Tuesday.”

Marvin laughed.

Ron had an easy way about him. He didn’t talk down to him, and he didn’t seem to be performing friendliness for the benefit of anyone watching.

Then Ron’s expression changed slightly. ”Actually, there’s another reason I wanted to come over.”

Marvin waited.

”My daughter is a huge fan.”

Marvin’s eyebrows lifted. His eyes lingered for just a fraction too long, something warmer flickering there before he caught himself. ”Really?”

”Really.” Ron shook his head, smiling. ”Bryce loves your work. The music especially.”

At that, Marvin’s expression brightened. ”That’s very kind of her.”

”No, you don’t understand.” Ron laughed. ”She listens to your records constantly. In the car. In her room. Around the house. I’ve heard the same songs so many times I could probably sing along now.”

Marvin grinned. ”Then I’m sorry.”

”Don’t be. They’re good songs.”

”That sounded painful.”

”It was a little painful.”

They both laughed.

Ron took another drink. ”But she really does love them. She talks about your movies, too. She thinks you’re doing things nobody your age should know how to do. If I went home tonight without saying hello to you, my eldest daughter would absolutely murder me. Bryce is a massive fan. I mean, it’s borderline obsessive at this point.”

Marvin shook his head. ”That’s generous.”

”I’m serious.”

”I’ll take the compliment, then.”

”You should.”

There was something about the way Ron said it that made Marvin take him more seriously. It wasn’t flattery for business. Ron had nothing to gain by pretending his daughter listened to Marvin’s music.

Marvin gave a small nod, letting the compliment settle before the conversation moved on. Then Ron mentioned his daughter again.

Lust stirred behind Marvin’s calm eyes.

Bryce. Eighteen. The sheltered daughter of Hollywood royalty. Untouched by the uglier side of the industry.

He gave nothing away. The hunger stayed buried beneath a charming, self-deprecating smile. ”I’m flattered. Tell her I said thank you.” Marvin said. ”I’d like to meet her someday.”

”You’ll make her day.” Ron studied him for a moment. ”And I’m glad I came over.”

”Why?”

”Because I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

Marvin smiled. ”What were you expecting?”

Ron gave him a look. ”Honestly? Somebody much younger.”

Marvin laughed. ”I am much younger.”

”You know what I mean.”

”I do.”

Ron shook his head. ”It’s strange. I’ve talked to people twice your age who don’t know half as much about movies.”

Marvin chuckled softly, perfectly mirroring Ron’s relaxed energy. ”I have to say, it’s only fair. I’ve spent enough time studying your work to balance the scales.”

Ron raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting a polite, surface-level mention of Splash or a nod to his acting days on Happy Days. ”Oh yeah?”

​”Absolutely,” Marvin said.

”That’s usually where people tell me they liked Apollo 13.”

”I did.”

Ron smiled. ”Good.”

”It’s actually my favorite.”

That caught him. ”Really?”

”Really.”

”Well, now I like you more.”

Marvin laughed. ”I liked American Graffiti too. The Paper. Night Shift. And Grand Theft Auto.”

Ron stared at him for a second. ”You’ve seen Grand Theft Auto?”

”Of course.”

”That’s not usually the one people bring up.”

”It’s where you learned to make a lot happen with very little.”

Ron gave a small nod. ”That’s one way of putting it.”

”You had to keep the energy moving because you couldn’t hide behind a big production. The cars, the chase sequences, the comedy—it all had to carry itself.”

Ron tilted his head. ”And Apollo 13?”

”The opposite problem.”

Ron smiled. ”Go on.”

”You had the money, the effects and the actors. But everyone knew the ending. Nobody was going to the theater wondering whether the astronauts survived.”

Ron nodded slowly.

”So the suspense had to come from everything around the ending.”

”Exactly. The audience knows they’re coming home. They don’t know how you’re going to make them believe they might not.”

Ron looked at him for a moment. ”That’s a pretty good understanding of the problem.”

Marvin shrugged. ”It’s a great movie.”

”That’s not what I meant.”

Marvin said nothing.

Ron looked down at his drink, then back at him.

”You know, I’ve had plenty of actors sit with me and talk about performances. I’ve had executives explain why something will sell. Writers will talk about character. But you’re talking about the machinery underneath it.”

”I like knowing why something works.”

Ron nodded. ”So do I.”

For a moment, neither seemed in any hurry to move on. The conversation had already gone well beyond the usual pleasantries, with Ron asking questions and Marvin answering without the guardedness people usually brought to a room like this.

It didn’t feel like two people making introductions at a Hollywood party.

Ron had approached him expecting to meet a remarkably successful young man.

He was leaving the first few minutes with a rather different impression.

