I am Hollywood

Chapter 463: Chapter 464: Three Ideas



[Chapter 464: Three Ideas]

Eric and Steve Case spent the entire day discussing back and forth without reaching much of an agreement, so they decided to continue their conversation the following day.

After work, Chris invited Eric to his home for dinner. Eric dismissed his assistant and got into Chris's car.

"I can't believe that the number of internet users in North America has surpassed 1.5 million. I thought we would have to wait a while," Eric remarked once Chris started the car. He planned to launch some projects after Clinton took office, but after seeing today's data on America Online, he felt that it was better to start sooner rather than later.

Though 1.5 million seemed insignificant compared to the billions of internet users in later years, it was quite an impressive number in an era when personal computers had not yet become widespread. By laying the groundwork while the user base was still small, he could position himself advantageously for when user numbers skyrocketed, potentially even setting industry standards.

Eric vaguely remembered a saying: "First-class companies set standards, second-class companies rely on branding, third-class companies sell technology, and fourth-class companies make products." These four statements formed a sort of industry hierarchy; the higher up in the pyramid a company stood, the greater the rewards.

Chris was unaware of Eric's train of thought. Upon hearing Eric's comment, he asked, "Wait for what?"

"I had some ideas. I originally planned to wait until the internet developed further before implementation, but it seems like waiting isn't necessary. The sooner, the better," Eric explained.

Chris nodded while steering the car towards the side of the road to let a red BMW convertible speed by, appearing somewhat distracted.

"Did you guys move?" Eric noticed the change in scenery as they passed signs and realized that the last time he saw Chris and Emily, they were living in downtown Manhattan, but now they were nearing Central Park.

"We bought an apartment on the Upper East Hydee recently, right at 72nd Street on Third Avenue," Chris replied.

"Funny enough, I have a villa nearby that Drew and I bought last year, but I haven't moved in yet," Eric suddenly remembered something and asked, "You aren't getting married, are you?"

Chris shook his head. "Emily wants to wait another two years; she doesn't plan on getting married before she turns thirty."

Eric quickly picked up on the shift in Chris's demeanor. What started as a lively conversation became somewhat subdued, and he suspected it had something to do with dinner.

...

Chris parked the car in the lot of a high-rise apartment building, and they both stepped into the elevator, soon arriving at the floor where Chris's new home was.

Dressed casually, Emily opened the door and warmly embraced Eric. "Eric, it's so good to see you again."

"Likewise," Eric chuckled as he released Emily from the hug. "But I didn't bring any red wine with me."

"It's fine; come on in," Emily invited Eric into the apartment, thoughtfully hanging his coat. Eric thought something felt off with the couple. While Emily was usually cheerful and amiable, today she seemed overly enthusiastic.

"Please, have a seat, Eric. Dinner will be ready shortly," Emily said after pouring him a cup of coffee. She then shot a glance at Chris. "Chris, can you come help me for a minute?"

Chris looked a bit exasperated but moved toward the kitchen.

Eric merely glanced in the kitchen's direction, suppressing his curiosity as he picked up the remote from the coffee table to turn on the television. He figured they'd eventually discuss whatever it was they needed to.

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In the kitchen, Emily put on some oven mitts, opened the oven with a quick peek, then closed it before whispering, "Did you tell him yet?"

Chris shrugged. "This is so awkward. How do you want me to bring it up?"

"Awkward? It's quite a normal thing," Emily insisted, irritation creeping into her voice as she glared at her boyfriend. "You... you just don't want to help me."

"If I didn't want to help, I wouldn't have brought Eric here; the rest is up to you," Chris replied, picking up a knife to chop some onions.

Emily, exasperated, snatched the knife from him. "Fine, I'll just say it myself!"

...

"That night really scared me, especially when that tractor crashed into the TV screen. I honestly thought the television was broken. Eric, how on earth did you pull that off?" During dinner, Emily reminisced about the teaser for Twister with excitement in her voice.

"It was just a simple visual effect," Eric explained, conveying the concept without much pride. After all, the current 3D movie effects had advanced to this level, appearing more stunning. However, 3D technology was still immature; prolonged use of 3D glasses led to severe eye strain, so the tech mainly worked well for short films.

Emily leaned in, full of anticipation. "I remember Twister is set to premiere on June 5th, but that's still a long wait. Will Firefly do a preview screening?"

"Of course, I'll make sure two tickets are sent your way," Eric replied with a smile. "Thanks!" Emily beamed, but then a brief silence fell over the dining table. After a moment, Emily finally mustered the courage to ask, "Eric, um, Firefly has a significant amount of funding left, right?"

Eric glanced at Chris, who was pretending to sip soup, before laughing. "Wouldn't Chris know better than I do?"

Chris immediately choked on his soup, grabbing paper towels in a hurry to clean his face.

Understanding dawned on Eric, who set down his utensils and said seriously, "Emily, just say what's on your mind. We don't need pleasantries between us; that only makes us feel more distant."

Her face flushed, Emily felt slightly embarrassed. "Actually, it's about our family's clothing company..."

