After cleaning the recording just now, Eric handed the tape recorder to Carter Moen, the bodyguard on the co-pilot, and said to Tina Fei: "I'll return it to you when I leave, don't take this thing now gone."
Tina Fei heard that Eric's tone didn't mean to discuss with herself at all, knowing that the cleverness she played just now made the other party unhappy, so she hesitated twice, which was regarded as acquiescing.
After the car drove for more than 20 minutes, Carter Moen in the front row received a call, turned his head to Eric and said, "Mr. Williams, there are also reporters gathered outside the hotel, and they called over there to ask whether to go through the main entrance or from the hotel. The elevator in the parking lot goes straight up?"
Eric didn't want to be surrounded again, and said, "Go up the elevator in the parking lot."
After the two finished speaking, Tina Fei couldn't help asking curiously, "Where are we going?"
"Of course there will be a celebratory reception for the acquisition of Disney," Eric replied, looked at Tina Fey, and asked, "Are you interested in going to see it?"
Tina Fey hesitated for a moment, unable to resist the temptation of the Hollywood party, she nodded slightly. She originally thought it would be a relatively relaxed celebration party, but she didn't expect to follow Eric into the banquet hall of the Hilton Hotel, only to find that things were not as she imagined %≯.
The hall of hundreds of square meters was full of people, men were all dressed in formal suits, and women were dressed in exquisite or gorgeous evening gowns. Tina Fey looked down at her short beige trench coat and washed jeans, and really had the urge to turn her head and run away.
Eric walked to the door and was about to go in when he found Tina Fey stopped in her tracks with an embarrassed look on her face. In a blink of an eye, she understood her situation. He waved to a hotel manager. Said a few words in a low voice. The manager politely said to Tina Fei: "Miss, please come with me."
Tina Fey glanced at Eric in confusion, and saw Eric nodding. Although she didn't know what to do, she obediently followed the manager and left.
Anyway... It's better than staying here, she thought to herself.
Tina Fey's figure hadn't disappeared yet, and everyone in the hall who had spotted Eric's figure had already surrounded her.
Eric showed a polite smile and stepped forward to greet them one by one.
Except for the executives of Firefly. The CEOs or president-level executives of several major film companies such as Fox, Paramount, and Universal all appeared in the banquet hall at this time, which can be said to be another big gathering of Hollywood executives.
Eric was not surprised by the appearance of these people.
After Firefly acquired Disney, it not only enhanced its own strength, but most importantly, it inherited Disney's position in the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). If it is said that Firefly was just a pawn in the big Hollywood chessboard, after joining mpaa, Firefly's status will be transformed into a player with the rules of the "Hollywood Chessboard".
Mpaa's status in the US entertainment industry is similar to that of the SARFT on the other side of the ocean. The rating power of all Hollywood movies is in the hands of Mpaa. Take "Terminator 2" as an example, if Firefly had the MPAA seat at the beginning. "Terminator 2" definitely gets a pg-13 rating, not an R. Today, the audience of young people is getting bigger and bigger. The film was rated R, which means that it lost a large number of audiences before it was released. Fortunately, "Terminator 2" was good enough to offset the unfavorable factors brought by the rating to the box office.
Of course, the United States has always claimed that it is a free country, and any movie has the right to choose not to participate in the classification. However, all mainstream theaters in the United States have signed an agreement with MPAA, and only show movies rated by MPAA. Shown in underground theaters, this 'quest for freedom' does more damage than the film being rated nc-17.
The reason why the declining MGM has always been known as one of the seven big Hollywood is not only because of its background accumulated over half a century, but also because MGM has its own seat in MPAA, even if its business performance is always Even if it is surpassed by second-tier film companies, no one can shake MGM's position. For Firefly, if it fails to acquire Disney, it will definitely have to go through a difficult game if it wants to join MPAA.
In addition to the film classification power, another main function of the MPAA is to lobby the federal government to amend relevant laws on behalf of Hollywood to protect the commercial interests of the seven members.
