บท 285: Chapter 286: Provocation
[Chapter 286: Provocation]
In a Beverly Hills villa, John Aniston walked a circle in front of his daughter's door, wanting to knock but ultimately turned away in disappointment. On the other side of the door, the girl sat curled up on her bed, hugging her knees, silently listening to the radio. A voice inside echoed like a caged beast, intensely ambitious and shouting with determination. She stared blankly, lost in thought.
After the scandal erupted and several futile arguments with her father, Elisabeth Murdoch moved directly to Los Angeles to live with Julia. Although they both pretended to be indifferent, when the familiar tune of New Divide drifted from the living room radio, they exchanged a glance. Julia silently reached out to crank the volume down to the max.
...
Nicole was in the kitchen baking cupcakes, wearing large headphones and dressed in a simple shirt and jeans, with a small radio clipped to her waist. She gently swayed to the tune, holding a large bowl and mixing the ingredients with a whisk.
Though Nicole felt a fleeting worry after the scandal started, her fears dissipated when Eric called personally, urging her not to say anything during this time. She returned to her usual routine, feeling confident that a despicable man like him wouldn't have any problems. Plus, his tone on the phone was laden with confidence. Now that he was single, she thought she might as well make a move, despite his notorious character.
...
Drew cranked the volume on the stereo connected to the radio, blasting loud enough to reverberate through the small apartment. Just over a minute later, a hefty white neighbor stormed out, furious and yelling through the open window at Drew.
"Motherfker! Get lost! Don't mess with my music!" Drew heard the man's angry shouts and grabbed an apple from the table, throwing it out the window and even flipping the bird.
The neighbor, confronted by Drew's brash demeanor, felt a flicker of fear but quickly retaliated, "Drew, don't think just because you're a star, you can do whatever you want. If you don't turn that down, I'll call 911 for noise complaints!"
"Go ahead! My father just dropped his lawsuit; I haven't had enough fun in the courtroom yet. Let's do this! Prepare some lawyer fees," Drew hollered out the window, tossing another apple that hit the fat man right on the head.
"Y-You're totally unreasonable!" the neighbor spat back, cradling his head.
"How much does reason cost a pound? Sell me some, or get lost."
Seeing Drew so fierce made the other neighbors, who had intended to confront her, shrink back in defeat. The hefty neighbor stood in his yard, panting, ready to continue his rant, but when Drew suddenly appeared with a bright red brick, glaring at him like she was about to throw it, he shut up immediately and retreated back inside his house.
Drew waved the brick around before heading back to her bedroom, where the song was coming to an end.
"On this day, I declared war on the world..." she swayed her hips, shouting along despite her face turning red from singing off-key. As the music finally wrapped up, the voice of the host, Matthew Suddeth, filled the room. Drew switched off the radio and the stereo, then picked up the phone to call Eric at Malibu's Cornerstone Manor.
Once connected, Drew's demeanor shifted from that of a fierce lioness to a soft, purring kitten. Her voice took on a slight whine, "Eric, a neighbor just bullied me again..."
...
In his Malibu mansion, Eric gestured for the others in the living room to hold on before turning to Drew on the phone, "If you're not bullying anyone, then be thankful... Hmm... No problem... I got it...."
Ten minutes later, he hung up and sighed lightly.
With the shift in momentum, the four lawsuits Eric faced began to unravel. Drew's father and a screenwriter who accused him of plagiarism had both dropped their suits. The powers behind those two had likely recognized the changing tides and decided to withdraw support. As for the lawsuit accusing him of illegal tactics in acquiring the Malibu land, it still stood, but Edward had hinted that if he dragged it out, it would likely fade away.
Regarding Sony's lawsuit over Running Out of Time, although they were unwilling, they knew that prolonged disputes would merely anger Eric, which could jeopardize the film's sequel. Losing a major hit like Running Out of Time could easily result in losses far exceeding ten million dollars. Hence, both parties began a reconciliation process.
