I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1007: The Cut Off]

As Eric stared at the darkened monitor screen, his mood didn't lighten at all.

Back when the Information Industry Alliance plan was created, Eric had envisioned a powerhouse collaboration involving Cisco, America Online, and Yahoo as internet device providers, internet service providers, and internet content providers, respectively. This was meant to replicate the strong partnership known as the Wintel alliance in the PC industry, featuring Intel and Microsoft.

Now, losing America Online effectively cut that plan in half.

This was arguably the biggest setback Eric had faced in recent years. Even if he could manage to cash out $10 to $20 billion from America Online's stocks in the near future, it wouldn't compensate for the damage done to the alliance plan. Had America Online successfully merged with one of the three major North American telecom companies, reinforcing its market position in telecommunications and internet services, even with the impending burst of the internet bubble, the value of America Online could still have soared to a staggering $100 to $200 billion as mobile communication and the internet evolved.

However, at present, although America Online stood as North America's leading internet service provider, its rise was largely due to the fact that traditional operators had overlooked this segment of the business.

The major telecom companies in North America had initially dismissed the idea that users would spend hundreds of dollars a month on high-speed broadband access, allowing America Online to seize the opportunity.

Yet, America Online's shortcomings were glaringly obvious. Disregarding its doomed and unsustainable internet media business, which was merely a bubble, its focus on basic telecom services was remarkably narrow, solely centered on high-speed broadband access. Other traditional telecom services such as landlines, mobile communication, and cable TV were areas America Online hadn't even begun to explore. Additionally, America Online's infrastructure investment was weak; much of its access equipment and network lines were actually leased from traditional carriers like AT&T.

Once AT&T, Verizon, and even Sprint -- the robust traditional telecom entities -- realized the situation, leveraging their vast user bases and extensive infrastructure, they could easily snatch network users away from America Online with some creative bundling techniques.

In this scenario, America Online's only chance lay in leveraging their high stock prices to acquire an established telecom company, which was essential in maintaining their industry standing amidst the looming internet bubble burst.

But now, all those plans had suddenly collapsed.

America Online had chosen to pursue the path of an internet media company. Yet within the next two years, once the internet bubble broke, this company would inevitably plummet into an abyss.

Even though America Online and Yahoo would continue to collaborate over the next couple of years, a profound rift had emerged, and it was almost guaranteed they'd end up worlds apart. Yahoo would struggle to find another partner in the basic service field who could work in sync with them.

Still, some things had to keep moving forward.

Traditional North American telecom companies, with their decades or even centuries of history, suffered badly from corporate inertia, causing their pace of adopting new technologies and services to be frustratingly slow. If not, America Online wouldn't have gained its current market position.

The only method to force these traditional operators to keep pace with rapidly advancing new tech firms like Yahoo was to take control of them.

...

Picking up a folder from the table, Eric found documents not only from the recent video conference but also some information regarding AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint -- the three major North American telecom firms.

After browsing through them in silence for a bit, Eric's attention eventually landed on Sprint.

AT&T and Verizon were both spin-offs of the original Bell System, and with Eric's current capital, AT&T was out of the question. The market value of this telecom titan had already surpassed $100 billion. While that didn't sound exorbitantly high compared to the inflated internet companies, in the coming years, with the rise of mobile communication and internet services, AT&T's value was expected to multiply. Even if the internet bubble burst, that market was already in place, and AT&T's value wouldn't decline dramatically.

Moreover, due to its long-standing dominance accounting for nearly 70% of North America's telecom market, AT&T frequently faced antitrust investigations. The chances of regulatory approval for a takeover were slim to none.

What was more concerning was AT&T's extreme diversification -- its holdings ranged from mobile to fixed-line services, from telecommunication stations to cable television. Such a company didn't align with Eric's needs.

Verizon, while significantly trailing AT&T, had an impressive stock price and earnings report. In light of a solid business performance, the chances of its board agreeing to a merger or acquisition were as slim as AT&T's. Moreover, Verizon shared a similar pitfall regarding over-diversification.

In contrast, among the three traditional telecom giants, acquiring Sprint seemed the most plausible.

First, Firefly Investments already owned 10% of Sprint, and during any future acquisition, as a shareholder, Firefly could directly influence Sprint's board.

Second, having invested heavily in mobile communication from the outset, Sprint had acquired vast amounts of mobile communication spectrum from the Federal Communications Commission. This company's future development focus would align with Eric's expectations. If Sprint could hone in on mobile communication and broadband services, even if it couldn't catch up with AT&T, surpassing Verizon wouldn't be an insurmountable task.

Finally, the focus on mobile communication had led Sprint to over-invest initially, resulting in somewhat lackluster performance in recent years, with its stock volatility demonstrating just that.

With new tech stocks soaring, Sprint's market value was only about $30.2 billion at that time.

Moreover, it would take a few more years for mobile communication to truly take off, providing Eric ample time to prepare. He also needed to wait one to two more years before making any moves. In recent years, stock prices of companies even marginally related to the tech wave surged. Eric had no intention of acquiring any company before the internet bubble burst. Afterward, acquiring Sprint would be notably easier.

Securing Sprint would not only allow him to rebuild the Information Industry Alliance plan but also enable Eric to maintain his interests in the mobile communication sector.

Both Nokia and Qualcomm were already testing third-generation mobile communication networks, which would later evolve into what everyone recognized as 3G.

With current progress on track, it was expected that 3G networks would enter practical application phases in Europe and America around the year 2000. Even if the anticipated smartphones would require several more years for rollout, Firefly Electronics could utilize Sprint's network to launch 3G versions of tablets.

