Chapter 308: One Breath
"Good morning," Nicole carelessly placed the tray in front of Eric and sat down on the other side of the table.
Eric, who had just sat down next to the table, looked at the items on the tray and asked, "Where"s the milk and, I already told you, I don"t like single-sided fried eggs."
"Eat it or not. And, I have to go to New York for a few days. When I come back, I won"t come here anymore. You can keep having the maid prepare your breakfast," Nicole said, poking at her salad with a fork.
Eric laughed, "You"re still upset. Drew left yesterday, and now you"re leaving too. I"ll be the only one left in the villa."
"Hmph, that"s none of my business. You just wave your hand and some woman will surely come running," Nicole huffed.
"Okay, okay, I officially apologize for my behavior yesterday. Miss Kidman, can you forgive me?"
"I won"t forgive you. You"re a scoundrel. My ... it hurts for a long time."
Eric carelessly spread out the newspaper on the table and said, "It"s not my fault, if you wouldn"t constantly tempt me, this wouldn"t happen."
"I... I"m not talking to you," Nicole pouted and lowered her head, chomping on her breakfast, making a crunching sound as she bit into her salad, almost as if she was biting Eric.
The woman had always been steady and stable, Eric had never seen her lose her composure, and this was the first time he had seen Nicole behave petulantly. To be honest, she looked quite adorable.
Smiling, Eric got up and got himself a gla.s.s of milk from the refrigerator, and then pushed it towards Nicole, "Do you want a gla.s.s of milk? If you keep eating salads, your body won"t be able to handle it. You have a good figure. Why are you suddenly going on a diet? I still prefer a meatier feeling."
Nicole gave Eric another glare, but she still poured herself a gla.s.s of milk.
Eric laughed and picked up his milk, taking a few sips while idly flipping through the newspaper in front of him as he ate breakfast.
After a while, Eric suddenly put down his utensils, picked up a newspaper, and it was clear from the photo on the paper. It was the scene of his meeting with Cruise yesterday. The photo was taken through the gla.s.s window, and Eric and Nicole were only backdrops, but Cruise and Paula Wagner"s faces were surprisingly clear.
"Tom Cruise criticized "Ghost" in person, suspecting trouble with Williams."
"Hollywood famous director Eric Williams" new film is in the midst of tight preparation, and the choice of male and female lead is also the focus of attention. Yesterday, this reporter found that Eric Williams met with Tom Cruise at a famous restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in Hollywood, suspected to be Eric Williams inviting Tom Cruise to join the male lead of his new film.
However, things seem to be very unsuccessful, as evidenced by Tom Cruise"s lip language a.n.a.lysis. This reporter found that both sides of the negotiation seem to be very unsuccessful."
Tom Cruise referred to the lead actor of "Ghost" as "stupid" in front of Williams. Tom Cruise did not discuss much about "Ghost" with Eric Williams, but instead, he chatted amiably with Nicole Kidman, who rose to fame with "Sleepless in Seattle", and even invited Kidman to join his new film. Cruise further stated that the female lead of "Ghost" had no room to perform, and was just a crying vase.
After Cruise and Paula Wagner split from Williams, Williams and Kidman sat for a long time. Due to their backs facing us, we couldn"t know what they discussed, but after a short conversation, Williams immediately got up and left, and Kidman followed him anxiously.
Judging from the situation, our playboy was not pleased with Kidman and Cruise"s conversation, and perhaps he left in anger due to Kidman"s failed invitation to appear in Cruise"s new film. There may have been a rift between Williams and Kidman because of Tom Cruise.
Eric resignedly read the newspaper several times and then handed it over to Nicole on the opposite side, saying, "Take a look. Something"s happened again."
Nicole took the newspaper in front of her, read it once and said, "The newspaper is right. There are indeed cracks between us."
"Nicole, in fact, your temper tantrum looks adorable. Don"t believe it, take a look in the mirror."
"Hmph!" The woman snorted coldly, ignoring Eric"s teasing and continued to have breakfast.
However, Eric no longer had the appet.i.te for breakfast. Although he didn"t care about feuding with Cruise, the evaluation of "Sleepless in Seattle" by Cruise in the newspaper had to draw his attention. If he didn"t clarify and counterattack quickly, if the media shifted its focus to "Sleepless in Seattle", it might create a preconceived notion in the public. If the movie had a bad reputation before filming, it would be terrible.
Retrieving the newspaper, Eric arrived in the living room and dialed Pat Kingsley"s number. After a discussion, Pat expressed that she would make an official statement regarding Cruise"s situation as soon as possible.
There were no comments regarding Eric and Nicole in the newspaper, indicating that the tabloid"s informant only had knowledge of some of the conversation through lip-reading, not audio recording. Otherwise, the conversation between Eric and Nicole after Cruise and Paula Wagner left would have been more newsworthy and been exposed.
Putting the topic aside, Eric returned to the living room, glancing at Nicole, who was still leisurely eating breakfast. He remarked, "Tabloid journalists can even read lips now, it seems like we need to be more careful with our speech in the future, even if there"s no one around and no eavesdropping devices."
Nicole rolled her eyes and ignored Eric, who continued to eat breakfast and read the newspaper. However, the meal was destined to not be peaceful, as Eric soon saw a man and a woman walking side by side in another newspaper, with the man looking attentive and the woman wearing a faint smile.
Eric shook his head, picked up the newspaper, got up from the living room once again, made a call and explained, and finally returned to the living room. He finished his breakfast.
After breakfast, Eric drove Nicole to the airport and then headed to the headquarters of Firefly.
