I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1121: Disruption]

Eric had initially thought only two Boeing 747s would fly into Long Island, but to his surprise, three arrived.

Seeing the prominent FOX logo on the second plane reminded Eric that Elisabeth and Julia had also ordered one of their own. Moreover, the last plane carrying Drew hadn't even landed yet when Elisabeth's phone call came in to complain. Both she and Julia had excitedly gone to Ventura to see their new plane, only to find out that Drew had brought all three planes directly to the East Coast.

While Eric was on the phone with Elisabeth, he watched the last plane roar onto the airport runway and noticed something else. He recalled that Drew planned to paint her plane a vibrant pink, but now he found that all three planes were identical with blue and white bodies. Besides the respective 'FIREFLY,' 'FOX,' and 'MGM' logos on each, they didn't look much different from regular commercial jets.

Once the last plane came to a stop, Drew enthusiastically jumped off the stair truck and leaped into Eric's arms for some affectionate teasing. Afterward, she hugged Joanna and the others, giving extra attention to Hawaii, before introducing Eric to a few guests with her on the plane.

"Eric, this is Mr. Ronald Keogh, the president of Boeing Services Group, along with his assistant."

As the girl introduced him, the well-mannered middle-aged man with glasses shook hands with Eric and proactively handed over his business card, saying, "Hello, Mr. Williams, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Eric smiled and politely accepted the card, tucking it away. Ronald Keogh then offered to provide Eric with an overview of the three planes' basic specifications. Eric sent Drew along with the women and children to her plane while he and Ronald Keogh walked toward the first one to land.

Entering through the staircase, they turned down a short corridor and stepped into a simply designed modern sitting area with pure white walls and furniture seamlessly blending in. A flat-screen TV hung on the wall, and there was even a mini bar in one corner.

As Eric strolled into this small lounge, he admired the decor with satisfaction. Ronald Keogh and his assistant waited by the door, smiling. After Eric looked around for a moment, Ronald spoke, "It's a perfect Bauhaus-style design, simple yet elegant. Of course, we can't take the credit here; that belongs to Miss Barrymore and her hired design team."

Eric nodded slightly, exited the room, and continued walking through the airport interior. "I'm familiar with the basic parameters; can you tell me what makes this plane special?" he asked.

"Of course, I must say, each of these three planes is unique," Ronald Keogh replied, following alongside Eric. "However, I believe the most outstanding feature of this plane is its ability to connect any two cities on this planet."

Eric chuckled but didn't respond, waiting for Ronald to elaborate.

Ronald assessed Eric's expression before adding, "This is a standard Boeing 747-400 model, with a maximum takeoff weight of 390 tons. It has a full-load range of 13,000 kilometers, and with an empty load, that can increase by 30%. During our testing in the '80s, the Boeing 747-400 achieved several long-range journeys, including one from London to Sydney, 17000 kilometers. However, since this is your personal customized plane, we've removed a lot of unnecessary common equipment; even at a cargo weight of 10 tons, it won't exceed 320 tons at takeoff. Moreover, this plane uses the latest generation of Pratt & Whitney 4056 fuel-efficient engines, providing even greater range. Our engineers calculated that under extreme conditions, this plane could reach up to 20,000 kilometers. However, we haven't tested that without your permission. If you think it's necessary, that kind of test can be done anytime."

Eric understood that the key factor affecting a plane's range was its load. A commercial Boeing 747-400, excluding its own weight and fuel, could carry around 60 tons at maximum capacity. This private aircraft truly had a significant advantage in that regard. After all, even Ronald's stated 10-ton carrying capacity was likely more than sufficient, considering Eric's personal travel needs. With a team of 20 people and luggage, they probably only needed about two tons.

As long as the plane could manage long-haul flights like London to Sydney, Eric was already very satisfied. In fact, transpacific and transatlantic flights generally hovered around 10,000 kilometers, while domestic flights in North America rarely exceeded 4,000 kilometers; this plane's specifications would suffice most of the time.

As for testing the plane's flight limits, Eric lacked interest. Due to their excessive energy consumption, private planes had long been criticized as symbols of the wealthy's extravagant lifestyles. If he accidentally broke a record during testing and the media picked it up, he'd have a hard time escaping the spotlight.

Continuing to explore the various cabin arrangements, Eric inquired, "What about the internet and communication equipment?"

"Our Boeing Connectivity Company customized a complete set of internet, television, and telephone communication equipment for you. You can connect to the internet, make calls, or hold video conferences anytime, anywhere. Speaking of which, Mr. Williams, our CEO Philip Condit is in the office today. He mentioned he'd like to have a chat if you're free."

Besides the plane's performance, Eric valued its distant communication capabilities most. This was his primary dissatisfaction with the Boeing 767 he often used a few years back. Hearing that the Boeing Group's CEO was available for a call, Eric promptly agreed; it'd be good to test the video call system. "Alright."

"Then, please follow me."

...

Ronald Keogh gestured for Eric to accompany him to a conference room in the mid-section of the airplane. Following a signal from Ronald, his assistant skillfully powered up the video calling equipment. Moments later, a tall middle-aged man appeared on the wall-mounted 32-inch screen: none other than Philip Condit, CEO of the Boeing Group, located far away in Seattle.

Eric greeted Philip and began chatting casually when he heard a faint roar outside the cabin.

Looking through the window, he saw Drew's plane slowly taxiing down the runway.

A bodyguard entered, knocking at the door. Eric glanced over and pointed outside, displaying a questioning expression.

The bodyguard nodded, replying, "Miss Barrymore said they are going to Orlando. They'll be back tomorrow."

"Did the women and children go too?"

"Yes."

Eric helplessly noted how Philip Condit was listening to the commotion and shrugged, saying to the bodyguard, "They probably headed to Disneyland. Have Carter call them and make arrangements."

