Chapter 758: 20 Million

[Chapter 758: 20 Million]

Hearing that Stephanie Seymour wanted a role in Sex and the City, Eric was not surprised. With the gleaming success of America's Next Top Model and Project Runway, the upcoming series that Eric personally spearheaded for Lifetime garnered significant attention from many actresses in the television and film industry once the news broke.

Sex and the City featured a four-lead format, with the four female leads being around 30 years old. This age range meant that aside from a select few who had already achieved fame and could sustain their acting careers, many actresses found themselves gradually disappearing from both small and big screens as opportunities dwindled after turning thirty. Although Sex and the City was just a television show, its backing from a rising Lifetime network and Eric himself made it extremely attractive for actresses around thirty.

Seeing the eager look on Stephanie Seymour's face, Eric asked, "Stephanie, can I ask a rather blunt question? How old are you this year?"

Stephanie Seymour showed no signs of hesitation typical of many women when asked about age. "I'm twenty-eight, Eric. I know the age requirement for the four leads in Sex and the City is around thirty, but I believe that standard needn't be so strict, right?"

As she spoke, Stephanie subtly edged closer to Eric, casually popping a chocolate-covered almond into her mouth, her eyes lidded as she gazed over.

Not unaffected by the alluring scent of Chanel No. 5 that surrounded her, Eric gently shook his head, saying, "Stephanie, that's unfortunately not possible. Besides, age isn't your biggest issue; the real problem is you're too beautiful. You should know I originally recommended another British actress for the lead, but the writers rejected her because she was too stunning. They wanted the character to appear rather ordinary."

"Oh, Eric, you must be pulling my leg, right?" Stephanie's expression turned somewhat wistful. "It's the first time I've heard that a writer had the power to overrule the boss's decision!"

Eric shrugged his shoulders. "But that's just the way it is. Overall, I consider myself a pretty open-minded boss. As long as my subordinates can justify their viewpoints, I won't be stubborn."

Stephanie looked visibly unsatisfied, seemingly about to speak again when a discordant sound of footsteps interrupted them; the first segment had concluded.

Both turned instinctively at the sound, and Cindy Crawford had approached Eric from behind, clad in a seductive black outfit, her back adorned with a pair of vibrant red wings. As she extended her arms for staff to remove the large red wings, she greeted Eric with, "Hey, Eric, what were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing, Cindy. You look absolutely stunning tonight."

"Thanks, Eric, but how many times have you said that tonight?"

"This is the first time for you."

"Haha," Cindy chuckled, taking off the wings and grabbing a pink robe from an assistant. She turned to Stephanie Seymour, "Sorry, Stephanie, but that's my spot. Mind moving a bit?"

"Oh, of course," Stephanie nodded but didn't immediately rise. Instead, she fished out a business card from somewhere and handed it to Eric, saying, "Eric, maybe we can find some time to chat. Just call me whenever you want."

With that, and before Eric could respond, Stephanie got up and walked toward the dressing room.

Cindy observed it all and sat down in Stephanie's previous spot, chuckling, "A lot of furies around, aren't there?"

Eric fiddled with the business card that Stephanie had just handed him. "By your industry's standards, shouldn't she be all set by now? Why not just focus on being a wealthy wife?"

"Haha, she's not quite there," Cindy said with some schadenfreude. "She found an old man who's over twenty years her senior -- hardly a fulfillment of anything. And guess what? How many kids does Peter Brant have?"

Eric shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"Of course," Cindy lowered her voice, gossiping, "Peter Brant had five children with his ex-wife. They were married for almost twenty years before Stephanie. According to federal law, if Peter wanted to divorce her, he'd have to part with half his assets, but his ex didn't pursue that."

Now intrigued, Eric asked, "Why not?"

Cindy replied, "She was a smart woman. She knew that Peter couldn't handle losing half his wealth, which would cause him to lose control over his own assets. So, when they divorced, Peter Brant's ex-wife didn't ask for a division of property; instead, she made sure he established inheritance rights ahead of time. Her five kids will end up with most of Peter Brant's fortune. Although the details weren't disclosed, you can imagine -- this half originally belonging to Peter's ex-wife will inevitably be passed down to the five kids. Hence, if Stephanie marries him, even if the marriage lasts, she and her kids likely wouldn't inherit much. If they divorced, she'd get even less compensation."

After hearing that, Eric couldn't help but laugh. "I can't shake the feeling that you've painted Stephanie into a corner."

"Well, I would never let myself end up like that -- totally not worth it," Cindy remarked. She glanced at Eric, as if wanting to ask something but ultimately held back, casually asking, "By the way, what were you guys chatting about just now?"

"Oh, she asked if America's Next Top Model is planning to change hosts. She mentioned she'd love that opportunity."

Cindy widened her eyes in surprise but quickly realized from Eric's smile that he was joking. She slapped his arm playfully, saying, "You little rascal, always teasing me. But," she glanced at the business card in Eric's hand, "be careful, she's married. If the media catches wind of it, it could get quite messy."

Eric casually ripped the card and tossed it into a nearby trash can, laughing, "I'm a serious person and wouldn't do anything out of line."

"Ha, I'll believe that when pigs fly. Earlier this year at the Liberty City Manor, you figured Linda was married but still let things go awry, didn't you?" Even now, recalling the chaos from that day, Cindy's cheeks flushed.

