June 1980 in Los Angeles was typically bright and buzzing with industry talk. Inside Michael Ovitz's CAA office, he had just finished reading a screenplay brought in by Nancy. He put it down on his desk, tapping his fingers on the cover. "This has potential, Nancy," he said, looking across at her. " 'Can't Buy Me Love.' A bit of a fun, if predictable, teen comedy. A nerd at a high school pays a cheerleader a thousand bucks to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month."
He glanced at the cover page again, his eyebrows raising slightly. There were two names listed as writers: Alex Hayes, and underneath his, Michael Swerdlick, a new screenwriter Nancy had recently signed.
Michael looked up at Nancy, a curious expression on his face. "Alex Hayes? Is it real? What's he doing writing a script?"
Nancy leaned back in her chair, a thoughtful look on her face. "That's what I was wondering myself. It's definitely our Alex Hayes. Apparently, Alex approached Swerdlick directly, wanting to explore this idea he had. Swerdlick helped him structure it and write the screenplay. I only found about it after seeing Alex's name on the title page."
Ovitz leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression spreading across his face. "So, why is he suddenly interested in writing scripts?"
Nancy nodded. "I asked him the same question, Michael. He said he wants to take charge of his career. After 'My Bodyguard,' Alex thought more film roles would just come rolling in. He told me it didn't even matter if they were good or bad, he would have taken anything just to build up his resume, get more experience on the big screen. He even auditioned for 'The Blue Lagoon,' but they said he looked too young. Then he got close with 'Ordinary People,' the Robert Redford film – he was neck and neck with Timothy Hutton for a role but got rejected again. He's spent the last eight months mostly doing guest spots on TV shows, those ABC Afterschool Specials, and some local commercials. He's getting work, but it's not the kind of work he really desires. It brought him to the realization that there are very few teen films being made, but the competition for those roles is incredibly high. So, he wants to try and create his own opportunities."
Michael Ovitz nodded slowly, absorbing Nancy's words. It was true. Once the contract for "My Bodyguard" was signed, Alex had, to some extent, faded from his immediate concerns. Perhaps he did need to pay closer attention to the young talent under their roof.
Nancy's question snapped him back to the present. "So what do you think, Michael? Can we pitch it to studios?"
Michael looked at her, a decisive glint in his eyes. "Yes, Nancy. Yes, we absolutely can." He picked up the script again, a new sense of interest piqued. "Let's see what we can do with this 'Can't Buy Me Love.' For Alex, and for us."
*******
Alex Hayes and Michael Swerdlick sat in Nancy's brightly lit office at CAA, an air of nervous anticipation hanging between them. Swerdlick, a young man in his mid-twenties, fidgeted in his chair, his anxiety palpable. This was his first screenplay, and the weight of Michael Ovitz's opinion was clearly pressing on him.
"Do you think Ovitz will like it?" Swerdlick asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he wrung his hands.
Alex, outwardly calm, offered a reassuring smile. "He'll accept it." The words came easily, with a conviction that even surprised him slightly.
Swerdlick let out a shaky breath. "I wish I had your confidence, Alex."
((Note: Michael Swerdlick is the one who originally wrote can't buy me love script in 1987.) )
What Swerdlick didn't know, what no one knew except Alex's late mother, was the secret that fueled that confidence. Alex experienced vivid, almost hyper-realistic dreams, dreams that felt like living another person's life. Sometimes he was someone called Tom Cruise, other times a person named Keanu Reeves. These weren't hazy, fleeting dreams; they were immersive experiences, complete with emotions and memories that weren't his own.
Alex even tried to locate them through the clues from his dreams. He remembered specific street names and house numbers associated with the lives he briefly inhabited as Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves. But they were nowhere to be found in this world.
He had stumbled upon a book that spoke of dreams as potential doorways to other universes, a concept it vaguely referred to as the multiverse. Alex wasn't sure if he fully understood it, but the idea resonated with his strange experiences. Whatever the explanation, he had decided to use this… knowledge. It was a gamble, a secret weapon in a world he still felt like an outsider in.
In one of these particularly vivid "dreams," he had seen a movie, or at least the hazy outline of one, called "Can't Buy Me Love." The details were fuzzy, like looking through a heatwave, but the core concept – a nerdy guy, a cheerleader, a paid fake relationship – was firmly lodged in his mind.
His outward confidence bolstered by the faint echoes of a movie he felt he had already, in some bizarre way, seen. Now, all they could do was wait.
The sound of the door opening drew their attention. Nancy entered the room and took a seat. Both Alex and Swerdlick watched her face, searching for any hint of what was to come. A slow smile spread across her lips as she finally said, "Ovitz will pitch it to studios."
A wave of relief washed over Michael Swerdlick, his shoulders visibly slumping. "He... he likes it?" he stammered, a hopeful grin spreading across his face.
Alex nodded slowly, a quiet satisfaction settling within him. It was happening. Just as he had... foreseen.
Nancy smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Michael sees potential, yes. He thinks the concept is commercial. However," she held up a hand, forestalling their celebration, "the town is always looking for the next big thing, but they are also cautious. Teen comedies, unless they have a fresh angle or a major star attached, can be a tough sell."
Swerdlick's smile faltered slightly. "So... what are our chances?"
"Right now?" Nancy leaned forward. "They're decent, but not guaranteed. Michael's plan is to leverage the buzz around 'My Bodyguard.'"
Alex's ears perked up. "How so?"
"He believes that if 'My Bodyguard' is a success – a real hit – then the studios will be more inclined to take a chance on a project involving one of its young stars," Nancy explained, her gaze shifting between Alex and Michael. "Your name, Alex, will carry more weight. It will open doors."
Swerdlick frowned. "So, our fate rests on another movie?"
"In a way, yes," Nancy admitted. "Hollywood is all about momentum. A successful project creates opportunities for others associated with it. Michael feels that your involvement in a hit film will make 'Can't Buy Me Love' a much more attractive package."
Alex absorbed this information, his mind already racing. The success of "My Bodyguard"... he had a vague sense of it being well-received in his... dreams. Another piece of the puzzle falling into place.
"So, what do we do in the meantime?" Swerdlick asked, his initial enthusiasm tempered by a renewed sense of uncertainty.
"We wait," Nancy said, her tone firm. "Michael will start making some preliminary calls, gauging interest. But the real push will come after 'My Bodyguard' is released."
Note: Originally the film is released by 20th Century Fox in 1980. But in the story due to Alex's butterfly effect Universal Pictures took over the distribution rights.