Chapter 305: Not Expecting Much

Hearing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the question, Drew chuckled awkwardly and tried to smooth things over. “I was just curious. Oh right, I even brought you a gift. It’s in my suitcase. I’ll give it to you tonight.”

“You’re definitely hiding something from me,” Eric said as he flicked the girl on the forehead. “If you caused trouble, you’d better not let me be the last to know, otherwise I won’t bother dealing with you.”

“Hmph, if you won’t deal with me, then who will?” the girl replied after Eric sat down in his office chair.

Eric laughed as he picked up the folder on the desk and casually flipped it open. “Heh, now you’re really sticking to me.”

“That’s obvious,” the young girl said. After glancing at the documents in Eric’s hands, she casually asked, “What are these?”

“The backup candidate list for the male lead of Ghost,” Eric answered.

The girl casually pulled out a few profiles, dragged over a chair, and began flipping through them as well, occasionally letting out sounds like “Wow” and “So handsome.”

Eric helplessly shook his head and said nothing, continuing to browse the files.

The casting process for Ghost was very different from the casting of Eric’s previous films. Before, they would release audition notices and then accept actor profiles submitted voluntarily for open casting.

But with Eric’s current status, if they still used that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fishing-net approach to casting, the number of submitted profiles would probably overwhelm Firefly’s mailroom, and sorting through them would become a major problem. Therefore, this time Ghost’s casting process simply established a series of requirements and handed them to the three major talent agencies, asking them to recommend suitable actors.

Although many actors from small agencies would lose opportunities because of this, there was no helping it. Hollywood had always been this unfair, and no one could change that.

Even so, Eric still had over a hundred profiles for potential male leads in his hands.

As for the original male and female leads from Ghost, Eric had never considered them from the beginning.

Because of certain memories from his previous life, Eric simply did not like Demi Moore. That reason alone was sufficient. With his current status, there was no need for him to explain himself to anyone.

As for Patrick Swayze, Eric still felt the man was better suited to action films. The male lead Sam in the movie was set as a department manager at a Wall Street investment bank, but no matter how Eric looked at it, Patrick Swayze seemed more suitable to play the security guard standing outside the investment bank entrance.

In Eric’s memory, Demi Moore’s performance in Ghost had at least been somewhat commendable, but Patrick Swayze had been nothing more than a male flower vase, and not even a particularly attractive one.

Eric felt that the male lead in this film should first possess the aura of a successful bank manager, and secondly carry a bit of an artistic temperament.

Actually, when he first considered the male lead, one person had almost immediately come to mind.

That’s right. Tom Cruise.

Whether in acting ability, appearance, or box office appeal, Cruise completely fit Eric’s requirements. Although there had been some estrangement between the two because of their previous cooperation on Running Out of Time, Eric still had someone send Cruise an invitation. The other side had also responded. There was no specific content, only an appointment for an in-person meeting tomorrow.

Ever since Cruise left Creative Artists Agency and established his own production company, he still had not produced a single film. However, Eric had also heard through inquiries that Cruise’s production company was already preparing a movie and had secured investment from Paramount Pictures. Cruise and his partner Paula Wagner were both serving as producers.

Therefore, although Eric agreed to tomorrow’s meeting, he did not hold much hope that Cruise would actually participate in Ghost. It was more practical to patiently select from the actors in front of him.

Eric sat in the study reading profiles and chatting with the young girl from time to time. Before they realized it, the sky outside had already gone completely dark.

A little after seven o’clock, Nicole finally called the two of them to dinner.

“Come on, hurry and eat dinner. I bet you’re hungry too. Oh right, tonight is the premiere of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. I already had people slip those questions you came up with into the question bank. They might appear tonight,” Eric said as he led the girl out of the study.

Inside the dining room, Drew chattered endlessly about what she had seen while filming The Silence of the Lambs in Pennsylvania. Nicole sat beside Eric, occasionally placing food into the man’s bowl, looking gentle and attentive.

If the talking young girl had been ten years younger, the scene would have looked exactly like a family of three.

After dinner, Drew impatiently rushed into a slightly smaller living room and switched the television to Fox Broadcasting Company. The program had not started yet.

Not long afterward, Eric carried a laptop into the room. Sitting in the middle of the long sofa, he placed the laptop on his knees and casually typed away.

Although it was IBM’s latest laptop model, compared to those from Eric’s previous life, it still looked incredibly bulky and ugly. Its specifications were also unbelievably poor. But there were no better laptops on the market right now, so Eric could only make do with it. In any case, he only used it to write scripts and read files. Although the computer’s memory was extremely low, it was sufficient for office work.

After washing the dishes, Nicole also soon entered the living room carrying a fruit platter and sat down on Eric’s other side. Watching his fingers skillfully dance across the keyboard, a trace of admiration flashed through her eyes.

