章 711: Chapter 712: The New Wave of Technology
[Chapter 712: The New Wave of Technology]
Ultimately, the discussion surrounding the potential hosts for America's Next Top Model focused on Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, and Tyra Banks.
The title of supermodel had initially risen to prominence with Linda Evangelista, making her the most persuasive choice to host the show. Prior to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Cindy Crawford frequently appeared on television programs. Though, after the show, all five models held similar public recognition, Cindy still had the advantage of experience in hosting TV programs.
Tyra Banks brought a lively personality to the table, and it was evident that she would easily connect with the contestants, making her quite approachable. However, a glaring flaw stood out; Tyra was born in 1973, which made her just 22 years old at the time. While she gained significant fame from the Victoria's Secret Shows, her youth could be a challenge for the role. If not for this, Eric wouldn't even have to think about the host for America's Next Top Model in this timeline.
After quite the discussion, the final decision rested with Eric.
Honestly, despite what happened in the previous days, Eric didn't have a deep understanding of these five women. His memories from the past mostly came from various media outlets. Now that he found himself here, it would be foolish for Eric to take media information at face value.
The reforms for Lifetime Television and the plans for America's Next Top Model were just beginning, so Eric wasn't in a hurry; he intended to have a detailed discussion with the ladies before reaching a decision.
...
Before they knew it, night fell softly, and as Eric listened to Luc Besson share ideas for a sci-fi film, he heard Kathryn's voice beside him: "Eric, it's late. I think I should head home."
Noticing Kathryn approaching, Luc Besson raised his glass and smiled, subtly excusing himself.
Kathryn looked a bit embarrassed at the moment. "I didn't interrupt your conversation, did I?"
"Of course not," Eric shook his head.
Checking his watch, it was just past eleven. The party was still quite lively, with not many guests leaving. However, for Kathryn, who was known for her strict routine, it was undoubtedly quite late already.
Eric looked at Kathryn, who held her little golden trophy tightly in front of her, a hint of tension and panic crossing her face. He smiled and said, "Shall I give you a ride home?"
"No, no need," Kathryn instinctively shook her head, the hint of tension and panic spilling over her pretty face.
"You've had a drink; driving yourself isn't safe. I wouldn't feel right about that," Eric said, gesturing toward the exit.
Kathryn shifted a bit, suddenly saying, "You've been drinking too."
"I have a driver, come on," Eric replied.
As Kathryn followed Eric towards the door, she murmured, "I can take a cab home."
"Do you think you can just wave down a cab like a heroine in a movie? It's the middle of the night; there aren't any cabs around," Eric joked, waving over to Katzenberg to signal him to handle the next arrangements.
...
When they reached the parking lot, Eric personally opened the car door for Kathryn and sat next to her after confirming her address with the driver.
The streets near Sunset Boulevard were still bright with lights, though the traffic and pedestrians had thinned out considerably.
As they drove through Sunset Boulevard, seeing Kathryn clutching her trophy, Eric couldn't shake the feeling that he was sitting next to a naive little girl. He smiled and said, "How's the script for The Thin Red Line coming along with Terrence Malick?"
"It's... going okay. There are some minor disagreements on details, but nothing major. Next month, we're planning a trip to Guadalcanal for a field study; Terrence wants to shoot on location."
Eric nodded. "Oh, have you thought about when you might start shooting?"
Although the film would be backed by Firefly, it didn't fall under Firefly's commercial film category, which allowed Eric to take a relaxed approach, enabling Kathryn and Terrence Malick to make their own decisions.
"Next year, I think I'd like to have more time to prepare," Kathryn said after a brief hesitation.
The two chatted casually, unaware until the car came to a stop outside a residence in Coldwater Canyon.
They stepped out, greeted by old street lamps, their yellow light illuminating a power pole covered in dark moss, looking quite weathered and about to collapse.
"Well then, good night," Eric said, opening his arms to Kathryn.
Kathryn cautiously moved closer, embraced him briefly, and then released him, saying, "Good night."
After she turned to walk toward the door, Eric recalled something and called out, "Kathryn?"
She froze, turning back, "W-what?"
Eric pointed at the trophy in her hand. "In the coming days, we might need you to participate in a few interviews. I hope you'll be prepared."
"Oh, I understand." She said, glancing at him. After locking eyes for just a couple of seconds and realizing he had nothing more to say, she hurriedly retreated into the yard.
Eric chuckled, returned to the car, and as Carter Moen started the vehicle, he couldn't help but tease, "Boss, this isn't quite your style."
"Just drive, I already feel like I'm imposing on a little girl here."
Carter Moen efficiently turned the car around, "Ms. Bigelow definitely feels something for you; otherwise, she wouldn't be acting so flustered."
"Always feels like something is still lacking," Eric quasi-answered.
...
The next day, the news of the first-ever female Best Director winner at the Oscars dominated major media outlets worldwide, triggering jubilation everywhere.
At the same time, Firefly took the opportunity to launch a new round of promotional efforts for Saving Private Ryan's videotape. Riding the waves of Kathryn winning Best Director, the following week, the North American sales of Saving Private Ryan's video quickly surpassed 1 million copies.
