Chapter 198: Countermeasures

Jeffrey was sitting on a couch in Eric's office, eating lunch while discussing some issues with him.

"Eric, except for Running Out of Time, the cost of none of our other films exceeds $25 million. Is it too much to promise Bob Shaye a $50 million budget for the two films?"

Hearing this question, Eric’s face contorted. After taking a bite of his lunch, he pushed it aside, took out a tissue, wiped his mouth and said, "I don’t want to do this either, but if I want him to do his best with distribution, I have to give him some benefits first. At the end of the day, it’s only $50 million, and although I said I’ll give him full responsibility, if his film doesn’t have any selling points, I definitely won’t be signing off on the project plan.”

Jeffrey didn’t have the slightest doubt regarding Eric’s vision of films and felt relieved when he heard his words, but he still said, "Still, giving Bob too much power would certainly not be a good thing."

"There is nothing to worry about," Eric signed a document, quickly pulled another one, and said while perusing it, "Once we have gained control of New Line, we will completely integrate it with Firefly. The rest will be much simpler."

Jeffrey's heart secretly skipped a beat as he realized that Eric was already thinking about driving Robert Shaye away. In fact, Eric does have the ability to do this. After all, Robert Shaye only owns a 15% stake in the company while Eric holds a controlling stake. If he wants to remove Robert Shaye, he doesn’t even need to go through the board; just issuing a single document would be enough.

"Do you think that I'm throwing him away after making use of him?" Eric looked up at Jeffrey and asked with a smile.

Jeffrey smiled awkwardly, but he still answered truthfully, "It does feel like that."

"You know, Jeffrey, I'm not such a person. I would normally never do such a thing as throwing someone away after they’ve outlived their usefulness. If Bob can perform his duty effectively without reaching beyond his post, I would have no problem keeping him around. Unfortunately, his ambition is too large; you must have noticed. He brought so many people here today as if to tell us that he is very important to Firefly."

"I'm suddenly feeling worried," Jeffrey heard Eric’s words and said, "All those people today are Bob’s direct subordinates. If you drive him away in the future, won’t they leave with him?"

Eric shook his head and said in a relaxed tone, "Do you think that those people under him will give up millions of dollars in salary and dividends yearly and follow him to start a new business together? Or, are there so many other big film companies that have so many empty positions which they can jointly fill? Both of those scenarios are unlikely. If Bob leaves, I can easily find a new CEO to take over the distribution network."

"But..."

Eric interrupted Jeffrey and said, "Jeffrey, you don't have to worry so much. I said I might drive Bob away, but it’s not set in stone. Maybe after a year or two, he may realize that his strengths lie in distribution and no longer intervene in production. In that case, I won't have to drive him away. After all, his talent in film distribution is beyond doubt."

"I see," Jeffrey nodded helplessly and lowered his head to continue eating.

After a few minutes, there were several quick knocks on the office door which was pushed open without permission. Drew, wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and hotpants, rushed in and threw herself on Eric, laughing. She even asked Eric about what happened last night.

Standing at the door, Alan patiently waited and watched the little lass bickering with Eric. Finally, Eric looked at him and he promptly said, "Eric, the luggage and the car are both ready. Considering traffic, I think it would be best for us to leave now."

"Let’s go," Eric gently pushed away the little lass who was sitting on his knees and said, "Be obedient over the next few days. You can call Jeffrey if you need something; don't mess around."

"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Drew scratched Eric to display her dissatisfaction, and said cutely, "Eric, I want to go to Venice too. "

"Forget it, you won’t be able to stand the journey," Eric rubbed her smooth hair. Recently, the little lass had learnt to speak cutely such that Eric couldn't easily deny any of her requests, "The flight from Los Angeles to Venice takes 17 hours for a one-way trip, not to mention, there is also a transfer in the middle."

Drew really couldn't stand being idle for 17 hours on the plane. Hearing Eric’s words, she didn't mention it anymore.

She held Eric's arm while they walked out and said, "Eric, let's buy a private jet. No matter how long the trip, It won't be boring."

“It's not time yet," Eric shook his head, "Wait another year or two."

"Ok," Drew nodded.

Soon, the group came downstairs. Drew got into the car first as she said, "I'll take you to the airport."

"Eric, I’ll stay here. There are still a lot of things to be taken care of," Jeffrey said as he patted Eric on the shoulder,"Good luck."

