I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1032: I Like Dealing with Smart People]

The props team worked busily for over an hour, and soon Eric had the props he required ready. Filming began shortly after.

After a few rounds of adjustments, Jodie Foster quickly found her rhythm. In the monitor screen, Jodie, with her right calf secured to a special brace, slowly arched her body. Her left leg bent forward as her arms relaxed and raised in front of her, gradually forming the pose of a baby in a mother's womb.

Shooting a special effects film often did not provide performers and onlookers much immersion, but at that moment, the woman in the camera lens radiated a raw static beauty that captivated everyone. The studio fell completely silent; even the sound of the machines seemed to fade.

Eric sat in front of the monitor, marveling at the scene until the woman on screen completed a full rotation in the weightless-like camera motion. He gave Nicole an "OK" sign, still wanting more.

...

On the model stage, Jodie received a signal to gradually bring her pose to an end before glancing over towards Eric. He instructed the crew to release her from the apparatus, walked to the edge of the stage, and said, "As much as I'd love for you to do it again, what you just did was already perfect."

"I'd love to do it again too; that felt amazing, almost like practicing yoga," Jodie replied.

Eric pointed to the brace under Jodie's foot. "If you want, you can take these home to practice."

Jodie thought for a second, then shook her head with a smile. "That would be too weird."

As the straps were released, even though they only filmed for a bit over ten minutes, Jodie felt a slight numbness in her calf, moving somewhat stiffly as she stepped off. Noticing her condition, Eric offered his hand to help her sit at the edge of the stage.

For Gravity, it often took the crew days to complete just one shot, and Jodie had only filmed a small segment of a long take. However, since they had just wrapped up her segment, the shooting for the day was effectively over, and there wasn't enough time left to prepare for other shots.

Eric stood by the model stage, watching Jodie gently swing her legs while engaging in casual conversation with her. After a while, feeling almost fully recovered, Jodie pointed with her toes at her slippers placed nearby. "Eric, can you help me get my shoes over here?"

Eric immediately shook his head. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a germaphobe."

Jodie paused for a moment, then said, "Are you saying you want me to walk on the ground to get them?"

Eric glanced around. "You can have them bring it to you."

"I want you to bring them to me, Director," Jodie said, lifting her chin with a playful smirk. "I'm the leading lady; if you don't treat me well, watch out for the leading lady throwing a tantrum and making it impossible for you to film."

Eric surveyed the distance between the slippers and Jodie. "How about I carry you over there so you can put them on yourself?"

Jodie shot Eric a disapproving look. "Aren't you a germaphobe? How can you still dare to carry me?"

"That's different," Eric replied seriously, shaking his head. "I believe women are made of water, very pure."

Jodie blinked, immediately adapting this thought. "What about men?"

"Well, I haven't thought about that yet. As you know, I'm not interested in men."

"You're rambling again. Just help me get them."

"Come on," Eric spread his arms wide. "Do you want a princess carry or a fireman's carry? Or I could just piggyback you, you choose."

Jodie feigned irritation, trying to push Eric's hands away, but as her arms lifted, it seemed she was actually positioning herself for him to carry her. She felt her body lighten, and with a light sway forward, she found herself precisely atop the pink slippers.

Here we go again.

In the studio, the invisible bystanders were left in awe while secretly feeling a bit envious. The director's flirting techniques were indeed outlandish; it appeared he was determined to turn one of Hollywood's famous lesbians straight.

Once her feet landed in the shoes, Jodie snapped back to reality, quickly scanning the surroundings. Seeing that not many were paying attention, she turned to Eric, saying, "Eric, don't do that again; otherwise, I might... I might really get angry."

Eric immediately raised his hands in surrender with a smile. "Alright, I promise."

Jodie quickly realized that her previous comment lacked any real threat, and it even dawned on her that she didn't feel much aversion to the brief hug earlier, causing her to reflect silently and firmly decide to keep some distance from this guy.

...

