Chapter 68: Pixar

[Chapter 68: The Ugly Duckling of Pixar]

Eric quickly gathered the scattered memories of Pixar from his past life. As the leader in 3D animation in Hollywood, Pixar produced the globally renowned Toy Story series of animated films. However, before 1995, Disney's 2D animated films had still dominated the animation market, and no one had any faith in the future of 3D animation.

Even Steve Jobs lacked confidence in 3D animation. Before Toy Story was released, he had wanted to sell Pixar, and he had even reached out to his old rival, Microsoft, while holding his nose. During his discussions with Microsoft executives, he placed a Windows laptop on his desk to appease Nathan Myhrvold, the company's Senior Vice President.

Unfortunately, the price Microsoft offered was far from satisfactory, and with Jobs feeling stuck in a muddy pit that he couldn't climb out of, he had to grit his teeth and hang on until the dawn of success arrived. After Toy Story's debut, it shattered box office records, earning $192 million domestically and nearly $360 million worldwide, with a production cost of only $30 million.

After that, the value of Pixar, once pegged at $50 million, skyrocketed to twenty times that amount. By the time Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, its valuation had reached $7.4 billion.

Considering the timeline, Eric realized Jobs should have already begun trying to sell Pixar, the "money-losing venture." Just as Eric contemplated the prospect of buying Pixar, he reluctantly shook his head.

Jobs might not be able to demand the $50 million price tag like he had in his previous life, but even if he offered half, at $25 million, Eric couldn't manage it. He had hardly any money left; given how long Home Alone had been out, Columbia Pictures must have started sharing the profits with the theaters.

However, in the best-case scenario, Eric would have to wait until Home Alone finished its run before he could receive his share. Directors and actors frequently found themselves in court with film companies over their unpaid shares. Even just sitting on over $100 million, the daily interest accrued would be quite substantial. Even with clear agreements in place, Columbia would find ways to delay payments.

Eric even imagined what tricks Columbia might use to postpone payments: perhaps months later, when Home Alone's box office potential was clearly exhausted, Columbia would leave a few screens running just to prevent the film from being pulled from theaters, leaving Eric feeling powerless. The way Columbia had previously worked with him had left a bad taste, and they likely wouldn't be eager to collaborate again soon. There was no need to question the relationship; Columbia's executives, particularly Cohen Blount, had no qualms about using underhanded tactics to benefit themselves.

After contemplating, Eric decided that completing Pretty Woman should be his main focus. Regardless of any changes to history, there were still six years until Toy Story premiered, giving Eric ample time to try to acquire Pixar.

...

Before shooting Pretty Woman started, the preparations were already well underway, and the crew didn't require Jeffrey, the producer, to be present at all times; several executive producers had everything well in hand. Jeffrey discussed plans with Eric for an hour and then hurriedly left the set to fly to New York to discuss advertising with NBC.

The bidding for Super Bowl ads had started six months earlier, and NBC had already sold 80% of this year's ad slots. Jeffrey was trying to secure one of the remaining 20%, but the time slots weren't ideal; any good slots were long gone, snatched up at prices far above average.

Three days later, Eric had barely gotten out of bed when he received a call from Jeffrey, announcing he had secured a 59-second ad slot -- Super Bowl ads priced by the second, ranging from 15 seconds to 90 seconds.

"What? $1.5 million? Didn't we say it would be $1.2 million?" Eric asked, wedging the cordless phone between his neck while squeezing toothpaste onto his brush.

With an air of resignation, Jeffrey replied, "If no one had bid, then sure, we could've done it for $1.2 million. But when the bidding opened, a fashion company from New York showed up to compete for the spot. You insisted I secure it for you, so I had to raise the price to $1.5 million. I even suspect that company was put up to it by NBC, but that's just my guess with no evidence."

Staring at the unexpected expense of an additional $300,000, Eric lost his patience for leisurely dental hygiene. He rushed to rinse and returned to the living room.

