Chapter 224: The X-Files
[Chapter 224: The Treasure of the Town]
After clearing a pile of newspapers aside, Eric crossed his arms and sized up the woman across from him. It seemed that women in both TV and real life during this era loved to wear shirts. Of course, Eric was a big fan of this style too. It gave women an aura of capability and sophistication. At least, he thought it looked much better than what those women in later years wore, wrapping themselves in chaotic lengths of fabric.
In Eric's opinion, a shirt was also a form of seductive uniform, especially when a woman was wearing a loose men's shirt. Two long bare legs were the cherry on top...
Elisabeth noticed Eric's intense gaze and, initially carefree demeanor quickly shifted. She crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at Eric and said, "Hey, what are you staring at, perv?"
"I wasn't staring at anything. I was just wondering if you planned to wear that to work," he replied. Although she looked decent, it clearly wasn't the attire of a woman who was about to start working.
"Of course! I'm your assistant, not some office bimbo. Are you expecting me to wear a suit and high heels while running around the set?"
Eric caught a glimpse of the way she slightly raised her chin and realized that arguing further would be pointless. He shook his head lightly, deciding not to push it. After all, he didn't expect her to be much help. As long as she could hand things to him during filming and not cause any trouble, that was good enough.
"Suit yourself," Eric said, as he lowered his head to rummage through a nearby drawer.
Elisabeth seemed to feel a slight victory from this, letting out a prolonged, nasal hum.
Eric found a document and pushed it along with a pen toward Elisabeth. "This is the contract. Sign it, and you'll be a member of the Sleepless in Seattle crew."
Elisabeth picked it up but didn't rush to sign. Instead, she started reading it carefully. Eric glanced at his watch but didn't pay much attention and went back to reading a newspaper.
After a moment, he heard Elisabeth say, "Eric, I finished signing. What's next?"
Eric took the signed copy she offered and filed it away. "You can go home now. Someone will notify you when the crew leaves for Seattle in a few days."
"Ah..." Elisabeth's mouth opened slightly, quickly realizing Eric didn't take her seriously. She shot back, "You can't do this! I protest! If you won't assign me work, I'm not leaving your office today!"
Eric cursed under his breath, regretting ever agreeing to Murdoch.
While he was pondering how to deal with this spoiled girl, the office door knocked yet again. Allen peeked in and said, "Mr. Williams, the writers are all here waiting in the conference room."
"Okay, I'll be right there." After Allen left, Eric turned to Elisabeth and said, "Liz, you really won't be needed here, so it's best if you go home. Someone will call you when the time comes."
"I'm not leaving! Since I signed the contract, you should assign me work!"
Eric felt irritation rise. He quickly rubbed his thumb against the side of his index finger and pointed to the coffee machine nearby. "If you want to work, then make me a cup of coffee."
She immediately objected, "I'm not your servant!"
"This is part of a director's assistant duties. If you don't want to, then go home and wait for the crew to notify you."
"You..." Elisabeth shot him an unwilling glare. After a moment, she reluctantly straightened her face and carefully brought him a cup of coffee.
Eric didn't even feel like drinking it. Seeing Elisabeth's defiant expression, he picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers.
"Allen, print out two copies of the confidentiality agreement you signed and bring them in."
Elisabeth's expression shifted subtly, trying to hide a gleam of mischief in her eyes as she lowered her head, standing obediently to the side. A while later, Allen delivered the two confidentiality agreements.
"This is the confidentiality agreement Allen signed initially. You don't need to read the whole thing, but being Murdoch's daughter, you probably have an idea of what it entails. If violated, you'll not only face hefty penalties but could even land in jail. Once signed, you can follow me around as a secretary assistant during the shooting of Sleepless in Seattle."
This time, Elisabeth didn't stall. In less than a minute, she flipped through the ten pages of the contract and signed it without hesitation.
"Alright, follow me. And at least for the next few days in Los Angeles, don't wear that outfit again. Dress more formally."
"I got it." This time, she didn't argue and happily followed Eric into the conference room.
...
Inside the conference room, eight people sat -- six men and two women, all around their twenties or thirties. This was the talented writing team Eric had specially recruited for his next TV series.
Fox had recently signed a preliminary equity transfer agreement with Firefly Films, and the specific transaction would be completed within a month. Therefore, before Eric finished his last two movies of the year, he needed to prepare for Murdoch's promised TV series and a variety show.
The plan was for the variety show to air in the spring, but since its planning was relatively simple, Eric wasn't in a rush to produce it. Another series was set to premiere in the fall of the following year. Even with Eric at the helm, Fox suggested a "shoot and air" model, considering that the average production cost for this show could reach $2 million per episode. However, Eric disagreed. He was confident about the series and felt that a hurried production would compromise quality, given the subject matter.
Neither side wanted to budge initially. Eric even declared that if Fox didn't want to take the risk, Firefly could pursue independent financing, but they couldn't expect to split the rights. This proposal had Barry Diller hesitating to agree -- who could guarantee that this series wouldn't blow up like Friends?
After a few days of stalemate, Murdoch personally made the call. Since Eric was so confident, the well-established Fox wouldn't shy away from this risk. Even if the series performed poorly, they would only be losing about twenty million dollars.
Even with Fox receiving Friends unexpectedly this year, their end-of-year report would still show a loss of tens of millions.
What Eric was set to produce was the Fox network's gem from the '90s, The X-Files. In Eric's memory, this was almost the only standout series the network had to showcase in the entire decade.
However, the ratings for the first few seasons weren't great. Without the loyal fanbase supporting it, it likely would have been canceled after its first season if not for the enthusiastic response online that boosted the show's ratings upon rebroadcast.
Though The X-Files had a unique style in its early seasons, it was the ratings of the fourth and fifth seasons, after a change in approach, that truly soared.
Eric believed the initial lack of ratings was primarily because the story lacked a main plot line. While each episode presented a novel monster or supernatural event, this disjointed format made it tough for viewers to stay engaged. It wasn't until the fourth season that the creator, Chris Carter, began weaving together the chaotic threads from the earlier seasons into a cohesive sci-fi narrative.
The sci-fi series was initially underestimated by Fox since North American networks had tried producing such dramas but had seen just a handful of successes. Eric figured the father of The X-Files, Chris Carter, may not have even had a solid main plot in mind when he began, likely evolving as time went on.
Before deciding to make this series, Eric had reached out to Chris Carter, hoping to have him lead the writing. After all, many brilliant ideas had come from him. But when Eric's contact met Chris, Carter expressed a disinterest in sci-fi TV shows, thus he turned down the offer.
This illustrated the remarkable power of the butterfly effect. The original creator of The X-Files had no interest in a sci-fi series -- it was truly... fascinating.
...
In the conference room, Eric pointed to an empty seat at the end of the table for Elisabeth to sit down, while he took his place at the head. Once everyone greeted each other and completed their introductions, Eric stood up and walked toward the wall with the whiteboard.
He took a black marker and quickly wrote: The X-Files.
"Everyone here is skilled in the sci-fi genre, so you undoubtedly realize that the series I'm about to produce is also a sci-fi drama. This show will be called The X-Files."
As the room's curiosity bubbled, Eric set the black marker down and gently clapped his hands. "Now, let me give you a brief introduction to the background I envision for this sci-fi series.
The story nearly begins with the origins of life, as the universe is vast -- greater than we can imagine. Thus, within this limitless expanse exist infinite possibilities. Among countless stars, there must be other planets that can harbor intelligent life, and the planet Brett is the center of this entire tale."
*****
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