I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1111: Don't Scare Everyone]

The center of attention at the Vanity Fair party was likely the media area outside. Once guests entered the party hall, the atmosphere turned exceptionally relaxed and pleasant.

Eric walked into the party hall, greeting familiar guests while scanning the room in search of Nicole and others. Columbia Pictures' CEO, Bill Mechanic, approached with a middle-aged man wearing black-framed glasses. Recognizing him as Barry Sonnenfeld, the director of the Men in Black series, Eric stepped forward to greet them.

As they got closer, Barry Sonnenfeld extended his hand to Eric, smiling as he said, "Good evening, Mr. Williams."

"Hello, Barry," Eric responded, shaking Barry Sonnenfeld's hand before reaching out to Bill Mechanic. After exchanging pleasantries, he asked, "What are you guys chatting about?"

Bill Mechanic replied, "Some movie-related topics."

Sensing the vague tone in Mechanic's response, Barry Sonnenfeld cleverly raised his wine glass toward Eric and said, "Well then, Mr. Williams, you two continue your conversation; I'm going to say hi to Will."

...

Eric nodded in acknowledgment as Barry walked away. He casually picked up a glass of red wine from a passing waiter and moved to a nearby corner with Bill Mechanic. Once settled, he inquired, "How's it going?"

Given Bill Mechanic's connection to Barry Sonnenfeld, it was no surprise the conversation revolved around the Men in Black series.

Bill Mechanic sighed, shaking his head. "Barry and Will just signed a deal with Warner Bros. for a project by Jon Peters, which is a film adaptation of a TV series called Wild Wild West. I investigated and learned it's a sci-fi film about two agents protecting the president from an evil doctor, set a hundred years in the past. Plus, I feel like Warner is clearly trying to replicate Men in Black's model -- aside from Jon Peters, Barry, and Will, they are planning to cast another actor reminiscent of Tommy Lee Jones. Sci-fi, buddy duo, comedic style -- it's practically the same, just substituting aliens with mechanical monsters created by an evil doctor. The other elements are almost identical."

Eric listened to Bill Mechanic and couldn't help but frown slightly. A few years prior, when Sony removed the two leaders at Columbia, Peter Guber and Jon Peters, Guber had already enjoyed his retirement, while Peters remained active in Hollywood, returning to his former home at Warner Bros.

While Eric had picked Men in Black as a project, the main responsibilities fell to Columbia's crew at the time, including Jon Peters and others. Hollywood's tendency to follow trends was hardly surprising, but a nearly identical imitation could be rather off-putting. If Warner brought Tommy Lee Jones into the mix, it would essentially be a version of Men in Black without the aliens.

Eric couldn't recall much about Wild Wild West; he wondered if it had flopped.

After some more probing of Bill Mechanic, Eric realized Wild Wild West was technically categorized as a western period sci-fi film.

Combining elements of the western genre, period settings, and sci-fi offered an uncomfortable mishmash that reminded Eric of Disney's box office disaster, The Rocketeer. While The Rocketeer had flopped as a retro sci-fi film, Wild Wild West upped the ante with some distinctly doomed western elements.

Feeling his mind start to spiral into bias, Eric shook his head to dispel those thoughts. After all, a film as seemingly flopped as Pirates of the Caribbean had been a massive box office success. Who could really say how Wild Wild West would fare?

Speaking of which, Warner had been making quite a few moves recently in the film business, first securing distribution rights for Adam Sandler's Big Daddy, then snatching up Run Lola Run at the Sundance Film Festival, and now this Wild Wild West project.

The merger between America Online and Time Warner was under intense scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department, so these moves probably represented Time Warner's push to establish a foothold and demonstrate power within the new company after the merger.

While Wild Wild West definitely rubbed Eric the wrong way, he didn't intend to engage in any kind of grudge with Warner.

Of course, if the film expected to secure quality advertising resources on the Firefly Group's television platform in the future, it could forget about it. The digital sector wouldn't offer any special effects support either; Warner seemed ready to team up with Universal and Paramount to do their own thing with their new visual era.

With these thoughts in mind, just as Eric was preparing to part ways with Bill Mechanic, a light bulb went off in his head, and he called out, "John Woo is working on an action film for you guys, right?"

"Yeah, The Replacement Killers -- he just secured his creative team, and they're about to start production," Bill Mechanic nodded. "Eric, is there a problem?"

"No, I was just wondering if Woo is also preparing a war film."

"Right, he showed me the script; it's called Windtalkers," Bill Mechanic added, then remembered, "By the way, Kenneth mentioned you advised everyone not to get involved with that project, so I didn't follow up with him."

Eric thought to himself, 'So it's Windtalkers.' He kept a neutral expression while advising Bill Mechanic, "Try to find a way to pitch that project to Warner."

Bill Mechanic's face broke into a wry smile as he immediately understood Eric's intention, saying, "But, Eric, you haven't even seen the script. I actually think this project is pretty decent. Are you so sure Woo will mess it up?"

"Everyone has their strengths," Eric replied. "Have you heard of Woo directing war films? I can't even understand why he's interested in them; he used to make comedies that flopped hard. He switched to action films and found success, but now he wants to change gears again. I'm not optimistic at all."

"All directors want to try new things," Bill Mechanic countered. "Haven't you been doing the same?"

"I don't have the energy to argue this with you," Eric chuckled, shaking his head. "Just do as I said."

Bill Mechanic looked conflicted. "But what should I do?"

