America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM.

Chapter 315 313. MGM launches counterattack
"You mean, Brad Grey has wavered?"

"That's right. Think about it, at the beginning, he directly rejected my invitation."

"But then his secretary contacted me and said that he was busy with the Christmas season and couldn't spare the time."

"Just yesterday, his secretary contacted me again, and then I went to his estate in New Jersey and we met."

"He's made his attitude clear? What on earth does this guy mean?"

Judy chuckled: "Just like you said, Brad Grey finally wavered, and he asked me to bring you a message."

"Paramount will withdraw from the Christmas season competition, but he will definitely not make a statement. He does not want to directly offend Disney, Sony and Warner."

"It means I plan to wait and see. I hope that I can fight with Disney to a conclusion, and then Paramount will make a statement."

"Almost. Paramount is weak and has no other options except sitting on the fence."

"Haha. Have you heard this saying?"

"what?"

"If loyalty is not absolute, then it is absolutely disloyal! At least this gap has been opened temporarily."

"Well, everything depends on the Christmas season's performance, Eric. Actually, I've always had an idea in my mind."

"what idea?"

"Your woman is very nice, can you lend her to me?"

"Huh?" Eric didn't respond.

"Haha. Just kidding. This is the last tough battle of the year. The Christmas season is about to start. Maybe we should launch a counterattack."

Eric looked back and forth at her face suspiciously, thinking about that time when he and Gadot went on vacation together, could it be that something happened between the two of them?
"What do you think? We have been enduring it. The Big Six have always been able to mobilize various resources to besiege us. Although MGM has not failed, the impression given to the market is that we are always in a weak position of being passive and beaten."

"I don't like this feeling. I prefer to take the initiative. When you were planning to acquire Lucasfilm last time, you wanted to mobilize several blockbusters to attack Star Wars Episode 3."

"Later, I kept thinking, if that's the case, why not launch a counterattack against the Big Six during the Christmas season?"

"Eric, now is the most critical moment. Shareholders are watching, and Paramount is also watching."

"It's time to show our sharpest fangs. Even if it means we will be crushed, we must show our momentum."

"You have to let everyone know that MGM has enough resources and countless backup plans. It's time to change the title of the world's largest film and television company."

Judy's suggestion was like a wake-up call to Eric.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to be stuck in a vicious circle of thinking.

For big productions, he always leaves enough time to prevent himself from being consumed by competition.

In this way, even if facing the siege of the six major companies, even if there will be losses, the losses can be minimized.

But this war of attrition has lasted for more than half a year, giving people a feeling that it will be endless. It would be better to launch a climax counterattack.

Let the Big Six also have a taste of being sniped. Perhaps this is the point where offense and defense switch places.

Moreover, MGM’s market value is now second only to Disney. If MGM can defeat Disney through this wave, it may be able to jump to the top of the list.

By then, the increased market value will definitely be enough to offset the losses from the movie.

"Well, it's a good idea, and it's definitely worth a try. I don't like the feeling of being the passive target."

As he said that, he picked up the phone and called Kevin Feige.

"Boss, is something wrong?"

"Kevin, how's the production of Iron Man and Captain America going?"

"It's going very smoothly. We are in the post-production stage now."

"I want to know the completion rate. How long will it take to complete the film?"

"According to the feedback from Weta Digital last week, 90% of Iron Man has been completed, and Captain America is about 80% complete."

"If we are in a hurry and push for it, we should be able to produce the finished film of Iron Man in half a month."

"Okay, I'll urge Peter Jackson to go and review it immediately."

"Boss, what happened? Didn't you say that you wouldn't release Iron Man until at least February next year?"

"I changed my mind. This Christmas season is when Marvel will show its talents. Inform the actors to get ready for promotion."

"Oh! Got it!"

Although it was unclear what Eric was going to do, Kevin Feige knew he just had to carry out the mission.

At least before the results of the two films came out, he didn't have the confidence to express his opinion.

"By the way, how is the cooperation between Marvel and Hasbro going now?"

"It's going fairly smoothly. The contracts have all been signed, but exclusive licensing is not possible yet. Our contracts with several companies have been terminated, but there are still a few left."

