I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1141: Low Opening Midnight Box Office]

The next day, Iron Man premiered in North America. Compared to the premieres in overseas cities like Tokyo and London, the Los Angeles premiere of Iron Man was even more grandiose. Firefly Group had gone all out to prepare for this event, especially after the recent online gossip incident. To handle any potential surprises, they had allocated an additional security budget for the premiere.

Fortunately, the entire event went very smoothly. Thanks to Iron Man's widely recognized positive buzz, the media turned their attention to the star-studded guest list, which heightened the film's excitement even further.

For most fans, the two days from Wednesday's premiere to Thursday night's midnight screening and then Friday's wide release flew by, but Eric's work schedule remained jam-packed.

...

Culver City.

Inside a screening room at Columbia Pictures, Eric was discussing company matters with Columbia Pictures CEO Bill Mechanic while waiting for a representative from Gaumont, the French film company. Last year, Luc Besson directed another high-budget project, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, which cost 390 million francs, nearly 80 million dollars, making it another ambitious outing for Gaumont after The Fifth Element.

Although the number of epic movies had increased significantly in recent years following the success of Braveheart, there were not many successful cases. Major studios gradually recognized the high risks of epic films, leading to a decrease in enthusiasm for investing in such projects. Ridley Scott's Gladiator had been abandoned by Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment under this backdrop and had shifted over to Fox largely due to Eric's influence.

In contrast to Gladiator, which achieved outstanding box office and award success beyond Braveheart, Eric had little recollection of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, only vaguely remembering that the movie's original lead was Milla Jovovich. However, due to shifts in Hollywood history, Jovovich had ended up having no connection with Besson, as the leading roles in both The Fifth Element and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc had been replaced by other actresses.

"Warner Bros. has signed a deal for Woo's Windtalkers, but they're very cautious about it. They'll only assume 30% of the investment, with the other 70% covered by a German film fund."

Eric felt a twinge of disappointment upon hearing Bill Mechanic say this. Once, MGM had fully invested in Windtalkers, taking on all production and distribution costs. After the film's dismal box office failure, MGM found itself teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

However, this disappointment was fleeting; things couldn't simply go according to one's desires. Even if Warner Bros. only held a 30% stake, they would still handle distribution for Windtalkers, which would consume substantial funds and occupy a prime release window. It would amount to considerable losses in both time and money.

If Will Smith's other film, an imitation of Men in Black titled Wild Wild West, flopped as well, it would signal a disaster for Time Warner's film division next year.

Remembering this, Eric asked, "What about Wild Wild West?"

"Wild Wild West is solely produced by Warner without any partners," Bill replied, then added, "Eric, I saw a preview of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc . Honestly, I think this film is terrible -- there's absolutely no selling point."

Eric also had low expectations for The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. "If that's the case, after two consecutive flops, Luc Besson will definitely part ways with Gaumont. He'll be coming here shortly, and your job is to win him over."

Bill Mechanic appeared puzzled. Why would Columbia want to pursue Besson after he had mismanaged two major productions? Eric noticed Bill's thoughts and explained, "Luc Besson is a really talented director, but what I value more is his writing and producing ability in action films. Although the films he directed haven't performed exceptionally well, the ones he wrote and produced like La Femme Nikita and Taxi have been quite successful and relatively low-cost. You could collaborate with him on that front, even adapt those films into American versions."

...

At that moment, the screening room door opened, and Anne Hathaway peeked in timidly. When she spotted Eric, a smile broke out on her face, though she walked in with a shy demeanor.

Anne was wearing a knee-length white fitted dress that showed off her figure.

As she approached, she quietly greeted, "Eric, and Mr. Mechanic."

Eric chuckled, seeing the girl looking all delicate. "Come here. I heard the crew of Girl, Interrupted is shooting at the studio, so I thought you might be here."

Anne glanced at Bill Mechanic, bashfully sitting on Eric's lap, yet affectionately wrapped her arms around his neck. "Eric, I thought you'd forgotten about me."

After meeting at the post-premiere celebration of The Ring the previous year, Anne hadn't seen Eric much since, and while she sometimes felt it might have been inappropriate to accept Eric's card, much of the time, she worried he might forget her.

"Of course not, but you know I've been busy. I heard you landed a role in an adventure drama film called, um, The Other Side of Heaven, shooting in the Bahamas?"

Surprised that Eric knew so much about her situation, Anne quickly accepted it, realizing this man practically controlled half of Hollywood.

Nodding, she replied, "Carl thinks this role is perfect for me. Carl Franco, my agent. Eric, you remember him, right?"

"Sure do," Eric said with a smile. "That's good. Just focus on shooting it. Also, for any help you need with film matters in the future, you can go directly to Bill without going through my assistant's office. They're not really equipped for that."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Anne remembered she had secured the lead role in The Other Side of Heaven. Although it was a low-budget film from an independent production company, securing a part like that had required some external help. She had used the number Eric had given her to call his assistant's office.

Eric's assistant's office was indeed well-equipped to deal with securing film roles.

But calling his office meant that Caroline and Merissa also knew about this, and it left Anne feeling a little resentful.

