I am Hollywood

Chapter 571: Chapter 572: ER



[Chapter 572: The Story from the Emergency Room]

Eric pondered for a moment and suddenly recalled Elisabeth's strong personality and their relationship. There was no way she would completely ignore him, especially considering the Braveheart project. So...

Thinking of that old fox, Eric said, "Liz, I suddenly feel like I shouldn't get involved with this. Once Braveheart loses money, and coupled with the lesson from the fiasco of Cutthroat Island a few years ago, Firefly Films will definitely have a much stronger competitive edge when it comes to competing for scripts in the future."

"Then you'll just sit back and watch me get kicked out by the company?"

Eric shook his head, "No, I figure if anyone is going to walk, it'll be your old man."

Elisabeth fell silent for half a second and sighed, "Can't you just not be so smart for once?"

Eric shook his head with a sigh, "What can I do? Sigh, intelligence is just one of those things..."

Elisabeth looked at Eric's smug face, raised her mouse as if to throw it at him but then set it back down, "Alright, the truth is my dad personally talked to Mel Gibson about this project."

"Which means you also shouldn't get involved. Your old man is just too clever. If he doesn't change his ways, he will eventually reap what he sows. Oh wait, he already started reaping what he sowed when he messed with Drew that time. Look at how your News Corp stock prices have been fluctuating; most companies would have crumbled by now."

Elisabeth seemed a bit helpless, "My old man is sixty-two. Do you think he can change?"

"Fine," Eric shrugged, "What are the benefits for me getting involved in this project now?"

"Firefly can invest," Elisabeth held up five pale fingers, "Half is fine, but we have to keep the copyrights."

"Forget it. You guys set the price too high. Mel Gibson might just take all the profits," Eric instantly rejected.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Eric acted casually, "Alright, I'll just be the nice guy this once, but save the lead female role for me."

Elisabeth gave him a disdainful look, "Who is it this time? It wouldn't be Joan's sister, would it? I saw a photo of you two together in the papers the other day."

Thinking of Ewa, Eric felt a headache coming on, "Of course not her. If I messed with Ewa, Joan would definitely take Elia back to Poland."

"Hmph, don't think I don't know about those Spanish sisters. Tsk tsk, you should be careful. You might wake up one day and find yourself in the same situation as Michael Jackson."

"Am I that kind of person? Monica is already sixteen. Besides, I haven't even touched her."

"What about Drew? You guys knew each other when I counted the years. Oh, how funny, 1988 and 1975, same age as that boy in the Michael Jackson case..."

Eric squinted his eyes, "Why don't we skip talking about Braveheart today and focus on these issues instead?"

Elisabeth immediately sat up straight and said seriously, "Fine, the lead female role is yours; what's next?"

Eric recalled the Braveheart script he read a while back. It hadn't changed much from his memory, and both leads could still be confirmed to be the same cast. The budget was sufficient; the quality of the movie was absolutely guaranteed. The only issue remaining was distribution.

"How do you plan to distribute this film?"

"My dad is planning to make this film the flagship for next summer's blockbusters," Elisabeth remembered Eric's earlier comments, "But now, based on what you said, should it be scheduled for the end of the year instead?"

"Yeah, from a production standpoint, I've gone through the script. It doesn't need major changes. As soon as we confirm the male and female leads, we just need to find a suitable producer to work with Mel Gibson, and that will guarantee the film's quality. The only remaining issue is distribution. Braveheart can be considered an Oscar contender; if we release it in summer, it can't enjoy the awards season's box office benefits. So, it's best to release it at the end of the year."

The awards season typically starts at the end of the year and runs until the Oscars in March. During these months, numerous film awards took place. For an Oscar contender, every influential award won during this period could stimulate the film's box office. After winning significant Oscars, films usually experienced another box office rebound. Therefore, for a film like Braveheart, which had the potential to win Best Picture and other major Oscar awards, end-of-year release was the ideal choice.

Elisabeth pulled out a notepad from her purse and jotted these down, then looked up and asked, "Anything else?"

Eric lightly tapped the desk with his fingers, pondering for a moment, "I haven't heard anything about the Weinsteins' Miramax lately. Have they found a buyer?"

"Not yet, I think," Elisabeth considered and said, "Aren't you not interested in Miramax?"

"Just because I'm not interested doesn't mean Miramax isn't valuable. Everyone knows how the Weinsteins handle the Oscars. Currently, the Oscar economy is still quite lucrative. So, maybe 20th Century Fox should acquire Miramax and let them handle Braveheart."

Elisabeth picked up her pen, about to note that down, when she suddenly remarked, "Aren't those two brothers asking for quite a high price? Maybe we can follow the model used in The Silence of the Lambs -- Fox pays them, and they help with the PR?"

"Fox unwilling to buy Miramax doesn't mean other film companies aren't tempted. What if they find a buyer during this year? Do you think they'd still handle Fox's Oscar contender? It's possible that you guys could end up becoming competitors."

"Looks like that's the only way," Elisabeth wrote that option down and suddenly added, "Firefly is working on that WWII film; it should also compete for the Oscars, right? That

Kathryn Bigelow?"

"That film is due out next summer. Kathryn is a woman, so her chances of getting Best Picture and Best Director aren't very high this time. We'll aim for Best Male Lead. Meanwhile, with Mel Gibson directing and starring, he can't take both little golden statuettes. So you guys can focus on Best Director."

