[Chapter 880: Nothing to Say]
On June 16, with the workweek just beginning, The Wall Street Journal reported unusual activity in the Southeast Asian foreign exchange market. Major financial centers in Asia, such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore, saw the exchange rates of currencies like the Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah experience notable fluctuations. Those in the know felt an undeniable sense of urgency as if a dark cloud loomed over them.
In recent months, international currency speculators had covertly been acquiring currencies from various Southeast Asian countries, leading to a brief surge in the value of currencies in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. For instance, the highest exchange rate for the baht against the dollar had reached 22:1, marking an appreciation of nearly 12%.
After two days of buildup, on Wednesday, international currency investors led by George Soros's Quantum Fund and Tiger Fund suddenly pounced on the Southeast Asian currency system. From the moment the major exchanges opened for trading that day, a flood of sell orders for the Thai baht started appearing, catching the Thai government completely off guard, unable to mount an effective defense in time.
The subsequent three days of relentless selling sent the temporarily inflated baht crashing back down, even falling below the average exchange rate of 25:1 over the past few years. By the close of trading on Friday, the exchange rate plummeted to 26.3:1, marking an astonishing decline of 19.5% in just three days.
In 1997, Thailand's total currency issuance was approximately 9.2 trillion baht. Based on the recent average exchange rate of 25:1, this amounted to around $370 billion. Yet, in a mere three days, as the rate dropped to 26.3:1, Thailand's total currency value fell to $350 billion, wiping out $20 billion in wealth. Many were aware this was merely the beginning.
...
While the Southeast Asian currency market was engulfed in turmoil, the competition for summer box office dollars in North America was equally fierce. After a record-breaking $70.25 million over its opening weekend, Finding Nemo continued to perform strongly during the workweek, generating $6 to $7 million daily.
Ultimately, Finding Nemo's first-week box office totaled $97.45 million, surpassing the $31.29 million of its closest competitor, Contact, by over $66 million, and almost matching the combined performances of its rival, The Lion King II, which had struggled.
The second-ranked Contact underperformed, with its opening week earning just $31.29 million. Following that, The Lion King II stumbled as well, suffering a 36% drop by its third week, earning only $27.09 million for a total of $125 million.
Of undeniable note was the abysmal performance of Godzilla, with reviews turning overwhelmingly negative and the formidable competition from Finding Nemo leading to a staggering drop of nearly 68% in its second week, grossing a meager $23.57 million. Its total box office after two weeks summed up to a disappointing $97.23 million, even less than Finding Nemo's opening week.
Godzilla's dreadful box office performance not only turned Sony's hope for a billion-dollar worldwide hit into a joke but also silenced media commentary on what would soon become a forgettable film. While Firefly's Con Air held the fifth position, its solid third-week drop of merely 34% saw it rake in $15.28 million, totaling $72.65 million. Although it remained uncertain whether the film would break the $100 million mark, its performance was still commendable compared to the other recent live-action releases.
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With the box office numbers finally in, on June 20, Friday, Warner Bros. released Batman & Robin in over 2,900 theaters across North America. The quality of the film failed to meet the low expectations set by many media outlets and critics, with one review seemingly capturing the sentiment of critics, "The characters played by George Clooney, Uma Thurman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger look almost the part of comic book icons, but I genuinely cannot comment on the plot, dialogue, or performances."
As a superhero franchise that had enjoyed decades of success in North America, Batman boasted a significant fan base. However, with the series frequently changing directors and its films increasingly becoming subpar, the patience of Batman fans seemed to have worn thin. Although it opened strongly with a $16.11 million debut day, on its second day, Batman & Robin was promptly knocked off the top spot by Finding Nemo.
In fact, Batman & Robin set the record for the first summer release to decline in box office on its opening Saturday. Typically, most films see Saturday earnings exceeding those from Friday, even a few weeks prior when Godzilla similarly faced negative reviews, it still managed to earn about $2 million more on Saturday than Friday. Yet, following its opening day of $16.11 million, Batman & Robin slipped down to $15.09 million the next day.
After experiencing being momentarily surpassed by Batman & Robin with a $14.3 million Friday, Finding Nemo rebounded on Saturday, pulling in $17.5 million. The industry anticipated that Finding Nemo would continue to earn over $60 million in the following week, outperforming many major releases in their opening weekends.
