Chapter 520: My Child Isn't Named Hawaii

[Chapter 520: My Child Isn't Named Hawaii]

Eric had barely arrived in New York for a few days when the 65th Academy Awards took place at the Los Angeles Music Center, bustling with excitement. Schindler's List emerged as the clear winner, racking up twelve nominations and claiming eight Oscars, while Steven Spielberg finally realized his dream of winning Best Director.

From the time he pretended to be a Universal Pictures employee to sneak into that Burbank studio, Spielberg had been in the industry for 25 years. He had created a series of box office hits with Jaws, E.T., and Raiders of the Lost Ark, solidifying his status as one of Hollywood's most successful commercial directors. He enjoyed a high reputation in the industry but still shed tears of joy on that small stage when he received recognition from the Academy.

Even though it was nearly midnight on the East Coast, the two women stayed with Eric to watch the entire award ceremony. When Virginia noticed Spielberg wiping away tears, she quietly asked Eric if he would react the same way when he won an Oscar for directing in the future.

Eric recalled how, two years prior, he had felt when he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Scent of a Woman. At the time, he thought he would be indifferent about awards, as someone who had lived a full life. But in that adrenaline-filled atmosphere of the award ceremony, staying calm was nearly impossible. However, he was sure that if he ever won the Oscar for Best Director, he would be emotional, though he doubted he would cry like Spielberg. Spielberg retained a sense of childlike wonder well into middle age, while Eric had long lost any remnants of innocence.

Last year's Twister predictably won the award for Best Visual Effects, with Stan Winston personally accepting the award. Due to Eric, the director, and the lead actress Joanna's absence, and the lack of major nominations beyond a few technical awards, most of the crew from Twister was not present at the Oscars. Twister winning a technical award was acceptable, but all other films from Firefly Productions left empty-handed.

Consequently, as the Oscars wrapped up, alongside congratulating Spielberg for finally achieving his goal after over twenty years, much of the media aimed its criticism at Firefly Productions. They slammed the company for being too commercialized, suggesting that even Disney had become obsessed with profit, focusing solely on making money with commercial films while forgetting the artistic and social merits of cinema.

Eric mostly skimmed through these bitter articles, understanding that the root cause was Firefly Productions' exceptionally strong performance the previous year. With a 27% share of the North American box office, it surpassed the combined totals of the second and third place competitors. Other film companies must have felt anxious and restless as a result, which didn't surprise him. Considering the films slated for the summer release that were already kicking off promotions, Eric thought this year would certainly make the other six major studios even more frustrated, but they would eventually adapt to this situation.

...

After April, Virginia and Joanna both reached their due dates. Everybody in the manor, including Eric, became increasingly cautious since both women were pregnant at the same time. While the chances of them giving birth on the same day were slim, Eric still prepared two identical delivery rooms in the villa, even arranging two teams of doctors.

On April 9th, a day that should have been ordinary, Eric had just finished lunch. As usual, he went to his study to handle paperwork coming from Los Angeles. Joanna, ever by his side, sat nearby with a book, reading quietly.

As media discussions critiquing Firefly Productions' commercialization surfaced, the company maintained a notably cool demeanor. Despite no public response to the criticism, internally, after several meetings, the management unanimously agreed that the Oscars were an important part of Hollywood. Even for the sake of maintaining public image, Firefly couldn't excessively ignore them. After a few days of discussions, the management proposed two alternative plans.

One plan was to create a dedicated art film department within Firefly, investing or purchasing a few art films each year aimed at the Oscars. The other option was to acquire a second or third-tier film company specializing in art films, and names like Miramax were already on the table, suggested by individuals like Michael Lynne.

Eric felt no surprise seeing that name. In previous years, Miramax had mostly dealt with peripheral awards like Best Foreign Language Film. However, in recent years, as the Weinstein Brothers became increasingly adept at awards campaigning, they were almost annually attempting to snag core Oscar categories like Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor/Actress. This year, despite suffering financial losses due to rapid expansion in production and distribution, Miramax still received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for The Crying Game. Had it not been for Schindler's List taking precedence, winning one or two awards wasn't out of the question for them.

However, upon looking at the documents, Eric's interest in acquiring Miramax all but faded. Perhaps due to the recent media buzz, the Weinstein Brothers assumed Firefly's interest in acquiring Miramax was more 'urgent' than that of other competitors. Thus, they proposed a $100 million price tag while wanting to retain a certain stake and maintain Miramax's independent operations.

Years ago, Eric had chosen New Line and Miramax as potential targets for Firefly's expansion mainly because both had established distribution channels. While small, they could scale quickly with good films, and he ultimately chose New Line primarily due to its larger scale.

Now though, Eric was far less keen about Miramax. After reviewing the terms proposed by the Weinstein Brothers, he became even less interested. If Miramax retained the Weinstein Brothers to run the company independently post-acquisition, considering their ambitions to expand beyond just Oscar films, there was little doubt that Firefly and Miramax would follow the same path that once caused Disney and Miramax to split apart. Eric had no intention of dragging those two scheming brothers into the Disney framework to complicate matters for himself.

After pondering the choices, Eric ultimately decided to stick with the first plan.

...

