Chapter 250: Two Things
Chapter 250: Two Things
“Ms. Schneider, as long as we don’t spread the fake snow directly on the lawn, that’s fine, right?”
When Shirley Schneider saw that Eric seemed to have thought of something and now looked confident, a trace of hesitation flashed across her face. But she quickly said, “Yes. You may spread it along the roadside, but absolutely not on the lawn. And after filming is complete, the fake snow spread along both sides of the road must also be properly cleaned up.”
As Eric spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the woman before him. Seeing the fleeting struggle in her eyes, he became even more certain of some of his guesses. If the other side was purely doing this for environmental protection, then once he proposed a workable solution, this woman would not have shown hesitation.
Although he understood this, Eric still spoke to her in a consultative tone. “Alright. Then, if we lay a layer of plastic sheeting over the lawn first, then spread the fake snow on top of that, there shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Shirley Schneider froze in surprise before finally nodding with some reluctance. “I think… perhaps… that would be acceptable.”
“Then we’ll do that.” After saying this, Eric ignored the woman. He gave Jeffrey a look, and the two walked a little farther away. Only then did Eric say, “Jeffrey, suspend the Central Park scenes for now. Have everyone immediately prepare the next location. My next scene should be Kevin escaping the Plaza Hotel and being caught by the two stupid thieves in the back alley. Have people go set up that location. We can’t stop filming this afternoon.”
Jeffrey had also seen something unusual in Shirley Schneider’s expression earlier. He said to Eric, “Eric, News Corporation’s U.S. headquarters is in New York. They must have deep local connections. Should we contact Murdoch?”
“If we go to Murdoch for help over every little problem, what will he think of us? Besides, Murdoch isn’t a philanthropist.” Eric shook his head, then continued, “Also, Home Alone 2 involves Fox Film’s interests too. If we fail to resolve this in the end, Fox will naturally step in. There’s no need for us to hand them a favor on our own initiative.”
Jeffrey chuckled. “You really do think things through. Then I’ll have someone purchase plastic sheeting right away. But I don’t think that will take too long. We don’t actually need to change locations.”
Eric pointed at the men and women lying all over the lawn. “With those people here today, there’s no way we can film properly. I’m worried they’ll deliberately create conflict, just like what happened before I arrived. Once trouble breaks out, it’ll be even harder to resolve. So for now, switch to the next location. By the way, did any reporters come earlier?”
Jeffrey did not understand why Eric asked this. After thinking for a moment, he said, “There seemed to be a few. But they only took some photos from far away. After our staff drove them off, they left obediently.”
“Looks like the trouble has only just begun,” Eric muttered. He then said to Jeffrey, “Make the arrangements first, then come back to the hotel with me. I think you’ll have more important things to do this afternoon.”
“Alright.” Jeffrey nodded and hurried off to carry out Eric’s instructions.
After Jeffrey left, Eric asked a staff member for a camera and took several photos of the protesters lying on the lawn. Then he had Allen immediately take them to be developed.
Almost an hour later, Jeffrey returned to the hotel where the crew was staying. Eric handed him a stack of photos.
“What is this for?” Jeffrey asked in confusion as he picked them up and flipped through them.
“Just in case,” Eric said. “Didn’t you notice? The purpose behind this so-called environmental group’s sudden appearance isn’t simple. We filmed several scenes on roads with vegetation before, yet we never saw any sign of these people. But now, in the final week, when we’re filming the Central Park scenes, they suddenly appear.”
After hearing Eric’s words, Jeffrey quickly understood.
This was clearly someone trying to delay the filming schedule for Home Alone 2. Moreover, compared to interfering at the very beginning, appearing at this most critical moment caused even greater trouble.
Central Park held a very important place in the hearts of New Yorkers. If word got out that the crew had been resisted by an environmental group during filming today, and if someone with ulterior motives fabricated and distorted the facts, deliberately exaggerating the harm that the fake snow material—magnesium sulfate heptahydrate—might cause to Central Park’s vegetation, then under public protest, filming in Central Park would definitely face greater resistance. The New York City government might even be forced to intervene directly and stop the Home Alone 2 crew from filming until the crew provided a reasonable plan to calm public concern.