"Understood, Mr. Williams."

Just as Eric was about to dismiss the bodyguard, something struck him, and he stopped him. "By the way, who was flying the plane?"

"Miss Sokolov."

Eric had felt puzzled initially; after the first two planes landed, the pilots had come over to introduce themselves, but Drew's plane had only her, the twins, and Ronald Keogh's group.

He had confidence in the twins' helicopter piloting skills since he had seen them in action, but operating such a large Boeing passenger jet? That seemed reckless.

Thinking this, Eric directed Ronald Keogh's assistant, "Connect me to that plane and have them return."

The assistant looked confused and explained, "Mr. Williams, during takeoff and landing, absolute communication with the ground command center is required, making it unsuitable for calls. However, if you think it's necessary, we could contact the pilots through navigation."

Before Eric could respond, Ronald Keogh interjected, "Eric, are you concerned about the Sokolov twins' flying abilities? I really don't think that's necessary. They had a significant role in the testing phases of these three planes, and their flying skills are on par with any experienced pilot."

"You're talking about those Russian twins, right?" Philip Condit chimed in from the still open video feed. "They are indeed very impressive girls; I've met them as well. No worries there, Eric."

Alright.

Eric chuckled and nodded.

Yet he couldn't help but mentally roll his eyes, wondering how these usually unassuming enchantresses seemed to know everything. He needed to interrogate them properly sometime.

After this interruption, Eric lost interest in further exploring the cabin's design. He exchanged a few more pleasantries with Philip Condit, ended the video call, and exited the cabin.

...

Elisabeth and Julia were still waiting eagerly in Ventura. Since they would eventually see the interior, Eric didn't board the plane with the two women. Instead, he sent the pilots to take off directly back to California. Before long, only this Boeing remained at the Long Island airport.

A little over two hours later, Drew called from Orlando International Airport, indicating that her group had arrived safely. Only then did Eric relax.

With the women gone, Eric refused to linger alone in East Hampton. After seeing Ronald Keogh and his team off, he returned to Manhattan.

...

The following week was filled with the lively festivities of Easter, along with the birthdays of the children that followed soon after.

While spending time with the women and kids, Eric's private hours were primarily devoted to discussions with Carter Moen on establishing a security team specifically for the Williams family.

Also underway was the plan to expand two private airports on the East and West Coasts. This wasn't about building more runways; Eric intended to secure adjacent land to reserve space for potential future hangars and, at the same time, create a secluded area surrounded by trees to prevent outsiders from peeking in.

After all, the sight of three large Boeing 740 private jets congregated at the airport was undeniably too conspicuous. Eric could easily imagine environmental groups showing up to protest outside his airport once they got wind of it; such occurrences weren't rare.

However, if the airport were fully enclosed within private territory, the trouble would tally down significantly.

Later, Drew explained that she hadn't painted her plane a bright pink to maintain a low profile. Despite the fact that the interior decorations of her plane were anything but understated, Eric appreciated her approach.

...

While Eric was in East Hampton, Hollywood's Easter release schedule continued bustling along.

The three new films released the first week of March 26 ended up with only Run Lola Run barely emerging as a success, raking in $11.17 million in its opening weekend -- just shy of Warner's buyout price, which promised solid profits. Universal's EDtv flopped spectacularly with a mere $8.25 million in its first week against an $80 million budget, resulting in dismal figures. Paramount's The Mod Squad fared even worse, vanishing from headlines with just $5.57 million in its opening weekend.

In contrast, The Blair Witch Project, now in its fourth week, managed to dominate the box office with $17.62 million in ticket sales, despite a 39% drop in earnings. With a cumulative gross of $129.3 million, it continued to be the envy of many in the industry.

On April 2, Firefly Films launched its heavyweight film Enemy of the State alongside several other movies, finally knocking The Blair Witch Project down from the box office crown.

However, Enemy of the State debuted with a first-week gross of only $46.3 million. Compared to last year's surprise hit Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and the recent The Blair Witch Project, this performance could only be deemed average. Though the North American box office crossing $100 million was a sure bet, it wouldn't exactly be stellar.

With Enemy of the State costing $90 million to produce, the company could only hope for strong international sales to recoup its investment.

Maybe ongoing surprises from box office hits in recent years had skewed expectations, as sentiment within the company surrounding Enemy of the State's box office performance wasn't overly optimistic. Yet Eric didn't share this outlook. While MGM and Fox's next films, American Pie and Never Been Kissed, both enjoyed solid box office openings, especially vis-a-vis their production costs, Eric still didn't regret slotting Enemy of the State in the Easter schedule.

After all, Eric's main objective was to use Enemy of the State to cultivate the market. If Easter weekends became synonymous with low-budget horror and comedy films, audiences would eventually develop a taste for them. Initially, that might seem fine, but in the long run, if high-quality blockbusters didn't spur the market, only a glut of cheap films remained. If, one year, those films collectively fell short, the entire Easter weekend box office could fall flat.

Additionally, through international releases, Enemy of the State could realistically pull in around $300 million in global box office earnings, which would help to hit the break-even point.

...

After the birthdays of the two little ones, Eric should have been fully focused on promoting the upcoming Iron Man release. However, word came from Firefly Electronics that, due to pressure from Seagram's creditors, Universal Records abruptly withdrew from the negotiations regarding digital music store collaborations with Firefly Electronics, even though they had maintained a cooperative stance thus far. Their rationale was that creditors feared Universal's shift towards digital music sales could further undermine already declining physical album sales, thereby impacting Seagram's overall profits and threatening creditor interests.

Eric quickly understood that this disruption was clearly Wall Street's official response following the comments made by Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson at the last Hearst family gathering.

*****

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