"That's your business, think it through," Eric replied, flicking his finger against his glass. "For example, you could say I suddenly became interested in the script after reading it, and then negotiate firmly with Woo. You can drop hints, and naturally, people will come rushing."

"What if Universal or Paramount snatch it away?"

"As long as it's not us, that's all that matters," Eric shrugged. "I feel Warner is the most likely candidate to take it on; over at Universal, Michael is sharper than you think. As for Paramount, Redstone is becoming increasingly conservative, so I doubt they'll jump in."

"Alright," Bill Mechanic reluctantly nodded, but then added, "What if, I mean, what if Windtalkers becomes a hit?"

"Two options," Eric replied, lifting one finger in front of Bill Mechanic and grinning, "You take the blame, or I take the blame."

"BOSS, can I pick the second one?"

"You tell me."

...

After parting ways with Bill Mechanic, Eric noticed Julia's figure and headed straight towards a booth nearby.

Upon reaching the booth, he found not only Julia and Elisabeth but also Amy Pascal. Surprisingly, Tina Brown was there as well.

As the boss, Eric couldn't keep track of his employees' movements. Tina Brown, former head of Vanity Fair and creator of the Vanity Fair party, had moved to Yahoo long ago. While he was surprised to see her there, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

After greeting everyone, Eric casually sat down between Julia and Elisabeth.

Julia, playing the perfect hostess, called a waiter to bring Eric a drink, and Elisabeth curiously asked, "What were you and Bill talking about for so long?"

"Hollywood guy talk, of course it was about saving the world," Eric joked. Elisabeth lightly hit him but didn't mind, smiling back, "So what about you guys?"

Elisabeth shot Eric a look. "I'm brainstorming ideas with Amy to see what Firefly should produce next; what do you think about Harry Potter?"

Eric raised his drink in mock surrender, pleading, "Can we skip Harry Potter? Let it count as a favor I owe you?"

The women laughed, clearly aware of Eric and Elisabeth's $100 million box office wager regarding The Blair Witch Project. Additionally, with the rise of interest surrounding the Harry Potter series, discussions had begun internally about launching a movie project, and whispers had recently surfaced in the media.

After some laughter, Tina Brown remarked, "Speaking of, The Blair Witch Project is really a miracle, Eric. I'm here to personally sift through the marketing plan for it; it's bound to provide great insights for Yahoo."

Hearing Tina Brown's explanation for her visit, Eric nodded. "I'll be having breakfast with Jeffrey tomorrow; you should join us so we can discuss. Also, if you need any materials, I'll make sure this team helps you out."

Tina was thrilled to have direct assistance from the big boss.

After chatting for a bit, Eric didn't want to leave Amy Pascal out, so he asked, "Amy, how is the prep for The Bourne Identity coming along?"

"Doug Liman just finished his new film; I've already talked to him, and he's eager to take this one on," Amy replied. "Also, regarding the leading man, ICM has recommended a few candidates, and I plan to send you the materials next week."

Eric sensed something was off and asked, "By the way, what about the producer?"

"John wants to be personally in charge. I think it's feasible," Amy replied, referring to John Calley, MGM's vice president.

Eric didn't want to probe deeper into that situation and simply shook his head. "John Calley is in charge of television, let him focus on that." He then thought for a moment and added, "I remember, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy at Amblin want to step down. Try reaching out to them; securing both would be terrific."

Because Hollywood history has been severely distorted by Eric, the big butterfly, Amberlin Pictures, which was established by Spielberg and others to replace the former DreamWorks, has declined much faster than in the original time and space. However, over the past few years, Spielberg and others felt that going solo was far from as simple as they had imagined, and now there are signs of splitting up.

Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy were once Spielberg's top producers, crucial to the breakout series like Indiana Jones and Back to the Future. Interestingly, the original Bourne series had been in their hands too; if Eric could bring them to MGM, it would create the original team all over again.

"That might not be easy," Amy said. "I heard they want to start their own production company."

However, Eric wasn't concerned.

If the two were starting a production company, they'd inevitably look for a major studio as their base, much like Jerry Bruckheimer's production company had ties with Firefly. Eric didn't believe that under Hollywood's current conditions, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy would want to launch an entirely independent film production and distribution company.

"Get in touch with them first, and if needed, I'll talk to them myself."

Amy nodded, "Alright, I'll arrange a meeting with them tomorrow."

As Eric was talking to Amy, he noticed Elisabeth's eyes sparkled with excitement. He playfully hooked his pinky with hers while asking, "What about Drew, isn't she supposed to be here?"

"How should I know?" Elisabeth shrugged, pouting. "I didn't raise her like a daughter."

Just as Elisabeth finished her sentence, Drew's voice from nearby chimed in, "I think you might as well consider me your daughter!"

Turning around, Eric saw Drew, dressed in a ginger-colored one-shoulder dress, squeezing past Julia to sit on Eric's lap. Her small hands began to explore, and she asked cheerfully, "Where is she? I heard she was here. I've looked everywhere and couldn't find her. You're definitely hiding her, right?"

"Stop it," Eric chuckled, pinning her restless hands down. "I've shrunk her and tucked her away in my pocket. I'll show you when we get back -- don't scare everyone."

Drew huffed in discontent. Given that the booth could comfortably seat three, fitting four was impossible. Seeing that Julia and Elisabeth showed no sign of making room, she reluctantly wriggled away.

Amy and Tina, noticing this situation, stood up laughing, saying they'd go say hi to others. Once they left, Drew plopped down across from them, still not giving up, pouting, "You definitely hid her, didn't you?"

*****

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