[Chapter 535: Can I Have One Too?]
Outside of Pulp Fiction, Through the introduction of Patrick Schneider, CEO of Disneyland Paris, the project for Leon: The Professional was officially set in motion. The French company Gaumont originally planned to invest solely in Luc Besson's new film. However, collaborating with the booming Firefly Films was an opportunity they couldn't resist. Therefore, Gaumont's chairman, Nicolas Seydoux, personally flew to Los Angeles.
Last year, when Disneyland Paris opened, Eric visited Paris and attended a party hosted by the Seydoux family, so they were somewhat acquainted. To show the importance he placed on this meeting, Eric made time to host Nicolas Seydoux for dinner. Gaumont had nearly a century of history in France and was one of the few companies there specializing in commercial films. Maintaining a partnership with such a French heavyweight was crucial for further opening the French film market.
After spending the morning at Firefly Studios checking on the post-production progress of several films, Eric chose Venice Beach as the location to host Nicolas Seydoux. After dinner, the two continued their discussion at a cafe for several hours before Seydoux finally took his leave. Once he was gone, Eric remained seated by the window, sipping his coffee.
It was already July 1st, and he had been back in Los Angeles for almost two weeks. The turmoil caused by the layoffs in Digital Domain had subsided. Since he had prepared in advance, Pixar's 3D animated film A Bug's Life was still performing remarkably at the box office, without showing any signs of the chaos in Digital Domain.
Other Hollywood studios were certainly envious of the box office and the profits brought by A Bug's Life. After all, Pixar's first film, Toy Story, cost $40 million, but the budget for next movie, A Bug's Life, had soared to $70 million, placing it firmly in blockbuster territory. While the other major studios could certainly afford this production budget, they were daunted by the usual two-year production cycle, lack of experience, and absence of the extensive merchandising and retail networks that Disney had. Most studios were hesitant about whether to develop their own 3D animated films.
However, Eric had the clearest understanding of the future for 3D animated films. He knew that even without an online merchandising system, the commercial prospects for 3D films were vast. In the original timeline, nearly every year's box office top ten during the next 2 decades featured a 3D animated film. Thus, Eric was considering expanding the Firefly's 3D animation department's scale, aiming for at least one 3D animated film to be released each year.
While pondering these matters, Eric saw Allen walk into the cafe.
For a while, Eric had entertained the idea of finding a new assistant, preferably a stunning beauty who was also capable. Unfortunately, that matter never materialized. He had considered Jennifer Connelly, who had just graduated from Stanford, but after a month of interning in his assistant's office, she quit due to the overwhelming workload. Connelly was more suited for a comfortable lifestyle. Nowadays, she only accepted a couple of film roles here and there to maintain her visibility, while spending most of her time enjoying life, flying around fashion capitals, attending fashion events, and even whimsically launching her own clothing line. Although she spent a considerable amount, it bore little success. Eric wasn't particularly concerned, as he had plenty of money, and as long as she played her part, she could do as she liked.
Allen approached him and said, "Mr. Lynn just called. Based on the current box office trend, Jurassic Park is about to surpass $300 million in North America next week. He asked if the company should prepare a celebration party?"
Since its release on June 4th, Jurassic Park had grossed $280 million, even though weekly ticket sales had dropped to around $30 million. The release of Deep Impact next week could lead to significant box office drops for the dinosaur blockbuster. Still, surpassing $300 million next week was a foregone conclusion.
Eric glanced at his watch; it was already 3:30 PM. With Deep Impact set to premiere in North America tomorrow, he also had to attend its Los Angeles premiere tonight and fly to Europe for Jurassic Park's Berlin premiere tomorrow. Additionally, he might need to travel to Asia later in July, as he would also need to make an appearance at the film's premiere in Japan, Asia's largest movie market. July would see him living the life of a traveler.
"Let's hold off on that for now. Most of the film's main creators are currently in Europe promoting the film. Having a celebration without them wouldn't have much significance. We'll discuss it again when the global box office surpasses $1 billion."
"According to the global release schedule, crossing the $1 billion mark might not happen until after October, possibly even November at the latest."
"Then we'll wait until after October. I'm not too concerned about a few months," Eric replied. "A celebration for surpassing $1 billion in worldwide box office would hold greater significance for Firefly. Let's leave that for later. Is there anything else?"
Allen shook his head. "Nothing else. The premiere for Deep Impact starts at 7 PM, so you can stay here until 5:30."
Eric smiled, finished his coffee, and stood up. "The three leads for Charlie's Angels have been training in Santa Monica, right? I haven't met the other two yet. Since I have two hours to spare, I think I'll go check on them."
"I'll arrange for a car," Allen nodded and walked out.
...
The three actresses had been training for over two months, and even Kate Beckinsale, who initially struggled with basic moves like the splits, could now execute a full routine convincingly.
Firefly hired a well-known martial arts instructor from across the ocean, but the head of the renowned Yuan Clan wouldn't be personally training the girls. Instead, Yuen Cheung-yan, who played the subservient old man selling the Buddha's Palm in Kung Fu Hustle, came to train the three girls for three months. He had some reservations about training new recruits; he believed that three months wouldn't be enough to develop skills, and that those wanting to play action roles should have started training from a young age. However, due to the lucrative offer from Firefly and the decline of the Hong Kong film industry, Yuan Clan members like him were left with limited opportunities. This invitation from a Hollywood powerhouse was too good to pass up.
