[Chapter 940: Bringing Out the Big Guns]
In December, most of the Northern Hemisphere had already begun to see snow, while Los Angeles remained warm as spring.
At the Liberty City mansion, it was just past 9 AM. In the circular master bedroom of the shell villa, all the curtains were drawn back, allowing the brilliant morning sun to flood in from all directions.
Elizabeth Perkins lazily lay on the large bed, not minding how the blanket beside her had been pulled completely away by the man next to her. She simply enjoyed the gentle touch of a somewhat rough hand gliding over her smooth back. Reflecting on the events of last night and the moments that had just passed, she felt a mix of embarrassment and pride, delighted that her mature body could attract the younger man beside her.
Eric lay beside her, propped up on one elbow, his expression distant as he stroked her body, questioning whether he truly had a certain inclination.
Suddenly, the ringing of a cellphone broke the tranquility of the bedroom.
Curious, Elizabeth turned her head to look out the window at the blue sky filled with birds, only to see Eric's face contort into a strange expression as he answered the phone. Just as she opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, Eric reached over and placed a hand over her lips.
"Jen... I'm upstairs, just finished working out, getting dressed... Can you help me with breakfast? Mwah."
After hanging up, Eric's expression remained tense, almost anxious.
It had already been years, and the girl's gifted skills showed no signs of waning. It seemed like only a few days had passed since she last pulled off something like this.
Gratefully, Eric realized this mansion was big enough to hide in, but he didn't hesitate to toss his clothes on and get dressed.
Elizabeth watched Eric fumble around and couldn't help but chuckle, especially when she caught the mention of "Jen" from him, her languid and husky voice tinged with a bit of schadenfreude. "Your girlfriend?"
Eric glanced at the still-lazing woman soaking up the sunlight on the bed and nodded. He slipped on a T-shirt, quickly collected Elizabeth's clothes and shoes, tossing them onto the bed before rolling the bedspread up to wrap her in it. He then lifted her up and headed toward the bathroom.
Elizabeth didn't resist Eric's actions, merely grabbing her high heels as she laughed, asking, "Eric, if she finds out, will I get killed?"
"You won't, I will," Eric joked lightheartedly as he pushed the bathroom door open and set her down in the big bathtub. "Sorry, Liz, you'll have to hide in here for a bit. I'll call you when Jen leaves."
Changing her position comfortably in the bathtub, Elizabeth looked at Eric as he was about to leave. "I don't really mind, but don't you know? Women have a sixth sense, you know?"
Eric paused, suddenly realizing the implications. He had been entangled with Elizabeth all night and hadn't showered after a morning of passion; it would be odd if Jennifer couldn't smell another woman on him.
Thinking about it, Eric rummaged through the bathroom, looking for men's cologne but finding none -- he wasn't in the habit of using it. He only remembered that the girl had bought him a bottle once but had no idea where it ended up. Not finding any cologne, Eric decided to strip down again and shower.
Since it was Saturday, Eric allowed himself to indulge. Little did he know, he almost got caught.
...
After showering, he checked for any traces left in the bedroom. He grabbed a laptop from the study and made his way downstairs.
In the kitchen, he gave Jennifer a kiss as she prepared breakfast, relieved she couldn't smell anything suspicious on him. He set the laptop down at the dining table, planning to check his work emails for the day.
The IBM laptop had just achieved wireless Wi-Fi connectivity, courtesy of a wireless router sample sent in by the Firefly Electronics research department last week. However, the laptop itself still lacked a built-in Wi-Fi module, so he had to use an external receiver.
Today was December 13, the week before the Christmas release window, so there weren't any heavyweight new films hitting the theaters. Firefly's Monsters, Inc. and MGM's Night at the Museum 2 still led the box office.
Having been in theaters for three weeks, Monsters, Inc. racked up a total gross of $168 million, a commendable achievement. In contrast, Night at the Museum 2 saw a drop of 58% in its second week, barely breaking $100 million with a total of $112 million.
Seeing the figures for Night at the Museum 2 put Eric on edge regarding the upcoming release of Rush Hour 2. This action-comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker had a production cost of $33 million, yet grossed close to $250 million worldwide.
Even though Eric had instructed New Line to sign the two male leads for the trilogy contract earlier, the success of the first film meant their salaries jumped to $15 million each for the sequel. Therefore, just for their salaries alone, the two leads secured $30 million, and the overall production costs rose significantly, pushing the budget for Rush Hour 2 to $70 million. Despite record-breaking production costs over the past two years, $70 million still represented big-budget filmmaking.
Eric had watched the original Rush Hour trilogy but hadn't paid much attention to their production budgets or box office results. He wasn't sure how much profit the $70 million production budget would yield for Firefly.
Moreover, the film's release window didn't seem too optimistic.
Apart from Jurassic Park 3, which was set to release a week after Rush Hour 2, Sony Pictures was also launching the sci-fi blockbuster Starship Troopers simultaneously. Eric remembered that the film had been criticized for being overly laden with political metaphors.
However, in recent years, special effects films had gained immense popularity. Ordinary audiences clearly wouldn't be much concerned about political aspects. After the summer disaster that was Godzilla, Sony still threw down a marketing budget of $40 million for this $110 million production, making Starship Troopers a major threat to Rush Hour 2.
The packed summer slate included Con Air, Finding Nemo, Casino Royale, Bad Boys II...