"Goodbye, Jeffrey," Eric waved to Jeffrey and got in the back with Drew while Alan sat in the front with the driver. After ensuring that Eric and Drew were settled, he asked the driver to drive.

Alan would be going to Venice with Eric as an interpreter since the locals in Venice mainly speak Italian. Coincidentally, Alan’s mother was Italian, so he grew up speaking English and Italian. Since he was able to speak fluent Italian, it saved the trouble of finding a translator.

***

Fortunately, it only took a little over an hour to reach the Los Angeles International Airport from Burbank. There was still half an hour before the boarding time when they arrived, so Eric and Alan could check in without hurry.

"Alan, what are you checking for?" While waiting to board the plane, Eric asked curiously, seeing Alan carefully checking his backpack.

“A book; I brought a collection of Stephen King's novels to read on the plane. Eric, did you bring anything?"

Eric spread his hands and shrugged.

During his previous life, he often took long-distance trains, but the environment on the trains was not suitable for reading, and he had never taken a long flight, so he didn't think about it. Moreover, Drew had packed his luggage yesterday. With her restless temperament, it was impossible for her to remember to pack a book with the luggage.

"There are still a few minutes, maybe I can buy one here. There is a book store outside the lobby," Alan offered.

"I'll go, Eric, you wait here, if I don't come back in time, you can just board the plane."

Eric was just about to tell her not to trouble herself, but Drew had already ran off.

Just as Drew ran out of the lounge, Eric and Alan heard the boarding announcement and they looked at each other.

"Let's go and line up first, maybe she will get back in time," Eric said and the two took their luggage and walked towards the boarding gate.

Ten minutes later, just Eric and Alan were left at the boarding gate. The other passengers had already entered. The boarding staff nearby also began to remind the two of them to enter.

Eric took one last look behind him and saw a small figure rushing towards the two of them.

Drew quickly handed a thick hard-covered book to Eric, bent over forwards and began panting. She waved for the two to go in.

Eric knew that he didn't need to be polite with the little lass, so he put the book inside his handbag and said goodbye to her before pulling his luggage into the boarding gate.

The huge Boeing airliner taxied on the ground before it roared off the ground and took flight. A few minutes later, it slowly stabilized in the air.

***

In the first-class cabin, Eric unfastened his seat belt and Alan, sitting next to him, took out their schedule and explained their itinerary to Eric.

"After taking the connecting flight in London, we will arrive in Venice on September 2nd at 3pm local time. Mr. Demme and Miss Madsen said they would pick us up at Marco Polo Airport. Afterwards, you have a meeting with Director John Landis in the evening. There are no events the next day so we can take the day off and get over the jet lag. The red carpet at the opening ceremony of the festival will take place on the 4th. In addition, the organizing committee has invited you to the afterparty. Finally, we have a return ticket in the afternoon of the 5th and we’ll be back in Los Angeles at 5 am ET on the 6th. Eric, is there anything else that needs to be added?"

Eric listened patiently and shook his head, "No, this is fine."

If possible, he didn’t want to go to the Venice Film Festival since he was already on a tight schedule. However, after the Venice Film Festival’s Organizing Committee learned that he might appear, it proactively sent him an official invitation, hoping that he could participate in the opening ceremony.

The Others originally had no plans to try for an award, so it was fine for Eric to decline the invitation, but with the promotion strategy proposed by Michael Eisner, The Others was quite hopeful to win an award. As a result, Eric was now unable to refuse. Because the invitation was signed by Andrei Smirnov, the chairman of the jury, and included a sincere invitation, if Eric declined the invitation, Demirnov would definitely have ill feelings towards The Others. Compared to the Oscar’s thousands of judges, the Venice Film Festival had only nine judges who sat down and discussed whom the awards would go to.

Therefore, in order to avoid The Others from leaving empty-handed due to him, Eric had no other choice than to accept Demirnov’s invitation.

After sighing helplessly, Eric stopped thinking about it and took out the book that Drew had bought for him.

After a single glance, he couldn't help but laugh.

Walden.

‘What book did this girl buy? Who reads prose on the plane?’ he thought, ‘Forget it, I’ll just use it to sleep.’

Thinking so, Eric pulled apart the plastic film that was wrapped around the book.