章 883: Chapter 884: Too Excited
[Chapter 884: Too Excited]
"Perhaps Titanic absorbed too much of the movie market's buzz at once. This summer, it had been a disaster for live-action blockbusters. Movies like The Fifth Element, Con Air, Godzilla, Contact, and Batman & Robin had average production costs hitting $100 million, but their box office performances had been steadily disappointing. With five high-budget films failing in succession, one couldn't help but feel concerned about Casino Royale.
It was well known that this was Eric Williams' first film after Jurassic Park set a global box office record of $1 billion. Over the past four years, Firefly Group had consistently produced blockbuster hits like The Lion King, Independence Day, Jurassic Park 2, Titanic, and the current Finding Nemo. Though the spy movie universe meticulously crafted by MGM under Eric's command was gradually taking shape, Eric had been away for four years. The ever-expanding scale of Firefly Group would surely consume much of his energy. Given these four years of being away from the directing chair while staying busy, it was hard to imagine if Casino Royale could still uphold his past film standards.
Moreover, in this summer overflowing with blockbusters but haunted by frequent failures, audiences might have completely lost their patience for continuous awful films. The Bond series had a remarkably stable box office allure, but this series had been around for over thirty years; its production model was rigid and outdated, making any kind of breakthrough a challenging task. If Casino Royale could not surprise us beyond the existing Bond series formula, one could foresee that this film -- the first James Bond movie with a production cost exceeding $100 million -- would meet the same dismal fate as those that preceded it."
...
Onboard a medium-sized Boeing 767, the girl peeked at Eric, who was engrossed in The Los Angeles Times, and voiced her discontent, "These people are truly ridiculous. Why can't they see that Titanic and Independence Day were all under your leadership?"
Eric set the newspaper aside, picked up another one, and smiled, "I think there's some truth to it. Besides, if the movie flops, they are just being thoughtful to provide me with an excuse in advance."
"Ha ha," the girl giggled and leaned closer, saying, "Eric, Casino Royale is fantastic! Everyone who has seen it agrees on this. You can't possibly fail."
"Just because I won't fail now doesn't mean I won't fail in the future. Everyone faces failure at some point."
"Well, that doesn't matter," she said, snuggling closer to him. "Eric, why don't we go to the front bedroom? It could be really thrilling to do it aboard the plane."
Eric gestured towards the bright light outside the window. "It's daytime, and if you're tired, you should take a nap. There's no reason to complain about discomfort this time, is there?"
They were aboard a Boeing 767-200ER, which happened to be the largest private jet owned by a famous airline leasing company in Los Angeles, ALC. Originally intended for group rentals, it had been modified but still accommodated around 50 passengers. The cabin featured a comfortable, luxurious presidential suite, which caught the girl's interest, and they specifically rented it for this transcontinental journey.
Eric's schedule was tight, with the London premiere happening tomorrow night. Most of the film crew had already made it to London, while Eric was just now setting out. Besides the crew, there were fewer than ten passengers onboard: Eric, the girl, twins, Eric's assistant, and four security guards.
Hearing Eric's playful banter, the girl comfortably stretched and teased, "Still a bit cramped, isn't it?"
Eric chuckled and replied, "Maybe I should just hang you outside the plane where there's more space."
The girl playfully slapped Eric's arm. Noticing that Eric had sidestepped the idea of heading to the bedroom to do something intimate, her eyes twinkled as she said, "Oh wait, Eric, just a minute!"
Before Eric could respond, she got up and headed towards the back of the airplane.
Eric felt a bit bewildered, shrugged it off, and leaned back, flipping through his newspaper.
...
After about ten minutes, two tall figures quietly walked in. Eric caught a glimpse of light blue out of the corner of his eye, thinking it was just a flight attendant, but when the two girls reached him, he was struck by their stunning appearance. Their long, slender legs were hard to ignore, and the flight attendant uniforms made them look even more alluring. Their fitted blue tops accentuated their curves perfectly, and they wore matching scarves around their necks, with slightly flushed faces.
Meeting Eric's gaze, the twins looked a bit shy. After spending so much time together, Eric knew the two girls had remarkable skills but were quite modest.
Before Eric could say anything, the girl on the left, Natasha, placed a tray in front of him and leaned over slightly, softly asking, "Master, would you like some coffee?"
The original visual stimulation was enough to make people excited. With their doll-like faces and petite long legs paired with flight attendant uniforms, Eric felt his breath quicken. Seeing Natasha bending down with her collar open, Eric immediately felt something was wrong. He sniffed, quickly raised his head, and panickedly covered his nose with his hands.
...
The plane took off from Los Angeles at 1 PM on Wednesday, and after an eleven-hour flight, the Boeing 767 landed at London Heathrow Airport around 6 AM local time on Thursday.
Meeting them at the airport were the producers of the Bond series, Barbara Broccoli and her brother Michael Wilson. Drew seemed a bit odd, frequently bursting into laughter at whatever popped into her mind while being close to Eric, occasionally whispering something in his ear. Although Eric maintained a composed facade, hints of embarrassment occasionally crept onto his face.
After a brief greeting, the Broccoli siblings arranged for a black Mercedes to accommodate Eric and the girl, and they all left the airport.
The London paparazzi seemed to have been tipped off early. Because they used the VIP channel, they couldn't intercept Eric and the others in the terminal, but just as their cars were exiting the airport, a few motorcycles with eager photographers appeared behind them.
The girl paid no attention to the buzzing paparazzi. Once the car was on the road, she suppressed a few giggles and leaned against Eric. Slyly glancing at the twins driving, she brought her face close to Eric's ear and playfully bit him while expressing her annoyance. "It's so unfair, Eric, you've never gotten a nosebleed in front of me."
