章 838: Chapter 839: I'm Afraid They Will Hit Me
[Chapter 839: I'm Afraid They Will Hit Me]
Everyone initially expected that Titanic's North American box office wouldn't cross the $500 million mark until the weekend of its 14th week in theaters. However, early on March 23, major North American newspapers were flooded with news that Titanic had indeed surpassed the $500 million milestone.
During the Friday and Saturday of the 14th week, Titanic grossed $5.5 million and $6.8 million on its respective days, pushing its total box office to an impressive $504 million, making it the first film in North American history to exceed $500 million in domestic earnings.
With this surge of news, many media outlets predicted that the viewership for the 69th Academy Awards would also reach a miraculous number. In a tongue-in-cheek tone, various outlets remarked that just like Titanic's box office, this viewership number was equally unpredictable.
With everyone's eyes on the event, the 69th Academy Awards officially took place on the afternoon of March 24 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
...
Eric spent a relaxing weekend without any sense of urgency about attending the awards. He received a call from Cameron that morning and brought Drew along to Firefly Studios.
Upon hearing that Eric intended to relocate all the props from Titanic, including the large ship model, to Firefly Studios for a themed exhibition, Cameron was thrilled and eagerly took on the project, even acquiring the title of chief engineer.
With assistance from the Dream Engineer team under Firefly's umbrella, Cameron quickly marked out a piece of land in the southwest corner of the studio and began the preliminary planning.
To implement more detailed modifications to the Titanic model's interior, Cameron even requested a $10 million budget. In the past, the company would have likely rejected such a hefty sum for this kind of project, but this time, even Katzenberg, who had often clashed with Cameron, approved it without hesitation.
Despite doubts among many within the group about the viability of the Titanic-themed exhibition, they could not overlook the film's box office miracle. They hardly minded the extra $10 million expenditure.
Even if the themed exhibition didn't perform well in the future, it would still stand as a culturally significant marker within Firefly Studios. The 270-foot-long ship model was nearly four times the size of the studio's largest soundstage. To anyone, such an iconic structure was undoubtedly impressive.
Eric spent the morning with the girl, listening to Cameron outline his plans on that vacant lot in the studio. After the materials for the Titanic model arrived from Mexico, Cameron wanted to create spaces like a restaurant and exhibition hall. He even hoped to recreate many of the film's iconic scenes.
Clearly, while the production had burned through over $200 million, many of Cameron's ideas hadn't made it into the film. This themed exhibition project had become a channel for him to address some of those missed opportunities.
...
Besides Titanic, Kathryn's The Thin Red Line also received multiple Oscar nominations. The company had dedicated personnel handling arrangements for the winners' attendance at the awards, so Eric and Cameron stayed at Firefly Studios until 5 p.m. It was then that Cameron's wife, Linda Hamilton, arrived from their home in Beverly Hills. Eric then took the girl and joined Cameron and his wife, heading toward the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles.
Sitting in the luxurious RV, Eric flipped through a magazine, feeling somewhat bored. The girl, dressed in a light blue gown, leaned toward the window, peering out, and then turned to Eric, saying, "Eric, have you noticed that Jim and Linda hardly talk anymore?"
Eric couldn't possibly miss that; in reality, Cameron's marriage with Linda Hamilton had been strained for quite some time. They were just waiting for the right moment to divorce.
However, during the filming of Titanic, Cameron's fifth wife, Suzy Amis, hadn't been involved, and Eric didn't harbor any malicious intentions of setting him up with someone else. So, it seemed Cameron and Linda would likely tolerate each other for a few more years before officially splitting.
"When did you start caring about this kind of thing?" Eric asked casually without looking up.
"Just curious," the girl replied with a slight sigh, sounding somewhat melancholic. "Why can't a man just stay in love with one woman forever?"
Though she often exhibited a carefree disregard for Eric's flirtations, one had to wonder if any woman could truly feel indifferent about such matters.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Eric instinctively began to ramble, "Uh, it's just part of male genetics, I guess. If you want to trace it back, we might have to go all the way back to the origin of life, around 3.8 billion years ago."
Noticing Eric's awkwardness, the girl burst into laughter. She grabbed Eric's hand and rubbed it against her soft cheek, then playfully bit it. "Eric, I know you care about me."
Eric, maintaining a shameless demeanor, replied, "While that's true, you have no idea how happy I am that you can see that."
"Hehe," she continued to giggle, explaining, "Because you never go near Natasha and the others."
Eric playfully squeezed the girl's little hand and said with a smile, "Well, I'm afraid they'll hit me."
"You know very well they wouldn't."
After a brief moment of tender closeness, the vehicle soon turned into the street where the Shrine Auditorium was located.
...
Thanks to the arrangements made by the Oscars' organizing staff, the vehicle paused briefly before slowly making its way to the Oscars red carpet entrance. Outside, enthusiastic cheers erupted, likely signaling the arrival of the Camerons on the red carpet.
Eric was the first to exit the vehicle. He walked around to the other side, taking the girl's hand as they stepped onto the red carpet together.
Over the past two years, Eric had appeared less frequently in public. However, due to his multiple influential roles and the recent controversy stirred up by Forbes magazine, his familiarity had not waned. As soon as they stepped on the red carpet, fans on either side began to cheer.
As they passed through the media area, the journalists' excitement intensified. Desperate for better photographs, they dropped the usual decorum to call out Eric and the girl's names, urging them to linger a bit longer.
