I am Hollywood

[Chapter 854: Do You Want to Know What's Different?]

Cindy exclaimed, a bit taken aback, "Tens of billions of dollars! I think they will definitely fight the lawsuit hard for that amount. I saw in that article yesterday that Sony fought Disney and Universal for ten years over the VCR."

Eric laughed, "You're probably reading one of those sensationalist tabloids. They conveniently left out the most important point: the precedent set by the Sony VCR case was actually very favorable for Fireflyer. Besides, if Fireflyer was to go mainstream, it would generate a massive amount of tax revenue and jobs for the federal government every year. Do you really think the federal court would side with the Japanese against a potential big taxpayer at home?"

Local protectionism existed in every country and region.

If the core patents for traditional portable music players were held by American companies, entangled in tens of billions of dollars, Firefly Electronics might face some trouble. However, those patents were in the hands of the Japanese. Even traditional American player manufacturers had to pay hefty licensing fees to Japanese companies every year.

In this situation, it would be downright absurd for the San Francisco federal court to side with the Japanese.

Chris had mentioned during several recent phone calls from San Francisco that the federal court was likely to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Sony and two other major record companies outright without even bringing it to the docket.

Cindy slightly tilted her head and listened quietly, her interest piqued as she finally asked, "What is case law?"

"You wouldn't be interested," Eric shook his head, smiling at Cindy. "But I am curious -- why are you suddenly asking about that?"

"Well, it's like this," Cindy replied seriously, not showing any embarrassment at being seen through. "Did you or did you not suggest that I invest in tech stocks last year? So I've been paying more attention to this kind of information."

Eric suddenly understood, chuckling, "You really bought in?"

Cindy wiggled two slender fingers playfully, "Twenty million dollars -- all into those four stocks you mentioned last year."

Eric couldn't quite remember those details and asked, "Which four stocks?"

"AOL, Microsoft, Cisco, and Intel," Cindy said, her eyes widening. "Oh my god, you actually forgot? That's most of my savings!"

Eric quickly motioned her to calm down. "Don't make such a big deal out of it. You must have made money, right?"

Cindy realized she overreacted. With their statuses, several guests were already glancing over, and now even more eyes turned toward them.

Sipping her red wine to compose herself, Cindy excitedly lowered her voice, "Yeah, it's crazy! All of those stocks have doubled in value in a year. The stocks I hold are worth nearly fifty million dollars now. I never thought I would have this much money."

Eric felt the same way. The Clover Fund had continuously funneled money into the Nasdaq market, and the returns were even more astonishing compared to her small investment.

"So what's next?" Eric asked with a smile, knowing Cindy wouldn't bring this up for no reason.

Cindy, now cutting her cod, spoke slowly, "Recently, my stockbroker advised me to liquidate all my stocks quickly, but I'm a bit uncertain, so I wanted to ask for your opinion first."

Eric raised an eyebrow, "Did he explain why? I mean, why the sudden recommendation to sell everything?"

"Um," Cindy nodded, "He said there might be an economic crisis in Southeast Asia that could affect North America, leading to a crash in the Nasdaq market."

The Nasdaq index was already nearing 1500 points, nearly double what it had been three years ago.

Thus, bearish sentiments regarding the Nasdaq had emerged long ago. Perhaps only Eric dared to confidently assert that the Nasdaq index was nowhere near its limits.

However, if Cindy's stockbroker was using the overinflated Nasdaq argument to persuade her to sell, Eric wouldn't find that surprising. It was common for brokers to coax their clients into frequent buying and selling to earn higher commissions. But for him to use a Southeast Asian economic crisis potential as a reason?

After pondering, Eric said, "Cindy, I don't know how good your stockbroker is. But if it were me, I would definitely do the same."

Cindy blinked, echoing Eric's previous question, "What happens next?"

After sipping his wine, Eric responded, "Nobody can be certain if Southeast Asia will actually face an economic crisis. But if that prediction proves true, I would then appear to you as a prescient stockbroker. You'd trust me more in the future. In that case, if the North American stock market remains unaffected and continues to climb, when I present a reasonable explanation, you would follow my advice again and buy back in. Just like that, I would secure two commissions."

Cindy seemed a bit lost following Eric's train of thought. It took her a while to process everything, and when Eric finally finished cleaning his plate, she said, "Are you saying that guy is intentionally misleading me?"

Eric shrugged, "It's possible. I don't know your stockbroker. Maybe he is genuinely considering his clients' interests; who knows?"

"But," Cindy tapped her utensils on the fine plate thoughtfully, "didn't you just say, um, that an economic crisis in Southeast Asia would happen, but wouldn't impact the North American stock market? Isn't that a bit unreasonable? I might not know much, but it seems like it should have an effect."

Eric replied, "Of course it would have an effect, but the impact would be the exact opposite of what your stockbroker described. Let me put it this way: do you know what the greatest impact of the two World Wars on the global economy was?"

Cindy shook her head, "No, I'm not really into things like wars."

Eric sighed, "You haven't been to college?"

Cindy lifted her pretty face, "Of course, I was at Northwestern for Chemical Engineering for a year. I even remember the formula for water, H... um, HO2, right?"

