Chapter 95: Television Series

[Chapter 95: Television Series]

After just a few puffs, Barry Diller irritably stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "It seems you aren't planning to change your mind, are you?"

"Mr. Diller, I could have completed the contract by simply putting together a movie without any communication with Fox if I didn't care about quality. I could churn out a film in ten days if I wanted."

Barry Diller recognized that the young man before him had made up his mind and wasn't going to budge. Though a thought crossed his mind to teach this know-it-all a lesson, he quickly dismissed it. If he did that, it would likely result in a split like how Eric had left Columbia after their collaboration.

He had also heard recently about the sudden ousting of Columbia's president, Cohen Blount. He had been puzzled as to why Coca-Cola would go to such lengths to sell Columbia. Now it became clear; they were merely clearing obstacles to reestablish a partnership with the young man in front of him.

If he made any rash moves now and the relationship soured, it seemed likely that this young man would depart from Fox upon completing his contract, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

In such a dire scenario, Barry Diller quickly contemplated how to secure some additional benefits to offset the potential loss. "Eric, you must understand that what you're doing essentially pulls Fox out of the summer box office battle. Although your actions don't violate the contract, it could still harm the relationship between both parties. To appease Fox's shareholders, perhaps it's time to revise the original agreement?"

After hearing Barry Diller's words, Eric promptly countered, "Mr. Diller, the contract will remain unchanged. I won't make any concessions regarding the profit share. Like I said before, I owe Fox nothing. I'm only here discussing this with you to prevent our relationship from souring. We can only discuss a win-win compensation plan that doesn't harm either side's interests; that way, our partnership can endure."

"Alright, I assume you've got a plan in mind?"

Eric nodded, saying, "Yes, my Firefly Films recently outlined plans for three additional films, from which Fox can select one for distribution."

Barry Diller almost burst out laughing at what he deemed a mere token compensation. If Fox wanted to distribute a film, all they had to do was give a call, and those independent film companies would come streaming in. Suddenly recalling the Fox TV manager he had just dismissed, he had another idea. "Eric, are you interested in television series?"

The moment Eric heard the term "television series," he pictured that stubborn little girl struggling in New York with a floundering workplace sitcom. Friends had raked in a whopping four billion dollars in profits for Warner over a decade, and Eric certainly had no intention of letting that slip away. Although he hadn't seen all ten seasons, he had, by sheer luck, caught the first two seasons. With the advantages of his second chance, those episodes were etched clearly in his mind. If they could successfully establish the first season's popularity, finding a writer to continue the story would be simple.

"Mr. Diller, I had actually already conceived some ideas for television series. Perhaps I didn't clarify, but the three movies produced by Firefly, while not directed by me, include two scripts of mine. I would serve as a producer and retain final cut rights, which is practically no different from directing it myself. And for the third film, I plan to have Julia star in the lead role. No one can doubt Julia's box office appeal, right?"

After hearing Eric's words, Barry Diller quickly concluded, "No problem, Eric. Fox will handle the other three films from Firefly, and we can produce the television series concurrently. You just need to write the scripts."

Although Barry Diller feigned a generous demeanor, Eric could perceive a hint of excitement in his tone. It was clear that Diller recognized the potential value in those three films.

Eric hadn't intended to distribute all three films through a single company, let alone give them all to Fox. He understood the principle of giving too much to one party could lead to resentment when you chose not to give later.

In fact, Barry Diller had already begun to show signs of this. Eric's actions hadn't violated the contract, yet Diller felt Fox had badly lost out.

Shaking his head, Eric raised one finger. "Mr. Diller, it can only be one television series or one movie as compensation. One television series or one movie."

"Eric..."

"..."

The two argued in the office for quite some time. In the end, driven by his ambition for broadcasting networks, Barry Diller chose the television series. If it hadn't been for his desire to develop the network, he wouldn't have left Paramount, so Eric wasn't surprised by the choice.

However, Diller wasn't about to let Eric off easily. He insisted Eric personally direct the first two episodes of the series.

Eric hadn't expected Barry Diller to conjure such a forward-thinking idea. Over a decade later, inviting well-known Hollywood directors to helm the initial episodes had become a popular trend in American television, leading many Hollywood directors to take on television work themselves.

In truth, Barry Diller wasn't as visionary as Eric thought. He believed it a rather absurd idea to have a distinguished Hollywood filmmaker direct a television series. After all, in that era, it was seen as a step down for movie directors to venture into television; it was almost always the other way around, with television directors transitioning to film.

The reason for proposing that Eric direct the first two episodes was entirely due to not securing the film distribution rights -- it was a means to tease Eric into a predicament. Diller thought Eric would flatly refuse, but he was taken aback when, after a moment's consideration, the young man nodded in agreement. Considering the prevailing attitude of Hollywood directors at the time, if word got out about Eric directing a TV series, there would surely be some purists criticizing him for selling out.

Barry Diller didn't realize that his thoughtless and impudently unrealistic request would create such a buzz, inadvertently ushering in the trend of big-name directors helming American television shows.

...

After reaching an understanding with Fox, Eric finally set aside his concerns, and an agreement with Columbia was rapidly secured. Given how generous they had been, Eric promptly raised the production budget to forty million dollars. If future promotional costs were figured at twenty million, based on a twenty-five percent profit share for Columbia, North American box office receipts would need to hit 240 million dollars for Columbia to break even. Of course, if overseas box office receipts were considered, that figure might only need to reach two hundred million dollars.

Eric estimated that Columbia hadn't even intended to break even; they just wanted the box office to soar and give investors a rosy outlook, causing their stock price to rise. For every dollar the stock price climbed, Columbia's market value would increase by a staggering 180 million. Sony, weren't you financially buoyant? Dig deep!

In this context, Eric still pinch-pennied enough to keep the rights to Running Out of Time from Columbia, opting instead to share them with Firefly since they had invested so much. It would have been cruel to give nothing. Though the film resulted in the death of a major character, if it succeeded, they could easily swap in a new lead for a sequel and rake in another hefty profit.

*****

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