Chapter 818: Golden Globe Nominations

[Chapter 818: Golden Globe Nominations]

Thanksgiving in 1996 fell on November 28, a bit later than in previous years, but the Thanksgiving box office season had already begun on November 15.

Rush Hour, which premiered in November, didn't stand out much among the month's releases. While the earlier release of Rumble in the Bronx had garnered a decent response in North America, movies starring Asian leads were considered niche in Hollywood. Although the critical reception following test screenings was positive, the industry had set box office expectations at only $60 million to $80 million. Part of this skepticism stemmed from the fact that one of the two lead actors was Black; Black actors had slightly more recognition in Hollywood than Asians but still faced challenges.

On November 15, Rush Hour opened in over 2,600 theaters across North America, competing against Warner Bros.' hybrid live-action and animated film Space Jam, starring the legendary Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny. The story revolved around cosmic monsters attempting to kidnap all Warner Bros.' animated characters for a space amusement park. To avoid being captured, both sides ultimately decided to settle their fates with a basketball game. The space monsters learned various NBA stars' skills, forcing Bugs Bunny to seek help from NBA superstar Michael Jordan.

In 1988, the live-action and animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit had a production budget of $45 million and took in $150 million at the North American box office. Warner's Space Jam was clearly trying to replicate that success, and the industry expected very high returns.

However, upon simultaneous release, the box office performance of Rush Hour and Space Jam turned out to be quite contrary to industry expectations, shocking many. Rush Hour achieved over $42 million in its opening week, surpassing its $33 million budget and easily taking the box office crown. Even based on the box office curve of Rumble in the Bronx earlier in the year, Rush Hour's total earnings could approach $100 million. Audience appreciation for this film, filled with witty humor in its dialogue and action scenes, notably exceeded that for Rumble in the Bronx. Following its release, the media quickly adjusted the North American box office expectations for Rush Hour to between $120 million and $140 million.

On the other hand, Space Jam only garnered $32 million in its first week, falling $10 million below Rush Hour and significantly below Warner Bros.' initial projection of $50 million for its opening. Yet, Space Jam's production cost was over twice that of Rush Hour, reaching $80 million. According to its current box office trajectory, while it might recover costs through international releases later, Warner Bros.' ambitious plans to turn this into a series were effectively shelved.

Then, on November 22, Mission: Impossible 2 officially premiered in 3,000 theaters across North America. This super-spy movie was arguably the most anticipated film of the year's end, with a production budget second only to Titanic. Paramount had recently moved Star Trek: First Contact from the Thanksgiving slot to Christmas, ostensibly to avoid competition with Mission: Impossible 2. However, one could sense the underlying intentions for countering Titanic.

Driven by the popularity of its predecessor and the might of the MGM spy movie universe, Mission: Impossible 2 lived up to expectations, raking in $82.7 million in its opening week, shattering previous Thanksgiving box office records. On the 1996 North American opening weekend box office chart, it ranked just behind The Mummy 2 during the summer blockbuster season. Both films were the only two new releases that year to garner over $80 million during their first week.

Since MGM announced its spy movie universe plan, the sequels of the series, including Charlie's Angels and Mission: Impossible, had all achieved remarkable success. Additionally, with strong faith in Eric's work on Casino Royale, after the release of Mission: Impossible 2, MGM's stock surged again, hitting over $18.50 per share, easily pushing the company's market valuation beyond $8 billion.

Despite the media industry's rapid growth over the past two years, MGM's valuation was still on the lower end among the Big Seven, just slightly better than Sony Pictures. However, compared to two years prior when it was only valued at around $1 billion, MGM's growth rate had been the highest among the Big Seven.

...

Eric spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with Nicole and Famke. As December approached, the two women flew back to Australia and the Netherlands, respectively, to spend Christmas with their families. Eric temporarily paused post-production on Casino Royale, taking Drew with him to New York to celebrate Christmas with Joanna and others.

At the estate in Southampton, fine snowflakes were falling outside while warmth filled the interior.

It was December 12, and the time was evening. After making a phone call, Eric returned from the living room to the cozy area. The television was on, but the family was gathered around the glass table in the center of the room, bustling with activity. The table was adorned with many beautifully printed holiday cards.

Joanna, kneeling on the thick carpet, turned her gaze from her daughter, who was busy writing and doodling on one of the cards, to Eric, her eyes questioning.

Eric glanced at the TV, noting that the Golden Globe nominations would be announced at 8 PM. He observed Joanna's expression and explained, "That was Chris on the phone. He wants to discuss something with me in Manhattan tomorrow."

Virginia then asked, "Will you be coming back tomorrow?"

"Of course," Eric nodded, settling down on the carpet, picking up his son and holding him close, writing on the holiday card with his little hand.

These exquisite cards were prepared for the senior executives and friends of the Firefly Group.

...

Following Firefly's merger with ABC, the company's presence had significantly expanded. Important divisions were now located along the East Coast, West Coast, and even in many inland states. Places like Florida's Disney World and Connecticut's ESPN were among them. Most gift distributions were done via mail.

In that process, a package meant for ESPN Chairman Steve Bernstein went missing in transit. The previous year, after Firefly had completed its merger with ABC, Steve had received a New Year's gift from Eric, but the following year he got none.

Steve, curious, found out that his assistant had received a gift from Eric. He became increasingly anxious, fearing that Eric was unhappy with his work at ESPN and that he might lose his job. Approaching the New Year without receiving a gift heightened his worries. Unable to control his anxiety, he flew to New York to inquire with Robert Iger about whether Eric intended to dismiss him.