Understanding this, Bill Mechanic discreetly handed her a business card. "Miss Hathaway, if you need anything in the future, feel free to call me."

While he was the head of one of the weaker studios in the Firefly Group, he was nonetheless a key player, and no one could overlook the influence such an executive had in Hollywood.

Anne accepted the card, tucking it away carefully. "Thank you, Mr. Mechanic."

After addressing this matter, Eric patted her waist. "Alright, I've got some things to handle, so you should get back to your work."

Anne hesitated to leave and planted herself closer to Eric, whispering, "Eric, are you free tonight?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded. "I'll have someone pick you up after work."

...

After sending Anne off, representatives from Gaumont soon arrived, including Luc Besson, who had come specifically to Los Angeles.

After some pleasantries, they started watching the preview of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.

Although Eric already had minimal expectations, he found this film to fall even lower than he had anticipated. Besson seemed utterly out of his element in directing epic films.

While the movie had its share of grand visuals, what overwhelmed Eric was chaos. The larger the scene, the more chaotic it felt, failing to deliver the aesthetic appeal that should come with camera composition.

The new lead, Alice Taglioni, was stunning, but her acting was lackluster. The film didn't convey cultural depth in the way Braveheart's iconic "Freedom" resonated.

An epic film that neither stirred excitement nor prompted contemplation could hardly be described better than a failure.

Had it not been for courtesy and his intentions to woo Besson, Eric likely would've left halfway through.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc was already scheduled for a staggered release across Europe starting in October, and its hot film slots were pretty much similar to those in North America.

Thus, from the scheduling alone, Eric sensed that Gaumont had little faith in the film as well, and the chilly demeanor between the representatives present and Besson only reaffirmed that impression.

Having seen the film, Eric had little desire for further discussion, focusing instead on communicating with Besson about his aspirations in Hollywood.

Besson was evidently aware of the impending failure of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, dealing with two major flops would not bode well for his next few years in the French film industry. Naturally, he was quite receptive to Eric's direct overtures and promised on the spot to consider them.

...

After a day's work, Eric took Anne to a restaurant in Venice Beach for dinner before returning to Malibu.

Yet, tonight felt somewhat off for Eric.

Tomorrow, Iron Man would have its wide release, and tonight's midnight screening was crucial for the film.

The East Coast had already settled into night, and by just past ten on the West Coast, emails related to Iron Man started flooding Eric's newly replaced BlackBerry.

The specifics of the midnight box office numbers would be tallied throughout the West Coast after midnight.

Though, in relation to his current wealth, Eric didn't need to sweat a film's success or failure, it was hard to let it go because of the habit he'd formed over time.

Moreover, it was clear that many upper executives at Firefly Group were likely struggling to sleep well tonight.

Eric's plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe were too ambitious. If successful, it could provide Firefly Group with a significant advantage in the film business for the next twenty or even thirty years.

The greater the plan, the more one could worry about it, especially after the expectations set by the success of the MGM's spy universe. Everyone found it hard to calm down without promptly confirming the box office figures for Iron Man.

Women's instincts tended to be the most sensitive, and Anne clearly sensed Eric's distracted mood, becoming even more submissive, acting gracefully and trying her best to please him.

Before they knew it, it was past midnight.

The girl on the big bed was fast asleep, while Eric, having showered, decided to head downstairs.

...

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Eric settled into a sofa beside the glass wall, flipping through some documents to kill time, occasionally glancing out at the pitch-dark night.

Just past one, his BlackBerry and laptop both pinged with incoming emails.

Eric grabbed his laptop, opened up the latest unread email and searched for specific midnight box office figures.

$7.6 million.

His thoughts momentarily became jumbled.

$7.6 million for the midnight box office was absolutely impressive compared to other films.

However, Eric had just been reviewing the midnight box office numbers of major films from recent years.

In comparison, Iron Man's $7.6 million midnight box office was lower than Mission: Impossible 3's $9.2 million, The Matrix Reloaded's $9.95 million, Charlie's Angels's $12.5 million, and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace's $16.5 million.

Of course, Eric was aware that films like Mission: Impossible 3 had built up a considerable fanbase, and the Star Wars franchise had become a cultural phenomenon. These series fans would eagerly rush to theaters at the first opportunity, which created those high midnight box office numbers.

Iron Man, on the other hand, could only be considered Marvel's second-tier superhero; it had far less recognition than characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, or the X-Men. Furthermore, this was merely Iron Man's inaugural film, acting as the opening piece for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though Iron Man had achieved notable visibility thanks to Firefly Group's extensive promotional push, it still hadn't cultivated a core group of dedicated fans who would rush to see it immediately.

As for Eric's own participation, it could indeed boost the film's broader recognition but he also understood that his work lacked a distinct, unified style, which meant he hadn't built up a large, devoted fanbase. Therefore, his involvement wouldn't significantly enhance the midnight box office performance.

Even so, no matter how much reality needed to be confronted, staring at Iron Man's $7.6 million midnight box office figure, Eric still found it hard to feel satisfied.

It was easy to imagine that if this information leaked, some media outlets would certainly exploit it tomorrow, possibly affecting Iron Man's future box office trajectory.

*****

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