I am Hollywood

[Chapter 987 I'm Not a Horse]

Upon hearing Eric's words, Elisabeth felt a little sweet inside, but she didn't hesitate to press down Eric's creeping hands trying to reach under her shirt. She shot him an annoyed glance and asked, "Hey, what's going on with you?"

Eric paused his actions and replied, "What do you mean 'what's going on'?"

"I mean, your mom," Elisabeth said with a curious expression. "Drew called me yesterday and told me to keep an eye on you, saying there might be bad women after your money."

Eric chuckled, knowing that she was just venting. If she genuinely suspected Caroline and Olivia, Elisabeth would have stormed back rather than taking a trip to Europe. "I wasn't going to mention this, but it slipped out. She just wanted to come to see me, that's all. But how did Drew manage to call you? Have you two reconciled?"

"I have no intention of reconciling with her," Elisabeth pouted. "So what do you plan to do now?"

"Probably just keep things as they are. She should be heading back in a while."

"I don't think so," Elisabeth rolled over in Eric's arms and added, "By the way, I did some digging into the Wilson family. They have quite the influence in the UK. I never imagined you had noble blood."

Eric was not interested in the obsession with lineage. He shook his head and laughed, "I'm not a horse; I don't need any bloodlines."

"Many people wouldn't agree with you," Elisabeth shook her head and added, "Speaking of horses, weren't you interested in auditions for The Horse Whisperer not long ago?"

Eric replied casually, "Yeah, someone asked me to keep an eye on the casting. I took a quick look."

The cast for The Horse Whisperer had already been finalized, with filming set to begin next month. Although Eric didn't get involved, the role of the daughter still went to Scarlett Johansson.

Elisabeth merely mentioned it casually; such things were common in Hollywood, so she didn't pry further, just saying, "Honestly, you just needed to mention it to Harvey."

"I don't know him well enough for that," Eric chuckled, shaking his head. He leaned down and kissed Elisabeth's cheek, his hand around her waist starting to roam again. "Forget about all this boring stuff. Have you missed me during this time?"

Elisabeth's face turned a shade of red, and she stopped resisting Eric's touch, though she refused to give in verbally, saying, "I've been too busy, how could I have time to think about you, you jerk?"

"All right, since you didn't think about me, I guess it's time for a good lesson," Eric stood up, lifting her in his arms as he headed towards the living room. "I've got a dinner scheduled with Cage at twelve, so we need to hurry. There's not much time."

Elisabeth jokingly hit Eric's arm, saying, "It's only ten o'clock!"

...

Eric had arranged to meet Cage for lunch earlier that day regarding the lead in Enemy of the State. However, Jerry Bruckheimer was still in talks with Will Smith, and Eric didn't want to completely derail Bruckheimer's original plans. He simply made a few subtle remarks to have Cage's cooperation. If Bruckheimer couldn't finalize the deal with Smith, Cage would step in.

On another note, although negotiations were ongoing, news soon circulated that Firefly and Sony were about to sign a supplementary agreement concerning the rights to the Men in Black series.

Once the clause for automatic rights to sequels reverting to Firefly Group after five years was removed, Sony Pictures was inevitably less eager than before, meaning they wouldn't have to lean toward Will Smith when it came to salary.

Perhaps influenced by all this, a few days later, Jerry Bruckheimer called Eric to say that Will Smith had agreed to sign on for Enemy of the State, with a salary of $11 million. While this figure was slightly higher than Eric's initial demand, he didn't insist too hard to ensure the film could be released in the Easter slot the following year.

However, as for Men in Black 3, Will Smith was still showing no signs of budging, and Eric certainly wouldn't give in easily either.

...

The following Thursday, Bravo's Desperate Housewives finally aired its first-season finale, reaching a peak audience of 7.07 million. Just as expected, it surpassed the 7 million mark, with an average viewership of 6.81 million, and a rating of 4.6, ranking thirteenth in that time slot -- indeed a small miracle, as it was the only cable program that made it into the top fifteen during that period.

The end of Desperate Housewives' first season also marked the wrapping up of the spring TV season.

...

The next day, May 15, the first blockbuster of the summer season, Lethal Weapon 4, officially premiered on more than 3,100 screens across North America.

Although it was one of the most popular cop series from the late '80s, there had been a full six-year gap since Lethal Weapon 3, and many fans had lost interest in the series by then.

Thus, despite Mel Gibson bringing a sense of closure and catering to mainstream family values, the film was not as well-received by critics or fans. Media ratings averaged around 5 out of 10, barely passing.

On its opening day, Lethal Weapon 4 only managed $11.28 million -- a figure even lower than the Easter release of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Many recalled that a month prior, Austin Powers had over $15 million on its first day.

The discrepancy between the two films was most glaring in terms of budget; Lethal Weapon 4 had a whopping production cost of $140 million -- nearly five times that of Austin Powers.

With a first-day box office of $11.28 million, it suggested Lethal Weapon 4 would likely earn around $50 million in its first week. With mediocre reviews and a crowded summer movie slate, it was unlikely to generate a successful box office trajectory, with a total North American gross likely just around $100 million.

Without a doubt, the summer slate for Warner Bros. still faced dire challenges.

...

After spending two days at the Liberty City Manor, Caroline returned to the apartment she shared with Melanie. Olivia Wilson naturally stayed behind but didn't overly intrude into Eric's life. Their conversations remained limited; she only prepared breakfast every morning, ate with him, and in the evenings, if Eric returned to the manor, they would share dinner.

While it felt a bit strange, Eric gradually grew accustomed to it.

