Chapter 308: A Pent-Up Breath
Chapter 308: A Pent-Up Breath
“Here, breakfast,” Nicole Kidman casually placed the tray in front of Eric before sitting down on the other side by herself.
Eric, who had just sat at the table, looked at the contents of the tray and asked, “Where’s the milk? Also, I’ve said before that I don’t like eggs fried on only one side.”
“Eat it or don’t. Also, I have work in New York for a few days. When I come back, I won’t be coming here anymore. You can go back to letting the servants prepare your breakfast,” Nicole said while viciously stabbing at the salad in front of her with a fork.
Eric laughed softly. “You’re still angry? Drew left yesterday, and now you’re leaving today too. Won’t the villa end up with only me left again?”
“Hmph, what does that have to do with me? Anyway, if you crook a finger, women will definitely throw themselves at you,” Nicole huffed angrily.
“Alright, alright. I formally apologize for what I did yesterday, Miss Kidman. Will you forgive me?”
“No. You’re a bastard. My… that thing hurt for a long time.”
Eric casually unfolded the newspaper on the table and said, “Isn’t that your fault too? If you didn’t take every opportunity to tease me, none of that would’ve happened.”
“You… I’m not talking to you anymore.” Nicole pursed her lips and lowered her head, angrily devouring her breakfast. She bit into the vegetable salad with loud crunching noises, as though she were biting Eric himself.
The woman usually always carried herself in a calm and composed manner. Before this, Eric had never seen her lose composure. This was the first time he had seen Nicole throwing a little tantrum.
To be honest, she was actually pretty cute like this.
Smiling, Eric stood up and took milk from the refrigerator, pouring himself a glass before pushing it toward Nicole.
“Want some milk too? If you keep eating only salad, your body won’t hold up. Your figure’s already great, so why are you suddenly dieting again? I actually prefer a little softness.”
Nicole glared at Eric again, but still poured herself a glass of milk.
Eric smiled and drank a few mouthfuls. While eating breakfast, he casually flipped through the newspaper in front of him.
A while later, Eric suddenly put down his utensils and picked up one of the newspapers.
The photo on it was instantly recognizable—it showed the scene of him meeting with Tom Cruise yesterday. The picture had been taken through the restaurant window. Eric and Nicole were only visible from behind, but the faces of Cruise and Paula Wagner were exceptionally clear.
“Tom Cruise Criticizes Ghost in Person, Suspected Falling-Out with Williams”
“Hollywood-famous director Eric Williams’ new film is currently in intense pre-production, and the casting of the male and female leads has become the center of public attention.
“Yesterday, this paper’s reporters discovered Eric Williams meeting with Tom Cruise at a famous restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in Hollywood. It is suspected that Eric Williams invited Tom Cruise to join his new film as the male lead.
“However, things seemed to go very poorly. Through analysis of Tom Cruise’s lip movements, this paper’s reporters discovered that negotiations between the two sides appeared highly unsuccessful.
“Cruise described starring as the male lead in Ghost as ‘extremely stupid’ in front of Williams. Tom Cruise did not discuss Ghost much with Eric Williams. Instead, he had a very pleasant conversation with Williams’ female companion, Nicole Kidman, who became famous overnight through Sleepless in Seattle, and even invited Nicole Kidman to join his new movie.
“He further stated that the female lead in Ghost had no room for performance whatsoever and was merely a decorative vase role that cried nonstop.
“After Cruise and Paula Wagner separated from Williams, Williams and Nicole Kidman remained seated for a long time. Because they had their backs turned, we have no way of knowing what they discussed. However, after a period of conversation, Williams abruptly stood up and left, while Nicole Kidman chased after him with an anxious expression.
“From the looks of things, this famous playboy was extremely dissatisfied with Nicole Kidman’s interaction with Tom Cruise. Perhaps because he failed to stop Nicole Kidman from appearing in Cruise’s new movie, he angrily stormed off.
“A rift may very likely have appeared between Williams and Nicole Kidman because of Tom Cruise.”
