I am Hollywood

[Chapter 951: You're the Boss]

After spending the entire afternoon discussing films and then enjoying dinner together, Eric gradually realized that, despite her striking and attractive appearance, Jodie Foster was essentially a "tough girl" -- and a pretty straightforward one at that.

During their casual dinner chat, Jodie's knowledge of Eric far exceeded his understanding of her. Many insights she shared were definitely not the kind that could be found in the media. After some probing, Eric learned that following the filming of The Silence of the Lambs, Jodie Foster had maintained a strong friendship with Julia Roberts and several other actresses. It was obvious what kind of conversations a group of women would have in private.

After dinner, the woman bluntly stated that as long as Eric wasn't up to anything inappropriate, she would treat him as a friend.

The contract signing between Firefly and Jodie Foster went smoothly. Afterward, she took a pile of materials about Gravity from Eric and began preparing for both the film and its spin-off novel.

For the male lead in Gravity, Eric still opted for George Clooney. Before participating in Batman & Robin the previous year, Clooney had already declared his intention to move away from the popular ABC drama ER and focus on his film career.

Then, almost nothing happened next.

However, the ever-dapper Clooney had a certain charm that many in the industry envied. Before Eric could even extend an invitation to him, others had started making introductions on his behalf. Even Jodie Foster, who had just announced their budding friendship, called to express her belief that George Clooney was perfect for the role of Matt Kowalsky. Eric happily took the hint, scoring some social capital in the process.

...

At Los Angeles International Airport, it was mid-January before anyone knew it.

Eric was at the airport with several high-ranking members of Firefly Group to send off the crew of The Lord of the Rings.

After thirty years of dreaming about making The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson finally seemed radiant and full of energy as the film was set to start shooting.

After shaking hands with Eric, Katzenberg, and others and making solemn promises, Jackson boarded a charter flight to New Zealand with nearly a hundred team members, determined that he wouldn't return to Hollywood unless he got the film right.

Of course, considering the massive budget of $300 million for the entire trilogy, if the project failed, he certainly wouldn't be seeing Hollywood again anytime soon.

By this time, aside from Eric, who fully supported the three-part Lord of the Rings shooting plan, most of Firefly's management still held a lingering sense of worry. The media seemed relentless in questioning the viability of such a grand project.

It wasn't until the sky-blue Boeing 747 took to the clouds that Eric clapped Karenberg on the shoulder and said, "Jeffrey, everyone, let's head back. I think you all should have a bit more faith in a guy who has held onto a dream for thirty years. Besides, Firefly can afford to lose three hundred million right now."

As Eric and Katzenberg walked toward the tarmac exit, Katzenberg sighed and said, "Eric, you know this is more than just a three hundred million dollar deal."

The release date for the first installment of The Lord of the Rings was set for the end of next year. Now that the project was locked in, for the next two years, Firefly needed to allocate substantial marketing resources to promote it beyond just the filmmaking budget. Those marketing resources and the potential time costs indeed indicated that it was far more than just the dollars at stake.

Eric understood all these complexities, but he didn't feel inclined to coddle a bunch of grown men with reassurances. He changed the subject and asked, "Have we made any progress on the lead for The Ring?"

Katzenberg shook his head. "Kenneth Horne at New Line and Gore Verbinski both want Johnny Depp to audition. However, Depp has been pulled into Tim Burton's pending project. He's good friends with Burton and isn't interested in this horror film; he said he wouldn't participate unless Firefly could invest in Burton's new film."

Eric squinted. If he hadn't heard Tim Burton's name, he would have scoffed at Johnny Depp's demands. Right now, the three major talent agencies had no clout to impose conditions on Firefly Group, let alone any individual actor.

"What's Tim Burton's new movie?" he asked.

Katzenberg paused to think, then said, "It's a film adaptation of an old horror novel called Sleepy Hollow."

Just as he suspected.

Eric thought to himself and continued, "I've heard of that novel too. The subject matter fits well with Burton's quirky and eccentric style. How could there be no one willing to invest in it?"

At that point, they had already arrived at the parking lot outside Los Angeles International Airport. Katzenberg got into a car beside Eric, who said, "You remember his last movie, right?"

Eric didn't recall much. He only remembered that Burton had directed Batman Returns back in 1992. In the years since, he hadn't heard much about any successful films from Burton.

Seeing Eric shake his head, Katzenberg said, "Exactly. Ever since Batman Returns in 1992, Burton's films over the last few years haven't seen much success, especially his last movie with Jack Nicholson, Mars Attacks!. It cost $70 million and only grossed $37 million in North America. After that flop, Warner Bros. completely severed ties with him. I haven't seen the project details for Sleepy Hollow, but I've heard in casual conversation that this film's budget might approach $100 million, which everyone is trying to avoid."

Tim Burton was indeed a unique talent in Hollywood; his eccentricity made the box office prospects of his films quite unpredictable.

However, Sleepy Hollow was undoubtedly one of Burton's most classic works, so it had good potential to perform well at the box office.

Eric contemplated for a moment, tapping his knee, then said, "Jeffrey, have someone find me the script and budget information for Sleepy Hollow."

Katzenberg replied with concern, "Eric, aside from the Batman franchise, Burton's highest-grossing film, Beetlejuice, only made around $70 million. You can't seriously be interested in Sleepy Hollow, can you?"

Eric smiled and retorted, "Wasn't Beetlejuice produced by Disney back then? Do you remember the production budget for that movie?"

