"Frank, with 9.5 million simultaneous viewers, congratulations on successfully directing another excellent TV series."
On the phone, Eric congratulated Frank Darabont.
The latter was busy with work and clearly unaware of the viewership data for the first episode of the walking dead. Hearing the news, he immediately let out an excited roar.
"I knew it, I always knew the walking dead would be excellent, but 9.5 million is still somewhat unexpected. It seems taking on this project was truly the best decision I've ever made."
"I've always thought so, Frank. Keep up your enthusiasm and put your heart into finishing the remaining episodes. By the way, which episode are you filming now?"
"Episode 11. I've already finished editing 8 episodes. Don't worry, it definitely won't affect the broadcast."
"Alright, then get ready. We're going to reap a good harvest at this year's Emmy Awards."
"Hmph, 'Forget Who I Am' made those guys mock me. The Emmy Awards are a great opportunity, and I want to see what they'll say then!"
"Hahahahaha."
After encouraging Darabont, Eric pondered for a moment and then called Ashley Olsen.
After a few beeps, the call connected.
"Hi, Ashley."
"Eric, I'm here. What's up?"
"Where's Mary? Is she not there?"
"Mary went to class. I'm the only one in the office. If you want to say something, I can pass it on."
"Have you watched the walking dead?"
"What?"
"MGM's new series, premiered yesterday on HBO."
"Sorry, I haven't been paying much attention to the small screen lately. Are you recommending it to me? If you say so, I'm quite interested, but what kind of TV series is it?"
"Apocalyptic and zombies. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. I plan to license this series to Dual Star Entertainment for merchandise development. Its commercial potential is definitely no less than pink panther, and it will be even better after subsequent episodes air."
Ashley was a bit stunned by Eric's sudden decision, struggling to react.
"Wait, you're too fast, Eric. Give me some time to think. You said zombies? But what do zombies have to do with us?"
Taking a sip of coffee, Eric continued, "If you're asking about the connection to the Olsen Sisters brand, it might be difficult to link them in that regard. But I mean to produce them separately, to operate the walking dead merchandise independently."
"Using Dual Star Entertainment's factory to produce zombie T-shirts, zombie hats, zombie dolls, zombie accessories, and also zombie ice cream, zombie chocolate. These things will sell like hotcakes very soon."
"We need to prepare in advance. I don't want this money to be earned by those damned pirates."
Now Ashley Olsen understood. The model Eric described, to put it nicely, was licensing; to put it bluntly, it was just using Dual Star Entertainment as a processing factory.
And then they would also use Dual Star Entertainment's sales channels. This approach would save a lot more costs than entrusting it to other companies, and the savings would naturally be profit.
Ashley sighed inwardly. If anyone else had made such a request, the Olsen Sisters would certainly charge a portion of the fees, at least for processing.
But Eric was different. He was a major shareholder of Dual Star Entertainment, and MGM had also licensed the rights to many classic film and television works to Dual Star Entertainment at a low price. In this matter, the Olsen Sisters had benefited.
There's give and take, so when producing the walking dead merchandise, Dual Star Entertainment could naturally only charge the cost price.
It was foreseeable that not only the walking dead, but also other suitable popular IPs would follow the same path.
Ashley Olsen cleared her throat a few times: "Eric, your words are naturally fine, but I understand clothing and accessories; it's just about watermarks and decals, which is how we do our merchandise."
"But what are zombie ice cream and zombie chocolate? Forgive my lack of imagination."
"I ask you, what do zombies like to eat?" Eric asked.
"Eat… eat people?"
"Yes, not only do they eat people, but they especially like to eat brains. We'll make the ice cream in the shape of brains; that's not difficult."
"Chocolate is also very simple. Make the shapes of human internal organs. Skip the children's version; still use traditional heart shapes. I don't want to be complained about by parents, though I don't think any children would buy this."
"In short, use your little brain and let the designers work with confidence."
"You need to understand one thing: whether a product sells or not doesn't depend on its color and shape, but on the influence of the IP. As long as the walking dead is successful enough, even if you make ice cream into a pile of shit, there will still be brain-dead fans willing to consume it."
"And I have absolute confidence in this series, understand?"