Marvin seemed to understand storytelling on a deeper level than even he did, and he wasn’t shy about sharing his thoughts when Ron asked. At the same time, there was none of the usual eagerness to impress. Marvin spoke to him with genuine respect, but never as though he were speaking to someone above him.

That made Ron relax even more.

”I... wow.” Ron shook his head slightly. ”I really appreciate that, Marvin. Seriously. Most people your age just ask what Tom Hanks is like in person. You really are one of a kind.”

Marvin gave a small smile. ”Well, I happen to be something of a collector myself.”

Ron raised an eyebrow. ”Of what?”

”Knowledge.”

He said it so simply that it took a moment to register. There was no joke in it, no attempt to sound clever. Marvin seemed to regard it as the most obvious thing in the world.

Ron studied him for a second, then smiled. ”So,” he said, ”what are you working on now?”

”A few things.”

”That’s the answer everybody gives when they don’t want to tell me.”

”Then I’m doing it correctly.”

Ron laughed. ”Fair enough.”

Marvin smiled. ”And you?”

”Always something.”

”Another film?”

”Hopefully.”

”Anything you can talk about?”

Ron considered him. ”Maybe. But if I tell you, you’ll probably start asking better questions than the studio.”

”Then you definitely shouldn’t tell me.”

Ron laughed again. ”You really are dangerous.”

”I’ve been called worse.”

A waiter passed with champagne. Ron stepped aside to let him through.

”I’d actually like you to meet Bryce,” he said. ”She’d get a kick out of talking to you.”

”I’d like that.”

”She’s going to be unbearable afterward.”

”Why?”

”Because she’ll tell everyone I introduced her to you.”

”Then I’ll accept the blame.”

Ron smiled. ”Good. Because I think she’d enjoy that. She’d probably lose her mind, actually.”

Marvin glanced toward the crowded room. ”Bring her to the premiere.”

Ron looked back at him. ”The *Hide and Seek* premiere?”

”Yes.”

”You’d do that?”

”Why not?”

Ron laughed, genuinely amused. ”You know, most people would make me beg for an invitation.”

”I don’t have a reason to.”

”You’re getting very good at this.”

”At what?”

”Making people feel welcome while making it look like you’re doing them a favor.”

Marvin smiled. ”I’m inviting your daughter because she’s a fan. I have a soft spot for people with good taste.”

”Sure-sure.”

”And you.”

”Ah.”

”And the rest of your family, I’d be honored to have you there. I’ll have my office send over VIP passes.”

Ron pointed at him. ”See? That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

Marvin laughed. ”Just bring them.”

”You do not miss a single trick, do you?” Ron laughed, shaking his head. ”Turning a father’s compliment into a guaranteed A-list appearance at your premiere.”

​”I’m just trying to make sure your daughter gets a proper introduction, Ron,” Marvin smiled, his eyes entirely unreadable.

Ron shook his head, still smiling. ”You really understand how this business works, kid.”

”I’ve had some good teachers.”

”That’s probably the smartest answer you could’ve given. Alright, you sold me. We’ll be there.”

They stood together for another moment, watching the party move around them.

Then Ron’s expression became a little more serious. ”In our free time, let’s sit down properly..”

”For the movie business?”

”For the movie business.”

Marvin nodded. ”I’d like that.”

”I’ve got a few ideas I’d like to run past you. Nothing tonight. Tonight’s supposed to be fun.”

”Agreed.”

”And I’d like to hear what you’re thinking, too.”

”You might regret that.”

Ron laughed. ”Maybe. But I’d rather find out over lunch.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card. ”Here.”

Marvin took it. ”I’ll call.”

”Don’t wait too long.”

”I won’t.”

Ron extended his hand again.

This time Marvin shook it with a little more familiarity. ”It was good meeting you, Ron.”

”Same here.”

Ron started to turn, then looked back. ”And seriously—if Bryce ever gets tired of your music, let me know. I’d like one quiet morning.”

Marvin laughed. ”I’ll consider it.”

Ron disappeared back into the crowd, stopping almost immediately when another acquaintance caught him.

Marvin watched it all as his fingers lightly traced the edges of the business card in his pocket.

The conversation had been unexpectedly easy.

More importantly, Ron Howard had walked over because his daughter loved Marvin’s work and walked away wanting to talk business with him.

Marvin slipped the card deeper into his pocket, his attention following Ron for another moment before he finally looked away.

Ron walked away thinking he’d just met a brilliant young collaborator. He had no idea what he’d just placed within Marvin’s reach.

Marvin’s mouth curved into the faintest smile. He couldn’t complain about that.

He gave people around one last glance before turning back toward the buffet. At least now he could finally get something to eat.

Marvin was still only a few steps from the food table. He’d been trying to get something to eat all evening, but every time he got close, someone found him first.

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