Capítulo 299: Chapter 300: Too Late
[Chapter 300: Too Late]
The spacious party hall was crowded with people, as Firefly Films hosted their Oscar celebration. Typically, aside from the winning film crews, only the major studios in Hollywood would throw such parties after the Golden Globes or the Oscars, inviting numerous stars from the industry. Lesser-known companies wouldn't even dare to do it, as it would only result in an embarrassing turnout due to the lack of big-name stars, which would be even more humiliating.
However, Firefly was different. Even though they still held a second-tier position in the industry, this year, due to the significant impact of their films at the box office and award ceremonies, most of the stars from former UTA certainly showed up. Additionally, many other Hollywood celebrities came just to support or scout for opportunities.
"I feel the Academy has been a bit too conservative this year. All four films you directed personally achieved huge box office success. Aside from Home Alone 2 being a pure comedy, I believe the other three deserved nominations for Best Director without a doubt, especially Running Out of Time. What a pity," Harvey Weinstein said sincerely, leaning his plump face closer to Eric.
Eric had just run into the Weinstein brothers after the Oscars. He had planned to catch up with them, but after hearing that Firefly was holding a celebration, the brothers brought the entire crew from My Left Foot along. Even though My Left Foot received five nominations, it ultimately came away empty-handed. As a result, the Weinsteins canceled their original celebration, and no studio member complained.
Holding a glass of red wine, Eric smiled, "Harvey, it's all good. I'm still young, and there will be many opportunities in the future. Winning awards too early isn't necessarily a good thing. It can easily lead someone off course and make them stagnant."
"No, no, no." Harvey immediately shook his head. "Eric, I actually think Firefly's award strategy has quite a few missteps. Take those two Best Screenplay nominations, for example. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have submitted one for Best Original Screenplay and another for Best Adapted Screenplay. It's not that your scripts aren't excellent; it's just that both scripts are so outstanding that they could end up competing against each other, which could result in both missing the mark. I think you can see my point. And as for Scent of a Woman, it's a shame it only got one Best Actor nomination."
"I think Daniel Day-Lewis's performance in My Left Foot was exceptional. If it weren't for Scent of a Woman, perhaps the Best Actor award should have gone to him," Eric said, glancing over at Daniel nearby. "I heard Daniel got so immersed in his character that he lost himself in it. He even acted as if he were disabled, requiring help to eat."
Harvey looked around and lowered his voice slightly. "Actually, I prepared to push for the Best Actor campaign initially, because while My Left Foot is outstanding, it's still a British film, and its lead is an Irish artist. So even though My Left Foot got five nominations, the most likely award would have been Best Actor. But when Scent of a Woman appeared, I knew Daniel's Best Actor nomination was out of the question. And the chances for Best Picture were very slim as well. So I switched to pushing for Best Director. Unfortunately, I still couldn't compete with Oliver Stone. After all, he's a renowned director in Hollywood for years, while Jim Sheridan was directing for the first time. In the end, it was just bad luck for Miramax."
Eric nodded, not disagreeing, and continued to wait for Harvey to elaborate. He knew that Harvey had set the stage for something more significant.
As expected, after a brief pause, Harvey gestured to Robert Shea, who was nearby, passionately discussing something with a group of people. He continued, "Eric, I know Robert Shea led Firefly's Oscar campaign, but look at how outstanding Scent of a Woman is. Unlike My Left Foot, Scent of a Woman reflects typical American values, and with Martin Brest's credentials, it had all the advantages. Yet, it only ended up with one Best Actor award while Best Director and Best Picture slipped away. That's what's truly unfortunate. If Miramax had handled Scent of a Woman, I believe it could have at least secured one of those awards."
After hearing Harvey's words, Eric expressed some regret. "Harvey, you do make a good point. But Firefly doesn't have the same standing as Miramax anymore. When Firefly was gearing up for expansion, I looked into some information on Miramax and knew you guys had strong networks after years of acquiring films in Europe and East Asia. My initial plan was to have Robert Shea handle North American distribution while you brothers could expand into the overseas markets."
Harvey couldn't help but lick his dry lips at the thought of expanding Firefly's overseas reach. Eric's earlier films had performed nearly equally well overseas as at home. In fact, Pretty Woman's box office overseas surpassed its domestic earnings by a whopping 100 million dollars.
The reason the Weinstein brothers focused on art films for Oscar contention stemmed from a lack of power. They aimed to gain recognition through awards, boost their names, and profit from box office sales and ancillary revenues -- a bit of a backdoor way to make it big after all. After all, Hollywood had only one Oscars each year. If they had the chance to release a blockbuster, the Weinsteins would undoubtedly change their strategy.
"Well... Eric, I think now..."
Eric shook his head. "It's too late now, Harvey. Firefly and New Line have fully merged. Even though I'm still the largest shareholder, I have to consider Robert's feelings. Compared to now, Miramax's influence is simply too small. If we were to continue as originally planned, Robert wouldn't be willing to let you brothers take the overseas distribution rights."
After a brief flash of disappointment crossed Harvey's face, he quickly said, "Eric, actually, I'm more skilled at award campaigning. Perhaps we could..."
