I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1151: Settled]

After Tom Freston's meeting with Eric Williams, Viacom remained silent for several days.

Since Redstone still held out hope, Eric didn't hesitate to strike back. Rumors about Paramount Pictures potentially facing a cash flow crisis quickly spread, further damaging Viacom's plummeting stock price.

On the flip side, word also leaked that Wall Street investor Carl Icahn was secretly buying Viacom Group stock, which increased the pressure on the major shareholders and management of Viacom.

During their last lunch, Carl Icahn had realized that Eric did not intend to support him in seizing control of Viacom. However, Icahn still found a way to work with Eric, openly proclaiming that he was acquiring Viacom stock. His goal was to force Redstone into submission. If Viacom reconciled with the Firefly Group, its stock price would definitely rebound quickly, allowing Icahn to make a tidy profit off the low buy-in.

While Viacom's stock price fell against the market trends, the Nasdaq Composite continued to surge without a hint of slowing.

The last day of May happened to fall on a Monday. Just last week, the Nasdaq had broken the 4,000-point mark, and on this day, it opened by hitting a new high of 4,135 points.

...

Thanks to the massive success of Iron Man, and Eric's assets soaring alongside the Nasdaq index, various newspapers began to take real-time interest in his net worth. Websites dedicated to tracking his finances even sprang up online.

By last Friday's market close, Eric's personal wealth had reached a staggering $475 billion -- a figure that dazzled countless people. At that point, Eric himself was somewhat indifferent to this temporarily inflated number. He was more focused on the progress of cashing out the tech stocks held by the Clover Fund.

At Firefly Studios, for the past ten weeks since late March, Caroline had started gathering and summarizing the latest financial data from the Clover Fund early in the morning.

"Last week, our trading desks sold a total of $2.322 billion worth of tech stocks. The cash accumulated by the Clover Fund has reached $21.671 billion. Based on the current stock prices, the remaining tech stocks we hold are valued at $12.855 billion. If the Nasdaq continues its upward trend, we can expect around a 50% appreciation on this leftover stock, meaning the Clover Fund could cash out around $40 billion."

In the office, as Eric listened to Caroline's report, he flipped through more detailed financial statements in his hands.

$40 billion in cash -- this was real capital, as opposed to the paper wealth that seemed inflated. Even after taxes, the leftover funds would be sufficient to support the next steps of expansion for the Firefly Group. Once the upcoming strategies were implemented, Eric's assets would no longer be as fraught with such severe bubbles.

After a moment of contemplation, Eric told Caroline, "We probably have about six weeks left. We need to accelerate the selling process. Draft up a plan for me today."

Caroline nodded and then shifted the conversation to another topic.

...

The production of Gravity was in its final stages, and Eric planned to focus most of his energy on this project in the upcoming weeks.

After the brief work briefing, as Eric prepared to leave the office and head to the post-production center, his personal phone rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, Eric settled back into his chair to take the call. "Good morning, Sumner."

There was a brief silence before Redstone's voice came through: "$1.5 billion, Eric. That's my bottom line. If you don't agree, Viacom can fight Firefly to the end."

$1.5 billion was clearly Redstone's offer for Showtime.

This price was 25% higher than Firefly's $1.2 billion valuation of Showtime, but given the growth prospects of premium cable networks, $1.5 billion was well within Eric's tolerance level.

"Fine," after a moment's pause, Eric replied, then added quickly, "Also, about Sherry Lansing."

"Viacom will announce Sherry's departure this afternoon. Meanwhile, Firefly must immediately lift all measures against Viacom Group."

Eric nodded decisively, "No problem."

As soon as he finished speaking, the line went dead. Eric wasn't bothered by it; he proceeded to call up Jeff Katzenberg and others to inform them of the developments before he stood up, ready to leave the office.

...

At 2 PM, Viacom issued an announcement via its official website that Sherry Lansing, one of the two leading women in Hollywood, was resigning as CEO of Paramount Pictures for personal reasons. This role would temporarily be filled by Viacom's co-president, Tom Freston, until they found a suitable replacement.

Typically, when the head of one of Hollywood's big seven studios left, it would spark a media frenzy. However, upon hearing this news, while many in North America were shocked, the media maintained a notably cautious attitude.

By this time, the industry had largely figured out the reasons behind the Firefly Group and Viacom dispute. Even ordinary folks could easily grasp the gist of the facts through various media insinuations.

Following the revelation that Viacom had orchestrated a gossip website to expose Eric Williams' children's information, the retaliatory backlash from the entire Firefly Group became apparent. As long as such corporate rivalries didn't directly impact the daily lives of average citizens, most people were content to watch from the sidelines.

However, the eventual unfolding of events surprised many.

As public interest in the incident waned, attention began to shift elsewhere. But within the media industry, a profound understanding of the terrifying power the Firefly Group had demonstrated since the gossip incident lingered.

After Viacom's announcement, the Firefly Group quickly declared a reconciliation with Blockbuster, and some investors from Wall Street's movie funds stepped forward to clarify that there were no issues regarding cooperation with Paramount Pictures. Viacom's stock began to stabilize and rapidly rebound along with the overall trend of the Nasdaq index.

Nonetheless, the price Viacom paid for its secretive maneuvers was substantial. Sherry Lansing's forced resignation not only lost respect for Viacom in Hollywood, but it also placed additional strain on what was already a faltering film division. Finding a qualified successor for Paramount would certainly prove challenging following the impact from the Firefly Group.

