Capítulo 511: Chapter 512: Be Cautious
[Chapter 512: Be Cautious]
The production process for the TV shows was highly standardized and complex, with fierce competition; often, only one out of one hundred scripts would get selected. Many series that advanced to filming would still undergo rigorous selection after producing a pilot, leading to more cuts. Typically, new series that eventually aired on television would only be ordered for six episodes. After the initial airing, just before Thanksgiving, if the ratings performed well, they'd move forward with additional episodes. However, if the ratings were abysmal, the show could be abruptly canceled.
Even Rupert Murdoch couldn't simply decide to greenlight an entire first season of a series produced by his daughter's company without seeing positive ratings first. He might only offer better terms once the show had demonstrated strong viewership.
Right now, Buffy the Vampire Slayer hadn't even produced a pilot, but Fox had already ordered a full first season. Apart from being a nominal producer who had done little, Eric couldn't think of any other reason for this development.
Kepler noticed Eric fell silent for a while and tentatively asked, "Eric, are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm just a bit surprised."
"Ha! You're the most powerful person in Hollywood right now. So, about that earlier discussion, do you want to meet that girl? Didn't you say she had a lot of potential?"
Eric chuckled, teasing, "Now I'm starting to wonder if you owe Michelle Simmons a favor or if it's just a romantic debt you need to settle."
"Hey, Eric, stop joking. My son is already in middle school!"
"Alright, alright. In that case," Eric rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "I'll make time to meet that girl. Honestly, I just came up with a pretty good idea."
Kepler asked, "Is it about the movie?"
"Yeah, I had the idea of making an action series with a female lead. That girl is only eighteen, which is a plus. At least, if the movie does well at the box office in the future, we could shoot several sequels."
"Your movies can't possibly flop at the box office." Kepler sincerely complimented before half-jokingly adding, "You'd better leave a few roles for ICM when the time comes."
"Of course, no problem," Eric replied. "Let's wrap it up for today, and when I find some time, I'll have Allen get in touch with you."
...
After hanging up, Eric turned around to see the curious girl who had been eavesdropping jumping over. She linked arms with Eric and asked, "Eric, what girl? What movie?"
"It's that girl from this afternoon. Kepler called me about her," Eric pinched the girl's cheeks playfully. "Speaking of which, you're eighteen now, and it's time for those copyrights that Flower Films has reserved for you to help you hone your skills -- let's start with that female action movie I just mentioned."
Drew was already aware of the copyrights that Eric had set aside for her. "You're talking about the film version of Charlie's Angels?"
Once back inside the restaurant, Eric sat down and said, "Yes. The films from the last couple of years, like Thelma & Louise and Sarah & Shannon (The Heat), have both done well in the box office and critically. Not to mention last year's A League of Their Own; all of these prove that female-centric films are very promising."
The usually cheerful girl suddenly felt a bit anxious. She looked at Elisabeth and the others and said, "But, Eric, I'm not sure if I can handle it, and what about TG Films?"
Eric reassured her, "This won't be an overnight decision, plus I think Liz can handle the company just fine."
With Eric's approval, Elisabeth initially felt a bit proud but then expressed her frustration: "I don't want to. The company was founded by me, Drew, and Julia. Why should all the work fall on me when they get to relax and reap the benefits?"
"Then I'll just sell my shares in the company to you," Drew said without hesitation.
Elisabeth was taken aback, unsure how to respond. Meanwhile, Julia, who was still holding onto Emma, looked a bit anxious: "How about I give up my shares too?"
Julia's comment was clearly fueled by guilt; she hadn't helped with much since the company was formed. She had initially invested a few million dollars, but in the past two years, she had already earned back over ten times that amount. This had led her to become lazy about acting, even losing interest in the stardom Eric had initially promised her.
Hearing Drew and Julia speak up, Elisabeth felt embarrassed. "I didn't mean that! I was just saying it casually. I didn't want either of you to give up your shares!"
Eric lightly tapped the table, interrupting the women's chatter. "Actually, I have an idea you might want to hear. Twentieth Century Fox has had a rough couple years with their film business. I remember Liz mentioned that Mr. Murdoch wanted to buy the company, right?"
Upon receiving Elisabeth's nod, Eric continued, "If that's the case, you could consider selling the company entirely to Twentieth Century Fox. Whether you three want to exchange shares for Fox stock or cash is up to you. Drew can leave and return to managing her Flower Films, and Liz, given your performance these past two years, I think you could at least secure a vice president position at Fox."
Eric paused but left unsaid some subsequent thoughts. If things went well, Elisabeth might climb up the Fox hierarchy and eventually take over the Murdoch family's News Corp. Despite Rupert's preference for his sons to take the family mantle, if his daughter shone far more brilliantly than them, even if Murdoch still leaned toward having his sons in charge, Eric believed the shareholders would have a say. After all, while Murdoch controlled News Corp tightly, the family didn't have absolute dominance over it. Investors would surely prefer to entrust their investments to someone competent.
Once Eric finished speaking, Drew promptly nodded in agreement, and Elisabeth appeared to reflect deeply. Tina Fey seemed like an outsider, quietly eating her dinner, while Julia opened her mouth as if she were about to ask, "What about me?"