...

As Eric sat in his study contemplating these matters, down in the villa's living room, Caroline casually flipped through a magazine while occasionally glancing up at the staircase.

Mayer walked in from a nearby lounge, holding a folder, and as she entered the living room, she caught Caroline looking towards the staircase.

Sitting next to Caroline, Mayer followed her gaze and said, "It's almost nine o'clock. Is Eric still up there?"

Caroline nodded and then, noticing the blue folder in Mayer's hand, asked, "Is that last week's North American box office data?"

"It is," Mayer responded, handing over the folder. "Why don't you take it up to Eric?"

Caroline received the folder, flipping it open to find several pages of compiled data.

After a strong opening weekend of $83.65 million, with an additional $30.11 million in earnings over the four weekdays, The Matrix Reloaded's total arrived at $113.16 million by the end of its opening week.

Although that barely surpassed The Day After Tomorrow's first week earnings of $111.74 million from two weeks prior, The Matrix Reloaded's weekday earnings lagged by nearly $7 million, highlighting its overly strong fanbase as a disadvantage.

Given the fervent fan support, The Matrix Reloaded saw impressive midnight and weekend earnings, but the box office hype dwindled significantly as it entered the weekdays.

Taking into consideration the polarized reception of The Matrix Reloaded, it would likely see a steeper drop in the following weeks compared to The Day After Tomorrow. Since the first week hadn't shown a clear disparity, it wouldn't be an easy task for The Matrix Reloaded to out-gross The Day After Tomorrow at the North American box office.

After perusing the document and pondering for a moment, Caroline said, "Maybe we shouldn't show these to Eric today. He's not in a good mood."

Mayer agreed, mentioning that although Eric hadn't lost his cool with anyone recently, everyone certainly felt his intense anger and disappointment simmering just beneath the surface.

In private, Mayer had even grown to admire Eric for maintaining such restraint, especially given his high standing and youth. It was uncommon for someone in his position to stay composed without taking it out on others.

Naturally, the memory of that night in London kept resurfacing, sparking some resentment.

Damn that guy.

Mayer murmured that again in her mind and then looked at Caroline. Although that night's disheartening outcome stemmed ultimately from the girl next to her, Mayer couldn't bring herself to direct anger at Caroline. It wasn't that she didn't possess the composure Eric did; rather, it was hard to put any blame on such a genuinely kind-hearted girl.

...

As the two women chatted in the living room, footsteps finally echoed from the stairs. When Eric walked down, they both stood up.

Eric didn't say anything to the two women, simply stating, "Let's go. Peter should be waiting for us."

Though today was Saturday, New Zealand's labor laws weren't as stringent as California's, so shooting continued over the weekend. Of course, since it was the weekend, the crew was shooting some internal scenes for the main characters at the Queenstown filming base rather than being out on location.

In prior days, the crew had been shooting on location, and due to the situation with America Online, Eric didn't have time to visit the sites with the crew. He waited until Peter Jackson returned to Queenstown to discuss the filming progress of the trilogy and even hosted a small gathering for some cast members of The Lord of the Rings who were still in New Zealand.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy comprised nearly forty filming locations spread across New Zealand's North and South Islands.

As of now, the shooting in the North Island was nearly complete. The crew had just relocated from Wellington to Queenstown the previous month.

While it was winter in New Zealand, the maritime temperate climate of the South Island meant that the low temperatures didn't hinder filming much. The South Island showed little sign of winter, aside from the snow-capped peaks of nearby mountains; the plains of Queenstown remained lush and green.

The crew had erected several reasonably sized sound stages in Queenstown to serve as a filming base that aligned with some scenes from the South Island. The primary filming base for the movie, however, remained in Wellington, New Zealand's capital, where Firefly established a New Zealand division for Digital Domain.

The visual effects for The Lord of the Rings were mainly handled by Digital Domain's Australian and New Zealand branches, with the Australian branch focusing on CGI effects while the New Zealand branch handled much of the props and model making. As for the former Weta Digital, it was no longer around, but Digital Domain's Australian and New Zealand branches essentially enjoyed the same status that Weta once had.

In the original timeline, Weta Digital was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain, not necessarily due to superior technology but because Weta offered exceptional value for the quality of visual effects, making them budget-friendly.

...

Eric left the villa with Caroline and Mayer, and in less than ten minutes, they arrived at the crew's studio in Queenstown.

Once inside the bustling studio, Peter Jackson was directing a fight scene between the fellowship and Uruk-hai, surrounded by green screens and props.

The Lord of the Rings series placed a strong emphasis on practical effects. The crew avoided CGI unless absolutely necessary, which was evident in the trilogy. Eric couldn't fathom why so many people later mocked Peter Jackson for relying heavily on CGI.

Furthermore, when executed perfectly, CGI could heighten the visual impact immensely.

Without interrupting Peter Jackson during his busy schedule, Eric chatted casually with Sir Ian McKellen, the British actor portraying Gandalf. Other resting actors gradually gathered around, though Nicole and Diane Kruger had long completed their scenes and were no longer in New Zealand. Thus, the majority of the crew comprised men.

After about ten minutes of waiting, Peter Jackson wrapped up a shoot and announced a short break, heading over to Eric.

After exchanging greetings, Peter asked with genuine concern, "Eric, how's everything over there?"

"It's somewhat resolved for now," Eric replied tersely, not wanting to dwindle in details.

The news about America Online had spread like wildfire, and although Peter Jackson was focused on filming The Lord of the Rings, it was nearly impossible for him not to have noticed.

*****

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