Subsequently, Viacom announced that they had agreed to sell Showtime for $1.5 billion to the Firefly Group -- a move that significantly impacted Viacom's cable business.

Taking stock of the situation, it became clear that the Firefly Group's counterattack regarding the exposure of Eric Williams' children had been merciless. And this compelled many media outlets that prided themselves on freedom to tread carefully, becoming increasingly cautious in their coverage of news related to Eric, fearing inadvertently provoking this ferocious capital monster.

While many media representatives lamented not being able to report on what would have been an engaging clash of titans, another event quickly diverted everyone's attention.

...

On June 7, after months of scrutiny, the U.S. Department of Justice, along with the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, announced that they had approved the merger between America Online and Time Warner.

With a combined market cap skyrocketing to $277 billion, the merger between the two media giants effortlessly surpassed the Firefly Group and Yahoo, establishing the largest comprehensive media conglomerate in North America.

Steve Case, reveling in the peak of the Internet craze, radiated confidence and even set aside the series of tensions between America Online and the Firefly Group from the previous year. He called Eric, hoping he could attend a celebration banquet at the Plaza Hotel for the successful merger of America Online and Time Warner.

...

Although preoccupied with finalizing Gravity, Eric noted that Showtime's headquarters was also in New York. The Firefly Group had signed the deal, and while there remained much handover work to be completed, he decided to personally travel to New York to discuss matters with the head of Showtime, taking a quick flight amidst his busy schedule.

As he neared the Plaza Hotel by Central Park, the day was still bright, and countless glamorous figures began gathering at the venue.

By the time Eric arrived in Manhattan, it was already 5 PM. After taking a break at Cindy's place, he showed up with the stunning lady on his arm.

After getting out of the car, she affectionately linked arms with Eric, passing through the media area. After signing a photo wall, they headed directly into the hotel's grand ballroom.

As they entered the banquet hall, Steve Case came right over to greet them.

Eric politely extended his hand. "Steve, congratulations."

"Thank you, Eric. I'm glad you could make it tonight," Steve replied with a flawless expression. After chatting briefly with Cindy, he moved on to greet other guests.

After catching up with familiar faces, Eric and Cindy settled down at one of the dining tables.

After taking two glasses of red wine from the server's tray, once he left, Cindy leaned in and whispered to Eric, "I had a check-up last week, and the doctor said it's likely a boy."

Eric took a sip of his wine and asked with a smile, "But it's only been two months -- how can they tell?"

"I hope it's a boy," Cindy replied with anticipation in her gaze. "Maybe the doctor just picked up on my thoughts. Either way, I like hearing it."

"Well, if it's a girl, let's see what you do then."

"Then I'll have another one," Cindy shot back immediately, then looked worriedly at Eric. "Eric, can I have another?"

"Of course, having two would be fine."

Eric's casual response caught Cindy by surprise, and she instinctively said, "I meant your child."

Eric playfully pinched her delicate chin. "If you dare have someone else's child, I'll toss you into the Hudson River."

Realizing she'd misspoken, Cindy shyly retracted her neck, then defiantly placed a hand on her belly. "It's definitely a boy. Boys don't suffer when they grow up."

Chuckling, Eric asked, "Have the arrangements for America's Next Top Model been made?"

"Already set; Stephanie is taking over my job."

"I don't think she's the right fit."

"Exactly," Cindy nodded, rolling her eyes at Eric. "But you have secretly auditioned for her, what else can I do?"

"You could pretend you didn't know."

"I don't want to be a jerk like you. Besides, her personality fits the show perfectly. It's not really about selecting supermodels; grabbing viewers' attention is what matters."

"Oh really? What kind of personality? I didn't notice anything."

"Who knows how you gauge that."

"Hey, that's not good. Be careful our child hears this."

Seeing Eric's awkwardness, Cindy laughed and added, "I asked about how things were with Joan. I've been learning from her, but I mean, I haven't finished even one book yet. I'm planning to hire a couple of Ivy League graduates to be my lifestyle assistants to read them to me."

Though Eric thought this idea seemed pointless, he didn't oppose. "You can call Kelly and let her help pick."

"I'll choose myself, but the bills are getting sent your way."

"Definitely a girl though."

"Hmm, make sure she's not a knockout."

"Don't, they say what a mother sees a lot while pregnant can influence how the child looks."

"I'm not listening to your nonsense; how could my child not be beautiful?"

"If it's a boy, just don't let him be too pretty -- just a bit less than me, alright?"

"Ha ha."

...

Perhaps because they had just mentioned Stephanie Seymour, the model strolled over with her husband.

Eric and Cindy stood to greet her.

With her long-desired return to the spotlight as host of America's Next Top Model, Stephanie Seymour appeared even more radiant. Yet when her gaze fell on Eric, there was an accidental hint of flirtation which made one want to pin this beautiful woman down for a good time.

So, during an intermission to the restroom, Eric quickly pulled the beautiful figure trailing behind him right into the bathroom.

Having not expected Eric to be so forward, Stephanie was relieved there was no one else inside. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known what to do, as Eric pushed her into a stall. Stumbling against the toilet, she finally reacted, her voice shaky yet tinged with thrill: "Eric Williams, you--you can't do this!"

Smack--

Her body immediately relaxed, collapsing against the toilet lid, and with a muffled cry, she complained, "Ugh, you hit me again! Last time we almost got caught."

"Shut up and lie down."

"I won't," she protested, trying to rise, but received another smack that sapped her resistance. She quietly pleaded, "Don't--don't dirty the dress; you need to let me take it off first."

*****

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