Chapter 498: It Could Backfire

[Chapter 498: It Could Backfire]

Eric didn't deny it and said, "Both Tele-Communications and Comcast are playing their own games. In this situation, if Barry managed to successfully acquire Paramount, that would be surprising."

After this incident, it was clear that Barry Diller wouldn't split from Tele-Communications and Comcast, but their collaboration wouldn't last too long either. Barry Diller's talents in managing a television network were beyond question. Eric believed that if he could win Barry to his side, it would certainly avoid the embarrassment that followed Disney's acquisition of ABC in the original timeline.

Katzenberg also recognized Eric's thoughts and playfully countered, "That's a great idea, but unfortunately, the chances of it happening are slim."

"You can't have any possibility if you don't try," Eric replied.

While they chatted, Katzenberg's assistant knocked on the office door and peeked in, saying, "Mr. Williams, Mr. Katzenberg, Mr. Guber has arrived."

"Let's go check out the preview of Mr. & Mrs. Smith," Katzenberg said as he stood up.

Just as the two stepped out of the office, Peter Guber walked over with a broad smile, warmly hugging both Eric and Katzenberg. Eric noticed that Peter's assistant, John Peters, hadn't come along. Since returning to Los Angeles, he had vaguely heard about a conflict between Peter Guber and John Peters, apparently related to the Superman rights at Warner Bros.

In the 1980s, Warner had released four Superman films in a row, but each one did worse at the box office than the last. The fourth Superman film in 1987 landed a dismal $15 million gross. Consequently, the Superman franchise was shelved, and DC Comics, which was tied to Warner Bros., fell into financial trouble. Disheartened, DC sold the movie rights to the Superman series, with the buyer being John Peters, who at that time owned his own production company.

Although the second Batman film's reviews and box office were not as strong as the first, it was still far better than the Superman series of the 1980s. Many began to recognize the potential for DC superhero movies, and the Superman film rights in John Peters's hands caught the eyes of several buyers.

As for the intricate details, Eric was less clear. However, from memory, he noted that over twenty years later, John Peters's name still appeared in the producer credits for Man of Steel, indicating that Warner Bros. had never fully regained the Superman rights despite all its efforts.

At that moment, Eric could reasonably guess that Peter Guber was interested in the Superman rights held by John Peters, wanting Columbia Pictures to develop them, but the two must have disagreed on profit-sharing, leading to their conflict.

...

After some small talk among the three, they headed toward the screening room. By this time, several executives from Disney and Columbia Pictures had gathered, including the film's director, John Woo. Since the two leads, Nicole Kidman and Pierce Brosnan, had already begun promotional work for the film, they were absent for this preview.

Once Peter learned that Eric affirmed John Woo's work, he dropped his previous discontent about Eric insisting on hiring John Woo and greeted him with a big smile.

Eric didn't make many alterations to the plot of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The film still began with the Smiths, who had been married for about five or six years, going for marriage counseling.

However, it was precisely because Eric had kept the plot mostly unchanged that the audience in the screening room found it to be quite stunning. The film featured a series of high-tech gadgets, and although many effects were achieved through digital techniques of the time, it felt thrilling and even cooler than the high-tech appeal of the James Bond films.

John and Jane, rival assassins from opposing groups, unexpectedly fall in love after meeting in the chaotic capital of Colombia. The pair swiftly married and began what appears to be the ordinary life of an American middle-class family. However, behind this facade lies a series of assassination missions they each conceal from one another.

Though John and Jane managed to keep their identities secret from each other, their respective assassin organizations eventually learned the truth. To eliminate the 'instability' presented by the two, both groups independently collaborated on a mission against them.

John and Jane soon figured out each other's identities. After a series of twists and turns, they confronted one another in the villa where they had lived for six years, ultimately coming to understand their feelings and launching a counterattack for survival.

The film balanced thrilling action with occasional warmth and humor. After Eric's re-edit, the storyline felt even tighter.

After a one hundred twenty-minute viewing, the film concluded with the roar of a rock song. The executives in the screening room patiently waited for the credits to roll, and when the lights came up, they applauded enthusiastically.

...

"Mr. Woo, thank you for bringing us such an incredible film," Peter Guber said, clapping and complimenting John Woo, who sat beside him.

John Woo, being modest, deflected the compliments with a few humble remarks, although it was clear from his expression that he was pleased and proud.

The release schedule and marketing plan for Mr. & Mrs. Smith had already been set before the film was completed, slated to premiere on December 18 during the Christmas season. This private screening was merely a final check for the executives involved to make minor adjustments to the marketing strategy. However, having viewed the film, all parties, including Peter Guber from Columbia, had no objections to the hefty $25 million marketing budget.

Interestingly, it seemed Warner Bros. aimed to generate buzz by scheduling another Eric's film The Bodyguard, for which he had secured Sam Neill as the lead, for release on December 18 as well, competing directly with Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Since he was credited as an executive producer, Eric couldn't afford to ignore The Bodyguard. Although Warner only wanted to leverage Eric's fame to boost box office numbers, a few days prior, they invited him to join a screening of the film. Eric felt the biggest selling point of The Bodyguard was Kevin Costner, the previous year's Oscar winner for Best Director and Best Actor. Of course, Whitney Houston's songs would also draw attention, but aside from that, Eric didn't find the story particularly special.