"Oh, I remember now," Eric quickly recalled the instance two years ago during Thanksgiving when he first met Chris and Emily at Jeffrey's place. Back then, Chris worked at Morgan Stanley and was in charge of the clothing company's public listing. Because of a paperwork error by Emily's father, the IPO had fallen through. "I remember telling you last year that if I made money on the futures market, I would invest in your family's clothing company. I'm sorry I almost forgot about it; how much do you need?"

To Eric's surprise, Emily responded hesitantly, glancing at Chris. "Um... one... one hundred million?"

Chris shot her a sharp look, and Emily hurriedly added, "Actually, sixty million would work too."

Eric could sense Chris's seriousness; to put it mildly, he was quite stiff. Though he controlled a significant amount of Firefly's funds, he felt that asking for investment in his girlfriend's family business seemed unprofessional, which likely explained his awkward expression. After acquiring Disney, Eric still had about 1.5 billion of the 8 billion dollars he had siphoned off from last year's Gulf War. After acquiring Disney, Firefly Pictures itself could become self- sufficient in terms of funds, so he had planned to use the money for other investments.

"How about this," Eric proposed after a moment's thought, "I'll be in New York for the next few days. You could prepare some materials for me. After I review them, I'll decide whether to invest sixty million or one hundred million. Does that work?"

"Absolutely!" Emily's face lit up with excitement. She nearly jumped from her seat to fetch her prepared documents but soon realized the setting wasn't appropriate for such a quick

move.

...

After dinner, Eric politely declined Chris and Emily's offer to stay over. Chris walked him down to the street, and they strolled side by side along the bustling streets of Midtown.

"I've always felt lucky. If I hadn't run into Jeffrey and then you, I probably wouldn't have achieved what I have. I don't have any family left in this world; I've always regarded Jeffrey as a mentor," Eric mused, looking at the neon signs lining the street. He remembered a few years ago when he risked everything to produce Home Alone. If it hadn't been for meeting Jeffrey and his crew, as a Hollywood rookie, even managing to assemble a ragtag team wouldn't have ensured his film vision would come to fruition.

Chris understood why Eric suddenly shared his feelings. He did not see himself and his father as Eric's saviors. He had enough self-awareness; without meeting Eric, he wasn't sure whether his father could pick himself back up, nor did he know how long their cold war might last. Plus, now he managed over two billion in assets. Had he chosen to stay at Morgan Stanley, building operations of that scale individually would have taken at least another

decade. "Actually, we're all quite lucky."

Eric chuckled, "Yeah."

Chris shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "By the way, you can trust that investment. Emily's father has retired now; Emily is currently in charge of the clothing company, and business has been good these past two years. If it weren't for the incident from two years ago, getting re-listed wouldn't be a problem."

"Well, you and Emily can sort out the specifics of the investment. Maybe talk about it when

you get back," Eric joked.

"Why don't you take the lead? I'll try to keep my nose out of it," Chris laughed. "Anyway, you mentioned you already have some thoughts on computer networking?"

"I didn't think you were paying attention to that."

"All right, just tell me what you have in mind," he encouraged.

Eric scanned their surroundings, gesturing toward a cafe on the street. "If you aren't in a rush,

let's go in there and chat. The villa I bought is just ahead, but it's a bit empty; I only called the cleaning service before coming today."

Chris nodded, and they walked into the nearby cafe, ordered two coffees, and settled in by the

window.

Eric gathered his thoughts before continuing, "Too bad there's no laptop here; it would make explaining things much easier. You've been researching computer materials recently, right?" "Yeah, just go ahead; I should be able to understand," Chris replied.

"Essentially, all my ideas are based on the widespread availability of internet technologies.

Just like I mentioned before, I believe it's a significant trend for the future, and the possibilities are vast. Plus, even if my gamble fails, my losses wouldn't be substantial." Chris agreed, "I feel your assessment is quite valid. A few days ago, I noticed Emily working on a clothing design using an Apple laptop, and those designs were made using software, which would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. Now, personal computers aren't priced too high; even a regular person can buy one with a month or two of salary. If computer hardware keeps growing at this pace, widespread adoption is inevitable."

"Back to the computer network, I currently have three ideas," Eric paused and added, "I arrived at these during my everyday use of computers. I've also considered forming three separate companies to pursue these ideas. First, I have a concept for a graphical interface

browser."

"A graphical interface browser?" Chris echoed.

"It's essentially a graphical version of a web browsing tool," Eric explained, thinking for a

moment. "To put it in simple terms, the tools we use to access the internet now are akin to the DOS operating systems from a few years ago, requiring complex commands to operate -- very inconvenient. My idea for a graphical interface browser would present current web tools in a user-friendly graphical interface, similar to Microsoft's Windows operating system. As you know, before the Windows system, using a personal computer was often the domain of specialized tech workers. But once Windows emerged, even ordinary people could use a personal computer. My idea would be a 'Windows tool' that makes the web accessible to

everyone."

*****

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