What exactly was there that this man could not do?

“Wow, it’s starting! Eric, stop working already. Let’s watch TV, okay?”

Eric nodded and closed the laptop.

The studio design for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was very simple. There was a platform in the center, with the host and contestant sitting on opposite sides. A ring of live audience members sat below the stage, and behind them was a large screen displaying the questions.

The contestants were divided into several groups. Each group had to go through a brief competition round. Whoever answered enough questions correctly first would earn the opportunity to sit onstage face-to-face with the host.

“Huh? Eric, why do I feel like this is very different from the proposal I saw before? A lot of the settings weren’t used, and the questions aren’t categorized either. I remember your proposal included settings where contestants could choose categories and stuff like that. Ugh… I’m disappointed,” Drew complained after watching for a while while leaning against Eric.

Eric casually explained, “It’s a strategy.”

“What strategy?” Drew asked curiously. Nicole also looked over.

“Doing it this way makes it easier to upgrade the program later and extend its lifespan. If the show starts out already perfectly designed, then there won’t be much room for future changes. In that case, once viewers get tired of it, the show’s lifespan is basically over.

“But now, since the show doesn’t look completely perfect at the beginning, we can save some of the more novel elements for later. Once viewers start experiencing aesthetic fatigue and ratings begin to decline, we can release those features at the right time, which will attract audience interest again.

“It’s just like the clothes you girls wear. Every year, fashion companies release new styles. Even if the changes aren’t that significant, as long as they have that gimmick and add proper advertising, customers will happily swipe their credit cards and spend money.”

“So that’s how it is,” the girl nodded in understanding. Nicole also revealed a thoughtful expression.

Meanwhile, on the television, the first contestant had already been selected and walked onto the central stage. After a brief self-introduction, the tense question-answering officially began.

Although some of the program’s early segment designs were relatively simple, Firefly and Fox had put tremendous effort into atmosphere building.

Every sentence from the host, every prompt sound from the television, and even the ticking countdown sounds during the questions all kept the audience on edge.

Moreover, the initial questions were all very easy. While the individual contestant on stage might hesitate, if a whole family was sitting in front of the television, they could probably discuss briefly and arrive at the answer together. This situation would also give viewers a sense of superiority, causing them to quickly become fond of the program.

“Wow, the highest average-altitude plateau in the world? Such an easy question and he still doesn’t know it? Even I know that. Eric, these aren’t planted actors, are they? Deliberately trying to hook viewers?” Drew suspiciously asked while watching the hesitant expression of the middle-aged contestant from Ohio on television.

Eric shrugged. “How could that be? This show’s entire appeal is authenticity. These people were selected from all across America. Besides, other television stations and media outlets are all watching closely. If we used planted actors and it got exposed, it would seriously damage the show’s popularity.

“Although this really is a very simple question, everyone has their own blind spots in knowledge. No one can predict where they’ll suddenly get stuck.”

Drew nodded, barely accepting Eric’s explanation. Meanwhile, after using a lifeline, the contestant on television successfully answered the question.

Eric did not follow the British version’s fifteen-question system. Instead, he chose twelve questions and also established two guaranteed-money checkpoints at the fifth and tenth questions.

Because this was the very first episode, the production team had specifically selected several outstanding contestants. They also did not mind if a millionaire appeared in the first episode. On the contrary, that would stimulate the audience’s interest even more.

Probably because she had just returned from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠East Coast, Drew persisted through most of the program before eventually falling asleep on Eric’s lap.

Just as the show was nearing its end, the living room telephone rang. Nicole very consciously stood up and brought over the cordless phone.

Eric pressed the answer button, responded with several brief “Mm-hm” and “Ah” sounds, then hung up.

“What is it?” Nicole vaguely overheard a few words and curiously asked.

“The rough ratings statistics are out,” Eric calmly replied after glancing at Nicole. “Peak viewership: thirty-three million. Average: twenty-eight million. Not as good as Friends.”

Nicole secretly clicked her tongue in amazement. An average audience of twenty-eight million meant that once the numbers stabilized, it would definitely become another highly rated program with more than twenty million viewers.

For a show like that, each episode’s advertising fees would not be lower than five million dollars, equivalent to her current asking salary for a movie role.

She would be lucky to act in one or two films a year, and her salary was highly unstable. But this show could bring in five million dollars every week.

If her film salary remained at its current level, then the annual revenue from this program alone would probably equal a lifetime of acting income for her.

“Eric, how much profit share can Firefly get from this show?” Nicole could not help asking.

Eric glanced at her. Although this matter was not especially sensitive, it also was not suitable for broadcasting everywhere.

