Chapter 182: Various Thoughts

[Chapter 182: Various Thoughts]

After the sorrowful funeral, life went on. Shelby's son, little Jackson, grew up surrounded by love, while the pregnant Annelle felt compelled to share with Shelby's mother, Maureen, her desire for her unborn child to be named "Shelby," regardless of gender, to honor the resolute yet short-lived woman. Maureen, with tears in her eyes, agreed.

Another Easter arrived, and in the vibrant spring countryside during a joyful picnic, Annelle suddenly experienced severe abdominal pain. Everyone rushed to help her into an SUV, which weaved through the crowd, past the town square, and over bridges. The melody of a harmonica played softly as the scene captured a lush green river flanked by trees.

The subtitles slowly appeared...

...

"Tomorrow is another day," Elisabeth Murdoch, sitting next to Julia in the back seat, found herself uttering as she reflected on the lives of the women around her, which paled in comparison to Scarlett O'Hara's tumultuous, heart-wrenching experiences over the decades. The emotions of these women hardly ever erupted dramatically; their strongest feelings were expressed through silent tears. Yet, the subtleties of their lives conveyed emotions that were just as profound as what Scarlett faced in her turbulent world. The Jeep, gradually fading away, symbolized hope -- hope for the future.

The lights came up. Without anyone leading the way, everyone in the screening room began to clap spontaneously.

"Julia, this movie was absolutely fantastic! I believe Shelby's character might even be more compelling than Vivian's," Elisabeth exclaimed, applauding while leaning in to speak earnestly to Julia.

"Thank you, miss," Julia replied softly, clapping her hands, taking a moment to glance at the striking woman beside her.

Elisabeth suddenly remembered she had yet to introduce herself and quickly extended a small hand, "Sorry, Julia, I'm Elisabeth Murdoch, but you can call me Liz."

"Hello, Liz," Julia politely shook her hand, her expression showing little change. Clearly, she was unaware of the significance of the Murdoch surname.

Elisabeth didn't mind and quietly asked, "Julia, why did you say Eric Williams was a jerk earlier?"

"Oh! I... what I said wasn't really aimed at Mr. Williams," Julia stammered, trying to stay composed, even though her sparkling eyes betrayed her. "It was merely a coincidence. Mr. Williams is a good man. Without him, I'd still be an unknown actress."

A faintly amused smile appeared at the corner of Elisabeth's mouth, and she chose not to press the awkward topic any further. "Julia, could you tell me about Eric Williams? I want to base my graduation thesis on the success of a few of his films."

"Liz, you might want to ask him directly; I don't know much," Julia said, recognizing that this girl didn't seem very familiar with Eric while also feeling increasingly at ease with Elisabeth's friendly demeanor.

"It's fine; just share what you know..." Elisabeth noted the subtle shift in Julia's attitude towards her and pressed on with her inquiries about the subject that piqued her interest.

...

Meanwhile, the executives from the major film studios who had just watched the film each held their own thoughts.

Michael Eisner, although he expressed his praise for Eric right after the screening, mainly did so out of courtesy; he didn't exactly feel enthusiastic. The film struck him as rather bland. Though it had its bright spots, its plot lacked any significant twists or turns, which didn't appeal to his tastes.

Having been an ally of Barry Diller, the proponent of "high-concept film" theory during Diller's time at Paramount, Eisner had learned to appreciate films guided by this concept. That contribution was part of the reason Disney flourished under his leadership.

The movie, in contrast, had little in common with high-concept films. If high-concept films were likened to entertaining novels, this one resembled an eloquent essay. Herbert Ross, an accomplished director with over twenty years of film experience, certainly excelled in essay-like films, but such topics were destined for limited market appeal.

Despite his skepticism, Eisner remained determined to acquire the rights to distribute this film. After all, he recognized that this was a project Eric Williams believed in. Given Williams' past successes, that conviction alone was sufficient for Eisner.

...

Sitting next to Eric, Paramount's president, Ned Tanen, shared similar sentiments about the film. However, during the intermission after the movie, the old-timer relentlessly tried to pry specific box office expectations from Eric to prepare Paramount's share proposal accurately.

After Barry Diller's departure five years earlier, Paramount's performance was already showing significant decline. While Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade had raked in $200 million in North America and over $400 million worldwide, competitive pressures from Lucasfilm and Steven Spielberg meant that Paramount's share was less than what Columbia received, which had also been impacted by a bad bet.

Paramount valued Eric's latest projects highly, especially since its current CEO, Frank Mancuso, could not attend due to his schedule -- if he could, he would have been there instead of Ned Tanen.

Despite the doubts surrounding the film's prospects, the fact remained that it was one Eric Williams had faith in. Eric's track record indicated that none of his films had grossed under $100 million.

Post-screening, Ned Tanen leveraged his career experience to give a quick box office estimate of $30 to $50 million, considering the drawing power of Julia, Sally Field, and Shirley MacLaine, among others, as well as timing concerns. Although Julia had become a strong global box office draw, Ned Tanen didn't hold high expectations for overseas revenues, reasoning that the film's indigenous American flavor might limit global takings to just $30 million -- a small miracle, indeed.

If the estimates proved accurate, the film would yield a mere $10 million in profit after production and distribution costs -- minuscule compared to Eric's other films. Ned Tanen sensed Eric wouldn't be overly excited about this profit margin. Yet, despite his subtle probing, Eric remained elusive, giving the kind of vague, noncommittal responses that suggested they would have to make their own judgments.

...

Eric was not disclosing his insights primarily out of caution. He was optimistic about the film but couldn't guarantee the box office estimates. He roughly estimated that North American revenues would hover around $100 million, especially since this movie had previously garnered over $80 million, and with Julia in the mix now, he figured she might boost it by another $20 million.

However, he understood that he could not make such statements openly. If the future box office returns failed to meet his estimates, it would tarnish his reputation. By keeping his predictions close to the chest, if the film didn't hit the big leagues, it would not reflect poorly on him. After all, he was merely an investor this time -- beyond casting Julia, he hadn't been involved in the filmmaking.

...

Amy Pascal, sitting a seat away from Eric, could be considered the biggest supporter of the film among the attendees. A staunch feminist, Amy had always championed female-led films and previously backed a series of them. Her emotional nature had her completely captivated by the film's narrative of women's joys and sorrows, even giving her the urge to take a vacation in a quaint Southern town for a peaceful, simple life.

But, Amy knew that both she and Fox's representative, Carlin Hunt, were merely passing through today. Fox already secured distribution rights for Eric's two films set for year-end release. For marketing resource reasons, Firefly Films was unlikely to partner with Fox for any further projects. Additionally, Columbia was about to finalize an agreement with a Japanese company, making future strategies unpredictable. To mitigate risk, Firefly wouldn't let Columbia handle distribution either.

...

Among the seven major studios, Warner Bros. displayed the calmest demeanor. The studio was doing exceptionally well this year. Although Warner wouldn't shy away from potential profits, it would only propose an equitable sharing arrangement. If they landed the rights, all the better, but they wouldn't be too disappointed otherwise.

Universal faced turbulence, with leadership squabbling and no interest in distribution rights. MGM had already been thoroughly undermined by casino mogul Kirk Kerkorian, who only paid attention to the company's performance when preparing to sell it off for a tidy profit. Consequently, the upper management at MGM found themselves focusing on other matters, with one representative sitting in front passionately chatting with an executive from Warner, seemingly preparing for a job change.

*****

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