[Chapter 514: Sherilyn Finn]
On the very day Linton and his team arrived in Seattle for their promotional tour, Friday, May 17th, the start of a new weekend, saw the release of seven new films. Among them were two major Hollywood blockbusters: Warner Brothers' Eraser and 20th Century Fox's Courage Under Fire.
Although Mission: Impossible was still pulling in astounding box office numbers, it had to significantly reduce its screen count for the second weekend, given the hotly competitive summer season. Its screening ratio dropped to 22% -- still far ahead of other movies.
Eraser ranked second in screenings. Directed by Chuck Russell, it featured superstars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, and James Caan in an action thriller. The story focused on John, an agent from the U.S. Marshals, who was framed while protecting a witness. Together, John and the witness, Lee Cullen, delved into the conspiracy and confronted the mastermind behind it all. Given Schwarzenegger's leading role and the film's action-heavy style -- his signature genre -- it naturally received high expectations from theaters. The first-day opening spanned 3,100 screens, accounting for 17% of the screenings.
Coming in third was Courage Under Fire, directed by Edward Zwick and starring heavyweight talents Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. It was the first film centered on the Gulf War, portraying a woman's sacrifice amidst men's war and Major Serling's quest to uncover the truth upon his return. Its opening day covered 2,700 screens, capturing a 14.5% share of screenings.
This allocation sparked discontent from Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox. They argued that no matter how impressive Mission: Impossible was, it had already passed its peak viewing period. Why should it still dominate screenings over their fresh releases? Together, these studios pressured the four major theater chains, seeking to wrestle more screen time from Mission: Impossible.
However, Universal Pictures and Linton Films weren't backing down. Especially with Mission: Impossible's strong attendance, the four major chains, now having over 80% market share after mergers in the past two years, stood firm to protect their interests and resisted the pressure from Warner Brothers and Fox.
...
When Friday's box office numbers came out early Saturday morning, it was both predictable and astonishing. Hollywood and the major theater chains remained silent, but the media exploded again.
Despite being in its second week, Mission: Impossible still pulled in $23.61 million on Friday alone, securing the weekend's top spot and 41% of box office share. Eraser came in second with $10.83 million, just edging its screening share. Courage Under Fire took third with $7.35 million, marking an immediate box office inversion on its opening day.
The comparison spoke volumes. The theaters had not overly favored Mission: Impossible; rather, they had overestimated Eraser and Courage Under Fire.
Saturday saw an overall rise in ticket sales: Mission: Impossible earned $24.38 million; Eraser, $12.08 million; Courage Under Fire, $7.91 million.
Sunday continued the trend with Mission: Impossible at $21.37 million; Eraser, $9.58 million; Courage Under Fire, $6.73 million.
Across the weekend's three days, Mission: Impossible racked up $69.36 million in North America, maintaining #1 despite just 22% screen allocation, capturing 40% of the box office share.
The film's cumulative gross was $298.5 million, tantalizingly close to $300 million.
...
The media showered Mission: Impossible with unrelenting praise, casting a spotlight on Linton, Catherine, and Michelle Reis. Wherever they went during the tour, reporters and paparazzi swarmed, driving Catherine and Michelle Reis's popularity to unprecedented heights.
Meanwhile, the secondary promotional team -- Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, and Ving Rhames -- also drew media attention and emerged as newly minted stars. Though they didn't enjoy the same level of red carpet success as Linton's group, their breakthrough was notable.
---
By Monday, Linton, Catherine, and Michelle Reis reached the tour's final stop: Detroit.
Detroit, America's premier automobile manufacturing hub, stood as a city built solely on the auto industry, proudly dubbed the "Motor City." At its peak, its booming car industry vaulted it to the rank of America's fourth-largest city, trailing only New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
However, by the late 1970s, the global oil crisis hit hard. Japanese automakers took advantage of their fuel-efficient vehicles and swiftly claimed market share from American cars.
Detroit's economy suffered deeply, with its city ranking plummeting out of America's top fifteen by the early '80s.
