I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1027: Stretched to the Limit]

After discussing a few things and sending Caroline and Mayer off to rest, Eric turned to the script in his hands.

In the wake of the new millennium, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise emerged as an undeniable Hollywood blockbuster; aside from the initial film, the subsequent installments nearly all grossed over a billion dollars globally. Eric had been thinking about this since the days of Cutthroat Island.

After facilitating the collaboration between former Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp in The Ring, Eric became increasingly invested in the Pirates of the Caribbean project. He quickly located the script based on the screenwriter's name that lingered in his memory.

However, the script in front of him diverged greatly from his recollection of the plot of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The story still revolved around Captain Barbossa and a group of pirates kidnapping the governor's daughter to lift a mysterious curse, but the protagonist was a blacksmith named Will. Although Jack Sparrow, captain of the Black Pearl, had a significant role, he was essentially relegated to a supporting character.

Drawing from several behind-the-scenes details he remembered about the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Eric knew this was not merely a butterfly effect triggered by his involvement.

The original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, if you set aside Depp, was essentially a cliche love story about a stable boy rescuing a princess from wicked villains and living happily ever after. 

After skimming through what was basically an outline of the script, Eric closed the folder and instinctively thought about sending an email to Katzenberg, urging him to take charge of getting the script pulled together.

However, despite the lavish interior of the Boeing 767, there was no internet, nor even a phone in the cabin. This made Eric look forward even more to his own Boeing 747, which was set to have a personal communication system installed.

...

With another hour until arriving in Los Angeles, he found himself without other tasks at hand and unable to contact the outside world. Glancing at the Pirates of the Caribbean script, he picked up a pencil, intending to recall some of the major franchises he had possibly overlooked in the coming years.

But as he organized his thoughts, Eric shocked himself with the sheer volume.

Even without mentioning Marvel, which had already reclaimed most of its copyrights and was a golden goose, just the three franchises he currently had -- the Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings series, and the Transformers series -- were enough to keep a significant film company thriving for a decade. Pixar and Disney, both powerhouses of 3D animation, could continually generate lucrative animated films for Firefly, providing consistent box office returns and merchandising profits.

Moreover, Firefly couldn't solely focus on these major IP films; the company would still need to attempt one or two original big-budget films each year. Although Eric championed a highly industrialized film production mechanism, a film company fully reliant on major IPs would gradually lose its most vital creative edge.

For big productions, the entire Firefly Group's limit had already reached six productions and releases per year. Accordingly, if they planned one 3D animated film, two Marvel Universe films, and two original blockbusters each year, the production and marketing resources available for large IP films like the Harry Potter series would become quite strained.

An excellent commercial film, if not properly marketed and distributed, would struggle to achieve box office success.

A classic negative example was G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, created by Paramount Pictures.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen both premiered during the summer of 2009, just a month apart. Because Paramount devoted nearly all its resources to the distribution of Transformers 2, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which had a production budget of $175 million, managed only a dismal $300 million in global box office.

Eric distinctly remembered the explosive action sequences featuring the two protagonists running through the streets of Paris in powered suits; had Paramount diverted sufficient resources into marketing and distribution, this film would definitely have surpassed $300 million at the global box office.

Logically speaking, it was more reasonable for each major film company to take on one of the Harry Potter franchises, ensuring each IP received careful, all-channel development. However, he could only influence three major film companies at the moment.

...

Among those, Firefly and MGM had thriving commercial film franchises, while Fox, although owning the distribution rights to Star Wars and having success in indie films through Miramax, had not seen substantial growth in their franchise offerings.

Eric was quite dissatisfied with Fox's handling of the X-Men series, as the timeline had become muddled, with most entries barely making $300 to $400 million globally. Thus, he had considered not placing the series with Fox.

But looking ahead, with Firefly focusing on the Avengers series and MGM nudging towards their spy universe, Fox remained the only viable choice for developing an X-Men universe with the resources at hand.

However, this time around, Eric was determined to maintain a firm grip on the rights to the X-Men universe, just like with the spy movie universe, ensuring that Firefly would definitely partake in the relevant profit distributions.

This wasn't due to Eric's stinginess; after all, within News Corp, Elisabeth's family now had only about 30% of the shareholding, and handing over the benefits of the X-Men series entirely to Fox would leave Elisabeth with barely a sliver of the profit.

Currently, what everyone sought was greater control over Hollywood and the media industry. As long as they offered the majority of shareholders a fraction of the profits, these individuals wouldn't interfere with the management of the film companies. The traditional benefit distribution rules in Hollywood essentially operated along these lines.

Eric increasingly understood that the pursuit of control was paramount; even if a person had no personal wealth, controlling a substantial industry provided access to abundant resources.

Resolved in his thoughts, Eric decided to expedite Firefly's expansion in Hollywood because, after all, being only half of Hollywood was still incomplete.

...

Due to the time difference, when he reached Los Angeles, it was only around 4 PM on the West Coast. As soon as he disembarked, he received a call from Drew. After saying goodbye to the two women, he hurried off to Beverly Hills.

However, the girl wasn't at the Trousdale Estate but rather shopping on Rodeo Drive.

Eric instructed the driver to head over to Rodeo Drive, and as he entered the Gucci store mentioned by the girl, Natasha greeted him. Inside, there were only a few attendants and no other customers.

