America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM.

Chapter 348 346. Who can carry the banner of the DC universe?
Hilton Hotel, where entertainment media from all over the United States gather.

A press conference will be held here today, which is also the first press conference after Eric acquired Warner.

Last time I had a party, I talked to Paris Hilton about this.

But for some reason this girl looked resentful and made a weird request.

She can convince her family not to charge any fees, including venue fees and event planning fees, not a penny.

The only condition was that Eric accompany her once, not necessarily for the whole night, just once.

But after thinking about it, Eric felt that he was at a disadvantage, so he rejected her righteously.

Do I need this little money? Stop looking down on me!
What's more, milk is very expensive. Ever since he became the world's richest man, the price of his milk has skyrocketed on the black market. I heard that it has been raised to $10.

Don't think it's too expensive. There is a shortage of demand. Countless people want to reserve a milliliter but there is no chance.

The most precious animals in the world are not as precious as him.

Click!

Click!

The camera shutter rose and fell quickly, and the flash light kept flashing.

Amid the expectations of media reporters, Eric walked out from the backstage with a group of people.

Judy, Avi Arad, Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers, Ervin Schwimmer, James Wan, Zack Snyder and others followed him on stage.

After everyone was seated, the host looked at Eric, nodded after getting permission, and started talking.

"Dear friends from the media, welcome to this joint press conference."

"The theme of today's press conference is to explain Warner's future development strategy and the layout of Marvel and DC."

"First, please allow Mr. Eric Cooper, Chairman of MGM Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Marvel Studios Group, to speak."

All the shots below instantly focused on Eric's face, and the photographers adjusted the focus to ensure that they could capture a clear close-up.

Even though this behavior has been done many times, everyone still feels: handsome, he is so handsome!

Eric turned on the microphone: "Today is my 18th day as chairman of the board of directors of Warner Bros. This press conference seems a little late."

"Because I have been adjusting various aspects of the company during this period, it takes a process."

The reporters nodded secretly, because during this period of time, many former Warner executives such as Bob Mayer had been kicked out.

After Eric Cooper took office, he launched a major purge of senior management, which was indeed consistent with his character.

At the same time, some films announced that they would stop filming or abandon the project, and even projects that had already started were stopped midway, such as big productions like "Poseidon".

The estimated cost is 1.6 million US dollars, and tens of millions have been invested. It’s time to give up.

Actors, directors, producers want an explanation?
My order is to explain. If you dare to force me, I will ban you. Even if the union comes now, it won’t be of any use, not to mention that I have given you the money.

Anyway, everything is just like when he took over MGM.

"Now, I would like to introduce to you the new CEO of Warner Bros., Ms. Judy Castlero Infitewald Newhouse!"

Bang bang bang.
Amid the applause, Judy nodded towards the camera.

"Erwin Hume, the former head of DC Films, is still in charge of the overall DC Films business."

"James Wan, you are all very familiar with him. He is good at layout guidance and is a very outstanding talent. He will be the person in charge of the film and television adaptation of DC Comics in the future."

"Zack Snyder is a very thoughtful and creative director. He will serve as the creative director of DC's film and television adaptations to assist James."

"You all know the person to my right, Avi Arad, who will continue to be responsible for the overall business of Marvel Film Group."

"Then there's Kevin Feige, who is the producer of Iron Man and Captain America and will be specifically responsible for Marvel's film and television landscape in the future."

"There are also the Russo brothers, young directors who are equally good at innovation. They will serve as Marvel's creative directors to assist Kevin in his work."

"Felicity Mar."

"Quinn Lorraine."

Every time Eric read a name, someone on the podium stood up and gestured to the camera.

Insiders already knew this information, but reporters were very surprised.

Because whether it's Judy, James Wan, or the Russo brothers, half of the senior executives look very young, and most of them are only around 30 years old.

Even some people knew Judy Newhouse, Eric's college classmate who was about the same age as Eric.

25 years old seems too young for a CEO of a large group.

