Chapter 293: Eisner’s Decisiveness
Chapter 293: Eisner’s Decisiveness
After a while, Eric returned to the meeting room carrying the mobile phone. Robert Shaye also set down his coffee cup and looked toward Eric inquisitively.
“It was Michael Eisner,” Eric explained in a somewhat light tone.
“Did he want to invite you over for a talk?” Robert Shaye asked with a slight raise of his brow. He also knew by now that the storm some time ago had been orchestrated behind the scenes by Michael Eisner.
Eric nodded and sat back down in his chair. “Yes.”
“And did you agree?”
“There’s no harm in hearing what he has to say. I don’t have anything going on tonight anyway.” As Eric spoke, he placed the mobile phone beside him again and continued, “Robert, since you’re unwilling to take over Basic Instinct, then hurry and pick a script. It’s already March. If we still don’t finalize the project, we probably won’t make the summer release window.”
Seeing that Eric no longer intended to force Basic Instinct onto him, Robert Shaye felt somewhat relieved, though at the same time he could not help feeling a contradictory sense of disappointment. After all, this was a script personally written by Eric.
However, he quickly adjusted his emotions and said, “Understood. I gathered another six scripts over the past few days. I’ll have my assistant bring them to you later so you can take a look.”
Eric shook his head. “No need. I think it’s better if you choose personally. I can’t guarantee one hundred percent that a film will succeed either. Once you’ve picked the script, just bring it to me for approval.”
Robert Shaye froze for a moment, then understood that Eric was preparing to completely let go. In that case, the success or failure of the film in the future would have absolutely nothing to do with Eric anymore, and he himself would bear full responsibility. But Robert Shaye was not someone without courage. After only a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. “Then I’ll select a script as soon as possible.”
…
After getting off work, Eric drove back toward Malibu, though his destination was not his own Point Manor, but one of Michael Eisner’s luxury homes in Malibu.
“Eric, I’m very glad you could come. Please, come in,” Michael Eisner said with a warm smile as soon as Eric entered the mansion under the guidance of a servant.
“Hello, Mr. Eisner,” Eric replied with a polite smile, briefly shaking hands with him.
Michael Eisner paid no attention to Eric’s indifference and continued smiling. “Eric, I specially invited a famous French chef to personally prepare tonight’s dinner. Let’s go inside.”
Eric nodded and followed Michael Eisner directly into the dining room. Throughout the entire dinner, aside from the servants who occasionally appeared, only Michael Eisner and Eric sat in the restaurant. Michael Eisner skillfully introduced the exquisite details of each French dish served to Eric. After the meal ended, he even specially invited the French chef, who wore a tall chef’s hat, to come out, and the three of them took a photograph together.
While secretly admiring Michael Eisner’s patience, Eric calmly enjoyed the dinner. In any case, the initiative now rested in his hands.
After dinner, Michael Eisner finally brought Eric into his study. Once the servant served coffee and withdrew, Michael Eisner said, “Eric, now that everything has passed, I think we should discuss cooperation.”
A mocking smile finally appeared at the corner of Eric’s lips. “Cooperation?”
Michael Eisner still smiled as he said, “Yes, cooperation. Eric, there are no eternal enemies in this world, only eternal interests. Although that’s Britain’s diplomatic strategy, I think it applies equally well between companies.”
“No eternal enemies, only eternal interests.” Eric shook his head and laughed softly before continuing, “Mr. Eisner, if you had the option of cooperating with your friends or neutral parties, would you still cooperate with your enemies?”
“Of course not,” Michael Eisner replied. “But Eric, do you think Firefly has any friends in Hollywood? Although your cooperation with Fox has been very pleasant, believe me, if given the opportunity, Murdoch would definitely stab Firefly in the back without hesitation.”
“I know that too. That’s why I’ll try my best not to give Mr. Murdoch that opportunity. And as for enemies who have already stabbed me in the back once, I’m even less willing to give them another chance,” Eric said casually while lifting his coffee cup.
Even after hearing Eric say that, Michael Eisner still maintained his smile. “Eric, I think you already know certain things. I won’t deny them either. So I think we should reconcile.”
“Reconcile?” Eric looked up and asked. “How?”