Since Eric said so, Ashley Olsen couldn't find a reason to refuse and could only agree.
At this moment, she suddenly felt a hint of unease. Although cooperating with a big company had its benefits, Eric Cooper had already shown a hint of assertiveness.
It hadn't been long since he joined Dual Star Entertainment, but that subtle aggressiveness seemed even stronger than Robert Thorne, after all, Thorne didn't have a lion by his side.
Changing the subject, Ashley asked, "Eric, when will blue is the warmest color finally start filming?"
"It's been in preparation for over 3 months. The production plan was announced a week ago, but so far, Mary and I don't even know who the director or producer is. Has MGM not decided yet?"
"Don't worry, Ashley, it will start very soon, maybe in a few days." Noticing her impatience, Eric comforted her.
Unexpectedly, her anxiety only increased when he said that: "No, I'm not trying to rush you. I just hope this movie can save our careers. Slowly is better than rushing into it. Mary and I have already said that if we fail one more time, we'll retire."
"Hahahaha, isn't that just a gimmick? Are you taking it seriously?"
It's common for celebrities to retire and then make a comeback, like Barbie Hsu who announced her retirement and came back shortly after, joked about returning faster than remarrying.
There are also those who use retirement to generate buzz, like Lin Chi-ling, who announced her retirement yesterday and came back the next day.
But Ashley's tone was very serious: "Eric, Mary and I are not joking, because we are not just celebrities, we are also business people."
"Celebrities might not care about their reputation; some even like to use bad publicity to increase exposure. But business people cannot; this will make the public question our integrity. You should understand how important integrity is to a brand."
Hearing that the other party was not joking, Eric couldn't help but admire her.
"Ashley, I guarantee the quality of this movie will not be bad. If the final cut is not up to par, even if it means scrapping it, we will choose to reshoot, because I don't like bad movies either."
"Today is April 16th. Filming will start in early May. Tell Mary to get ready."
"Really?" Ashley was somewhat surprised.
"Yes, I'll be the director!"
"What?"
She was only slightly surprised a moment ago, but hearing that Eric would be the director, she was truly astonished.
Because Eric's directing skills were currently in a Schrödinger's state; in short, no one could say for sure, and being unclear meant unreliable.
However, before she could react, Eric had already hung up: "Another call is coming in. We'll talk next time, sorry!"
"Hi, Nicole! Miss me?" Eric asked with a smile.
"Don't talk, Eric, I have a question for you." Nicole Kidman's anxious voice came from the other end.
"What question?"
Eric hesitated. This beautiful woman wasn't going to cause him trouble again, was she? Her questions were not easy to answer.
"What was that call about?"
"Huh? What call?"
"Rick, did Rick escape?"
"Rick? rick and morty?" Eric didn't know why this popular series slipped out.
"Idiot, I'm talking about the walking dead. Did Rick get out of trouble?"
"Oh, so that's what you wanted to ask." Eric finally realized.
"Otherwise? Should I ask which girl you're with right now?"
"Nicole, even though we're close, if you say that, I can still sue you for defamation. Wait, you watched the walking dead? Are you back in America?"
At this point in time, HBO had not yet started its global strategy. Not to mention now, even in more than ten years, although Australia is part of the Five Eyes alliance, it still couldn't subscribe.
"Nonsense, if I wasn't back in America, why would I ask you that question? Am I supposed to stay in Australia forever just because you don't call me?"
Hearing the sarcasm in her voice, Eric quickly pleaded, "Don't be like that, Nicole. I've been very busy for the past half-month. If you follow the news, you'll find that transformers has wrapped up. Whose credit do you think that is?"
"Definitely not yours."
"Hehe, you just want to know the rest of the story, don't you? I'll come to your place tonight."
"No, if reporters caught us, there really wouldn't be any excuse this time."
"Don't worry, you snuck back, didn't you? Those paparazzi don't know yet, and I won't use the front door."
"Use the back door? No one has ever used the back door, perhaps it's possible. Never mind, let's not. It would be troublesome if we were caught."
"I'll bring the later episodes of the walking dead with me. Don't you want to know the plot? We can watch them in advance."
"Alright then, but you must be careful."
