I am Hollywood

Chapter 76: Super Bowl Sunday



[Chapter 76: Super Bowl Sunday]

After asking John Lasseter to deliver a message to Jobs, Eric set aside his work with Pixar. Given Jobs' current situation, Eric felt confident that the odds of him accepting their offer were over ninety percent. Even if Jobs stubbornly clung to Pixar, surely Silicon Valley wasn't lacking in skilled 3D animators.

On January 21, Pretty Woman officially wrapped filming. What was originally planned to be three weeks of shooting was actually completed in just over two weeks, further solidifying Eric's reputation as a "quick shooter" among the crew. During this time, Eric also stayed up late to edit a 59-second preview for the Super Bowl, and on the morning of the wrap party, Jeffrey headed back to New York with the trailer.

Despite having the energy of youth on his side, after over two weeks of intense work, Eric felt deeply fatigued. There was no wrap party, no emotional farewell scene; everyone lived in Los Angeles, and once the work was done, they packed up and went their separate ways.

...

Tomorrow was the annual Super Bowl Sunday, and even Eric, who had no interest in the Super Bowl, could sense the crew's excitement about the day. Photographer Nicole Frank and several other members, ignoring their exhaustion, raced to the airport as soon as Eric shouted that filming was done, heading to Miami.

Uncertain how long he had slept, Eric awoke to find it was already the afternoon of the next day. Stretching, he felt his bones crack, then got dressed, washed up, and headed downstairs, feeling completely refreshed.

In the living room, a petite figure darted around busily. The coffee table was piled high with snacks, and a new television had replaced the old one. When Eric walked in, Drew grabbed at- shirt and headed straight for him.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing?" Eric laughed as he dodged Drew's playful advances.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, you dirty man!" Drew pouted, then continued to yank the t- shirt off Eric and slipped a bright red jersey over him.

"What's this supposed to mean?" Eric tugged at the snug jersey, feeling quite uncomfortable. "It means it's Super Bowl night! I hereby declare you a fan of the San Francisco 49ers!" Eric weakly asked, "Can I say no?"

"No way!" Drew replied, brushing off his protests and returning to her flurry of activity. Eric shrugged, grabbed a bucket of chicken wings and some juice bottles, and headed upstairs to his study, letting Drew frolic around in the living room.

...

Hours later, as the game was about to start, Drew dragged Eric back to the living room. This year's championship match pitted the Cincinnati Bengals against the San Francisco 49ers.

Finally, as the second quarter wrapped up and following a Chevrolet ad, the screen flickered to reveal the carefully edited five-second Firefly Films logo. With over a hundred million viewers in North America tuned in, when they saw the logo flash, most thought it looked beautiful and pondered, What's this Firefly Films?

There had never been movie trailers shown during a Super Bowl broadcast before, so ninety- nine percent of the viewers had no idea what they were witnessing.

The five-second intro flashed by, and then the camera zoomed in on a stunning blonde who softly spoke, "Are you ready?" No one responded, as the sound of a revving engine crescendoed, and a sleek silver Lamborghini peeled away.

"Cool!" Many at home felt their hearts resonate in time with the roar of the engine. They mistakenly assumed it was a car commercial.

However, they soon realized they were completely wrong. Eric had edited that part to harness the Lamborghini's engine noise to grab the audience's attention. Then, the Pretty Woman song played, launching into a montage of clips from the film.

Though it lasted just over fifty seconds, Eric had put significant thought into editing this trailer. The footage was divided into four parts, focusing on Edward and Vivian's first meeting, their time together, their deepening relationship, and their eventual separation. Their first encounter on Hollywood Boulevard, their moments at the hotel, the budding romance over time, and the divide created by their differing social statuses.

While the forty seconds in between contained no dialogue, most viewers grasped that this was a love story -- a classic tale of a prince and his Cinderella. Of course, Eric didn't lay it all out plain and simple; many shots suggested a sense of ambiguity, as if saying, If you want to know more, head to the theater.

The 59-second ad came to a close with the last shot lingering on Julia, her voice filled with determination and hope, stating, "I want a fairytale!"

The screen faded to black, leaving Julia's final words ringing in the viewers' ears: Would she get her fairytale?

Finally, text appeared on the screen: "From the director of Home Alone, Eric Williams, comes Pretty Woman, hitting theaters across North America on February 10. Stay tuned!"

...

In countless homes, viewers momentarily lost interest in the upcoming commercials and game, buzzing in discussion.

"Whoever thought to air a movie trailer during the Super Bowl is a genius. Aren't Super Bowl ads pricey?"

"Definitely expensive. A spot that long costs over a million bucks!"

"That's extravagant enough to fund a whole new movie! But I think the trailer looks fun; maybe I'll check it out when it comes out."

"The lead actress is gorgeous!"

"I like Al Pacino better. I heard he's making a comeback -- turns out it's for this movie. I must have watched The Godfather series five or six times!"

"Eric Williams has another new movie? Isn't that fast? Who's he going to mess with this time?

A couple, maybe?"

..

"Mom, I recognize those words -- Home Alone! Can we go see Kevin again tomorrow?"

"No, sweetie. You must be mistaken."

"Mom, you're lying! Those two words are what you taught me."

...

"I've heard that song -- Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman. That's an old record."

"Really? Is that from the same record?"

"Probably can't find it anymore. That album was bought by your grandpa. Who knows where

it went?"

"That's a shame, but the soundtrack will definitely come out once the movie is released. We can just buy a copy then."

...

"Karl, let's go see that movie on Valentine's Day, okay?"

"Um...Margaret, didn't we agree on seeing Tom Hanks in The Burbs?"

"I think this one sounds more interesting..."

"Alright, let's do it your way."

...

"Hey, that girl said she wants a fairytale. Do you think she'll get it?"

"Darling, it's a Valentine's Day movie; the ending will surely be happily ever after."

"But I think a lot of shots imply the leads are going to part ways. Many directors prefer to use

sad endings to tug at the audience's heartstrings."

"Alright, no need to overthink it. We'll find out together when we go see it."

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