With faint confidence, Michael Eisner said, “What about the script for Ghost?”
Without even thinking, Eric shook his head directly. “Mr. Eisner, I’m not lacking scripts, so I don’t want to cooperate with Disney. Without Ghost, I’ll just choose something else. Besides, I guarantee Disney won’t be able to produce the Ghost that already exists in my mind. You might make a modest profit from the film, but it definitely won’t become a classic. Whether it can even become a hit is hard to say.”
“No, no, Eric. I think you misunderstood what I meant.” Michael Eisner waved his hand. “I mean Disney transfers the Ghost script to you, and then we reconcile. How about it?”
Eric finally looked up in genuine surprise. Seeing the confident look in Michael Eisner’s eyes, Eric immediately thought of another issue. “Mr. Eisner, I assume Disney paid a huge price to buy the script for Ghost. Perhaps you also promised Bruce Joel Rubin a portion of the profits?”
“Yes,” Michael Eisner nodded. “One million dollars in cash and three percent of North American profits.”
Eric calculated briefly. If it followed the results from his previous life, the total amount would exceed three million dollars. Perhaps, compared to the future profits, that amount was not much. But for Disney, which completely did not know the eventual outcome, that offer was somewhat outrageous.
Seeing Eric fall silent, Michael Eisner continued, “Eric, Disney is being very sincere. So as long as we reconcile, I’ll transfer the script to Firefly for free.”
“What about your contract?” Eric asked instinctively. “I don’t think Bruce Joel Rubin would willingly accept that.”
“That’s actually easy to solve. Disney transfers the script to Firefly, and once the film is produced, Disney handles distribution. Then Bruce Joel Rubin’s share can be allocated from Disney’s portion of the profits. What do you think?”
“Firefly and Disney will jointly distribute it, and the film rights belong to Firefly,” Eric said after thinking rapidly for a moment. Since Michael Eisner could make such a decisive choice, if he still nitpicked over details, it would make him seem too petty.
On the other hand, if the film were completely handed over to Disney for distribution, although profits could be maximized, Firefly’s own distribution channels would never expand. If this situation continued, Firefly would inevitably become like DreamWorks in his previous life: capable of producing excellent films, yet lacking sufficient distribution power, forced to struggle for survival among the major studios.
Moreover, these next few years were both the best and last opportunity to expand Firefly’s distribution channels. Because production costs in the early 1990s had not yet become excessively high, Eric had already made up his mind that even if Firefly earned a little less during these years, he would still build up its distribution network. Otherwise, once the era of special effects blockbusters arrived in the late 1990s, with production budgets easily exceeding one hundred million dollars, lacking their own distribution channels would put them in a miserable position. Most of the profits would be seized by the major studios controlling distribution, and in the end, production companies might even find themselves unable to recover their production costs.
Hearing the softening in Eric’s tone, Michael Eisner nodded immediately without hesitation. “No problem.”
After Michael Eisner said this, the atmosphere between the two men suddenly turned somewhat silent. Michael Eisner had achieved his purpose, while Eric, who had originally intended to make Michael Eisner hit a wall, had also failed to persist in his stance.
After finishing the coffee before him, Eric took the initiative to stand up. “Then, Mr. Eisner, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving first.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Michael Eisner said as he also rose to his feet.
Only after escorting Eric all the way out of the mansion did Michael Eisner finally let his expression turn cold as he silently returned to the study. He picked up several inconspicuous folders that had originally been set in the corner of the desk. Inside were project proposals for Ghost prepared by several Disney directors.
Michael Eisner could be said to be the head among the Big Seven film companies who understood Eric most deeply, and also the one who understood Eric’s personal potential the best. That was why, before the new year, he had united with several other film companies to launch the joint suppression against Firefly. Unfortunately, because of several mistakes during the process, the operation failed. After seeing the news of Murdoch proactively contacting Eric, Michael Eisner decisively resolved to reconcile with him. After all, just as he said from the start, there were no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
Moreover, Michael Eisner originally had not intended to use the script for Ghost as the price for reconciliation with Eric. However, some time ago, he had several well-known Disney directors study the Ghost script, and the project proposals they submitted — the very documents now in his hands — did not satisfy Michael Eisner in the slightest.