- For the animated series character, see Eric Raymond.
Erica Raymond is a character and the main antagonist in the 2015 musical, fantasy, adventure film, Jem and the Holograms, directed by Jon M. Chu. She is loosely based on Eric Raymond, the main villain from the original 1980s animated series, Jem.
She was played by American actress Juliette Lewis.
Appearance and personality[]
Erica is a middle-aged woman still clinging to the little youth she has left. She is the CEO of Starlight Enterprises and has been in the music business for a long time, having learned every trick possible in the industry. Admired and hated at the same time, she won't stop at nothing to fulfill her ambitions, no matter who she has to step upon along the way. All full of herself, she has a distinctive cold and penetrating gaze that goes accordingly to her fragile temperament.
Every living being in this planet is inferior to Erica in her eyes, apparently making it a real chore for her having to interact with other people to achieve her goals. For these purposes she usually resorts in displaying a forced smile, which ends up being more like a malevolent grin.
Erica has to be always on top of every situation she's involved in and she'll never let pass the opportunity of humiliating someone for this purpose, but not without disguising it as an innocent joke, of course.
History[]
When Jerrica Benton's singing video –labeled simply as "Jem"– went viral on YouTube, diverse offers from many music companies started appearing for her. One of these offers was from Erica Raymond herself, CEO of Starlight Music. Offering more than the rest of her competitors, Erica was able to make Jerrica contact her. However, Jerrica explained her that she would only accept if her sisters were to come along with her, to which Erica responded with a non-negotiable negative. What she was expecting, though, was that a common small-town girl would make her a counteroffer, turning the tables against her. Erica, knowing that she had to have Jem at all costs, had no other alternative than to accept Jerrica's terms.
The next day, Erica herself went to Jerrica's house to take the girls to Los Angeles. Once there, she introduced them to Rio, a college intern at Starlight. What she didn't told them, though, was that he was actually her son. After a few tests and tryouts, Erica ordered Jerrica to give her her precious star-shaped earrings, since they didn't go well with her new image, promising that they would be safer in her possession.
An old vixen in the music industry, Erica took the precaution of making sure all products related to Jem (name, logos, imagery, etc.) were trademarked to Starlight. When Jerrica asked her for an advancement, telling her that her family was about to lose the house, Erica immediately seized the opportunity to have Jerrica just where she wanted and get rid of the rest of the girls at the same time, offering Jerrica a long-term solo contract. Putting it clear that she could replace Jerrica with anyone else, since nobody knew who she really was, she blackmailed her into signing the contract.
After going through some adventures and once the girls had realized that the last of Synergy's missing pieces were the earrings Erica took from Jerrica, they, along with Rio, decided to break into Erica's office at Starlight to get them back. When they opened the safe where the earrings were stored, Rio also found his father's will.
Aided by her faithful bodyguard, Zipper, Erica tried by all means to stop Jerrica, but to no avail. On her next concert, Erica confronted Jerrica, threatening that she was under contract and that she was forced to go onstage as a solo artist. Rio then stepped upon and told her mother that his father's will allowed him to take over Starlight whenever he said he was ready. Deprived off all authority in the company, Zipper immediately ordered two security guards to take Erica out of the building.
Defeated and without any power left, stubborn as she was, Erica was not about to give up and resorted to look for the help of another girls band that had worked for her at Starlight a long time ago. Being scolded and almost rejected by them, she played her last card: telling them that Rio and Jem were together. These words immediately had an effect on the band's leader and they then agreed to help Erica in destroying Jem and her band.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Erica is a gender-swapped version of Eric Raymond, the main antagonist of the original 1980s Jem animated series.