[Chapter 909: Absolutely No Problem]
"Eric, it's been a while since we last met. You've been making quite a splash lately; I've been hearing your name every day here in San Francisco," Larry Ellison said as he warmly embraced Eric upon entering the restaurant they had agreed to meet at on Venice Beach.
Eric released the scruffy-faced Larry Ellison and replied with a smirk, "You're doing pretty well yourself. I heard you've recently raised a big pile of cash. What's your plan?"
"Hey, Eric," Larry said, guiding him to a table. He eagerly defended himself, "You must have heard some wild rumors. Look, you called me, and I immediately rushed over from San Francisco."
"If I hadn't called, you would have probably planned to meet me after buying Apple, wouldn't you?" Eric teased, glancing at the menu that the waiter had handed him.
"That's a misunderstanding, definitely a misunderstanding," Larry quickly denied. "I've been managing the company while flying back and forth across the coasts, so I have been a bit preoccupied with things on your end."
As Eric ordered his dinner and closed the menu, he looked up and smiled, "If you were really too busy, that would be understandable. I heard Oracle is facing intense competition from Informix lately. Did they take down that billboard they set up outside Oracle's building?"
In Eric's memory, Oracle had mainly held a dominant position in the industry.
But now, Oracle hadn't quite reached the market dominance that Microsoft had in desktop operating systems. In North America alone, two companies, Informix and Sybase, were their competitors of a comparable scale. Sybase was involved in server operations aside from database software, while Informix, just like Oracle, concentrated fully on the database software market, hence their fierce rivalry. Informix had even bought a billboard outside Oracle's headquarters with the advertisement saying, "Dinosaurs used to roam here." Eric didn't know the reference, but he figured it definitely wasn't a compliment.
Now, seeing the funds he had raised were enough to buy Apple, Larry indeed started entertaining the idea of leaving Firefly behind and pursuing Apple independently.
Apart from being encouraged by his friend Steve Jobs, he understood that if Firefly were involved, even if they only held 10% of the shares, they would still have a significant say in the acquisition, potentially undermining him as the initiator of the purchase. If he could shake off Firefly, the control of Apple would entirely rest with him and Jobs after the acquisition.
However, as soon as Eric spoke, Larry felt a little uneasy.
He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to think Eric was simply teasing him about the Informix billboard.
Firefly's portfolio, including companies like Yahoo, America Online, and the recently risen Amazon, meant any software database company would scramble for their business. Moreover, Yahoo was also controlling a Yahoo Technology Alliance, which had started to become a rule-maker on the internet, amplifying its influence.
Eric's mention of Informix could not have been more of a warning. Oracle was then at a critical moment in its competition with Informix. Should every internet company under the Firefly umbrella lean towards Informix, the current standoff between the two database companies would be completely thrown off balance.
Database software companies and operating system companies shared some traits; if one started pulling away, influenced by the Matthew Effect, the lead would only grow more pronounced, as evidenced by Apple's current predicament.
Larry was known for his arrogance, and that was common knowledge in all of Silicon Valley. But he was certainly not the type to showcase his superiority in front of just anyone; otherwise, Oracle would not have reached its current scale.
At that moment, in front of Eric, he felt he had lost all of his arrogant leverage, even feeling a sense of helplessness, as though his fate rested in the other man's hands. Rubbing his forehead, Larry took a serious tone, "Eric, fine. I admit, I did not handle this properly. But negotiations for the acquisition are just starting, and I assure you that from now on, I won't hide anything from Firefly regarding this. If you're worried, you can send someone to join the negotiating team."
Hearing Larry back down, Eric shrugged and said, "Larry, I've told you before, I'm not really interested in acquiring Apple. I just think Jobs is a fascinating guy, which is why I got involved in this. Once the acquisition is complete, I won't dabble in Apple's management; consider it just a standard stock investment. But if you dare to play games with me, I won't hesitate to smash that rotten apple into your Oracle."
"Eric, rest assured, such things will never happen again," Larry replied, feeling a little off about Eric's final statement but not pointing it out. He realized that Eric had no intention of holding on to the matter, so he nodded along.
Eric gave him a glance and suddenly realized that being friends with Jobs, both had certain similarities: they were both quite the characters.
An idea sparked in his mind, Eric said, "Larry, you don't actually think this matter is concluded, do you?"
"Uh, Eric, what do you want to do?" Larry asked warily, having originally relaxed.
Not wanting to waste words on him, Eric straightforwardly asked, "So, you know Firefly is currently preparing Iron Man, right?"
Larry paused, quickly understanding what was being implied and excitedly replied, "Eric, you want me to play Tony Stark? Absolutely, I think I would fit just fine! Let's negotiate the salary."
Eric glared around but found no one suitable to bash on Larry's scruffy face, so he retorted, "Not Tony Stark, but would you be interested in playing Tony Stark's driver instead?"
"Come on, Eric! Even a villain would be better; being a driver is so humiliating," Larry suddenly seemed to get into a frenzy, earnestly starting to haggle.
"All right, you're the driver. I'll have someone notify you of the filming schedule," Eric declared, tapping on the table, making it official.
Larry initially thought Eric would bring something shocking but was relieved to hear it was just a cameo in a film. He nodded in agreement and even threw in a few jokes for good measure.
However, Eric clearly wasn't finished, continuing, "But I was not just talking about a cameo. Iron Man is a sci-fi movie, very suitable for tech company product placements, so let's have Oracle involved as well, with a placement fee of $5 million."
