Chapter 414: The Sequel

[Chapter 414: The Sequel]

Even though Eric Williams didn't show any displeasure, Jim Carrey eagerly defended, "No, Mr. Williams, that's not what Carl meant. I'm really looking forward to working with you. It's just that there doesn't seem to be much about the film in this contract?"

"Due to the need for project confidentiality, we can only discuss the details of the film after the contract is finalized," Eric replied.

Carl Maxson interjected again, "Mr. Williams, may I ask boldly, is Jim's role the lead?"

Eric nodded. "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't go through so much trouble. I'm very optimistic about this film project, and I'm confident it will elevate the lead to the level of A-list celebrities. So, this contract is not harsh; it's a fair exchange of interests. Don't forget, there are 200,000 people in Hollywood waiting for such an opportunity every day, and over 90% of them will never see it in their lifetime. My time is tight, so I apologize for not being able to give you much time to consider. If you don't agree, then it's too bad. I will immediately arrange for other candidates."

Jim nervously glanced at his agent. Carl Maxson initially intended to ask Eric for a few days to think it over, but after hearing Eric, he could only give Jim a look that suggested he needed to decide for himself. Deep down, though, Carl hoped Jim would agree, as Eric pointed out, many actors in Hollywood might never get such an opportunity.

Jim quickly made up his mind and asked, "Mr. Williams, do we sign the contract now?"

Eric flashed a faint smile. "Yes, of course. You can also notify your lawyer to come over and review this contract again. If there are no issues, we can sign this morning, and you'll have the script within a week."

Jim exchanged glances with his agent again, then nodded in agreement.

From then on, there was no need for Eric to intervene.

...

Once Allen escorted the two out, Elisabeth spoke up, "Eric, you just said that he would see the script in a week. So where is the script?"

Eric retrieved a story outline from the filing cabinet and handed it to Elisabeth. "Here's the story outline I wrote. The detailed script is still being revised by the screenwriters."

Elisabeth picked up the thin pages and glanced at the title on top, Dumb and Dumber. She laughed a little, saying, "Just from the name, it's a comedy. And that title is really not creative."

Eric sat down in his office chair and ignored Elisabeth's customary little taunts. He picked up another document that needed attention. Securing Jim Carrey meant that for the next few years, Firefly Films would have unmatched achievements in comedy. Jim was one of the rare comedy kings in Hollywood's history. When it came to Hollywood's $20 million pay club, many would rattle off a list of stars, but the first to earn a $20 million paycheck wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, or Harrison Ford; it was Jim Carrey.

Eric had watched many of Jim's films, with the most memorable being The Mask, which was also one of Jim's peak works.

The reason he chose Dumb and Dumber was primarily due to copyright issues. The Mask was a 1980 comic work by Dark Horse Comics. Although Eric found that the film rights for this comic still belonged to Dark Horse, acquiring the rights now would indeed come at a high cost. Besides the foreseeable competition, Dark Horse certainly would raise the price.

However, Eric was already planning a strategic move. Once Disney and Robert Shea's Co. released their film, Cutthroat Island, it would be well-known in Hollywood how Robert had snatched the script away from him. If this movie flopped at the box office, just like its original version, then those competing with Eric for scripts would have to ask themselves if they were stepping into another trap.

As for the original creators of Dumb and Dumber, the Farrelly brothers were not yet a presence in Hollywood. After registering the story, Eric handed it over to Firefly's screenwriting department for further development.

In addition to Dumb and Dumber, Eric found out that Jim had collaborated with another scriptwriter and director, Tom Shadyac, for another project. Tom was also registered with a similar script like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

In the original timeline, Tom Shadyac had worked with Jim on several movies. However, Tom was just an obscure screenwriter under Warner Bros. at that moment. Eric intended to recruit him to gain experience working on the Dumb and Dumber project and create a consistent duo with Jim.

After glancing over the outline for Dumb and Dumber, Elisabeth didn't see anything particularly special, but out of trust in Eric, she didn't express much doubt and simply asked, "Eric, do you have a suitable director in mind for this story?"

"Well, have you seen Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? I plan to have director Stephen Herek for this film. Oh, by the way, all these details concern you. I'll get you the necessary materials as soon as possible. Just make sure to have the finished film by the end of the year."

Elisabeth responded, "What about Thelma & Louise? It took me ages to convince Ridley Scott to direct it. Now you're asking me to prepare Dumb and Dumber, and there's no way I can juggle both."

"Don't you have Drew to help you? Besides, if the boss had to do everything themselves, they'd be overwhelmed. Aren't you going to hire a professional producer?"

"I can think of that, but... never mind, I won't waste time explaining to you."

Seeing her stubborn side, Eric understood that Elisabeth wanted to challenge herself. "If you don't want to explain, then don't linger here. I've got a lot of work to do. Tomorrow, I need to head to Oklahoma for scouting and won't be back for a week. There's a pile of work waiting for me to handle today."

Elisabeth seized on Eric's words and countered, "Isn't the boss still going to take on all the work themselves? Be careful not to wear yourself out."

"Even if I wear out early, I can still handle you easily. If there's nothing else, please shut the door on your way out. No need to see you out."

