I am Hollywood

[Chapter 807: What Do You Think?]

Sophie obviously didn't want to talk about this topic, so she shook her head and said, "Nothing."

Eric stared at Sophie's profile for a moment and then realized something. He suddenly laughed and said, "I thought actresses who often starred in romance movies wouldn't care for this kind of story."

While some films had a particularly artistic flair, starting from La Boum, most of Sophie's films were actually fresh takes on love stories.

Sophie frowned at Eric's argument and replied, "You made a romantic film too. According to your logic, if you didn't have any feelings about that film, how did you write My Heart Will Go On?"

"Oh, I didn't expect you to notice that I wrote the ending song. That's an honor," Eric said.

Sophie rolled her eyes at him and decided to ignore his cockiness.

Eric didn't defend himself. Instead, he stood quietly beside her, both of them looking out at the dark sky and enjoying this rare moment of tranquility together.

After a while, Sophie couldn't tolerate the silence any longer and asked, "Why don't you speak?"

"I'm thinking about something," he replied.

"How to trick me into coming back to your room tonight?" she pressed.

"Uh..."

Sophie caught Eric's stunned expression and finally smiled, a hint of pride in her playful prank, as if she had turned the tables on him. Although time had passed, Sophie still vividly recalled how Eric had coaxed her into bed twice before. So tonight, she was determined not to let this guy succeed again.

Well, okay, even though after watching Titanic, she suddenly craved someone to hold onto.

But as she glanced at Eric again, she reminded herself that she wasn't so easily pleased.

However, noticing the mischievous glint in Sophie's eyes, Eric chose to act instead of speak. He set down his wine glass and reached out to embrace her.

"Ah, you," Sophie exclaimed, suddenly realizing things weren't going according to the planned rhythm. Shouldn't he have said something sweet next? Why had he suddenly changed course? Her mind buzzed momentarily, and she eventually managed to respond. She lifted the arm that held the wine glass aside and said with a trembling voice, "Eric, the red wine is going to spill on me. Uh, you..." After a long pause, she finally added, "...bad guy."

...

It was the third time in a not-so-little while that Sophie woke up in the arms of the same man, prompting her to ponder a profound question.

Why was this happening?

Maybe it was because he held her so tightly in his sleep, creating a sense of security.

Or maybe it was because he had various identities mixed together, making him instinctively difficult for women to resist.

Or perhaps this infuriating guy was some sort of legendary wizard who had cast a mysterious spell on herself.

Feeling the large hand around her waist start to stroke her gently, Sophie realized Eric was awake, so she turned to look into his eyes, her own bright with curiosity.

Eric leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Noticing the confusion and inquiry in her eyes, he smiled and said softly, "Actually, I know a guy named Cupid. Whenever I like a girl, he shoots an arrow at her, and then she can never escape my grasp."

Sophie blinked rapidly a few times and burst into laughter.

In that moment, she realized that the guy in front of her wasn't a wizard or anything else. He simply knew how to read women's minds well.

She was a sentimental woman. While watching the movie last night, she had abandoned her filmmaker mindset and simply immersed herself as an audience member. She was profoundly moved by the straightforward love story. As she reflected on her own experiences over the years, a wave of melancholy washed over her. So, in this moment of vulnerability, she found it easy to be influenced by someone.

"Eric, I think you should stop doing this," she said.

"Who knows what will happen in the future," he said, kissing her on the lips again.

Sophie responded instinctively. After a moment, they pulled apart, but Sophie sat up and began putting on her clothes.

Eric looked at Sophie and asked, "You're not going to leave like this again, are you?"

Sophie picked up Eric's watch from the bedside table and noticed the time was 8:15. Even though she was eager to stay, she didn't have time for breakfast with Eric. She set down the watch and said, "Yes, I have an appointment with someone at 9 o'clock to discuss a film contract at the Palace Hotel." Seeing disappointment cross Eric's face sparked a bit of childish pride in her. She added, "Otherwise, do you think I'd come to Venice just for you?"

Eric lay back on the bed, holding his forehead and said, "How ruthless! Shouldn't a good woman take care of a man's vanity?"

"Haha," Sophie laughed, putting on her clothes. She leaned over and kissed Eric on the cheek, saying, "If I were a good woman, I wouldn't be so easily tricked into bed by you. Bad guy, I'm leaving now."

Eric started to get up after Sophie went into the bathroom to wash up briefly, then she pushed the door open and left.

...

There was a lot to get done.

Considering the time difference, the reviews for Titanic in North America should have been released around noon, but the European media must have already started reporting.

Apart from tracking the media response for Titanic, during his two days in Venice, he also needed to discuss Clover Holdings with Katzenberg. The contract for The Matrix was about to be finalized, and Eric hoped to invest as soon as he secured the $300 million in funds.

Additionally, FFM was set to launch online in mid-September, and he needed to discuss the pay cable TV station with Harvey Weinstein.

On top of that, there were unavoidable social engagements, so Eric had to plan his schedule down to the minute for the next two days.

...

After getting up and heading to the restaurant, Katzenberg and Cameron were already waiting. Several newspapers lay on the table before them, but their expressions did not seem relaxed.

"Good morning, Jeffrey, Jim," Eric greeted them, taking a seat next to them.

"Good morning, Eric." Katzenberg glanced at Cameron, sitting across from him, and pushed a few newspapers toward him. "Take a look first. The comments from Europe don't seem very good."

Eric opened the top newspaper, which was in Italian and whose name eluded him. The section about Titanic was specially marked in red, with an English translation note beside it.