Eric didn't completely ignore the enthusiasm around him. He wrapped an arm around the girl's waist and paused for a moment to smile at the cameras. After a frenzy of flashing lights, he and the girl moved on. The ABC broadcast cameras quickly swept over them.
As Eric spotted Cameron being interviewed nearby, he turned to Drew and asked with a grin, "Do you want to go say a few words?"
The girl laughed and replied, "They'd definitely prefer if you went up. I'm just here to enjoy the show."
"Let's skip it and head ahead," Eric suggested. He noticed an ABC producer signaling him, so he slightly shook his head.
Though the producer had hoped Eric would share a few words, understanding how much buzz Eric had recently generated, no one dared insist once Eric refused. The camera swept past them and quickly searched for the next target.
...
They passed through the ABC interview zone and reached the crowd gathered at the end of the red carpet.
As Eric and Drew appeared at the end of the red carpet, many eyes turned in their direction, and some familiar faces approached to greet them.
First to greet them were Harvey Weinstein and Julia Roberts from the Shakespeare in Love crew. Due to Titanic's overwhelming success, Shakespeare in Love faced slim chances of winning this year. Their close relationship meant Miramax couldn't employ any special tactics for publicity. Following the Golden Globes, having received an Oscar nomination, Miramax opted to abandon any unnecessary award publicity, leading to Julia unlikely winning Best Actress, like Gwyneth Paltrow did in the past.
To date, Shakespeare in Love's North American box office stood at over $60 million, but it had little momentum remaining and was unlikely to reach $100 million. Yet due to its status as an art film, Julia had signed a contract that paid her a meager $3 million on a salary-plus-bonus basis. With a production cost of only $25 million, Miramax had already made some profit from the North American market before even factoring in overseas earnings and videotape revenue.
Eric hugged Julia, noting how she instinctively leaned her chin against his shoulder. He quickly pinched her slim waist encased in a black gown, causing Julia to snap back to reality, a bit embarrassed as she released Eric.
Harvey seemed completely unfazed by Julia's momentary lapse. With a warm grin, he shook Eric's hand and said, "Eric, maybe I should congratulate you in advance."
Eric humbly replied, "It's always a bit early for that. Who knows what the Oscar voters will be thinking?"
"No, no, no," Harvey assured confidently, shaking his head. "In the past, there may have been some upsets, but not this time. The Academy knows how to choose."
"Let's hope so," Eric nodded, motioning nearby. "Well, I'll see you after the awards ceremony. You'll be attending the Vanity Fair party, right?"
"Yeah, I'm planning to meet a few actors about a film for next year. They're all here today," Harvey responded, acknowledging that many people were eager to greet Eric. He quickly added, "Oh, Eric, the ratings for The Sopranos have been climbing. We should find time to chat about our next in-house production."
"Of course, I should be free over the next few days."
...
After chatting for a bit, Eric and Drew turned to other friends. Firefly had two films receiving numerous nominations this year: Titanic and The Thin Red Line. However, many knew that while there were several outstanding films, most would ultimately play second fiddle to Titanic, which had all but locked up a majority of the Oscars.
Kathryn had already won the Best Director award for Saving Private Ryan and appeared unfazed this time. Dressed in a black silk corseted gown, strikingly tall, she stood out in the crowd. As Eric approached, Kathryn was deep in conversation with The Thin Red Line's screenwriter, Terrence Malick, seemingly discussing a new film. When Eric inquired, Kathryn appeared somewhat distracted.
After brief interactions, Eric endured a few more waves of greetings before making his way towards the Titanic crew. The girl beside him wore a slight, mysterious smile, prompting her to lean in and whisper in Eric's ear, "Eric, did you get her to your place?"
Feigning ignorance, Eric replied, "Who are you talking about?"
"Come on, she was looking at me in a way that was quite interesting."
Eric did a mental replay but hadn't noticed anything unusual from Kathryn, nor did he recall her looking toward the girl. So he asked, "How did you pick up on that?"
"Because you're a man! We women are just more sensitive to these things," the girl confidently chuckled. "She's jealous."
"No way, don't say such things."
Eric interrupted the girl, recalling that after their dreamy encounter in Australia, he had merely invited Kathryn to share a few dinners. Eric didn't want to overstep since Kathryn had such a strong personality. Therefore, there hadn't been any substantial progress in their relationship since.
...
Since he hadn't received a Best Actor nomination, Leo once again stubbornly declined to attend the ceremony. The crew hadn't pressed him, and Eric welcomed it. After all, Hollywood would lose a lot of fun over the next twenty years without Leo's incessant Oscar snubs.
Despite Leo's absence, the Titanic crew remained the most conspicuous group in attendance. After some pleasantries, the awards ceremony drew near, and everyone began heading into the auditorium.
At 7 p.m., inside the Shrine Auditorium, Billy Crystal appeared at the bow of the Titanic model, making a grand entrance on stage. He mimicked Leo's character from the film with a few cries, eliciting laughter.
As the audience erupted in thunderous applause, Billy moved to center stage, spreading his arms to address the auditorium filled with over a thousand attendees. "Well, good evening, everyone! Welcome to Titanic. We're big. We're expensive. Everybody wants us to get started quickly, so let's begin!"
To the rhythm of the music, Billy Crystal launched into his signature medley of opening songs.
*****
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