The filming schedule for Home Alone 2 was calculated by the day, and it had already reached the final stage. If they were disrupted like this and delayed for several days, then everything would be affected. Many things originally planned would have to be postponed.
Moreover, even modifying the script now to remove the Central Park scenes was impossible, because all the early filming was connected plot point by plot point. There were even many shots of Kevin running out of Central Park exits. If those were changed, a lot of previously shot material would become useless. If they had to reshoot, then Home Alone 2 might have to be delayed until Christmas to be released.
The more Jeffrey thought about it, the more worried he became. Holding the photos in his hand, he asked Eric, “Who do you think is causing trouble this time?”
Eric picked up a newly bought copy of Movie Guide from the side and pointed at the film release schedule listed on the page. “Home Alone 2 is scheduled for November 17. If we’re forced to delay the release because of some trouble, then every movie released during that period benefits. So we have no idea who’s making trouble.”
Jeffrey took the newspaper and looked at it. Just on November 17 alone, seven or eight films were being released, including Warner’s Lethal Weapon 2, which had been delayed from the summer schedule to the Thanksgiving slot to avoid Running Out of Time, Paramount’s Christmas comedy Harlem Nights starring Eddie Murphy, and Universal’s Back to the Future Part II two days later.
Eric said in a somewhat heavy tone, “See? Several major film companies all have movies coming out during this period. During Thanksgiving, the weekly box office total is roughly one hundred million dollars. So if Home Alone 2 gets postponed, these other movies can divide at least thirty million dollars in box office share that originally belonged to Home Alone 2. Of course, according to the 80/20 rule, the main films from those big companies you saw will definitely take the largest share, so they’re the most suspicious. But right now, we have neither the time nor the energy to get tangled up in this matter. Even if we find out who it is, it won’t help us at all. The only thing we need to do is think of every possible way to finish this film on schedule.”
Jeffrey put down the newspaper. Thinking that this opponent might very well be giants like Warner or Universal, and that Firefly did not have much ability to resist those companies directly, he hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then, Eric, should we really not notify Fox?”
Eric thought for a moment, but shook his head again. “Not for now. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. I dare say that tomorrow’s newspapers will definitely publish reports claiming that our use of artificial snow damaged Central Park’s environment.”
“Then what should I do now?” Jeffrey asked. He had never encountered this kind of situation before.
“Two things.” Eric had clearly already thought it through. He raised three fingers. “First, Central Park is currently managed by the Central Park Conservancy. Use Firefly’s name to donate some money to the Conservancy. Hmm… make it five hundred thousand. That way, if a public-opinion storm breaks out, we can ensure to the greatest extent that they’ll speak on our side.”
After saying this, Eric handed the photos to Jeffrey and continued, “Second, these. Contact as many local New York newspapers and media outlets as possible. Leak today’s incident about the environmental group protesting against us. Have them help publish some reports. The focus should be on the efforts we’ve made to protect Central Park’s environment. Also, find one or two relevant experts to explain in detail the fact that magnesium sulfate heptahydrate does not harm vegetation and is even a chemical fertilizer.”
“Eric, isn’t five hundred thousand too much?” Jeffrey asked weakly. In the end, he still hated giving away such a large sum for nothing.
Eric covered his forehead and said solemnly, “Jeffrey, you need to understand the current situation. If something changes and Home Alone 2 can’t be completed on schedule, then we won’t just be losing five hundred thousand dollars. Besides, based on current estimates, Home Alone 2’s original twenty-five-million-dollar production budget should still have some surplus. So count this five hundred thousand as part of the production cost.”
Jeffrey finally nodded. “Alright, I understand. Also, because we changed the filming plan at the last minute, this afternoon’s shoot may be delayed by an hour. After all, we need to communicate with the relevant streets.”
“I know. I’ll personally go to the location and make arrangements later. You go handle your matters.”
Jeffrey took the photos Eric had taken and hurried away.
Perhaps they intended to see the act through to the end, because when filming resumed that afternoon, the members of the environmental organization followed them again. Although they still pointed fingers at the crew’s use of artificial snow and even occasionally provoked them, they no longer forcibly lay on the ground to block the crew’s filming as they had done in Central Park.
At noon, Eric also issued a strict warning to the crew. No matter how those people provoked them, they absolutely could not clash with them, because doing so would mean falling straight into the other side’s trap.