“Fox and we share the rights equally, so the advertising revenue is split fifty-fifty. The production side and broadcasting side are also split about half-and-half. Besides, variety shows like this earn very little from videotape merchandise.

“So even if the ratings are comparable to Friends, the final profit is still much lower than Friends. However, this kind of show can generate much broader popularity. Every TV drama has age restrictions in terms of audience demographics, but this variety program barely has any. I believe people from eight to eighty years old would all be very interested in it.”

Although Eric said quite a lot, Nicole’s mind was already calculating rapidly.

Then she realized Eric personally could probably receive around one million dollars in profit share from this program every week.

One million dollars a week.

Compared to that, her current film salary was practically insignificant. Comparing people truly was enough to make someone furious.

The television program unknowingly finished playing. Eric strangely glanced at Nicole, who was still sitting motionlessly on the sofa in deep thought. He picked up the sleeping girl and said, “It’s already late. You should rest early too. I’m taking Drew back to her room.”

“Oh… okay,” Nicole quickly nodded.

Eric carried Drew back to the large bed in her bedroom, then returned to his own room to wash up. Not long after he turned off the lights and climbed into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bed, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.

“Drew, is that you?” Eric asked, thinking the girl had run over again to cling to him.

“It’s me,” Nicole softly replied in the darkness.

Eric’s hand, which had originally been about to switch on the bedside lamp, paused upon hearing Nicole’s voice.

The woman drifted over lightly, quickly climbed onto the bed, and slipped into his arms.

To be honest, Eric still very much enjoyed sleeping while holding a fragrant female body in his arms. Pulling the woman tightly against him, he lightly kissed her forehead and said, “Sleep.”

“Mhm,” Nicole softly responded.

Her restless hand, however, reached toward Eric’s crotch.

“Nicole, I’m a little tired today,” Eric said while caressing the woman’s back.

Nicole breathed lightly and said, “You don’t need to move. I’ll do it.”

After saying that, the woman removed her clothes, lifted the blanket, climbed on top of Eric, and slowly lowered herself onto him.

Eric placed his hands on the woman’s waist and quietly enjoyed the movement of her hips.

No one knew how much time passed before the two simultaneously released satisfied sighs. Nicole weakly collapsed onto Eric’s chest. After resting for a while, she stuck out her tongue and slowly licked across Eric’s chest, gradually moving downward before carefully cleaning him off. Only then did she quickly run into the bathroom.

A short while later, Nicole returned and curled up in Eric’s arms again.

“We didn’t use any protection. Will it be okay?” Eric softly asked while stroking the woman’s smooth bare back.

Nicole hesitated for a moment, but quickly replied, “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

Eric paused briefly. At a time like this, he could not bring himself to say anything too harsh, so he only repeated, “I don’t want children this early.”

“I understand,” Nicole obediently nodded in the darkness.

Her eyes flickered several times before dimming again. Although she had originally harbored certain thoughts, if Eric had already spoken this clearly and she still ignored it, there definitely would not be any good outcome.

Eric also seemed to sense Nicole’s disappointment and soon said, “Oh right, I have a meeting tomorrow with Tom Cruise. I need a female companion, so come with me.”

“Tom Cruise?” Nicole asked.

“Yeah. It’s about the male lead role for Ghost. Honestly, I don’t particularly like him, but he really does fit the role. Still, I’m not holding much hope. I’m just trying to make contact first.

“Cruise now has his own production company. I’m guessing his asking price definitely won’t be low. The chances of reaching an agreement are very small.”

“Oh,” Nicole replied indifferently with a nod.

The next afternoon, Eric brought Nicole to a famous restaurant in Beverly Hills.

After speaking briefly with a waiter, another server led him and Nicole to the reserved table. Looking at the time, it was already close to noon, less than five minutes from the agreed meeting time.

Eric had originally assumed Cruise would have arrived long ago, but the man still had not appeared. As a result, Eric held even less hope for this meeting.

Nicole flipped through the menu in her hands and curiously asked Eric, “This is the right place, right?”

Eric awkwardly smiled. “Relax, it’s right. But in Hollywood, there are still people capable of making me wait.”

Nicole nodded noncommittally. She could tell Eric had already become somewhat distracted, so she also sensed that today’s meeting would probably not go too smoothly.

Twelve o’clock arrived very quickly, yet Cruise still had not appeared. Eric casually toyed with the cutlery in his hands and was just about to ask the waiter to bring coffee for the two of them when Cruise’s voice finally sounded behind him.

“I’m really sorry, Eric. Traffic on the road,” Cruise apologized, though there was not much apologetic expression on his face.

“It’s fine. We also just arrived not long ago,” Eric replied as he shook hands with Cruise before also shaking hands with Paula Wagner, who was standing beside him.