America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM.

Chapter 296 294. George Lucas's attitude, Judy is not right
Hot, extremely hot.

No one expected it to be so explosive, even Eric himself opened his mouth in surprise.

Because the numbers were so shocking, he didn't even know there were so many businesses in the United States.

In the first week alone after Facebook launched its advertising business, more than 5 businesses signed advertising agreements with the platform.

Some are big, some are small. Some are big, like e-commerce platforms like Amazon, which advertise on the platform, while others are small, like businesses that only operate in one city or state.

The advantages of social media are obvious. If your business is still in its early stages and only operates in a few cities, you can very accurately target local bloggers and start working with them.

When it’s needed locally, it’s needed locally. When it’s needed nationally, it’s needed nationally. When it’s needed globally, Facebook will surely be able to do it if we give it a few more years.

Of course, it is not clear how much money I can make exactly. I have to wait until next month’s cash flow is settled, but it can be predicted that it will definitely be a lot, based on my legal monopoly position.

In fact, Myspace has made some contribution. At least it let the market know that advertising on social media is just as effective as advertising on TV.

The rise of the advertising business is equivalent to Eric holding another trump card in his hand.

Taking away the TV stations' business and cutting off their financial resources is equivalent to weakening their strength in disguise.

In the MGM building, Eric's office, Carol walked in with her big breasts.

She has been wearing cooler and cooler clothes recently, which makes people's eyes hurt, and her coquettish nature is gradually revealed.

She is 42 years old this year. Although she is a little old, she has a pretty face, a hot body, and a mature look that is still very attractive.

But Eric really didn't have the energy to look after her recently. Ever since he swallowed little Elizabeth a few days ago, he had been busy all the time.

Who understands the pain of sleeping in the same bed?

In the end, it was so diluted that only clear soup was left.

It was Nicole who showed her true nature as an older sister, asking everyone to be more restrained and to please each other when they wanted to play, giving Eric some breathing space.

Alas, talking too much brings tears to my eyes.

It's not a sin for a man to cry. Even the strongest man will get tired of the power. He suddenly understood what Andy was singing about.

"Boss, Warren and Bema are here."

"Well, let them in."

After making coffee for the couple, Carol closed the door and walked out.

Eric took a good look at the other person and said, "I can't tell. Are you really determined this time?"

"Well, I have made up my mind to lose weight. Pema will supervise me. I have lost 11 pounds now."

"11 pounds! Why doesn't it seem to have much effect?"

"After a while, you will definitely see a muscular man rising up. When I lose weight, we will get engaged. This is love!"

"I love your mother's love!" Eric subconsciously wanted to add something, but fortunately he held back.

He chuckled and said, "Then congratulations in advance. Losing weight is a good thing, but I don't want you to ruin your body. You should still do it while paying attention to your health."

"I don't want him to be too impatient. Health is the most important thing. Women are more experienced in this matter." Bemahadi nodded.

"Honey, I love you!"

"I love you too!"

The two kissed in front of Eric and showed their love.

"Ugh! That's enough, stop it! I feel a little nauseous."

"If you want to be intimate, I'll get you a private room. There's a lounge next to it, but you have to finish your work report first."

Knowing that Eric was pressed for time, the two of them quickly got down to business.

Warren said: "AK Films has continued to grow rapidly over the past six months. The company's staff has now expanded to 133 people, and can support six crews working at the same time."

"We shot 24 films in the first half of the year, with the total cost kept under $2000 million, and sales were very good. We have become regular customers."

"All the resources in the film library were also shared with Lionheart.com, and the box office of The Purge 2 was pretty good, so it wasn't affected too much."

"Although the North American box office of $8600 million is less than the first film, it has been released in more than a dozen countries overseas and has earned more than $3300 million, so the total box office is not low."

"The net profit in the first half of the year is about 9100 million US dollars. In the second half of the year, we will have "Sharknado 3" and "Machete". We hope to break through 2 million US dollars."

"$2 million? That's a lot!"

