Chapter 167: Hi
Chapter 167: Hi
Although the two had entered into an intimate relationship, Nicole did not stay an extra day in Eric’s mansion. That very day, she obediently moved into the apartment Eric had arranged for her.
Time entered August.
For a film already in its fourth week of release, the more than 26 million dollars in box office revenue earned by Running Out of Time could still be considered extremely strong, and the total box office had already surpassed 150 million dollars. Although whether it could overtake Batman during the remainder of its theatrical run still depended heavily on luck, there was no longer any suspense that the film’s North American total would exceed 200 million dollars.
Moreover, Running Out of Time was even more popular overseas than it was in North America.
Although most foreign countries were releasing the film later than the domestic market, with some nations not even having premiered it yet, among the countries and regions where it had already opened, Running Out of Time immediately took first place in opening weekend box office in twelve markets.
Under such circumstances, it was practically certain that Running Out of Time’s overseas box office would greatly exceed its domestic earnings.
Although Columbia had originally invested in the film without intending to make a profit, only hoping to drive up stock prices, the reality was that not only could they recover their costs, they could also make a sizable profit purely from the theatrical run.
As for the upcoming VHS revenue, Columbia was likewise destined to take the lion’s share. Although the recovery cycle for VHS profits was very long, over the coming years this revenue stream alone would bring Columbia Pictures another hundred million dollars or more in profits.
As for Eric, the Running Out of Time project already belonged to the past. He only needed to wait for the profit shares to arrive.
According to Hollywood convention, a blockbuster film like Running Out of Time was definitely going to receive sequel after sequel. But to be safe, Eric had no intention of participating in future installments.
The classic status of the first film would be difficult to surpass, and in his previous life the sequels to Running Out of Time had not possessed many standout qualities.
If the scripts for future sequels turned out good, Eric only intended to let Firefly participate in partial investment. If the Japanese offered a satisfactory price, Eric could even sell Firefly’s half of the Running Out of Time rights to them.
After all, without Cruise and without Eric, relying solely on Hanks, it would be difficult for a sequel to recreate the brilliance of the first film.
And according to the investment conventions of such movies, the costs from the second film onward would definitely increase substantially. At that point, earning money would no longer be so easy.
With the Running Out of Time project behind him, Eric also began his intense work schedule for the second half of the year.
First, he personally needed to direct the first two episodes of Friends. Fox had already used this as a promotional gimmick. Due to the Friends footage inserted into Running Out of Time, the public was also highly anticipating the television series.
Then there was Sleepless in Seattle. This was the second-to-last film of the year, and in truth also the final film Eric intended to carefully devote himself to.
Although Fox placed enormous importance on Home Alone, that film simply could not consume much of Eric’s energy no matter what. Furthermore, he intended to directly use the second film’s script from his previous life, which would make filming even easier.
Although Sleepless in Seattle was only in the early preparation stage, preliminary publicity had already begun.
The cast information was also quickly leaked.
After seeing that both the male and female leads had already been finalized, many Hollywood actors hoping to collaborate with Eric became disappointed.
Tom Hanks as the male lead received little criticism, but Nicole, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, became the target of relentless media pursuit.
Following the release of the casting information, the paparazzi quickly dug up Nicole’s entire background within only a few days.
Australian actress.
Winner of acting awards.
Debuted at sixteen.
No acting experience in Hollywood whatsoever…
Once these details were exposed, the woman immediately became the center of controversy.
Hollywood’s tendency to look down on foreign actors seemed to have infected the media as well.
Thus, aside from the promotional articles arranged for Nicole by UTA, she barely received any words of approval at all. The criticism was overwhelmingly one-sided, with most media outlets believing Nicole did not deserve the female lead role in Eric’s new film.
From the title Sleepless in Seattle, the media also guessed that Eric was likely returning to romantic comedies like Pretty Woman.
As a result, Hollywood media completely ignored Nicole’s current image and instead enthusiastically dug up her rustic appearances in Australian films and television dramas, criticizing the woman as worthless from top to bottom.
Naturally, this criticism also faced backlash.
The fiercest response came from Australian media.
Although Eric only had a few works and had not risen to fame for very long, he had already accumulated tremendous popularity in Australia, rivaling famous directors who had been established for many years. Therefore, Australian media were proud that an actress from their own country had been cast in Eric’s new film, and they launched extensive counterattacks against the criticism coming from American media.
Meanwhile, Nicole herself, standing at the center of the controversy, felt no pressure whatsoever.
She understood that the louder the media uproar became, the greater the fame it would bring her.
On August 2nd, inside a massive soundstage at Fox Studios, Friends quietly began filming.
Among the six lead actors, only Aniston possessed any real fame. The others had previously all been obscure minor actors.
Eric had selected them not only because their acting skills met his standards, but also because they closely resembled the appearances of the Friends cast from his memories.
In addition, as newcomers, their salaries were very low, requiring only five thousand dollars per episode.
Originally, Eric wanted to secretly give Aniston a higher salary. Since salary information was confidential, as long as he did not tell anyone, the other cast members would not know. And even if the other five found out, they probably would not say anything.
After all, Aniston was somewhat more famous than them, and she was also the producer’s daughter and the director’s girlfriend. Comparing themselves to Aniston would simply be asking for humiliation.
However, Eric’s well-intentioned proposal was righteously rejected by the stubborn little woman, and she instead accepted the same five-thousand-dollar rookie salary as everyone else.
Unable to persuade her, Eric simply revealed the matter publicly, and unsurprisingly received a very positive response.
Like in his previous life, the little woman quickly became close friends with the other five leads, turning into genuine friends with them.
This outcome was extremely beneficial for the filming of Friends. After all, becoming real friends in reality naturally meant they would possess better chemistry during filming.
“Everyone get ready! Friends, Scene 5 of Episode 1!”
Following the slate call, inside Central Perk Café, the lead actors began chatting.
The scene involved Ross having just divorced his lesbian wife, carrying an umbrella and appearing inside the café looking utterly miserable.
In the original version, the first appearance of Ross Geller, played by David Schwimmer, had instantly “amazed” many viewers. With nothing more than a simple “Hi,” audiences immediately remembered the image of the tall, skinny man in the oversized coat.