Katzenberg nodded. "About $15 million. So, if we calculate that, it was incredibly profitable."

"Beetlejuice was a bizarre horror story, which is exactly what Burton excels at. He could create a fantastic film and receive market recognition. Just listen to the title Mars Attacks! -- I haven't seen that film, but from the title alone, we can surmise it's a comedy. Would you say it's likely for a horror genius to succeed at directing a comedy? And now, Sleepy Hollow is a return to Burton's element."

"But, Eric, that film has a budget of $100 million, and it's still a horror movie."

"Here's the plan, Jeffrey. Once we return to the studio, have someone bring me the materials for Sleepy Hollow, and then call Johnny Depp directly. Just let him know I can help Tim Burton out, and he can sign on with The Ring crew. Once I read the script and like it, we'll shoot it ourselves. If it doesn't work out, we'll leak the news that Eric Williams has high expectations for the project, and others will rush to take it on."

Katzenberg sighed in resignation. "I get the impression you've already made up your mind to proceed."

"Do you doubt my judgment?"

"Of course I believe in you. The key is, you haven't seen the script yet."

"Do you doubt my instincts?"

Katzenberg raised his hand in surrender. "Alright, you're the boss."

...

When they returned to the studio office, it was just past 9 a.m.

January was the busiest time for Firefly Group, with a lot of financial reports, summaries, and personnel changes crowding the agenda. Eric had recently settled into a routine of taking care of company matters in the morning and managing several films in the afternoon.

As Eric stepped into his office, Caroline followed him in with a stack of documents in tow.

She set a folder down in front of Eric and said, "Eric, we just received news from Europe that the Seagram Group and Philips have reached an acquisition agreement for Polygram Records, with a transaction value of $10.6 billion."

The negotiations for Seagram Group's acquisition of Polygram Records had been public for nearly half a year, so Eric wasn't particularly surprised. He picked up the folder Caroline had just set down and asked, "Anything else?"

"Not for now. Philips just held a very brief press conference before closing today in the Netherlands."

Eric nodded, recalling his conversation with Katzenberg on the way back. He had initially planned to have Caroline gather information on Sleepy Hollow, but since he had already instructed Katzenberg, he decided not to repeat himself.

After Caroline left, having perused through a list of 16 films that New Line planned to produce or distribute this year, Katzenberg entered the office himself.

"Eric, here's the script and budget proposal for Sleepy Hollow, along with Tim Burton's contact information. If you have any questions, feel free to call him." He handed Eric an envelope and pulled up a chair across from him, saying, "I just heard about Seagram's acquisition of Polygram."

"Caroline already informed me," Eric nodded, smiling, "So?"

"Barry Weiss and I have talked several times about the Spice Girls group you created in Europe. The single Wannabe has already sold over a million copies just in the UK. Even though the Spice Girls' focus isn't on North America, thanks to you being their songwriter, the single sold over 1.6 million copies here. However, because Firefly Records's distribution channels aren't fully developed, the sales figures in other European countries and Southeast Asia are not ideal. So, Barry Weiss mentioned that even if we're not actively expanding the global market, we should still acquire a record company that has a complete distribution channel in Europe, which would allow our record business to fully cover Europe and North America."

To create a teen pop music group, Eric had previously recruited Barry Weiss, a music producer who had successfully launched luminaries like the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears from a small subsidiary of Sony. In the past few years, Weiss's work results had indeed been satisfactory, and Firefly Records currently hosted several stars who were at the forefront of the pop music scene.

Now in 1998, with further increases in global internet users, this year was expected to mark a watershed moment for the music industry -- from prosperity to decline. Even without the early emergence of MP3 players, the rampant spread of music piracy online would lead to a noticeable decline in the physical music industry within the next few years.

Eric's positioning for Firefly Records had always centered on promoting the MP3 player as a "supporting facility." However, since Barry Weiss also had brought this up multiple times, Eric realized that if Firefly wanted to retain this talent, they needed to take action in the music business.

Despite last year's impressive sales in North America, Fireflyer was still in the early stage of its promotion. Without Firefly Records continuously producing outstanding albums, Firefly Electronics would be in a disadvantaged position during the promotion process. Eric didn't want Barry Weiss to leave Firefly Records at this critical juncture.

Most likely, what Barry Weiss desired most was the recently acquired Polygram Records by Seagram. If they could acquire this industry giant, Firefly Group would instantly possess a global record distribution network. But, of course, that was impossible -- Eric wouldn't spend over ten billion dollars buying a company that was destined for decline.

After considering for a while, Eric asked, "Did Barry Weiss have any suitable acquisition targets in mind?"

Katzenberg replied, "Virgin Records -- have you heard of it?"

Eric nodded. He had asked his team to collect information on various record companies last year. "If I remember correctly, Virgin Records is a subsidiary of EMI, am I right?"

"Exactly. Barry actually wants us to acquire EMI directly."

Eric shook his head, chuckling. "Well, that's just wishful thinking."

"I told him the same thing," Katzenberg laughed. "So, as a secondary option, Barry has set his sights on Virgin Records. EMI acquired this company for $1 billion in 1992. However, since the acquisition, Virgin Records hasn't produced any major pop stars, and its performance has been mediocre. It's now become a burden for EMI. Barry has been in contact with one of the company's directors, who said if Firefly is interested, he could help coordinate and facilitate this acquisition."

*****

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