Chapter 76: Super Bowl Night
Chapter 76: Super Bowl Night
After asking John Lasseter to pass along a message to Jobs, Eric temporarily set Pixar aside. Given Steve Jobs’s current situation, Eric believed there was more than a ninety percent chance the other party would accept his offer.
Even if Jobs stubbornly refused to let go of Pixar, was Silicon Valley really lacking in 3D animation technicians?
On January 21, Pretty Woman officially wrapped filming. The originally planned three-week shooting schedule had actually been completed in just over two weeks, further cementing Eric’s reputation among the crew as a “fast shooter.”
Moreover, over the past few days, Eric had stayed up late editing the 59-second Super Bowl trailer. On the morning filming wrapped, Jeffrey departed for New York once again with the trailer in hand.
Even with the support of a young, energetic body, after more than two weeks of high-intensity work, Eric still felt deeply exhausted. There was no wrap party, nor any emotional farewell scene. Everyone lived in Los Angeles anyway. Once the work was done, they packed up their things and went their separate ways.
Coincidentally, the next day was the annual Super Bowl Sunday. Even someone like Eric, who felt absolutely nothing toward the Super Bowl, could still sense the fanatical anticipation most of the crew had for the occasion. Cinematographer Nickel Frank and several other crew members, ignoring the exhaustion accumulated over so many days, headed straight to the airport and flew to Miami the moment Eric announced filming was complete.
If you weren’t American, it was difficult to understand Americans’ obsession with the Super Bowl.
At some point in history, Lamar Hunt, founder of the American Football League, saw his daughter playing with a Super Ball while trying to come up with a name for the championship game between the two football leagues. Inspiration struck, and he named it the Super Bowl. In fact, “Super Ball” and “Super Bowl” sounded exactly the same in English. Somebody had clearly been slacking off.
After decades of development, the Super Bowl had become a nationwide carnival for all Americans. Its television broadcast had also become the highest-rated program every year. That was precisely why Eric had insisted on placing the Pretty Woman trailer during the Super Bowl broadcast.
He did not know how long he had slept. When he finally woke up, it was already the following afternoon. Eric stretched hard, listening to the crackling sounds coming from all the joints in his body, then got dressed, washed up, and walked downstairs looking refreshed.
A petite figure was bustling around in the living room. The coffee table in front of the sofa was piled with food, and even the television had been replaced with a new one. The moment she saw Eric appear, the girl grabbed a T-shirt and rushed straight at him.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing? Broad daylight, you know,” Eric laughed as he dodged Drew’s assault.
“Perverted brain, filthy man!” Drew curled her lips disdainfully, continuing to yank the T-shirt off him before forcing a bright red jersey over his head.
“What’s this supposed to mean?” Eric tugged at the uncomfortably tight shirt.
“It’s Super Bowl Night. I hereby declare that you are now a fan of the San Francisco 49ers.”
Eric asked weakly, “Can I refuse?”
“No!”
After saying that, the girl ignored him completely and went back to busily arranging things.
Eric shrugged indifferently, grabbed a bucket of fried chicken wings and several bottles of juice, then headed upstairs to the study, letting the girl continue wreaking havoc in the living room.
Only several hours later, when the game officially began, was Eric dragged back downstairs by Drew again.
This year’s championship game was between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers. If Eric had been twenty years younger mentally, perhaps he would have been interested in this kind of fiercely physical competition. Unfortunately, beneath this youthful shell was the soul of a middle-aged man. On top of that, he was Eastern at heart and had not grown up immersed in North American football culture, so he truly could not muster much enthusiasm. The only reason he patiently sat in the living room was to wait for the trailer to air.
Finally, after the second quarter ended, following a Chevrolet commercial, the screen flashed, and the carefully edited five-second Firefly logo appeared on television screens.
At that moment, over a hundred million viewers across North America were gathered in front of their TVs. When they saw the firefly trace the words firefly-film, most people’s first reaction was that the image was beautiful. At the same time, a question arose in their minds: Firefly Film? What kind of commercial was this?
