I am Hollywood

Chapter 45: The Farce



[Chapter 45: The Farce]

First, just as Eric had suspected, the Los Angeles Daily News exposed new photos of Julia leaving Eric's house. They specifically mentioned the wild party Eric had hosted at home, but they only glossed over the involvement of the Home Alone cast, instead focusing ambiguously on a group of young, beautiful women.

Following that, several newspapers jumped on the bandwagon. They dug up dubious gossip from seemingly nowhere, criticizing Eric's personal character. Slowly but surely, he transitioned from an aspiring young man into a notorious playboy who abandoned his girlfriend, allegedly engaged with underage girls, and indulged in a decadent party lifestyle. "... Perhaps Eric Williams was indeed a somewhat talented young man, but after acquiring vast wealth so easily, he evidently began to fall from grace at an incomprehensible speed..." "... Having just dumped his low-profile girlfriend to spend time with Drew Barrymore, Eric Williams instantly moved on to a new woman. According to reports, the blonde beauty in the photo is the star of the currently released Mystic Pizza..."

"... It's hard to believe that Eric Williams would so shamelessly pursue the 13-year-old Drew Barrymore. Personally, I think there must be some hidden details here. Regardless, Eric's actions have definitely crossed California laws. I can almost see a second Roman Polanski -- a talented director who committed equally unforgivable crimes. To prevent Eric from slipping away like Polanski to evade legal responsibility, I believe the LAPD should take swift measures against him..."

Even some low-brow tabloids, lacking any solid information, began to fabricate stories out of thin air. All of a sudden, the good public image Eric had built started to crumble.

...

When Fox noticed that the uproar was escalating, they jumped into action. Their film, 17 Again, was still doing well in theaters, and they had just purchased the overseas distribution rights for Home Alone. If Eric's image -- as both the leading man and director -- were to suffer, it was clear they would incur direct financial losses.

As for Columbia Pictures, they took a mostly indifferent stance, adhering to the promotional contract but remaining a bystander. Some employees in Columbia's publicity department suggested that they should support Eric, but the proposals were never approved. Cohen Blount had recently been left red-faced due to Eric, and the higher-ups in the department even speculated about whether these scandals had Cohen's encouragement behind them, making them reluctant to take any risks in backing Eric.

News Corporation, originally known for their print media, had played the dirty publicity game before, using character assassination to boost sales. Hence, when it came time for them to deal with public relations crises, they handled it easily.

Before long, negotiations between Fox and Eric led to a rapid counterattack. In an attempt to rehabilitate Eric's image through various media outlets, Fox expertly picked a few recently released movies featuring less than squeaky-clean actors and directors to exploit, diverting the public's attention away from Eric.

The public also began to sense something unusual amidst the flood of gossip. While the media was adept at manipulating public sentiment, they learned that if they treated the public like fools, they would only end up fooling themselves.

...

Soon, a lesser-known publication, Hollywood Informer, published a special commentary article that fully exposed the undercurrents behind the drama.

The Christmas Farce: It's All About the Box Office

"With the annual Christmas movie season arriving, studios that usually pulled out all stops to promote their films have resorted to a series of despicable smear tactics against their competitors this year. It all began with the miraculous rise of a young man named Eric Williams.

After the latest week's box office results rolled in, two films associated with Eric Williams had collectively surpassed $100 million, especially the low-budget comedy Home Alone, which, despite facing a slight drop, continued to perform with only a 20% decrease in its third week, raking in $23.15 million and bringing its total to nearly $80 million, landing it in the sixth position on the annual box office chart. Its miraculous momentum was unstoppable.

It's well-known that the total box office take and the number of moviegoers during the Christmas season are finite, and major studios were set to withdraw their annual blockbusters. Thus, it was no surprise that Eric Williams found himself under attack from various scandals as competitors vied for market share.

Regardless of Eric's true character, or whether we discuss the recent alleged misdeeds of various stars, we simply call for studios to maintain composure and return to a standard of fair competition. Resorting to underhanded tactics to undermine opponents will ultimately backfire."

...

This unique article from Hollywood Informer seemed to send a signal. As major newspapers began to reprint it, the influential figures orchestrating the smear campaign against Eric had no choice but to back off, realizing Eric was no longer alone. The rapid, fierce counterattack from News Corporation clearly indicated that Eric Williams had formed a solid alliance with Fox.

Though some tabloids clung to the story, most influential publications quietly ceased attacks on their competitor.

It appeared that the uproar had passed.

...

A few days later, after being hounded by paparazzi to the brink of insanity, Eric finally moved into a mansion at the top of Beverly Hills. He firmly shut the door, no longer having to look out from his North Hollywood apartment and see a line of paparazzi cars parked outside.

Jeffrey Hansen glanced at the towering walls surrounding the mansion and, feeling a bit envious, pressed the doorbell. After a few minutes, Eric opened the door and welcomed Jeffrey inside.

After parking in front of the villa, Jeffrey asked, "Eric, what have you been doing at home? You haven't stepped out in days, have you?"

Mentioning that really depressed Eric. After the paperwork at Firefly Films was wrapped up, he had very few things that required his personal appearance. Additionally, with the paparazzi chasing him down every time he went out, Eric had practically been housebound. Compared to the happy lives of homebodies in his previous life, this time without the internet and smartphones felt maddening.

"I've been writing novels, scripts, watching TV... Just really bored. At this point, I'm afraid to step outside. The last time I just dropped by a convenience store for a drink, the next day there were headlines about me trying to make a move on the cashier girl."

Hearing this, Jeffrey couldn't help but laugh at Eric's plight.

Eric led Jeffrey to the study on the second floor of the villa. As soon as they entered, Jeffrey noticed a large wooden board on one wall covered with an assortment of newspaper clippings and scrawled notes pinned to it.

"What's this for?" Jeffrey asked curiously as he stepped closer.

"Not much," Eric replied as he pulled off a clipping and chuckled. "I got bored at home, so I figured I'd try to analyze who was behind all this from the gossip papers. Once I'm big, I'll

settle the score later."

Jeffrey teased, "You think you're Sherlock Holmes? If those clippings could really show you the truth, the veterans in this business would be out of work."

Eric shrugged. In fact, he still considered himself somewhat lucky because of the temporary alliance with Fox that had pulled him back from the edge of disaster. Compared to Michael Jackson in his previous life, who disturbed too many powerful interests and ended up alone and tormented, Eric dared not hope for anything more.

Setting those thoughts aside, Eric asked, "By the way, Jeffrey, how are things coming along?"

Hearing this, Jeffrey pulled out a thick stack of documents from his briefcase with slight resentment. "You have it easy as a boss, passing everything off to me. I'm already renovating the company's office building; that should take about half a month. Also, these are the materials for the talent agency you asked me to find. Eric, are you really planning to buy aNôv(el)B\\jnn

talent agency?"

Eric accepted the materials and replied, "Of course. You saw what happened with Stuart Ronkel. CAA is tightly holding onto him, waiting to squeeze me for a big deal. I can't keep grooming stars for others."

"But the federal antitrust laws prohibit film companies from owning talent agencies." Eric flipped through the documents and replied, "I'm well aware of that. I don't plan to merge the two companies. In my vision, the film company and the talent agency will operate completely independently. Legally, there's no issue."

"Well, suit yourself. By the way, have you finished that new script you talked about?"

Eric found a stack of scripts buried under the piles of newspaper on his desk and handed them

to Jeffrey. "It's finished; take a look."

*****

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