Chapter 261: The Direction Was Wrong
Chapter 261: The Direction Was Wrong
Hearing Laura Pena’s follow-up question, Aniston glanced sideways at Eric beside her. Seeing her boyfriend blink twice as if nothing was wrong, she leaned closer to the microphone and said, “I’ve seen the test screening of Home Alone 2. This movie is even better than the first one. Little Stu’s performance is still outstanding, Matthew is still just as unlucky, and the other actors are all excellent too. So I think this movie should at least be able to reach $200 million at the box office.”
“Wow, $200 million. That’s a surprising number. Hopefully Miss Aniston’s words will bring good luck to the film.” Laura Pena showed no intention of comparing it with last year’s first Home Alone. She continued, “By the way, Miss Aniston, I heard that Mr. Matthew Perry, who plays the young foolish thief Marvin, was once your classmate. Is that true?”
Aniston nodded. “That’s right. Last year, when Eric was selecting actors, he searched for a long time without finding the right person for Marvin, so I recommended Matthew to him. After just a simple audition, Eric decided to let Matthew play the role. Later on, it also proved that Eric’s choice was correct.”
“I didn’t expect there to be such an interesting story behind it,” Laura Pena said teasingly. “Then, Miss Aniston, when you introduced Mr. Matthew Perry to Mr. Williams, weren’t you afraid he’d get jealous?”
Upon hearing this question, Aniston immediately widened her eyes. The arm linked around Eric’s tightened slightly as she replied, “How could that be? If Eric were the jealous type, he wouldn’t have chosen Matthew to play Marvin in the first place.”
After the brief interview, the two passed through the red carpet and entered the theater together.
After greeting the others who had already entered the cinema, Eric suddenly leaned close to Aniston’s ear and whispered, “Jennie, actually, I really am jealous. You should think about compensating me tonight.”
Aniston rolled her eyes fiercely at Eric. “You do so many ridiculous things that I’m practically dying from anger already, and I’ve never seen you compensate me for any of it.”
“How about compensating you two extra times tonight?” Eric said with a wicked grin while wrapping an arm around Aniston’s waist and lightly pinching a sensitive patch of flesh through her gown.
A tingling electric sensation spread from her waist, making Aniston’s entire body soften slightly. She forcefully pushed Eric away, her cheeks faintly red as she complained, “You beast. All you ever think about is this kind of thing. I’m ignoring you.”
After saying that, the little girl truly escaped from Eric’s side. Not only did she deliberately walk over toward Matthew Perry, she even warmly hugged him.
Eric shrugged helplessly. Just as he was about to follow her over, Donald Truplang, smiling broadly, walked over from a distance and greeted him enthusiastically. Beside Donald stood a blonde woman who looked under thirty, holding the hand of a little girl. It was the little loli Ivanka.
“Hi, Eric, long time no see,” Donald Truplang said warmly as he came over and gave Eric a hug. Then he introduced them. “Eric, this is my wife, Ivana. Ivana, this is Eric Williams.”
Eric politely shook hands with Ivana Truplang.
At that moment, a crisp childish voice rang out. “Eric, do you still remember me?”
“Of course I do, Inie,” Eric said with a smile as he reached out, intending to pinch Ivanka’s rosy cheeks. However, the little girl strongly protested at once. “Hey, Eric, you’re not allowed to pinch a girl’s cheeks whenever you want!”
Eric crouched down in front of the little girl and asked with amusement, “Why not?”
Ivanka tilted her little head and thought for a moment but failed to come up with a suitable reason. She immediately widened her eyes and declared aggressively, “Anyway, you just can’t!”
Just as Eric was about to tease the little loli a little more, Aniston had already walked back over. Upon seeing little Ivanka Truplang, she immediately exclaimed happily, “Wow, what a beautiful little girl. She’s like a doll.”
Before Ivanka could react at all, Aniston reached out and pinched the little girl’s cheeks.
“Ahhh! You adults are so annoying!”
The little loli struggled furiously as everyone around burst into laughter. Seeing the unfamiliar little girl react so strongly, Aniston quickly let go and apologetically said to Ivanka’s mother, “Sorry, did I… do something wrong?”
“It’s nothing, Miss Aniston. Inie is usually very well-behaved. She’s just somewhat resistant toward unfamiliar people,” Ivana explained with a smile. Friends had already become a household name, so there was naturally no need for introductions for Ivana to recognize Aniston.
Aniston still nodded apologetically before looking toward Eric. Eric quickly made the introductions for everyone. Afterwards, the four adults ignored the sulking little loli and began chatting among themselves.
“Eric, what you said at the premiere of The Others at the beginning of the month was really domineering. I heard the movie’s box office has already surpassed $50 million. The production cost was only $5 million, right?”