In comparison, Batman & Robin's projected opening week earnings were just $55 million. Given the film's $125 million production budget, Warner Bros. needed to recoup at least $80 million in the first week alone to break even, but this prospect now seemed increasingly bleak.
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The failure of Batman & Robin led many to lose faith in summer blockbuster films, with MGM's upcoming release of Casino Royale feeling the brunt of the skepticism. Some tabloids even eagerly awaited Eric's first commercial flop as a director with a sense of schadenfreude.
However, Eric was too busy to pay attention to the media's reactions. The formal outset of the Southeast Asian economic crisis did not just affect Firefly Group's entertainment interests in the region. The entire Firefly system, along with Nokia, Qualcomm, and LTD, had substantial business operations in Southeast Asia. With Nokia and LTD's main manufacturing plants located in Thailand and the Philippines, and companies like Yahoo and Cisco investing heavily in the region, a complete collapse of Southeast Asian currencies would severely impact their operations.
Eric had always preferred to delegate responsibilities, and usually, Chris would help him manage obligations. But this time, Chris was in Tokyo overseeing things, leaving many tasks on Eric's plate. Drawing from his extensive knowledge of the Southeast Asian crisis, Eric was eager to intervene and use his past experiences to strategize improvements for the companies involved.
After a week of juggling documents and conference calls, Eric returned to Los Angeles from Qualcomm headquarters in San Diego on Saturday afternoon, finally finding a moment of respite and shifting his focus back to Hollywood.
...
In the past month and a half, Kris Jenner's emotions had seen quite a roller coaster. At the beginning of the month, her daughter, who had gone to Los Angeles for summer, suddenly called their New York home, claiming she had received the opportunity to produce a reality show through Eric Williams. Kris's initial reaction was disbelief, thinking her daughter was joking about associating their family with someone as prominent as Eric Williams.
After several detailed descriptions from her daughter about the day's events and providing Eric's contact number, Kris hesitantly called it. Though the confirmation came readily from Eric's assistant's office, Kris was dumbfounded for over thirty minutes, before joyfully realizing the gravity of the situation.
Kris had always dreamed of Hollywood's celebrity culture, and marrying Robert Kardashian first drew her in due to his music label, extensive reach in the entertainment and sports industries, and the connections he had. However, after Robert sold his record label to dive into juice business, Kris quickly separated from him and married television sports personality, Bruce Jenner, a month later.
Bruce had been a celebrated sports figure in the 70s, yet since retiring, his influence had greatly diminished, and he could only sporadically appear on TV shows or commentate on sports channels, thereby barely skimming the edge of the entertainment realm.
As a fan of Lifetime Television, Kris recognized that this sudden opportunity to become a reality show producer could propel her to newfound heights -- a realization solidified by witnessing the success of the producers and hosts of America's Next Top Model and Project Runway.
Without a moment to lose, the same day she confirmed the opportunity, Kris rushed her husband and children to Los Angeles, staying with her ex-husband, Robert Kardashian. After clarifying the details with her daughter, Kris bought an array of reality show tapes and reference books, studying them while drafting her proposal, consciously ignoring her daughter's hints about involving Bruce in the process.
A week later, Kris went to the Firefly Group's headquarters in Burbank to submit her completed proposal to one of Eric's assistants. Then began a long and torturous wait. To avoid any backlash from Eric's assistant, Kris only dared to call every three days to inquire about progress.
Initially hopeful that her daughter's connections within Drew Barrymore's circle could provide intel, she soon learned that her daughter's companion, a Hilton family girl, accidentally offended someone and both were subsequently expelled from their small circle.
As for her husband and ex, the two men who barely skimmed the surface of the Los Angeles elite realized how distant they truly were from Hollywood's core circles -- both possessed social circles that failed to reach any influential individuals. Despite their home in the prominent Malibu area, Kris lacked the courage to take the initiative and approach them, leading to more agonizing waiting until the second weekend, when she heard from Firefly that Eric might be available to meet. Before she could feel hope, that meeting was abruptly canceled, leading to another week of silence.
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