[Chapter 976: Watching Movies]
For movie executives, maintaining a positive mindset and preparing for the worst in every film project was crucial. If they didn't, after a few films, they might just lose their minds. After all, investments often reached tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars, and losing it all in the blink of an eye could really stress a person's nerves.
Whether or not they believed in the success of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, as Easter approached, the final marketing push from the three companies remained intense.
The film's television trailers began airing more frequently, and news about Easter movie packages kept flooding in. Even films not associated with the Firefly Group sought to gain attention by associating with the Easter movie package gimmick.
However, films like Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Wedding Singer, and Species were obviously not likely to please critics. Therefore, none of the three companies held media screening events for these films prior to their official release.
With no chance to see the films early, the media began speculating based on their biases. The Wedding Singer and Species featured brand new scripts with no prior installments to draw from, so all eyes turned to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, which had already released one film and was leading the charge in the Easter release window.
While the first Austin Powers film grossed over $60 million -- nearly doubling its production cost with North American box office earnings -- the film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from the media. Coupled with the usual box office performance of similar spoof films like Hot Shots! and Spy Hard, most media outlets weren't optimistic about Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me's box office prospects. Some even stated that Fox's reluctance to host a screening fostered speculation that the film was just too terrible.
Thus, the media concluded that the other two films would likely fare poorly as well. It had to be noted that this sentiment received substantial backing among critics.
In contrast, the only major production for the Easter release, City of Angels, held a spirited media screening in Los Angeles just a week after the Oscars. Although the subsequent media reviews carried some semblance of Warner's public relations strategies, the overall reception was decent. The media in attendance generally rated it above seven out of ten, which was not outstanding but certainly met a standard of being worth watching. With the box office appeal of Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, Warner Brothers felt quite confident.
...
On April 1st, due to the parody nature of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Fox chose to host a smaller yet amusing premiere on April Fool's Day at a theater in Los Angeles, inviting media from the three companies and a select group of lucky audience members.
City of Angels' premiere was scheduled for the following day at the Chinese Theatre, a well-known venue for Hollywood premieres.
On April 3rd, the Easter window officially opened, with Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me launching on 3,091 screens across North America. Perhaps out of caution, Warner Brothers only opted for slightly over 2,700 screens for City of Angels.
This was understandable; during the age of film, launching a widely released film involved substantial costs just for prints.
City of Angels had a runtime of nearly two hours. With an average production cost of around $1,500 per print, 2,700 prints meant an expenditure exceeding $4 million -- enough to fund a small indie movie. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me lasted about ninety minutes, and while individual prints were somewhat cheaper, producing over 3,000 prints still brought costs to over $3 million.
...
At Firefly Studios,
Eric had already constructed Liberty City, which meant Tony Stark's mansion from Iron Man had to be redesigned.
The planned Iron Man mansion, situated in Beverly Hills, conveyed a distinctly mechanical vibe in its design, aligning more with Tony Stark's persona as a genius engineer.
While overseeing production, Larry Ellison saw the new mansion design concepts and momentarily got excited about making it a reality, eager to outshine Eric's estate in Malibu, a property he had coveted for quite some time. However, calculating the construction cost quickly led Larry to abandon the idea.
To recreate the luxurious Iron Man estate in Beverly Hills would require at least $100 million.
Though that amount seemed inconsequential next to his multi-billion-dollar fortune, over ninety percent of Larry's personal wealth was tied up in stocks. Keeping a controlling interest in Oracle meant he could not easily sell any shares, and his other assets mainly comprised real estate, leaving him with just $10-20 million in liquid capital.
Larry had once splurged on yachts and islands, but that was years later, after Oracle firmly established its dominance in the database software industry and began generating considerable dividends. Right now, Oracle was battling several peers in a tight market position; even if the company had profits, they were entirely reinvested in growth, leaving no room for shareholder dividends.
Therefore, despite not voicing it, Larry, who naturally loved the high life, couldn't help but envy Eric during the shoot. After completing his role as Happy Hogan, he cheekily borrowed a VH-60 helicopter from Eric, flauntingly flying back to San Francisco, showing no intention of returning it.
Although the conceptual mansion stood in Beverly Hills, the interior scenes were still being constructively shot in the studio.
...
Today marked the end of the week, and on set, Bridget Fonda and Natasha Henstridge were rehearsing the intense dialogue exchange between Pepper Potts and the Vanity Fair reporter Christine from the original Iron Man.
After another successful take, Joss Whedon loudly exclaimed, "Good!" before adding, "Great job, everyone. This will be Natasha Henstridge's last scene with us. Let's all thank her for her contributions over this time, thank you."
With that, Joss started clapping, and all crew members paused their work to join in the applause. Initially, there were concerns that Natasha got the role due to Eric's influence. However, her outstanding performance over these shoots earned unanimous recognition.