In the following days, while the entire crew remained in sync, everyone noticed that Jodie often made an effort to avoid conversations and contact with Eric outside of work.

As Eric continued shooting Gravity, he had to divide his attention among many other matters, naturally lacking any zeal to chase after her. The situation with the Pirates of the Caribbean script was still developing.

Within a week, not only did all major Hollywood film companies respond to the script, but even some independent producers got involved, capturing the attention of well-known Hollywood media outlets like The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

However, even with Warner Bros. reportedly offering a whopping $3 million, the scriptwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott hadn't given any definite replies. Rumors circulated in Hollywood that the two were preparing for a script bidding war.

Two years prior, Shane Black sold his script, The Long Kiss Goodnight, through a bidding war for $4 million, setting an individual record for his original scripts. Although the film underperformed at the box office, the script bidding model encouraged many top screenwriters in Hollywood to follow suit.

Hollywood had its fair share of crazies, but not many fools. Ted Elliott's observation was spot on; the delay from both writers also hinted that they might be waiting for a response from Firefly Group.

During this time, even MGM and 20th Century Fox jumped into the fray with offers, but after the initial contact, it seemed Firefly forgot all about the Pirates of the Caribbean script. The planned follow-up discussions with Matt Gilson from Firefly's script procurement department fizzled out.

There were countless uncontrollable factors in a film's path to success, but the reasons for a film's failure were even more numerous. Traditionally, Hollywood didn't believe anyone could predict a film's success or failure ahead of time. Yet, numerous instances proved this rule didn't apply to Eric Williams.

The ongoing release of The Ring served as the most direct evidence of this viewpoint. Although rumors said Eric himself didn't foresee the film achieving such phenomenal success, few in Hollywood genuinely believed that. To a large extent, it was the explosive box office of The Ring that made studios eager when they heard news about Pirates of the Caribbean.

Similarly, because of the ongoing situation with the Pirates of the Caribbean script, the once disastrous box office flop, Cutthroat Island, was mentioned again by many.

Reflecting back, more and more people concluded that this was indeed a trap Eric had set for Michael Eisner at the time. After Cutthroat Island, Michael Eisner's grip on Disney was significantly weakened, allowing Firefly to smoothly complete its takeover of the Disney Group.

So, what was the real story behind Pirates of the Caribbean?

Despite the somewhat too radical "4200" plan, the Firefly Group hadn't displayed any ambition for large-scale expansion within Hollywood in recent years. By all accounts, this script seemed unlikely to be a trap. The Firefly Group had soared so far ahead in Hollywood that there really was no need to dig any more holes. Additionally, with Cutthroat Island's precedent, any production company that managed to get their hands on this script would undoubtedly proceed with utmost caution, hoping to avoid repeating the past.

So, after much commotion, things gradually calmed down, and everyone shifted their focus back to Firefly Group, waiting for Eric Williams' final response.

The Pirates of the Caribbean script was sitting there; even if they secured it immediately, such an extensive special effects blockbuster project would still need at least a year to develop. Everyone was patient enough for that.

...

Soon it was Friday, and around four in the afternoon, Caroline and Mayer rushed over from Burbank with a thick stack of documents.

After wrapping up the final shot, Eric announced the end of the day, taking the two women to a large work desk in the corner of the studio. He had been using his off-duty hours to complete work logs in the studio and hadn't returned to his office in the lot specifically for this.

"Eric, the $4 billion funding was successfully completed yesterday. Here's the list of short-term investable bonds that Mr. Hansen sent over at noon; he made thorough annotations," Caroline detailed.

With the Nasdaq index bursting past 2000 points, both Firefly Investments and Clover Capital ceased stock investments. In contrast, investing in bonds bore much less risk. By selling 10% of America Online's stock and acquiring $4 billion, Eric and Chris discussed retaining this in short-term convertible bonds. This way, they could ensure a solid yield to offset inflation losses and maximize fund security. Many corporations reserved cash this way, with only a small percentage actually held in bank accounts.

