novelraw Chapter 89: Chapter 89: High Luck Attribute
Chapter 89: Chapter 89: High Luck Attribute
Chapter 89: High Luck Attribute[Chapter 89: High Luck Attribute]
Virginia completely failed to grasp what Eric was talking about and curiously replied, "Malibu 10880?"
Eric nodded but didn't bother to offer any detailed explanation; it would have been impossible to clarify things for her anyway. In his past life, he had been struck by Tony Stark's Malibu mansion in Iron Man 3. Like many film buffs, he had
Virginia plated the eggs, turned off the stove, and replied, "Sure, Eric. Let's chat over breakfast in the dining room."
Nodding, Eric helped her carry breakfast into the dining area. Virginia poured him a glass of milk and said, "My agent recommended me this script. It's directed by Herbert Ross. I heard that originally, Tristar intended to invest, but with Sony form Japan launching negotiations to acquire them, they are afraid that the film's poor box office performance might negatively impact their stock -- so a lot of Columbia TriStar's less favorable projects got shelved. Herbert Ross ended up having to pull together some investors to produce it independently, which meant the budget wasn't large. That's how I got my audition chance."
Thanks to Eric's reassurances from the previous night, Virginia no longer felt upset about not landing Annelle's role. Her voice was casual, as if she were just having a chat. "Unfortunately, Herbert Ross thought I, um, was too old for that part, so I didn't get to audition successfully."
The mention of her age immediately sparked a hint of worry in Virginia as she looked at Eric; she was almost thirty, and time wasn't on her side anymore.
Across the table, Eric's eating slowed considerably as he mentally calculated that since TriStar had pulled out, perhaps he could snag the project. Firefly couldn't just keep making films for Eric alone; investing in more projects was essential, and Steel Magnolias might be an excellent
opportunity.
Of course, Firefly would eventually need to establish its distribution channel. In his past life, DreamWorks struggled because it lacked a solid distribution plan and had to hand films over to the Big Six, resulting in most profits being siphoned away by the studios. Even when DreamWorks released massive hits, the bottom line reflected losses, ultimately leading to its sale to Viacom.
In reality, DreamWorks had some distribution capabilities, but many of Spielberg's films were large investments with major productions. Their minimal promotion could often yield only a fraction of the revenue on films that might otherwise gross two hundred million worldwide. That was why Eric hadn't yet considered distributing his own films.
He willingly turned almost half of his profits over to Fox because only a major player like Fox had the promotional power to fully unleash the potential of a highly sellable film. If he tried to distribute on his own, even with the same number of screens as Fox, he wouldn't see the same box office success. So many variables were at play that it was hard to summarize.
Gradually, Eric began to solidify his vision for Firefly's path: producing films to gather funding from the studios while also investing heavily in small-budget films with budgets in the millions, using those films to gain resources and experience. Once they reached a certain level of success, distributing his own films would make perfect sense.
It seemed that the Weinstein brothers had successfully taken the small-budget route; while DreamWorks fluctuated with highs and lows, the Weinsteins thrived, even after losing Miramax, and their new venture, The Weinstein Company, still held a place of prestige in
Hollywood.
*****
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