Feeling a mix of excitement and slight melancholy, Natasha stood and gracefully bowed to everyone, saying, "Thank you, thank you all. I'm so happy to have worked with all of you."
With pleasantries exchanged, Natasha was led away by the crew into the dressing room. Wearing just a shirt that draped down past her bottom, she might have unintentionally offered a little too much visual distraction for the men on set.
As Natasha left, everyone resumed their busy schedules. With her final scene concluded, the interior shots for Tony Stark's mansion now wrapped up. The crew faced a lengthy and challenging journey ahead with outdoor filming.
...
At this moment, Joss released a sigh of relief, instructing his assistant director to closely oversee a few workers who had come specifically to pack and transport the furniture surrounding the set back to the Malibu estate.
Joss couldn't comprehend how a simple coffee table could be valued at $60,000. Still, the crew had secured insurance for these items, and after an evaluation, the insurance company validated their worth.
Busy with this, Eric and Jeff Bridges walked in from outside. Their scenes had wrapped up earlier, just before Bridget and Natasha's final scenes, so both had finished their makeup removals and changed into everyday clothes.
After discussing next week's filming schedule with Joss, Bridget and Natasha happily approached to greet them.
Having wrapped up the formal discussions, Jeff Bridges headed out. Joss had other matters to attend to as well, leaving Bridget and Natasha behind. Finally finding an opportunity, Bridget asked Eric, "Eric, do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
Noticing Bridget looking quite formal, Eric nodded, "What's up?"
"Tomorrow evening, the Coppola family is hosting a party. Sofia, you remember her, right? She's just finished her first directing project, and she mentioned that you were a great encouragement to try out new endeavors. So, if you have the time, she'd love for you to come and check out her work."
Eric chuckled, "Tomorrow evening, huh? Am I going to a party or a movie?"
Realizing she hadn't been clear, Bridget clarified, "If you're free, then watch the movie tomorrow afternoon, and stay for the party at the Coppola estate in the evening."
"I've planned to review the footage from the recent shooting with Joss tomorrow," Eric regretfully shook his head and said, "I'll see if I can make it later in the evening."
"Alright, then," Bridget said, just relaying the invitation and not wanting to appear too eager. She gave Eric a quick hug and greeted Natasha Henstridge before leaving.
Eric looked around and suggested to Natasha, "Shall we head out?"
Natasha nodded, following Eric out of the sound stage.
...
By just past five in the afternoon, daylight in Los Angeles was gradually stretching longer. The two walked along a pathway bathed in orange sunlight, quickly arriving at a less crowded administrative area.
"The rights for Underworld have been secured, but the script will take a few months to complete. Filming probably won't start until September," Eric remarked casually, then suddenly recalled, "That means you might miss this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show."
"No worries," Natasha shook her head, "I've been thinking quite a bit about focusing my career on acting. Eric, what do you think?"
In recent years, the Victoria's Secret lineup had accelerated its rotation of models. At just 24, even though Natasha was considerably younger than the likes of Cindy and others, she realized she wasn't among the few top models being heavily promoted by Victoria's Secret and wouldn't be able to remain on their runway forever.
Moreover, the earnings and career longevity of models simply paled in comparison to those of film stars.
Eric nodded, "Absolutely. With Iron Man set to release next year, you'll have one foot in Hollywood. If Underworld does well, you could find yourself in a solid second-tier position. Ascending to lead Hollywood star status requires a bit of luck, but as long as you secure your spot in the second tier, you won't lack for film offers in the future. I mean, Hollywood's demand for eye candy is still exceptionally strong, especially for someone as stunning as you."
Natasha smiled, not at all offended by Eric's joking reference to her as a "pretty face." She was aware of her abilities. While Hollywood had beautiful leading ladies like Nicole Kidman, their acting prowess far outstripped hers.
As long as she could establish herself in Hollywood, Natasha would be satisfied.
"Eric, actually, I was hoping to collaborate with you someday."
Eric gestured toward the studio area behind him, "Are we not working together recently?"
"I meant acting in your movie," Natasha voiced hesitantly, second-guessing herself, "Am I being too unrealistic?"
"Of course not," Eric shook his head with a smile, "If the opportunity arises, I would definitely invite you. This is no mere flattery; it really depends on finding the right role. Moreover, we have substantial chances for future collaborations; everyone knows I've been focusing on commercial films, which don't demand extreme skill in acting."
Even knowing Eric's words might not translate to many future opportunities, Natasha felt elated. "I'll hold you to that! By the way, do you have any plans tonight?"
"I'm watching a movie; I booked a luxury screening room," Eric replied, then looked at Natasha, "So, Miss Henstridge, may I have the honor of inviting you to join me?"
Without even asking what film it was, Natasha readily nodded, "Of course!"
*****
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