In Europe, since the release of this video came after North America, there was significant market demand; thus, with Firefly's promotional support, the weekly sales figures there easily surpassed North America, reaching nearly 1.5 million copies. In just a week, the videotape sales for Saving Private Ryan generated $75 million in revenue for Firefly. Internal forecasts suggested that the final videotape sales would exceed $500 million, possibly even surpassing the film's global box office receipts.
Since movie companies typically don't disclose videotape sales figures, most people remained focused on Kathryn's Oscar win.
However, inside Hollywood, the astonishing videotape sales of Saving Private Ryan stirred excitement. Major film companies promptly began seeking excellent war film scripts, leading to significant attention on Kathryn's upcoming project, The Thin Red Line, which even sparked a bit of a legal dispute.
It turned out that before Terrence Malick approached Eric, he had already engaged various production companies to make this film, including all six major studios. This wasn't the issue. The critical element was that during discussions with a small independent studio named Phoenix, Terrence had signed a letter of intent, authorizing Phoenix to raise production funds for The Thin Red Line back in 1988.
Given the film's high budget and significant risks, Phoenix hadn't managed to secure a single cent. According to industry practices, such a letter of intent would generally be considered null and void in such circumstances.
Ideally, the situation would simply pass on, and the project would smoothly transition to Firefly.
Yet after Kathryn won the Oscar for Best Director and Saving Private Ryan saw phenomenal success in the tape market, perhaps due to instigations from some, Robert Geisler, the producer from Phoenix, resurfaced, claiming that according to their original agreement, Phoenix had gathered sufficient funds for The Thin Red Line and demanded Firefly return the rights for the film's production and distribution.
Such ridiculous situations were common in Hollywood. Eric didn't overly concern himself, leaving the matter to Firefly's legal department.
He had read the script for The Thin Red Line and retained several details about it, knowing it was not destined to be a blockbuster.
Furthermore, he was aware that Phoenix might simply be trying to involve themselves in the investment. As long as it didn't interfere with the film's production, Eric was amenable to relinquishing a portion of the investment rights. However, if they didn't know their place, Eric wouldn't hesitate to let them experience Firefly's wrath.
...
Post-Oscars, Eric focused primarily on reforming Lifetime Television and preparing for America's Next Top Model.
Lifetime Television was established in the early 1980s following the merger of two small TV stations owned by ABC and Hearst, becoming part of the A&E Network.
For the first several years, Lifetime consistently ran at a loss, only managing to break even by the late '80s.
At this time, Lifetime reportedly had 30 million users, including all theoretical users across various cable TV packages.
However, just like in Eric's memories of the under-watched law, educational, or foreign language channels, Lifetime had become a neglected channel, with even its more popular programs usually garnering fewer than 2 million viewers. Due to the consistently mediocre ratings, major cable providers often threatened to drop the channel because, much like with the internet, cable signal transmission also consumed bandwidth.
Before Katzenberg brought up Lifetime, Eric had nearly forgotten the channel was still part of Firefly's holdings.
Once plans commenced, Eric began learning more about Lifetime Television.
In the '80s, Lifetime reran programs produced by ABC Network, occasionally picking up a few inexpensive low-cost women's films. The programming could only be described as bland and unexciting.
It wasn't until the early '90s, with ABC's renewed performance buoyed by parent company support, that Lifetime began attempting to produce its own TV movies or mini-series. However, their annual output averages barely reached two films, which was minuscule compared to ABC's need to air dozens of new shows each year.
Thus, reforming such an obscure channel was no easy task.
Fortunately, the executives at Firefly were filled with confidence, drawing inspiration from ESPN's transformation from fewer than 300,000 local users to the nation's leading sports network. They quickly crafted detailed development plans.
On another front, while cable television emerged in the '80s, it didn't truly flourish until the latter half of the '90s. The rise of high-tech industries stimulated not only the growth of the internet but also led to significant expansions in the cable TV network.
Many classic cable dramas began surfacing prominently in the latter half of the '90s. Among these, the most renowned productions from HBO under Time Warner stood out. From Eric's perspective, the U.S. cable TV market was on an upward trajectory.
With the new wave of technology just beginning, while the major focus remained on internet companies, substantial investments also flowed into the television sector. Firefly boasted a solid internal funding chain, eliminating the need to constantly seek financing from external investment banks or foreign film funds. Still, the large investment influx into television indirectly provided Firefly with an expanded platform.
Concurrently, the regulations governing the U.S. cable television industry began to loosen rapidly; large-scale consolidations had already started the previous year. The reason Barry Diller and Sumner Redstone lost the battle for Viacom was primarily that the parent company, QVC, merged with AT&T, which was a major cable operator.
In this context of the industry's resurgence, it was a prime opportunity to position themselves within the cable television sector. After all, according to Eric's memories, while public television might not entirely fade away, it would gradually be overshadowed by the more premium content offered on cable stations. Moreover, many cable channels hadn't yet taken stock of the opportunities about to arise, which meant if Lifetime Television could establish itself ahead of time, it could potentially replace some of those channels that might have otherwise thrived.
*****
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