"A cliched love story set against a disaster backdrop. While the film excels in special effects, cinematography, and music, it is overall mediocre."

Furrowing his brow, Eric opened the next newspaper and dove into the translation.

This time, it was a praise piece: "James Cameron delivered a grand disaster movie with a smooth narrative, sturdy structure, and stunning special effects. The love story amidst catastrophe is particularly heart-wrenching."

After skimming through several newspapers, Eric noticed a polarization in the film's reviews. Some critics praised it while others slammed it.

After reviewing the media's take, Eric looked up at Katzenberg and Cameron and smiled, saying, "Let's wait for news from North America. You know the European media. They prefer more artistic and profound films. Now, let's have breakfast first."

With that, Eric waved to summon the waiter, maintaining a relaxed demeanor and inquiring about what his serious companions wished to eat.

...

After breakfast, Cameron headed off to handle three screenings of Titanic scheduled for that day, while Eric engaged Katzenberg in discussion about Clover Holdings.

"I expect Firefly Group to spend at least $1 billion in overseas investments each year for the next five years, mainly in the rapidly growing Internet sector. To play it safe, we'll focus solely on equity investments and not get too involved in the operations of the companies we invest in," Eric laid out.

Katzenberg listened attentively, taking a sip of coffee before responding, "Eric, if this occurs, the company's profit scale will significantly decrease, which isn't exactly fair to me."

Katzenberg's employment contract with Firefly included a fixed annual salary of $750,000, along with a bonus of 2% of the group's annual operating profit. For most Hollywood film companies, the annual returns from such contracts could typically range between $10 million to $20 million. However, due to Firefly's strong profitability in recent years, Katzenberg's total earnings last year surpassed $50 million, placing him among the highest-paid CEOs in North America.

However, if Firefly's profits dropped sharply due to Eric's investment plans, Katzenberg's annual earnings could shrink considerably, possibly dropping to less than half of what he previously earned.

Katzenberg understood that Eric's strategy aimed to mitigate tax losses throughout the investment process. Trusting Eric to present a satisfactory resolution, he listened to Eric's plan without showing any excitement, being transparent with his thoughts.

Eric leaned on the table, looking into Katzenberg's eyes, and said, "Jeffrey, your contract expires at the beginning of next year. We've had a very pleasant partnership over the past few years, so I don't think there's any doubt we'll renew the contract."

Katzenberg smiled and nodded, "Of course."

"I'm sure you know my investment intentions. The Nasdaq index rose from just over 700 points last year to 955 points now. We're on the verge of breaking through the 1,000 mark. Everyone says the Nasdaq is slightly inflated, but I'm very optimistic about its future trend. Of course, risks exist. Even Buffett wouldn't make any hasty judgments about the stock market. So, I can offer you two options."

Katzenberg's curiosity piqued.

Eric paused, then continued, "Your contract remains unchanged, with the 2% annual profit bonus intact, but there are two calculation rules for the bonuses. First, we can create a separate remarks clause and include funds invested in Clover Holdings in your bonus calculation. You wouldn't have to bear the investment risk, but any profits wouldn't contribute to your bonus share. The second option is that since we're making equity investments, as long as we achieve an appropriate rate of return, the company will sell its holdings. In that case, you can forfeit the bonus share for Clover Holdings, and our remarks clause would state that during your tenure as CEO of Firefly, all stocks purchased with funds invested into Clover Holdings will still grant you a 2% income from that investment whenever they are sold, regardless of your position in the future."

Katzenberg considered for a moment, then asked, "Eric, may I know which companies you're planning to invest in?"

"Cisco, AOL, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Verizon, Sprint..." Eric casually listed a few companies. "I'll provide a detailed list when the time comes because the total investment will be so substantial that we can't just purchase stocks from a single company."

The companies Eric mentioned were primarily popular in the IT and communications sectors in recent years.

Katzenberg had witnessed firsthand how the companies under Firefly Investments, like Yahoo, Cisco, and AOL, climbed to the peak of their industries. However, he also knew that the price-to-earnings ratios for such high-tech companies were alarmingly high. The higher the ratio, the more optimistic the market was about the company's growth prospects. However, it also meant the risks associated with investing in these stocks would be correspondingly high.

After hesitating for a while, Katzenberg turned to Eric and asked with a smile, "So, which plan do you recommend I choose?"

Eric smiled in response, "Of course, it's the second one."

A few years ago, Eric discussed CEO salary issues with Tina Brown and others. If a manager could only generate $10 million in profit annually for the company, Eric wouldn't agree to pay him $10 million. Yet, for a manager who could bring in billions, an annual salary surpassing $100 million seemed understandable to him. Katzenberg was undeniably a capable manager. Though the rapid growth of Firefly could be attributed to Eric's exceptional insight, it equally stemmed from Katzenberg's outstanding management skills. Thus, Eric was comfortable with Katzenberg participating in and sharing the prosperity of the forthcoming Internet boom.

Katzenberg stared at Eric's expression for a few seconds, then smiled broadly and said, "Alright then, I'll go with the second option."

Katzenberg realized that even if his income halved, it would still comfortably secure him a lavish lifestyle. Hence, choosing the second contract represented an investment in his future. He wasn't concerned about Clover Holdings holding stocks for an extended period post-investment; that would merely indicate those stocks' worthwhile investment value. Even if it took ten or twenty years, or perhaps longer, the earnings at that time could serve as a solid retirement fund for him.

*****

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