"The last one to be licensed is Beech Toys, whose licensing period will not end until the end of next year. By then, only Twin Star Entertainment and Hasbro will be left."

The contract had already been signed, and Eric had no choice. He couldn't just unilaterally break the contract. That's not how business is done.

At most, when Marvel becomes popular, those people will come to ask for a reunion, and you will just reject them politely.

"We have communicated well with Double Star Entertainment and Hasbro to produce peripheral products related to Iron Man and Captain America in advance. We are going to make a lot of money."

After hanging up the phone, Eric contacted Peter Jackson again and asked him to speed up.

The two men had a good relationship, and the bearded man was a straightforward person, so he agreed immediately.

The main reason is that Eric gave the copyright of The Hobbit to New Line, and New Line invited Peter Jackson to continue directing and continued to offer the industry's top salary.

If he could make another trilogy, Peter Jackson would have no problem earning $300 to $400 million.

He was grateful in his heart.

“You’re going to have two superhero movies on?”

"Well, also, you should summarize the shooting progress of other movies. If we have to fight, let's have a big one."

Soon, MGM released several latest movie trailers, including "Iron Man", "Captain America", "Transformers 2", "Drive", "Assassins' Creed", "La Vie en Rose", etc.

At the same time, it was announced that the release dates of "Iron Man", "Captain America" ​​and "Assassin's Creed" would be moved forward and released during the Christmas season.

Looking at the handsome Iron Man suit in the trailer, Robert Downey Jr. conquered many audiences with just one trailer, mainly because the suit was so handsome.

In addition, he has been very honest over the past year, quitting drinking and drugs, attending various charity events, and constantly showing his healthy side, which has greatly improved his reputation.

Chris Evans' Captain America also received a lot of praise. He rushed forward amidst the hail of bullets. His fierce action scenes were completely different from those of superheroes such as "X-Men" and "Spider-Man". They were both real and magical.

The bullet that can turn has aroused the curiosity of many viewers, and James McAvoy finally got his chance.

Nicole fully demonstrated her charm in the movies, including biographical films and art films, and she is clearly aiming for an Oscar this year.

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the Christmas season has become tense. Looking at MGM's all-out attack, the Big Six are the ones who are a bit confused. Will they accept the challenge? Will they fight?

this is a problem.

If they accept the challenge, they will have to mobilize more resources to fight back. You should know that almost all the resources MGM has mobilized this time are A-level productions.

"Assassin's League" may be weaker, but the production cost has reached 8000 million US dollars. In this case, bringing in small pawns will not be of much use.

But this year has come to the final moment, and in order to snipe MGM, the big productions are almost used up.

Most of the films currently in the hands of the Big Six are blockbusters that are set to be released next year.

Pulling it over is equivalent to jumping into this meat grinder, but giving in is even worse.

Whether it's Disney, Sony, or Warner, everyone is worried about it.

Finally, everyone's eyes turned to Disney. As the big brother, can you do it?

Whether it is possible or not is a taboo topic for a man, and also for Disney.

In order to defend one's position, one must do it even if it is impossible.

Soon Mickey Mouse announced that "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", which was originally scheduled to be released next year, would be brought forward to the Christmas season.

Sony also announced that the film "Rivals" starring Will Smith will be moved up to the Christmas season.

6th Century Fox announced that it would move forward the release of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which was originally scheduled for June, to January.

At the same time, Warner and Universal also announced that films such as "Batman Begins" and "Meet the Fockers 2" may be rescheduled, but did not specify the specific dates.

Paramount was so cunning as to not make any statement and just played ostrich in silence.

The storm was brewing, and seeing them rushing forward again, Eric simply added fuel to the fire.

It just so happens that BK Films has already completed production on "The Invisible Man" and "Pearl" and is just waiting for the release date.

There is no need to wait any longer, and it will be released between Christmas and February together with Saw 3.

Then there is "Kung Fu", which Stephen Chow has invested in for a long time and has already finished filming.