The documents both women brought were ones Eric planned to sort through over the weekend. Mayer went on, "Also, Eric, these are the settlement terms proposed by the five major record labels to Yahoo. Additionally, they've filed another lawsuit against Firefly Electronics, this time demanding that Fireflyer enhances its encryption and identification for legitimate music."

As Mayer introduced these items, Eric marked the ones that needed special attention, inquired, "What about news from Morgan Stanley? How's the stock distribution plan for America Online going?"

Mayer shook his head. "We haven't received any related material recently."

"Then I'll call Chris and talk to him directly," Eric nodded, not pressing further as he turned to Caroline. "How about in Los Angeles?"

The Firefly Group's focus remained on movie affairs. While television's fall season approached, Firefly hadn't made significant strides in that domain this year. Meanwhile, MGM's television division was expanding rapidly. However, this discussion typically took place directly between Caroline and Eric; absent Eric's directives, the assistant office wouldn't follow up.

As for movies, Iron Man was under Eric's close watch, while Ted had over half of its post-production completed, and Underworld had already assembled its crew, getting ready to shoot in London. There were also scripts and budgeting materials for several other projects.

After discussing these matters, Caroline added, "Oh, one more thing, Eric: Over in the UK, Mr. Fuller's reality show, Pop Idol, has completed filming and is set to air on Sky Television at the end of next month. They called to ask if they should send over any sample footage."

"Just send over the first three episodes after editing," Eric indicated as the conversations got winding down. He then asked, "What about the Pirates of the Caribbean script?"

"Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott have been stalling with requests from several other film companies. Most folks have entered a wait-and-see mode. It seems like they won't make any moves unless they get a response from Firefly Group."

Eric thought it over and understood the dynamics at play. He decided, "They both seem to be smart people; I enjoy dealing with smart people. There's no need to drag this out. Let's have them come to the estate tomorrow morning to meet with me."

Eric was determined to secure the Pirates of the Caribbean script. He was even prepared for a price bidding contest against several major film companies. After all, for a script, the price could only be so high.

However, given the current circumstances, since both screenwriters were indeed bright, a straightforward, candid approach to cut through the confusion might just be the way to go.

Caroline acknowledged and diligently noted this in her memo before looking back up at Eric.

Changing topics, Eric relaxed slightly and asked, "So, any plans for the weekend?"

"Yeah," Caroline replied, nodding. "Rachel is in Los Angeles, and we've planned to head to Ventura tomorrow. Mel's coming over too."

"Rachel, huh?" Eric chuckled. "That gal is an international superstar now, and I've never even gotten a proper thank-you from her."

Caroline smirked, "We already took you out for a meal, remember?"

"A meal just won't cut it," Eric gazed appreciatively at Caroline's charming face. "At the very least, there should be a kiss involved -- here, you can stand in for her."

Caroline recoiled slightly. "I'll tell Auntie you're bullying me."

"Typically, mothers are supportive of their children, so she might actually be pleased that I'm teasing you."

"I don't think so."

"Why not just give me a kiss instead?" Eric laughed. "And don't worry, I won't tell your aunt about you bullying me."

"I didn't bully you!"

Eric leaned forward a bit, striking a pose. "Come on, bully me."

"You're the one trying to bully me," Caroline's cheeks flushed, glancing around the studio. Most people had already left, and only a few remained who weren't paying attention to them. After hesitating, she couldn't resist leaning in and gently pecking Eric on the cheek.

Just then, the makeup artist's door swung open, revealing Jodie Foster chatting and laughing with two makeup artists as they stepped out of the room, catching sight of the scene.

Jodie had been intentionally keeping her distance from Eric these past few days and felt a tiny pang of guilt. But seeing Eric shamelessly let his little assistant kiss his cheek transformed her remorse into an unrecognizable jealousy, her expression narrowing as she shot a disdainful glance, reflecting the thought of "So you're actually this kind of person?"

*****

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