Chapter 194: Hey
Chapter 194: Hey
“Eric, doesn’t Firefly still have one film this year that hasn’t found a distributor yet?” After chatting about a few other matters, Robert Shaye gradually steered the topic back toward Firefly’s films.
Eric glanced around. Scent of a Woman had finally wrapped filming this month and had already entered post-production. Earlier, he had spotted Al Pacino, but since he had been talking with Robert Shaye at the time, Al had only nodded toward him from afar in greeting.
However, after sweeping his gaze across the room, although many people who met his eyes greeted him, he still did not see Al and the others for the moment. He quickly withdrew his gaze and replied to Robert, “Yes, but Scent of a Woman is an awards-season art film aimed at the Oscars. If it wins awards, the box office will definitely be good. If it doesn’t, then things become hard to say. Although I’ve seen the rough cut and Al’s performance is astonishing, there’s still far too much maneuvering involved in the Oscars. Just because a film is excellent doesn’t mean it will necessarily win awards.”
Robert Shaye understood that Eric did not trust his awards-season connections.
“Eric, I admit that when it comes to connections, I definitely can’t compare to the Big Six studios, but that doesn’t mean they automatically win awards because of it. At most, the Big Six use those advantages to secure a few nominations at the Oscars to boost box office and later videotape sales. Like last year—you’ve probably seen Working Girl. That film received a string of nominations, but ultimately won nothing. That was the result of Fox’s campaigning. Real awards still have to be earned through quality. Public relations are indispensable, but that doesn’t mean they determine everything.
“Eric, think about it again. If you hand Scent of a Woman over to a major studio for distribution, they’ll definitely have other films they need to campaign for as well. They won’t pour all their effort into this one film. But I can devote all my resources and connections entirely to this movie.”
Eric fell into brief hesitation.
Robert Shaye noticed Eric wavering and hurriedly continued, “Eric, haven’t you noticed? This year is a classic weak Oscar year.”
“Hm?” Eric revealed a puzzled expression. He vaguely remembered hearing that kind of statement before, though only half-understood it.
Robert Shaye patiently explained, “Think about it. Last year had Dustin Hoffman’s Rain Man, Jodie Foster’s The Accused, plus a whole series of major Oscar contenders like The Accidental Tourist, Mississippi Burning, and Dangerous Liaisons. At last year’s Golden Globes, the Best Actress in a Drama category even produced a historic three-way tie, with three actresses simultaneously winning Best Actress. That was a textbook strong Oscar year.
“But this year is different. Two-thirds of the year has already passed, and I haven’t even seen the shadow of a major Oscar contender. You might say those films will all be released at the end of the year, but I’ve been paying attention to this area. As far as I remember, there aren’t any new films from major directors or famous actors scheduled for the end of the year either. So I’m certain this year will definitely be a weak Oscar year. If, as you said, Mr. Al Pacino’s performance in Scent of a Woman is truly astonishing, then combined with the fact that he’s already received several Best Actor nominations before, it’s easy to imagine how things will turn out.”
Eric sank into thought.
He did not mind Robert Shaye directly ignoring the Oscar potential of Pretty Woman and Running Out of Time. Eric knew that at not even twenty years old, with the Academy still extremely conservative in style, there was no way they would hand him any awards. Being able to secure a few nominations and show his face was already a decent result.
What he was truly thinking about was Robert Shaye’s point regarding weak and strong Oscar years. As Robert spoke, Eric also recalled more memories from his previous life concerning the topic. In his memory, Scent of a Woman seemed to have won only Best Actor. Eric did not even know which film had beaten it for Best Picture. But if this really was a weak Oscar year, then Scent of a Woman would definitely have a chance to contend for Best Picture.
“Eric?” Robert Shaye waited quite a while without receiving any reaction and could not help prompting him.
Hearing his name, Eric abruptly snapped out of his thoughts and even accidentally jerked his wrist, nearly spilling his wine. “Oh, sorry, Robert. I zoned out a little.”
Robert Shaye asked, “What do you think?”
“Hm?” After Robert’s lengthy persuasion, Eric momentarily failed to react.
“About the distribution rights for Scent of a Woman?” Robert Shaye patiently reminded him.
Eric felt conflicted.
If this truly was a weak Oscar year, then handing Scent of a Woman over to one of the Big Seven for handling would undoubtedly be the safer option.
Before the Weinstein brothers cultivated themselves into Oscar kingmakers, the major studios still held absolute advantages in awards campaigning. But at the same time, as Robert Shaye had said, none of the Big Seven would devote their full effort to Scent of a Woman unless Eric surrendered most of the profits. But wasn’t winning awards ultimately about profits in the first place?