Resolute, he opened his computer and began typing his thoughts onto a blank document. Just as he fumbled through a few lines, the door to the study was abruptly knocked on. He frowned but hadn't yet responded when a maid pushed the door open, her face urgent as she said, "Mr. Williams, Madam's water has broken."

Eric immediately stood up. "Did you call the doctor?"

"Madam just felt some discomfort in her stomach, and Ms. Paquin happened to come for a check-up. Now, Madam is already in the delivery room."

Eric turned from his desk and began to walk outside, glancing back at Joanna as he moved. "Joan, do you have..."

Joanna closed her book and smiled as she stood. "It can't be that simple, don't mind me, just go check on her."

"Then you rest well here, you don't need to come," Eric replied, following the maid outside.

...

As they walked down the long corridor to a south-facing room on the other side of the villa, Eric could already hear Virginia's cries of pain from outside. Just as he was about to push the door open, a nurse with a tray came out of another room and quickly stopped him. "Mr. Williams, you can't go in like that; you need to wear a sterile gown first. Mary, help Mr. Williams with that."

Eric quickly put on the gown, then finally stepped into the delivery room.

The newly renovated delivery room was on par with any high-end hospital ward, with all brand-new equipment. Eric had promised to donate all the equipment used by the private doctors responsible for the two women after they had finished, and the other party had been so excited they nearly lost composure.

Upon seeing Eric, Virginia reached out her hand from the bed, "Eric."

"I'm here," Eric took her small hand, offered comfort, and then looked to the middle-aged woman beside him wearing a mask. "Ms. Paquin, how is it going?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Williams. With me here, there won't be any issues. Plus, Elisa will be here shortly."

Elisa mentioned by the middle-aged woman was another doctor from a different team. Eric nodded and observed the busy doctors and nurses, deciding not to disturb them further, quietly staying by Virginia's side.

Women often took longer during their first deliveries. Eric had prepared for this inevitability, but with Virginia's water breaking in the afternoon, she was still struggling well into the early morning; the little one would just not come out.

Virginia, looking a bit pale, heard Eric softly discussing with the doctor the potential for a C-section if the baby remained unresponsive after twelve hours. She immediately called out, "Eric, I don't want a C-section. I heard that can make the child stupid."

"Don't say such things. That's impossible. Just lie down calmly," Eric sat beside her, gently holding her hand and trying to soothe her.

"It can happen, it can happen. I just don't want a C-section."

Eric, feeling a bit helpless, said, "Then you need to push and get the little one out as soon as possible."

"It hurts..."

"Then let's do a C-section."

"Waaah... It's all your fault!"

"Okay, okay, blame me, just don't cry. Relax, relax."

"I'm hungry."

"There's porridge in the kitchen; I'll go get you some," Eric said and hurried out of the delivery room.

With the Virginia in labor, nobody was resting; the villa was brightly lit. As Eric passed through the living room, he saw Joanna still sitting on the couch with a maid, speaking softly. Upon seeing Eric, Joanna quickly asked, "Eric, how is it going?"

Eric shook his head. "Dr. Paquin said that after twelve hours, if there's still no progress, a C-section would be best. I'm getting Vicky some food, Joan; you should rest soon."

"I'm fine; I can't sleep either," Joanna gently shook her head, her hand softly rubbing her abdomen. Perhaps influenced by Virginia, she felt slight pains, but she dismissed them as normal occurrences from past experiences. To avoid worrying Eric, she did not mention it, continuing, "Gina just asked if she wanted anything to eat. You should hurry to the kitchen."

...

Watching Eric head into the kitchen, she soon saw him return with a bowl. The maid standing by Joanna whispered, "Mr. Williams is so considerate."

"Indeed," Joanna softly replied, the discomfort in her abdomen coming back. She furrowed her brows slightly, reaching for the remote next to her, hoping to turn on the TV for distraction. As she shifted her body slightly, she caught sight of faint dampness on the couch.

Before the maid could say anything, she followed Joanna's stunned gaze and gasped, "Oh my God."

As she spoke, the maid hurriedly got up and rushed toward the delivery room.

...

Joanna's water had also broken... Upon hearing this news, Eric nearly froze in place. Meanwhile, the doctors remained calm, dividing into two small teams to assist each woman.

As a precaution, Dr. Paquin suggested that Eric contact one or two more doctors to come in. Faced with such a coincidental scenario, Eric no longer considered confidentiality issues and immediately agreed to the suggestion. Dr. Paquin went ahead and recommended two of her colleagues to Eric.

The nearby residents had already noticed the well-lit manor. The arrival of two helicopters that landed in the backyard stirred even more curiosity, with some people coming to inquire, but they received no answers from the security guard.

Eric briefly exchanged words with a doctor who arrived fresh from a helicopter, surprised to find him there, then slipped into Joanna's delivery room.

Upon seeing Eric, Joanna, who was biting her lips, instantly reached out her small hand.

As the man took her hand and softly comforted her, Joanna, usually so quiet, couldn't hold back her tears, "Eric..."

"It's okay, it's okay; it'll be quick. Don't worry," Eric reassured her, gently wiping the corner of Joanna's eye.

Joanna shook her head lightly, gazing up at him timidly, "No, Eric, I mean, my child isn't named Hawaii."

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.