Eric helplessly reread the newspaper several times before handing it to Nicole across from him.
“Take a look. Something happened again.”
Nicole read through the article, then curled her lips. “The newspaper’s right. A rift really has appeared between us.”
“Nicole, your little temper tantrums are actually really cute. If you don’t believe me, go look in a mirror.”
“Hmph!”
Nicole snorted coldly and ignored Eric’s teasing, continuing to eat breakfast.
But Eric no longer had any appetite.
Although he did not care at all about falling out with Cruise, the comments in the newspaper regarding Ghost forced him to take the matter seriously. If they did not clarify and strike back quickly enough, and the media shifted their attention toward Ghost, it might create preconceived notions among the public.
If the movie earned the reputation of being a bad film before filming had even started, that would be terrible.
Taking the newspaper with him, Eric walked into the living room and dialed Kapur’s number. After discussing things with him for a while, Kapur stated that he would contact Cruise’s side as soon as possible to issue a statement.
There were no direct quotes in the paper from either Eric or Nicole, which meant the tabloid reporters had merely deciphered fragments of the conversation through lip reading rather than recording audio. Otherwise, the conversation between Eric and Nicole after Cruise and Paula Wagner left had been far more newsworthy and definitely would have been exposed.
After hanging up, Eric returned to the dining room and glanced at Nicole, who was still leisurely eating breakfast.
“Tabloid reporters can even read lips now. Looks like we’ll have to be even more careful in the future. Even without people nearby or hidden bugs, we still can’t casually say anything.”
Nicole rolled her eyes at Eric and ignored him.
Eric continued eating breakfast while reading the papers.
However, this meal was destined not to remain peaceful.
Very soon, in another newspaper, Eric saw a photo of a man and woman walking side by side. The man wore an attentive expression, while the woman carried a faint smile on her face.
Shaking his head, Eric picked up that newspaper and once again headed to the living room. After making another phone call and giving several instructions, he finally returned calmly and finished breakfast.
After breakfast, Eric drove Nicole to the airport before heading toward Firefly headquarters.
By the time he arrived at the company, it was already close to ten in the morning, though it happened to coincide perfectly with his scheduled meeting with Robert Shaye at ten o’clock.
Because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had achieved tremendous box office success, Robert Shaye’s emotions these past few days had inevitably become somewhat complicated.
After all, when Firefly acquired New Line, the company had only been valued at 150 million dollars. Robert Shaye had only barely managed to extort ten percent of Firefly’s shares from Eric while Eric was in trouble, increasing his total stake in Firefly to twenty-five percent.
But immediately afterward, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered.
In its first week alone, the film earned thirty million dollars at the box office. While ecstatic inside, Robert Shaye also could not avoid falling into tremendous regret.
Because if he had insisted on not selling New Line back then, the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles now would have belonged solely to New Line.
Judging from the current box office trajectory, surpassing one hundred million dollars domestically posed absolutely no problem. Overseas markets, VHS sales, and merchandise would also easily generate over one hundred million dollars in profit combined.
On top of that, the film could spawn sequels.
Based on this one movie alone, New Line’s market value could at least have doubled.
“If only I hadn’t sold,” Robert Shaye had privately beaten his chest in regret more than once over the past few days, but it was all useless now.
Inside a small conference room at Firefly, four people gradually took seats around a small meeting table. Robert Shaye then introduced the two people beside him to Eric.
“Eric, these are the scripts I’ve selected over the past few days. Take a look first. Oh, and these two are Ronald Bass and Nancy Price, the screenwriter and original novel author of this script.”
Eric nodded and accepted the script. Looking at the title on the cover, his brows immediately lifted slightly.
Sleeping with the Enemy.
In his memories, this was a movie starring Julia Roberts, and it had apparently performed very well at the box office.
“Eric, is there a problem?” Robert Shaye noticed the strange expression on Eric’s face and assumed Eric was dissatisfied with the script again.
However, this time, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as backing, Robert Shaye’s confidence had greatly increased. He even felt that so what if he failed once? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had already earned a huge amount of money for Firefly, money that originally should have belonged to him.
