Chapter 26: Chapter 26 - Potential Crisis
Michael Klaus decided to play the rogue when Eric kept shaking his head: "Eric, just give me something, alright? I've been so busy helping you with Jurassic Park that my wife started complaining. I even gave you royalties in advance so that you could make your movie, aren't you even a little bit moved ?"
Seeing the stocky middle-aged man in front of him playing the emotional card, Eric couldn't help but have the chills. He thought for a moment and said: "Well, I do have a science-fiction idea in mind, but it's just an idea, no specific outline yet. It's based on George Romero's living dead series, a biotechnology company is studying a virus when it is suddenly leaked, infecting humanity at the same time..."
Eric's story was, of course, Resident Evil. Although he had seen the series in his past life, he hadn't really liked it. But thanks to his memory, he remembered it in its entirety.
Resident Evil was probably the most profitable game adapted to the screen. the cost of production wasn't high, and the series' total box office had even crossed the 1 billion $ mark. Since Michael wanted him to write something, this would keep him occupied. Plus, he would get to steal from the Japanese, which kind of left him with a sense of accomplishment.
Michael Klaus was somewhat dissatisfied: "Don't you have anything else? A lot of people do like zombie stories, but the audience is quite small."
Eric shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands as if saying 'do what you like'. So, Michael had no choice but to say: "Alright, then start writing as soon as possible. With your current fame, we won't have to worry about the sales volumes. By the way, you could add some adult elements. Anyway, you're of age now, no one will say anything about it."
Blabbing around his own ideas, Michael suddenly noticed that Eric's face looked strange. He subconsciously turned and found Aniston standing behind him, her mouth slightly open, she was looking at the middle-aged man in a way that screamed: Ah, you're a pervert!
"Cough, Eric, I suddenly remembered I have something to do, so I'll be going now." After instigating her boyfriend to write adult stories, Michael was embarrassed and awkwardly made his way out. "Be sure to start writing as soon as possible!" he said from the entrance before hastily leaving.
After he left, Aniston asked: "Eric, you're not really going to write according to that guy's suggestions… right?"
"Of course not, I am being promoted by Columbia and the Fox as a model for young people in the United States. How could I damage that glorious image for some petty profits."
"Bah! What model for the youth, you're just a big bad wolf… Ah… I'm kidding… Noo…"
After some wrestling, Annie ended up topless on the couch with Eric on top of her.
...
After Home Alone and 17 Again's large-scale publicity campaign, it was finally time for another key moment: the previews.
November 11th, the two films held simultaneous screenings for the press. In this era where the Internet didn't exist yet, the viewers relied mostly on newspapers when it came to picking a film. Therefore, the movie's reviews were something one could not avoid. Of course, after the critics who participated in the preview watched the movie, as long as it wasn't completely repulsive, they would generally not make too severe remarks. After all, the critics' needed movies to survive, but movies didn't actually need them that much.
The day after the screenings, the major newspapers and magazines had finally released the long-awaited reviews on Home Alone and 17 Again.
"Home Alone delivers a new narrative mode of pure comedy, full of innocence, warmth, and jokes that will grow on you, like funny conflicts between the protagonist and the two young and old robbers. I have to say, as a seven-year-old, Stuart Runkle's performance was nothing short of amazing. There was also rookie Matthew Perry who played a remarkable character, full of hilarious gimmicks, and people just can't help but laugh…." – Los Angeles Times.
"A genius director and talented young actors, have dedicated themselves to making you happy this Christmas. To those who will go watch the movie, I advise you not to eat popcorn, or you're likely to spray it all over your seated neighbors when you laugh out loud…." – Chicago Tribune.