Eric was a little surprised. He was lucky enough to devote 1% of his energy to AK Films. He didn't expect the company to develop so rapidly.

"That's because Lionheart will also pay a copyright fee, and it doesn't take MGM's shareholding into account."

"But the competition is obviously fierce this year. Warner and Paramount have already established their own subsidiaries. The market in the second half of the year should be relatively difficult."

"Besides, it's not a good idea to just rely on The Purge and Sharknado. The box office potential is declining every year. Although many big names are willing to guest star in Machete for your sake, it still depends on whether the audience will buy it."

"Actually, I have received some scripts, but I can't make up my mind. After all, it will cost millions of dollars even if we save money after launching it. If you have time, you might as well review it."

Eric nodded slightly: "Pick out a few good ones and send them to my office tomorrow."

"Warren, I think the scripts for The Bucket List and Juno are very interesting, and Eric should be interested in them," Bema suggested.

"The Bucket List? Juno?" The familiar name immediately made Eric's radar buzz.

"Yes, there are these two scripts, but the subject matter of Juno is a bit extreme, it talks about an underage girl getting pregnant, there are no big scenes and the cost is easy to control, but the risk is too high. I regretted buying the script, and I feel it has no future."

When he heard about the underage belly, Eric was 100% sure that it was the movie starring the now-Ellen Page, later Elliot Page.

This movie did spark a social discussion when it was released. The box office and word of mouth were very good. I vaguely remember that it won many awards and nominations. I didn't expect that the script has already been circulated in the market. It seems to be the type that has been suppressed for a long time.

Warren slapped his forehead with some regret: "I was deceived by the script broker. His rhetoric was very clever. He tricked me into buying the script without knowing why. Now I think that I wasted $90."

"I'm interested."

"what?"

"What's wrong with being underage? Why are you afraid of a sensitive subject? Can it be more sensitive than The Passion of the Christ?"

"Eric, do you think this subject has a future?"

"It sounds quite interesting, and it can be used for Elizabeth and Crystal. I am thinking about finding suitable roles for them."

Hearing this, the couple looked at each other and understood. It turned out that you don't care about making money or not. Your goal is to spend millions of dollars to support a girl.

What else can I say? The boss has his own preferences, and no matter whether we are brothers or subordinates, we must fully support them. "OK, I'll send the script over this afternoon."

After Warren finished his report, Bemahadi said, "BK Films has done a lot of work in the past six months from planning to officially launching its business. We currently have 77 employees and plan to recruit another batch in the second half of the year. I will give you a report then."

"The filming of Human Centipede and Hostel has been basically completed. I have consulted professionals, and they said that the former is too unorthodox, while the latter may still be able to be shown on the big screen."

Eric had anticipated this: "You should coordinate with Volvo and select a release date for Hostel in the near future. Human Centipede will be released on DVD and online. I don't expect this thing to disgust people in the cinema."

"Okay, The Invisible Man and Pearl will start in the second half of the year. There is a high probability that they will not be released on Halloween. We will try to catch up with the February release next year."

"Another good news is that we have acquired the copyright of Halloween."

"Did Malek Akkad finally give in?" Eric asked after taking a sip of coffee.

"Well, it's not easy to deal with this guy. He is very greedy and keeps throwing smoke bombs, but the result is always good."

Eric gave Bema a thumbs up. New Line holds the copyrights of three of the four major murderers in the horror film industry, and the copyright of "Halloween" is in the hands of Malek Akkad.

He is a producer and owns his own small company, which survives on this IP.

There are many similar situations in Hollywood. The copyrights of famous blockbusters such as "007" and "Terminator" are also partially or completely controlled by individuals.

Even MGM had to obtain authorization before filming "Casino Royale" and finally give them dividends.

Therefore, in order to sustainably exhaust their resources, these people tend to focus on the big screen, which requires quality, and cannot fully tap their potential. It is not an easy task to deal with them.

"Now that I have the rights to Halloween, I will talk to Bob Mayer and let's prepare to build a connected slasher universe."

After the couple left, Judy came in and sat on Eric's lap.