Later, the U.S. government intervened, forcing the yen to rise, limiting Japanese car imports, and requiring Japanese carmakers to establish plants in Detroit.
These moves revived Detroit slowly, restoring it to the country's top ten cities, though its glory days remained out of reach.
...
Upon arrival, Linton's team checked into the Hilton.
No sooner had they settled than Sherilyn Finn, with whom a prior meet had been arranged, came to join them.
Sherilyn, with heritage spanning Italy, France, Ireland, and Hungary, possessed a sharply defined, deeply captivating face, seductive eyes, and luscious lips -- embodying the quintessential Hollywood beauty ideal.
Her beauty bore a blend of nobility and wildness; a solitary beauty mark at her eye's corner lent extra mystery and allure. Her cleft chin accentuated her sensual charm.
Acclaimed as one of Hollywood's classic beauties, Sherilyn was named among the "World's Ten Most Beautiful Women" in 1993.
Yet her film career was troubled, to say the least -- an offbeat, almost non-mainstream path.
Her two most famous works remained the indie titles Two Moon Junction, and Boxing Helena along with Twin Peaks -- all three arguably adult-oriented films/series, featuring notable nude scenes.
These films debuted when Linton was still in college. He vividly recalled watching them with classmates, all mesmerized by Sherilyn's stunning looks, crowning her their dream woman.
To Linton, Sherilyn's beauty wasn't just skin-deep; it was the intoxicating fusion of aristocratic grace and untamed seductiveness, purity and temptation -- an allure hard to put into words.
Ironically, Sherilyn's shockingly bold roles seemed to pigeonhole her career. Afterward, the roles Hollywood offered were mainly those of sultry vixens skating along the edges of propriety.
She tried to reinvent herself but found it an uphill battle, barely landing any substantial roles outside of typecast parts.
Aging gradually, while still gorgeous, her star power dimmed. Today, she barely clings to the cusp of A-list status.
Her joining Linton's Mission: Impossible promotional tour was partly a bid to ride its buzz for exposure, and perhaps, quietly seek opportunities directly from Linton.
...
That day, Sherilyn wore a form-fitting knee-length dress of red and blue with thigh-high boots. Her voluminous chestnut curls framed a flawless, blossoming mature beauty.
Surprisingly, even though Sherilyn hinted at closeness with Linton upon their reunion, seeing Catherine and Michelle Reis firmly flanking him on each side made her restrain herself.
Unlike Jennifer Aniston and Mariah Carey, who earlier had barged in to embrace Linton passionately -- sparking endless speculation -- Sherilyn politely shook his hand, then positioned herself beside Catherine, maintaining a friendly facade.
At times, she engaged Linton in conversation, and her eyes betrayed unspoken emotions, yet she never attempted to wedge between Catherine or Michelle Reis or nestle close to Linton.
At first, Linton thought she might be a master of the romantic game -- playing hard to get -- a kind of "come and go" allure. After all, her on-screen persona was unforgettable.
But during the rest of the tour -- whether in the car, on stage, or dining in the evening -- Sherilyn maintained this reserved demeanor.
Clearly well-briefed about Mission: Impossible, she spoke eloquently before reporters and audiences alike:
"Mission: Impossible is truly a thrilling movie. Linton's performance is especially outstanding.
From the start, it immerses you in a spy world veiled in mystery, with one adrenaline-pumping climax after another.
There are three scenes that stand out: the escape from a modern coffee shop in Prague, smashing a huge fish tank -- both visually unique and symbolically rich (he falls into a ruthless world where the big fish eat the little fish).
The sequence where Linton sneaks into the CIA to steal documents is spectacular. I believe this will become a classic.
The final climax, where Linton clings atop a speeding train with a tunnel ahead and a helicopter chasing from behind, is pure high-octane excitement, thrilling audiences to the core.
I've watched it three times and each viewing stirs new emotions. I hope everyone loves Mission: Impossible and loves Linton as much as I do."
