I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1078: Observing]

In the wealthy neighborhood of Mountain View Estates, located in the northern part of Santa Monica, Eric's car pulled up outside an extravagant mansion. As he exited the vehicle, Amy Pascal and her husband Bernard Weinraub greeted him.

"Good evening, Amy, and Bernard," Eric said as he shared a quick hug with Amy Pascal and shook hands with Bernard Weinraub. He smiled and explained to Amy, "Drew mentioned she had other commitments tonight and wouldn't be able to make it. She should have filled you in."

Amy nodded in understanding. "Eric, let's go inside."

Originally, the girl was supposed to attend with Eric, but an event like a cocktail party focused on business was completely different from their usual entertainment gatherings. With quieter music and no dancing crowd, everyone was strictly there to discuss business. She lost interest quickly and, upon receiving an invitation for a year-end celebration from her girlfriends, she playfully bailed on Eric after a few flirty phone calls.

After spending most of the past month traveling between London and New York, Eric couldn't avoid these events now that he was back in Los Angeles.

It was already November 30, a Monday. MGM's major end-of-year film, Mission: Impossible 3, had just completed its second weekend of screenings.

Having been meticulously managed by MGM, the spy movie universe, after a few years of development, Mission: Impossible 3 had become a massive success without any surprises. In its first week alone, it grossed $115.35 million across over 3,200 screens nationwide. With positive reviews buoying its reputation, the film's box office only struggled with a 37% dip in its second weekend, pulling in another $47.23 million.

Within just ten days of its release, Mission: Impossible 3 had accumulated a total gross of $162.58 million.

...

As Eric and Amy entered their luxurious mansion, they shared a few teasing remarks about the uproar from a New York Times interview, before Amy shifted the conversation to the movies. "What surprised me most is Ted, I saw the numbers this morning, its total box office surpassed $160 million, only a million less than Mission: Impossible 3. Hollywood is bound to see a lot of interest in other toy adaptations soon."

Ted had premiered a week before Mission: Impossible 3, and in its opening week, the movie secured an impressive $88.65 million at the box office. This animated feature that combined motion capture and live-action was truly eye-opening in terms of both content and box office performance.

Despite facing competition from Mission: Impossible 3, Ted's box office only dipped 43% in its second week, earning another $49.19 million. Through the recently passed weekend, Ted's box office drop shrank again to just 31%, bringing in $23.49 million, totaling $161.33 million.

Though it had a one-week head start, Ted's numbers still remarkably matched those of Mission: Impossible 3, astounding many people in the industry.

After all, Ted's production budget had only been $50 million, so the two and a half week haul of over $160 million at the North American box office was sufficient for Firefly to recoup all production and marketing costs, with later box office returns and various merchandising bringing in almost pure profit for the company.

In comparison, Mission: Impossible 3 was produced with a budget of $150 million, and the promotional efforts on both films were incomparable.

While the eventual profits from Mission: Impossible 3 were guaranteed to surpass those of Ted, considering the countless resources MGM poured into it, the film was unlikely to rake in money as easily as Ted did.

The three of them walked through the villa toward the backyard, with Eric joking, "With these alternative genres, it's fine to produce one or two occasionally. But if there's an oversaturation, audiences will tire of it pretty quickly. I'm contemplating whether to greenlight a sequel to Ted soon."

Bernard Weinraub chimed in, "With such an interesting premise, audiences will definitely be eager to see a sequel."

With that, they arrived at the backyard.

....

The spacious courtyard, roughly 1,000 square meters, was well-lit but quiet, with about forty to fifty guests scattered around, chatting in groups.

Though Eric's arrival drew everyone's attention, in such a formal cocktail party setting, people didn't swarm to greet him; instead, a few guests subtly maneuvered to cross paths with Eric in hopes of chatting for a moment.

Within the backyard, Bernard and Eric exchanged a brief greeting before he excused himself to mingle with other guests.

Amy and Eric went to grab drinks and began introducing some guests to each other.

"Eric, this is Kevin, Kevin Williamson," Amy introduced warmly, leading Eric to a man in his thirties wearing a dark plaid suit. "Kevin was just telling me about his latest screenplay idea; maybe you'd like to hear it."

Kevin Williamson was indeed the writer of the Scream series.

Though Eric had grown accustomed to the various names in Hollywood, he found the surname similarities between Williamson and Williams peculiar, akin to Hansen and Hans.

While Williamson became notable for the Scream series, he clearly understood Eric's influence and status in Hollywood as he respectfully shook Eric's hand. After some pleasantries, he started detailing his script idea.

"Mr. Williams, here's the story: Ann lives in a dull, old-fashioned town. Her biggest dream is to earn a full scholarship to college and escape this place. However, as she approaches graduation, she faces severe scrutiny from her strict history teacher. During an exam, her teacher, Ms. Tingle, suspects her of cheating and keeps pressing the issue. If she's branded a cheater, Ann's scholarship could disappear. So, she attempts to talk it over with Ms. Tingle, but their conversation unexpectedly escalates into chaos -- a mishap leads to her kidnapping her history teacher. This spirals further, forcing Ann to hide this from her family, friends, and the investigators who come looking. . . ."

Eric listened patiently to Kevin Williamson's rough outline before asking, "Kevin, what genre are you positioning this film in?"

After a moment of consideration, Williamson replied, "It's a thriller with some teen horror elements."

A smile surfaced on Eric's face. "So, Kevin, you're clearly aware of your strengths, but that also seems to be a limitation for you. I must admit, it's an excellent idea -- a surprising kidnapping and the ensuing cover-up. Yet, upon further thought, this concept seems more suited for a dark comedy. Just imagine some of the scenarios; they're filled with comedy-filled dramatic conflicts."

