[Chapter 601: How Could There Be So Many?]
After some introductions, the invited guests, in addition to friends and family, included several familiar neighbors from when the women lived in Long Island.
The children's birthday party was scheduled to begin at five o'clock in the afternoon. They had not hired a dedicated party company; instead, it was set up as a buffet. After some brief small talk, Joanna took the women to prepare dinner.
As one of New York's most prestigious affluent areas, East Hampton and Southampton attracted many wealthy individuals, politicians, and various celebrities. Although there were some middle-class residents, those who could afford to purchase similarly sized properties near the estate Eric had chosen were certainly not ordinary people. Once the women left, Eric exchanged business cards with a group of other men, and seeing titles like president of a certain company or director of a particular foundation didn't come as a surprise.
Since many attendees were meeting Eric for the first time, they briefly congratulated him on the acquisition of ABC, and then the conversation quickly shifted to topics that men were typically interested in, like the economy and politics. They shamelessly teased the president, criticized tax policies, or discussed industry forecasts.
In fact, most of the time, social networks were established this way -- people drank and chatted together, becoming familiar faces, so that when the need arose, they could reach out to each other. Although everyone present was older than Eric, he comfortably navigated the conversation due to his past experiences and often led topics, gradually making everyone forget that he was still under twenty-five.
As everyone's attention focused on Eric, the conversation unknowingly shifted to films.
Hearing the recent concerns from a senior manager at Merrill Lynch named Pierre Clark about the increasing scale of film investments in recent years, Eric said, "From the golden age of Hollywood with Gone with the Wind to movies like Ben-Hur and Cleopatra that emerged in the '50s and '60s, and the early '80s Heaven's Gate, Hollywood has never stopped producing so-called 'blockbuster' movies. Among them, there are many big-budget films that drove studios into trouble, like Cleopatra and Heaven's Gate.
If, prior to the '90s, the tendency for studios to lean towards blockbuster productions was worrying, the entertainment industry today is completely different than it was a decade ago. Globalization has become an inevitable trend, and the proportion of overseas revenue for Hollywood films is rising sharply. This means that if studios want to maintain their advantageous positions in this transformation, they must focus on producing films that are less constrained by regional cultures.
Science fiction and large-scale action films are among the most reliable genres. I can assure you, in the next decade, blockbuster films with a production and distribution cost of around $100 million will be the mainstream for several major Hollywood studios. Additionally, the vast overseas market and an increasing number of revenue channels will ensure these films achieve substantial profits."
While everyone pondered this, another short and slender middle-aged man asked, "Eric, why not comedies or horror films? These genres also have minimal cultural limitations. I've seen your productions like Home Alone, Pretty Woman, and The Others. They all had great quality and were cost-effective, boasting returns of ten times or more."
Eric recalled that this middle-aged man was named Kenneth Norton, and his business card indicated he was the president of a company whose type he didn't recognize. He shook his head with a smile and replied, "Mr. Norton, you only noticed the success of films like Home Alone, but you didn't see that every year in Hollywood, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of comedies or horror films that lucky enough to reach theaters and ultimately fail dismally, not even covering their production costs, let alone getting sold to global markets.
Blockbuster films are different. At least until the global market is saturated with this genre's demand, these films, with their big stars and grand spectacles, can remain very popular with audiences overseas, even if they fail domestically.
Take last year's Cliffhanger as an example. Because of the impact from Jurassic Park, this film, which cost $70 million to produce, barely broke even at the North American box office. MGM and Carolco fell into significant losses because of that, but during the subsequent overseas distribution process, Cliffhanger raked in $170 million. Although due to a low overseas revenue sharing ratio, investors still bore losses, it is still far better than those mid- to low-budget films that never even got a shot at overseas distribution. Cliffhanger was quite lucky."
Kenneth Norton couldn't help but nod, then turned to Eric with a seemingly casual smile, saying, "I didn't expect you to have such in-depth knowledge of the film industry, Eric. If Firefly goes public in the future, I will surely buy shares without hesitation."
"Well, you might be disappointed, Mr. Norton," Eric smiled slightly and shook his head. "Firefly doesn't have any plans for an IPO just yet. Oh, I shouldn't say that. I plan to spin off the digital visual effects company for a separate IPO in the next two years, along with the visual effects software company Firefly Software. Both of these companies are burning too much cash; I must publicly raise some working funds."
Except for Jeffrey and Chris, who were already aware of the insider information, and Michael Madsen, who had no clue about these matters, the others showed significant changes in their expressions upon hearing Eric's comments.
They certainly didn't believe that Eric would choose to go public solely because the two companies were cash-burning, as the Firefly system's formidable profitability could undoubtedly provide ample funding for both companies. While they didn't know Eric's specific intentions, they could sense that once these two companies went public, as part of the Firefly system, they would undoubtedly attract strong interest from the capital markets.
Pierre Clark from Merrill Lynch set aside his reservations and couldn't help but probe, "Eric, do you have a specific timeline?"
"Not yet," Eric shook his head. "I haven't had the bandwidth for those matters recently, but the latest we'll kick off the IPO plans won't be later than the end of next year."
With the commercialization of Firefly Software, the number of visual effects companies across North America and the world was growing. Eric needed to cash out Digital Domain and Firefly Software before the visual effects industry devolved from a 'noble' status to a 'common' one. According to the U.S. company IPO process and major shareholder lock-up period restrictions, he could start the IPO process next year. By 1997, when the internet bubble began to swell and the NASDAQ index surged, Eric would be perfectly positioned to gradually cash out over the next few years. After the bubble burst in 2000, he could buy back the stakes in Digital Domain and Firefly Software at bargain prices.