And whether it is Avi Arad or Erwin Hume, although Eric said that he wanted them to be responsible for the overall business of Marvel and DC.

But they feel more like two mascots.

The real power is controlled by Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers, James Wan and Zack Snyder.

It's a bit like the feeling that Charlie Cooper and Eric Cooper, father and son, once gave people.

Is it really possible to let such a group of young people come to power?

Eric had naturally considered the issues that the reporters were considering a long time ago.

Especially the person in charge of DC, he took the longest time to consider.

A party was held more than half a month ago, and Nolan was specially invited. One of the purposes was to hope that he could take up this position.

But Nolan refused without a second thought, saying he just wanted to focus on creating and making movies.

But once you get involved in the management level, there are too many trivial matters and you can no longer concentrate.

The most worrying thing is that neither the movie nor the management is done well, and then it won’t be as simple as just getting a few scoldings.

However, although he rejected the invitation to be the person in charge, he said he would seriously consider Heath Ledger, who was recommended by Eric.

If the other person is really amazing enough, I will choose him first.

After hitting a wall with Nolan, Eric turned his attention to the No. 2 target, James Wan.

Xiao Wen is well-known for his strong abilities. Not only that, he is also very responsible. He is the type of person who will do his best to do the best he can once he takes on a job.

At the same time, he is particularly able to withstand pressure, is good at playing against the wind, and will never recklessly play in the wind. He also has a certain level of planning and layout.

Just look at what great things he did in his original time and space and you will understand.

The already established horror film universes such as "The Conjuring", "Annabelle", "Insidious" and "The Witch" have proven his ability to plan.

While filming "Fast and Furious", the lead actor Paul Walker died suddenly.

The crew urgently made a plan, made major changes to the script, brought in Paul Walker’s brother, and added special effects to complete the film. The final breakup scene has become a classic.

You have to know that Hollywood is not Hong Kong. It takes a long time to make a movie, and major changes to the script are extremely torturous.

This situation would have been a failure in the hands of most other directors, but James Wan pulled it off and it became a huge hit at the box office.

If "Fast and Furious 7" proved his ability to withstand pressure, then "Aquaman 2" thoroughly demonstrated his style of being good at playing against the wind. The first film was very successful, and the filming of the sequel was very smooth.

Even during the mask crisis, the film's progress was not slow, and the main part was basically completed in 2021.

But then an accident happened, and the century battle between Depp and Amber began.

Teacup dogs, poop, broken fingers, funny court trials...

Amber's image completely collapsed, and she was boycotted by millions of people, demanding that she be kicked out of the crew.

But Amber is the heroine, and finally James Wan went through a series of post-production editing.

By compressing Amber's role and filling it with other abandoned shots, the story was actually made whole.

But then a bigger difficulty than Amber's appeared. Warner executives gathered their strength and prepared to torture the director.

They were not satisfied with the finished film and wanted to add more connections to other movies, such as The Flash, so the film underwent its first reshoot.

But unexpectedly, after James Wan completed the reshoots, Warner and Discovery Channel merged and there were changes in the senior management.

After the new senior management watched the finished film, they thought it was a piece of shit and decided to reshoot it.

So James Wan had no choice but to modify the script according to the opinions and started the second round of reshoots.

When James Wan finished filming, there was another change in Warner's senior management, with James Gunn taking over.

He was very dissatisfied with DCEU's layout and wanted to start his own universe, so he gave his opinion and requested that "Aquaman 2" be re-shot for the third time.

James Wan could only revise the script again and again and then reassemble the actors.

But the actors can’t just come when you ask them to. They all have their own things to do, and the process is a complete mess.

James Wan was hospitalized during this period and was rumored to be furious.

But how did Xiao Wen respond in the interview?

The other person smiled and said, it’s okay, I understand, my job is to serve Party A.

From beginning to end, he never said a bad word about Warner, and never criticized Wen. He was very patient and could withstand pressure to the fullest, and could be described as a gentleman like jade.

