[Chapter 1040: Such a Long Number]
Near the headquarters of Sony Pictures in Culver City, a restaurant stood.
Richard Lovett, the president of CAA, exited the restaurant alongside Bill Mechanic.
As they approached his BMW parked by the curb, Lovett extended his hand to shake Mechanic's firmly, looking somewhat regretful. It seemed like that wasn't genuine enough for him, so he embraced Mechanic as well. With a sigh, he said, "I'm sorry, Bill. Even though Firefly's actions are infuriating, I still have to think about my clients."
Bill Mechanic nodded in understanding. "It's alright. I hope we can collaborate again in the future."
Lovett responded affirmatively, "Absolutely. In fact, if this situation gets resolved, feel free to call me anytime."
After exchanging a few more words, Richard Lovett got into his car and drove away.
Watching the BMW disappear at the street corner, Bill Mechanic turned his gaze toward the Sony Pictures headquarters not far away. A sudden thought struck him -- this 30-acre film studio that once belonged to Columbia Pictures might now be the most valuable asset Sony had, aside from their library of thousands of film rights.
Just moments before, for over a week, the Sony Group had failed to effectively counter Firefly's blockade, causing a film project they had nearly finalized with CAA, titled Entrapment, to fall apart.
Apart from this Sean Connery's new movie, nearly all projects under Sony Pictures were in disarray.
The most frustrating aspect for Bill Mechanic was that after the fallout, Sony headquarters did not send anyone with real authority to manage the situation. Instead, Howard Stringer was summoned to Japan for a report. Ironically, as Sony Pictures' vice-chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures, he had very limited power and could only do his best to keep basic operations running.
...
After standing by the street for a moment, just as Bill Mechanic was about to stroll back to the office, a young man with a camera hanging around his neck jumped out of a recently parked Chrysler. Upon noticing Mechanic, the young man paused for a moment before raising his camera and quickly clicking the shutter, then hurried over to join a female companion who had just exited the vehicle.
"Mr. Mechanic, we're reporters from The Hollywood Reporter. Can we have a few moments of your time?"
Bill Mechanic raised his hand to block the camera lens and quickened his pace. "I'm sorry, if you want an interview, please call my assistant to schedule an appointment."
"We've been trying to schedule for a week, Mr. Mechanic. It's just a few simple questions," the young man interrupted, snatching a recorder from the somewhat inexperienced girl beside him to chase alongside Mechanic. "Mr. Mechanic, we've heard many of the film crews at Sony Pictures are paralyzed right now. Is this true?"
Mechanic picked up his pace even more, replying curtly, "Sorry, no comment."
Undeterred, the reporter pressed on, "Mr. Mechanic, why at such a crucial time did Mr. Stringer fly to Japan instead of coming to Los Angeles to handle this issue?"
A twitch at the corner of Mechanic's mouth betrayed his frustration as he started to jog. "Sorry, no comment," he repeated robotically.
The reporter continued the pursuit relentlessly. "Mr. Mechanic, this crisis was sparked by the script for Pirates of the Caribbean. Will Sony Pictures transfer the script to Firefly to defuse the situation?"
Mechanic felt an urge to say, "Do you think turning over the script would resolve this right now?" However, he knew all too well that at this sensitive moment, it was best for him to say nothing.
...
Feeling somewhat ragged, he finally made it to the Sony Pictures headquarters, and as he saw the reporters held back by security outside, he let out a sigh of relief. His assistant rushed over with a phone in hand. "Mr. Mechanic, Mr. Stringer is on the line. You left your phone in the office."
Taking the phone from his assistant, Mechanic walked toward the office as he spoke. "Hello, Mr. Stringer... The situation here is a bit dire, but I'm doing my best... Yes, I'll take care of that. Goodbye."
After a brief conversation, the call ended, and Mechanic walked into his office, finally allowing himself to relax a little as he sank into a leather chair.
To be honest, if he weren't harboring some personal, unspeakable hopes, he would have already submitted his resignation to Sony.
Over the past week, he had discovered that he could hardly do anything, yet he was under immense pressure from all sides. Even the prospect of a film company's looming bankruptcy due to failed projects did not feel as distressing as the current situation.
His assistant brought in a cup of coffee, stealing a glance at him slumped in the chair, wanting to say something but ultimately holding back. Just as she was about to quietly leave the office, Mechanic finally spoke up. "Can you please find the phone number for Mr. Williams' assistant?"
After a week, Sony Group Chairman Stringer finally decided to come to America personally to handle the dispute between Sony and Firefly. The earlier call was a directive to Mechanic to set up an appointment for him and Eric Williams.
Bill Mechanic did have Jeffrey Katzenberg's phone number, but he didn't feel he could request Eric Williams' private contact information from him. For now, he would have to go through the assistant's office for indirect contact.
...
Despite being disrupted by the Pirates of the Caribbean script incident, the filming of Gravity continued smoothly. After spending half an hour catching up over lunch with Kepler Hyde, Eric quickly dove back into work.
When Caroline entered the soundstage, Eric was huddled with several key creatives discussing the character movements and shot compositions for Ryan Stone's second collision with the satellite debris.
Jodie Foster was also among the group, leaning on the large work table as she listened to Eric reference his hand-drawn storyboard sketches to illustrate his ideas. Perhaps it was a woman's special sixth sense, but she was the first to notice Caroline approaching, turning to catch a glimpse of the girl.
Caroline politely smiled at Jodie while holding a folder in front of her, quietly standing by and not interrupting Eric and the team's discussion in any way.
Jodie nodded back at Caroline and, almost instinctively, returned her gaze before finding her thoughts drifting.
