I am Hollywood

Chapter 91: Amy's Invitation



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Eric had planned to find a manager, but it wasn't an easy task. Although he hadn't yet received a cut from any movie, nobody could deny that his worth had already surpassed one hundred million dollars.

And only Eric knew that with the rights to Jurassic Park in his hands, along with Pixar and his future plans to secure more 'gold mines,' his wealth would easily soar past the one billion dollar mark. Given this situation, he couldn't possibly hand over his assets to be managed by someone else. Professional ethics only came into play when one hadn't faced enough temptation.

It wasn't uncommon in Hollywood for stars to be swindled by their financial managers. The infamous bankruptcy of Nicolas Cage, while partly due to Cage's own love of extravagance, wouldn't have happened without some shenanigans from his financial manager.

The more chaotic the employer's finances, the easier it was for someone to muddy the waters. And when the accounts were tidy and wealth was growing, it belonged to the employer -- the financial manager was only entitled to their commission.

After hitching a ride with Edward back to Los Angeles, Eric went to the Hilton Hotel parking lot to retrieve his car and then drove straight to Firefly's headquarters. While Eric was out of Los Angeles, Jeffrey had already secured the rights to adapt Scent of a Woman, and Eric hadn't even had a chance to write the script for it yet. Jeffrey also raised another issue: the financial situation at Firefly.

The production of Pretty Woman had drained all the funds Eric had invested in the company, and as per usual, he would have to wait until the film left theaters to see any profits. Despite his good relationship with Fox, Eric knew that if he approached Barry Diller to talk about this, he would only want to discuss business.

The fifty million dollar loan Eric had secured, backed by his contract for Home Alone, had allowed him to use twenty million to purchase Pixar and keep ten million for the pre- production of Toy Story, leaving him with just twenty million dollars.

This amount wasn't even enough for his next movie investment, let alone his other projects. He handed a two million dollar check to the company's financial manager, then told Jeffrey, "Let's start preparing Scent of a Woman. I'll finish the script in the next few days."

"What about your other movies?" Jeffrey asked.

Eric shrugged, "I'll just have to keep borrowing."

Once you had borrowed once, you eventually grew accustomed to it. For now, he wouldn't allow any other studios to interfere with his projects.

"By the way, Jeffrey, I came across a script by coincidence. The director is Herbert Ross, and it's still in the casting phase. I heard the budget isn't very generous. Can you contact him to see if we can secure the project? Firefly would be willing to co-produce, and maybe you could persuade Julia Roberts to join."

Jeffrey looked at the script Eric handed him, read a few sections, but didn't see anything particularly special. He didn't voice any objections, having long since stopped doubting Eric's vision for films. As Eric had pointed out, he was better suited to the role of producer, leaving the content decisions to Eric.

"Sure thing, I'll reach out to Herbert Ross as soon as I can."

...

After handling a few matters that required his personal attention in the morning, Eric was about to head home when Jeffrey knocked and entered his office. "Eric, remember Amy Pascal?"

"Of course. Without her, Home Alone wouldn't have been such a smooth release. I still haven't gotten the chance to thank her in person."

"She just called," Jeffrey said, pulling Eric up. "She's still on the line, looking for you."

Eric quickly stood up and followed Jeffrey to his office.

"Amy?... Long time no see! I've been meaning to thank you, but you left so suddenly last time... Sure, no problem... See you soon!"

After hanging up, Eric exchanged glances with Jeffrey.

Jeffrey was the first to share what he knew. "Amy went back to Columbia, and she's currently serving as Vice President. Cohen Blount has left -- heard he retired early and moved to France."

"She just told you?"

Jeffrey nodded. "I chatted with her for a bit before, but what did she want?"

"She said she wanted to take me out for dinner."

The two chatted for a moment, but didn't come to any conclusions. Eric glanced at his watch and said, "I should head out for that. Jeffrey, you take care of Scent of a Woman and Steel Magnolias. I'll be at home working on the script for the next few days, so don't expect me at the office. Call me if anything comes up."

"Got it," Jeffrey replied as they walked out of the office side by side.

...

When Eric arrived at the restaurant they agreed on, he found Amy Pascal already waiting. She wore a black business suit, and her shoulder-length blonde hair was styled in waves, said to reflect her mood. Eric couldn't quite read what that hairstyle indicated.

They exchanged a light hug, and Eric said, "Sorry, Amy, traffic held me up. I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

"No worries," Amy Pascal smiled. "You weren't late; I just got here too early."

They sat together at the table, and Amy handed the menu to Eric, asking, "What do you want to eat?"

Eric took it, chuckled, and said, "This feels so strange. It should have been me asking that first."

"Oh, come on, big guy. I promised I'd treat you tonight, so let's skip the traditional male bravado."

Eric shrugged and didn't argue. Given that Amy hadn't interacted with him much, it made sense she didn't see his more mature side and addressed him as she would a younger man. After casually ordering lunch, Eric handed the menu back to Amy. She didn't even look at it; instead, she confidently articulated her request and passed the menu to the waiter.

"Do you come here often?" he asked.

"Yeah, the food's pretty good here."

Amy didn't rush to explain her reason for inviting Eric, and he didn't push for it either. They

chatted casually about the weather and current events while enjoying their meal. Once they switched to coffee after lunch, Amy finally revealed her purpose.

*****

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