Looking at the young face of Eric, who has officially become one of the masters of Hollywood, the executives of several other major companies felt inexplicable sighs, and couldn't help but think of their situation when they were 20 years old.
Of course, Eric can also understand the complex emotions of these people in front of him. After finishing the etiquette, Eric raised his glass to several people and said: "Thank you very much for coming to this celebration banquet in person. I hope everyone can Have a great night."
Several executives also dispersed one after another, Eric and the others dispersed, and quickly caught up with Barry Diller who was walking to the side.
"Barry, can you go over there and have a chat?" Eric pointed to a round table not far away.
Barry Diller nodded, followed Eric to the round table and sat down.
Eric asked, "Barry, you're leaving in the middle of next month, have you thought about what to do next?"
Barry Diller smiled and said, "Eric, I know what you want to say, but I will never sign another employment contract."
Since the 1970s, Barry Diller has led the resurgence of the two giants, Paramount and Fox. Firefly acquired Disney, and Michael Eisner’s departure is inevitable. Barry Diller is undoubtedly the successor of Michael Ace. Na's best candidate.
Eric persuaded again: "Barry, why don't you listen to my conditions first?"
"Eric, don't talk about this topic anymore. Since I decided to leave my job last year, I have made up my mind not to be just an employee with a lot of money. I will be fifty years old soon, and I will always try to be my own. cause."
"Well, then. If you need help. For example, funds or something. You can contact me anytime," Eric raised his glass to Barry Diller.
Barry Diller also raised his goblet and took a sip of red wine, and said, "If Michael can't stay, maybe you can try Jeffrey Katzenberg, he and Michael used to be my assistants, I I think he is now qualified to be the CEO of Disney."
Eric said: "Actually, I have also considered this issue, but you know, Jeffrey is a workaholic. I heard that for a long time, he came to the office at five o'clock every morning and worked seven days a week. If only It's nothing like this, but he always asks his subordinates to become workaholics like himself. Although he has done a good job in mastering the Disney studio in the past few years, the entire production department has complained about him. Hand over Disney to him, I I really don't know what's going to happen."
"It's just because of the different positions. Jeffery is only in charge of a production department now, so it is inevitable that he will be a little radical. If he is allowed to be the CEO of Disney, he will definitely adjust his management style appropriately," Barry Diller said. Looking at Eric, he said, "Besides, with you watching from behind, it's impossible for Jeffrey to mess around."
"I'll talk to him," Eric said, and asked again: "What about you, what are you going to do after you leave?"
Barry Diller said: "I plan to take a look around and visit some technology companies. After handing over most of my work recently, I suddenly got idle, and I realized that the world has undergone earth-shaking changes compared to 20 years ago. , I recently bought a very interesting little thing, Apple Computer's powerbook, you know? I feel that this thing may change the whole world."
"Of course I know. I've been using a laptop for some official business. I used an IBM laptop at first, and I recently bought a Powerbook 140," Eric replied, while being a little surprised at Barry Diller's keen intuition.
He has always been very concerned about Apple. When Apple released the first powerbook 100 last year, Eric bought one for playing. It cost $2,500, which is not expensive, nor cheap. It's just that the current laptop configuration is so low that it makes people crazy, even the latest powerbook140, the top-level configuration is only 4m memory and 120m hard disk.
Barry Diller glanced at Eric in surprise, and soon felt that Eric was a young man, and his acceptance of these new things must be much stronger than that of an old man like him, and he was relieved immediately.
The two chatted for a while about their views on personal computers and computer networks before Barry Diller got up and left.
"Eric, congratulations," Barry Diller had just left when Drew, who was wearing a rose red dress, pounced on him.
Eric grabbed Xiao Nizi's waist and put the girl on the seat next to her. When she looked up, she saw another tall girl walking over, and said hello with a smile: "Claudia, why are you together?" ?”
"I just passed my audition for The Mask," Claudia Schiffer explained, taking a seat on the other side of Eric.