"Alright, considering how long it's been, I propose we forget about that, shall we?"
"Humph, that's not fair at all," the girl ignored the twins' now reddened faces, continuing, "What a pity, if only I had brought a camera! If I sold those photos to the guys outside, I could make some quick cash, you know?"
"Let's focus on tonight's premiere instead. How did you manage to get Prince Charles to attend?"
The girl decided to stop teasing Eric, saying, "I told them that if they didn't want to attend this premiere, then I'd invite Diana."
Eric knew she wouldn't actually do that, but he played along, saying, "Wow, that's pretty ruthless."
"Of course!" she proudly chuckled. Seeing a paparazzo on a motorcycle get a bit too close, she turned to Natasha in the front seat and demanded, "Drive faster and shake them off! They're so annoying!"
Eric glanced out of the window, taking stock of the following paparazzi. Suddenly, he recalled, "You mean the house you bought is right next to Kensington Palace?"
"Yep, Kensington Garden Road. You'll see it in a bit. It's a great house," she nodded enthusiastically, then she seemed to have a thought, adding, "Diana still lives at Kensington Palace, you know. Heh, Eric, if you're interested, you could always stop by."
Eric simply looked at the trailing paparazzi, his thoughts drifting back to Princess Diana's tragic accident, which had happened in August 1997, and now it was just about July. He couldn't help but wonder if that event was still in the future.
Though Eric wasn't a conspiracy theorist, he recognized that the upper echelons of society were riddled with their share of filth.
After a while of wandering thoughts, Eric decided to brush it aside. If nothing happened, then that was great. If something did occur, well, perhaps like Marilyn Monroe, a woman's sudden demise at the peak of her beauty could leave behind a legendary tale in people's memories.
...
After more than half an hour, the car navigated through Kensington High Street in London, turning onto a highly guarded street on the west side of Kensington Gardens. Naturally, the paparazzi were kept at bay; only Eric's party was allowed inside.
After a brief drive through the tree-lined street, the vehicle entered a grand mansion courtyard. Stepping out of the parking lot, the girl pulled Eric's arm, mischievously pointing to the southeast, "Look over there, Eric, just there!"
Eric knew she was referring to Princess Diana's home but paid little attention, focusing instead on the white, castle-like English-style building before them.
As the Broccoli siblings exited the vehicle, a few security guards began unloading Eric's and Drew's luggage from the company car. The girl dropped the previous topic, wrapping her arm around Eric's and asking, "Eric, how's the house? It's really spacious -- it has a total of 12 bedrooms. The living room can host 100 people for a party effortlessly! Plus, there's a basement that was originally for art collections, but the previous owner went bankrupt a few years back and sold everything. We could turn it into a screening room. Oh, and there used to be a staff team here, but since I know you don't like that, I disbanded them. While we're away, the house will still be cleaned and maintained regularly."
As the twins moved ahead to open the lavish villa's main doors, Eric turned to the Broccoli siblings. "Let's head inside and discuss --truth be told, it's my first time here."
The Broccoli siblings nodded with smiles and walked into the villa with Eric.
...
Drew instructed the guards to bring in several large boxes of luggage into the living room and, after a few words, sent them away, including Eric's assistant. Kensington Garden Road was home to super-rich individuals, and access was tightly controlled, making it one of the safest residences in London. Eric didn't feel the need for security guards on constant watch. If something unexpected did arise, the twins would be sufficient -- though they seemed harmless, Eric had sparred with them before and knew their strength. The girl had even arranged for them to undergo formal security training, ensuring they were much like actual bodyguards.
While the girl, along with the twins, began unpacking the luggage, Eric sat down with the Broccoli siblings in the living room to discuss the arrangements for tonight's Casino Royale premiere.
The premiere was scheduled to take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Ironically, the concert hall was just a stone's throw away from Kensington Gardens, only a few hundred meters apart. Aside from the filmmakers of Casino Royale, the crew had also invited some local British stars and significant guests like Prince Charles.
Considering Eric and Drew had just finished a ten-hour flight and would likely need some rest, the Broccoli siblings didn't linger long, quickly discussing some details about the premiere before taking their leave.
...
After seeing the Broccoli siblings off, Eric returned to the living room where the girl was batting her eyelashes at him, her face brimming with anticipation. "Eric, I'm not tired. How about we go out for a little while?"
Even though it was already deep night in Los Angeles, the girl felt energetic thanks to resting on the flight. Eric felt relatively refreshed too but still said, "We might be up late tonight, so why don't you lie down a bit? I still have some work to finish; Peter will be sending some things over shortly."
Drew's curiosity piqued. "What is it?"
Eric didn't keep her in the dark, replying, "Some manuscripts. Disney's live-action films have been stagnating lately. I plan to select some children's books for adaptation, but frankly, there hasn't been anything satisfactory that has been published yet. Before I came here, I had Liz touch base with the UK branch of HarperCollins; they will be sending some unpublished manuscripts over, and I want to see if I can unearth any interesting stories."
HarperCollins was among the largest English-language publishers worldwide and a wholly-owned subsidiary of News Corporation.
Eric's aim in doing this was to seek out the historically popular magical literature series, the Harry Potter series. In the original timeline, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone should have been released by now, but despite Eric's vigil, he still hadn't laid eyes on the book. Given J.K. Rowling's past with multiple rejections from publishers, Eric intended to start by exploring discarded manuscripts. If the book had been completely overlooked, he would just have to find someone to write it for him. No matter what, he was determined not to give up on what was evidently a perfect fit for Disney, especially considering that in the original timeline, the series' rights had ended up with Warner Bros -- a critical failure for Disney.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット