Chapter 320: Leave Him Hanging a Bit
Chapter 320: Leave Him Hanging a Bit
“Although practical model effects are still the mainstream technology used in special effects films right now, I’m certain that in as little as ten years, or at most twenty, CG effects will definitely replace practical model effects as the mainstream of special effects films. About ten years ago, Industrial Light & Magic already created fully CG scenes in movies, and in Jim’s The Abyss last year, there were even fully CG characters. These are all the most direct manifestations of that development trend,” Eric said eloquently to Stan Winston and James Cameron across from him inside Clar’s Restaurant.
Although the two men opposite him both came from special effects backgrounds, Eric naturally had no intention of showing off in front of experts regarding professional special effects technology.
However, as a transmigrator, Eric understood the development trends of film special effects far more clearly than either of them. Therefore, once he found the right topic, it was easy for him to seize the initiative in the conversation.
“Eric, I don’t agree with what you’re saying. Although CG effects can create more diverse scenes, they’re ultimately still too expensive. By comparison, practical model effects are much cheaper. You surely know about Jim’s The Terminator. That movie only cost 6.5 million dollars. If CG effects had been used, perhaps even that 6.5 million wouldn’t have been enough just for the effects budget,” Stan Winston rebutted.
“That’s true, of course. I’m only saying that CG effects are the primary future trend of film special effects. But practical model effects will always have their own place,” Eric replied before suddenly turning casually toward James Cameron. “Jim, have you ever considered making a sequel to The Terminator? I remember reading in an interview that you said there were many regrets in the first film that you never got to realize.”
Upon hearing this question, James Cameron and Stan Winston exchanged glances simultaneously.
The group had already been chatting for more than half an hour, and lunch was almost over. Originally, James Cameron had not known how to bring up the topic himself.
Unexpectedly, Eric had asked about it first.
“Eric, actually, I’ve already written the script for the second film. I’m just currently looking for investors,” James Cameron said with feigned restraint.
Although he had been called a tyrant on set, James Cameron was not hot-tempered in everyday life. When seeking investment for films, he knew every little trick in the book. Otherwise, in Eric’s previous life, he would not have repeatedly exceeded budgets while repeatedly securing more funding.
Eric naturally understood Cameron’s little schemes.
Moreover, he was extremely familiar with Cameron’s current situation.
Although Cameron had not yet evolved into the future “King of the World,” as a transmigrator, Eric naturally paid particular attention to that name. Since he also maintained the habit of reading newspapers and magazines every day, he knew many developments in Hollywood like the back of his hand. Whenever James Cameron’s name occasionally appeared in the papers, Eric would subconsciously pay extra attention and remember it.
James Cameron’s The Abyss from the previous year had cost as much as 70 million dollars, exactly twice the budget of Warner’s globally successful Batman from that same year.
Although the film ultimately received widespread praise and multiple Oscar nominations, its box office performance had been disastrous.
It earned only a little over 50 million dollars domestically in North America, while overseas revenue totaled merely 30 million dollars.
Poor box office performance naturally meant weak merchandise sales as well, so the film ultimately caused Fox losses exceeding 30 million dollars.
This was the only film in Eric’s memory that had ever caused James Cameron’s investors to lose money.
After being badly burned once, Fox naturally had no intention of investing in Cameron’s new movie, especially not a seemingly even more expensive Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Although the first film had performed well at the box office, that alone was not enough for Fox to risk opening their wallets again.
As for the other six major studios, who had barely worked with Cameron before, they were even less likely to hand over money easily.
In Eric’s memories, Terminator 2: Judgment Day had ultimately been produced by an independent film company called Carolco, which practically emptied its coffers to scrape together 100 million dollars for production. The result was over 500 million dollars in worldwide box office revenue.
Although the investment was rather high, Eric definitely had no intention of letting such a guaranteed blockbuster slip away.
And he had no intention of letting Cameron himself slip away either.
After considering things briefly, Eric continued asking, “Jim, if possible, could you briefly talk about the plot of Terminator 2: Judgment Day?”
Seeing that Eric seemed interested in the film, James Cameron immediately felt a spark of hope ignite within him.
“Of course. But please keep it confidential. Don’t leak it.”
“That’s only natural,” Eric nodded before glancing toward Jennifer Connelly, who was dutifully acting as a decorative vase beside him. “Jennie…”
The woman immediately understood and smiled, revealing her small tiger teeth.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone either.”
“Then the story roughly goes like this…”
James Cameron briefly explained the first draft of his outline.
