Chapter 386: Another Jennifer

[Chapter 386: Another Jennifer]

Last year, when Eric planned to acquire a film company with distribution channels, he had gathered information on Orion Pictures. This film company was established around the same time as Miramax, founded by the Weinstein brothers, in the late 1970s.

However, compared to Miramax's smaller projects, Orion's debut was quite grand, attracting renowned filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Sylvester Stallone. In fact, the first Terminator film was distributed by Orion. After its inception, Orion produced eighteen films in just five years, with ten of those turning a profit -- a remarkably high ratio in the film industry.

As a result, Orion was once labeled by the media as a formidable new player in Hollywood, posing a significant threat to several major studios. This caught the attention of figures like Sumner Redstone of Viacom and John Kruger of Metromedia, with the spirited competition ultimately leading to the very wealthy John Kruger acquiring control of Orion.

But starting in the late 1980s, Orion's situation took a nosedive. It suffered several years of losses from its film productions, leading to ever-increasing debt and putting the company on the brink of bankruptcy.

"Alright, let's leave them alone," Eric interjected. "I heard John Kruger's planning to sell Orion to oil tycoon Marvin Davis. Now that's a big player, and it might make a comeback."

"When did you read about that?" Carlin Hunt asked.

Thinking for a moment, Eric replied, "About a week ago, in an article from The Hollywood Reporter."

Carlin said, "Well, you're probably unaware that the deal has fallen through. Marvin Davis lost a fortune when he bought 20th Century Fox, and he had to sell it to Mr. Murdoch. There's no way he'd risk that again. John Kruger has already decided to shut down Orion. I heard the production department is gearing up to acquire the rights for the Adams Family series from Orion."

Eric shrugged. "Whatever, let's focus on our own matters."

"About the second proposal..." Carlin nodded, about to continue when he suddenly looked at Eric seriously and said, "Eric, I just realized something. Since you hold the rights to Dances with Wolves, Liz throwing a fit to secure that movie must have been your directive, right?"

"Yep," Eric didn't deny it.

Carlin Hunt hesitated for a moment, recalling Eric's keen insight, and asked, "What do you think about the box office prospects for this film? If you're optimistic, we can schedule it for next Thanksgiving. If you just want it to pave the way for The Silence of the Lambs to hit the Oscars, then we should aim for a Christmas release?"

"This movie definitely has the potential to compete for Best Picture at the Oscars. That's what I see. As for box office performance, I don't really have any insight. But it shouldn't do too badly, right?" Eric spread his hands, speaking honestly.

"Alright then," Carlin Hunt said, noticing Eric's lack of confidence about the film's performance. "Let's follow the release strategy of Rain Man, aiming for December. But since it's Christmas season, this type of film can only get around a thousand screens. However, our marketing will surely be far better than Orion's."

After spending hours discussing specific details of their collaboration, as Eric left the office building, Carlin asked, "Eric, although it's a bit audacious to ask, I'm still curious. Since you secured the rights for this film, why didn't you handle the distribution yourself?"

Eric sighed, "Do you think Liz would willingly throw a tantrum just for laughs and earn herself the nickname 'Fox Princess'? This was a condition we agreed upon; the rights are mine, but distribution goes to Fox. That little lady acts like a hamster, trying to hoard everything for her nest."

Carlin laughed heartily. "Of course, she's the daughter of the Murdoch family."

...

Jennifer Connelly left after doing her so-called voice work for Hot Shots! that morning. Since it wasn't quite time to clock out, Eric didn't head straight back to Joanna's mansion. Instead, he went to Burbank, where he took care of some office matters before leaving at the end of the workday.

The next day, unsurprisingly, the New York Post ran a gossip piece about him and Jennifer Connelly. The article cleverly avoided using the photo of Connelly leaping into Eric's arms, opting instead for a shot of her friendly linking arms with him as they entered the Fox office building. This way, if they didn't want to admit anything, they could always claim to just be good friends. Friends linking arms wasn't a big deal, right?

Aside from that somewhat suggestive headline, "Another Jennifer for Williams," the article was rather subdued. It recapped Eric's past with Jennifer Aniston and detailed Connelly's journey as a child star. As for the nature of their relationship, the report leaned entirely on speculation.

After a few introductory paragraphs, the news shifted to the focus on Connelly's recent film, Hot Shots!. If one thought a bit deeper, they would realize it served as somewhat of a promotional fluff piece. However, a gossip-infused promotional piece was a genre most readers enjoyed. Even those who quickly recognized its lack of credibility found it far more engaging than the pompous reviews often seen.

During publicity campaigns, many films employed this strategy, usually leveraging gossip between the leading man and woman. This time, Hot Shots! chose to capitalize on the rumored romance between the starlet and the Hollywood hotshot director, Eric Williams.

As for the film's leading man, Charlie Sheen, although he had earned some status from his recent role in Platoon a few years prior, he still paled in comparison to Eric's influence. While Sheen was also a famous Hollywood playboy, stirring the pot with stories of romance with the lead actress would certainly draw attention. Still, given Connelly's affiliation with Eric, the distribution team wouldn't take the risk of upsetting him. After all, he wasn't just any director, and Connelly wouldn't be on board with such tactics either.

Eric couldn't care less about the article. However, several women called him after seeing the news, testing the waters. Ever since his breakup with Aniston, Eric hadn't committed to any serious girlfriend. Naturally, those women must have had thoughts about him, but he dismissed all their probing. He honestly had no interest in that.

*****

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