Chapter 571: You Have to Help Me

[Chapter 571: You Have to Help Me]

Eric initially thought that the news of Jurassic Park breaking global box office records would appear in the entertainment section. He was surprised to find that The New York Times actually placed this news on the front page of their politics section, complete with the familiar Tyrannosaurus rex photo that accompanied reports on Jurassic Park.

From early June until now, after a lengthy sixteen-week run, Jurassic Park amassed a staggering total of $430 million in North America and $470 million overseas, totaling $900 million globally, thereby breaking the $890 million global box office record set by E.T. in 1982. Although many professional box office analysts would often mention the difference in ticket prices between 1982 and 1993, for the average person, straightforward figures were generally more eye-catching than deep analytical discussions. Therefore, The New York Times didn't emphasize the impact of inflation.

Even though there remained a $100 million gap from Eric's initially stated goal of a billion-dollar global box office, he felt confident that, considering the current trend, while it might be difficult for domestic earnings to surpass Star Wars' $460 million mark, it was certainly feasible to earn another $20 million or so over the next few months. Moreover, the box office potential in foreign markets had not been fully tapped.

Eric quickly skimmed the reported box office figures by country and noted that Jurassic Park had only grossed around $80 million in Japan, while he distinctly recalled that Japanese box office numbers had easily surpassed $100 million. Hence, according to the current trajectory, reaching a billion globally was merely a matter of time.

Aside from some advertising collaborations, Firefly Films had little connection with The New York Times or the Sulzberger family. Therefore, he felt there was no reason for the publication to make such a fuss over Jurassic Park's box office records in the most important political section. After reading through the entire news segment, Eric understood why The New York Times had chosen to trumpet the story of Jurassic Park's success prominently.

The New York Times combined several high-quality analysis articles on the front page regarding Jurassic Park's record-breaking box office. They discussed the recent growth rates of overseas earnings from the major Hollywood studios and the impacts of the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) upcoming as the WTO was being formed, delivering a crucial message -- Hollywood was on the rise globally.

Joanna noticed Eric, deeply engrossed in the newspaper, occasionally frowning in thought. Curiously, she moved closer to see what he was reading. Eric rested his chin on her head, breathing in her faint floral scent, and asked, "Did you notice anything?"

Joanna gently pressed her cheek against Eric's, feeling his strong heartbeat, and while reluctant, she said, "Are you heading back to Los Angeles?"

"No," Eric wrapped his arms around Joanna's soft body. "The New York Times wouldn't make a fuss over Hollywood's rise unless someone was pushing things from behind."

"Why don't you call Jeffrey and ask? Then you'll know."

Eric glanced at his watch; it wasn't even six o'clock yet. In Los Angeles, it was only three in the morning, and calling now would definitely lead to someone being grumpy.

"I don't think it's a PR piece from the company. Jurassic Park's domestic box office potential was nearly exhausted. While it could still pull in some revenues over the coming months, with the current tiered distribution agreement, the revenue-sharing ratio between the company and theaters was 1:9, making further marketing unnecessary."

Joanna gently brushed her hand over Eric's furrowed brow, as if smoothing out the fine lines that worry had drawn. "I don't understand these things. You shouldn't think so much; it might tire you out. Why don't you try to get some more sleep?"

"Forget it; it's time to get up."

Eric set the newspaper aside, deciding not to dwell on the matter any longer. In reality, things were not too complicated. Those who stood to benefit from today's announcements were likely the ones manipulating the situation behind the scenes.

...

In the days following the news that Jurassic Park had broken box office records, calls continuously flooded into the East Hampton estate, and Eric quickly figured out the reasons why The New York Times published those news articles.

On the same day that Jurassic Park's global box office record was announced, stocks in the media and entertainment sector surged when the New York Stock Exchange opened. Many promising film companies saw their stock prices rise by as much as 30%, hitting the daily limit for gains on the exchange.

Of course, most companies could only enjoy some benefit from the paper gains in stock value. Due to the extreme volatility in film industry profits, those gains could vanish in the blink of an eye down the line.

However, Paramount Communications, which was in the midst of a takeover bid by Viacom and QVC, was able to reap more direct benefits. In the following days, stock prices for Paramount's parent company rose by 17%. Since news of Viacom and QVC's interest in acquiring Paramount Communications broke nearly a year ago, the stock price had doubled, reaching a market cap close to $9.5 billion.

Eric remembered that in his original timeline, Sumner Redstone purchased Paramount Communications for $10 billion. Given the current situation, whether it was Barry Diller or Sumner Redstone, acquiring the company for that price would no longer be an easy feat.

Michael Lynn and others, during their discussions with Eric, regretfully noted that if Firefly Films had chosen to go public, they would have emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the sudden surge in media stocks.

Yet Eric didn't share that perspective. To him, the paper price of a stock and a company's actual worth were two different concepts. Although stock prices sometimes reflected a company's value to some extent, most of the time, they did not correlate.

For instance, if Firefly had chosen to go public, with the summer box office hits like Jurassic Park, their stock price would likely reach new heights. But that height wouldn't necessarily equal Firefly's actual worth, unless shareholders sold their stocks at that point; otherwise, they wouldn't gain significant benefits from the rising stock price.

