Chapter 300: Too Late
Chapter 300: Too Late
The spacious party hall was packed with people. This was the Oscar celebration party being hosted by Firefly Pictures.
Under normal circumstances, aside from the crews of award-winning films, only Hollywood’s Seven Major Studios would host parties after the Golden Globes or Oscars and invite a crowd of Hollywood stars to attend. Second- and third-tier film companies generally would not do such things.
This was not a matter of money, but a display of influence. If a second- or third-tier film company hosted such a party, they would likely face the awkward situation of having no heavyweight stars attend to support them, which would only be even more embarrassing.
But Firefly was different.
Although Firefly was still technically a second-tier film company, with the enormous influence it had created this year in both awards and box office results, not only had most of the former UTA stars arrived, but countless other Hollywood celebrities had also come either to show support or search for opportunities.
“I still feel the Academy was too conservative this year. The four films you personally directed all achieved tremendous box office success. Aside from Home Alone 2, which was purely a comedy, I think the other three fully deserved at least a Best Director nomination. Especially Running Out of Time—what a pity,” Harvey Weinstein said sincerely, his fat face leaning close beside Eric.
After the Oscars ceremony, Eric had happened to run into the Weinstein brothers. Originally, he had planned to find an opportunity to chat with them, but after hearing that Firefly was holding a celebration party, the Weinstein brothers directly brought the entire My Left Foot crew over.
Although My Left Foot had received five nominations, it ultimately went home empty-handed. The Weinstein brothers canceled their original celebration party, and no one in the My Left Foot crew complained.
Holding a glass of red wine, Eric smiled and said, “Harvey, it’s nothing. I’m still so young. There’ll be plenty of opportunities in the future. Winning awards too early isn’t necessarily a good thing. It’s very easy for a person to lose direction and stagnate because of it.”
“No, no, no,” Harvey Weinstein immediately shook his head vigorously. “Eric, honestly, I think Firefly made quite a few mistakes in its Oscar campaign strategy. Take your two screenplay nominations, for example. If I were handling it, I definitely wouldn’t have submitted one for Best Original Screenplay and another for Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s not that your scripts weren’t good enough. On the contrary, because both scripts were outstanding, it caused both nominations to fail. I think you probably understand the reason now. And then there’s Scent of a Woman. It’s really a pity it only won Best Actor.”
“I also think Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance in My Left Foot was excellent. If not for Scent of a Woman, perhaps the Best Actor award should’ve gone to him,” Eric said, glancing toward Daniel Day-Lewis not far away. “I heard that during filming, Daniel became so immersed in the role that he truly regarded himself as disabled and often needed help even to eat.”
Harvey Weinstein looked around before lowering his voice slightly. “Actually, I originally planned to campaign for Best Actor. Although My Left Foot was excellent, it was still a British film, and the protagonist was also an Irish artist. So even though My Left Foot received five nominations, the only realistic chance was Best Actor. But after Scent of a Woman appeared, I knew Daniel’s Best Actor chances were finished as well, and the chances for Best Picture were even lower. So I switched to campaigning for Best Director instead. Unfortunately, we still couldn’t beat Oliver Stone. After all, he’s been a famous Hollywood director for many years, while Jim Sheridan was directing his first film. In the end, Miramax was simply unlucky this time.”
Eric nodded noncommittally and continued waiting for Harvey to continue. He knew Harvey had not laid all this groundwork merely to reveal a little insider information.
Sure enough, after a brief pause, Harvey Weinstein gestured with his eyes toward Robert Shaye, who was nearby enthusiastically discussing something with several people, before continuing:
“Eric, I know Firefly’s Oscar campaign was led by Mr. Robert Shaye. But you saw the results yourself. A film as excellent as Scent of a Woman—and compared to My Left Foot, it embodies classic American values. Director Martin Brest also has enough qualifications. With all those advantages, it still only won Best Actor, while missing out on both Best Director and Best Picture. That’s the real pity. If Scent of a Woman had been handled by Miramax, I believe it could’ve won at least one of Best Director or Best Picture.”
After hearing Harvey Weinstein’s words, Eric said somewhat regretfully, “Harvey, what you said does make sense. But there’s no place left for Miramax within Firefly now.”
“When I first planned to expand Firefly, I investigated Miramax’s background. I knew you brothers spent years purchasing films in Europe and the Far East before bringing them back for domestic distribution. That means you definitely have a strong foundation and network overseas.”
“My original plan was for Robert Shaye to handle North American distribution, while you brothers would take charge of expanding overseas distribution channels.”
Hearing Eric’s words, Harvey Weinstein could not help licking his dry lips.
Expanding Firefly’s overseas distribution channels was an enormous piece of cake.
After all, the overseas box office results for Eric’s earlier films had been nearly equal to their domestic performance. Pretty Woman had even earned one hundred million dollars more overseas than in North America.
The reason the Weinstein brothers mainly focused on selecting art films to compete for Oscars ultimately came down to lack of strength. Winning awards to gain fame and then earning profits from box office and ancillary revenues was essentially a shortcut strategy.
After all, Hollywood only had one Oscars ceremony each year.
If given the chance to distribute blockbuster commercial films, the Weinstein brothers would undoubtedly change direction without hesitation.
“Then… Eric, I think right now…”
Eric shook his head. “It’s too late now, Harvey. Firefly and New Line have already completed their integration. Although I’m still Firefly’s largest shareholder, I still have to consider Robert’s feelings. Compared to the current Firefly, Miramax’s influence is simply too weak. If we followed the original plan now, Robert definitely wouldn’t be willing to let you brothers share the power of overseas distribution.”
