Hollywood (我就是好莱坞) Part I

CHAPTER 41 - PLEASE DON'T SPILL

After 6:00 pm, the Home Alone crew started arriving at Eric's home.

It had turned dark once Eric came back to the living room from the kitchen after discussing with the chef Vanessa, and he was surprised to find out that, in addition to the Home Alone crew, there was more than a dozen pretty girls all dolled and dressed up.

"Jeffrey, where did these girls come from ?" Eric found Jeffrey Hanson and curiously inquired.

Jeffrey smiled and said: "After Home Alone was done, Nicole Frank was hired for a campus comedy, and when the girls from the set heard that he was going to a party organized by the Home Alone director, they followed him here. As for the reason why, you probably don't need me to explain."

Eric smiled, these girls were obviously here for him, but he didn't mind. Home Alone's crew consisted mostly of men, which would make the party really boring.

Coming at the center of the room, he clapped his hands in order to get the guests' attention: "Everyone, please hear me out, I'd like to say a few words."

The living room soon quieted down and everyone turned towards Eric.

"First of all, I hope you're having a good night. Today's party is to celebrate Home Alone's success, which is something that happened not because of me, but thanks to all of you here today, without whom I would not have been able to complete the movie in such a short time, so once again, I'd like to thank everyone."

He finished and slightly bowed to the crowd, who responded with a round of applause.

Eric slightly motioned them to quiet down with his hands, then said: "Of course, a simple verbal thank you wouldn't be enough. Home Alone made such an amazing box office, and it's all due to each one of your efforts, so I took the liberty to prepare bonuses for everyone, I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together again in the future."

Eric finished, and along with Hanson, started distributing the already prepared envelopes to the crowd. Eric had written the names on them in advance so there would be no fear of mixing them up.

The checks varied between 200,000 $ and 500,000 $ depending on one's position or contributions. Although it seemed trivial when compared to Home Alone's box office, this was the equivalent to several years of wages for the crew members who had only mingled in the lowest circle of the industry. Their annual incomes were at most in the tens of thousands dollars.

Of course, Eric hadn't forgotten about the main actors, however their share would be more generous and it would have to wait until he received his dividend from Columbia.

Some people may think that the filming was done, and the others had already received what they were supposed to receive, so why did Eric have to give away those huge sums of money ? Well, although it wasn't written out in a contract or anything, there were such things as rules in this business, and giving away generous dividends to the crew after the movie had hit it big was one of them.

In his past, because of over quite a bit on the Titanic, James Cameron's dividend had initially dropped. However, once the movie unexpectedly hit it big leading to the Fox making quite the profits, he was rewarded generously as well.

After distributing the checks, Eric announced the official start of the party, and took Jeffrey Hanson away.

"Jeffrey, this is for you, it should be enough to redeem Firefly." Once the two men reached the second floor balcony, Eric took out an envelope and handed it over to Jeffrey. The check amounted to 3 million $. It was what the middle-aged man deserved, as without him, the shooting of Home Alone would not have gone so smoothly.