"In 17 Again, Drew Barrymore experiences a flawless transformation. Gone is her previous image of the small and cute girl from E.T. Here, she portrays a rebellious daughter about to graduate from high school, whose several outbursts throughout the movie helped the young actress exhibit her amazing acting skills. Both the giants of the cinema, Dan Aykroyd and Susan Sarandon's performances were absolutely splendid. Eric Williams, who wrote and starred in the movie, was absolutely nothing like inexperienced young blood. If we're going by acting skills, he didn't lose to Drew Barrymore in the slightest. With his movie Home Alone being released at the same time, I have to concur that this man might be a genius blessed by God. That would be the only way to explain Eric Williams' outstanding talent…" – Empire Magazine.
"Many people always complain about the reality of their life. Watch 17 Again, and you will realize that you might not be so unhappy. You might also feel a variety of negative emotions that will probably suffocate and isolate you, and you might even start getting jealous of the protagonist for being able to get out of his body and look at himself from another's perspective…." – Washington Post.
A lot of newspapers paid tribute to the two movies, so critics were also inevitable, after all, no matter how powerful the two giants were, they couldn't control all the media, not to mention that the four other big players weren't about to let Columbia and the Fox gloat too long.
One of them, The Chicago Sun-Times, directly criticized Home Alone as a completely unrealistic and nonsensical work, saying that the plot lacked rationality, that two robbers being teased by a kid had never happened in reality, and that it was likely to result in misleading children and teenagers alike.
Another, the Los Angeles Daily News, made a more incisive point as it denounced the use of a toy gun by Kevin in Home Alone, and was calling for a re-examination of the movie itself. This news had even gotten the attention of a Los Angeles television station which made Eric really concerned. Despite the proliferation of firearms in the United States, they controlled their use in movies and television works very strictly.
He anxiously called Lester Reed and inquired about the matter. The former casually reassured him, and let him in on an inside story.
The Los Angeles Daily News' owner was a shareholder of Universal Pictures, and the studio was planning on releasing their animated work Land Before Time on November 18th, coinciding with Home Alone, their only child-oriented competitor. These kinds of things were normal, and Columbia would naturally counterattack accordingly.
Hanging the phone up, Eric sighed, troubles were knocking on his door way too soon. At the same time, this little episode gave him a sense of crisis. Compared to those big movie companies, he was just a small shrimp right now and wasn't any threat to those giants. But once Home Alone became a success, they would surely start being vigilant of him, especially Columbia.
If at that time he didn't have enough strength to stand up for himself, then he could only bear while those giants suppressed him.
His past's Tom Cruise was a splendid example. Since the movies he starred in sold so well, his authority and share of the profits got higher and higher until finally, the paycheck he received even exceeded the Paramount Pictures' CEO by many times. The owner, Sumner Redstone, had therefore openly and directly slammed Tom Cruise in the news in 2006, while Viacom's media kept discrediting him for several years after, making his career hit rock bottom.
"Hey babe, what's up?" Noticing Eric had gotten off the phone but was still in a daze, Aniston gently tugged his shirt.
"Oh, nothing."
While Eric always maintained his confident air, Aniston still felt his anxiety about the two movies. After all, the only thing that remained in Eric's possession was the car that his father left behind. He had mortgaged everything else that could be mortgaged, and if Home Alone flopped, the bet would be lost and Eric would become bankrupt.
She hugged her boyfriend from behind, and leaned her head against his back, as she whispered: "Baby, I might not be able to help much, but if there's something on your mind, I should still be qualified enough to listen."
"I just suddenly felt that…" Eric turned around and took Annie in his arms as he said: "The future might be more difficult to tread than I thought. Annie, will you still walk down the path with me?"
"Of course I will." Aniston didn't understand the underlying meaning of Eric's words but decisively acquiesced.
"Thank you, Annie. Are you really not coming to New York with me? I can arrange for James to get an extra ticket."
As the Home Alone and 17 Again release date was drawing near, the two crews decided to leave for the East Coast to promote in New York. However, as she only had a small role in 17 Again, Aniston wasn't one of the actors involved in promotions.
Annie didn't want to bother her boyfriend for something so small. She shook her head and said: "No, I lived in New York for many years, there's really no point in going again."
The two lovers hugged for a while before Annie gently pushed him away and helped with the packing of his travel luggage.
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