Eric wasn't distressed over these matters but rather thought about Drew. After her father dropped the lawsuit, he had suggested she move back in, but she declined, preferring to stay in Culver City with her mother. Eric understood this was her way of not wanting to bring him trouble. So whenever she called, he patiently engaged in amicable chitchat.
...
Returning to the couch, Eric addressed Jeffrey and the others sitting around, "So, where were we?"
Jeffrey, exasperated, reminded him, "About the music company."
"Oh, yes," Eric mused for a moment, "Let's keep it under Firefly for now. By releasing this single, we can build a basic distribution channel. For now, our main focus will be releasing the soundtracks for our films. Robert, how about you take charge of the record company? Jeffrey and I aren't too savvy about this."
Robert Shea nodded with a smile of agreement. He had been thinking along those lines, "Sure thing, but what about EMI?"
"We'll maintain our collaboration." Eric responded. They were discussing EMI Records, determining that his new label named after the single, New Divide, was merely a shell without any distribution capabilities. Thus, releasing this single necessitated partnering with the established EMI. "Due to this Firefly situation, I've hastily set up the record company, and now several big players in the industry are wary of this. We need to hold onto this cooperation. Once we build up our strength over the next few years, we can think about going solo."
Everyone chuckled, some feeling a tinge of pride. After all, it was no small feat for a newly established music company with nothing but one single to evoke concern from some of the world's major record labels.
"Next, let's discuss the UTA matter," Eric turned to Edward, "Start with the progress of the case."
Edward pulled out the prepared documents, "The current situation is very favorable for us. The major companies involved have abandoned the case and stopped trying to influence it. As long as we proceed with standard responses, the damages caused by Firefly and UTA violating antitrust laws appears minimal. With no external force intervening and the public's sentiments, the FTC wouldn't severely penalize Firefly or UTA. Even if fines were levied, I'd wager they would only be symbolic. Your task is simply to divest your shares of UTA swiftly."
Upon hearing this, Eric glanced at Kepler sitting across, asking, "Kepler, what's your view? I mean, would you want to take over UTA completely?"
Kepler chuckled ruefully and sighed, "Of course, but I can't afford it."
Eric fell silent. Since the antitrust investigation began, the three major agency powerhouses in North America -- CAA, WMA, and ICM -- all came with acquisition offers, with ICM's reaching up to thirty million dollars. The other two bids also surpassed twenty million. It was worth noting that just a year prior, Eric had bought UTA for a mere hundred thousand.
However, ICM's adventurous offer was clearly calculated. UTA had stars like Al Pacino, and merging with ICM would provide an additional advantage; once they merged, Eric's future productions would surely prioritize ICM talents.
In just a year, Eric had revived Al Pacino's career and transformed a handful of lesser-known actors into world-class stars. This astonishing talent for building stars was why the three major agencies were willing to pay top dollar. ICM, currently the least prominent among the three, had the fewest marquee Hollywood A-listers, naturally coveting UTA.
Upon Kepler's comments, Eric asked, "Let's set aside the money matter for now. Kepler, I just want to know your real thoughts?"
After reflection, Kepler answered, "Eric, actually, I've been in contact with ICM's Marv Josephson. If you force me to choose, I'd lean towards selling UTA to ICM. Marv promised me a partnership position. As for the other two companies, I know you've already disregarded CAA, and I'm going to do the same with WMA. Although they've attempted various reforms over six months, they're still too entrenched in their old ways."
Eric nodded thoughtfully; he considered having Kepler take UTA alone but recognized the impracticality. No matter how much Eric might want to give UTA to Kepler, the agency would eventually need partners as it grew. It would be better overall to hand it directly over to ICM.
This meant that Eric would completely lose his influence over the agency. However, given his status, such influence was no longer necessary.
"Well then, let's negotiate with ICM and see if we can drive the price higher," Eric concluded.
Edward acknowledged, making a note.
