I am Hollywood

Chapter 77: Premiere



[Chapter 77: A Knock at the Door]

After Super Bowl night, the hottest topic of discussion wasn't the San Francisco 49ers

winning the championship, but rather the premiere of the trailer for Pretty Woman during the live Super Bowl broadcast.

This year's Super Bowl pulled in a staggering 150 million viewers, capturing half of North America's population. With the buzz created by word of mouth, within just a day, everyone in America knew about Eric Williams' new film, directed by the same guy behind Home Alone. The major film studios immediately recognized the tremendous impact of the Super Bowl trailers and allocated vast resources to meticulously analyze the data related to Pretty Woman's trailer release. As for the results, they would likely only see something concrete during the ad bidding for the next year's Super Bowl.

In the previous timeline, the very first trailer aired during the Super Bowl was for Independence Day in 1996, when Fox risked a fortune bidding for Super Bowl ad slots. That disaster of a sci-fi film eventually grossed a towering $300 million in North America. This marked the beginning of a fierce competition among film trailers at the Super Bowl.

Eric believed that the effect of the Pretty Woman trailer couldn't be far behind that of Independence Day. Next year, being able to secure a commercial spot would no longer just be a matter of budget; they would need a solid relationship with the networks airing the Super Bowl.

While the Super Bowl boasted over sixty ads, every type of advertisement faced strict proportional limits for optimal effectiveness, making it impossible to use all slots for trailers. This reality led to the monopolization of Super Bowl slots by a few big studios. Even though the soaring costs of filmmaking made the million-dollar Super Bowl ad price manageable for many production companies, those without enough clout would find that money alone wouldn't guarantee them space.

...

In the following days, keen media outlets began reporting on this phenomenon. The New York Times even declared that the Pretty Woman trailer was the biggest winner of that year's Super Bowl.

The most immediate effect was that box office revenues for Home Alone saw another uptick. By its ninth week, initial estimates had projected around $12 million for the week, but it ended up raking in $18 million after a week, climbing the total earnings to $198 million.

Even calculating Eric's current profit share, that extra $6 million practically recouped the $1.5 million spent on the Super Bowl trailer.

"Thank goodness," Eric sighed in relief as he looked over the new week's box office report for Home Alone in the Firefly office.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Jeffrey, sitting across from him, chuckled and said, "Yeah, it's a relief it hit $198 million. If it broke $200 million this week, we would have wasted a perfectly good talking point."

They spoke this way because the week following the Super Bowl trailer saw attention peak for Pretty Woman. If Home Alone crossed the $200 million mark, it would only serve as an added bonus. Delaying to the next week meant the excitement around the Super Bowl trailer would have slightly waned.

If box office numbers passed $200 million that week, it would make Home Alone the first film in three years to reach that milestone again, thus creating new buzz. Combined with the regular publicity, it would almost guarantee good results for Pretty Woman upon its release.

"Eric, are you really not planning on personally participating in the promotion for Pretty Woman?" Jeffrey inquired.

Eric shook his head, saying, "Al and Julia have already teamed up with Fox for enough promotion. I have another matter to attend to, but I will definitely show up for the premiere." The additional matter Eric referred to involved Pixar. The day after the Super Bowl, he received a call from Jobs. After introductions, Jobs warmly expressed a desire to discuss matters with Eric. When Eric casually asked if it pertained to the Pixar valuation, getting a confirmation prompted him to hang up on Jobs.

...

With a clear sense of Jobs' intentions, Eric wasted little time. Using the contract from Home Alone as collateral, he applied for a $50 million loan from the bank.

He applied directly for the hefty $50 million loan, which would cover his tax situation, Pixar and investments for the next film as well.

In the late 1980s, a $50 million loan was indeed a massive sum. If Jobs approached the bank now, they would likely tell him to hit the road. However, when Eric proposed the $50 million, the bank even probed about whether he might want to borrow more.

Considering that a week had passed, Eric expected another call from Jobs. While Jobs was notoriously erratic and arrogant, he was also someone who could be quite flexible. From Eric's research, he soon figured out that Jobs' Next Computer and Pixar Studio were on the verge of a financial collapse.

The $20 million Eric offered was significantly less than Jobs' investment in Pixar, yet it would squarely resolve Jobs' crisis with Next Computer. Jobs would still have his ambitions predominantly focused on personal computing.

Eric didn't doubt that Jobs would seize this golden opportunity to unload the burden of Pixar. Of course, Jobs might attempt to probe Microsoft, just like in the original timeline, but Eric was confident that under these circumstances, Microsoft would offer him an even lower price.

...

After more than a week of intense post-production, Pretty Woman was finally completed. By early February, as the loan had already hit Eric's account, he continued waiting without any new call from Jobs. He found himself admiring Jobs' patience but remained nonchalant about the situation, knowing that a high-intellect genius like Jobs would easily catch any slip-up.

With a week to go before Pretty Woman hit theaters, Fox hosted a critics' screening in Los Angeles.

Soon after, newspaper articles guiding people's long-anticipated reviews on Pretty Woman emerged. Whether it stemmed from Eric's out-of-pocket payment for the Super Bowl trailer or Fox's growing confidence in the film, the advertising push reached blockbuster-level intensity. Correspondingly, their public relations for the critics also seemed spot-on, leading to overwhelmingly positive reviews appearing in newspapers, naturally reflecting the film's high quality.

If Pretty Woman had turned out poorly, no amount of financial incentive could convince film critics to praise a lousy movie.

...

On February 9, at the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, Pretty Woman officially held its

premiere.

With Fox's orchestration, alongside the film's crew members, over a dozen celebrities came out to support the event, turning the brief red carpet into a spectacle of star power.

Following a brief introduction, the film quickly rolled into play.

Eric returned to his seat, quietly absorbing his own creation, Pretty Woman. Originally, the seat beside him was occupied by Fox executive Carlin Hunt, but at some point, it shifted to another man in his thirties. Due to the dim lighting, Eric didn't pay much attention.

But after a while, the stranger initiated conversation.

"Mr. Williams, hello. I'm Steve Jobs."

Eric turned in surprise; Jobs was only thirty-three years old then, at the prime of his life, sporting a full head of hair and a certain boyish charm. Yet, Eric understood that beneath this handsome facade lay arrogance and volatility.

Since Jobs had approached him, Eric smiled and extended his hand, saying, "Hello, Mr. Jobs."

With that, they greeted each other before both returned their focus to the film, neither willing to break the silence again.

It wasn't until the movie concluded over an hour later that Jobs spoke up, saying, "Mr.

Williams, can we talk?"

*****

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