Chapter 218: Producer Shares

[Chapter 218: Ah... Ha!]

After Robert Shea walked away, Eric turned to Jeffrey and said, "Jeffrey, you can see that because of this, Firefly Films is facing an additional outlay of nearly $80 million this year. Funds are going to be very tight, so how about we convert your producer's share for the year into company stock at the end of the year?"

Jeffrey paused for a moment, then smiled, "That's something I would gladly accept. But Eric, are you really planning to dilute Robert's stake so soon?"

"Of course not," Eric chuckled. "If I did that, Robert would probably be ready to kill me. I'll be transferring part of my shares to you. I hope you won't mind if it's not much."

"Not at all. Whatever you give me is fine," Jeffrey replied casually. "If I wasn't eager to see Firefly rise to the top, I'd have retired by now. By the way, I bought a farm in Maryland a little while back, about 2,000 acres. It's the same place my wife grew up. I've got someone else managing it now. When the day comes that Firefly no longer needs me, I'll be heading there to grow some corn, do a bit of hunting, and enjoy my golden years."

Eric felt a twinge of emotion. Without Jeffrey and the excellent team cultivated by him and his legendary wife, it was hard to say where Eric would be right now. However, once Jeffrey finished talking, Eric put on a mock disapproving expression and said, "Alright, alright, Jeffrey. You're not Romeo of Juliet or the Prince of the Little Mermaid. You're just a middle-aged bald guy -- cut out the melodrama, will ya?"

Jeffrey knew Eric wasn't genuinely complaining. This clever young man just didn't want to wallow in the past. So, he joked, "Well, I'm certainly not those people. I'm Jeffrey of Solina."

"Wow. If you keep talking like that, I'm going to puke."

Jeffrey laughed and shook his head. "But, Eric, if I do leave in the future, don't forget to come visit me on the farm now and then. You know, I don't have many... family members left."

Eric cautiously asked, "You... still haven't made up with your son?"

At that question, Jeffrey seemed a bit downcast. "Well, I can't say we haven't reconciled, but it's not exactly a warm relationship. Chris is very busy. We hardly see each other all year, so it's not surprising our relationship has grown a bit distant."

Eric showed curiosity, "Speaking of which, I've never met your son. You just mentioned he's Chris. What does he do?"

"He works on Wall Street."

Wall Street sounded much more prestigious than Hollywood, Eric thought to himself, and he followed up with another question, "Which firm on Wall Street?"

"Morgan Stanley."

"Wow!" Eric couldn't help but exclaim. Although he didn't pay much attention to that area, he still knew that Morgan Stanley was among the big four investment banks, alongside Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup. Many famous financial crises had those giants behind them.

"I was thinking, if possible, I might ask him to work at Firefly. But now that he's with famous Morgan Stanley, that's probably off the table."

As Eric spoke, there was a hint of pride on Jeffrey's face. Even if their father-son relationship was somewhat strained, no father would fail to take pride in his son's accomplishments.

"Eric, if you ever want to do some investing in the future, you can give him a call. While I'm not too clear on what he specifically does, Chris is certainly very qualified. He had a full scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania, and I never had to pay a dime of tuition."

Hearing Jeffrey's words, a lot of ideas flashed through Eric's mind. However, he quickly suppressed those immature thoughts. He hadn't even met Chris Hansen yet, so he certainly couldn't make any decisions based on a few of Jeffrey's remarks. Still, in the back of his mind, Eric quietly noted the name Chris Hansen.

...

As Eric and Jeffrey were talking, Barry Diller approached.

Besides Robert and Jeffrey from Firefly, Barry Diller, as the head of Fox Broadcasting, was also one of the most concerned about the situation. He noticed Eric as soon as he came down. However, he initially wanted to wait for Murdoch to come down so he could directly ask him about the outcome.

But for some unknown reason, even after Eric had been down for a while, Murdoch still hadn't shown up, and Barry Diller couldn't wait any longer. He walked over.

"Mr. Hansen, Eric, hello," Barry Diller greeted Eric and Jeffrey with a smile.

After nodding to Diller, Jeffrey recognized that Diller wasn't interested in him. He wisely said, "Eric, you two catch up. I'll step over to say hi to an old friend."

Watching Jeffrey walk away, Barry Diller didn't get straight to the point. Instead, with a knowing look, he quietly asked, "Eric, you were the one who had the rights purchased, right?"

Knowing he couldn't hide anything from someone as astute as Barry Diller, Eric smiled and nodded.

"I initially didn't pay the sale of rights any mind. It wasn't until I read the script that I connected the dots," Barry Diller continued, feigning a look of discontent. "Eric, this was completely unnecessary. Our collaboration has been pleasant, right? If you had brought this up yourself, Fox might have sold you the rights for $1 million. Even I think the $3.5 million price is too high."

Eric could only manage a dry laugh in response, thinking ahead to the sales figures in the millions...

Alright, he couldn't even imagine Barry Diller's expression, but the manager who made the decision to sell those rights was certainly going to have a rough time.

Barry Diller, of course, couldn't see through Eric's current thoughts. He interpreted Eric's expression as awkwardness and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Forget it, it's all in the past. Just remember, if you ever need help in the future, make sure to reach out to me, alright?"

"Of course, I will," Eric replied earnestly, nodding in agreement. He pretended to raise his glass in gratitude, clinking it with Barry Diller's. Meanwhile, Eric made a mental note to remind the young lady that she needed to secure all copyrights related to Fox in that agreement he had offered by the end of the year.

Once this year passed, it would be nearly impossible to negotiate anything out of Fox again.

*****

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