Chapter 444: Chapter 445 Can We Visit?
[Chapter 445 Can We Visit?]
In the original timeline, Disney's prime television asset was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN), with ABC trailing behind, at times even becoming a burden for the Disney Group. As for the Disney Channel, due to its limited target audience, it hadn't achieved much notable success.
After Michael Eisner took the reins in 1984, he focused primarily on the film industry and hadn't had the opportunity to divert his attention to television when Disney was acquired by Firefly Films.
Eric and Katzenberg arrived at the production center of the Disney Channel, and to be honest, Eric had little interest in it. If he hadn't heard the name Mickey Mouse Club from Katzenberg, he wouldn't have bothered coming by to waste his time.
A somewhat nervous production manager named Owen Mott guided them through the production center. He felt uneasy; after all, Eric hadn't visited many of Disney's numerous departments yet, but he came here, to the children's channel, which hadn't made much of an impact in its nearly ten years on air. Owen worried that Eric might decide to reform this department first.
As they passed through a soundstage, Owen introduced, "Mr. Williams, this is the recording site for the Mickey Mouse Club. Would you like to take a look inside?"
Eric, who had been a bit aloof, perked up immediately. "Absolutely."
Noticing Eric's newfound enthusiasm, Owen quickly led them into the soundstage.
"The Mickey Mouse Club premiered in January, airing five days a week with a different theme for each day -- Music Day, Comedy Day, Surprise Day, Party Day, and Guest Day, with each episode running for one hour," Owen Mott explained as the three entered the soundstage.
They saw six or seven boys and girls, around eleven or twelve years old, rehearsing a short skit on stage. When they noticed the three entrants, the show's director announced a break and walked over quickly.
"Mr. Williams, hello, I'm Billy Clark, the director of the Mickey Mouse Club," a man in his forties named Billy Clark greeted Eric with a handshake before nodding to Katzenberg and Owen. He then gave Owen a questioning look.
"I just came to take a look; you all can continue," Eric explained.
Billy Clark smiled. "We're rehearsing for tomorrow's recording, Mr. Williams. Would you like to watch?"
"Sure," Eric nodded and took a seat in the audience with Katzenberg and Owen. Due to the rehearsal, the audience area was empty.
On stage, a curious boy looked over while whispering.
"Hey, look, that's Eric Williams." A girl with bangs spoke up.
"He's not here to cast for a movie, is he?" replied another girl with wavy blonde hair, instinctively fixing her hair.
The other two boys leaned over to agree, saying, "It's very likely! If that's the case, that'd be amazing! I heard that Stuart Ronkel from Home Alone is now making over 10 million dollars per movie."
The wavy-haired girl rolled her eyes at the boy who spoke, putting on an air of superiority. "That's impossible! That's just a number they publicized. The reason they halted filming for Home Alone 3 was that Stuart Ronkel was asking for too much."
"Even if it's just five million, that's still more than we have," another boy chimed in.
The wavy-haired girl nodded absently, glancing at the bangs girl beside her. She thought she looked prettier than herself. If Eric was indeed scouting for talent, she definitely had the upper hand.
"I can't let this opportunity slip away," she told herself, fixing her hair again and glancing at the bangs girl. "I can't let this chance pass; that girl is so dumb, she definitely won't outshine me."
The group of seven kids continued to whisper among themselves when Billy Clark clapped his hands at the edge of the stage. "Okay, kiddos, guess who's here? It's the director of Home Alone! Get pumped! Let's do that skit again, and if you perform well, Mr. Williams just might choose you to be the stars of the next film."
Upon hearing what Billy had said, Eric noticed the kids looking over at him and smiled, giving them a thumbs-up as if to cheer them on.
"Wow, he's so handsome! I'm definitely going to find a boyfriend like him when I grow up," the bangs girl said dreamily.
The wavy-haired girl scoffed and teased, "Weren't you just saying last time on the Talent Scout show that all boys are too scruffy and you didn't want a boyfriend?"
"That's Eric Williams! He couldn't possibly be scruffy." The bangs girl stared wide-eyed, adding stubbornly, "Oh, look, he's looking at me!"
"Why isn't he looking at me?" The wavy-haired girl pouted, shooting Eric a defiant smile.
"He's totally looking at me," the bangs girl asserted confidently.
"Hey, both of you, stop chatting, it's time to perform," an assistant director holding a script gestured toward the girls.
The bangs girl stuck out her tongue cutely and headed towards backstage, while the wavy-haired girl quickly followed suit.
Once the seven kids moved backstage to prepare, Eric directed his attention back to the stage. Of the seven kids, four boys and three girls, he had no sense of familiarity with any of them. He wondered if perhaps these young kids were just too young, or if his memory was fading again. He nudged Billy Clark, who had just come back to sit down beside him. "Billy, could you pass me a roster of these kids?"
"Of course," Billy nodded, summoning an assistant and giving a few instructions. In no time, a stack of papers made its way to Eric.
While the stage was still preparing, Eric opened the stack, and familiar names like Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera caught his eye.
Eric was initially surprised that the list hadn't changed much. However, he understood when he looked through their backgrounds. Most of these kids had started taking related training as early as seven or eight years old. Back then, he hadn't traveled back in time yet, so he couldn't have influenced anything.
