[Chapter 1037: Not Over Yet]
In the afternoon, Howard Stringer raised the offer to $7.5 million, and Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio wasted no time selling the script for Pirates of the Caribbean to Sony Pictures.
Following their initial offering of $20 million for a Hollywood star's fee, deep-pocketed Sony Pictures set another record for a Hollywood script deal. The $20 million was deemed 'reasonable' since many Hollywood stars' salaries had already approached that level. Some had even secured contracts that exceeded $20 million through profit-sharing agreements. However, this time, Sony's $7.5 million bid nearly doubled the previous record for an original Hollywood script price and was more than three times the average price for a top-tier screenwriter in Hollywood.
Once the news broke, Hollywood exploded with excitement, and media outlets across North America and overseas hurried to prepare press releases related to the event.
...
At Liberty City Manor, it was already past eleven at night. Fernanda Tavares, dressed in a light tank top and shorts, walked barefoot and silently from the kitchen, carrying a pot of freshly brewed coffee. She had already learned what had transpired from Eric and Ron Howard earlier that afternoon, and she could sense the extreme shock among those around her.
However, as an outsider, she couldn't understand the deeper implications of Sony Pictures paying $7.5 million for a script. She worried that Eric, who she felt was angry, might take it out on her. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Aside from a brief outburst of anger during her first phone call with Howard Stringer, Eric had been calm since the afternoon. Upon returning to Liberty City Manor that evening, he had been making phone calls non-stop. While she catch snippets of conversation, she smartly curbed her curiosity.
At a long table near the glass wall, papers were scattered all around. Eric sat with his chin on his hand, staring intently at his laptop. The villa was quiet, and the sky outside the glass wall was dark.
As she quietly filled Eric's cup, Fernanda reached for the coffee pot to set it aside, but felt a hand wrap around her waist. She instinctively settled onto Eric's lap.
His hand casually wandered under her tank top for a moment, and as he listened to her soft breaths, Eric felt his fatigue dissipate significantly. Leaning down, he kissed Fernanda's cheek and said, "I'll be busy during the weekdays, but I'll take you back to New York tomorrow."
After spending two days together, Fernanda noticed that Eric treated her like a pet -- or perhaps more accurately, like a cat. He enjoyed watching her walk barefoot around the villa, loved seeing her lounging on the couch watching TV, and cherished moments like this when he would hold and caress her, displaying the typical affection of a pet owner.
Fernanda, like Gisele, had left Brazil at 14 to fight for her career. To protect herself better, she exhibited a fiery personality. If someone else dared to treat her this way, she would certainly react fiercely. But having faced the world too soon, she came to understand the power and strength wealth represented. Thus, in front of this man who stood atop the world of power and riches, she felt a peculiar lack of resistance, often unconsciously stepping into the role he preferred.
"Sure," Fernanda replied, nodding, sensing that although Eric withdrew his hand from under her clothing, he tenderly wrapped his arms around her. She felt a pang of disappointment. This man often displayed such gentleness, sparking some unrealistic fantasies, but she knew this tenderness carried little romantic undertones. "Are you coming to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show this year?"
"I should be able to make it once I finish filming," Eric said, patting her slender waist. "You can go rest; I still have some calls to make."
"Actually, I'm a night owl too. I'm not sleepy at all. How about I whip up a late-night snack for you?"
"I don't like to eat at this hour. If you're hungry, you can make something," Eric suggested.
"I won't eat either," Fernanda shook her head, smiling. "I might gain weight."
Eric's foot nudged the ground, spinning his chair slightly, and he gestured towards the TV in the distance. "Then go watch some TV."
Fernanda got up and moved to the egg-shaped chairs by the other side of the glass wall. She picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned on the wall-mounted TV, then lazily curled up in the space-age chair. Looking back, she saw Eric had returned his focus to his laptop, making her feel a bit disappointed. Clutching a nearby pillow, she distractedly began to flip through the TV channels.
...
Earlier that afternoon, Eric had been straightforward with Howard Stringer, practically scolding him. He anticipated that in light of his strong stance, Stringer would either yield and abandon his outrageous offer for Pirates of the Caribbean or become more determined to secure the script.
Stringer ultimately chose the latter -- but Eric wasn't too surprised. He had sensed it was a more likely outcome.
Regardless, Eric intended to leverage this opportunity to launch some of his planned initiatives sooner.
In recent years, Firefly Group had not engaged in the kind of rapid expansions that had previously seen them absorb Disney and ABC. However, the overall strength of the company continues to grow swiftly.
While Hollywood's film market had been climbing at nearly 10% yearly, the power of Firefly Group would inevitably lead to other companies losing market share. In fact, their operation style resembled that of a steadily growing elephant rather than an aggressive wolf. Owing to Eric's personality, the company rarely displayed an intimidating demeanor to competitors.
Howard Stringer's recent actions illustrated this. Although everyone felt the strength of Firefly Group, no company truly feared it. In such a climate, if the Firefly Group continued to capture more of the media market, it was inevitable that the lack of reverence would lead some parties to resort to troublesome underhanded tactics.
Given this, perhaps it was time for Firefly Group to showcase its claws and fangs to the outside world.
