As 1982 dawned, '17 Again' continued its powerful run in theaters, cementing its place as a major holiday blockbuster and further amplifying Alex Hayes's star power. Back in Los Angeles, the gears of Hollywood were already grinding on his next potential projects. Michael Ovitz and the team at CAA weren't just fielding offers for the new script Alex had developed with John Hughes, now officially titled '10 Things I Hate About You'; they were navigating a full-blown bidding war.
It wasn't a question of if the script would sell, but where and for how much. Multiple studios were aggressively pursuing the high-school-Shakespeare concept, eager to attach themselves to the Hayes/Hughes combination that had delivered '17 Again'. While Universal, having released Alex's last two hits, might have seemed the obvious home, Ovitz deliberately played the field. He understood the importance of not tying his ascendant client exclusively to one studio. To truly grow Alex's career (and CAA's influence), he needed strong relationships and leverage across the industry's major players: Paramount, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, MGM/UA, among others. Ovitz skillfully fanned the competitive flames, driving up the potential price and deal terms.
Alex, back in Eagle Lake, Texas for some much-needed downtime, understood this strategy completely. He discussed it briefly with Nancy Jones over the phone. While grateful for Universal's belief in him, he wasn't blindly loyal. He knew they had greenlit 'Can't Buy Me Love' and '17 Again' because they saw potential for profit. "They bought the scripts because they thought they were good and could make money," Alex reasoned pragmatically. "If they hadn't, they wouldn't have, no matter how much they liked me." He might be young and newly famous, but he wasn't naive about the business side of Hollywood.
Life in Eagle Lake offered a grounding contrast to the high-stakes negotiations happening on his behalf. His father's farm felt blessedly normal. The biggest change there was the delightful presence of his new baby half-sister, Sofia. Born in the fall of 1981 while Alex was busy with 'Fast Times' and the '17 Again' launch, Sofia was now about five months old, a small bundle of warmth and gurgles that Alex found himself completely captivated by. He spent hours just holding her or watching her sleep, a simple, profound connection far removed from scripts and box office grosses.
There was another significant change too. His father and Martha Lopez, who had initially seemed content with their relationship as it was, had decided to get married after Sofia's birth. They held a quiet but lovely Christmas wedding right there on the farm in December 1981. Alex had flown in, along with Nancy Jones, her husband Edward, and their daughter Janet, sharing the intimate family celebration.
Alex couldn't help but notice a subtle shift in the local community's attitude. He knew his father's relationship with Martha, a Black Latina woman who had been friends with his late mother, had initially been frowned upon by some in the small, predominantly white Texas town. But now, with Alex Hayes being not just a local boy but a famous movie star whose face was on magazine covers, that disapproval seemed to have evaporated. People who might have whispered before now offered warm congratulations to his father and Martha. Alex observed this with a wry internal thought: "Fame can do wonders sometime," changing perceptions in ways both welcome and slightly unsettling.
He cherished the peaceful days on the farm, holding his baby sister, reconnecting with his father and Martha, enjoying the normalcy. But he knew the call from Nancy Jones about the '10 Things' deal could come any day, pulling him back into the extraordinary whirlwind his life had become.
During Alex's extended break at the family farm in Eagle Lake in early 1982, the rhythm was slow and centered around home. Baby Sofia was growing quickly, and Alex relished the simple moments with her, his father, and Martha. One evening, as they sat down to dinner, his father, John Hayes, brought up the topic of Alex's work.
"So, that new script idea you were working on, Alex?" John Hayes asked, curious. "The one based on that old play? Any news on it from Nancy or your people back in LA?"
Alex nodded, finishing a bite. "Yeah, actually. It's... kind of crazy right now. Ovitz and Nancy are shopping it – we're calling it '10 Things I Hate About You'. Apparently, there's a lot of interest, a bit of a bidding war going on between the studios."
"A bidding war? That sounds fantastic!" Martha exclaimed. "So it sold already?"
"Not quite," Alex admitted, a wry smile touching his lips. "That's the thing. The offers are really good, money-wise. But the reason it hasn't closed yet is because we – well, mostly Ovitz, with my okay – attached some specific conditions to the sale."
His father raised an eyebrow. "Conditions? Like what?"
"Two main things," Alex explained, looking at both his father and Martha. "First, the writer, John Hughes – the guy who wrote '17 Again' with me – has to direct it." He saw their slightly surprised looks. "Yeah, I know, he hasn't directed a feature before, just written. That's definitely making some studios nervous, handing a potentially big project to a first-timer."