Eric finished his dinner in a few bites and shot Julia a warning glance at her wandering eyes, saying, "As for you, we'll talk about it in a bit."
Julia sheepishly shrank back and held Emma up. "I... want to sleep with Emma tonight."
The little one didn't understand why her aunt was holding her up but seemed to enjoy it, giggling and waving her little hands excitedly.
Eric took a napkin from the carton and wiped his hands, then walked up to the little girl, picking Emma up from Julia's arms. "Come on, Emma, let's go watch some TV."
"TV, TV!" the little girl squealed, showing no shyness, reaching out to grab Eric's shirt collar.
As they walked, Eric asked, "Little one, I need to discuss some things with your aunt. Do you want to sleep with Aunt Liz, Aunt Drew, or Aunt Tina?"
Though the two-year-old could understand Eric's words, it took her a while to think about it before she said, "Auntie Julia."
"Well, that won't do," Eric laughed, shaking his head as he picked up the remote and turned on the TV. He settled down with Emma in his lap. "Choose someone else."
Emma stared wide-eyed at him for a moment and suddenly said, "Daddy."
"Um..."
"Haha," the sound of the little girl calling him "daddy" sent the room into peals of laughter from the women around.
Eric chuckled and pinched the little girl's cheeks. He turned to the women in the dining room, asking, "What's going on? Why is she calling me daddy?"
After considering Eric's suggestion, Elisabeth, sounding somewhat envious, said, "Well, if you're going to be a daddy, what's wrong with having more daughters?"
"Not that, it just feels a little weird," Eric shook his head and suddenly recalled something. "Hey, by the way, what did you register for the little one's name?"
"Emma," Elisabeth answered.
Eric sensed a hint of oddness in her tone and followed up, "I meant her last name."
A moment of silence fell over the dining room.
A bad premonition crept into Eric's mind; these women wouldn't have really gone off the rails, would they?
Finally, Drew softly said, "Eric, didn't you know?"
"I... know what?"
"Yeah, I heard it was your suggestion."
Eric felt a throb at the temples and pressed, "What's it?"
"Emma Roberts Murdoch Barrymore Williams!"
Puff—— Tina Fey, who had been clueless until then, cracked up at the long string of names, causing Eric's remote to slip from his hand and hit the floor.
After a moment, Eric turned to Elisabeth. "I seem to recall asking about this once, and someone was adamant that there would be no way my last name would go on the little one's."
Facing Eric's inquiry, Elisabeth stood her ground with hands on her hips: "We put it on because we wanted to; Williams isn't your exclusive property, and we can use it!"
"Right," Julia whispered, but then quickly slipped into the kitchen to wash dishes.
Drew settled down next to Eric, immediately selling Elisabeth out: "Liz was worried that using the surname Murdoch would create misunderstandings, and I just went along with it."
Eric habitually tapped Drew's forehead, looking utterly bemused. "And this is going along with it?!"
...
The very next day, after Eric had discussed the strategy for TG Films, Rupert Murdoch anxiously called Eric from New York. Though the company's shares held no direct connection to Eric, according to the agreement from when the company was founded, Firefly Films remained the largest beneficiary of all movie distribution rights and peripheral operating rights in the North American territory.
These two aspects allowed the company to receive over half of the profits from the movies they produced. Fox, on the other hand, only held the less profitable overseas distribution rights and had to split profits with TG, ultimately garnering only fifteen percent of the total profitability. Meanwhile, Elisabeth, Drew, and Julia shared about thirty percent of the total profits.
If Fox acquired the company but couldn't reclaim the distribution rights held by Firefly Films, it would be nearly equivalent to not making an acquisition at all. Clearly, Murdoch wouldn't engage in such a deal.
Company valuation was another matter requiring prolonged negotiations. It bore similarities to Miramax's situation, which was also seeking a buyer. Although history had diverged, in the last two years, the Weinsteins' Miramax had spiraled into massive financial losses due to excessive business expansion and was frantically seeking a lifeline. While the Weinsteins offered the company for five hundred million, interested producers and investment firms only valued Miramax at around fifty million, representing a tenfold difference. The most significant bargaining chip for Miramax was the Oscar-winning public relations resources possessed by the Weinsteins. Such "intangible assets" were hard to quantify, and the big Hollywood studios scarcely regarded Miramax's library or distribution channels. For the company, aside from Eric's support, the crucial bargaining chip was undoubtedly the three-year option contract signed with Jim Carrey. Given Carrey's track record of back-to-back box office hits from low-budget comedies, even if just a single film was produced each year for the remaining three-year period, conservatively, it could yield around three hundred million dollars for the producers.
Despite the growing discord between the parties involved, industry insiders were well aware that Jim Carrey had no chance of escaping that option contract with a staggering hundred million dollars in penalties. Otherwise, with Carrey's demonstrated box office potential, several major studios would have made moves to try and poach him.
Furthermore, if the series development for Buffy the Vampire Slayer saw similar success as its original, it would serve as another vital bargaining chip for future negotiations.
The planned business structure for 1993 had already been determined long ago. Even if a potential acquisition dialogue emerged, it would likely commence in the latter half of the year. Murdoch's call to Eric was fundamentally aimed at getting a clear answer from him regarding the company.
*****
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