"Alright, now let's address concluding matters. After enduring over a month of being backed into a corner, I can't just let it pass without any action."
As soon as Eric finished speaking, Jeffrey gently advised, "Eric, I believe that letting this incident blow over quietly is the best outcome."
Eric was taken aback, looking around at the others; both Robert Shea and Chris Hansen, who had just arrived from New York and knew little of Hollywood, nodded in agreement.
With a wry smile, Eric relented, "Alright, I'll heed your advice. We won't take any significant actions, but we still need to maintain some presence, or else they'll think I'm easy prey."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at Eric's statement and chuckled. They had worried he might naively want to confront the seven major studios head-on, which would have been rather unwise. After all, it was already a blessing that Firefly and Eric had weathered this storm with minimal damage, given their current lack of resources to retaliate.
"What do you have in mind, Eric?" Jeffrey inquired with a smile.
Eric had originally considered some tactics from his past life of combat. When outnumbered, he would focus on one of the opponents to neutralize as a deterrent. He had planned to target Fox, but seeing reluctance among the others, he reluctantly set that idea aside.
After a moment's contemplation, a wicked grin crept onto Eric's face. "Since I can't take one down, I'll just stir the pot between that person and their companions."
The assembled were sharp enough to grasp Eric's intent quickly, realizing he aimed to provoke Fox, given their deep collaboration. Firefly even held a ten percent stake in the Fox television division.
...
The single performed by Eric created a sensation in North America. The lyrics were unlike vague ramblings but echoed the real and raw experiences he had faced during this time. As a result, the single surpassed one million copies in sales within three days and climbed to over three million after a week, undoubtedly topping various music charts.
With the influence of this song, Eric gained increasing public support and no longer had to worry about the scandal. Meanwhile, several women close to him emerged from the shadow of the incident, beginning to contemplate their work arrangements for the year.
...
On February 19, another crucial event unfolded for Eric.
That day, Cisco officially launched its IPO at an offering price of eighteen dollars. Due to the absence of price caps on the day of issuance, Cisco's stock skyrocketed to twenty-two dollars right from the start.
While this performance wasn't exceptional, it sparked a series of explosive gains, doubling the stock price within a month. Chris praised Eric over the phone in a strange tone mixed with envy, curiously probing how Eric had forecast Cisco's stock ascendance. Of course, Eric had no cogent reply, opting instead to chuckle through their conversation.
...
Around mid-February, the nominations for the 62nd Academy Awards were announced, with Scent of a Woman garnering nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay -- becoming a hot contender. Meanwhile, Julia received simultaneous nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Pretty Woman and Steel Magnolias, causing a media sensation since double nominations were exceedingly rare in the Oscar lore, especially for such significant acting awards.
As for Eric, he secured nominations solely for screenplay categories: Best Adapted Screenplay for Scent of a Woman and Best Original Screenplay for The Others. Although Running Out of Time could've potentially secured another nomination, Eric opted out for PR reasons, choosing to pursue the one with the highest chance of winning -- The Others -- especially since that category remained unexplored without the presence of The Sixth Sense, maximizing his odds.
Of course, with Eric's recent public altercation with the seven major studios, the distribution companies responsible for these films wouldn't wholeheartedly back his PR efforts. Eric had to manage that himself, and among Firefly employees, only Robert Shea had substantial experience in that area. Eric entrusted that matter entirely to him.
What remained was to stir the relationship between the individual and their companions.
...
In front of a famous Italian restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, a sleek black luxury sedan smoothly parked. The driver opened the door, and Rupert Murdoch stepped out. Just as he got out, camera flashes erupted nearby.
With a wry smile, Rupert adjusted his suit, while Elisabeth stepped out to link arms with her father as they headed into the restaurant.
The waiter recognized them immediately, approaching with a smile, "Mr. Murdoch, Mr. Williams has been waiting for a while. Let me escort you."
*****
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