Eric was just about to agree when Al Pacino finally emerged from somewhere and walked toward them. Eric suddenly remembered the promise he had once made to Al. This film had been created specifically to secure Al Pacino the Best Actor award.
In that case, if he followed Robert Shaye’s suggestion and allowed the newly merged New Line under Firefly to distribute it, there would inevitably be some degree of risk in awards campaigning. Although the probability was extremely low, what if, because of the butterfly effect, Al once again missed the Oscar for Best Actor?
At that point, it would be difficult to guarantee Al would not develop resentment toward Firefly because of the matter. Eric personally valued his working relationship with Al Pacino very highly. The 1990s would also be another peak period for Al’s acting career. Maintaining a good relationship with him would allow Firefly to gain greater benefits both in box office performance and awards.
Since that was the case, he might as well push the decision onto Al himself. Although there was a high chance Al would ultimately agree after being persuaded by Robert, if the tiny-probability disaster truly occurred, Al would probably not vent his anger at Firefly.
“Robert, personally, I agree with this,” Eric said. Before Robert could reveal a delighted expression, Eric continued, “However, Scent of a Woman was a project I created in order to invite Al to star in Pretty Woman. Although Pretty Woman has already brought Al much greater benefits now, I still can’t ignore the promise I made back then. So if you want to keep the distribution rights for Scent of a Woman, you’ll still need to persuade Al. Oh, look, he’s coming over.”
Eric casually placed his wineglass onto the tray of a passing waiter and walked toward Al Pacino.
“Al, long time no see.”
Al Pacino warmly embraced Eric. “Long time no see, Eric. You look even more mature and handsome now. The young girls must be even more obsessed with you. Leave us washed-up old men a little room to survive, will you?”
“Haha, with your skills, could you really fail to find beautiful women?” Eric joked with Al for a few moments before introducing them. “Al, this is Robert Shaye. Robert, this is Al.”
“You actually don’t need to introduce us. We already know each other,” Al said, though he still shook Robert Shaye’s hand. “Hello, Robert. I believe cooperating with Eric will turn out to be an extremely correct decision.”
Robert Shaye smiled faintly. “I hope so too.”
“Well then, since we were just discussing Scent of a Woman, the two of you go ahead and talk. I’m going to use the restroom first.” Eric pointed toward the corridor not far away.
Although Al Pacino wanted to chat with Eric a little longer, after seeing the direction Eric indicated, he could only nod.
Eric casually exchanged greetings with guests as he slowly walked toward the banquet hall entrance. After weaving through the crowd and stepping into the corridor, a petite figure in red suddenly crashed into him, letting out a soft cry as she fell backward. Eric quickly reached out, caught the girl, and pulled her fully into his arms.
“So it’s you. Your name was… uh, Gab…” Eric recognized that face immediately, but after thinking for a moment, he still failed to recall her name right away. Although transmigration had magically copied over the memories from his previous life, this body did not possess photographic memory.
“Gabrielle Anwar.”
The young woman softly supplied her name.
Originally, after realizing it was Eric holding her, she had felt somewhat delighted. But seeing that he had not immediately recognized her, she became disappointed again. One small hand rested against Eric’s chest, yet she had even forgotten to ask him to let her go.
Only then did Eric remember.
This was the girl from Britain who had come alone to Los Angeles to audition during the casting for the encounter woman in Running Out of Time. At the same time, she was also the female lead of the astonishing tango dance scene from Scent of a Woman in his memories.
A middle-aged man with lowered head turned into the corridor from the banquet hall and curiously glanced at the man and woman embracing each other. Hearing the movement, Eric turned his head. The man immediately recognized Eric and awkwardly laughed before instantly retreating back the way he came.
Eric recognized him as one of Firefly’s employees.
Although the man’s reaction seemed somewhat excessive, it was understandable. Discovering the boss “being intimate” with a woman—and that woman clearly not being the boss’s official girlfriend—under such circumstances, anyone would naturally avoid lingering around to prevent getting into trouble later.
“About earlier, I’m really sorry for bumping into you, Miss Anwar,” Eric said after the interruption, quickly releasing the petite young woman from his arms. He even subconsciously brushed aside the strands of hair that had fallen across her forehead.
“I-It’s fine,” the young woman shook her head. As Eric’s fingers moved across her forehead, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
However, Gabrielle soon realized with irritation that this utterly unromantic man, after apologizing, actually intended to walk away on his own.
She lightly stamped her foot before finally taking the initiative to call out, “Hey!”