Her praise was sharp and poised -- though Linton wondered if it reflected her own words or those crafted by her agent.
...
Later that night, after the screening wrapped around 10:30 p.m., as the group returned to the hotel, Sherilyn seemed hesitant about whether to say goodbye.
Unexpectedly, Linton felt a strong pull of interest.
He extended an invitation: "Sherilyn, thanks for today. Come up for a bit and have a drink."
Hearing this, Catherine and Michelle Reis were stunned -- such offers had become rare from Linton. Could he really be interested in her?
Sherilyn, wavering moments ago, accepted and followed Linton upstairs.
The four arrived at Linton's executive suite, but Catherine and Michelle Reis declined entry, quickly finding excuses to return to their rooms.
...
Once they left, Sherilyn visibly relaxed, her body unwinding.
Taking a seat at the dining table, she appeared slightly awkward, different from the flirtatious advance others had made toward Linton.
His curiosity deepened.
Was she genuinely here just to share a drink?
"Red wine, champagne, or whiskey -- what's your choice?" Linton asked.
"Red wine, please. Thank you."
Pouring the wine, Linton discreetly cast Soul Induction, probing Sherilyn's past and true feelings toward him.
The results astonished him.
Having known Sherilyn only through her roles in Two Moon Junction, Boxing Helena, and Twin Peaks, he assumed in reality she embodied the same open-mindedness -- like Sharon Stone.
Instead, she was remarkably conservative.
At 31, Sherilyn had only dated three men and been intimate only with two of them -- Prince in 1985 and Johnny Depp for three years from 1985 to 1988. She briefly dated the guitarist-songwriter Toulouse Holliday, whom she met on the set of Three of Hearts for a while in 1992 but they broke off soon. Since then, she'd stayed single.
This shattered Linton's preconceptions. Hollywood held conservative actresses -- let alone one who debuted as an adult star but clung to purity -- in rare regard.
Her career trajectory reflected this paradox. During Two Moon Junction, she'd been deceived by the director under the guise of art, and influenced by the new wave at the time, genuinely believed the film was high art.
Only after release did she realize the truth -- it was too late.
Though that film made her a teenage heartthrob nationwide, Sherilyn refused to capitalize on the momentum with aggressive publicity, unlike Sharon Stone, who had a brief fling with Linton.
Instead, Sherilyn retreated for a year, hoping audiences would forget her sultry role.
When she returned, Hollywood had typecast her as a sexy prop. Rejecting the casting couch made it impossible to land better parts.
She settled for Twin Peaks, a somewhat more acceptable film, though still containing suggestive scenes.
Unexpectedly, she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress and hoped it signified recognition and a career reboot.
Yet without succumbing to "the rules," she found herself circling the same sultry roles, with more serious parts just out of reach.
As she aged, Hollywood's constant parade of young beauties willing to push boundaries left her increasingly sidelined -- even those alluring supporting roles grew scarce.
This tough spot drove Sherilyn, at her agent's urging, to seize the chance to join Mission: Impossible's premiere events, in hopes of winning Linton's favor and rebooting her career.
Sherilyn herself never imagined the effect Linton's unique charisma would have on her. Enhanced by his Beauty and Vitality Pills, his presence stirred her dormant desires that had lain dormant for over the years, inspiring her to propose accompanying him on the Detroit leg.
Yet when she later saw Jennifer Aniston and Mariah Carey at other events with Linton -- openly sparking scandalous rumors -- Sherilyn's apprehension grew.
Seeing Catherine and Michelle Reis locked arm-in-arm with Linton at the Detroit Hilton, recalling his reputation as a notorious ladies' man, and reflecting on her own age and status, Sherilyn hesitated.
She doubted Linton would choose her and didn't want to play a one-night stand.
Hearing all this, Linton felt completely reassured -- and even more intrigued.
Such a treasure of a beauty deserved his genuine care.
Snapping his fingers, he withdrew the spell and gently took Sherilyn's soft, pale hand.
"Sherilyn, do you like me?" he asked quietly.
*****
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