Elisabeth huffed twice, stood up, then sat back down for a moment. Leaning over the other side of the desk, she asked with a hint of excitement, "Hey, by the way, for the Oscar ceremony at the end of the month, who are you planning to take on the red carpet?"

Eric looked up and asked directly, "Do you want to come with me?"

Elisabeth's face flushed red, and she couldn't meet Eric's gaze, mumbling a small yes with her head down.

Eric shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I plan to walk the red carpet alone."

"Why?"

"Because there are too many women, and it wouldn't be fair to take one over the others, so I won't take anyone."

Elisabeth stared at Eric. "You really are... blunt."

"Alright, do be good, and stop pouting. If you find it uncomfortable to walk alone, just take Julia with you. I'll be generous and won't hold it against you if you guys want to be close."

"Ugh, don't think I can't find another male companion to walk the red carpet with."

Eric squinted slightly. "You can certainly try."

Elisabeth huffed a little self-consciously, no longer addressing Eric, and left his office.

...

That morning, Jim Carrey signed the contract with Firefly, but Eric didn't have time to meet with him again. The next day, he flew to Oklahoma with the digital effects team and several key members from Twister.

Oklahoma was located in the south-central region of the United States and at the southern end of the Tornado Alley, which often experienced frequent tornadoes from April each year.

The crew spent a full week scurrying around various northern areas of Oklahoma, and that was with the prior scouting team having done a lot of groundwork; otherwise, there's no way so much could be accomplished in a week.

In addition to location scouting, Eric also gathered real data on tornadoes from a meteorological research facility in Oklahoma City.

After a week, Eric returned to Los Angeles with most of the crew, leaving behind a five-person working group responsible for communicating with the filming locations he had selected and negotiating tax rebate arrangements with Oklahoma for Twister. Though the tax rebate amount in the various states of the U.S. was not as high as it would be in a decade, it was still a significant figure relative to the production cost of Twister; even a low rebate percentage represented a tangible amount.

By the time they returned to Los Angeles on March 9, the atmosphere for the upcoming 63rd Academy Awards in Hollywood was growing more intense.

...

The nominations for this Oscars had been announced long ago. Aside from The Silence of the Lambs, which got a Best Picture nomination that would emerge again over a decade later, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, and Penny Marshall's Awakenings were anticipated films this awards season.

Furthermore, as per the original timeline, the film Ghost should have received a Best Picture nomination but did not this time, which had nothing to do with the quality of the movie. The primary factor was Eric's age. Although the movie was excellent, the Academy's old guard likely felt subconsciously with Eric being so young, and with the film managing to be a box office success, that there wasn't an urgent need to vie for such an important Oscar nomination.

Eric didn't have the energy to care about these things. Even if Ghost had received the Best Picture nomination, if it did not win, it wouldn't help much since it had already left theaters and was destined to be etched into the annals of Hollywood's romantic films.

Aside from Ghost, Firefly had no standout works for the Oscars. Catherine's Point Break received good reviews, but due to its anti-establishment viewpoint, it was destined to go home empty-handed, with no nominations.

The other two films related to Firefly -- Sleeping with the Enemy and Basic Instinct -- had also only achieved box office success, without any significant accolades. So, while this Oscars season didn't involve Firefly much, after returning to Los Angeles, Eric still had to make time to attend several public relations parties to personally advocate for The Silence of the Lambs.

...

In the days leading up to the Oscars, while conducting PR for The Silence of the Lambs, Elisabeth and Drew also began preparations for Dumb and Dumber, completely handing over Thelma & Louise to Ridley Scott. Ridley Scott had long been famous in Hollywood; not to mention his past works, he had already directed classics like Alien and Blade Runner, making him qualified to direct and produce Thelma & Louise.

...

Hollywood was never in short supply of films waiting to be made. Even without developing new projects, Firefly and New Line had accumulated plenty of films in their library that could have sequels.

Of course, the Home Alone franchise couldn't be overlooked, but Eric's enthusiasm for producing this series had waned considerably. The reason behind it was that he recalled the box office fate of Home Alone 3, which only made a tenth of that of the second, but the production cost remained close to that of the first two.

While they did not need to replace the lead like in the original timeline, the unpredictable risks associated with it were still hard to ignore. Eric even contemplated selling the sequel rights to this series; perhaps he could exchange them with other film companies.

Aside from Home Alone, Columbia had once again proposed the idea of making a sequel to Running Out of Time, which this time saw Tom Cruise getting inspired to "revive" the original.

The movie was significantly successful, raking in over $500 million globally. However, since Cruise struck out on his own, his ambitious first major project, Day of Thunder, ended in failure. Although the $80 million gross wasn't bad, it fell short compared to the equally high production cost of $80 million.

In such circumstances, no film company dared to recklessly work with Tom Cruise on another mega-budget film. Moreover, Cruise didn't want to revert back to making low-budget indie films. Over the past two years, Hollywood had experienced a series of blockbuster waves, which gradually formed the mindset among filmmakers that if you wanted to make big money, you must be ready to invest heavily.

Just as Cruise would kick off a Mission: Impossible series whenever his popularity began to wane, this time he strategically chose Running Out of Time. Interestingly, the first company he approached was Columbia, which had recently been acquired by wealthy Japanese interests, rather than Firefly.

*****

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