Larry immediately frowned. Oracle's annual advertising and marketing budget was still under $100 million; $5 million for a film would be quite hefty: "Eric, this is practically extortion! Can we lower that? How about $500,000?"
"Yahoo plans to build a major data center on both coasts and in Europe next year, and maybe I can consider allocating the database software orders for those projects to Informix."
"$3 million, Eric! You have to know that any decision I, as CEO, make needs board approval, and $3 million is my utmost limit," Larry replied, trying to negotiate firmly.
"Amazon is going public soon, and they'll definitely need to expand their infrastructure. As an e-commerce company, database software..."
Larry slapped the table, interrupting Eric's half-completed sentence, straightforwardly interjected, "$5 million, deal."
"Oh, and you can count the cameo as a dollar for being Tony Stark's driver. Hollywood doesn't allow free work, though you'll need to sign for three films first."
Larry frowned but nodded, "Fine!"
Satisfied, Eric nodded and added, "And this dinner is on you."
He didn't hesitate to extract that from Larry as a sort of punishment for his earlier mischievous plans.
...
After dinner, originally intending to head back to his property, Eric received a call from Drew saying several roles in The Fast and the Furious had been secured, so he had the driver take him to Beverly Hills.
Arriving at the luxurious home of the girl, he found Gwyneth Paltrow there as well.
Drew intertwined her arm with Eric's and sat on the sofa, saying, "Eric, Kate is very interested in the role of Mia, Dominic's sister. What do you think?"
In the original, the role of the male lead's sister in The Fast and the Furious was played by Jordana Brewster. Eric remembered this Latina's youthful beauty was nothing short of perfect; he just didn't know why, but her "shelf life" seemed to run short, as after turning 20, she didn't quite hold up in looks.
That thought flickered in his mind as he looked at Gwyneth Paltrow. Given how Hollywood history had shifted, even though Shakespeare in Love hadn't yet been produced, it wouldn't be a walk in the park for Gwyneth Paltrow to grab another starring role. Yet, being a Hollywood second-generation star, she had her reasons for expressing interest in a seemingly subordinate role like Mia.
"Gwyneth, I assume you've read the script for Mia? That character is just eye candy, with no real depth; it's merely for gaining familiarity with the audience."
Gwyneth eyed Drew by Eric's side with envy, only to express wistfully, "I wish there were roles better suited for me; unfortunately, I've been struggling to find one."
Having said that, she glanced hopefully at Eric, knowing that for the past couple of years she had been in three or four films annually, giving her enough visibility to make those nameless newcomers to Hollywood envious. Still, her family's connections wouldn't help her snag heavyweight blockbuster roles, and the films she had participated in hadn't made much noise.
Last year, she finally collaborated with Miramax on the adaptation of the novel Emma, initially hoping to try her hand at an Oscar strategy, but ended up without even a Golden Globe nomination. Thus, on her agent's advice, she planned to alter her strategy to increase her screen time in major productions to boost her profile as quickly as possible.
Coincidentally, MGM was preparing to launch The Fast and the Furious series, considering it was a project Eric wrote himself; Gwyneth Paltrow had suggested to Drew that she wanted to audition for a role. Previously, though they had always seemed like sisters in public, Gwyneth had not leveraged her connection with Drew in a film before. Living in Hollywood, she knew that leveraging favors could only go so far -- once or twice might work, but more than that would be futile. Even with family ties, it only went so far to help gain lead roles in low-budget independent films; ultimately, advancing her career would come back to the quality of her work.
Eric had dismissed Mia's character as having little depth, and Gwyneth Paltrow surely understood that much.
However, Eric underestimated the stir his personally penned film would cause in Hollywood; after all, it was part of a spy movie universe that was just beginning to stretch -- considering the current influence of spy movie universes in Tinseltown, even a minor role in that series would be enough to attract competition from top-tier actresses.
Seeing Gwyneth's hopeful eyes and her expression as though she would leap forward if he merely spoke, Eric chuckled. Compared to ordinary actors struggling in Hollywood, she already possessed unmatched resources. He wouldn't be swayed by a mere pitiful expression, saying, "It requires opportunity; you're roughly the same age as Drew, no need to rush. Maybe you will meet the right role soon. Well, if you are interested in the role of Mia, you can try it."
Gwyneth looked discouraged. She wanted to correct Eric's slip of the tongue; she was actually several years older than Drew and already 25 this year. But seeing that delicate face of Drew, she knew that kind of remark would not be received well.
Drew, with her characteristic grin, blinked and let it slide, saying, "Oh, Eric, I found those two actors you mentioned, uh, named Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, right? Amy and I checked them out, and Paul Walker seems okay, but that Vin Diesel guy is just a wooden performance."
After Drew spoke, she said something to the twins watching TV in the living room, and Natasha quickly brought a document to Eric.
Seeing Eric flip through the paper, the girl asked, "Do you want to see audition tapes?"
Eric glanced through the data regarding Paul Walker and Vin Diesel; both had been in Hollywood for several years and were certainly not newcomers. To avoid complications in casting, he simply asked Drew to track them down directly: "Let's view those audition tapes tomorrow. But remember, casting actors for films doesn't always boil down to picking the best performances; what matters most is suitability. Otherwise, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep would be the most sought-after stars in Hollywood."
*****
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