[Chapter 968: Underworld]
Due to his astonishment at Natasha Henstridge's sudden burst of acting talent, Joss Whedon forgot to call "cut" at the end of the scene.
Surprisingly, this small mistake of Joss's did not affect Eric and Natasha's performance at all. The two didn't hear the stop signal and naturally began to improvise, continuing their lines seamlessly. It wasn't until Eric and Natasha got into the black Rolls Royce and the car started that Joss finally snapped back to reality. He quickly stood up, gestured, and shouted, "OK, cut!"
As the Rolls Royce door swung open again, Eric, Natasha, and Larry Ellison stepped out of the vehicle. Eric laughed as he approached Joss, asking, "So, Joss, how did that go?"
Joss Whedon glanced at Natasha beside Eric, feeling a bit awkward as he remembered his initial doubts about this stunning woman. However, he generously praised, "Great job, everyone. You all did wonderfully, especially you, Miss Henstridge. It's amazing to think this is your first time in front of a movie camera."
"Oh, thank you for the compliment, Joss," Natasha said, feeling reassured after his praise. Glancing at Eric beside her, she added, "It's all thanks to Eric's help."
Larry Ellison, seeing Joss's attention was on Natasha, eagerly chimed in, "What about me, Joss?"
"That's exactly what I was going to say, Larry. Eric, Natasha, let's head over there to talk. There are many areas from that last take that we could improve on," Joss gestured towards the monitor, leading the three of them over to discuss.
...
After spending about seven or eight minutes, Joss analyzed the performance details that needed adjustment based on the previous footage. Then he addressed some technical issues that had arisen during the first shoot. When they resumed filming, it was already half an hour later.
However, thanks to Natasha's unexpectedly stellar performance -- who was initially considered the potential 'unstable factor' in this shoot -- the subsequent filming went extraordinarily smoothly.
Just after five o'clock, after reviewing several nearly perfect takes, Joss Whedon finally announced that the outdoor scene was complete, visibly relieved. The crew began to quickly clear the set in preparation for the interior scenes at the casino scheduled for six o'clock.
Initially, they thought they wouldn't have time to eat until after nine, so the crew had provided some chocolates and snacks to keep the actors energized. With the shoot finishing early, everyone eagerly took advantage of the break to grab a quick bite. Being in a constant state of high energy during movie shoots proved to be very taxing.
Caesars Palace was strict about the timing of film shoots but quite accommodating in other respects. When Eric and the others arrived at a restaurant inside the hotel, although it wasn't even dawn yet, the chef had already prepared a lavish breakfast.
For the following casino scenes, Don Cheadle, who had much more acting experience than Natasha Henstridge, was in his element. Therefore, three hours later, the team successfully wrapped up all the Las Vegas footage.
...
After finishing her scenes, Natasha waited at the set until nine o'clock, at which point she returned with Eric to the mansion at the country club.
"Eric, didn't I perform great today?" Natasha enthusiastically pushed him against the doorframe as soon as they entered, looking expectantly at him.
"Absolutely, you even scared Joss," Eric nodded, feeling her long legs brushing against him gently as she leaned in with a smile. He raised a folder that Caroline had handed him earlier, saying, "Well, you've practically been awake for a whole day and night. You should go take a shower and rest. I need to look over these first."
Natasha moved closer to Eric's ear, breathing softly, "Can't we do it together? Can't you work a little later?"
Eric gave her a playful slap on the backside and shook his head, "Absolutely not. Someone is waiting in Europe for me to finish this, and it's already yesterday's work."
"Then I'll keep you company," Natasha said, releasing Eric and looping her arm through his. Since last night, she had been in an excited state, and even though the Las Vegas scenes were done, she showed no signs of tiredness.
The two of them made their way to the spacious living room on the second floor. Eric sat down on the couch, saying, "If you're not tired, can you go to the study and bring me my laptop, then brew a pot of coffee?"
"Of course, sir," Natasha replied eagerly, getting up to fetch Eric's laptop from the study and then headed downstairs to make coffee.
...
Eric opened his laptop and placed it on the coffee table before diving into the files.
The documents in his hand included the acquisition agreement draft for Firefly Group's purchase of Virgin Records and Virgin's balance sheet. Firefly had offered a final price of $1.2 billion to EMI, and as Eric expected, EMI was willing to sell rather than hold onto Virgin.
After two long months of negotiations, much of the groundwork had already been laid. Both parties were eager to close the deal -- Barry Weiss had rushed back to Europe yesterday, and Eric had received these documents last night.
With Virgin Records secured and coupled with Firefly's existing North American distribution channels, Firefly's distribution network was set to encompass the entire European and North American regions.
Additionally, as a long-established record label, Virgin had accumulated rights to thousands of songs over its twenty-plus years, spanning various genres including mainstream English songs as well as French, German, Italian, and more.
While the number of music rights couldn't compare to the major labels boasting millions of copyrights, for the Yahoo Music Store opening alongside the release of Fireflyer 2, it would serve as a significant content addition.
The Spice Girls, who had already captured audiences across Europe with successive hits, were set to leverage Virgin's strong distribution channels for their first album release.
...
Natasha returned with the coffee that she had brewed, setting two cups down on the coffee table. She then picked up a magazine from the shelf and comfortably leaned against Eric, who had shown no curiosity about the documents in his hand. Instead, she simply asked, "Eric, are we heading back to Los Angeles with the crew this afternoon?"
Eric flipped a page in the file, casually replying, "No need. We'll head back tomorrow morning, and tonight, I'll take you out for some fun. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great! Although I've been to Vegas before, it was mostly work, and I didn't really get to enjoy myself," Natasha replied, pausing for a moment before adding, "Eric, next Monday is the Oscars, right? Will you be attending?"