As the training neared its final stages, practical combat training began.
In the spacious training room, the three girls were sparring with a few of Yuan's disciples, occasionally letting out grunts and laughs. The martial artists, of course, weren't genuinely attacking the girls but carefully feeding them techniques. Standing with his arms crossed, Yuan offered guidance from the sidelines every now and then.
Suddenly, the door to the training room swung open, and a young man of Chinese descent approached Yuan to whisper something in his ear. Yuan immediately waved his hand, calling for the sparring to stop. "Alright, that's enough for now. Let's take a break."
Once he handled that matter, Yuan followed the young man out of the training room.
...
In the adjacent break room, Yuan pushed the door open and found Eric just getting up from the couch. He quickly approached and shook hands with Eric, speaking in somewhat halting English. "Hello, Mr. Williams."
"Hello, Mr. Yuan," Eric replied as they shook hands. "I thought I'd come to check on how Kate and the others were doing in their training since I had a bit of time."
Yuan understood the basic English and communicated easily with the help of the young man, who was the translator provided by Firefly.
"Mr. Williams, besides Miss Beckinsale, the other two girls have great potential. All three are progressing quickly. They'd be ready for filming without any issues, even if we started immediately."
Eric nodded with satisfaction. "That's great to hear. Once we start filming Charlie's Angels, I hope you can continue as the action director."
Yuan promptly replied, "Of course, I will do my best."
"By the way, Mr. Yuan, Mr. Woo is also in Los Angeles filming another movie. Have you met him?"
"I have. I've even had a few meals with him," Yuan said, a hint of envy in his tone.
After the success of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, John Woo had quickly risen to become a top-tier Hollywood director. At that time, he was filming another movie given to him by Eric, Broken Arrow, which Eric had discussed with Peter Guber last time. In the original timeline, Broken Arrow didn't perform as well as Face/Off, but Eric made sure to keep the better project for himself. Once Woo finished Broken Arrow, it wouldn't be too late for Firefly to invest in Face/Off.
After chatting for a while in the break room, Eric decided to check on the three girls in the training room.
Having heard of Eric's deeds, Yuan noted that today's training was nearly over. "Mr. Williams, since the training is winding down, I won't hold you up. You can take the three of them and leave."
Eric paused for a moment, then smiled. "Alright then, you should go rest."
After saying their goodbyes, Yuan called over his disciples, and they all left the training center.
Once Eric saw Yuan and the others off, he moved toward the training room.
...
Penelope picked up drinks from the assistant assigned to the three of them, taking a few big gulps. "Just two more weeks, only two more weeks, and then we'll be free!"
Charlize, wiping sweat from her brow with a towel, replied, "Not so fast. Who knows? Filming could be even more exhausting."
"True, but it won't be as tedious as this," Penelope handed the drink back to her assistant and took the towel.
Meanwhile, Kate dug her clothes from the rack, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and made her way to the southern terrace of the training room.
Thanks to the sweltering weather, the training room felt stuffy. Seeing Kate Beckinsale step outside, the other two girls followed her to join her on the terrace for some fresh air.
There were no chairs in the training room, so the three girls pulled a foam mat outside, sitting down on it.
"Want one?" Kate lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag before asking the two girls beside her.
Charlize glanced back at the training room, noticing only their bespectacled assistant cleaning up. Seeing that the coast was clear, she reached over to take a cigarette from Kate. Penelope, noticing both girls lighting up, didn't want to be left out either and took a cigarette as well.
When Eric walked in, he found the empty training room with only a bespectacled girl lingering inside. Upon seeing him, her face immediately tightened with anxiety, which puzzled Eric.
Though a bit confused, he asked, "Where are they?"
The girl hesitated for a moment before pointing towards the terrace exit, silently hoping that the three girls had finished their smoke by now.
Eric rubbed his cheek in bemusement at the girl's reaction but walked towards the terrace anyway. Upon reaching the entrance, he immediately saw the three girls lounging on the not-so-wide terrace, seated on a green foam mat, each with a cigarette in hand, gracefully exhaling smoke.
Chuckling to himself, Eric understood the girl's earlier response. While he personally disapproved of girls smoking, he didn't outright despise it. However, witnessing these three stunning beauties in their fitted training outfits enjoying their cigarettes struck him differently.
With those thoughts in mind, Eric took a couple of steps forward, squatting next to Kate on the left, grabbing a cigarette from the pack beside her. He waved it in front of the three girls, who had stared at him in surprise. "Can I have one too?"
It was only when Eric ignited his cigarette that the initially frozen trio jumped up like startled kittens, hurriedly discarding their cigarettes with embarrassed looks, exclaiming, "Mr. Williams, you... Hello."
Eric nodded, looking at the three girls who resembled schoolchildren awaiting reprimand, chuckling, "Since I had some free time, I thought I'd see how your training was going. Had I known I'd stumble upon this scene, I would've brought my camera. Once you all become famous, I could make a pretty penny selling this photo to the tabloids."
*****
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