"Well, fine, $1.5 million it is," he said, pouring himself a glass of water. "Let's get the contract signed as soon as possible. Oh, Jeffrey, the Golden Globe Awards are tomorrow -- are you going to make it back in time?"

"I'll see how it goes, but I probably won't make it," Jeffrey replied, regret coloring his voice. "Honestly, the most exciting part is you, the miracle director, being there. It doesn't really matter if I am."

"Ha, don't worry; even if you miss this one, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"I believe that too," Jeffrey chuckled, sounding more at ease. "Unless you have anything else to discuss, I'll hang up. You just woke up, and it's only 7 a.m. in LA. But I had to let you know about the $300,000 overage as soon as I could."

"Not a problem; I actually got to bed early last night," Eric replied.

After exchanging goodbyes, Eric hung up the phone. Leaning back on the couch gently tapping his knee, he calculated his finances.

He had originally gotten a check for $25 million from Fox.

He had spent $1.9 million on a Beverly Hills mansion, $1 million paid to Drew's mother, $1 million acquiring UTA, and about $3 million on leasing and renovating the Firefly company as well as those expensive professional audio and editing equipment. Pretty Woman's production budget was $7 million, and the Super Bowl ad was $1.5 million, which added up to a total of $15.4 million.

He wasn't particularly extravagant, but over the last period, he'd managed to spend at least several tens of thousands of dollars. Then there are taxes. Given his income, he knew he had to pay a whopping 35% personal income tax, amounting to nearly $10 million.

Cursing the wretched taxes, Eric sadly realized that before tax day on April 15, he most likely wouldn't be earning anything else.

"I can't believe I might even need a loan just to cover my taxes," Eric groaned, rubbing his forehead. ...

After pushing that thought aside, Eric had breakfast and then drove to the set. Perhaps because he declared a fixed day off for the crew the following day, the team was in high spirits. They managed to shoot five or six extra scenes in a single day.

After ten days of filming, Pretty Woman had completed 60% of its shots. At this pace, it would likely wrap up within a week following the Golden Globe ceremony. The smooth progress of filming was largely thanks to Julia's outstanding performance. Eric hadn't worried at all about Al Pacino's part -- after all, someone with so many Oscar nominations wouldn't have trouble in a role that didn't require much performance, and if anything, he needed to tone it down.

On the other hand, as a newcomer, Julia was different. Initially, while filming her individual shots, she hadn't encountered major issues -- just a few NGs (no good takes). But when she started acting alongside Al Pacino, her mistakes began to rise sharply. Eric sensed her acting was still in its infancy compared to Al's. However, after a few days of adjustments and a few outbursts from Eric, Julia gradually closed the gap with Al. In some scenes, she even managed to steal the spotlight from him, which was no small feat given Al Pacino's own restraint.

"Okay, that's it for today," Eric called out after the last shot, and the crew cheered, quickly packing up and heading in different directions.

He stopped Al Pacino before he could head off to remove his makeup and asked, "Al, how's that piano solo coming along?"

In the original film, Edward's piano solo in the restaurant was composed and performed by Richard Gere. Eric had collaborated with the company's composer to recreate that under-forty-second piece from memory and given it to Al.

Al's piano skills were only slightly better than Eric's, but he insisted on playing it himself, forcing Eric to postpone that scene's filming.

"Eric, can you give me three... no, two more days? I think I need to practice a bit more."

"No problem," Eric replied, still impressed by Al's dedication. "But we can't delay too much, since the timeline is moving quickly. The more time goes on, the more your character's emotional shifts will be vital, and even if you play it perfectly later on, it won't capture the essence of the previous scenes."

Al Pacino paused, realizing Eric had a point. When he understood that his personal insistence wouldn't significantly improve the quality of the film, he reluctantly nodded in agreement, "Fine, Eric, let's push that scene back two days. If absolutely necessary, we can do voiceover in post-production."

*****

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