I am Hollywood

Chapter 577: Chapter 578: Why Not Blockbuster



[Chapter 578: Why Not Blockbuster]

Drew had been quietly listening as the two discussed how to acquire the rights for Spider- Man and other superhero franchises. When she heard Eric even mention the possibility of acquiring Carolco Pictures, the young woman couldn't help but burst out laughing, clearly amused.

Eric glanced at Drew and asked, "Is it that funny?"

"Of course! It's just the Spider-Man rights. Carolco could develop a project together without needing this particular film. We could trade them for the rights to Mission: Impossible or Night at the Museum; after all, they need financing too!"

Spider-Man had proven incredibly successful in the original timeline, so Eric subconsciously felt he needed to raise the stakes for acquiring the superhero's rights. Drew's words sparked a moment of clarity in him.

Amy Pascal interjected, "Drew, I've considered that possibility too. But film companies usually finance their highly anticipated movies through debt financing. This way, once the film becomes a blockbuster, they only have to repay the debt and interest without sharing rights or profits with anyone else. We don't plan to distribute the film ourselves, so we would already need to give up a portion of the distribution revenue. If we follow your idea of bringing in Carolco and those film companies for joint production, our profits would be even smaller."

"Well, let's just pretend I didn't say anything," Drew shrugged nonchalantly, picking up a glass of juice from the table and sipping it on her own.

Amy noticed Eric's changing expression and asked, "Eric, you aren't really considering this, are you?"

"I think it's a good idea; let's go for it," Eric replied while watching Amy Pascal's somewhat reluctant look. "Amy, I promise you won't regret it in the future."

Of course, Amy couldn't know whether she would regret it later, but since Eric had spoken, she relented, "Fine, Eric. If they request to share the rights, should I agree?"

"You could slightly increase your investment share, but the rights definitely cannot be shared. Both Mission: Impossible and Night at the Museum are franchise films. We need to ensure that the initiation of sequels and casting choices are totally under our control. If it comes down to it, we could make some minor concessions on sequel investments," Eric thought, determined not to repeat Paramount's mistake of collaborating with Tom Cruise on Mission: Impossible. In the original timeline, because Cruise held half the rights, Paramount lost the ability to change the lead when they fell out, ultimately having to bring him back like it or not.

Just when Eric intended to ask Amy Pascal how her conversation with Cruise was going, he noticed Nicole approaching from a distance.

He waved to her and stood up to greet her, but the young woman floated over to Nicole first, hugging her tall figure and gently rubbing against her, exuding excessive enthusiasm as she said, "Hi, Nicole! Wow, I didn't expect your skin to look so beautiful from the sun. I'm so jealous! I definitely need to take a trip to Africa when I have the time."

"Thanks for the compliment, Drew," Nicole replied while pulling Drew away without hesitation and walking over to Eric.

"Hi, Nicole," Eric greeted her with a hug. Since many guests were around, they refrained from any overt affection.

Amy Pascal exchanged pleasantries with Nicole before excusing herself to mingle elsewhere. Drew, however, lingered, as the three of them sat at a small round table. Eric poured a glass of red wine for Nicole and inquired, "How was it shooting in Morocco?"

Nicole's expression turned uneasy. "That place was terrible, and they were even fighting! We had to live with five hundred soldiers dispatched by the local government throughout the shoot. The only silver lining was that we didn't encounter any attacks; we spent five days in a small town, and just after we left, the next day we heard it got raided by rebels."

Eric didn't know much about the political climate in North Africa but recognized that filming in Morocco saved Universal at least ten million dollars in production costs. "I think as long as The Mummy does well, Michael Eisner surely won't let you film a sequel in Morocco again.' "Of course! I'd rather give up a role in the sequel than return to that godforsaken place," Nicole said, patting her deeply tanned skin. From what Drew knew of her, the young woman had just complimented her tan; that would have to be taken back. Moreover, Eric's reaction indicated that although most idealized a healthy sun-kissed complexion, and once Nicole returned to Los Angeles, many friends commented on how lovely her tan had become, yet Eric seemed indifferent to her noticeable change.

...

As they continued chatting, the sun set unnoticed, and the mansion's lights illuminated. More guests arrived for the party, prompting Eric to rise and socialize with some important guests.

By seven o'clock, with almost all guests present, Eric was joined by the main creative team of Jurassic Park in shattering an ice sculpture symbolizing the billion-dollar box office -- marking the official start of the party.

Even with Thanksgiving approaching, many of Eric's women remained in Los Angeles. Besides Nicole and Drew, Famke Janssen and the Cruz sisters were also at the party. Eric had assumed Jennifer Connelly would return home to have dinner with her parents, but she surprised him by attending as well.

After returning to Los Angeles, Eric hadn't found time to visit Julia and her little one, so he called to invite Julia to bring Emma along to the party. Instead, Julia made an excuse of Elisabeth's invitation, whisking Emma and Elisabeth off to New York, much to Eric's amusement and frustration. He felt Julia's state was undoubtedly "hopeless," and he had given up any expectations. However, Julia resembled a little sparrow fluttering around a cage, drawn to the open sky and ever-so-tempted to try flapping her wings.