Eric didn't care too much about "The Masquerade" during this time, and asked Drew on the other side: "The contract with Jim Carrey is settled?"
Drew Doll's face immediately showed a look of asking for credit, and she stretched out two white little fingers and shook: "Yeah, the two films are about 8 million."
Eric was a little surprised: "What's the matter, didn't I ask you to offer a package salary of 10 million?"
"He asked for it," Drew said with an angry expression, "After the preparation of the project, we talked to him three times in good words, and he never let go, and he still wanted a single 600" Wan's salary, and only willing to sign one."
"Oh, what happened then?" Eric asked.
Drew shrugged, and said lightly: "Then I sent him the contract directly. The first time, the contract salary I sent was 10 million for two films, the second time it was reduced to 9 million, and the third time it was 8 million. The contract with a salary of 10,000 yuan was sent, and they took the initiative to come over and sign the contract."
Eric laughed, reached out and rubbed the girl's head, and boasted: "Yes, there is a future, by the way, why didn't I see Liz today, and Mr. Murdoch didn't come?"
"The whole family has returned to Australia. It seems that her grandma's birthday is coming soon," Drew explained, and then asked, "Eric, who was that woman just now, and you found a new one?"
Eric asked subconsciously, "What girl?"
Drew pursed his lips: "That's the one in the beige windbreaker."
"Oh, you said her," Eric was about to explain, when he saw Tina Fey in a sky blue tube top dress appearing in the field of vision, and quickly waved at her.
Tina Fey carefully carried the hem of the borrowed dress, and walked over awkwardly.
"Not bad, it's pretty," Eric commented, looking up and down at the approaching girl.
Now Tina Fey doesn't feel the joy of Cinderella turning into a princess. If the borrowed Armani custom-made dress she wears gets dirty and torn, she doesn't know if she can afford to sell herself.
From Tina Fey's walking posture, Drew quickly understood what the other party was worried about, and he didn't care that Eric was by his side, so he laughed happily. Claudia Schiffer on the other side has been a model for several years, and she often has to be careful with the works of those well-known designers. Of course, she can better understand Tina Fey's mood. smile.
"Eric, this is too petty. Since when did you fall in love with this type?" Seeing Tina Fey sitting down in front of the three of them, Drew leaned into Eric's ear and whispered Said.
Eric glared at the girl, not letting her talk nonsense, and then introduced: "This is Miss Tina Fei, she is a reporter, Tina, this is Drew, and Claudia."
Tina Fey really wanted to correct her name as Elizabeth Fey, but seeing Eric's natural look, she acquiesced and greeted Drew and the two daughters politely.
Eric didn't want Tina Fei to remain embarrassed in front of the two women, so he stood up and stretched out his hand to Tina Fei: "Let's go dance together."
"Okay... okay."
Seeing Eric pulling Tina Fey away, Drew blinked, set his sights on Claudia Schiffer, and scanned up and down.
"What's wrong?" Claudia looked down at her chest.
Drew shook his little head and sighed: "Man, you are so beautiful, you are sitting here shining brightly, and he even dragged a little local girl to dance."
Claudia was stunned for a moment, and glanced at Eric's figure not far away. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but she couldn't help defending Eric: "Mr. Williams is a gentleman, he is doing it for that Miss rescue."
Drew giggled twice, leaned into Claudia's ear and said, "You will know in the future, he is not a gentleman in bed at all."
Claudia's cheeks were slightly hot, but she asked curiously, "Have you slept with him?"
"Yeah," the girl admitted without hesitation, then stared at the corner of Claudia's mouth and said with a smile: "You won't report him, will you?"
Claudia shook her head quickly, and she even regretted asking this question, knowing that such a thing would do her no good at all.
Drew didn't say anything more, stood up and stretched out a small hand to Claudia: "Beauty, can I ask you to dance?"
Claudia took Drew's little hand and said with a smile, "The two of us?"
"Of course, I don't want to dance with those stinky men. You are the best, and you smell good."
Claudia stood up helplessly and let Drew walk towards the dance floor. (To be continued..)