I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1196: The Invitation from the Local Boss]

Eric was chatting with Emma when Payne Forstmann's phone suddenly rang.

Giving Eric an apologetic glance, Payne got up and walked nearby to take the call. A moment later, he returned and leaned close to Eric, whispering, "Eric, the governor just called and asked if he could invite you over to his house?"

Eric glanced over at the three kids playing on the court and, still wanting to accompany them, softly declined, "I have to stay with the kids, so I'll pass."

The governor in question was obviously Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida and younger son of former President George Bush Sr.. Having just been elected last year, this invitation was undoubtedly a part of Jeb's presidential campaign efforts.

Even though Eric had had some exploratory contact with a representative from the Bush family in New York, he had no intention of meeting any core family members directly. The Bush family would not expect Eric to make any immediate commitments.

Payne Forstmann was simply a messenger; he knew he had no authority to influence Eric's decision. Nodding in understanding, he got up again to respond to the person who had just called.

...

On the tennis court, the three little ones continued playing for over an hour. Realizing it was getting late, Eric decided to call it a day.

Payne observed as Eric carefully wiped the sweat off the kids and adjusted their clothing. Just as he seemed ready to leave, he couldn't help but take a couple steps forward.

However, seeing the kids looking at him curiously, Payne swallowed his words and kept quiet.

Noticing Payne holding back, Eric turned to look at the girl standing nearby with Max Eisenberg. He playfully said, "Keep an eye on her for me."

With that, Eric took the three kids and the twins outside the tennis court, and the few bodyguards who had been scattered around quickly gathered to protect them as they climbed into two SUVs.

Payne stood at the entrance of the court, watching the SUVs drive away, while Max Eisenberg walked over with Maria Sharapova.

Looking at the departing SUVs, Max asked, "What did Mr. Williams say?"

Payne didn't respond but turned to Maria, "You should head back to the dorm now."

The tall girl, just under thirteen and already close to five-foot-seven, nodded obediently and politely said goodbye to the two men before turning to leave.

...

As she walked to an intersection, Sharapova glanced back at the two middle-aged men, her heart racing when she noticed they were looking her way. She quickly averted her eyes.

Walking into a small path separated by greenery, she finally relaxed when she confirmed they couldn't see her. However, she couldn't help but press her fingers against her lips, feeling the nearly undetectable invisible braces, and her thoughts drifted back to the events of the afternoon.

Though she hadn't managed to speak even a word to Eric Williams, the recent events had unveiled many truths for her.

At seven, she had left Russia for America with her father, leaving everything behind for a seemingly futile dream of success. Five years had passed in the blink of an eye. Although she was still under thirteen, Sharapova had already experienced hardships that would take many a lifetime to understand, and she was far more mature than most girls her age.

Sharapova clearly remembered the disdainful looks her father and she received just to enter IMG Academy, begging countless people and signing harsh contracts, all just to qualify for a sponsorship.

IMG Academy was known for its elite sports education, with tuition fees exceeding that of most private schools. Without the sponsorship, she and her father, armed with little more than a few hundred dollars, would never have been able to afford the annual tens of thousands in tuition fees.

During her time there, her life revolved around tennis, barely having any exposure to normal academic courses. IMG cared little about her performance outside tennis, viewing her merely as a potential investment.

Then, everything changed just a few months ago.

She knew that IMG had been bought by Eric Williams. Initially, she hadn't thought it affected her, but suddenly IMG began to treat her with immense importance. Not only was she assigned the best agent, but she also got a new coach, and her living arrangements became meticulously attended to. She even had her very own dorm.

At first, Sharapova thought it was because of her tennis performance that IMG was focusing on her. But when she had dental work done recently, she realized something was different.

Typically, regular braces cost only hundreds of dollars, but IMG had opted for a top-of-the-line $8,000 invisible brace. Including other costs, just that one dental adjustment cost over ten thousand dollars.

With everything she knew about IMG's operations, she understood that they wouldn't spend this much unless there was some other reason at play!

Moreover, her agent, Max, had hinted at some things. After meeting Eric Williams that day, everything came together for her.

As the world's richest man, it was impossible not to hear plenty about him, even if one didn't pay much attention.

It was well known that he was a playboy, a fact that was almost common knowledge.

In that moment, Sharapova realized that she had caught his eye.

Mixed feelings stirred in her. Reflecting upon her life changes, she didn't feel much resistance toward this development. Recently, with IMG's assistance, her mother had moved to America, and their family was finally together again.

Clearly, if it weren't for this man, IMG wouldn't have bothered with any of those efforts.

However...

Although she had played tennis with his kids all afternoon, he hadn't said a single word to her.

As that realization settled, an inexplicable worry crept in. Was he not satisfied with her?

As she thought this, returning to her dorm, she rushed to the mirror to peer at the girl in the white tennis outfit.

Aside from her height, she felt as if there was nothing particularly special about her.

This led her to feel anxious. If he was dissatisfied with her, would she need to return to the life she had just a few months ago?

She wasn't sure how much time passed when a knock at the door broke her thoughts.

...

Hastily, she opened the door to find Max Eisenberg standing there.

Remembering her earlier thoughts, a pang of panic shot through her. She instinctively averted her eyes from Max's expression, lowering her head and softly saying, "Mr. Eisenberg, is there something I can do for you?" As she realized, she immediately stepped aside and said, "Please come in."

But Max didn't enter. Looking her over, he reminded her, "Didn't I say just to call me Max?"

"Okay," Sharapova quickly nodded, hesitating before asking, "Max, will Mr. Williams be coming back tomorrow?"

"No, Mr. Williams should be leaving Bradenton tomorrow," Max replied. He studied her appearance for a moment; although he understood the world well, he wasn't good at interpreting a young girl's feelings. At that moment, he saw her reaction as reluctance and his expression turned a tad serious. "Maria, I know you're a smart girl, so you should already understand how you've come to live the way you do now."