“Yes. Although the production budget was only $5 million, the distribution costs were somewhat higher.”
Donald Truplang still understood film distribution to some extent. “Even so, Firefly must have earned a fortune from it. Eric, how much total box office do you think the film can make?”
Since newspapers were already publishing endless analyses of these numbers anyway, Eric did not feel there was any need to keep them secret. “Conservatively speaking, North America should reach around $150 million. Overseas is harder to predict, but the main foreign market is Europe. With the Venice Silver Lion Award attached to it, plus the film itself being quite good, I think the overseas box office may actually end up even higher.”
Hearing Eric say this made Donald Truplang feel even more eager. According to Eric’s estimate, this low-budget film that only cost $5 million would likely bring Firefly profits of seventy to eighty million dollars, and that did not even include later videotape sales and other merchandise. As for Home Alone 2, which was about to release, the profits it would bring would certainly be even greater. Without even mentioning Firefly’s other upcoming films, Eric could earn at least $200 million from just these two movies alone. And all of that was cash. Donald was practically going mad from wanting cash right now.
Of course, it was impossible for Eric not to notice the change in Donald Truplang’s expression. He sighed inwardly. Although they had not known each other for long, Eric’s impression of this real estate tycoon was actually fairly good. However, he was ultimately a very mature-minded person. It was impossible for him to offer help based purely on personal feelings. Eric believed that even Donald Truplang’s best friends might provide some limited assistance within their abilities, but they certainly would not pour huge sums of money into Donald Truplang’s real estate projects, which were on the verge of collapse at any moment.
To avoid letting Donald Truplang cling to unrealistic hopes, Eric felt it was better to make things clear.
At that moment, staff members informed the premiere guests that they could now enter the screening hall.
“Jennie, why don’t you and Mrs. Truplang head into the theater first? I need to talk with Donald for a bit,” Eric said to Aniston without avoiding the Truplang family.
Donald nodded toward his wife. Ivana was just about to leave together with Aniston while pulling along the little loli when Ivanka suddenly shook free of her mother’s hand and, like a little adult, said seriously, “Mom, you go ahead. I have something to discuss with Eric.”
Ivana sharply sensed that her husband and Eric had serious matters to discuss. She tugged at her daughter. “Inie, stop causing trouble. Come with Mommy. Let’s go watch Kevin.”
“I’m not interested in that little brat at all,” Ivanka suddenly declared as she broke free from her mother’s grip and clung tightly to her father’s leg like a little koala, refusing to let go no matter how much her mother tugged at her.
In the end, Eric spoke up. “Mrs. Truplang, just let Inie stay here. I don’t really have anything important to discuss anyway.”
Perhaps realizing something, Donald Truplang picked up his daughter and nodded to his wife.
Once most of the people in the lounge had left, Eric finally sat down with Donald on a sofa. The little loli did not rush to speak either. Instead, she blinked her beautiful big eyes as her gaze shifted back and forth between her father and Eric.
After organizing his thoughts, Eric finally said, “Donald, I’ve looked through some information about your company.”
Donald Truplang smiled somewhat awkwardly and self-mockingly. “A complete mess, right?”
Eric honestly shook his head. “Not at all. Under normal circumstances, several of the projects you’re currently working on should be completed next year. Although the real estate industry is sluggish right now, as long as those projects are completed rather than left unfinished, I believe that with your ability, you can definitely still turn a profit.”
At this point, Eric added, “That’s not flattery. I’ve looked into your background. Back in the late sixties, while you were still in university, you already handled an apartment project in Cincinnati, Ohio, and made a million dollars within a year. There was also the Hyatt Hotel on Manhattan’s 42nd Street and the skating rink in Central Park.”
When Donald Truplang heard Eric bring up some of the achievements he was proudest of, a trace of pride appeared on his face. However, he quickly thought of his current predicament and could not help sighing.
Without waiting for Donald Truplang to speak, Eric continued, “But Donald, just as you need money to expand your business, I also need a great deal of money to expand my film company. And even if I did have excess capital, compared to the demands of your real estate projects, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
Donald Truplang knew Eric was telling the truth. He nodded straightforwardly and smiled. “I understand.”
The two fell silent for a moment before Eric suddenly asked again, “Donald, you’ve probably been trying to raise funds this entire time, right?”
“Yeah. The banking syndicate that loaned me money has already refused to continue providing funds, so I’ve had no choice but to seek financing elsewhere. I’ve contacted every investor I could reach recently. Through a friend’s introduction, I even made a trip to Japan. Unfortunately, the Japanese are far too greedy. They wanted to take over the entire project at an extremely low price. The prices they offered weren’t even enough for me to pay off my debts, so of course I refused.”
Eric thought for a moment before saying, “Donald, perhaps the direction you’ve been working toward from the very beginning was wrong.”