I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1180: American Idol]

After Gates left, Eric and Chris discussed what had just happened over the phone before he stepped into Carmen Kass's bedroom. The girl was sprawled on the bed, flipping through a document. Noticing Eric's entrance, she turned her head and smiled, saying, "It's so loud in here."

"That's just how he is," Eric replied as he lay down beside Carmen, brushing her golden hair back to find a headphone and plug it into his ear. "What are you looking at?"

The headphone cord was a bit short, so Carmen shifted closer to him, saying, "It's the Versace endorsement contract."

With the immense success of the Dior Golden Goddess advertisement, Carmen had quickly risen as one of the fastest-growing supermodels in the past six months. She had even landed the pivotal September cover of the American edition of VOGUE, leading to a flood of endorsement offers.

When Eric heard the name Versace, he asked casually, "Is it women's wear or some other product line?"

"Womenswear," Carmen replied, handing him the contract with a questioning look. "Paul said I could wait a bit longer; I might secure an endorsement from one of the big six. But Versace is also offering pretty good terms."

The "big six" referred to the luxury brands Dior, Prada, Chanel, LV, Gucci, and CK, which were known as the elite in the fashion world. Brands like Versace, Givenchy, and Hermes were somewhat less prestigious.

Eric flipped through a couple of pages of the contract and said, "It really depends on what you're after. If you want prestige, you might earn less; if you want the money, you'll have to let go of that. The more high-end the brand, the stingier they are with endorsement fees."

"Then I'll take it," she replied.

Though she tried to sound casual, Carmen cast a careful glance at him. Deep down, she wanted to earn more money but feared being seen as just another woman who only cared about that.

Unbeknownst to her, she found herself increasingly concerned about his opinion of her.

Eric observed Carmen's expression, smirking knowingly. "Honestly, Versace's style suits you well. Most girls can't pull off that bold design, but I bet you could pick a few pieces to show me."

Feeling vulnerable as if he'd seen through her thoughts, she shyly looked away from his gaze, softly humming in response.

After exchanging playful glances, Eric reached out, cradling Carmen's face and turning it towards him. When he saw her little pout, he said, "So, I guess you already know I'm about to buy IMG and Elite."

He knew she wouldn't have brought it up unless he did first. Carmen's eyes flickered at his words, but she remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Suddenly captivated by her beautiful sapphire eyes, Eric extended his hand to gently brush against her long eyelashes, feeling the softness flutter beneath his fingers.

Feigning discontent, she pouted slightly yet remained still, enjoying his sudden affectionate gesture. After he withdrew his hand, she leaned forward, finally kissing him on the lips.

...

September marked the fashion week season, and with New York Fashion Week concluded, Carmen hurried off to London the next day. They hadn't discussed IMG and Elite further.

In reality, WM was relatively small. Even if Eric acquired both IMG and Elite, it wouldn't impede WM's growth.

On the other hand, industry rivals like Ford and DNA felt the pressure from Eric's simultaneous acquisitions, as these mainstay modeling agencies had always been overshadowed by IMG and Elite. The support from the Firefly system's vast media resources made it even harder for them to compete.

Although the media raised questions about Eric acquiring both agencies, no one openly challenged it by the time he signed the stock transfer agreements with IMG and Elite shareholders.

Of course, to avoid unnecessary disputes down the road, Eric promptly addressed some Hollywood-related contracts after purchasing both agencies.

Many models often had acting representation in Hollywood. For instance, Diane Kruger had gained considerable ground in acting over the past couple of years, overshadowing her modeling career. The two agencies began drafting contracts to manage potential conflicts in representation wisely.

As for Eric, he wasn't particularly worried about these disputes.

After all, unless someone deliberately stirred the pot, he believed no model would risk their career to create trouble. With the Firefly system's current strength, even a supermodel wouldn't be able to vanish from the industry without consequence.

Having secured the two major agencies, Eric wrapped up his affairs in New York and flew back to Hollywood in mid-September.

...

Meanwhile, after negotiations with Eric broke down again, Microsoft quickly retaliated against Firefly, accusing them of infringing on Microsoft patents with the mini music store devices and demanded that Yahoo cease their promotion.

However, compared to the core patents held by Firefly, Microsoft's lawsuit evidence seemed flimsy -- merely involving design features of software rather than anything substantial.

The difference was as significant as comparing the foundation and load-bearing structure of a house to decorative tiling, where without a strong base, a house could never stand but superficial embellishments could be easily replaced.

Consequently, Microsoft's lawsuit posed little threat to Firefly.

In contrast, without access to Firefly's core patents, @Home could only shut down its search engine and ad distribution system, and Microsoft's Zune player was doomed to fail at launch.

Facing Microsoft's lawsuit, Firefly reacted immediately, announcing a $500 million investment to raise its stake in Apple to around 30%.