Elisabeth remembered how she was mocked in the media after The Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture and realized that Eric was speaking the truth. She said, "But Mel Gibson isn't exactly a well-known director; he should be more suited for Best Male Lead."

Eric nodded seriously, "It will come down to each person's merits. No woman has ever won Best Director at the Oscars. A little media hype might just push Kathryn forward. A film like Saving Private Ryan has a high potential for Best Picture too. Plus, Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson; Mel is way better looking than Tom, and generally, good-looking people don't win Oscars." "Alright, alright, let's not fight over Best Male Lead," Elisabeth quickly surrendered, then laughed, "If the Academy knew we were already discussing how to split the Oscars two years from now, do you think they wouldn't give us a single award?"

Eric lowered his voice, "Yeah, that's very possible. So, you must not go around spreading

this."

"Hehe..." Elisabeth giggled a couple of times, "Hey, is there anything else?"

"Not for now. I'll let you know if I think of anything."

Elisabeth was about to close her notebook but added, "How about, when the final cut of the

film is done, you help out and take a look?"

"That might be pushing it. I'm the owner of Firefly Films; does it really make sense for me to run over to your company and act as an editor?"

Disappointed, Elisabeth stuffed the notebook back in her bag, saying, "Don't think I don't

know your intentions."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Mr. Williams, can you tell me why you suggested I take the position at Fox?"

Eric chuckled, "Are you expecting to be the VP at Warner Bros. instead?" Elisabeth ignored Eric's attempt to change the subject, "You want me to take my dad's place

and then use my influence to expand yours in Hollywood. Your ambition, Drew's little slip of the tongue revealed it a while back. Hmph, I'll go along with your wishes. I'm curious to see how you plan to unify Hollywood in the future."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Eric showed no signs of embarrassment from being exposed. Leaning back in his chair with a cup of coffee, he said leisurely, "I promise you'll see that day."

"Well, I'm waiting," Elisabeth replied. After saying that, she grabbed her bag and stood up.

Eric followed suit and asked, "You're not in a rush to get back to L.A. now, are you?"

Elisabeth countered with curiosity, "Why would I go back to L.A.?"

"Then where are you going?"

"Of course, I'm going home," Elisabeth gave Eric a roll of her eyes. "When I was fourteen, my

dad moved our whole family to Manhattan. Did you think we still lived in Australia?" Eric genuinely forgot this detail, "Then I'll drop you off. Is your old man still in L.A.?"

Elisabeth replied, "He went to the U.K. about Sky TV. I'm going home to see mom."

...

After dropping Elisabeth off, Eric returned to his study. He was just about to call Sophie when he suddenly realized that the French Rose had recently joined the cast of Revenge of the Musketeers, but he didn't have the contact information for the crew, so he set that aside for the

time being.

With nothing else to do, Eric picked up the TV drama proposals that came in from L.A. and

began to review them.

After spending over two hours looking through the numerous proposals, Eric found that none of them resembled the American dramas he remembered. However, he still wrote down some suggestions for a few promising projects, intending to let the television department decide whether to move forward with them. After all, the production costs for a TV drama were much lower than for a film, and following normal procedures, a TV show often just shot a pilot first to test audience reception, so failure wouldn't incur significant losses.

Just as he was about to put all the files away, Eric suddenly noticed the file that Elisabeth had flipped through. She had casually set it beside the monitor after scanning it.

Eric picked up the file and flipped it open. Though he had no expectations left, just seeing the project planner's name made Eric's pupils dilate.

Because in that section, a very familiar name was prominently displayed: Michael Crichton.

The renowned author of Jurassic Park in the original timeline, although Eric had written Jurassic Park a few years earlier, Michael Crichton was still a decent screenwriter in Hollywood but no longer as dazzling as in the original timeline.

Looking at the TV drama project proposal in hand, even though he hadn't opened the content yet, Eric was already roughly guessing what this drama would be based on his memory. ER; that medical drama that became a huge hit in the 90s. Because of the immense ratings for

ER, it led to the rise of numerous medical dramas like Grey's Anatomy and House over the next

ten years.

ER not only produced over ten seasons but also launched George Clooney, known as Hollywood's most eligible bachelor, into stardom.

Eric excitedly opened the cover, briefly scanning the contents of the TV drama proposal, and

indeed, as he expected, it was the proposal for ER.

After flipping through the proposal, Eric calmed down from his excitement. What he needed to consider now was how to securely acquire this project. Having just experienced the competition over Braveheart a few months ago, Eric didn't want to go through that again. For the future network, ER's value was undoubtedly equal to Friends. Moreover, this drama had a significant advantage: it featured many main characters, or rather, there was no singular main character. This meant that as long as the ratings were good, ER could continue indefinitely without the production company facing the issue of not being able to afford the actors' salaries and cutting the show. With so many leads, if one actor left, it wouldn't matter;

they could just replace them.

Thinking of this, Eric picked up the phone and directly dialed Michael Lynn's number in L.A. They chatted on the phone for quite a while, and sensing Eric's serious attitude, Michael Lynn immediately said he would personally follow this project.

However, recalling his last experience, Eric advised Michael Lynn to not be too conspicuous.

After thinking about it, Eric looked at the pile of project proposals and finally suggested that Michael Lynn pick a few and let the licensing department approach them together. This way, they wouldn't attract too much attention from others.

After reiterating his instructions, Eric finally felt at ease hanging up the phone.

*****

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