"And the second condition?" John Hayes prompted.
"That CAA and I get meaningful consultation on casting," Alex continued. "Real input, not just suggestions they can ignore." He preempted their likely thoughts. "And yeah, I know I'm still new to this, relatively speaking. Stars usually don't get that kind of say unless they've been around forever or producing the thing themselves. So, both conditions are... ambitious. That's why the negotiations are taking time, even with multiple studios wanting the script."
Martha voiced her concern gently. "Alex, honey," she asked, "are you sure that's wise? Making demands like that? Will it be okay? You don't want to scare everyone off, especially when they're already interested."
Alex met her worried gaze with a reassuring one. "It's a gamble, Martha, definitely," he acknowledged. "But I really believe this script has something special, and I just have this gut feeling John Hughes is the only one who can direct it right, capture that specific tone. And getting the casting perfect is crucial for it to work." He felt that familiar hum of intuition. "Somebody will bite. One of these studios will see the potential, trust Ovitz, or just want to lock down my next project badly enough to agree. And honestly," he added, his voice firming with conviction, "if the film becomes a success with John directing and the cast we help choose, then everything will okay itself. It'll prove we knew what we were doing."
His father, John Hayes, looked at him for a long moment, then nodded slowly, a hint of pride in his eyes. He seemed to trust his son's surprising mix of creative instinct and newfound business sense. Martha also nodded, her concern easing slightly in the face of Alex's confidence.
Just then, from the nearby bassinet, baby Sofia began to fuss, then cry. The serious talk of Hollywood deals instantly dissolved. Alex smiled, pushing his chair back. "Duty calls," he announced, heading over to pick up his little sister, the immediate, simple reality of family grounding him once more.
The Hollywood buzz around '10 Things I Hate About You' intensified. Multiple studios were vying for the hot script from the newly minted hit-making team of Alex Hayes (story) and John Hughes (screenplay), represented by the formidable Michael Ovitz at CAA. Finally, after weeks of negotiation and strategic maneuvering by Ovitz, playing the studios against each other, one blinked first and agreed to the core creative demands.
Nancy Jones delivered the news to Alex, who was perhaps back in LA by now or still enjoying his break in Texas. "We have a winner for '10 Things', Alex," she said, excitement evident in her voice. "Paramount Pictures. They agreed to the conditions."
Alex felt a jolt of adrenaline. "Both of them? John directs and we get casting consultation?"
"Both of them," Nancy confirmed. "Hughes gets his directorial debut, and we have contractual casting input alongside the studio and director. It's a fantastic deal on the creative side."
There was, however, a caveat, as Alex and Nancy knew there likely would be. "Now, on the money," Nancy continued, "Paramount pushed back, as expected. To get them to agree on Hughes directing and the casting clause, we had to give some ground financially compared to our initial pie-in-the-sky asking price during the bidding."
She laid out Paramount's counter-offer: "They'll pay $300,000 for the script," (down from the $500k Ovitz likely floated during the heat of negotiations). "And your salary to star will be $700,000." This was a significant raise from Alex's $500k for '17 Again', acknowledging his proven box office draw, but shy of the $1 million benchmark Ovitz was probably aiming for with this deal.
Alex didn't hesitate. "That's okay, Nancy," he said immediately. "That's more than okay. We got what mattered most. Getting John the directing job and having a real say in who stars alongside me – that was the priority. The money's still great." He felt a sense of accomplishment that went beyond the dollar figures. "Take the deal. Let's make it official."
Nancy relayed the acceptance, and later, Alex spoke with John Hughes. Hughes was ecstatic about getting his first directing opportunity on a script he co-created, fully understanding and accepting the financial compromise. Both Alex and John knew going in that securing their ambitious creative conditions – conditions rarely granted to talent at their respective career stages – would likely require this kind of negotiation. For them, the chance to shape the film the way they envisioned it, particularly with Hughes at the helm, was absolutely worth it.
The deal was struck with Paramount Pictures. It was a significant strategic victory for Ovitz and CAA, demonstrating their ability to package talent and secure favorable creative terms across different studios, thereby expanding their influence. For John Hughes, it was the break he needed to step behind the camera. And for Alex Hayes, it was another step in proactively shaping his career, ensuring his next starring vehicle after '17 Again' would be made under conditions he believed in, even if it meant leaving some money on the table. Pre-production for '10 Things I Hate About You' could now tentatively begin, likely aiming for a start date after Alex fulfilled his commitment to 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' later that year.