Remembering how she felt when she saw Eric let the girl kiss him last week, Jodie couldn't help but sneak a glance at Eric's profile as he focused on detailing the shot setup. She felt a strange pang of regret over her previous reaction.
He was an infuriating playboy, so why did it matter to her?
Yet, looking at the thick stack of storyboards before Eric, she suddenly had the thought that it would be nice to collect them at home.
Despite his reckless nature, Eric's drawing skills were impressive. At least she thought any of those sketches were far superior to the incomprehensible works of those "artistic" types. If collected and published, they would surely attract many buyers.
Watching Eric nonchalantly sketch out movement lines on the storyboard pages with his pencil, Jodie even entertained an absurd impulse to snatch the pencil from him and throw it away -- what a waste to mar such good drawings.
...
After discussing for a few more minutes, Eric turned to Nicole, Robert Byer, and the others, saying, "Okay, that's how the shot will look. I'll give you twenty minutes to prepare. We'll run a test. And Jodie, hey, Jodie?"
Hearing Eric suddenly call her name, Jodie snapped back to reality. "What's up?"
"I was just saying," Eric started, then waved dismissively at Nicole and the others, "You guys go ahead and get ready. There's no rush with Jodie; I'll explain it to her again."
Watching Jodie's somewhat flustered expression, everyone chuckled as they dispersed. Just as Eric was about to say something, he noticed Caroline still standing close by, straightening up and asking, "Caroline, is there something you need?"
Nodding, Caroline approached and politely greeted Jodie before saying, "Eric, Bill Mechanic from Sony Pictures just called. Mr. Stringer will be arriving in Los Angeles tomorrow, and he wants to schedule a time to talk with you."
"I thought Sony could hold out for another week," Eric laughed, pondering for a moment as he found a blank page and quickly wrote down a long string of numbers with his pencil, passing it to Caroline. "Give this to them at Sony and tell Mr. Stringer that if he wants to talk, then we can talk."
Caroline carefully tucked the paper away after a glance, bid farewell to Eric and Jodie, and left the soundstage.
Meanwhile, Jodie stood in confusion. She had seen the long string of numbers on that paper.
2,992,500,000.00.
That's quite a long number, almost three billion. What does it mean?
Suddenly, a sharp snap echoed in her ears. Realigning her focus, she shot a glare at Eric.
Eric pulled back his hand, hesitated for a moment as he looked at Jodie's expression, and asked, "Um, are you not feeling well these days?"
"What do you mean?" Jodie answered instinctively.
"Just, uh, you know, those few days every month when you seem a bit out of it?"
Realizing what he was referring to, Jodie glared at Eric. "Of course, I'm not."
"Okay, but why are you getting so worked up? You know, it's a normal thing for women."
"Do you enjoy discussing such issues with women?"
"Not really," Eric shook his head, then added, "Anyway, let's go over that shot again. Don't zone out this time."
Jodie joined Eric in bending down again, sensing that when she took a firm stance, he tended to be more agreeable. Watching him reach for his pencil again to mark up the storyboard, she finally couldn't help but say, "Could you please stop scribbling all over those drawings?"
Eric paused, put down his pencil, and nodded. "Alright, I hear you. Next up, this shot isn't too hard, but I need you to focus on your emotional expression..."
Jodie listened intently, a small smile creeping onto her lips as she felt like this headstrong attitude somehow felt quite nice.
...
Tokyo, Haneda Airport.
Sony Group's private jet prepared for takeoff, with Howard Stringer and Nobuyuki Idei alongside a few attendants waiting in the VIP lounge.
After a week in Japan, Howard Stringer looked utterly disheveled.
Since Akio Morita's retirement, Sony had been rife with internal conflicts. Departments lacked coordination, and it had deteriorated to the point of undermining each other. With such a huge incident happening in the U.S., Howard had inevitably become the target of blame as he was Nobuyuki Idei's confidant, which led to some cracks in the relationship during the board meetings.
At that moment, the two sat across from each other, lacking much interest in casual conversation. Nobuyuki Idei read a newspaper while quietly waiting for their flight.
Just as Howard was about to ask again how long it would be until the private plane was ready, Nobuyuki Idei's assistant rushed in looking flustered.
"Mr. Idei, we just received a fax from Los Angeles," the assistant said, handing a page of fax paper to Nobuyuki Idei with a respectful bow. "Mr. Mechanic said over the phone that this is personally written by Eric Williams, and he has not agreed to your meeting request. The exact words were that negotiations could only continue if you were willing."
Nobuyuki Idei took the fax and examined the long string of handwritten numbers. After a moment of contemplation, he frowned slightly and silently handed it over to Howard Stringer, who looked curious.
Stringer glanced at the fax.
2,992,500,000.00.
After a brief moment of confusion, Howard quickly understood, exclaiming, "Firefly wants our film company!"
Two billion nine hundred ninety-two million five hundred thousand.
That's clearly a quote.
What's more, it was a very precise offer.
If you added the 7.5 million dollars Sony had spent on buying the Pirates of the Caribbean script, it exactly totaled 3 billion!
With his weary demeanor, Nobuyuki Idei leaned back against the couch and watched Howard Stringer, who seemed a bit flustered. He spoke slowly, "Years ago, we spent 5.5 billion to acquire Columbia Pictures. Of that, aside from 1.6 billion in debt, Sony paid 3.9 billion in cash. Now, Firefly only wants to offer 3 billion -- oh no, 2.9925 billion -- for the film company back."
Howard Stringer's lips twitched. "Nobuyuki, we absolutely cannot sell."
Nobuyuki Idei's expression darkened. "Howard, do you think we still have a choice?"
"At the very least," Howard hesitated for a moment, "we cannot sell Sony Pictures for such a low price. We can explore other buyers."
*****
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