The end-of-year lineup boasted Monsters, Inc., Night at the Museum 2, Rush Hour 2, and Jurassic Park 3...
Even merely considering the Firefly system, Eric noted that the North American release schedule was growing increasingly crowded.
He recalled in the future, blockbuster films would be released in May, June, July, August, and even September, effectively stretching the summer season from the traditionally concentrated June and July to five months. Additionally, Easter and early November would gradually see the release of more significant films.
Perhaps the time had come to either extend popular release windows or develop new ones, otherwise, the North American film schedule would only lead to increasing internal strife.
...
As Eric pondered over these matters, he inadvertently clicked open another email in his inbox.
Jennifer had already had breakfast but made an additional two servings intending to eat with Eric.
After bringing the breakfast to the table, she peered curiously at Eric's laptop screen from behind him and emitted a gasp of surprise, hugging his neck as she drew in closer, a look of disbelief on her face.
"What's wrong?" Eric asked, planting a kiss on her cheek as he turned to see the screen himself.
The email turned out to be the global box office statistics for Casino Royale. With the year coming to a close, the global release for Casino Royale was nearly finished. Although there were still a few small markets yet to debut, they wouldn't affect the overall figures significantly, with future increases at most only in the millions.
Jennifer pointed at the eye-catching box office number on the screen, "$1.135 billion? Is this Casino Royale's global box office?"
Eric quickly skimmed through the email: Casino Royale wrapped up with a North American gross of $372 million, while its overseas earnings reached $763 million, making its global total $1.135 billion.
Given the average revenue split of 55% from North America and 35% internationally, MGM stood to rake in $471 million from Casino Royale's box office returns. The film's total production and distribution costs were $160 million, meaning MGM would net a profit of $310 million from just box office receipts. Compared to summer flops like Godzilla or Batman & Robin, Casino Royale's performance was outstanding.
"I didn't expect $1.135 billion," Eric nodded at Jennifer, smiling back. "But it still can't compare to Jim's Titanic."
Jennifer kissed Eric on the cheek, saying, "If you add up the box office of all your films, it would definitely be higher than his."
Hearing Jennifer say that, Eric couldn't help but reflect on the topic.
He wondered how much the cumulative box office of all the films he had been part of since his debut in 1988 had reached. Just adding up the three more recent films -- Twister, Jurassic Park, and Casino Royale -- he presumed that it may roughly match Cameron's total box office. If he included his earlier films like Home Alone or Pretty Woman, easily surpassing Cameron wouldn't be an issue.
After reading the email, Eric temporarily closed the browser, picking up utensils and looking over at Jennifer, who had sat down beside him. "Christmas is next week. Do you want to come with me to New York?"
Although she never brought it up, Jennifer was curiously intrigued by Eric's two kids and thought for a moment before asking, "Um, is Drew going?"
Eric nodded, "She usually does. It's way more fun to celebrate Christmas together. I called Vicky a couple of days ago, and she mentioned it might snow in New York in a few days, which would definitely enhance the Christmas atmosphere."
She seemed visibly tempted but hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "I think I'll pass. Just promise to spend Thanksgiving with me in the future."
"Alright then," Eric replied understandingly, shifting the topic appropriately. "What do you want to do after breakfast?"
"I don't have any plans for the day, but I made plans for a gathering tonight with Matthew and the others. You'll come with me, right?"
Matthew was likely Matthew Perry; though he hadn't acted in Friends, he'd been doing well in the film industry these past few years, albeit not quite as hot as during the Home Alone days.
"Sure, let's go shopping for a few outfits in the daytime," Eric agreed readily to Jennifer's simple request. He ate a few bites of breakfast, suddenly recalling something. "Speaking of Matthew, I happen to have a comedy script that's still looking for a leading man. Maybe he could give it a shot. Hmm, of course, the content might be a bit risque. Not sure if he'd be on board."
Eric's recent work mainly revolved around several new projects within the Firefly system, with Ted being one of them.
The original Mark Wahlberg was just starting his career and wasn't quite right for the role. The casting department had been offering roles that didn't particularly attract him. Now that he thought about it, Matthew Perry, with his somewhat aging yet comedic presence, would fit perfectly. In contrast, Wahlberg would struggle to meet that comedic edge.
Jennifer looked genuinely happy as she raised her head. She regarded Matthew Perry as a good buddy. These past few years, his career hadn't been smooth sailing, and she had originally been hoping Eric could help him out, saying, "Eric, really?"
"Of course, but I did mention earlier that this film's content might be a bit much."
"Is it explicit?"
Eric shook his head. "No, it's just... um, there's plenty of raunchy dialogue. It's the kind of movie loaded with gross humor... I have the script right here if you want to take a look."
As Eric spoke, he pulled up the Ted script document from the laptop, opened it, and placed it in front of Jennifer.
While Jennifer was eating her cereal, she wasn't quite prepared. She took a spoonful while reading the script, but in a few minutes, she almost spat it out, thankfully managing to turn her head just in time to cover her mouth with a paper towel.
Once wiping the corner of her mouth clean, she burst into raucous laughter, "Ha! This is just... so vulgar! Writing this script, the guy must be a total jerk!"
Eric found himself at a loss for words, scratching his nose unsure if he should admit to this.
Jennifer, however, was no fool; noticing Eric's expression, she immediately understood and laughed even harder. "Ha! So you are that jerk! Just wait to see how many fans of teddy bears come after you for this later."
*****
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