After carefully reviewing his plans, Eric sent out a few more emails. Peering at the time, it was almost 1 AM, and he finally shut down his laptop.
...
Turning off the desk lamp, Eric walked to the other side of the glass wall, where a late-night TV show played at a very low volume. Fernanda curled up in the space-age chair had already fallen asleep.
The oval shape of the chair wasn't huge, and the nearly six-foot tall Fernanda inside made her appear even more striking with her slim waist and long legs.
Eric admired the sleeping beauty in front of him and gently pushed the chair. Maybe sensing the movement, Fernanda quickly opened her eyes.
Dazed for a moment, she realized it was Eric standing there, and she smiled, saying, "Eric, are you done?"
"Yeah, as much as I didn't want to interrupt, this isn't a place for sleeping."
Fernanda stretched her long body, lightly bouncing on her feet. "I think it's quite pleasant. I might even install one in my own apartment one day."
Eric took her hand, and together they walked toward the stairs. "Why wait? You can install one when you get back to New York."
Fernanda recalled the luxurious penthouse she shared with Gisele in Manhattan and spoke with a hint of self-pity, "But I don't even have my own apartment yet."
A smile crept onto Eric's lips as he casually responded, "Oh, then how about this: You choose between an apartment or a space-age chair, and I'll get it for you."
Fernanda felt her heartbeat race. Remembering how Eric had once casually signed a check for a million dollars allowing her and her friends to travel the world, she knew he wasn't joking. With his immense wealth, even the top-floor penthouse they lived in didn't seem outrageous to him.
However, she contained her excitement, responding, "Then I'll take the space-age chair. I'll probably receive some endorsement contracts next year. With that, I can buy my own place in Manhattan."
Thanks to the foundation she'd built in fashion over recent years, along with the boost from this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and her role in Enemy of the State, Fernanda was poised to land among the top supermodels. While she may not rival the likes of Cindy Crawford at the pinnacle, she expected to secure multiple endorsement contracts worth millions of dollars next year with ease.
"Let me know when you buy your place, and I'll arrange for it to be sent over as a housewarming gift," Eric remarked casually, not explaining too deeply, intending it as a small surprise for the girl next to him. And should she overlook it, it would become a delightful surprise instead.
This space-age chair had been a little project of his. Although Eric hadn't closely monitored its specific cost, among a bunch of expensive furniture items that went for tens of thousands of dollars, this art piece of a chair clearly didn't come cheaply.
...
As the new week began, North American media erupted with excitement over Sony Pictures' $7.5 million acquisition of the Pirates of the Caribbean script.
Some were awed by Sony's bold move, while others speculated that the executives making such a decision had lost their minds. Some experts even analyzed it as a sign of severe bubbling in Hollywood akin to the IT industry.
In recent years, speculative capital had poured into Hollywood like never before, with total film production budgets nearing $13 billion this year. Notably, more than $2.5 billion came from tax-haven money from countries like Germany and the UK -- almost 20% of the total. Furthermore, following the Southeast Asian financial crisis, international hot money that had been pulled from the region found substantial channels into the booming film industry.
Despite Sony Pictures' backing, they largely adhered to traditional Hollywood financing methods, resorting to short-term debt financing from various investment funds and banks. This influx of speculative capital was essentially what allowed Sony to offer such an eye-popping $7.5 million.
Of course, this approach bore risks; should a film project fail, a company's debt ratio would rise markedly. MGM had faced a similar spiral of debt that almost equaled its market value. However, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group, Sony Pictures' debts ultimately reflected on Sony's broader financial framework.
Within Hollywood, the Pirates of the Caribbean script was known to be Eric's focus, and everyone recognized it as another script chosen by Eric Williams. While unsure whether this matched the trap set similar to Cutthroat Island, many took a schadenfreude approach towards Firefly's rumored 'blunder,' despite feeling dissatisfaction over Sony's reckless disruption of industry norms.
On the flip side, fueled by the buzz surrounding the Pirates of the Caribbean script and the steady box office revenue from The Ring, the script procurement department at Firefly Group began closely monitoring almost every script they engaged with. Some writers attempted to replicate the style of Pirates and made generous offers to Firefly Group, hoping to cash in on the suddenly hot market.
With Sony brutally snatching away the sought-after script, spectators were eager to see if Firefly Group would launch any countermeasures.
...
After acquiring the Pirates of the Caribbean script, Howard Stringer intentionally flaunted the move by holding a press conference. However, he couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty. After spending three days in Los Angeles confirming that Firefly hadn't launched any further actions, he finally returned to Sony's headquarters in New York.
On the surface, the Firefly Group appeared unfazed over losing Pirates of the Caribbean, but all senior executives within the Firefly system could clearly sense changes within the atmosphere in recent days. Most notably, Eric's assistant's office had been increasingly busy with requests for data retrieval and document reviews from various companies in the Firefly network.
This continued until Wednesday when executives from various companies in and out of Hollywood received notice that they were all required to attend a core high-level meeting within the Firefly system on Friday morning. Executives unable to reach Los Angeles were also required to participate via video conference.
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