In recent years, Apple's fortunes had improved since Jobs returned, but overall, they were still underwhelming, with a market cap hovering below $3 billion, which dipped to $2 billion after the recent NASDAQ crash.

When Firefly announced its plans, they easily acquired an additional 7% of stock on the open market, increasing their ownership in Apple to 19%, spending only $150 million for it.

After the news broke, Apple's stock surged, but Jobs, feeling threatened, called Eric to discuss Firefly's intentions, and once again, he threatened to resign if Firefly interfered with Apple's management.

Unless absolutely necessary, Eric had no intentions of meddling in Apple's affairs.

Yet, he didn't hide his motives from Jobs, admitting that the Firefly system needed Apple's patent support for its operating system. Despite his dissatisfaction, Jobs eventually agreed to grant licenses for a series of patents to Firefly.

Eric had considered continuing to support Apple on its original path, but after careful reflection, he abandoned that idea, mainly due to Jobs's disposition.

Jobs was undoubtedly talented, but his stubbornness greatly affected Apple's growth. Historically, he had "left" Apple twice: once by board dismissal and once by death.

Although Jobs laid a solid foundation for Apple both times, the company's profitable breakthroughs always came after he had stepped back.

Take the iPod, for example, which Apple released in 2001. However, Jobs's rigid strategy, allowing the iPod only to run on the Apple operating system, wasted nearly four years.

It wasn't until 2005, when he relented under board pressure, that the iPod opened to Windows and its sales finally exploded. But by then, due to the rise of music phones and portable electronics, the iPod had missed its prime expansion window and began to decline.

As for the later iPhone, it's easy to predict that if Jobs hadn't passed away, his stubbornness would have prevented Apple from adapting flexibly to the clear trend toward larger smartphone screens. The iPhone might have stuck to its 3.5-inch screen model.

In an era of rapid smartphone development, the industry wouldn't grant Apple another four years to shift its mindset. If Apple continued to cling to small screens and Android progressed, the iPhone would ultimately follow the path of other Apple products, gradually becoming a high-end niche electronic device.

At its core, Jobs's character ensured his success but also paved the way for his failures.

...

As Eric returned to Los Angeles, the fall television season of 1999 kicked off.

This autumn, ABC's highlight was the much-anticipated American Idol, which had been meticulously prepared for a year.

Interestingly, although the British version, Pop Idol, had found success, ABC executives were initially uncertain about whether American Idol would suit the North American market. Some even suggested airing its first season in June's summer slot, to mitigate losses if it failed.

Eric understood that traditional public broadcasting networks had become increasingly conservative, primarily due to fears of accountability for low ratings. A failed flagship program often meant two seasons of subpar ratings for the network.

However, Eric wasn't about to accept the network executives' cautious approach; he insisted on placing American Idol in the fall lineup. With him at the helm, opposition voices diminished significantly.

Regardless, if it flopped, the responsibility would fall on Eric. Should a high-ranking executive need to take the blame, many would do so gladly, as long as it meant shielding their boss.

Ultimately, this reality-show talent competition outperformed expectations, even surpassing Eric's hopes.

Debuting on September 16, thanks to extensive pre-show promotion, the audience figures skyrocketed past 19 million right from the start. Surprisingly, the first episode didn't follow the traditional downward trend; instead, it continued to climb.

In the end, American Idol's inaugural episode averaged 22.3 million viewers, peaking at an impressive 26 million near the conclusion.

While it couldn't replicate the miraculous ratings of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or Survivor, achieving over 20 million viewers for a reality show in an age when cable networks were rapidly expanding was itself a monumental success.

Moreover, American Idol's success effectively filled the popularity gap left by Friends' finale at ABC.

Even as Survivor and ER saw their ratings decline in recent years, the emergence of Everybody Loves Raymond and American Idol was enough to keep ABC among the top four networks.

With American Idol's premiere, the Firefly system's fall lineups of hit shows gradually returned to the air.

Lifetime TV's three flagship shows, America's Next Top Model, Sex and the City, and Project Runway, maintained impressive viewership. MGM-owned networks like Desperate Housewives, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Beverly Girls performed well too, and FFM's The Sopranos set new viewership records after its return for a new season.

Additionally, the highly anticipated new Showtime series, Shameless, finally premiered on September 21.

Shameless garnered 1.7 million viewers for its debut, a satisfactory figure for a paid cable series.

Moreover, Shameless quickly became a topic of debate among critics.

Prior to Shameless, the mainstream North American television shows primarily reflected the lives of middle-class Americans, offering little representation of the lower classes.

The sheer audacity of Shameless in portraying lower-class characters struggling to survive without adhering to traditional morals had a deep impact on many viewers.

Perhaps due to the intensity of its presentation, while critics mainly received the show positively, many expressed openly critical views regarding the values it depicted.

*****

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