Previously, movie trailers had never appeared during a Super Bowl broadcast, so ninety-nine percent of viewers did not make that connection at all.
The five-second logo flashed by. In a close-up shot, a gorgeous blonde woman parted her red lips slightly.
“Are you ready?”
No one answered. Amid the deliberately amplified roar of an engine, a silver Lamborghini Countach with sharp, aggressive lines shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
“Cool!”
In front of televisions everywhere, countless viewers felt their hearts resonate for an instant the moment the engine roared to life. At the same time, they all thought they understood: this was a sports car commercial.
However, they quickly realized they were completely mistaken. Eric had included that shot specifically to use the Lamborghini’s engine roar to seize the audience’s attention. Next, the song Oh, Pretty Woman began playing, and scenes from Pretty Woman started appearing on screen.
Although it lasted only a little over fifty seconds, Eric had put tremendous thought into editing the trailer. The footage was divided into roughly ten-second segments, structured into four parts: Edward and Vivian’s meeting, their time together, their growing affection, and their separation.
Their meeting on Hollywood Boulevard.
Their time together in the hotel.
Their gradual emotional connection.
Their separation caused by the disparity in their social standing.
Although the middle forty-plus seconds contained no dialogue, most viewers in front of their televisions understood what they were watching. It was a love story. More specifically, a prince-and-Cinderella love story.
Of course, Eric was not foolish enough to spell everything out explicitly. Many shots carried an intentionally ambiguous feeling, as though whispering:
Want to know more? Go see it in theaters.
The 59-second commercial finally reached its ending. As the song faded away, the final shot appeared. Julia spoke with determination and longing in her voice:
“I want a fairy tale!”
The scene ended. The screen faded to black. Julia’s final line left every viewer with a huge lingering question:
Would she get her fairy tale?
At last, a line of text appeared on screen:
From the director of Home Alone, Eric Williams’s new film Pretty Woman. Nationwide release across North America on February 10. Coming soon.
In homes all across the continent, viewers briefly lost interest in both the following commercials and the game itself, immediately beginning to discuss what they had just seen.
…
“A movie trailer during the Super Bowl? Whoever came up with that is a genius. Aren’t Super Bowl ads insanely expensive?”
“They definitely are. That commercial was almost a full minute. No way it cost less than a million dollars.”
“That’s way too extravagant. That’s enough money to make a whole new movie. Still, I thought the trailer was interesting. Maybe I’ll go watch it after it comes out.”
…
“The female lead is so beautiful.”
“I actually like Al Pacino more. I heard he made a comeback. So this is the movie he returned with. I’ve watched The Godfather series at least five or six times.”
…
“Eric Williams? He already has another new movie?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that way too fast? I wonder who this miracle kid is going to torment this time. Couples?”
…
“Mom, I recognize those words—Home Alone. Can we go watch Kevin again tomorrow?”
“No, sweetheart. You must’ve read it wrong.”
“You’re lying, Mom. You taught me those words yourself.”
…
“I know that song. Roy Orbison’s Oh, Pretty Woman. It’s a really old record.”
“Really? Do we still have that record?”
“Probably not. Your grandfather bought it. Who knows where it ended up.”
“That’s such a shame. But when the movie comes out, there’ll definitely be a soundtrack album. We can just buy one then.”
…
“Cole, let’s watch this movie on Valentine’s Day.”
“Uh… Margaret, didn’t we already agree to watch Tom Hanks’s The ’Burbs?”
“But I think this movie looks more interesting…”
“Alright, alright. We’ll do what you want.”
…
“Hey, that girl said she wanted a fairy tale. Do you think she’ll succeed?”
“Honey, this is a Valentine’s Day release. The ending will definitely be a happy one.”
“But I feel like a lot of the scenes hinted that the male and female leads would separate. Directors love using tragic endings to squeeze tears out of audiences.”
“Alright, stop overthinking it. We’ll know once we go see it together.”