"That was beyond my control."

"Puh."

Eric laughed heartily, taking note of the still-bustling crowd around him. "Why are you so idle? Why haven't you gone to change? I thought Christy would walk the first segment with you; where is she?"

Cindy explained, "I'll be in the fourth and sixth segments, so I can afford a little break. Christie needs to prepare early for her third segment with wings."

"Oh, then let's grab something to eat." Eric brought over a few boxes in front of him.

"Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry," Cindy said, grabbing a skewer of fruit salad. Suddenly remembering something, she said, "By the way, Eric, are you coming over to my place tonight?"

Eric shook his head with a smile, "You're incredibly forward, but sorry, I'm already booked."

"Ah, who is it, Stephanie? No way."

"Definitely not, didn't you just say it? There are just too many furies around."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "It must be Linda then! Did she say something about buying an apartment in Greenwich Village and wanted you to take a look?"

Eric was surprised. "Has she already mentioned that to someone else?"

Cindy pointed to herself, scoffing, "That's old news, a hundred years ago kind of thing. Only she would be silly enough to shell out $2.8 million for it, claiming it's the former residence of some pop-art master or whatever. I can't even remember the name; it was so obscure. All I know is that I feel she's been duped by the real estate agent."

Eric didn't mind, saying, "Who cares? As long as she's comfortable living there."

"Ha, you're the only one who can downplay a house purchase like that! $2.8 million? If it could at least hold its value, great, but if not and the market crashes, she'll be stuck maintaining it. Although she paid in full, owning a place in Manhattan isn't cheap."

"It won't be a problem; at least for the next twenty years, Manhattan's real estate prices will only increase. If you have some extra cash, you could invest in several properties."

"Hmm, I'll think about it," Cindy nodded, hearing staff behind her calling her name as she quickly got up. "I gotta go, Eric. I'll see you at the party later."

"See you later."

Eric waved as she left. After Cindy departed, he got up, taking advantage of the break in the show to find a less conspicuous spot at the front and watched the entire competition.

...

The next day, as media coverage on the second Victoria's Secret Fashion Show flooded in, Eric left Linda's apartment in Greenwich Village early in the morning, flying back to Los Angeles.

On November 10, the day Eric returned to Los Angeles, the year-end release schedule for 1995 had already begun.

In contrast to the bustling summer blockbusters, year-end releases seemed to lack excitement.

Take Firefly, for instance. The company planned to release two films, Bad Boys and 101 Dalmatians, on Thanksgiving and Christmas, respectively. Each film's production budget hovered around $20 million. If it were a few years prior, a $20 million budget could be considered mid-range production; however, in recent years, with the explosive growth of the film market, productions costing under $20 million were now categorized as low-budget films.

Aside from Firefly, other film companies were similarly releasing mid to low-budget films. For example, MGM's Scream and Mean Girls had budgets even lower than Firefly's two films.

Sony originally had the potential to release at least one blockbuster, whether it was Men in Black II or Jumanji 2. By adjusting their schedules, at least one of the two could make the Christmas release window. However, perhaps due to the first Jumanji's poor box office performance during last year's year-end period, Sony was apprehensive about repeating that failure and thus scheduled both films for next summer.

From 1988 to now, after seven years, with Eric's growing influence in Hollywood and the strong impact of his personal butterfly effect, the norms of film production and distribution in Hollywood had transformed drastically compared to the original timeline. Some films that should have emerged never did, while some major blockbusters had changed leads. Likewise, there were also many films that hadn't even existed in the original timeline but were now appearing.

Although Eric still maintained a considerable influence and control over a few movie companies in his circle, he found it impossible to accurately predict the development patterns of several other Hollywood cinema companies.

For instance, this year, Fox was releasing a Jim Carrey-starring comedy and a Tom Cruise drama during the year-end period; Eric had never even heard of the titles or their content.

The box office draw of stars Jim Carrey and Tom Cruise remained strong, and these films could be considered the most heavyweight in the year-end lineup. However, since neither was a big-budget film, despite both stars' salaries nearing $20 million, their overall production costs didn't exceed $50 million.

To avoid competing with the Thanksgiving period, Fox decided to release Jim Carrey's new film a week before Thanksgiving, premiering in over 2,600 theaters. In its first three days, it grossed over $33.2 million, with projections suggesting the first-week gross would easily exceed $45 million, close to production costs. Based on this trend, the total box office could at least reach $120 million.

Up to now, every film Jim Carrey had released since his debut had grossed over $100 million, which was nothing short of miraculous.

However, according to the original contract, this would be the last film Jim Carrey would make with Fox.

Before the film's release, it was rumored that Sony had privately reached out to Jim Carrey, proposing a deal that would offer him a $20 million salary for an upcoming film. Following the strong opening weekend box office of his last film with Fox, Jim Carrey's team hastily announced this news afterwards, marking it as the first non-revenue-sharing $20 million deal in Hollywood, igniting discussions throughout the entire entertainment industry.

With the global film market booming and the North American and European economies recovering, an influx of speculative money began to flow into the film industry, making it unstoppable for Hollywood stars' salaries to soar to astronomical levels.

Eric recalled that even after experiencing the 2008 economic crisis, which plunged the global film market into a deep freeze, Hollywood stars' salaries didn't show any signs of decline; it was mainly the second and third-tier stars whose situations became increasingly tough.

*****

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