"I can't miss it this time; it's the 70th anniversary of the Oscars," Eric said with a grin, glancing at the woman beside him. "Do you want to go too?"
Natasha nodded honestly.
"Unfortunately, that's not feasible this time. The ceremony is next week, and the guest list has already been finalized. However, attending the Oscars isn't as exciting as it's made out to be -- imagine sitting still in one spot for four hours while trying to accommodate cameras and guests," Eric explained.
"Maybe the Oscars aren't a big deal for you anymore, Eric," Natasha remarked, a hint of longing in her eyes. "But for us little people, being able to attend the Oscars is a real honor."
"If you really want to go, next year, I can pull some strings for you to be a presenter or something. But you have to remember to remind me next year, or I'll definitely forget."
Natasha tossed the magazine aside, crossing her legs and turned to look at Eric with a smile, "The way you put that sounds so discouraging, but I've suddenly realized that I should work hard to create these opportunities for myself."
Eric marked an unreasonable clause in the document with a pencil, continuing to read, while nodding, "That's great; I like ambitious girls."
"But Paulina said that with our qualifications, we wouldn't achieve much in Hollywood and would only end up playing the trophy. She's played it several times and hasn't left any mark at all. Recently, a friend asked her to make a cameo, and she turned it down."
"Paulina Priscova?"
"Yep."
"Ha, her face is simply too perfect; she's destined for ads. You're different."
Natasha lightly nudged Eric's leg with her knee, a bit annoyed. "Are you saying I'm not pretty enough?"
"You girls with those looks don't have to worry about being perfect; there's envy directed at you from so many. Besides, perfection can mean a loss of versatility, which is vital for an actress. When I see Paulina, all I can think of is her for an ad. With you, it's different; I can envision you molded into a character in a movie."
"Then," Natasha replied, her tone shifting to a cautiously hopeful one, "Eric, do you think I could be the lead?"
"Absolutely. Based on your performance in Iron Man, when the film releases next year, you will undoubtedly gain significant acclaim and recognition. Landing the lead in a high-budget film may not happen overnight, but snagging a few mid- to low-budget leading roles in Hollywood will be quite easy."
As Eric spoke, he was reminded of Species, which was set to premiere next month during Easter. Natasha would solidify her standing in Hollywood through her stunning performance in this B-level sci-fi horror series, and while she had never become a massive star, she had made a name for herself as a solid second-tier actress.
Speaking of which, in Hollywood, actresses who are too beautiful often face challenges in maintaining their influence long-term. Having a successful B-movie series can be an excellent choice, similar to Milla Jovovich's Resident Evil franchise or Kate Beckinsale's Underworld series, among others.
While Resident Evil had been transformed by Eric into something new, the Underworld series had not yet come to pass.
With these thoughts in mind, Eric shot a glance over to Natasha, "Stand up and let me see you."
Natasha, unsure but obedient, rose and struck a pose, asking, "What's up?"
Eric didn't answer but continued, "Now give me a cold, stoic expression -- look a little worn out."
Natasha realized what he was getting at and complied, adopting a weary, indifferent expression. While she might not instantly perform perfectly, these ad-like photography demands were something she could expertly navigate as a supermodel.
Eric scrutinized her -- she was dressed in a white turtleneck sweater and light blue casual pants. Although her expression was on point, the overall vibe didn't match what he had in mind. He asked, "Do you have a leather jacket?"
Natasha replied, "I brought some leather pants, a burgundy pair. Will that work?"
"No, it has to be black," Eric shook his head, stating, "How about this -- you run out and buy a set while I finish this work, and when you return, I'll have a surprise for you."
Even if she had an idea of what was happening, Natasha still asked, "Eric, is it for a movie?"
Eric nodded, "Yeah."
"Then I'm on my way!" Natasha exclaimed excitedly. She slipped into some high heels, leaned in to give Eric a quick kiss near his lips, and headed downstairs.
...
After Natasha left, Eric focused intensely on finishing the documents in his hand. Once he formed all his queries, he composed an email to Barry Weiss in Europe before narrowing his attention back to the bookmarks on his browser, selecting a URL to open.
The page immediately displayed a simple Google search interface -- its recognizable logo had been personally 'designed' by Eric to match the original.
After the video meeting last year, Yahoo had quickly started to separate its search engine operations.
Now, Yahoo had successfully registered the Google trademark worldwide, and its independent search engine system was nearly complete, currently in internal testing, with a projected public launch slated for June of this year.
Since the Species series was no longer under consideration, and with Kate Beckinsale unable to reprise her role in Underworld, offering the series to Natasha Henstridge seemed like a solid choice. Natasha's looks and physique were perfectly comparable to Kate's, and as for her acting skills -- well, this film didn't seem to require much of that.
However, to shoot Underworld, they needed to secure the copyright first.
Originally, the screenplay for the Underworld series, claimed by director and writer Len Wiseman, was a collaborative work with some friends, but in reality, it had plagiarized a novel from 1994. The two parties had engaged in a lawsuit but settled out of court in the end.
As ten years passed, Eric's once complete memory began to fade little by little, and he strained to remember the name of the original author, Nancy Collins. Finally, after a moment of thought, he began searching for it.
In truth, even if he never recalled the name, Eric felt no significant burden; he planned simply to take it and use it. Worst case scenario, they'd settle out of court again as many had done before.
Over the years, Eric stopped worrying about his 'creativity' clashing with any original creator, as Hollywood was rife with obscured legal disputes. Renowned directors, from Spielberg to Scorsese, had all faced scripts lawsuits, and Eric had yet to see any Hollywood director go bankrupt or suffer irreparable damage to their reputation due to it.
*****
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