When Jennifer Connelly heard Cameron’s concept of a liquid metal robot, her eyes widened slightly in disbelief.
Eric, however, already had the completed film stored in his memories.
Moreover, James Cameron had little talent for verbally telling stories, so Eric displayed no unusual reaction at all. He merely listened attentively, occasionally noticing some differences between Cameron’s current outline and the finished film from memory.
For example, in Cameron’s version, Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, had not been locked in a mental institution.
Of course, those were only insignificant details.
Throughout the entire narration, Cameron and Stan Winston had both been quietly observing Eric’s expression.
When they discovered that Eric’s expression barely changed at all, Cameron immediately began feeling uneasy.
If a story failed to interest investors, then the chances of obtaining funding would naturally become microscopic.
“Jim, according to your concept, this film definitely won’t be cheap. Have you done a preliminary budget estimate?” Eric asked after Cameron finished speaking.
“I have. Although the liquid metal robot concept may cost somewhat more, I only need seven— no, six million… no, sixty million dollars. I only need sixty million dollars to make this film. The liquid metal robot doesn’t necessarily need to be done entirely with computer CG. Some scenes can still use relatively inexpensive practical models. Stan and I have already discussed this,” Cameron said.
Toward the end, he unconsciously shifted into actively pitching the film to Eric, completely abandoning his earlier pretended restraint.
After all, among all the connections he knew, Eric was the most likely person capable of producing that amount of money.
The funds from Firefly’s films released around last year’s Christmas season had already begun returning, and combined with videotapes and other merchandise, they could bring at least 400 million dollars into Firefly.
Stan Winston quickly added, “That’s right, Eric. Some scenes can use mercury or models instead. Sixty million dollars in investment is already sufficient.”
If you can actually make it for sixty million, I’ll be damned, Eric thought inwardly.
His expression became solemn.
“Sixty million dollars… that’s almost ten times the investment of the previous film. Firefly has never handled a production with such a massive budget before.”
“Eric, trust me, this film absolutely won’t disappoint you—”
Cameron was about to continue speaking when Eric interrupted him.
Since James Cameron still had not found investors, leaving “the future King of the World” hanging for a bit was very necessary.
If funding came too easily, Cameron would become even more reckless with spending.
Eric had even briefly considered making Jeffrey the producer of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but quickly abandoned the thought.
Jeffrey’s frugality and Cameron’s extravagance were polar opposites. Putting the two together would almost certainly end in a fight.
“Sorry, Jim. I need to consider this carefully. A sixty million dollar investment isn’t a small amount. Let’s talk about today’s main matter instead.”
Turning toward Stan Winston, Eric continued:
“Stan, I believe you’ve probably already guessed part of it. I intend to establish a film special effects company and would like to invite you and your team to join. In the future, this company would handle most of Firefly’s film special effects work.”
Stan Winston did not become upset over Cameron being rejected.
Eric’s cautious reaction toward Terminator 2: Judgment Day had practically been inevitable. If Eric had immediately agreed, that would have been the truly abnormal thing.
“Eric, why me? I mean, there are many outstanding special effects teams in Hollywood.”
Eric recalled a sentence Stan Winston had once spoken in his previous life and replied with a smile:
“Because what they create is merely special effects. But what you create is performances through special effects.”
Stan Winston was visibly moved.
That sentence struck directly at the most sensitive nerve deep inside him.
Long ago, Stan Winston’s dream had been to become a film actor.
But dreams and reality always differed greatly.
After graduating from university, Stan Winston spent three years at Disney as a makeup apprentice before founding his own Winston Studio.
Later, he realized he had never truly abandoned his dream.
Actors performed using themselves.
He performed through special effects.
Because of that, Stan Winston had maintained the same passion for film special effects throughout all these years.
People even frequently described him as “crazy.”
This unwavering obsession with film special effects was the greatest reason behind Stan Winston’s success.
Honestly speaking, without Stan Winston, there was no way James Cameron could have created the classic The Terminator with a mere 6.5 million dollar budget back then.
One had to understand that due to severe financial shortages, the Terminator robot in the first film had merely been a simple metal model without any mechanical motion systems.
As a result, the robot movement effects shots in the movie had almost entirely been filmed frame by frame using methods similar to stop-motion animation.
A movie contains twenty-four frames per second.
That meant one minute contained 1,440 frames.
The sheer workload involved in creating several minutes of footage was unimaginably complex.
Without sufficient belief and passion in one’s heart, nobody could possibly persevere through it.