Hollywood (我就是好莱坞) Part II

CHAPTER 210- Player or Pawn?

Although Eric kept his focus on Friends, he still continued to take care of his company. On his third day back in Los Angeles, Eric, along with Jeffrey and Robert Shaye, came to the new building chosen as the headquarters of Firefly Films.

"Eric, what do you think about this place?"

After the three got out of the car, Robert Shaye asked while pointing to a seven-story building near the highway.

There are not many high-rise buildings in Los Angeles except for the City Center. Therefore, this seven-story office building with silver and metallic design located in Burbank was to Eric's liking. However, after looking around, he pointed to the highway nearby and asked, "Bob, this place is close to the highway. Won't it be noisy?"

"No," Robert Shaye shook his head and said, "I have been inside the building with Jeffrey previously. The sound insulation inside is very good. With the windows closed, the sound of cars outside is muffled. Another plus point about this property is that we can also get the approx. 10,000 square feet of land on the north side of this building. In the future, we can build a few more office buildings there if necessary."

Eric looked at the map and asked, "In that case, why didn't they build an office building a little further away from the highway in the first place?"

"The real estate company that owned this piece of land originally planned to build a small office park here. Unfortunately, after the stock market crash last year, they were left short on cash and could only build this building. So, Eric, if we buy this property, I think it would be a good investment for Firefly."

Eric inwardly nodded. If they bought the property, it would be Firefly's first major piece of real estate.

Even before his rebirth, real estate had been a very lucrative investment. Even though the North American real estate market had experienced several crashes such as the the overall market had always been climbing.

"How much will it cost to buy the whole thing?"

"20 million," Robert Shaye replied. Seemingly afraid that Eric might find it too expensive, he quickly continued, "Eric, this is a very good price. You can't find another such property in Burbank with so much land and a highway nearby."

Eric smiled and asked Jeffrey standing beside him, "Jeffrey, what do you think?"

"Bob and I are of the same mind. I also suggest that we buy all of this land. This place is perfectly suitable to be the new headquarters of Firefly. Disney, Warner, and Universal are all located within a radius of two miles," Jeffrey answered before he pointed to a hill on the map and said, "Eric, look at that hillside beyond the D sign."

Eric looked down at the gentle slope that Jeffrey pointed at which was likely an extension of Beverly Hills, but he did not see the famous Hollywood sign.

Jeffrey explained, "I heard that the owner of that hillside was famous, but I don't know which real estate company currently owns it."

Eric looked at the hillside yearningly in a daze.

Seeing Eric's look of yearning, Jeffrey and Robert looked at each other before they both smiled.

Howard Hughes; every man in Hollywood with the slightest of ambition perhaps yearns to become the second Howard Hughes.

After a while, Eric recovered from his daze and said, seemingly having made his decision, "Okay, let's go in and see."

Robert Shaye followed Eric with a smile on his face. This piece of land was introduced to him by a friend in hopes that he could facilitate the transaction. Although Robert Shaye would not get any direct benefits from the transaction, he would be able to have the real estate company owe him a favor. Of course, no such favor is worth $20 million. After all, Robert Shaye is also a shareholder of Firefly.