As Eric socialized at the party, he glanced at his watch and noticed it was nearing eight o'clock. Meanwhile, Buffett had not yet arrived. Just as he was about to have someone check if something was amiss, he noticed a group of women crowded on one of the sofas near the villa's glass wall, laughing and chatting. To his surprise, they were all his women. Perhaps it was because they gathered like a flock of birds without the presence of any clueless male

guests to interrupt.

Nicole noticed Eric's astonishment as she approached from the gathering.

Curious, Eric asked her, "What are you all chatting about?"

"Gossip, clothes, cosmetics, men," Nicole replied with a cheeky grin. "Anyway, whatever you men don't take an interest in, we'll talk about that."

"Actually, men are very interested, especially the last item you mentioned. Any chance you could share some details with me?"

Nicole playfully winked, "Of course not."

Eric shrugged and joked, "Well, in that case, I'll have to resort to some interrogation

methods."

Nicole's cheeks flushed slightly, but she said nothing more, extending her small hand toward Eric. "How about we go dance?"

Eric regrettably shook his head. "I'm waiting for an important guest, so I can't join you right

now."

Nicole pouted but wisely chose not to press the issue. As she turned to leave, Eric pulled her back and quietly urged, "Help me tell them to stay tonight."

Nicole assumed Eric had something secretive to say and shot him an exasperated look, commenting, "I'm only responsible for passing along the message; if they don't want to stay,

that's not my problem."

"Of course," Eric was about to tease her some more when he noticed Jeffrey waving at him from a distance. Realizing Buffett might have arrived, he nodded to Nicole and hurriedly made his way over to Jeffrey.

...

Eric led Jeffrey, Katzenberg, and others to the parking lot and spotted a silver-haired man in his sixties, wearing tortoise-shell glasses, stepping out of a black Mercedes.

"Hello, Mr. Buffett," Eric greeted him, feeling compelled to admire the legendary billionaire

once again.

While most wealthy individuals on the Forbes list amassed fortunes through one significant company or product, like Bill Gates with Microsoft or Larry Ellison with database software, Warren Buffett was known for his diverse investment strategies that repeatedly brought him to the summit of wealth.

"Eric, it's great to see you," Warren Buffett warmly shook Eric's hand. "I'm really sorry for being late; I had some things to deal with."

"No worries, Mr. Buffett. Let me introduce you to..." Eric introduced Katzenberg and others one by one before they all made their way back to the villa together.

Upon seeing Eric bringing a group of Firefly executives towards the parking lot seriously,

many guests sensed an important figure was arriving. When the guests realized the individual was Warren Buffett, numerous expressions of surprise flashed across their faces. After Eric and Buffett disappeared into the villa, several guests rushed to a corner to pull out their

mobile phones and spread the news.

Clearly, with the major shareholder of ABC TV in attendance, it was obvious Firefly's acquisition of the network aimed to be a substantial target. As news spread, it would undoubtedly affect many things, especially NBC and CBS, whose stock prices had been rising steadily; their upward trend would likely grind to a halt -- and perhaps even drop -- while

ABC's stock would probably see the opposite effect.

...

Most guests attending the party were from within Hollywood, and few had crossed paths with Buffett, so Eric directly ushered him to his study.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Eric, I wanted to meet you back when Firefly was acquiring Disney, but I unfortunately didn't have the chance. I was a Disney shareholder back then, you know."

Eric poured two glasses of Coca-Cola he had prepared earlier and offered one to Buffett as he settled on the opposite sofa. "Actually, I feel the same, Mr. Buffett. Like many others, I really admire your investment strategies. I even considered buying some Berkshire stock." Buffett examined his glass of Coke with interest and said, "If you plan to invest, I would of

course welcome you. Before I came here, I reviewed all the films you've been involved in. While some weren't quite to my taste, I cannot deny they all hold considerable box office potential. I'm curious -- how do you come up with or choose these scripts?"

"Based on personal feeling, I suppose. We all know investing in movies is like gambling; until

a film is released, no one can be certain how the audience will receive it. Otherwise, George Lucas wouldn't have been the one to make Star Wars."

Eric's explanation likely wouldn't satisfy Buffett, but Buffett didn't seem inclined to probe deeper. He had been contemplating Eric for some time back in his small Omaha home, thinking of him as a person favored by Lady Luck. Since Eric's rapid rise in 1988, he hadn't made a single misstep in either investing or filmmaking. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, Buffett felt Eric belonged to the same breed as himself. Since the 1960s, Buffett had meticulously selected from various investment portfolios, which led him to accumulate nearly ten billion dollars in wealth by avoiding major mistakes.

That's why ever since Firefly announced its withdrawal from Fox Broadcasting, Buffett had been closely monitoring their every move. The day Firefly announced they were competing to acquire Blockbuster, Buffett had sensed their true intent was anything but Blockbuster. "Eric, I'm curious. The growth rate of the video tape industry outstrips that of box office revenue each year, yet the development of television networks has been stagnant for quite some time. Why did you choose not to acquire Blockbuster and instead target ABC?" With Buffett at his door, Eric no longer debated, saying, "I remember you once said, 'When others are greedy, I am fearful; when others are fearful, I am greedy,' right?"

Buffett smiled, indicating his agreement.

"Right now, the growth of the video tape industry is in the phase where you said everyone

should be greedy for its profits, while television networks are scaring many people off. I'd

think that acquiring ABC doesn't seem all that surprising?"

*****

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