Chapter 351: The Disruptor

[Chapter 351: The Disruptor]

After Allen knocked, he pushed open the door to Eric's office and saw Eric leaning back in his chair, a mix of relaxation and fatigue on his face.

"What's up?" Eric straightened his back and asked with a renewed focus as Allen approached.

"When you were discussing matters with Mr. Lynn, Mr. Cameron called. He said Arnold Schwarzenegger is insisting on a salary of $13 million. If we don't agree, Arnold will sign a contract with Carolco Pictures for his next film."

At the mention of Carolco, Eric raised his eyebrows slightly. Carolco was one of the most notorious exploitation film companies in Hollywood during the early 1990s. In another timeline, titles like Terminator 2 and Basic Instinct came out of Carolco.

Carolco was also a disruptor in Hollywood's landscape, supported by massive German investment groups. To secure contracts with prominent stars, they recklessly inflated salaries, offering Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger about $15 million -- almost double what top-tier stars were making in Hollywood at the time. This surge led to a widespread increase in salaries across the film industry, and one could easily imagine how the major studios, the so-called "Big Seven," felt about Carolco -- pure resentment.

In his recollection, Carolco eventually faced a brutal downfall. Their $95 million pirate film, Cutthroat Island, grossed just over $9 million, resulting in a colossal bankruptcy for Carolco Pictures.

This disaster had many causes, including a poorly written script, and its failure garnered a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest box office flop. It was clear that the other studios were likely behind the sabotage. Carolco's wave of rising salaries amounted to hundreds of millions paid to stars, creating animosity that would prompt any studio head to seek retribution against the source of such grievances.

He wondered if the script for Cutthroat Island was available now. If he could get his hands on that infamous box office disaster, it could serve as a potent weapon if released strategically.

Noticing Eric had closed his eyes as if deep in thought, Allen stood quietly across from him, patiently waiting for a decision.

After thinking about Cutthroat Island, Eric quickly shifted his focus to Terminator 2. There was no doubt that star salaries would keep skyrocketing in the future. Even Cameron, who had extended a personal favor to Schwarzenegger, could only negotiate the star down by $2 million. Eric figured he didn't have enough leverage yet to extract a greater concession from Arnold.

Of course, since the ultimate culprit behind this salary surge was the Germans, Eric pondered the possibility of making them the fall guy. He thought about involving the German investors through Carolco, the original production company for Terminator 2, to join in the film's production. After all, Terminator 2 was slated for distribution by Flower Films. He could manipulate the marketing costs to inflate Flower's profit share -- sufficiently enough to retain most of the film's profits and make it tough for the Germans to recoup their initial investment.

But that approach would stir up issues regarding the rights to Terminator. If it were any other film, it might be manageable, but since he'd fully acquired the rights to this goldmine of a franchise, he wouldn't allow any unexpected complications.

He remembered a recent article about the legal battles over the rights of the 007 franchise -- an ongoing litigation that had dragged on for over twenty years. Eric had no desire to see Terminator embroiled in a similarly tangled web of copyright disputes in the future.

"I'll call Jim to discuss this myself later," Eric finally said after sorting through all his thoughts.

Allen nodded and was about to step out when Eric stopped him, "Oh, and keep an ear out for any pirate film scripts in the industry. Keep it low-profile, don't draw attention to it."

"I got it," Allen smiled, then asked, "Is there anything else?"

"That's it. After tonight's premiere of Sleeping With the Enemy, I'll be busy working with Kathryn Bigelow on Point Break, so I won't be in the office for a while. Just send any important documents to the mansion, and call my phone if anything urgent comes up."

"Do you need me to accompany you?" Allen asked, puzzled, since Eric generally invited him along for these occasions.

"No, that won't be necessary. The company has a lot going on right now, and I need you to hold down the fort here," Eric stated, shaking his head.

"Alright then," Allen replied with a nod before turning to leave the office.

...

As summer rolled in by late June, Flower Films' first release for the season, The Silence of the Lambs, had been in theaters for two weeks. Its intricate plot and stellar performances brought in nearly $40 million at the box office, largely due to the buzz created by a few female producers. Had it not been for the heightened budget to meet deadlines, they would have already profited. Many film critics were betting that this movie would become another Oscar frontrunner in the horror genre, much like The Exorcist back in 1973.

In this climate, Julia Roberts' latest thriller, Sleeping With the Enemy, naturally garnered substantial attention. Plus, the promotional campaign for Basic Instinct had already begun, marking yet another crime thriller release.

While some tabloids snidely suggested that Eric had been assimilated into New Line's production style after acquiring them, sharp Hollywood executives maintained a keen watch on all three upcoming releases.

If both Sleeping With the Enemy and Basic Instinct proved to be box office successes, Hollywood would undoubtedly ramp up the production of horror and thriller films in the coming years. Driven by profit, studios were inclined to follow trends, although the copyright protection tactics and cost limitations restrained Hollywood's adaptation approach.

The evaluations from the previous test screenings of Sleeping With the Enemy from critics hadn't been overly positive. They couldn't exactly label it a flop, yet the responses remained mediocre. Apart from Julia's commendable performance, nothing else particularly stood out.

Of course, with Robert Shea's tireless PR efforts, most of the reviews published before the film's release leaned toward praise.

Subsequent screenings generated some positive reactions among fans, giving Robert Shea a measure of reassurance. As long as the movie performed well at the box office, he wouldn't care much about what critics had to say. If it weren't for audiences primarily relying on newspaper reviews to choose films during that time, Robert Shea likely wouldn't have bothered with the critics at all.

*****

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