Once Eric finished, he noticed Williamson deep in thought and decided to leave it at that.

Being able to offer a few insights into Kevin Williamson's script was acknowledgment of the success he'd brought MGM with the Scream series. Whether or not Williamson moves forward from here, or whether he's willing to, was outside Eric's consideration.

Since the Scream series established Williamson's fame, he hadn't had many notable films afterward aside from I Know What You Did Last Summer, which had only seen moderate success.

His latest film, also written by Williamson, was the simultaneous release with Ted, the college horror film titled The Faculty, budgeted at $30 million. It served as Columbia Pictures' flagship for year-end, but it had only earned around $26 million so far -- dwarfed by Ted's $160 million. With box office returns far below expectations, Columbia had scrapped overseas distribution plans and decided to sell off the rights instead.

...

After separating from Williamson, Amy slowed her pace by the poolside and remarked, "Kevin just mentioned he hopes to direct this film personally."

"You've seen The Faculty, right?" Eric shook his head slightly. "Kevin has completely lost his direction; if he can't settle down and step away from the Scream influence to evolve, he'll be quickly forgotten in Hollywood when his popularity fades."

Amy looked hesitant. "What about this film?"

Eric smiled. "You all decide. It's a small production anyway, so it won't impact much. But if Kevin has no breakthrough projects in the future, there's really no need to collaborate again."

From Kevin Williamson's description, Eric understood the film's budget wouldn't be high and would likely stay under $15 million. MGM wouldn't approach it like Sony had with their low-budget horror films, letting the budget quietly inflate to $30 million.

Considering the clout of Kevin Williamson, who created the Scream series, directing this movie, the possibility of significant losses seemed low.

However, if Williamson were to shoot in line with the script's described style -- a film devoid of horror, gore, or humor -- its box office potential would be nearly zero.

Hollywood was filled with personal relationships, but its elimination rules were equally ruthless.

Even once-thriving directors, actors, or writers would quickly be discarded or forgotten in Hollywood after a few consecutive failures.

"By the way, Kris is here too; we're discussing whether to prepare The Real Housewives of New York or Manhattan next. Can you help us decide?" Amy added.

Just as Eric was about to cross over to where Kris Jenner was standing with Amy, Penelope Cruz gracefully approached in a low-cut burgundy dress, raising her glass. "Hi, Eric."

Both holding drinks, Eric merely shook Penelope's hand. "Good evening, Penny. Are you here all by yourself?"

With a hint of mischief in her eyes, Penelope replied, "Kate and Charlize both have their own things going on."

"You misunderstand me," Eric said with a smile, lifting his arm slightly. "I meant, I also just came alone."

Penelope understood immediately and playfully draped her arm around Eric's.

Seeing Eric and Penelope engaged in a conversation, Amy gestured toward Kris Jenner and walked away to join her.

...

Eric and Penelope lingered by the pool, their low chatter flowing comfortably. Then Eric suddenly remembered something else. "By the way, what's your sister up to lately? I ran into her last year in New York and we spoke briefly."

During a fashion week party in New York last year, Eric met Monica Cruz and had promised to introduce her to a few films, though he quickly forgot after their meeting. Now reminiscing brought a touch of embarrassment; he wondered if she had held any grudges.

Reluctantly, Penelope answered, "She landed a recurring role in the new season of Dark Angel."

Eric nodded, "That's the sci-fi series Jim is producing; that's a great opportunity."

Penelope quietly agreed. Sensing Eric wasn't pushing further, she felt relieved.

After chatting for a while, Eric took Penelope over to where Amy and Kris were discussing the development of new reality series spin-offs from MGM's cable channels. After some more mingling among the crowd, Eric finally managed to send the charming Latina off, and he and Amy resumed their earlier conversation about Mission: Impossible 3.

"Based on the current box office trends, Mission: Impossible 3's North American potential seems to lie between $260 million to $280 million, about $40 million less than Charlie's Angels 3 released during summer. Overseas, it should bring in around $600 million to $700 million, also lower than Charlie's Angels 3 and last year's Casino Royale. Final global box office wouldn't likely exceed $900 million, and breaking the $1 billion mark seems unlikely."

When Amy discussed this, her tone carried a hint of regret. The previous entries in the spy movie universe, Casino Royale and Charlie's Angels 3, both surpassed the $1 billion mark globally, and MGM had poured significant resources into Mission: Impossible 3 but failed to replicate that success.

Indeed, if other studio executives in Hollywood heard Amy's disappointment over a film that could gross nearly $900 million, they might be on the verge of tears. Unquestionably, the once premier franchise, Mission: Impossible, was now eclipsed in popularity and box office by both the Bond and Charlie's Angels franchises.

Once Amy finished speaking, Eric remarked, "I also reviewed the analysis report from the distribution department. This sequel marks the first collaboration between Ethan Hunt and Bond, yet audience reactions to these two top agents teaming up seem less enthusiastic than previous male-female duo combinations. Moving forward, we can make adjustments in this regard. But I haven't seen Kevin Costner; isn't he in Los Angeles?"

"Kevin flew to Japan for promotions," Amy replied. "But he's likely just keeping an eye on things, intentionally avoiding us."

Eric looked puzzled, "Keeping an eye?"

Amy nodded. "Kevin's agent has been dragging their feet on negotiations for the sequel's compensation. They're likely waiting to see how The Fast and The Furious performs at the box office next."

*****

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