Nicole finally agreed. As for whether it was to watch the TV series or for other reasons, that remained an unspoken secret.
Ding-dong.
Hearing the doorbell, Nicole Kidman checked the time. The clock showed 8:54.
Without an appointment, she naturally knew who would be knocking at such a late hour.
You say it's a bad guy?
Please, this is Beverly Hills. At least 20 police officers patrol here in shifts every day. Who would be so foolish as to commit a crime here?
Click!
Opening the door, Nicole Kidman couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise: "Eric, what happened to you?"
"Pfft!"
Spitting out the leaves from his mouth, Eric made a bitter face: "Don't even ask. You should have told me there were dense bushes planted under the wall. I fell into them."
"So you climbed over the wall to get in, hahahaha."
Looking at the little man whose clothes and pants were all tattered, Nicole Kidman burst into laughter. All the unpleasantness in her heart disappeared instantly.
"You're still laughing!" Eric was a bit angry.
"Sir, then what do you think I should do?"
"Of course, this!"
Eric said fiercely, grabbing Nicole and pulling her into his arms, forcibly pinning her struggling hands behind her back, and his mouth began to wildly assault her lips.
A moment later, the struggling hands gradually gave up, their strength vanishing, and the response became even more passionate.
"Hiss."
Suddenly, Eric pushed her away, opened his mouth and inhaled deeply to relieve the pain in his tongue: "Why did you bite me again!"
Nicole Kidman looked at Eric with a half-smile: "That's my revenge on you for not contacting me, Eric Cooper, you're a little bastard! I have to make you remember!"
Eric gave a dry laugh.
However, Nicole then suddenly pulled him into her arms. He didn't know how this slender body could erupt with such great strength.
A kiss even more passionate than before instantly occupied Eric's mind, and their clothes were unknowingly taken off.
"Little bastard, that was your punishment just now, now I'm going to reward you."
"Why?"
"Because you came. Do you know what women think? Even if she says she doesn't want you a hundred times, in her heart, she hopes you will definitely appear."
"What a complicated creature. So how are you going to reward me?"
Eric asked as he slowly moved his hand.
"What do you think?"
"I want to take the back door." Eric's big hand pressed down suddenly.
"Ah!"
Nicole was startled and quickly tried to get up from him: "No, I heard it hurts a lot, I've never used that place."
"But you promised me, Nicole."
"When did I promise you?"
"On the phone, did you forget so quickly?"
Nicole Kidman, with no hope of escape, punched Eric in the chest: "I was talking about the back door of the house, you jerk!"
"But I didn't use the back door of the house, so you'll just have to compensate me with this."
"No, let's watch TV first, mmm..."
More than an hour later.
After such a long time and a great deal of effort, Eric finally got what he wanted.
At this moment, he was sitting on the sofa, grimacing, while Nicole was lying on his lap, continuously pinching him.
"Stop pinching, dear, or I really won't be able to walk tomorrow."
"Can you be more serious than me? I'm the one who really can't walk!"
Wow.
On the TV, zombies were growling lowly. Eric pointed: "Let's focus on the plot."
"Don't change the subject. The videotape can be left to watch later, you selfish bastard!"
"Selfish? Then you've wronged me. Of course, I have you in my heart."
"Is that so? How do you prove it?"
Eric gently placed her head on the sofa, found his pants, and then pulled out an exquisite gift box from his pocket.
"I brought it from China, a gift just for you. Wear it, and it's like I'm always by your side."
Nicole Kidman's lips curved slightly. Of course, she hadn't expected this surprise.
At this moment, she was happy inside, but on the surface, she had to maintain a serious facade.
Pretending to be nonchalant, she opened the box, revealing a unique Chinese-style concentric knot diamond necklace lying there.
With her discerning eye, she could naturally tell that this necklace was absolutely valuable.
Eric picked up the necklace and put it on her: "Nicole, do you see it? This is called a concentric knot. In Chinese symbolism, it represents love, meaning two people's hearts are tied together."
"Whose hearts?"
"Mine and yours!"
All pretense suddenly vanished, and Nicole looked at Eric with misty eyes.
"Bastard, kiss me!"