"Harvey, what do you think motivates so many people to be so passionate about the Oscars?"
Harvey paused before replying with a single word: "Profit."
Eric chuckled. "See? There you go. That's why no major movie company, while valuing the Oscars, has ever placed them in first priority. Most of the films they produce are commercial. Firefly is the same. For the next several years, Firefly will focus primarily on commercial films. Only after reaching certain strength and scale will we delve into and seek out art films, gaining a few honors to embellish the company."
"Eric, don't you think these two matters can progress simultaneously?" Harvey said, somewhat reluctantly.
"Well, of course, they can. So, there's still a possibility for us to work together, but merging is out of the question. By the way, I happen to have a film in mind that I believe has excellent award potential, and the producer of that film is here today. Perhaps I could introduce you."
Harvey nodded, feeling a bit defeated, and Eric quickly brought him over to Elisabeth and Julia, who were seated on a sofa in the corner, whispering to one another.
...
"Hey, ladies. Mind if I sit down?" Eric asked, approaching.
At the sound of Eric's voice, Julia froze, and Elisabeth lifted her leg, kicking towards Eric. "Get lost, you player!"
Eric quickly ducked aside, sweating as he dodged the sharp black stiletto. He couldn't help but notice that both women seemed to have kicked the same leg. Birds of a feather really do flock together.
"Liz, don't be like that. I've already apologized. Let me introduce you to someone."
Hesitantly, Elisabeth stood up, and Julia did the same, her eyes wandering until they eventually settled on Eric's face, managing to muster up a reluctant smile.
Elisabeth glanced over at the hefty figure beside Eric. "You mean him? Harvey Weinstein? I know him."
Harvey looked at Eric in confusion, wondering who still dared to kick Eric without hesitation in Hollywood today. He felt an intense curiosity about Elisabeth's identity.
Eric quickly said, "Harvey, this is Elisabeth Murdoch, the second daughter of Rupert Murdoch."
"Ah, Miss Murdoch, nice to meet you. It's an honor to have your recognition," Harvey Weinstein said, immediately beaming as he extended his plump hand.
Elisabeth reluctantly shook his hand and then turned her eyes back to Eric. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I believe that after the production of The Silence of the Lambs, it will definitely make an impact at next year's Oscars. And Harvey excels in this type of PR, which is why I wanted to introduce you."
"Oh..." Elisabeth dragged out her response, her expression turning a bit angry. "So, Firefly earns the money from distribution, but doesn't care about the awards?"
Eric waved his hand. "Of course not, Liz. You must have misunderstood. What I meant is, Harvey is great at award campaigns, so I wanted to hand the campaign for the awards for next year's The Silence of the Lambs over to them. Don't worry, all PR expenses will be covered by Firefly."
Upon hearing this, Elisabeth scoffed, raising her chin. "That's more like it." After stating this, she turned her gaze towards Harvey Weinstein with a questioning look.
For Harvey, the chance to connect with the Murdoch princess was a treasure. Though he only caught snippets of their conversation, he sensed that Elisabeth was now a producer. That was a wonderful opportunity. If they collaborated, with the Murdoch family's resources, would Miramax still have to scrape by like that?
Thinking of this, Harvey's expression grew much more earnest, every crease in his round face filled with a smile as he said, "I have no problem with that, Miss Murdoch. It would be an honor to collaborate with you."
After all was said and done, Elisabeth waved her hand at Eric and Harvey. "Well then, unless there's anything else, you can leave now."
The two men exchanged glances. Harvey thought to himself that they hadn't exchanged any contact information yet.
As Elisabeth was about to sit back down with Julia, she suddenly remembered something and addressed Eric, "Wait, you stay. I have a few things I want to ask you."
Seeing the situation, Harvey could only take the hint and leave temporarily.
...
Once Harvey had walked away, Elisabeth asked, "Mr. Williams, I heard that Ghost has already started production."
Eric twitched a bit and nodded cooperatively. "Yes, Miss Murdoch. Do you have any requests?"
Before Elisabeth could respond, Julia burst into laughter at the theatrical tone adopted by the two.
The atmosphere was disrupted, and Elisabeth feigned anger as she poked Julia in the side until Julia was giggling in surrender, prompting Elisabeth to finally let up.
"Hey, I say, in public like this, you two should keep it down a bit."
"Who are you to tell me what to do, you jerk?"
"Uh, fine. I won't interfere. Your Majesty, please speak," Eric said with a wry smile, raising his hand in a surrender gesture. Well, what could he do? Enjoying the moment meant debts would follow; he couldn't stoop to their level!
"I mean, for your next movie's leading lady, what do you think of Julia?"
Eric looked over at Julia, hesitating to respond when Elisabeth raised an eyebrow. "No disagreement allowed. This role is set."
"Liz, don't do this, and I really don't want to..." Julia suddenly realized what was about to happen and quickly grasped Elisabeth's arm. Elisabeth reassuringly patted Julia's thigh, "Don't worry; I'll be right beside you during filming. I won't let this awful guy have a chance."
*****
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