Moreover, Eric had discussed some aspects of Firefly's market capitalization with Chris. If Firefly chose to go public now, it would certainly be able to cross the $20 billion mark safely. Yet in Eric's mind, due to his unique perspective, Firefly's value was worth much more than $20 billion.

...

While these events unfolded, in late September, Fox Network officially aired Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Riding high on the 20 million ratings peak of The X-Files' fourth season, Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted with over 15 million viewers. Though this wasn't terribly impressive in 1993 and might not even reach the top ten for annual scripted shows, it represented great news for Fox, which had just experienced Firefly Films withdrawing its shares. This meant that Fox truly had a hit show entirely owned by them. Coupled with the positive market response due to Jurassic Park's record-breaking box office, News Corp's volatile stock finally stabilized.

After Buffy the Vampire Slayer's broadcast, perhaps influenced by Rupert Murdoch's hints, or simply with ulterior motives, Elisabeth personally traveled from Los Angeles to East Hampton to visit Eric.

After greeting Joanna and the two little ones, Elisabeth entered Eric's study and remarked, "The scenery here is nice. I might look for a estate nearby when I get back."

Watching as the woman comfortably took his seat, Eric moved to the small bar and poured coffee, saying, "I have a few other places; if you're interested, the keys are with Joan."

Elisabeth casually flipped through the documents stacked on Eric's desk, then looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "If you were personally giving it to me, I might consider accepting, but asking me to get something from your woman feels so insincere."

"Forget it then. Giving away something worth a few million does make me feel rather stingy."

"Pshaw, you jerk," Elisabeth lightly spat, waving the folder in her hand, her eyes sparkling with mischievousness. "These are screenplay proposals; which one are you interested in? I can help you evaluate."

Eric unhurriedly poured two cups of coffee, walked over to the desk, and handed her one. "We're competitors now; that tactic won't work on me."

When he initially prepared to acquire the network, Eric had instructed Firefly's TV division to scout some projects for acquisition. The documents Elisabeth held were sent recently, and Eric hadn't had a chance to go through them yet.

"No one wants to fool you," Elisabeth shot him a look again. "Besides, your judgment seems lacking; Buffy the Vampire Slayer's ratings are only 15 million -- way lower than I expected."

Eric pulled out a chair and sat across from her, cradling his coffee cup with a smile. "Is it a pleasant surprise to see a few extra million viewers?"

Elisabeth almost choked but didn't argue back. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was inevitably limited by two factors: first, as a teenage drama, its audience was mainly youthful. Second, its supernatural theme excluded many who weren't interested in the supernatural. Combined, 15 million viewers indeed exceeded Fox's original expectations.

Seeing that her usual banter with Eric had turned unfavorable again, Elisabeth shifted her focus to the large monitor on the desk. She bent down to locate the CPU and pressed the power button.

As the login screen appeared, Elisabeth rubbed her hands together excitedly, placing them on the keyboard. "Hey, what's the password?"

Eric took a small sip of his coffee and casually replied, "Hawaii."

Elisabeth smirked as she typed in the password and added teasingly, "Your daughter will surely be thrilled with the name her father gave her when she grows up."

"I think Emma will be even more surprised when she discovers her lengthy last name down the line."

"Humph, Emma has only called you Daddy; after all this time in New York, you haven't been responsible enough to check in on her."

"I've always been curious to know when Emma calls me, does she actually understand what the word 'Daddy' means?"

Elisabeth let out a soft laugh, "I'm curious too. Emma only calls you Daddy; her response to other men, women, cats, or dogs is different. It looks like you might fall into a unique category -- a creature known as 'Daddy,' heh."

Eric observed as Elisabeth clacked away at the keyboard and quickly reminded, "Don't mess up my files."

"I've been learning for a year," Elisabeth tilted her head and exclaimed, "Wow, your computer isn't like most others. A thousand megabyte hard drive? How did you manage that?"

While computer performance had indeed begun to soar according to Moore's Law, ordinary personal computers still only offered two to three hundred megabytes of storage. Eric couldn't take it anymore and had one customized, a process which would become common practice in later years. In fact, these custom computers were often derisively referred to as "Frankencomputers."

However, crafting a personal computer at this time wasn't easy; someone seeking to exceed typical performance limits needed to customize starting from the motherboard.

"This is a custom version; if you're interested, I can give you a contact," Eric explained, then added, "Alright, stop fiddling; why did you really come here? Just tell me."

"Can't I come just to visit you?"

"Now that you've seen me, need I personally escort you out?"

"Alright, fine," Elisabeth typed away for a moment before saying, "I'm the vice president of 20th Century Fox now, you know."

"Yeah?"

"Then last week, I secured the Braveheart project with Mel Gibson -- $18 million for him, plus 10% of profit sharing." As she continued speaking, she noticed Eric's suddenly serious expression and quickly turned teary-eyed. "Is that too high a price? You have to help me; if this project flops, I'm definitely out of a job as vice president."

Eric sighed, "What's the production budget you all planned?"

Elisabeth replied, "Including Mel Gibson's fees, it's $70 million in total."

Eric exhaled sharply, "You should have given me a heads-up. The profitability prospects for this project are not too bright. What I saw was its Oscar potential, and that's why I thought of acquiring it."

"What should we do now?"

*****

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