I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1191: This River is Mine]

Although Eric had consistently leaned towards the interests of the Firefly Group, he indeed had no ambition to completely monopolize the 3D market, which was impossible anyway. After all, polarized 3D technology wasn't too difficult, and besides IMAX, there were other large-screen formats in the industry. If the Firefly Group attempted to monopolize, it would only result in the emergence of other 3D and large-screen formats. The competition from different standards would undoubtedly drain resources from all of Hollywood, similarly hindering the healthy development of 3D and large-screen films.

During this time, the Firefly Group had already begun preliminary pricing for making 3D and IMAX conversion services available to other production companies. To raise industry standards and filter out low-quality films as much as possible, RealD set a charge of $30,000 per minute for converting regular 2D films to 3D. On the IMAX side, converting a 2D film to IMAX would cost $10,000 per minute, while 3D version conversions would be doubled to $20,000 per minute.

This meant that, based on the average two-hour length of a Hollywood film, the upfront conversion fees for releasing 3D and IMAX-3D versions would reach a staggering $6 million. Although in the future, film companies could significantly reduce expenses on costly 3D and IMAX film copies by reducing screening scales and reusing international copies, the initial conversion fees were unavoidable.

Moreover, due to the potential barriers of dual-D certification, it would be quite difficult for other 3D production companies to penetrate the film source conversion market. The Firefly Group would, in fact, be able to control the entire trajectory of the 3D and IMAX film industry from the source.

...

Katzenberg had to head back to the Burbank headquarters, and after a brief exchange, the two parted ways in the corridor between the administrative area and studio area. Eric turned back to his office in the administrative area.

He opened his computer, sat down behind his desk, and flipped through the year-end box office prospect assessment report compiled by the company's distribution department. The films for the Thanksgiving and Christmas prime release periods had already been determined; it was just that, with recent previews and audience reviews gradually being disclosed, the distribution department had finally brought out the report.

It was already November 9. Before this, New Line Cinema's Final Destination 3 and Universal Pictures' The Bone Collector had been released on October 29 and November 5, respectively, right around Halloween.

As a classic horror brand of New Line, Final Destination 3 maintained the series' usual style and quality, resulting in stable box office performance. With a production cost of $25 million, the film earned $25.71 million in its opening week, and it was projected that the total North American box office would exceed $50 million, with global ticket sales likely surpassing the $100 million mark without much doubt.

In contrast, Universal Pictures' The Bone Collector, starring Denzel Washington, had a hefty production budget of $73 million. However, it only made $16.72 million over the first weekend from November 5 to November 7, and the projected first-week box office was about $23 million, roughly $2 million less than Final Destination 3.

As Eric reviewed the documents in his hands, he noticed that from The Bone Collector through to December 29, when The Hurricane was set for its release, Universal was slated to roll out five films. The Hurricane also starred Denzel Washington, and while the title suggested a disaster film, it was actually a biopic that cost $38 million to make. Universal positioned this film as an awards contender, but based on early responses from other film festivals, the quality of The Hurricane didn't seem up to par, and Eric couldn't recall many awards related to it.

Besides The Bone Collector and The Hurricane, Universal was also going to release End of Days starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Man on the Moon featuring Jim Carrey, and Snow Falling on Cedars with Ethan Hawke.

Combining these recent movements from Seagram, it seemed clear that Michael Eisner had organized such an intensive release schedule to maximize Universal's performance for 1999, bolstering his position amidst the ongoing sale of Universal Pictures.

However, based on Eric's own recollections and assessments from the Firefly distribution department, none of these five films appeared to have much potential for box office success. Furthermore, with the production costs of The Bone Collector at $73 million and The Hurricane at $38 million, it was evident that Michael Eisner was trying to control costs, yet the results were far from ideal.

Among them, Schwarzenegger's End of Days had a budget that had soared to $100 million, while Jim Carrey's Man on the Moon clocked in at $82 million. The legal drama Snow Falling on Cedars, starring Ethan Hawke, which Eric had never even heard of before, had a budget of $35 million that felt a bit excessive.

A few months prior, Universal had nearly matched Fox's box office share thanks to the success of The Mummy 3 and Notting Hill, coming in second only to the Firefly Group. But clearly, these five films felt a bit hasty and could well drag down Universal's overall performance that year.

This situation was closely tied to the Firefly Group's influence. Superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey, and Denzel Washington were undoubtedly some of the least cost-effective superstars in Hollywood. In recent years, due to the Firefly Group's aggressive cost-cutting strategies on star salaries, many high-profile A-list stars had found themselves unable to secure collaborations with the Firefly Group, Fox, MGM, or Columbia Pictures, diverting their energies toward Warner, Universal, and Paramount, along with several independent production companies with ample financial backing.

The long-standing core star system in Hollywood couldn't change overnight, and the boom in Hollywood had made film financing seem incredibly easy. Thus, the other major studios and some new capital entering Hollywood continued to absorb these stars, providing them with substantial salaries while producing a slew of movies of varying quality at high costs.

Apart from Universal's slate of films, Eric was also aware that due to the remarkable box office success of summer's Big Daddy, Warner had directly offered Adam Sandler a whopping $20 million plus box office shares for his new film Little Nicky, with an $85 million production budget. Will Smith's collaboration with Warner on Wild Wild West was also going over budget, while Tom Cruise had retained his position as having the highest salary at Paramount for the past few years.

Historically, many years later, the numerous cases had convincingly shown that exorbitantly paid superstars were not indispensable. Yet Hollywood hadn't completely shifted its outlook on pursuing stars at all costs.

...

As Eric mused over these issues while leafing through the documents, there was a knock on the office door. When he acknowledged, Merissa Mayer stepped in carrying a file.