Only in the end was he asked by a reporter from Entertainment Weekly: "Do you still want to shoot Aquaman 3?"

He finally said tactfully: "I just want to take a long vacation and find a place without sea water."

This is a movie that has gone through hardships, has a bad fate, and is full of negative news.

Various institutions predicted that the film would definitely flop, but unexpectedly, the score exceeded 6 points and it sold more than $4 million worldwide.

Not only did the film receive satisfactory word of mouth, but Warner did not lose money and even made a small profit.

And people who have experienced the internal first version of the movie said that James Wan’s original version was much better than the one that was broadcast.

After understanding these, let me ask you, is James Wan a god?
As for Zack Snyder, his style is very good and Eric appreciates it.

However, the shortcomings are also obvious. The commercial elements are not integrated well enough, and the reputation is often good but the box office is poor.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to let him control the overall situation alone. He can only play a supporting role, not the main force.

But with the collaboration of James Wan and Zack Snyder, and with Eric making the final decision, I believe the results will be very good.

As for the existence of Avi Arad and Erwin Hume, it is indeed as the media speculated.

If the young people cannot control the situation in the early stages, they will be needed to step forward to coordinate.

After a year or so, when they have proven themselves, they can be asked to abdicate.

"Next, please allow Ms. Judy Newhouse to introduce Warner's future development model."

As the host spoke, Judy glanced around the audience with sharp eyes. In America, hiding one's shortcomings is not popular, and it is better to act more domineering.

"I know some of you don't know me, so let me formally introduce myself now."

“I used to work for MGM Pictures, mainly responsible for marketing and production.”

"I discovered and participated in the production of movies such as Blue Is the Warmest Color, Million Dollar Baby, Mean Girls, The Passion of the Christ, and Drive."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an exclamation of surprise at the scene.

They were all big hits, and none of them lost money.

It was then that some people realized that MGM was not just about Eric Cooper, but his personal aura was so dazzling that it overlooked others.

"In addition, I was also responsible for leading the acquisition of Lucasfilm."

The exclamations were louder than before. A business worth 30 billion US dollars is not something that ordinary people can do. This young girl is no ordinary person.

Satisfied with the result, Judy's voice became louder: "Although this new job is more difficult, I think I can handle it."

"I will apply my experience to make the company run more smoothly and powerfully, and produce more high-quality film and television dramas to give back to fans."

"Among them, Harry Potter will still be the company's key project, and the Matrix series will also be further developed."

“At the same time, we will further cooperate with New Line Studios to jointly develop the Lord of the Rings film series.”

“Partnering with Lucasfilm to film spin-offs of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars.”

"There are also classic IPs such as Tom and Jerry, and we will also persist in exploring original films."

"Then there is the DC movie universe, which will be a key area for the next decade. Could you please ask James to talk about it?"

James Wan took over the conversation: "I am deeply honored to be given this position."

"We have discussed the layout of the DC movie universe many times, and even Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers and I have studied it."

“The model will be similar to Marvel, focusing on the hero’s personal movie first, and then linking other heroes in the plot.”

"When the time is right, it may lead to a big event."

"But don't worry about being the same, because DC and Marvel have different styles, which will definitely give audiences different viewing experiences."

"The solo movies that have been confirmed so far include Superman and Batman, which are directed by Nolan, as everyone knows."

“Then there’s Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, The Flash and Constantine.”

"It will be a great story, and Zack and I will do our best to make it a good one. Within three years, everyone will be able to see many superheroes on the big screen."

After saying this, James Wan looked at Zack Snyder and motioned for him to say a few words.

But before Zack Snyder opened his mouth, many reporters raised their hands.

Someone even asked directly: "James, why is there no Martian Manhunter or Cyborg?"

"Excuse me, why is there one less member of the Justice League?"

"You've been researching for so long, have you chosen all the actors?"

"Who is Superman? Who is Wonder Woman?"

(End of this chapter)