The celebration for the three movies -- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Wedding Singer, and Species -- was set for Saturday night. Eric hadn't taken a break during the day and returned to Liberty City Manor only to change clothes before heading out to the party.

At the villa, after changing downstairs, Olivia came forward to help him adjust his tie and stepped back to admire him, softly saying, "Go on, but don't drink too much."

Eric nodded, hesitating for a moment before suggesting, "Why don't you come with me?"

Olivia shook her head. "How do you plan to introduce me to others?"

Eric paused, momentarily speechless.

Olivia just giggled and added, "I already bought my ticket for the noon flight tomorrow. If you ever visit the UK, feel free to drop by. And take good care of Carly."

"I will," Eric replied. "See you."

"Goodbye," Olivia waved, watching Eric's silhouette leave the villa, a hint of sadness flickering in her eyes.

...

The celebration party took place at a hotel in Beverly Hills. Aniston had bought a villa in the upscale area north of Santa Monica, and Eric first drove through Santa Monica to pick her up before heading to the party together.

Since reuniting at the end of last year, this was the first time they publicly attended a party together. Aniston was quite excited and had even prepared an evening gown.

However, Eric seemed somewhat distracted; all the while, he struggled with the thought that giving his parting hug didn't have to be a big deal.

As they walked into the hotel and entered the elevator, Aniston clung to Eric's arm, playfully asking, "Eric, if we run into her, who will you help if we get into a fight?"

Eric snapped back to the moment. "Who are you talking about?"

Aniston shot him an incredulous look. "Don't think I don't know anything!"

Eric laughed, explaining, "If you two got into it, I'd just sit back and watch the show. But Drew's in Europe and won't be coming tonight."

"And her?" Aniston pressed.

Eric didn't pretend not to understand and explained, "Her dad and mom are in the middle of a divorce, and she flew to New York yesterday. So, tonight, you're the only leading lady."

Aniston's concerns dissipated in an instant; she had been nervous all along, hardly noticing Eric's mood. Yet, she still couldn't help but challenge, "Who knows if you're involved with other women at the party."

Eric thought about it honestly and nodded, "Yeah, there's likely still something going on."

"You jerk! You'd better not talk to any other women tonight."

"I promise," Eric said earnestly.

Just then, the elevator doors opened. As they stepped out, they spotted Amy Pascal and her husband, Bernard Weinraub, walking towards them from the opposite hallway.

Eric stopped, smiling and shaking hands with Bernard, saying, "Good evening, Bernard. Oh, please say hi to Amy for me. My girlfriend won't let me speak with any other women tonight."

As soon as Eric finished speaking, both Amy and Bernard paused in surprise before bursting into laughter. Aniston's face turned beet red, and in a fit of irritation, she pinched Eric's arm hard.

After sharing a laugh, Amy playfully winked at Aniston, saying, "In that case, Jen, do send my regards to Mr. Williams."

"Not going to happen! He did that on purpose!" Aniston flustered, quickly explaining while giving Eric another discreet pinch with a sigh, "Okay, okay, you can talk now."

After some light banter, they finally entered the banquet hall together.

...

Those attending the celebration party mainly included the cast and crew of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Wedding Singer, and Species, along with some executives from various companies. With all three films nearing their end of release, they hadn't invited the media; however, a few affiliated companies were sure to issue regular press releases the next day.

As it stood, the North American box office for the three films had already crossed $350 million, and it was estimated to reach the anticipated $360 million before they left the theaters.

Considering the promotional budget and the total investment of $140 million, acquiring $360 million at the North American box office, although the overall revenue of the three films might not match that of Jurassic Park or Casino Royale, the marketing strategy for the "Easter Movie Combo" was undoubtedly one of Hollywood's most classic commercial operations in recent years.

Beyond the Firefly Group, other Hollywood companies had begun reaching out to one another lately, hoping to position themselves for next year's Easter. Naturally, many sought direct collaboration with the Firefly Group, but since the three companies had already proven the feasibility of such collaboration, they were no longer interested in bringing in additional partners.

...

The lively party continued late into the night before Eric finally left with Aniston. It was too late to return to Liberty City Manor, so they stayed at Aniston's villa in Santa Monica.

Perhaps due to drinking a bit too much the previous night or the late hours spent with Aniston, Eric woke up the next morning to find golden sunlight streaming into his bedroom.

Rubbing his temples, he paused for a moment before looking around, noticing the exquisite clock on the bedside table displayed the time -- 11:40 am.

Remembering that Olivia had mentioned her noon flight, Eric quickly grabbed his phone and dialed back to Liberty City Manor.

No one answered, so he called the twins, and this time it connected. Olivia was already at the airport, and without thinking twice, Eric hurriedly got dressed and dashed out of the room.

Aniston was humming in the kitchen, and upon seeing Eric rush downstairs, she immediately came out. "Eric, are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, I have an urgent matter," Eric explained, noticing Aniston's discontented expression. He took her hand and led her outside. "Come with me."

...

Fortunately, Santa Monica wasn't too far from Los Angeles International Airport. Ten minutes later, they got out of the car, and the twins guided them to the terminal.

Olivia was holding a suitcase, whispering with Caroline. Upon seeing Eric, a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Eric, you're here."

"Yeah, sorry, I overdid it on drinks last night," Eric explained. Hearing the boarding announcement for their flight to London, he hesitated for a moment before walking over to Olivia and reaching out.

Olivia paused, then stepped forward to hug Eric, a single tear escaping from the corner of her eye.

It wasn't until Olivia's figure disappeared at the gate that Aniston turned to Eric with a puzzled expression.

After some shifting, Eric explained, "She, um, I guess she's my mom."

*****

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