“Is he in there?” asked the girl excitedly, after running up the second shorter set of steps inside the Richmond Odeon foyer and up to Robert De Niro. Robert was standing and talking with a gentleman of Asian appearance in a brown suit and a beige polyester shirt and striped tie, she noticed. Jodie didn’t recognise him but assumed he must be the manager of the cinema, so she smiled at him after she spoke, then looked back at Robert eagerly. He looked tense, she noticed, before he responded.
“Hi,” said Robert, laconically, and possibly sarcastically as he turned to greet her. He continued, “Yeah, he is. I just looked in. He’s on his own. The theatre’s empty. He’s a few rows from the back, four seats in from the left side, where he always sits apparently. Excuse us,” he then said abruptly to the Asian gentleman. Robert then put his hand on the girl’s left arm, encouraging her to turn away, firmly but gently. She did so. He then led her two steps away from the manager in order to get some privacy, speaking to her in a hushed tone.
“Have you seen the press you just ran past? That guy’s from the British newspaper, the Sun,” he said, nodding towards the cinema doors as he spoke to Jodie. He paused looking down at her innocent, now slightly disconcerted face. “You OK about this?” He paused again, to let her think about it, which was his way of telling her she ought to. She liked to make her own decisions. “I’m tellin’ you, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
But she wanted to do this.
“I just said “hi” to them on the way in. They were nice.”
She then lowered her voice.
“They like me here. I’m fine,” she pleaded, a little disappointed. “God, it’s sweet. What’s there to worry about?” she said, looking up at her chaparone and mentor.
“I saw the kid on the way in.” Robert replied. He paused, then continued, “He comes on his own…” This was being offered as a negative, but Jodie objected.
“I heard! He’s shy!”, she remonstrated, sympathetically, searching Robert’s face for a chink in what she saw as his cynicism.
“He’s…” Robert paused, unsure of how to summarise the impression the boy had made on him.
“Let me say Miss Foster and Mr De Niro there is nothing to be worried about with this boy,” said the cinema manager behind them, who had taken a step closer to intervene. They both half-turned in response. “He is a very polite, well-brought up boy; very respectful when he comes here and he does not behave the way the more uncouth young customers behave when they come. He never says anything rude to me or my staff. It is obvious he comes from a good family, a good and happy home. It will be a very moving and delightful romantic encounter and will make the boy very, very happy. It will be a beautiful story for the newspapers and for television. And for Miss Foster herself.” He delivered this short speech, turning from one star to the other as he spoke, but finished looking at Jodie with a broad grin, as he made it clear the encounter could do the star herself no harm.
Jodie nodded briefly and triumphantly up at Robert after this as if to say, “that’s that then.”
“Hello, nice to meet you, by the way, I’m Jodie,” she said, stepping forward and extending her hand.
“I recognised you of course immediately Miss Foster. I am Mr Malik, the manager of this cinema,” he replied enthusiastically grasping her proffered hand between both of his. “It is very lovely to meet you and I thank you for coming to visit us today.” He pumped her small hand up and down at points for emphasis as he inflected his welcome.
“Thank you, you’re very welcome, Mr Malik” she said warmly in response to Mr Malik’s own warmth, feeling better now, then turning and looking up at Robert next to her in gentle rebuttal of his concern. “And it’s lovely to be here,” she continued, looking back at Mr Malik and meaning it. She did want things to be lovely.
“And may I also just please say, Miss Foster,” lowering his voice – and he really did seem to be asking her permission as he held on to her hand – “how very, very pretty you look today, as pretty and beautiful indeed as you look in your movie?”
“Well you may, as you’ve already said it. Thank you for asking,” she said intelligently.
He was a slim, energetic and very polite gentleman, who was a little disconcerted, she saw, by her response.
“I spent a long time in makeup to look like I do in the film so I hope he likes it,” she replied matter-of-factly and not without some apprehension in her voice.
“Oh, Miss Foster,” protested Mr Malik, wanting to recover from his first compliment and still holding her hand, as if it were something to be treasured. “You are too, too modest and all it does is make you all the more beautiful. And you have no reason to be nervous. He will surely fall even more deeply in love with the you when you sit down next to him in my movie theatre.” The manager continued holding her hand. Jodie was not sure what to say in response to this remark.
Is that the idea? That the boy will fall even more deeply in love with her?
Suddenly, she wondered what the idea was, in fact.
What was the idea?
She blushed slightly, to her surprise and realised this is what would be part of what was bothering Robert. She had been approached directly at short notice by the Sun, through her own agent and Robert had only found out about the venture last night, when Jodie was asleep. When he awoke, she had already gone, out to the studio to get made up. They hadn’t spoken yet.
Does this make sense? she thought.
Her mind produced the thought involuntarily, but gave her no answer to it.
“And who but a polite and well-brought up young boy,” urged Mr Malik continuing and looking up at De Niro to reassure him further before looking back at the starlet, “could lose his heart to such a polite, well-brought up and very modest young film star?”
Jodie baulked at the many logical flaws in this remark and was rendered momentarily speechless by the ineptitude of it. She looked back at Mr Malik, somewhat puzzled by his logic, which was not the effect Mr Malik had intended to create.
She was inclined to go further and point out to Mr Malik that his remark made no sense. But she knew the remark was meant to be flattering and that she was supposed to respond graciously and politely, nonetheless. She looked at Robert, not knowing what to say, if not the truth and further, for a clue as to what was going on. Robert responded by mumbling the words, “Jesus H Christ,” looking away over his left shoulder and then turning away as he ran his right hand through his hair. Jodie tried not to laugh. Robert did not always enjoy being in loco parentis, which made her laugh sometimes. She could drive him nuts. It was a joke between them. She was going to enjoy this.
Jodie Foster and the Super 8 