After a trace of disappointment flashed across Harvey Weinstein’s face, he quickly said again, “Eric, actually, what I’m best at is still award campaigning. Perhaps we could…”
“Harvey, why do you think so many people are obsessed with the Oscars?”
Harvey Weinstein paused briefly before replying with a single word: “Profit.”
Eric smiled. “Exactly. That’s why every major film company values the Oscars, but none of them place the Oscars above everything else. Most of the films they produce are still commercial films. Firefly is the same.”
“And for the next several years, Firefly’s main focus will remain on commercial films. Only after we reach a certain level of strength and scale will we begin seriously entering the art film field, using awards and honors to add prestige to the company.”
“Eric, don’t you think these two things can advance side by side?” Harvey asked unwillingly.
“Of course they can. Which is why there’s still a strong possibility we’ll cooperate. But merging is impossible now. Oh, right, there just happens to be a very promising awards contender I’m optimistic about. The film’s producer came tonight too. How about I introduce you?”
Harvey Weinstein nodded disappointedly.
Eric soon brought Harvey over to Julia Roberts and Elizabeth Murdoch. The two women were sitting together on a sofa in the corner, whispering about something.
“Hi, beautiful ladies. Mind if I sit down?” Eric walked over and asked.
The moment she heard Eric’s voice, Julia’s body immediately stiffened. Elizabeth, meanwhile, lifted one leg and kicked toward Eric. “Get lost, womanizer.”
Eric quickly dodged to the side. Looking at the sharp black heel, he silently broke into a cold sweat. At the same time, he suddenly realized both women seemed to have kicked him in the same leg before.
Birds of a feather really do flock together.
“Liz, can you not do this? I already apologized. Look, I’m introducing someone to you.”
Hearing this, Elizabeth reluctantly stood up. Julia also rose to her feet, her eyes wandering for a moment before finally focusing on Eric’s face as she forced out a smile.
Elizabeth glanced at the fat man beside Eric. “You mean him? Harvey Weinstein. I know him.”
Harvey, however, looked at Eric in confusion.
There were probably very few women in Hollywood who would dare kick Eric without hesitation like that, which made Harvey intensely curious about Elizabeth’s identity.
Eric quickly explained, “Harvey, this is Elizabeth Murdoch, second daughter of Mr. Rupert Murdoch.”
“Ah, Miss Murdoch, hello. I never expected you’d know who I am. It’s truly an honor,” Harvey Weinstein immediately said with a wide smile, extending his chubby hand.
Elizabeth reluctantly shook hands with Harvey before turning her attention back to Eric. “So what’s this about?”
“It’s like this. I think once The Silence of the Lambs is produced, it’ll definitely make waves at next year’s Oscars. Harvey is very skilled at award campaigning, so I introduced you to each other.”
“Oh…” Elizabeth dragged out the word, her expression turning slightly angry. “So Firefly handles distribution, makes money, and then doesn’t care about awards afterward?”
Eric waved his hand quickly. “Of course not, Liz. You misunderstood. I mean Harvey is very good at award campaigning, so I want to hand next year’s Oscar campaign for The Silence of the Lambs over to him. Don’t worry, Firefly will cover all the campaign expenses.”
Only after hearing this did Elizabeth snort lightly and raise her chin. “That’s more like it.”
Then she turned toward Harvey Weinstein, her expression clearly asking for confirmation.
Being able to establish ties with the little princess of News Corporation was something Harvey Weinstein naturally desired.
Although he had only overheard fragments of the conversation, Harvey had sharply realized that Elizabeth was now working as a producer. This was an excellent opportunity. If he could establish a cooperative relationship with her, then with the Murdoch family’s financial power, would Miramax still need to keep struggling on such a small scale?
Thinking of this, Harvey’s smile became even more enthusiastic. Every fold in his chubby face seemed filled with delight as he said, “I have no objections at all, Miss Murdoch. It would be an honor to work with you.”
Once the matter was settled, Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively at Eric and Harvey. “Then if there’s nothing else, you can both leave now.”
The two grown men immediately exchanged helpless looks.
Harvey was thinking that they still had not exchanged contact information.
Eric, meanwhile, recalled scenes from palace dramas where imperial concubines dismissed eunuchs from their presence.
Just as Elizabeth was about to pull Julia back down onto the sofa, she suddenly remembered something and said to Eric, “You stay. I still have something to ask you.”
Seeing this, Harvey tactfully left for the time being.
After Harvey walked away, Elizabeth asked, “Mr. Williams, I heard Ghost has already started production.”
Eric’s mouth twitched slightly, but he cooperatively nodded. “Yes, Miss Murdoch. What instructions do you have for me?”
Before Elizabeth could say anything, Julia had already been amused by the exaggerated tone the two were using and burst out laughing.
With the atmosphere ruined, Elizabeth immediately pretended to get angry and reached toward Julia’s waist. It was not until Julia laughed and begged for mercy that Elizabeth finally let her off.
“Hey, I’m just saying, we’re in public here. At least pay attention to appearances.”
“As if it’s your business, you bastard.”
“Alright, alright, it’s not my business anymore. Your Majesty, please tell me what you wanted,” Eric said bitterly, raising both hands in surrender.
There was no helping it.
A threesome might feel great in the moment, but the debt lasted a lifetime.
I won’t stoop to arguing with you two.
“I’m talking about the female lead of your next movie. What do you think about Julia?”
Eric glanced at Julia. Just as he hesitated and was about to speak, Elizabeth immediately raised her brows. “You’re not allowed to refuse. This role is decided.”
“Liz, don’t do this. And I don’t want to work with…” Julia quickly reacted and hurriedly grabbed Elizabeth.
Elizabeth soothingly patted Julia’s thigh and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll stay by your side during filming. I won’t give certain despicable people any more opportunities.”