Chapter 56: I’ll Be Taught into an Idiot
Chapter 56: I’ll Be Taught into an Idiot
Kapoor glanced at it and said, “Here’s what happened. Around 1985, Al Pacino starred in a major Warner Bros. production with an investment of nearly thirty million dollars, but in the end, it only earned a little over three hundred thousand dollars at the box office. Because the pressure was too great, he chose to temporarily retire from acting. I heard that Al has recently been seeking a comeback, so I added his name to the list.”
Thinking of the blind lieutenant colonel in Scent of a Woman, with his delicate yet violent performance and the powerful presence radiating from within that displayed masculine charm to the extreme, Eric could not help asking, “Kapoor, is there any chance we can sign Al under UTA?”
Kapoor hesitated. “I can try my best. After all, Al Pacino was one of the four great genius actors who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Although that 1985 film failed miserably at the box office, there was nothing wrong with Al’s performance. He has been nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars four times. Since he has already signaled his comeback, I believe many agencies will compete to sign him. We have no advantage.”
Eric knew everything Kapoor said was true, so he could only say, “No matter what, we still have to try contacting him. Also, send the male lead invitation for Pretty Woman as soon as possible. If possible, I hope Al Pacino can play Edward.”
“All right.” Kapoor answered, then pointed at the actor lists Eric had selected. “Then, Eric, should we still notify these people to audition?”
“Not for now. Contact Al Pacino first. If he refuses, then we’ll contact these people.”
Over the next few days, Eric once again began working nonstop on auditions for supporting roles, scouting film locations, and contacting shooting sites. Every night, he also drew storyboards until late at night.
At the same time, Eric found time to contact a girls’ boarding school in Los Angeles and threw in a large sponsorship fee. Although Christmas break was less than ten days away, he still drove the fake Lolita who had been clinging to his villa off to school. A little girl with nothing to do and a head full of wild thoughts was truly terrifying. She had even awakened the skill of night raids without a teacher. If this continued, something would definitely go wrong.
“Eric, one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which one do you want first?” On a new day, just after Eric sat in his office and looked at the budget report for a while, Jeffrey rushed in without even remembering to knock.
Seeing that Jeffrey’s expression showed more joy than anything else, Eric smiled. “Give me the good one first, to calm my nerves.”
Jeffrey took out a contract from his briefcase and handed it to Eric. “Lamborghini agreed to the sponsorship plan we proposed. They’re about to launch the new Lamborghini Diablo sports car. After hearing my explanation of what you said before, they quickly agreed. Look, this is the contract. A full one million dollars. Once the news gets out, those people in the industry will be so jealous they’ll go crazy. Plenty of films work themselves to death and may not even earn one million in the end.”
Eric took the contract and looked it over. Lamborghini had indeed agreed to pay one million dollars in advertising fees, but the condition was that Pretty Woman had to reach one hundred million dollars at the North American box office. Based on that figure, if the box office fell below one hundred million dollars, the advertising fee had to be refunded proportionally. Of course, for any amount above that, Lamborghini would also add more proportionally.
This kind of product placement sponsorship was very common in later generations, so Eric did not feel especially excited. He even teased Jeffrey, “Jeffrey, you’re celebrating too early. If our film’s box office doesn’t meet expectations, we’ll still have to return the advertising fee.”
Jeffrey calmed down. Thinking of that possibility, he hesitated. “That… shouldn’t happen, right? Eric, haven’t you always been very confident in this film?”
Eric waved his hand. “All right, I won’t tease you anymore. Tell me the bad news.”
“The bad news is that I contacted several famous jewelry companies, but none of them were willing to pay a cent to sponsor Vivian’s jewelry. Only one jeweler barely agreed to provide a set of jewelry to help with filming.”
It would be strange if they agreed, Eric thought with a laugh. “Jeffrey, although I’m glad you can draw inferences from one example, you may have forgotten that Vivian’s identity is that of a prostitute. It’s already good enough that they agreed to provide jewelry for filming.”
“That’s true. I didn’t think it through.” Jeffrey quickly understood, then asked tentatively, “Eric, why don’t we change Vivian into a white-collar worker? I’m sure I can…”
“Don’t even think about it, Jeffrey. Modifying the script for advertising sponsorship is very stupid. You should just honestly do your work as producer. As for the film’s content, don’t expect me to listen to your suggestions.”
“All right, all right, I know I have a prior record…” Jeffrey smiled awkwardly. “Eric, has Al Pacino responded? I heard you want to invite him to play the male lead?”
“Kapoor is contacting him. But Kapoor called me last night and said Al Pacino is currently in New York. Supposedly, he wants to perform on Broadway for a while first.”
