Chapter 292: Robert’s Concerns
Chapter 292: Robert’s Concerns
After Eric met with Murdoch on Sunset Boulevard, although Murdoch had put on a hypocritical public performance, Eric had not gone in unprepared. He had arranged beforehand for someone to leak some information to the paparazzi specifically gathered there.
Therefore, early the next morning, many newspapers published numerous ambiguous reports. For a time, news that Fox would continue acting as distributor for all films Eric directed over the next three years; that Fox and Firefly would carry out an equity swap to ensure deeper and longer-term cooperation between both sides; or that Fox would cooperate with Firefly to produce the special effects blockbuster Jurassic Park, and other similar reports all emerged at once. Although these reports did not seem like much to ordinary people, they caused a huge stir within Hollywood.
Without a doubt, many people in Hollywood who understood the inside story behind the recent storm realized that Fox had completely “betrayed” the alliance of the Big Seven film companies and had sided with Firefly.
After this storm, besides Firefly, which emerged unscathed, Fox would undoubtedly become the biggest beneficiary.
Next, although Fox tried hard to clarify matters and repeatedly stated that it had not reached too many cooperation agreements with Firefly, the rapid restart of the two previously suspended television programs, The X-Files and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, undoubtedly proved through facts that Fox and Firefly had already reached certain cooperation agreements.
Under such circumstances, the alliance of the other major film companies, which already no longer had any expectations for this operation to suppress Firefly, quickly collapsed. At the same time, to mend the rift between both sides, the major film companies began expressing goodwill toward Firefly one after another, hoping to reach certain cooperation agreements with Eric. After all, in all of last year, the total North American box office had barely broken the five-billion-dollar mark, while the total box office of the series of films related to Eric accounted for nearly one-fifth of that. Therefore, no one would doubt Eric’s strength in film anymore. Since suppression had failed, win-win cooperation was undoubtedly the best option.
“Robert, the selling point of this film isn’t purely the erotic scenes. Pure sex can only bring people simple and short-lived impulses. But when sex is combined with bloody violence, human desire becomes incomparably intense. That’s the biggest selling point of the script for Basic Instinct. You should have read the script too. If the bed scene at the very beginning of the script were only a bed scene, perhaps the audience would only whistle and let out a teasing exclamation. But when the originally passionate sex suddenly transforms into a slaughter with blood splattering everywhere, the audience’s adrenaline will be instantly triggered, and they’ll unknowingly be drawn into the story.”
In Firefly’s small conference room, Eric was introducing the script for Basic Instinct to Robert Shaye. Originally, when Eric took out this script, Robert Shaye had shown strong interest. However, when Eric later made it clear that he would not put his name on this script, Robert Shaye became doubtful again. Although after reading the script, Robert Shaye also understood that Eric was doing this for the sake of his public image, since once Basic Instinct was made into a film, it would definitely spark a great deal of controversy.
But this reason could not make Robert Shaye feel completely at ease. During his negotiations with Eric last year, he had finally fought for the quota to independently operate two big-budget films this year. If he messed it up, then it would be very difficult for him to ask to lead big-budget films again in the future. He would only be able to obediently handle film distribution.
Therefore, although the script for Basic Instinct was written by Eric himself, when Eric expressed that he was unwilling to have any connection with the film, Robert Shaye developed concerns. From Eric’s response to the storm some time ago, as well as the recent methods he used to dismantle the alliance of the Big Seven film companies, Robert Shaye no longer treated Eric as a young man who was not yet twenty. Therefore, he did not dare confidently take over Eric’s script either. Perhaps this was a trap Eric had set for him. If the film was made and flopped, then Robert could hardly imagine Eric not pushing the responsibility onto him. After all, every script Eric had produced so far had become a big hit.
After thinking for a while, Robert Shaye found another excuse and said, “Eric, I think this film will definitely run into major trouble with its rating once it’s made. As you just said, this film’s production cost will exceed twenty million dollars. If it gets rated NC-17, then we’ll definitely lose everything. We just had a confrontation with the Big Seven film companies for some time. It’s hard to guarantee that they won’t choke us on this point. After all, everyone knows the film rating board is controlled by the Big Seven.”
Eric listened to Robert Shaye’s insincere words and also understood what he was worried about. He sighed inwardly and no longer planned to persuade him.
Since Robert was unwilling, then he would hand this film over to Jeffrey to operate. That way, he could also interfere without any reservations and prevent the film from deviating too much from the version in his previous life.
Just as he was about to speak, the mobile phone placed by Eric’s right hand suddenly rang. The ringtone sounded unusually piercing in the conference room where only the two of them sat.
Robert Shaye did not show displeasure. He gestured to Eric and picked up the coffee in front of him.
Eric hesitated for a moment, then still reached for the mobile phone while silently praying that it must not be a “debt collector.”
That night, through a freak combination of circumstances, Eric had gotten Elisabeth and Julia onto the same bed and played around with them. Although it had been extremely exciting at the time, the next morning, Eric had no choice but to flee in defeat again. Otherwise, if the two women woke up in the morning and discovered what had happened, there was no guarantee that they would not do something utterly tragic in their agitation. By sneaking away in advance, he could at least leave the two women a buffer period to calm down a little.
But things went beyond Eric’s expectations. He had originally thought Elisabeth and Julia would come to “demand an explanation” from him that same day, but three days had already passed, and there had been no movement at all from either Elisabeth or Julia. Instead of feeling relieved, Eric became even more uneasy.
Eric gestured to Robert Shaye, took the phone, and walked out of the small conference room. Only when he reached the end of the corridor did he answer the call.