When the kids appeared again on stage, he recognized their faces. At that moment, Britney was sporting shoulder-length hair with bangs, the shortest and the cutest. The girl with the curly hair was Christina Aguilera, while Justin sported a trendy side part. The other kids' names were unfamiliar to him, likely having returned to normal lives after the club disbanded in his past life.
According to Billy Clark's explanation, the short skits the kids were rehearsing were mostly adaptations of classic cartoons, movies, or theatrical scenes, primarily in a comedic style. Once recorded, they would be aired on Comedy Day of the Mickey Mouse Club.
Currently, they were performing a segment adapted from Disney's classic cartoon, The Jungle Book. Eric had never seen The Jungle Book and felt little connection to their childish production, except for the small actors on stage.
At that moment, Christina, wearing a feathered headpiece, was portraying Mowgli's friend from the forest village, while Britney was adorned with rabbit ears, clearly playing a rabbit.
Christina delivered her lines, trying hard to outshine what she deemed the silly Britney, but her gaze kept drifting toward Eric. She knew if he truly was casting for a movie, her only competition would be Britney. The other girl, an African American, didn't pose a threat in her eyes due to ingrained societal biases -- even children who lacked cunning demonstrated this noticeably. Christina couldn't regard the Black boy and girl in their group as competition at all.
Perhaps due to her distractions, when Justin Timberlake, who played Mowgli, finished his line, Christina suddenly realized she had forgotten hers. Stunned, she hesitated for a full five seconds before recalling her words, stumbling through them while feeling a rising urge to cry. She thought, "I'm dead; I'll never outdo that silly Britney. I wish I would have just taken the rabbit role. It not only had fewer lines but all I would have to do is act cute."
However, Christina's worry proved unfounded, as Eric hardly noticed. His attention was primarily on Britney, perhaps due to memories from his past life, he found himself fantasizing about the grown Britney shedding her oversized fluffy rabbit costume, leaving only the ears behind. Uh...
Christina had no idea what Eric was thinking; she was too focused on how to redeem herself. Soon, an opportunity arose when Britney skipped by her side. Christina quickly glanced around, confirming no one was watching, and casually extended her foot. Britney, off balance from jumping, stumbled and fell onto the stage with a thud.
"Oops, Bubbles, how could you be so careless?" As Christina rushed over to help Britney up, she suppressed her inner delight and consoled her, feigning concern.
Such an incident made it impossible to continue the performance, and Billy Clark called for a pause, sending an awkward glance toward Eric as an apology.
"Let's check on that girl first," Eric gestured toward the stage with an amused gleam in his eye, standing up first.
Billy Clark and Katzenberg followed him to the stage.
On stage, with Christina helping Britney to sit on a prop box, Britney stared at the spot where she had fallen. Though there were some stage props nearby, she felt she'd been careful and couldn't believe she still tripped.
"Bubbles, are you okay?" Billy Clark knelt beside Britney, eyes filled with concern.
With a guilty glance towards Eric, Britney raised her elbow, pulling her right hand out of the rabbit costume. "I'm fine, just bumped here."
Seeing only a faint red mark on her elbow, Billy knew she was alright. He turned to Eric, "Mr. Williams, would you like to continue?"
Eric smiled and shook his head. "No need, let's take a break. And you did great, kiddos, keep it up."
When Christina heard Eric say this, she worried he was just brushing them off and concluded he must be quite disappointed with their performance. Feeling a bit disheartened, she was surprised when Eric looked at her with a smile. She didn't realize it was because he had shifted his attention back to her after focusing on Britney, and thought perhaps Eric had a unique interest in her. This ignited a glimmer of hope in Christina as she mustered her courage, "Mr. Williams, could I have your autograph?"
Eric raised an eyebrow. "Of course, but I don't have a pen."
An observant crew member quickly stepped forward and passed Eric a pen.
Eric accepted it, squatting down to sign his name in the notebook Christina held out. The other kids eagerly lined up for autographs as well. While Britney wanted an autograph, she felt a bit bashful, having just embarrassed herself in front of Eric and unsure if he'd be willing to sign for her.
"How about you?" After signing for the last kid, Eric raised the pen towards the shyly seated Britney.
"I... I can?" Britney asked tentatively.
"Of course," Eric nodded with a smile.
Britney beamed, quickly sprinting backstage to grab her notebook.
Eric swiftly jotted down a string of encouraging words and signed his name on Britney's book.
Watching this unfold, Christina couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at Eric's extra kind words to Britney. She hesitated briefly before leaning in to say, "Mr. Williams, I heard you live in a shell villa by the Malibu coast?"
With interest, Eric nodded, "Yeah."
"Can... can we visit? I've heard many people want to see the Shell Villa."
As soon as Christina finished speaking, the other kids showed eager expressions, and Britney's eyes lit up with excitement. The Malibu Liberty City estate had become a coveted destination for many, even those from out of town visiting Los Angeles would rent a speedboat just to catch a glimpse of the Free City from afar, while those with means would even hire helicopters. Yet, no one dared to fly directly over the estate itself.
*****
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