According to the original agreement, Stephen Chow was responsible for distribution in China, and MGM was responsible for distribution worldwide, so it was simply squeezed into this death period.

This time it's really packed, with no time left at all.

Many people realized that after this round of fighting, if they won, the new emperor would ascend the throne.

Lost the fight? If you lose, then you lose. Both sides will suffer.

Time has entered December, and there is only one week left before the Christmas season begins.

Apart from filming, Eric's daily routine is having sex with women, which is boring and tedious.

During this period, he also bought a house for Xiao Liu and brought in Lao Liu as well.

Then we also received a request from China, as the annual Spring Festival Gala was in the countdown.

Given that the attendance of the last session by Maikou brought unprecedented popularity, CCTV turned to him again.

They don't need big stars, they just want to invite Taylor Swift, Anthony Wong, Katy Perry and Chris Hemsworth to come on stage and sing a song together.

Because programs such as "The Voice of America" ​​and "Ninja Contest" were introduced there and received rave reviews after they were broadcast.

In today's mainland China, the most influential singing variety shows are the Youth Song Contest and the Super Girl Contest.

Although the Youth Song Contest is relatively professional and the singers are talented, the format is too old-fashioned, the ratings have long been low, and the audience doesn't like to watch it.

Super Girl is an imitation of "American Idol" and "British Idol", and the copyright fees have not yet been paid, which is plagiarism.

It was indeed very popular, but there was also a lot of negative news about it, and it was even sued by a British copyright company.

In this era of weak copyright awareness and imperfect laws on the mainland, facing an influential British company, Macaitai will definitely win, but this person will definitely lose.

CCTV is currently producing its own “The Voice of China”, which will be broadcast in the first half of next year.

Eric would naturally not refuse this request. He asked the four of them to spare two or three days to go there, so as not to delay anything.

Since the album was released, the four have become one of the most eye-catching singers of the new generation, receiving numerous commercial performance invitations.

Among them, the one with the highest value is Mars. Although he did not win the championship, after the game he seemed to be given the title of Michael Jordan's successor.

If you want to invite Maikou but can't, then just invite him. He is a good singer and dancer, and he can sing Maikou's songs for free.

Katy Perry followed closely behind, scoring high on "Stronger", and is a strong contender for next year's Grammy Awards.

Taylor Swift and Anthony Wong were about the same, with appearance fees both reaching $25.

On Friday, the ArcLight Theater had its premiere of "Inception".

As usual, a long red carpet was laid out on the asphalt road, and cameras were set up around it aiming at the stars who came to the stage.

Conan O'Brien was invited to be the host, strolling back and forth on the red carpet and making jokes.

Today, Eric not only invited many celebrities, but also invited many directors to attend the premiere.

After all, this is "Inception", a high-scoring masterpiece that is ranked top on imdb. If I don't invite these colleagues, how can I show off?
"Christopher, it's great that you came."

Looking at Nolan walking towards him, Eric took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with him.

"After receiving your invitation, I turned down all my evening plans. My only job tonight is to appreciate your masterpiece."

Eric laughed out loud. He really wanted to see Nolan's expression when he watched the movie.

Holding the other's hand, Eric lowered his head slightly and asked in a low voice: "Nolan, you just said you have something to do in the evening. Is it because the post-production of Batman is not finished yet?"

Nolan laughed dryly: "Don't ask about this. If people knew that you were trying to get information from me, Warner would definitely give me trouble."

"Warner? Warner is shit!"

Listening to Eric's undisguised abuse, Nolan was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say.

I know you two don't get along, but brother, you should be more careful. There are cameras all around. It would be bad if something was recorded. People might think I've defected to the enemy.

"If you are not happy working at Warner, why not work with me on your next movie? You can shoot whatever you want, and I promise I will not interfere."

Nolan has not yet become a god. Although his talent has been recognized, he still lacks a conclusive work in terms of commercial performance, and he cannot make movies as freely as he will in the future.

So when I heard Eric's promise, I was somewhat moved.

"I'll think about it, Eric."

"Well, remember, I admire you, Nolan!"

"Hahahaha. It's my honor."

(End of this chapter)