I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1015: That's Not Good]

Nicole put down the menu, looking a bit puzzled, and asked, "Who else is going for the Oscars?"

"Julia has been preparing for a biopic recently. If all goes according to plan, they'll start filming early next year and aim for a release by the end of the year," Eric explained nonchalantly, glancing at the script in his hand.

The cover of the script simply read "Me," which would later be known as Moulin Rouge!. Even people completely uninterested in musicals found it hard not to be impressed by Nicole's stunning presence in the film.

Eric had naturally seen Moulin Rouge!, and while he thought the plot was just average and a bit cliche, Nicole's beauty absolutely captivated audiences. Back in the '90s, even as Tom Cruise's wife, Nicole's fame was not as significant. It was through Moulin Rouge! that many discovered this Hollywood star named Nicole Kidman.

Hearing Julia's name, Nicole smiled slightly in a whimsical way and said, "I won't compete with her, ha ha. Honestly, I haven't even thought about the Oscars yet. I'm just interested in this subject. Pat suggested I try something new. Plus, the funding for the script isn't confirmed yet, so I thought I'd show it to you. The writer, Baz Luhrmann, is from Australia, and he came to the set of The Mummy 3 in Nevada last week to discuss this script with me, hoping I'd be involved."

The Australian contingent in Hollywood generally kept a low profile compared to the distinctly characterized British actors, but they were a tight-knit group. The biggest supporter of the Aussie talent, however, was arguably 20th Century Fox, a subsidiary of News Corp. Many Australian directors and actors made their mark through films produced by Fox. Baz Luhrmann, whom Nicole just mentioned, was a classic example.

A few years ago, his first film in Hollywood, Romeo and Juliet, was produced by 20th Century Fox. The modern adaptation featured Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead; however, due to the advance filming of Titanic, the lead role was recast, though the film still performed well at the box office.

Typically, Baz Luhrmann's films had been backed by 20th Century Fox, and he collaborated frequently with Australian actors like Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.

After reading through a couple of pages of the script and listening to Nicole's explanation, Eric asked, "Baz Luhrmann's last film, Romeo and Juliet, seemed to do well at the box office. I recall it was produced by Fox. Why isn't he partnering with Fox this time?"

"They've already been approached, but since this is an original musical without any Broadway pedigree, Fox isn't too interested. The last major musical that did well in Hollywood... um, the only one I can think of is Grease from 1978, which was twenty years ago," Nicole said, tilting her head in contemplation before adding, "Also, Baz needs a $60 million investment, which is probably why Fox is hesitant. That's already a big-budget project, but this film doesn't have the box office potential to match."

Eric remembered that the opening logo for Moulin Rouge! was Fox's. However, things had changed since then, as Elisabeth was now managing Fox's film division.

After pondering for a moment, even though he had reached a conclusion in his mind, Eric didn't nod immediately, saying, "Let me take a look at the script first. If I like it, I'll speak with Liz and see if Fox can continue to invest. I don't want her complaining to me about always snatching projects from their hands. If that doesn't work out, Baz will have to seek investors on his own. But if you're on board, I think it's likely Baz will find an investor."

Many Hollywood projects often built a star-studded cast before seeking funding. If they could secure a contract with a top-tier star, producers could easily persuade studios to invest or raise production funds through pre-sale distribution rights.

With the global success of The Mummy franchise and solid box office numbers from past films, Nicole was undoubtedly one of the most bankable actresses in Hollywood, even a bit more so than Julia. Projects concerning her often attracted significant interest from studios.

Nicole nodded, "That's fine, but honestly, this script isn't great. What I admire is Baz Luhrmann's vision for filming. He wants to present this story in a very extravagant and dazzling visual style. I think you should take some time to talk to Baz in person."

Eric grinned, "Since you're so fond of this story, I might as well just agree straight away."

"Sure, if you agree, I can give you a discount on your fee," Nicole quipped, a playful smile on her face as her bright eyes glimmered at Eric. "But in that case, you'd better not let Fox invest. I wouldn't want Liz to backstab me if things went south."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want that either," Eric said, raising his hands in mock surrender. Just then, the waiter brought over their lunch, and they paused their conversation until the waiter left with the empty plates. Eric then said earnestly, "Once I've read the script, I'll set up a time to chat with Baz. By the way, how long are you planning to stay in L.A.?"

Nicole was currently filming Universal Pictures' The Mummy 3 and was also making a cameo in the spin-off, The Scorpion King. Eric thought that her time off could well be for the premiere of The Scorpion King next week. The premiere, set for the 17th, was ten days away, so Nicole seemed to be back a bit early.

"I only took a two-day break. Tomorrow, I have a photo shoot for an endorsement brand, and the day after, I need to return to Nevada," Nicole replied while cutting into her steak and taking small bites.

Eric overcame his psychological barrier and picked up his knife and fork. "I thought you came back for The Scorpion King premiere."

"Oh, I'll be back next week, but you know how much the crew spends in a day," Nicole replied with a teasing look. Seeing Eric's slightly distressed expression, she teased, "Why don't you use my knife and fork? It's been tested, you see? I'm still fine."

Eric laughed and cut into his steak, making an effort to curb his growing obsession with cleanliness while saying, "Who knows, it might be some special poison. I've seen those martial arts movies from Hong Kong where there's a poison called... uh, three-step fall. When you stand up and take three steps, then it's game over."

"Come on, there's no such poison; that doesn't make sense!"

