章 762: Chapter 763: The Catalyst
[Chapter 763: The Catalyst]
During the Christmas season in 1995, the last batch of Hollywood's new releases began to hit theaters. Traditionally, this time saw an influx of art films vying for a shot at the next year's Oscars. With the manipulation of studios behind the scenes, the media always buzzed with excitement.
However, this year, the publicity and media atmosphere felt much cooler. In the announced nominations for the 53rd Golden Globe Awards, Forrest Gump unsurprisingly secured seven major nominations, including Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor.
Even with Forrest Gump sweeping a series of precursor awards, some films might have outright neglected their PR strategies regarding awards if it weren't for the Golden Globes separating their film categories into Drama and Comedy. To avoid direct competition with Forrest Gump at the Globes, several drama films even squeezed into the Musical or Comedy category, leading to mockery and criticism from some media outlets.
While the public enjoyed their holiday festivities, MGM had been hinting at news related to the upcoming 007 film, Casino Royale, for several months.
When it was announced that Eric Williams would personally direct this 007 sequel, many people's first reaction was disbelief; they thought it was a joke. Eric Williams had no interest in directing his own Jurassic Park sequels -- how could he possibly take on a franchise like 007 that had been around for over thirty years? Insiders felt that the 007 series rarely deviated from its formulas, giving little room for innovation. As an audience member, one might still enjoy the grand visuals and glamorous bond girls, but as a director? That job felt like it could only be described as tedious.
However, as the rumors grew, they became increasingly convincing.
Eric Williams was reportedly discussing the project with 007 producer Barbara Broccoli at a party in his estate.
The next film would adapt Ian Fleming's last unfilmed story, Casino Royale.
MGM started secret negotiations with the Charlie's Angels trio.
The 18th 007 installment would kick off the MGM Agent Movie Universe.
Major talent agencies began probing MGM about the 007 project's progress, hoping to secure more roles.
This series of scattered details gradually indicated that perhaps Eric Williams really was set to direct the next 007 film.
Media outlets swiftly picked up on the news, seeking to dig deeper.
Still, Casino Royale remained in the script revision phase. After releasing some information, MGM placed a gag order on their employees to maintain the project's secrecy and buzz. The PR department merely stated that the project was still in preparation and nothing was finalized.
Barbara Broccoli, the current head of the 007 series, was not one to make public appearances, and reporters couldn't extract more information from her. However, her brother, Michael Wilson, who also served as a producer for the series, was quite the opposite -- he loved being in the spotlight.
Soon enough, resourceful reporters in London obtained confirmation from Michael Wilson that Eric Williams would indeed direct Casino Royale.
...
The news exploded.
Since the 1993 release of Jurassic Park, which shattered global box office records with over a billion dollars, more than two years had passed.
With no word on Eric's next film, media speculation about him stepping back from directing had circulated more than once. During these two years, LTD Group rapidly rose under the success of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, while Lifetime's two reality shows made waves. The consolidation of MGM, Flower Films, and DreamWorks, alongside Firefly Group's consistently strong film business, seemed to validate the media's conjectures about Eric.
While the general public paid less attention to Eric, within Hollywood and even the burgeoning internet sector -- even the unrelated fashion industry -- his presence remained strong, with no signs of influence waning.
Take 1995 as an example. Hollywood saw a bountiful year. As the Christmas season wound down, the total box office reached an all-time high of $6.5 billion.
Firefly Group alone made over $1 billion from just five films -- Jurassic Park 2, Independence Day, Toy Story 2, Bad Boys, and Runaway Bride. The group released 18 films that year, and although production slowed compared to previous years, their films amassed a total of $1.39 billion, capturing a global box office share of $2.7 billion.
Statistical agencies estimated that the global box office market for 1995 was around $17.5 billion. Thus, Firefly Group accounted for 15.4% of the global film market's box office share. It was widely recognized that Hollywood films dominated the market, but for one company to take such a large slice of it was staggering.
No doubt, it was this miracle-driven young man orchestrating it all.
As buzz grew around Eric directing Casino Royale, interest in him reignited.
...
The media adeptly seized this momentum and began supplying readers and viewers with more intriguing information.
What interested most people, however, was pretty superficial. Last year, Forbes had estimated Eric Williams' net worth at $46.5 billion, a figure that left later billionaires looking up in awe and numbed many who saw it. After all, it was hard for ordinary people to comprehend what $46.5 billion really meant.
Thus, while they may not grasp the immense power of such wealth, they remained intensely curious about Eric's financial standing this year. The media eagerly began tallying up the substantial assets or shares he owned.
The accompanying "map" of the Firefly business empire in BusinessWeekly caused a frenzy among numerous media outlets, becoming fodder for various discussions in the coming months.