"master, the boss is changing clothes," Natasha explained before leading Eric further inside.

Arriving in the waiting area for guests, Eric opted for a high table rather than a couch and nodded at a waitress bringing him coffee, signaling her to place it on the adjacent table.

After a brief wait, his girl emerged from the changing room, wearing a sky-blue cotton sheath dress, short-sleeved with a few embroidered accents around the neckline, and a hemline that was a tad short, revealing her slender, pale thighs. Despite not being a tight-fitted style, the dress was tailored excellently, giving her a youthful vibe reminiscent of a high school girl.

"Eric," she called out, rushing over to him for a warm embrace and a few kisses before stepping back to twirl around. "Isn't it pretty?"

Eric nodded and said, "Very pretty, but a bit too short."

"Maybe I've just grown taller," she laughed. "By the way, I ordered two pairs of leather shoes for you; I just picked them up today. Try them on."

Saying this, she gestured for Natasha to bring over a shoebox. As she pulled out a pair of brand-new black leather shoes, she squatted in front of Eric, ready to help him change shoes.

Watching her, Eric pulled his foot back with a smirk, saying, "With such attentiveness, you have to come clean first. Did you get yourself into trouble?"

"Not at all; I'm just very considerate," she pouted, slightly displeased by Eric's teasing, but she didn't push back. She stood up and handed the shoes to a nearby waitress, then dragged a chair over to sit beside Eric and asked, "Eric, Kate's family wants to invite us to dinner tonight. Do you want to go?"

Just as Eric was about to respond, a striking blonde waitress knelt before him, prompting him to raise his foot in cooperation. Then he asked, "Which Kate?"

"Kate Hudson," she replied. "Didn't she get the lead role in Spider-Man? She wants to invite you to dinner to show her appreciation."

Eric nodded, feeling the attractive waitress subtly caressing his ankle, but he only pretended not to notice as he slightly pulled back his foot and replied, "Well, if you've agreed, then let's go."

The role of Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man had only recently been finalized, and Eric honestly preferred Keri Russell, who had a sweet doll-like face. However, Cameron leaned more towards Kate Hudson.

Compared to the petite and delicate Keri Russell, the tall, almost 5'7" Kate Hudson clearly aligned better with Cameron's tastes. This girl had just turned 19 and was in the prime of her youth, inheriting her mother's beautiful features, and her smile was lovely too, but her build was a tad fuller, giving off a hint of "Kate Winslet" vibes.

While Eric had his preferences for Keri Russell, he wasn't dead set on it since he had barely interacted with her. Kate Hudson, on the other hand, was someone they knew reasonably well, and since Cameron liked her, Eric figured it would be a smooth sail to agree.

Once the shoes were changed, Eric tried them on, walking a few steps to give a nod of satisfaction. Yet, he didn't try on the other pair but asked his girl beside him, "Have you decided on your dress?"

"Yeah, I'm going with this one," she answered, pulling out a credit card from her handbag to give to the waitress without any intention of changing back. Before long, Eric and his girl exited the Gucci store, followed by a pair of twins carrying several shopping bags.

...

Not long after stepping out of the store, they spotted the flash of cameras not far down the street. A paparazzo with a long camera was snapping photos like crazy.

The bodyguard who assisted Eric and Drew in getting into the car asked whether he wanted to intervene, but Eric casually shook his head. The girl wrapped her arm around his, leaning into him with a smile, clearly enjoying the attention.

Once settled in the car, Eric instructed the driver to head back to Trousdale Estates, while the twins followed closely in the girl's Range Rover.

A glance in the rearview mirror revealed a motorcycle tailing them, which made Eric furrow his brow and ask Drew, "Why is there paparazzi around you?"

Since Eric and Drew had been spending less time in the spotlight lately, the public's interest in them had diminished significantly over the years. Adding to that, with their status in Hollywood, sightings with paparazzi had become increasingly rare.

After all, tabloids needed appealing news to survive, and the gossip about top stars was undeniably more attractive than the mundane lives of Eric and Drew. Moreover, without concrete evidence, tabloids wouldn't risk publishing their gossip, lest they faced lawsuits. Over time, the two of them became less appealing to paparazzi.

Hearing Eric's question, the girl nestled closer, laughing, "I'm currently the richest woman in the world."

"Wow, that smug tone of yours is just bursting with that kind of wealthy little princess vibe, too extravagant," Eric chuckled, shaking his head, understanding in his heart that with her age and gender, plus the nature of her wealth, even without fabricating stories, the sheer subject matter was enough to draw considerable attention.

"Ha-ha," she giggled as she snuggled into Eric's arms, then after a moment of playfulness, she quietly leaned against him and said, "Eric, I feel like I have too much money; it's quite a hassle."

Eric affectionately pinched her cheek and said, "Let them say whatever they want in the papers; just ignore it."

"I don't care what the papers say! It's just that it feels like so many things have suddenly cropped up around me; it's driving me crazy! Last week, my mom came to ask me for money, and I refused her. Then she went to the reporters, wailing about how terrible her life is. I give her a $10,000 allowance every month; how many people in LA can earn that much in a month? Especially since she doesn't even need to work."

Eric wrapped his arms around her waist, saying, "Then give her a little more, don't let her kick up a fuss; we certainly don't lack that bit of money. I've told you this a long time ago; many things in the world, we just can't avoid."

*****

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