"Okay, you must drink a pretty special kind of water," Eric thought it was wise to steer clear of discussing dihydrogen monoxide and continued, "The biggest impact of the World Wars on the global economy was that Europe's collapse paved the way for the rise of the U.S. Similarly, if the Southeast Asian currency system is attacked and triggers an economic crisis, the effect would be akin to a large-scale war. The emerging economies of Southeast Asia would be devastated, and capital would undoubtedly flee. Given Europe's generally low-efficiency welfare state, along with the unlikely possibility of integration among European countries, it would no longer attract significant capital. At that point, North America would once again be the best destination for capital flight. With a massive influx of capital, the most direct manifestation would be a bull market in the stock market. So, everything is just beginning."

This time Cindy understood, nodding, "Looks like I need to switch stockbrokers. But Eric, can I still buy more stocks? And when do you think would be a good time to sell?"

"Sure you could. As for the selling timing," Eric thought for a moment, "When Yahoo goes public, that will definitely push the Nasdaq to a peak, and then you can start selling. After liquidating, don't reinvest."

From what he recalled, the Nasdaq market had crashed in March 2000. But having constructed a whole bunch of 'big butterflies,' Eric was sure the Nasdaq index wouldn't follow its previous historical trajectory.

Yahoo would probably choose to go public around the end of 1998 or the beginning of 1999. As the most eye-catching Internet tech company, Yahoo's IPO would surely boost the entire market, making it an optimal selling opportunity. By then, Cindy's stocks would undoubtedly have increased severalfold, so being greedy wasn't necessary.

As for the stocks held by the Clover Fund, Eric had a more detailed plan, but those details couldn't be casually disclosed to Cindy.

Cindy recognized Eric's reserved attitude. Though she was very curious about when Yahoo would go public, she also understood when to stop asking and smartly refrained from probing further.

Having nearly finished their meals, and since it was still early, Cindy showed no inclination to leave. She ordered coffee, and they continued chatting.

Even though Cindy sometimes struggled to keep up with Eric's thoughts, she understood that the information she casually gleaned while spending time with him far outweighed what those who only talked big had to offer. Others might idolize her beauty, but that approach didn't work with Eric. From here on out, it would only become increasingly difficult for her to get him out for a date, and she cherished this opportunity.

Stirring her hot coffee with a sugar cube, Cindy recalled something and asked, "By the way, Eric, will you still be in New York at the beginning of next month?"

Today was already April 25, a Friday. Eric planned to return to East Hampton for the weekend and fly directly back to Los Angeles from there, shaking his head, "No, I'll be leaving in a couple of days. What's up?"

Cindy expressed some regret, "The Met Gala is on May 5! I was hoping to invite you to be my date."

Eric thought for a moment. The Met Gala, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was a charity event personally handled by Anna Wintour to combat the West Coast's Vanity Fair parties. It only invited the year's most popular celebrities to attend. Last weekend, while attending a party hosted by the Hearst family, Anna had asked Eric if he was interested in attending.

With a smile, Eric replied, "Even if I had the time, I certainly couldn't be your date. Drew would definitely come along to liven things up."

Everyone knew about the close bond between Eric and Drew. Cindy had interacted with Drew a few times and wouldn't dare compete with her. She always felt that there was a certain madness lurking behind that doll-like face, capable of turning on anyone in an instant. If a conflict arose with Drew, Cindy was certain Eric wouldn't side with her.

Reflecting on this, Cindy felt curious and asked, "Eric, what exactly is your relationship with Drew?"

Eric answered without evasion, "It's the kind of relationship you imagine -- like a tree and a vine, intertwined and unable to be separated from each other."

For some reason, the simple words Eric used to describe their dynamic ignited a strong feeling of jealousy in Cindy.

"So, doesn't she mind you... going out with us?"

"Of course, she minds!" Eric chuckled and then shifted his gaze back to Cindy, "But her worldview is a bit different from others."

Cindy instinctively shook her head, "I don't want to know."

"Ha," Eric laughed just as he was about to say something when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out, gestured at Cindy, and walked a short distance down the corridor to take the call.

The call was from Katzenberg himself, reaching out from Los Angeles. They talked for about ten minutes before Eric returned to the table, glancing at his watch. He told Cindy, "We might need to leave early."

Cindy immediately forgot about the topic that had made her a bit regretful, asking with concern, "Is something wrong?"

Eric summoned the waiter, handed him his credit card, and then replied to Cindy, "Nothing major. It's Friday, and the global box office data for Titanic's 18th week just came in. They just transmitted the info from Los Angeles, and I want to take a look."

"Wow, already the 18th week?" Cindy asked, instantly interested. "I remember last week it was, um, 1.775 billion dollars. Isn't that just miraculous? What's it at now?"

"1.852 billion."

Eric stated the number, and his mood was a mix of calm and excitement. This figure meant that Titanic had officially broken the previous record of 1.84 billion dollars from its first round of screenings, and it was now rapidly approaching the new milestone of 2 billion dollars.

Katzenberg had just mentioned over the phone that, judging by Titanic's current box office curve, reaching 2 billion was basically a certainty. The only unknown remained how far its ultimate potential could go.

A month ago, when Titanic's global box office surpassed 1.5 billion dollars, the company executives had suggested throwing a grand celebratory party, but Eric had vetoed that, preferring to wait until the more significant milestone of 1.8 billion was reached.

During the call, Eric and Katzenberg had already arranged to host a grand celebration at Firefly Cinemas next Wednesday, with a Titanic model about to be set up, along with the official announcement of the Titanic exhibit project.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.