"Hey, hey, hey? What are you doing? What are you doing? What if you get hurt?"

"Sit there, you are as limp as a snake."

"You hit the snake with a stick, you know? The stick will break."

"It's none of my business. It won't affect my happiness if it's broken."

"Cold-blooded woman, after all, I am your boyfriend in name only. I may come in handy someday, and if I'm gone, I'll see if you'll cry or not."

"Hehe! The toys are better than you. I just saw Warren. He seems to have lost weight."

"Well, a man who wants to board the Love Boat must buy a ticket, and losing weight is the ticket he pays for."

"Well, bless this fool who dug his own grave. I heard that you and Elizabeth Olsen were having an affair. It's only been a few months. Are you really not afraid of being pushed to the guillotine?"

Eric's face changed and he pushed Judy away: "Where did it come from?"

"Is that true?"

"I asked you where this came from?"

Judy said with disdain, "Eric, you are such a beast and a complete scum. Elizabeth seems to be only 15 years old, and you can still do that to her!"

"You cheated me?" Eric reacted.

"Stupid, when she called you last night, I heard something unusual in her voice. It was so late, and she was right beside you. Sure enough, I guessed it right."

Eric smiled awkwardly: "Don't talk about these meaningless things during work hours. Have you communicated with Industrial Light & Magic about the things I told you to do?"

Judy rolled her eyes. "I approached George Lucas. I met with him a few times and tried to find out."

"It's a bit surprising that this old man is quite open-minded, and he also knows why we are here."

"Although his temper on the set is not good, he is quite frank when talking about business."

"What George Lucas meant was that he was disappointed that Episode 2 was met with abuse and criticism from fans."

“In addition, facing the impact of Weta Digital and many new special effects companies, Industrial Light & Magic is also showing signs of fatigue.”

"But it is impossible for him to sell his company because it is his decades of hard work. It is like his child."

"Stop talking nonsense. What conditions did he offer?"

Eric interrupted directly, in Hollywood, any excuse is just because the price is not enough.

"Eric, he really doesn't want to sell at this stage. George Lucas means to wait and see until MGM and the Big Six come to a conclusion before making a decision."

“But if we win, the old man is willing to merge into MGM after the contract with Fox expires next year.”

"The premise is that he doesn't want pure cash. He wants shares in MGM and Lionheart. Maybe it's 20% cash and 80% shares, or maybe it's 30% cash and 70% shares."

"In short, if you want to buy it, buy all of Lucasfilm. Don't split it up or sell it separately. That's his condition."

"Sitting on the mountain and watching tigers fight is a good way to calculate, but it is also human nature."

Eric thought for a moment and said, "How about this, let's communicate with George Lucas and sign a framework agreement in advance to include his conditions."

“But we must add one more clause: MGM must have the right of first refusal to Lucasfilm.”

"Haha. As long as we win, will he choose Disney instead of MGM?"

"Just in case, in case Disney really snatches him away, by the way, when does his contract with Fox expire?"

"Star Wars Episode 3 will be released during the summer of next year, and the contract will expire after that."

Eric suddenly laughed: "Judy, the Big Six have been sniping at us. What do you think would happen if MGM also prepared a few blockbusters to snipe "Star Wars Episode 3"? "

"Good idea! As long as the box office of Star Wars Episode 3 does not meet expectations, it will definitely force Lucas to sell the company to us."

"It's just that his method is too insidious. What if I piss him off?"

"That's why we need to sign a framework agreement in advance to get the right of first refusal. You must get this done."

"Leave it to me. Also, this is the script for Dragon Ball. It was just delivered to me. You said you wanted to review it yourself."

"And I want to ask you, do you have any plans for this weekend?"

"Not yet. Do your parents have any objections? Do you need me to accompany you home?"

"No, I made an appointment with Gadot to go to a resort this weekend, and she asked me to ask for your opinion."

Eric was reading the script carefully and casually said, "It's up to you." When he heard the door closing, he suddenly looked up.

"What the hell? Something seems to be wrong!"

(End of this chapter)