Since Steve took charge of ESPN, the network's rapid growth had been undeniable. Yet, it was a time of personnel adjustments within Firefly's television business after merely over a year following the merger, and it was not uncommon for some executives to be replaced by personnel from Firefly's headquarters. Robert Iger, being inclined towards Steve Bernstein, made a holiday call to Eric to probe his feelings about Steve.

Eric found it bewildering that Robert would even mention Steve Bernstein, as he had no intention of firing the manager who had led ESPN's remarkable ascent. Robert, however, commented favorably about Steve's work.

Seeing that Eric didn't seem the least bit inclined to fire Steve, Robert cautiously ventured into the issue of New Year's gifts. After some back-and-forth, the situation was clarified: Eric hadn't anticipated that the missing gift would cause such distress among senior executives. Consequently, he began to take these matters more seriously.

...

Since last year, Eric had ensured that gifts sent to Firefly Group executives were managed by a more professional delivery service. His assistants tracked each gift's delivery, confirming it reached the intended executive.

In contrast, the delivery expenses far exceeded the gifts' value. This year's gift was a box of maple cookies handcrafted by women, alongside a holiday card. Executives receiving these personally delivered New Year's gifts from Eric were at least at the general manager level of various subsidiaries. Given their income levels, they wouldn't be concerned about the gifts' actual value; rather, they appreciated the broader significance of Eric's gesture.

To convey sincerity, the cards were handwritten by everyone. Kevin, Hawaii, and Emma, the three little ones, merely participated for the fun of it, and Eric wouldn't give out their crookedly written cards.

The two youngsters would soon turn four, and since celebrating their third birthday in early January, Virginia had stopped working and even hired several educational consultants to create an early education plan specifically for Kevin.

In comparison to the already exceptionally bright Hawaii, Kevin's cognitive development had always been Virginia's concern. Neither Eric nor Joanna doubted that Kevin was perfectly healthy and could speak and walk without any issues expected of a three to four-year-old boy. What more could they ask for?

Virginia's worries about Kevin's cognitive development stemmed only from the comparison with a sibling who was unusually advanced.

Upon arriving in New York, Joanna secretly informed Eric that Hawaii had already read through three volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica this year, an achievement made possible primarily through Joanna's careful management of her daughter's reading time. Even more astonishingly, Hawaii could recite extensive sections verbatim. Eric felt he lacked such a memory skill; over the years, even his former life's incompleteness began fading away with time, causing him to feel that his daughter held a strange gift.

With these thoughts, Eric looked up to see Hawaii sitting beside Joanna, seemingly oblivious, her beautiful blue eyes wandering curiously across the room, studying her doppelganger twins across from her. Hawaii still maintained a slight fear of Drew but displayed great curiosity towards the identical Russian twins, as if she yearned to understand how two individuals could look exactly alike.

Drew, sitting between the twins, caught Hawaii's inquisitive gaze and made a silly face in her direction, grinning mischievously.

Eric clearly saw his little daughter shudder slightly before he shot a glare at Drew, who quickly stuck out her tongue at Eric in a playfully guilty manner.

Joanna noticed the interaction, hugging Hawaii reassuringly and glancing exasperatedly at Drew, saying, "Drew, you shouldn't always scare Hawaii."

"Okay, okay, but Hawaii is just too timid. Look at Kevin; he isn't scared at all," Drew replied, making a similar silly face toward Kevin, who was staring blankly at Virginia, seemingly asking his mom what Drew was doing.

It seemed Kevin's reaction time was slower than that of the others. Virginia realized that Drew was teasing her son for being silly. Unlike Joanna, she wasn't as lenient; she rolled up a magazine beside her and whacked Drew gently on the forehead.

Drew, realizing she was at fault, laughed and dodged a bit but quickly exclaimed, "Stop, stop, stop, it's starting! The Golden Globe nominations are about to be announced!"

Everyone knew Eric had been eagerly waiting for the Golden Globe nominations. Virginia put down the magazine while Joanna pulled a squirming Emma closer to her, and they all turned their attention to the television screen.

...

The Golden Globe committee had invited Tim Roth and Mira Sorvino, two Hollywood stars nominated the previous year, along with a prominent NBC host, to announce the nominations.

The first announcements were for television nominations, which, with the rise of reality shows in recent years, the Golden Globes had begun including awards in that category. However, despite being ranked second, the Golden Globes had significantly less influence in the television awards realm compared to the Emmys. The gap between the two was notably larger than that between the Golden Globes and the Oscars. The Emmys were typically announced in late August or early September, coinciding with the kickoff of the new fall TV season, allowing for substantial pre-publicity advantages for new series. Hence, major networks held the Emmys in high regard.

Several flagship series and reality shows from ABC and Lifetime did gain nominations, but everyone seemed distracted.

As the TV nominations began to roll in, the families focused their attention.

While the Golden Globe film categories weren't as broad as those for the Oscars, they still started with the minor awards first.

Tim Roth opened the list of nominees for Best Original Song. As he read through the five nominations, there was an unsettling absence of the title My Heart Will Go On from Titanic.

Even without Titanic's box office miracle, My Heart Will Go On undoubtedly had the power to snag an Oscar. Yet here, it didn't even score a Golden Globe nomination. While Eric wasn't overly concerned with the Globes, he sensed his company's executives' worst fears might become reality.

Eric said nothing, but Drew voiced her frustration, "Even the theme from Batman Forever got nominated for Best Original Song, yet My Heart Will Go On wasn't included? That's just absurd!"

Joanna chimed in gently, "Yeah, My Heart Will Go On is really beautiful."

Eric shrugged and continued watching the TV screen, curious to see just how far the Golden Globe committee would go.

*****

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