The realization struck her like a ton of bricks.

Feeling deflated inside, Sharapova could only manage a low, barely audible, "Mm."

Max interpreted her reaction incorrectly and spoke with a hint of severity, "So, you know, with all you've received, you must know that you have to pay a corresponding price. I assume neither you nor your family would want to return to Russia, right?"

Just as Sharapova was about to nod like a puppet, she suddenly realized, raising her head to look at Max, shaking her head, "Max, no, that's not it, I--" Lost for words, she paused before clarifying, "I really look forward to seeing Mr. Williams again."

Hearing her say that shocked Max momentarily. However, he quickly understood where he had misread her. His expression relaxed as he assessed her state, and satisfied, he nodded, "Okay. I just came to chat with you, and by the way, you can take a day off tomorrow."

Sharapova nodded, and as Max turned to leave, she stepped forward, "Max, I--I'd like to go see Mr. Williams' Gravity with my parents this weekend. Could you help me get three tickets?"

Bradenton was just a small town with a population of about fifty thousand. While it had its share of theaters, there was only one 3D screen and no possibility of an IMAX showing.

Recently, with Gravity's popularity soaring, the small 3D theater, only seating a little over a hundred, faced overwhelming demand. This scarcity highlighted the uneven distribution of the 2,000 3D screens. It was reported that many people, especially those wanting to see the IMAX version, had to drive over a hundred miles to Orlando.

Max halted as he caught the girl's hopeful expression and understood that asking for tickets wasn't merely about seeing a movie; it was more about making a statement. He smiled and nodded, "Sure, I'll arrange to have the tickets delivered to you tomorrow."

...

Although it was vacation time, he couldn't set aside all work.

After dinner, Eric returned to a mansion in Bradenton's gated community, leaving the kids in the care of the twins, and went to his makeshift office.

"Sony agreed to lower the price of its projector equipment by 11% and retain a 40% supply share of the RealD system. Belgium's Barco company and another company from Japan, NEC, will split the remaining 60% share. However, their equipment will need to undergo technical modifications to fit the RealD system, which will take about two months," Katzenberg stated via video call, updating Eric on recent work. He added, "Following the established plan, by next summer, North America will have 6,000 RealD systems, and overseas, the number will be even higher at 8,000. Once this layout is complete, there will be very few competing 3D projection systems in the market."

Eric leaned back in a leather chair behind his desk, nodded in satisfaction after hearing Katzenberg wrap up, then asked, "How is the negotiation on the buyout agreement with the theaters going?"

Initially, to promote 3D movies, Firefly Group signed a guarantee agreement with the theaters promising a box office minimum of $300,000 per screen annually. This agreement was heavily skewed in favor of the theatres, as the current average annual revenue per screen in North America was only around $200,000.

The detailed agreement stated that if a screen's annual earnings fell below $300,000, the Firefly Group would make up the difference.

However, any income exceeding that would see 80% of the excess revenue classified as RealD equipment costs, belonging to Firefly Group over a three-year term.

Additionally, beyond the agreement, Firefly Group also consented that once 3D film promotions succeeded, to create fair competitive conditions for the initial 2,000 screens against later entrants, the theaters could propose a one-time buyout, forgoing the original minimum guarantee.

Calculating with the estimated $250,000 cost of RealD systems, each 3D screen would need approximately $500,000 box office revenue for Firefly Group to recoup their equipment expenses.

Initially, even within Firefly Group, there was skepticism about whether this would be possible. The company merely hoped to avoid significant losses from this collaboration.

However, the reality far surpassed all predictions.

With Gravity's box office momentum, it was anticipated that it alone could exceed $600 million in North America, leaving little doubt that it would surpass Titanic's record.

Given the impressive performance of IMAX theaters being fully booked for two weeks, the 100 IMAX theaters in North America were projected to generate $200 million in ticket sales, leaving another $400 million for the standard 3D screens.

With a total of $400 million in ticket revenue, averaging across 2,000 screens, that equated to $200,000 per screen, and this was within a mere two-month period.

But a year had twelve months, and considering that virtually all films capable of being adapted to 3D had the potential to be blockbuster hits, it was clear that in the initial years of 3D films' popularity, the earnings from a single 3D screen would greatly exceed Firefly Group's projected $500,000 recoup costs.

Consequently, to prevent Firefly Group from continuously reaping profits, the major theater chains had started to call for the execution of that buyout agreement.

When Eric brought up this matter, Katzenberg displayed a hint of pride, "A few chains are suggesting to execute the buyout agreement at our $500,000 equipment price point. Since we initially took the risk, we naturally deserve compensation now. RealD is currently negotiating with the theaters, and the final buyout price should be around $600,000. We now completely hold the initiative in 3D films, and the theaters have to concede to us."

A smile appeared on Eric's face as he calculated; at a $600,000 price point for each of the 2,000 3D screens in North America, Firefly Group would recoup $1.2 billion. This far exceeded the initial investment made for promoting 3D and IMAX films.

The overseas market was more complex, with varying cooperation models in different box office countries. However, as long as they could recover all costs of the 1,600 installed RealD systems overseas, even if it didn't reach North America's $600,000 high price, it would be enough for Firefly Group to recover all its initial investment.

The remaining 200 more profitable IMAX theaters, along with some IMAX properties, would essentially be pure profit.

One could say that just from this single initiative, the resources and efforts Firefly Group invested in promoting 3D and IMAX over the past few years had already yielded significant returns. The company had not only penetrated the foundational projection equipment market but fully seized the promotional initiative for 3D and IMAX films, and the potential profits from this were even more immense.

*****

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