The latest issue of BusinessWeekly displayed intricate details about Eric's two leading business empires, Firefly Group and Firefly Investment, for everyone to see.
Firefly Group, undeniably Hollywood's largest media conglomerate, owned a slew of premier entertainment companies, including Disney, ABC, Firefly Films, Pixar, New Line Cinema, Firefly Records, Buena Vista International, Digital Domain, Marvel Entertainment, and more. Last year, relevant institutions estimated Firefly Group's valuation at over $50 billion, and this year, bolstered by impressive revenue growth, it shattered records again, reaching $65 billion. Based on a 30% annual growth rate, Eric Williams, who owned 73% of Firefly Group, stood to gain over $47 billion in assets -- five billion more than last year's total valuation.
The size of Firefly Investment was equally astonishing.
Through thorough investigation, BusinessWeekly reporters revealed that this initially low-key investment company now boasted stakes in far more quality companies than most imagined.
Look at this.
Yahoo, the internet's leading portal and an undisputed industry leader in recent years, valued over $5 billion with an 80% stake held by Firefly Investment.
Cisco, a major networking equipment company, had a current market capitalization of $26 billion, and Firefly Investment owned 26% following substantial acquisitions over the last year.
America Online, a new internet service provider slated to hit the Nasdaq next January, was valued close to $5 billion, boasting a 30% stake from Firefly Investment.
LTD Group, known for its beloved lingerie brand Victoria's Secret and having surged following the annual show, had a current valuation of $5.9 billion, with a 35% stake taken by Firefly Investment.
Nokia, the Finnish mobile communications device company, achieved sales of 7 million phones in 1995, with Firefly Investment holding a 51% controlling stake.
Sprint, a well-known telecom operator with a mobile network across the U.S., had a 10% stake from Firefly Investment.
Qualcomm, an emerging telecommunications technology company with numerous patents for third-generation digital communications, garnered support from Sprint and Verizon, with Firefly Investment holding a 40% stake.
While most traditional investors deemed investing in high-tech companies risky due to the vast R&D expenditures needed to remain competitive, especially considering the potential for rapid decline, the recent rise in tech-heavy Nasdaq values and the boom in internet and mobile communication industries left little doubt about these sectors' bright futures.
Thus, the estimation and share prices of the tech companies owned by Firefly Investment doubled in recent years.
Take Yahoo, for instance; this tech company with popular products like Yahoo Portal and Yahoo Mail, received less than $600 million from Firefly Investment over the years -- but given its current market valuation, Firefly Investment could easily see returns exceeding tenfold if it chose to sell.
Although these companies backed by Firefly Investment couldn't match Firefly Group's colossal size, they were nearly all leaders in their respective fields. With the rapid development of high-tech industries, it's conceivable that, in the coming years, one or more of these companies might even surpass the market value of Firefly Group.
Should such predictions hold true, Eric Williams' wealth would reach jaw-dropping heights.
Such a business miracle taking form in the life of a man barely thirty years old instilled a profound sense of powerlessness in many observers.
...
Amidst the swirling tide of public opinion, Eric turned down a multitude of media interview requests and continued with his day-to-day life.
During the Christmas season, MGM's Mean Girls and Firefly's 101 Dalmatians were released simultaneously.
Disney was a master of family comedies, and the release of 101 Dalmatians quickly won over holiday viewers with its entertaining storyline and adorable cast of spotted puppies, pulling in over $50 million within just two weeks.
While Mean Girls didn't match the blockbuster status of 101 Dalmatians, it benefited from the buzz generated by Scream's teenage audience market. This high school girl comedy initially garnered $20 million in its opening week and followed up with $15.6 million the next week. With production costs lower than Scream, MGM had already recouped its entire investment in just two weeks.
As Eric kept an eye on the year-end box office for both films, his first order of business after New Year's was to rush off to Mexico, to Rosarito, the set of Titanic.
With his personal business empire exposed, Eric didn't relish the spotlight on this situation, but if he claimed to feel no twinge of vanity, that would be a lie. This New Year, however, was not solely filled with good news.
At least among the upper echelon of Firefly Group, the worst news was undoubtedly that the Titanic project was spiraling out of control.
After a long preparatory period, Titanic began filming in July, with an original shooting schedule set for four months, aiming to wrap before Christmas.
Yet as the year-end approached, the upper management in Firefly's production department found that only about half of Titanic's filming was completed, with post-production nowhere in sight. At that point, $60 million of the $150 million budget had been spent by Cameron. To complete filming would take at least another four months and would likely consume the rest of the budget. Thus, the remaining $30 million allocated wouldn't even cover post-production.
*****
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