...

Eric spent nearly all of October in this busy routine. Besides keeping an eye on upcoming film releases, he also began discussions with the Firefly management team regarding next year's production and distribution plans.

By the end of October, Roland Emmerich wrapped up filming for his nearly twenty-week project, Deep Impact. Emmerich had never managed such a large-scale production before, and as a result, the pace was much slower compared to Eric's smooth filming of Jurassic Park. But fortunately, Roland Emmerich didn't exceed the budget, and the film soon moved into post-production.

...

November arrived quickly. With the Thanksgiving Christmas release window approaching, at the beginning of the month, Firefly, like other major film companies, released its small-budget horror films, but Eric paid little attention to these low-budget projects that hadn't even reached ten million dollars. He entrusted those to Firefly's management team.

...

Besides films, another pivotal event occurred in November that was vital for the U.S. On November 3rd, the four-year U.S. presidential election results were announced, congratulating Democratic candidate William Jefferson Clinton for narrowly defeating incumbent Republican candidate George H.W. Bush with 42% to Bush's 37%, successfully becoming the 42nd President of the United States.

Eric finally breathed a sigh of relief; history had not altered as he feared. If Clinton hadn't become president, many unpredictable outcomes could have arisen. Perhaps America would have missed out on a decade of the fastest economic growth in its history.

At his estate, Eric was discussing the matter with Kathryn Bigelow, who visited him. "Now do you believe me? I said all along that even without an early release of Riot documentary, Clinton still stood a chance to win because his economic policies were far superior to Bush's team."

Kathryn merely shot him a glance, sipping delicately from her glass of water. Clinton's win had almost been a narrow victory; in fact, before the final vote count, Bush had even enjoyed higher approval ratings. Thus, the results shocked many.

During the production of the documentary about the Los Angeles riots, Kathryn had gradually become a supporter of Clinton. Many directors and stars in Hollywood were backing Clinton too, including Spielberg and George Lucas.

Consequently, after completing the Riot documentary, Kathryn suggested to Eric that they release it in September to support Clinton, but Eric, who was then in France, turned her down.

This documentary attributed a significant portion of the causes of the Los Angeles riots to the high unemployment rate in South Los Angeles. While Bush's administration had celebrated winning the Gulf War, thrilling a nation that hadn't seen much military success since World War II, the economic policies implemented during his four-year term ultimately failed. Unemployment had soared to 9%, there were continuous budget deficits, and the national debt reached an astounding $4 trillion -- a figure hard to comprehend in the early 1990s when the dollar was strong.

A little later, Kathryn said, "A mere 5% lead could easily slip away. Didn't you say you were also a supporter of Clinton? Why did you oppose my release of this documentary back then?"

"Because your intentions were too transparent, and it could backfire," Eric replied.

"How could that be?" Kathryn asked, surprised.

The reason Eric said this was because of the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Michael Moore faced pressure to release that controversial documentary about the events surrounding 9/11 while George W. Bush campaigned for re-election. Instead of tarnishing Bush's support, the extreme viewpoints in Fahrenheit 9/11 only sparked a backlash among some voters against Moore's ideas.

In summary, even Bush's electoral opponent disagreed with Moore's stance, putting themselves in opposition to him, yet Bush ultimately won re-election.

Kathryn's documentary on the Los Angeles riots, while not as blunt as Moore's work, still pointed fingers at the economic policy failures of the Bush administration. During these tense times, it could easily be twisted by Bush's campaign team as evidence to discredit him as a rival -- after all, Bush was still the President, possessing far more resources than Clinton.

"People's hearts are difficult to fathom. Sometimes you might think you're doing the right thing, but others could completely interpret it the other way," Eric said thoughtfully.

Kathryn wasn't naive; upon hearing this from Eric, she soon grasped the implications and couldn't help but sigh softly.

Seeing her show such a rare expression, Eric consoled her, saying, "Don't worry, Firefly plans to release the documentary in mid-December, and I promise it will at least earn a nomination for Best Documentary at the Oscars."

Kathryn knew Eric meant well and nodded. She understood that the subject matter of Riot was too sensitive; while it was profound, not many people wanted to confront it. Moreover, the documentary was still too close to the events it depicted, occurring less than a year after the riots. Although some sought reflection, most subconsciously wanted to avoid discussing it until many years passed.

In this context, obtaining an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary would already be a major achievement; winning was unlikely.

"Next, you can focus on making Saving Private Ryan," Eric said, and with a playful grin, he added, "Oh, and by the way, Jim's True Lies also joined Firefly's project plan for next year last month. I'm thinking of putting it in the summer release of the following year. What do you think?"

A year had passed since Kathryn's feelings about Cameron's betrayal had eased significantly. Upon hearing this, she merely shot Eric a mock glare and said, "You just love stirring the pot, don't you?"

*****

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