Therefore, even if Eric objected again, Robert Shaye had absolutely no intention of compromising anymore.
Eric shook his head. “Nothing.”
After saying that, he opened the script and rapidly flipped through it page by page.
Several minutes later, Eric finished reading it and looked up at Robert Shaye.
“Robert, are you sure you want to produce this movie?”
Robert Shaye nodded firmly. “Eric, you said before that you wouldn’t interfere with my script choices anymore. As long as I chose one, you’d sign off on it.”
Hearing the resentment hidden in Robert Shaye’s tone, Eric naturally understood why.
Smiling faintly, he said, “Of course. I always keep my word. This thriller script is pretty good. By the way, have you selected actors yet?”
Robert Shaye had originally been prepared to argue fiercely with Eric. Seeing that Eric had not voiced any objections whatsoever this time, the pent-up frustration he had accumulated suddenly found nowhere to vent, leaving him awkward and silent for a moment.
Soon, however, he said, “Yes. That’s also why I brought Ronald Bass and Nancy Price here today. Ronald, you explain.”
Ronald, who had been sitting beside Robert Shaye the entire time, said, “Mr. Williams, it’s like this. After the script was finished, Nancy and I unanimously felt that Julia Roberts would be the most suitable actress for the female lead.
“However, we already sent out an invitation before, and Julia Roberts’ agent rejected it directly. Mr. Shaye said perhaps you could help.”
“Robert, what do you think?” Eric turned toward Robert Shaye again.
Robert Shaye nodded. “I also think Julia Roberts is the most suitable actress for the female lead in this film. I even personally called Kapur Sid, but Kapur said Ms. Roberts didn’t like the script, so she didn’t want to do it.
“I figured that with your relationship with Julia, you should be able to persuade her.”
Eric rubbed the script thoughtfully for a while before finally nodding.
“Alright. I’ll try.”
“Eric, we all know about your relationship with Julia, so please give me an exact answer, alright?” Robert Shaye continued.
Eric raised his brows. After thinking briefly, he still nodded.
“Fine. I guarantee Julia will star in it. But regarding the salary, you’ll have to negotiate personally with Kapur. UTA no longer exists, and Kapur and I are only good friends now, so I can’t interfere with Julia’s salary anymore.”
“That’s completely fine,” Robert Shaye said. “Oh right, I made a rough estimate for this movie. The budget should be around thirty million dollars. I also plan to hire an A-list male star.”
Eric briefly reconsidered the script he had just read and recalled the film from memory. He knew very well this movie definitely would not cost thirty million dollars.
Looking at Robert Shaye, who seemed eager to “argue on solid grounds” with him, Eric chuckled softly.
“Alright then. Thirty million dollars.”
Once again, the breath Robert Shaye had been holding found nowhere to release itself. Irritated, he picked up the coffee in front of him and drank several mouthfuls.
For some reason, today he had come fully prepared, determined to quarrel with Eric or do something similar. Yet up until now, Eric simply refused to give him any opportunity whatsoever.
“Ronald, Nancy, wait in my office for a while first. Eric and I still need to discuss some other matters. I’ll talk with you about the movie afterward.”
“Alright, Mr. Shaye.”
The two were socially experienced enough to sense that the atmosphere between the pair was not particularly harmonious, so they quickly left the office.
“Eric, regarding the overseas distribution for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I think it’d be best to let Disney handle it. Michael Eisner is offering a very high percentage. If we do it ourselves according to your previous plan, I think we’d lose at least over ten million dollars in profit,” Robert Shaye said after the others left, bringing up the distribution issue.
“Michael Eisner contacted you?” Eric asked in surprise.
“Of course,” Robert Shaye replied, seemingly believing he had caught dissatisfaction in Eric’s tone. He immediately continued:
“Eric, I know Michael Eisner really targeted you some time ago. But that’s already in the past. Besides, you already accepted the Ghost script. I think this matter should end here.
“And I only contacted Michael Eisner for Firefly’s benefit.”