[Chapter 685: A Minor Discrepancy]
Eric wondered, "Why?"
Elisabeth replied, "You just said it yourself; Mel Gibson's acting skills barely earned him a nomination for a Golden Globe. Since the nomination was announced, there has been ongoing media controversy about it. Mel Gibson wanted to focus on winning Best Director and didn't want a Best Actor nomination to tarnish his reputation. However, to raise interest in Braveheart, Harvey insisted on submitting him for Best Actor."
Eric quickly grasped the situation. With a film as outstanding as Braveheart, its reputation was already established. Thus, further media promotion wouldn't significantly influence its box office. At that point, stirring up some controversy could actually help its performance at the box office. Mel Gibson's Golden Globe nomination was undoubtedly a so-called 'controversial topic' chosen by Weinstein. Many moviegoers who weren't particularly interested in Braveheart would pay to see it, driven by curiosity after hearing the debates in the media. In addition, Miramax had already determined not to promote Mel Gibson for the Best Director award, meaning any created controversy wouldn't impact their established public relations strategy.
In the original timeline, while the Weinstein brothers were often called Oscar geniuses, it would be more accurate to refer to them as Oscar merchants. The ultimate goal for the brothers in handling the Oscars was profit; as long as they could secure a greater profit, they could campaign for films that weren't necessarily outstanding, or, as the situation stands now, sabotage nominations that otherwise stood a chance of winning.
Eric recognized that the Golden Globe was just an appetizer and asked, "So, did you also submit Mel Gibson for the Oscar for Best Actor?"
Elisabeth nodded and, a bit helplessly, said, "From the start, Mel Gibson didn't like Harvey. During the filming of Braveheart, he frequently complained about Harvey being too intrusive. Joe Ross and I had to step in often to mediate. When Harvey submitted him for Best Actor for Braveheart, he publicly berated Harvey, calling him a greedy Jew, which made Harvey furious. Since we are both Australians, we thought there would be more collaborations in the future. We've been trying to maintain a good relationship with Gibson; even the contract for Braveheart was signed with my dad stepping in personally. But after this, collaborating again will be very difficult. Miramax's performance this year exceeded our expectations of when we acquired it -- between Gibson and the Weinstein brothers, we had no choice but to choose the latter."
"If we don't collaborate, we don't collaborate. The studio's excessive adoration and indulgence of big-name actors often backfires."
"You say that easily. Everyone does it. If we don't follow suit, we won't land good projects either. Fox isn't a fledgling company. You're like a chef running a restaurant; even if you can't attract a top chef, you can still whip up dishes that are better than a high-end chef's, but we can't do that."
Eric chuckled, "That analogy really fits."
"You seem pretty relaxed these days. Why don't you come work with us at Fox and whip up a few 'dishes'?"
"Forget it. I can't even be bothered to step into my own kitchen right now."
"After Jurassic Park, I haven't heard anything about your next movie. Are you considering retirement?"
"Of course not! Didn't I just film the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show? It just didn't hit the big screen; it went straight to video release, and I heard it sold pretty well. Have you seen it?"
Elisabeth nodded with a smile, "It's likely to sell around 20 million copies in North America. If it were a movie, it would probably land at the top of this year's video sales charts. The songs are fantastic, and those models, wow -- how many did you sleep with?"
Eric wore a satisfied look, reminiscing as he said, "Of course, I didn't hold back. I switched it up every night, sometimes even had a few threesomes. You know me, a guy like me..."
Before Eric could finish, Elisabeth tossed a chocolate from the snack plate on the table at him.
He laughed and dodged, watching the chocolate hit the railing and scatter at the edge of the patio, looking utterly pained. "Throwing food around is such a lack of public spirit."
Elisabeth raised her chin, "Go on, bite me."
As they teased each other, they suddenly heard a few faint chattering sounds, and they turned to see a fluffy little squirrel peeking around the patio. It cautiously jumped up and grabbed a piece of chocolate, sniffed it, and immediately started eating. When it noticed Eric and Elisabeth watching, the little critter didn't bolt but quickened its eating pace, its cheeks soon puffed out.
Beverly Hills was a residential area known for its ecological protection, with a variety of birds and small animals. The outdoor restaurant, built on a gentle slope, was surrounded by dense shrubs, making sightings of these foraging creatures quite common.
Nearby, a waiter noticed Eric and Elisabeth's attention on the squirrel and worried it might disturb the two celebrities. He approached to chase the squirrel away, but Eric waved him off.
"What are you thinking?" Elisabeth asked, her gaze having shifted back to him.
"Nothing much; I just named the little guy. What do you think of the name Scrat?"
Elisabeth's eyes sparkled as she looked between the squirrel and Eric, saying, "That little guy was brought here by me."
Eric laughed and tossed another chocolate at the startled creature. It flinched but quickly grabbed the chocolate larger than its head and made off. He turned back to Elisabeth: "Since you brought it here, let's brainstorm -- make up a little story for me."
Elisabeth watched the spot where the squirrel had vanished, deep in thought. "Squirrel, chocolate... Hmm, looking for food, preparing for winter, and there's got to be a human involved..."
Eric smiled at Elisabeth as she wracked her brain. Unbeknownst to him, a story idea resembling one similar to The Nut Job was forming, but it was far from the quality of Ice Age.
After about ten minutes, Elisabeth crafted a short story with some satisfaction. She was about to ask Eric what kind of idea he had when an unexpected guest appeared and spoiled the moment.
...
Howard Stringer, who had just taken over the American operations of Sony amid the chaos of Columbia, appeared somewhat fatigued but still exuding the demeanor of a refined scholar. He approached Eric and Elisabeth, shook their hands, and smiled. "Eric, sorry to intrude, but may I sit down?"
"Of course, have a seat," Eric nodded. Since Stringer came to them, Eric didn't want to come across as inhospitable. He signaled the waiter to bring Stringer a cup of coffee before asking, "Howard, what brought you here?"
Eric got straight to the point, and Howard didn't delay either. "Well, Eric, Columbia received a notification from Flower Films this morning expressing their desire to terminate the distribution contracts for Night at the Museum and Forrest Gump. I don't think that's necessary, do you?"
Rather than push the matter off to Drew and Amy, Eric responded directly, "Columbia believes the original distribution agreement is unfair. Let's part ways amicably; I don't see anything wrong with that."
Howard Stringer remained calm, saying, "Eric, these are just minor disagreements. There's no need to cancel our cooperation. After all, the collaboration between Columbia and Flower Films on Mission: Impossible was quite enjoyable."
"Howard, it was Columbia that raised the issue first. Flower Films doesn't have the same risk-bearing capacity as Columbia. After you objected to the contract, Flower Films already began preparing a retreat. If they came back to Columbia now, it would lose trust with its new partner. We can't let that happen."
Howard Stringer knew Eric was being nonsensical. If Flower Films had found new collaborators, such as Fox or MGM, those companies would have leaked the news to the media ages ago.
Taking a sip of coffee, Howard Stringer suddenly shifted the topic. "Eric, I just received news that JIVE Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music, has received a buyout offer from Firefly. This should be true, right?"
*****
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