Sharing his plans in front of these individuals served as a form of preemptive warming-up. While the number of people present wasn't large, Eric believed that it wouldn't be long before this news spread throughout Wall Street.
Merrill Lynch, along with Morgan Stanley, was one of Wall Street's prominent investment banks. Last month, it participated in the bidding for the Firefly bond issuance, but Morgan Stanley ultimately secured the underwriting rights due to its good relationship with Firefly.
Pierre Clark realized that if he could be the bridge that allowed his firm to obtain the issuing rights for either of the two companies, he could at least land a vice president position at Merrill Lynch. However, just as he was about to say something further, he looked around the group and recognized that this setting was inappropriate. Still, knowing Eric would likely remain in New York for a while, he decided that it would be best for him to stay at East Hampton with his family during this time. This way, he could be in closer contact with Eric and perhaps negotiate this matter ahead of time; after all, if Morgan Stanley could offer favorable conditions, Merrill Lynch surely could match it.
...
As the group engaged in casual conversations, time ticked away. A new wave of guests arrived, and as the party time approached, the aroma of barbecue wafted through the estate. Some kids brought by guests were running around the estate.
A small figure grabbed a skewer of chicken wings from Elisabeth. Elisabeth crouched down and whispered a few words, and the little one stumbled her way over to Eric.
"Daddy, Daddy..."
Emma's tiny and clear shouts froze a group of grown men in surprise, and they unconsciously turned to look at the child. They were well aware Eric had two kids already but were puzzled about who this little girl was.
Before Eric could explain, Emma had already darted into Eric's arms, holding the chicken wing with one hand and lifting it high toward Eric, saying, "Daddy, for you, chicken wing."
Eric patted Emma's small head and smiled, "Emma is such a good girl, but Daddy can't eat right now. You can have it."
"Emma not hungry, you eat," Emma insisted, leaning forward to try to hand the chicken wing to Eric, but just then, she accidentally lost her grip, and the oily skewer fell right onto Eric's long pants.
"Oh no, it fell," Emma was completely oblivious to the consequences of the grease stain on Eric's pants. She crouched on the arm of the sofa, wanting to pick it back up.
Worried that the greasy chicken wing would leave more stains on the sofa, Eric quickly retrieved it, stood up, and apologized to everyone, holding Emma's hand as he prepared to leave.
After entrusting Emma to Joanna for supervision, Eric walked towards the villa to change his pants. Seeing Eric's movements, Elisabeth stealthily followed him inside.
...
Eric entered the bedroom, searched the closet for a new pair of pants, then turned to Elisabeth, who was leaning by the door, and said, "You aren't here just to celebrate the little one's birthday, are you?"
Elisabeth watched as Eric changed pants, feeling her face heat up, "I just happened to be in New York, so I came over. I didn't expect to run into Drew. Hmph, if I had known, I wouldn't have come."
"Well, then just don't talk to her," Eric chuckled, trying to suppress his laughter.
Having gone through a private school upbringing, Elisabeth had received proper lady-like education and couldn't even curse. Facing off against Drew felt like watching a rookie stepping out of the starter zone trying to challenge an expert-level player -- it was just asking for trouble. Worst of all, if she got upset, she would take it out on everyone else; it was quite unreasonable.
Elisabeth sensed the teasing in Eric's tone but could only give him an eye roll.
After throwing his stained pants into the bathroom, Eric stepped out and said, "Alright, if there's something to discuss, let's hear it. If not, I'm heading out."
"This is something I've actually been wanting to ask you since the last Oscars," Elisabeth said a bit shyly before continuing, "You once said you wouldn't run a print media business, right?"
"Oh, that matter," Eric immediately understood and smiled as he asked, "Is your dad interested in those few newspapers I have?"
Elisabeth shrugged, "Yeah, I just wanted to inquire. If you don't have any intention to sell, let's forget this conversation."
Eric pulled a chair beside the vanity and sat down, pointing to the large bed nearby. "Actually, during the press conference's cocktail hour this afternoon, I did ask Warren Buffett's Berkshire company if they were interested in taking over those newspapers."
Elisabeth walked over to sit on the edge of the bed and asked, "So, you're really considering selling those newspapers?"
"Overall, I'd say I'm a person of my word," Eric replied with a grin.
Elisabeth was momentarily at a loss for any contradictory examples of Eric's previous remarks, so she didn't instinctively retort. "So, have you reached an agreement with Buffett?"
"No," Eric shook his head, "But if you want my honest opinion, I don't recommend News Corp take on those newspapers."
"Why? Is it still your view that online media will replace traditional media?"
"Sort of. Perhaps you don't know, but the cumulative visitor count for Yahoo's portal has already hit 20 million, and the average daily visitor count exceeds 5 million. Once I wrap up things here, I plan to intensify our investments in Yahoo's news sector," Eric said, then joked, "How about you help me out and recommend a suitable editor-in-chief from News Corp?"
Elisabeth was surprised by the data Eric provided; the total users of News Corp papers in Australia, the UK, and North America didn't add up to 5 million. If Yahoo's daily visitor count really reached 5 million, the scenario Eric painted could indeed come to pass. Still, she found it hard to believe, asking, "How could there be so many?"
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