"I think it makes some sense. It's probably similar to bloodborne toxins, like snake venom. Once you get poisoned and get too excited or struggle too much, your heart starts racing, and the toxin spreads faster," Eric explained, then added, "Since you're just back for two days, why don't you hang out with me at the studio this afternoon? Your earlier suggestion helped me solve a big problem; maybe you can come up with some more great ideas. We could head back to Malibu together tonight."

"I can't do that," Nicole said, shaking her head regretfully. "I have some other matters to attend to. I can't hang out with you these two days."

Eric furrowed his brows in confusion, "Huh?"

"It's a friend of mine. She's coming from Japan and wants to develop her career in Hollywood. I'm taking her to meet Pat this afternoon so he can help her find a manager -- she's my dear friend. If I have some spare time in the next couple of days, of course, I'll want to help her get familiar with Los Angeles."

Eric became even more curious, "You have an Asian friend?"

Nicole shook her head, "She's not Asian; she's also Australian, but she's been working in Japan for the past few years."

Nicole's mention of her friend sparked Eric's memory, and he quickly realized who she meant -- it had to be Naomi Watts.

Casually glancing down at his steak, Eric nonchalantly said, "If she's your close friend, then bring her over to meet me."

Nicole rolled her eyes playfully at Eric, "I'm afraid if you meet her, I might not be her friend for long."

Eric feigned innocence, "That's not right! Trust is the most basic thing between friends."

Nicole replied with a hint of mystery in her tone, "Who would trust you, you jerk? Jen hasn't spoken to me in years."

Eric immediately threw up his hands in surrender, "Okay, fine, I'm guilty. But I've turned a new leaf now."

Nicole shot him another skeptical eye. "I don't believe you've really turned a new leaf."

As they were chatting and eating, Nicole's phone rang. Listening to her excited whispering on the line -- "Nami, Nami!" -- Eric was instantly certain of the identity of the woman on the other end.

However, seeing Nicole's cautious demeanor as she ended the call, Eric chose not to bring up Naomi Watts again. Instead, after Nicole hurriedly hung up the phone, he shifted the topic.

After lunch, he saw Nicole off, and taking the script of Moulin Rouge! she left behind, Eric returned to the Gravity set, where he started discussing the installation of safety slides with Nicole Frank and the props master who had come over.

...

In contrast to Eric's orderly life in Los Angeles, the mood in New York had been a rollercoaster ride for many these days.

By the end of June, under pressure from the mass resignation of senior management, Firefly Investment Company abandoned plans to replace AOL's CEO and redefine the company's future direction. Ultimately, they completely relinquished control over AOL, leading to the resignation of all three AOL board members from the Firefly system.

After a brief period of volatility, driven by a series of positive news in the wake of Steve Case's maneuvers, AOL's stock price began to rise again. By last Friday's close, shares of AOL had climbed to $281.01, with a market valuation exceeding $46.1 billion.

However, on Monday, during a small press conference held by ABC Group in response to the departure of ESPN CEO Steve Bernstein, Robert Iger faced reporters and publicly confirmed the news that Firefly Investment would significantly reduce its stake in AOL in the coming months.

Rumors had already been circulating among the media and market about a potential 10% stake sell-off by Firefly Group, and this confirmation from Firefly's upper management sent shockwaves through Wall Street.

Those with even a little stock market knowledge understood the disastrous consequences of major shareholders like Firefly Investment liquidating their holdings.

In the face of panic in the market, AOL's stock price, which had been on an upward trend on Monday morning, plummeted by 5.7% that same day, followed by a further decline of 3.3% the next day. In just two days, AOL's market value dropped from $46.1 billion to $41.9 billion, evaporating more than $4 billion in wealth.

In efforts to boost market confidence, AOL began using funds raised by the management to buy up shares being sold off in the market while Steve Case decisively pre-released AOL's second-quarter financial report for 1998.

For the three months between April and June, AOL's second-quarter revenue hit $922 million, with a quarterly net profit of $135 million. Though the $135 million net profit for the quarter was modest, it represented almost a 70% increase compared to the same period the year before -- an impressive growth rate relatively rare across the U.S.

At the same time, AOL predicted that if the current growth rate continued, the company's net profit for the entire year would reach $500 million, nearly double that from last year.

Should AOL maintain such a high growth rate, it wouldn't take long for its price-to-earnings ratio to revert to below 30, a normalized level.

Moreover, the rapid expansion trend exhibited by the internet further indicated AOL's potential for such revenue growth.

After heavily promoting the impressive quarterly report, AOL finally halted its consecutive drop in stock prices.

Still, under the shadow of Firefly's stake reduction, market sentiment towards AOL stocks began to turn cautious.

...

In the president's office of Morgan Stanley at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, another Friday came without John Mack realizing it, and he had no inclination to think about the upcoming weekend.

Ever since Eric mentioned the Russian ruble last week, he had been consumed with reading about the Russian economy. The more he learned, the more he recognized the correctness of Eric's initial views -- the Russian ruble simply couldn't escape the fate of a steep decline.

Without mentioning anything else, Russia's current foreign debt had reached over $120 billion, and a significant portion of that was short-term debt of the "robbing Peter to pay Paul" variety.

On the other hand, the entire Russian reserves available to combat foreign exchange financial risks and repay expiring foreign debts amounted to only $13.6 billion -- barely one-tenth of its foreign debt size.

It was easy to see that once international currency speculators targeted the Russian ruble, Russia would have no means to fight back.

While flipping through his documents, John Mack's assistant knocked and entered, handing him a folder, saying, "Mr. Mack, here's today's closing data analysis for the Nasdaq and the latest stock price information for AOL."

*****

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