“Then you need to make a decision as soon as possible,” Jeffrey advised. “Christmas break is right around the corner. If the male lead still isn’t settled by then, the plan to begin filming immediately after Christmas break will definitely be shelved.”
Eric nodded with confidence. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
…
In this era, the U.S. dollar was still quite strong. A one million dollar advertising sponsorship fee was absolutely a huge sum. Beverly Hills mansions that would be worth tens of millions of dollars twenty years later only cost around the million-dollar level now. The Lamborghini Diablo sports car Lamborghini was about to launch was priced at only two hundred forty thousand dollars. Since they had spent such a large sum of money, Lamborghini quickly released the news in order to achieve the best promotional effect.
For a while, all kinds of envy, jealousy, and resentment filled the newspapers.
The Los Angeles Times joked, “Rumor has it that the production cost of Eric Williams’ new film is only seven million dollars. Through a single advertising sponsorship from Lamborghini, he has already recovered one-seventh of the investment. It seems our young miracle director is not only a film genius, but also a business genius.”
Hollywood Informer, however, raised doubts. “A sponsorship fee of one million dollars. Is Eric Williams planning to shoot a sports car advertisement more than one hundred minutes long? Judging from the title Pretty Woman, which was leaked by Firefly Films, I find it difficult to connect it with a Lamborghini sports car. I am beginning to doubt the quality of Eric Williams’ new film.”
The above were only the relatively mild comments. In the latest issue of Film Review, the wording was much more intense: “Eric Williams is like a brat who barged into Hollywood to cause trouble. A one million dollar advertising sponsorship fee is simply blasphemy against the art of cinema. Once Eric Williams’ product placement model succeeds this time, one can imagine that under the drive of enormous profits, those profit-seeking producers will massively insert advertisements into films in order to earn more money. Therefore, we call on all those who love the art of film not to walk into cinemas to watch Eric Williams’ new film.”
Unfortunately, Film Review had a rather highbrow tone. Although the American public liked watching films, they were not very interested in such serious film magazines. Therefore, these remarks only stirred up some ripples among rigid and conservative filmmakers and did not cause much impact.
The noise outside did not affect Eric at all. He continued preparing Pretty Woman in an orderly manner.
Of course, aside from the male lead, which remained undecided, preparations for Pretty Woman were already entering their final stage. For the remaining trivial matters, Eric basically did not need to appear personally. Jeffrey was handling all of them.
“Eric, if you insist on inviting Al Pacino, you may need to make a trip to New York.” Kapoor sat across from Eric, looking somewhat tired.
Eric personally got up and made Kapoor a cup of coffee. “Can you tell me the reason?”
“Al Pacino has some questions about your script and has been hesitating. So he proposed meeting with you in person. But he can’t come to Los Angeles himself, because during this period, he’s performing Richard III at a theater on Broadway.”
Eric thought about it. He had already planned to go to New York during Christmas to see Aniston. If he did not show his face and assert his claim soon, then if that girl threw herself into someone else’s arms, he would suffer a huge loss.
“No problem. I happen to need to go to New York. Kapoor, can you come with me then? Maybe we can try persuading Al to join UTA.”
Kapoor nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. Al currently only has a personal manager and no agency. No matter what, I have to go fight for it.”
“Then it’s settled. Buy the plane tickets as soon as possible. Tonight or tomorrow will both work. If the talks don’t succeed, I’ll still have to fly back and contact other male actors for auditions.”
After discussing this matter, Eric drove away from the company and headed toward a girls’ school near the Rose Bowl in northern Los Angeles. Drew had just been sent there a few days ago.
As soon as they met, the girl began complaining nonstop with a miserable little face. “Eric, please, can you change schools for me? Or how about I convert to Scientology, Satanism, or something? Catholic school is so boring, and it’s all girls. I’ll be taught into an idiot.”
Eric smiled and tapped the girl on the head. His own soul came from the East, and he did not have any faith. The reason he sent Drew here was because he listened to Jeffrey’s suggestion. Catholic boarding schools had very strict school traditions, which could properly restrain and polish Drew’s overly restless and unscrupulous personality.
“All right, Drew. Forget about transferring. I paid a large sponsorship fee. I came to tell you that I’ll be going to New York in the next couple of days. If everything goes smoothly, I probably won’t be back until after Christmas. You have the key to my house. If school goes on break and you don’t want to go home, you can go to my place. If anything happens, call Jeffrey. He’ll help you.”
When Drew heard Eric’s words, she said gloomily, “Are you going to see Aniston?”
Eric did not deny it. He nodded, gave her a few more instructions, then drove away in a hurry under Drew’s gaze, which looked like that of a resentful young wife.