Chapter 25: The Push for Promotion

[Chapter 25: The Push for Promotion]

Yesterday, a shocking bet agreement was signed at the headquarters of Columbia Pictures, involving Eric Williams, a talented young man who had recently found fame through Jurassic Park and 17 Again, and Columbia-TriStar Pictures.

It was reported that after wrapping up 17 Again, Eric Williams used his earnings from the film and some advanced royalties from Jurassic Park to write and direct a low-budget comedy, Home Alone, which lasted over a hundred minutes and was completed in just twenty days. Regardless of the film's quality, for Eric, at only 18 years old, to accomplish such a feat was undeniably genius.

Home Alone eventually caught the eye of Columbia's higher-ups after some back-and-forth. Sources indicated that Columbia's president, Cohen Blount, had offered ten million dollars to secure the rights to Home Alone. However, Eric Williams refused this tempting offer that would have made him Hollywood's youngest millionaire and instead proposed a bet agreement that was both crazy and foolish.

The article went on to detail the contents of the bet and then analyzed the probability of Eric winning this wager. The author, clearly someone inside the industry, listed various box office data from similar comedy films along with clues provided by Home Alone and pessimistically concluded that Eric Williams had an over 80% chance of losing the bet.

Since Home Alone neither featured box office draws nor had a massive budget, typical comedies of this kind, when well-received, could only usually pull in a mere two or three million dollars at best. Therefore, the chances of Home Alone surpassing fifty million dollars at the box office were slim. The author concluded with a conspiracy theory suggesting that Columbia would not 'allow' Home Alone's box office to exceed fifty million.

...

What did the people love to discuss? There were two kinds: extraordinary geniuses who inspired jealousy, and tragic heroes, not to mention conspiracy theories.

The Los Angeles Times article blended these three factors, stirring public sentiment. Initially, due to Fox's prior promotion for 17 Again, the public had developed an interest in Eric, as evidenced by Jurassic Park's steadily rising sales.

Now, with the explosive public interest stirred by Home Alone, the attention on Eric peaked. Public fascination translated into sales and ratings, and soon Eric received over ten interview requests in just a few days. Then Jeff Jones, who hadn't been in touch for a while, suddenly called, stating that people had called their restaurant to inquire about him. Eric sensed that the paparazzi had begun to take an interest in him.

Following the publication of the Los Angeles Times article, Fox and Columbia surprisingly synced their promotional efforts for both 17 Again and Home Alone.

Carlin Hunt, the head of Fox's distribution department, though regretting having hastily rejected Eric's Home Alone without seeing it, quickly forgot his annoyance as a professional manager. After negotiations with Columbia's higher-ups, he revised the promotional strategy for 17 Again. Collaboratively, the two giants produced significant results.

...

"Jenny, how is it? Can I go home now?" Eric asked as he saw Jennifer Aniston coming in at her apartment, having hidden away for a week.

Aniston shook her head, placing a shopping bag on the coffee table. "I drove past your place and saw at least seven or eight paparazzi still hanging around. Luckily they didn't know I was in your car, or they would've chased after me. It's terrifying."

Eric lamented the madness of the paparazzi. Thanks to the two studio's intense promotional efforts for Home Alone and 17 Again, he had unexpectedly become a hot topic across North America within just a week. News of Eric even surfaced across the Atlantic in the UK. Having been part of the industry, Eric quickly sensed trouble after Jeff Jones's call and sought refuge at Jennifer's place. The promotional push from the two studios was already sufficient; it was now up to the film's quality. Eric also wasn't keen on stepping out and giving paparazzi something to talk about, especially since they could spin wild stories.

Although Eric had hidden away, he had become completely visible to the public. Unable to interview him in person, the paparazzi dug through every detail of his life: his immigrant background, his high school grades, and his time working at Jeff's Italian restaurant. Jennifer listened intently and commented from time to time.

Days later, a gossip tabloid surfaced with a story about a love triangle involving him, child star Drew Barrymore, and an unknown actress. The author clearly had insider tips from the 17 Again crew, as the paper painted a colorful story, almost like it had been witnessed firsthand, even making suggestions that Drew Barrymore had turned to sobriety for Eric. Following this article, the "unknown actress" was said to have made Eric sleep on the couch for two whole days due to jealousy.

...

Michael Krauss was on cloud nine lately because the vigorous promotions from the two studios for Home Alone and 17 Again had sent the sales of Jurassic Park -- already exceeding one hundred thousand copies a week -- soaring even higher. In the second week of November, Jurassic Park finally topped the New York Times' North American bestseller list with sales of 250,000 copies, and based on current trends, hitting a million by year's end seemed certain.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach Eric, Michael Krauss learned of Eric's whereabouts through Penny Marshall and headed straight to Jennifer Aniston's apartment.

"Hey, Michael, how did you find this place?" Eric asked as he let him in, curious.

"I was about to call the cops if I couldn't find you. Hiding here... uh..." Michael paused when he saw Jennifer walking out in her revealing pajamas, surprised into silence.

"Michael, this is my girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston. Jenny, this is Mr. Michael Krauss, the manager of my book publisher."

Michael exchanged greetings with Jennifer, who walked off towards the bathroom.

"Hey, Eric, is this the little actress? I still prefer Drew; she was such a sweetheart in E.T." As soon as Jennifer left, Michael couldn't resist poking fun.

Eric poured Michael a coffee and quietly said, "Michael, if you want to be kicked out by Jenny, keep this conversation going. I don't even dare to mention Drew's name right now."

Michael Krauss could clearly see that Eric was serious and quickly changed the subject, "So, Eric, with Jurassic Park selling so well, don't you think you ought to write a sequel?"

Eric shook his head without hesitation. He had already secured the film rights to Jurassic Park, and while they were mortgaged to the firms overseeing the bet agreement, he wasn't worried. He also didn't want to waste any more time writing a sequel.

"The novel's story is already complete; I don't see much to write about, Michael."

Not discouraged, Michael continued, "So, do you have any other projects at the moment?"

Eric shook his head again, having been too busy lately finally completing Home Alone and signing the bet agreement with Columbia. He decided to take a break. But the break wouldn't last long; just a week before the movie's release, he would be expected to promote it non-stop with the crew. Fortunately, the two companies had already established a cooperative agreement, so the promotion schedule would align, allowing Eric to avoid splitting himself between the East Coast and the West Coast.

*****

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