When he arrived at the company, it was almost ten o"clock, but he just made it to the meeting with Robert Shaye at ten o"clock.
Because of the box office success of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", Robert Shaye"s mood has been somewhat unusual these days. After all, when Firefly acquired New Line, the market value of New Line was only 150 million dollars. Robert Shaye took advantage of Eric"s downfall and barely squeezed out 10% of the shares from Eric. He increased his overall shareholding in Firefly to 25%.
But then "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was released, and the movie earned 30 million dollars in its first week. While Robert Shaye was thrilled, he inevitably fell into a huge disappointment.
Because if he had stuck to not selling New Line, then the success of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" would now be exclusively owned by New Line.
The current box office trend suggests that this film is highly likely to surpa.s.s one hundred million dollars in terms of its box office returns, both domestically and abroad, including video and peripheral markets. Generating over a hundred million dollars in profits should also be easily achievable, and the potential for sequel development further bolsters the film"s financial prospects. With just this film alone, the new production company"s value can at least be doubled.
"Why did we sell more back then," Robert Shaye often laments in private, but to no avail.
In a small conference room at Firefly, the four individuals took their seats around a small conference table. Robert Shaye introduced the two people around him to Eric: "Eric, this is the script I"ve been selecting these days. Take a look at it first? Oh, and these two people are Ronald Ba.s.s and Nancy Price, the screenwriter and the original novelist of this script."
Eric nodded his head and took the script, looking at the t.i.tle on the cover. His eyebrows raised slightly as he saw that it was t.i.tled "Sleepless in Seattle."
He remembered this being a film starring Julia Roberts, and the box office seemed to be doing very well.
"Eric, is there a problem?" Robert Shaye, perceiving the anomalous expression on Eric"s face, believed that Eric was once again dissatisfied with the script. However, this time, with the success of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," Robert"s confidence had increased. He even felt that even if he failed once, what could it matter? "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" had already earned a substantial amount of money for Firefly, money that should have been his in the first place. Consequently, even if Eric opposed him again, Robert had no intention of compromising.
Eric shook his head. "Nothing." With that, Eric released the script and began flipping through it quickly.
A few minutes later, Eric had finished reading the script and looked up at Robert, saying, "Robert, are you sure you want to make this movie?"
Robert nodded affirmatively. "Eric, you said before that you wouldn"t interfere with my script selection anymore. As long as I choose one, you will sign it."
Eric heard the dissatisfaction in Robert"s voice, and he of course understood why. He smiled slightly and said, "Of course, I"ll keep my word. The script for this thriller is quite good, by the way, have you selected any actors?"
Robert was ready to argue with Eric, but seeing Eric"s lack of objections this time, he felt embarra.s.sed and kept silent. However, he quickly said, "Yes, that"s why Norman and Nicole came along today. Norman, you speak."
Norman, who had been sitting beside Robert, said, "Mr. Williams, the script has been written, and Nicole and I agree that Julia Roberts would be the best choice to play the female lead. However, we have already sent an invitation, but Julia Roberts" agent directly rejected it. Mr. Shaw said perhaps you could help us."
"Robert, what do you mean?" Eric turned to Robert again.
Robert Shaye nods, "I also think that Ms. Julia Roberts would be the best fit for the lead role in this movie. I even personally called Pat Kingsley, but Pat said that Ms. Julia Roberts didn"t like the script and didn"t want to act. I think, with your relationship with Julia, you should be able to help persuade her."
Eric rubbed his chin for a moment before nodding, "Alright, I"ll give it a try."
"Eric, we"re not unaware of your relationship with Julia, so could you please give me a precise answer?" Robert Shaye continued to speak.
Eric raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before nodding, "Alright, I guarantee that Julia will act, but in terms of pay, you"ll need to talk to Pat personally. UTA is no longer and I and Pat are only good friends, so it"s impossible for me to interfere in Julia"s pay."
"This is not an issue at all," Robert Shaye said: "By the way, for the movie, I made an initial estimate, and the budget is roughly around thirty million dollars, and I"m also planning to have an A-list star play the lead."
Eric slightly pondered over the script he had just read and reminisced about a movie in his mind, realizing that the movie wouldn"t cost thirty million dollars.
Watching Robert Shaye, who was eager to argue with him, Eric smiled slightly and said, "Okay, thirty million dollars."
Robert Shaye"s acc.u.mulated frustration had nowhere to vent, and he was somewhat annoyed, picking up the cup in front of him and drinking some coffee. He didn"t know why, but he had been motivated today and wanted to argue with Eric or something, but until now, Eric hasn"t given him any chance.
"Ronald, Nicole, you go to my office and wait for a while, I"ll talk to Eric about some other things, and I"ll talk to you about the movie in a little while."
"Alright, Mr. Shea," the two individuals, being personable, also became aware of the not-so-amicable atmosphere between them and thus soon left the office.
"Eric, regarding the overseas distribution of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," I think it would be best to leave it to Disney for distribution. Michael Esiner"s commission is quite high, and if we go ahead with your previous plan to handle it ourselves, I think we"ll be losing at least 10 million dollars." Robert Shea brought up the matter of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" distribution after the two left the office.
"Has Michael Esiner contacted you?" Eric asked, surprised.
"Of course," Robert Shea seemed to have caught Eric"s discontent in his tone and immediately said, "Eric, I know that Michael Esiner has targeted you before, but that"s in the past, and you"ve also accepted the script of "Endless Love." I think that matter can be put to rest. Furthermore, my contact with Michael Esiner was for the sake of the firefly"s interests."
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