Handing over a blue folder to Eric, Merissa said, "Eric, we received news from Canada that the Nokia team has officially finalized the acquisition agreement with RIM for $260 million. The price is comparable to the beginning of this year, but it's 27% higher than RIM's current market value."

RIM, of course, was the brand holding company for BlackBerry phones, and Eric remembered that it wasn't until many years later that RIM merged its company name with that of BlackBerry.

Recently, the Firefly Group had been active in a buy-and-hold strategy; given the acquisition of RIM for under $300 million, it hardly seemed significant to the group's expansion plan. However, due to Eric's own emphasis on BlackBerry, Nokia had been quite focused on this acquisition. After Jorma Ollila's departure last year, Eric had been working on tightening control over Nokia to prevent it from repeating the same mistakes of the past.

As he opened the file, Eric read through the terms of the transaction between Nokia and BlackBerry. Noticing Merissa's poised figure across the desk, he looked up at her and said, "So, are you really not considering staying with me any longer?"

Merissa gazed at Eric, her eyes reflecting a trace of reluctance. With the rave reviews for Gravity's release, Eric had once again become the focal point of many media discussions. Perhaps this man had always been that dazzling, like the sun; most people wouldn't usually look up at the sky, but every now and then, they would pay attention to that shining light.

After a moment of silence, Merissa finally replied, "I've already discussed it with Mr. McNally. I'll first move to the YOS system development department to work as a software engineer for a while to reacquaint myself with various technical details, then transition to the hardware department after three months."

Listening to Merissa's clear career plan, Eric understood her decision and ceased to persuade her, but he still smiled and said, "I can't help but feel a bit regretful; I really want to keep you by my side."

"You," Merissa paused, then said, "you can find someone else."

"Nope, no more," Eric shook his head and replied with a smile, "I'm quite nostalgic, after all. From now on, I'll let Carly stay with me alone. Of course, anytime you want to come back, just let me know."

Merissa hesitated a moment, lightly nodding her head, yet she didn't say anything further.

Eric had already detailed the arrangements for RIM with Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo several times, even discussing how to rename RIM directly to BlackBerry.

So, after carefully reading through Nokia's acquisition agreement with BlackBerry and signing with his name, Eric decided to temporarily set that matter aside. Nokia would naturally execute the BlackBerry phone layout according to the prearranged plans.

...

Elisabeth had called earlier to inform Eric that the design draft for his mansion in Tasmania had been completed. After work, he rushed over to Elisabeth and Julia's mansion in Beverly Hills.

Although Eric and the girls had returned to Los Angeles, his agent in Australia had been actively working on the acquisition of Tasmanian land for him. Given Eric's financial condition, the Australian land's economic value was incredibly low. He had previously bought about 200 square kilometers, or roughly 50,000 acres, at a total cost of less than $60 million.

After months of continuous acquisition, Eric's land holdings in Tasmania had exceeded 1,000 square kilometers. However, outside a small portion of farmland, most of the land was native forest, with some areas resembling a primeval forest. It's said that there were wild platypuses in those woods. While this egg-laying mammal holds considerable biological research value, it is not considered an endangered species and is still relatively widespread in Australia.

With so much land acquired, it would be impossible not to carry out any development or improvement plans. Many held the belief that Australia had strict requirements for environmental protection; in fact, it was quite the opposite.

If not for Eric's purchase, the vast areas of native forest adjacent to the plots Eric had acquired would have already been slated for logging. In contrast, Eric, who preferred to preserve a complete primeval forest, would seem more like an environmentalist, and in truth, he was at heart, though not extreme about it.

While he wasn't planning on a large-scale transformation of that land, after discussing with the women, Eric decided to build a holiday estate for the Williams family in the area. As a big player in Australia, Eric didn't hesitate to entrust this responsibility to Elisabeth, having her arrange for designers and engineering teams locally.

"Look, they've chosen this location right here; to the south is Arthur HB and a hill, and the interstate highway is just two kilometers to the west. Here are some photos of the surroundings, as well as a few design drafts," after returning to Elisabeth's home, while Julia prepared dinner, Eric and the lady went through a large stack of materials that had come from Australia. After giving a general overview, Elisabeth said, "Honestly, if you're looking to buy more land, Queensland would be the best choice. Even Victoria is not too bad; why are you picking Tasmania? There aren't many people there at all!"

"Well, isn't there hardly anyone in all of Australia?" Eric replied while flipping through the estate sketches from the designer. "Besides, I actually want a place with fewer people; the more open, the better."

Elisabeth shot Eric an eye roll and said, "If you really live there for a while, you definitely won't think that way."

"Who said anything about living there permanently? As long as that land belongs to me, that's all that matters. You're welcome to visit anytime."

Feigning disinterest, Elisabeth huffed, "What's so interesting about it?"

Eric thought for a moment and pointed to a map on the coffee table, smiling, "See here, this river is mine. Hmm, I plan to buy that mountain to the east as well. Compared to your family's Lanai Island, this island is mine, that mountain is mine; tell me, which sounds more impressive?"

Elisabeth playfully hit Eric, grinning, "You know, Dad doesn't care about that island much anymore. He hardly goes there once in a few years."

Recalling some later events, Eric replied, "Well then, sell it! But I certainly wouldn't buy it. I have zero interest in small islands; I'd consider it if it were Tasmania."

The news of Lanai Island being purchased by Larry Ellison had sparked a lot of hype in the media in his previous life. Interestingly, Lanai Island originally belonged to the Murdoch family. Considering the company affiliations between News Corporation and Oracle, the stark contrast between the Murdoch family's discretion and Larry Ellison's flamboyance was quite fascinating.

*****

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