America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM.

Chapter 368 Chapter 366. Finale
With the opening weekend box office released, "Juno" took in $3400 million in more than 5020 theaters.

The champion is indeed the champion, but the result is actually not very impressive. After all, the number of screens is there.

To put it bluntly, it suffers from the poor subject matter, and there are no big-name stars, and it's a light comedy without special effects.

The fact that the box office was able to break 5000 million US dollars was also due to the reputation of MGM. In recent years, it has continuously produced high-quality products and has cultivated a large number of supporters in the market.

Anything produced by MGM must be a masterpiece.

It is not a fine product, but it is a good product.

And Eric doesn’t care much about the box office. Are you kidding me? I’m worth hundreds of billions, so why would I care about 10 or 20 million?
The purpose of this film is to promote Elizabeth.

Although the box office was not satisfactory, the word of mouth of the movie was very good, with an IMDb score of 8.3 and a Rotten Tomatoes freshness of 88%.

There were similar themes in the market before, but they were all tragic.

However, "Juno" went the other way and took a cheerful and bright approach, which really impressed many film critics and fans.

Chicago Sun-Times: "Juno is a very unique film that shows the tangled side of American society, but the perspective is unique and refreshing."

Salt Lake City Daily: "Juno is a typical light comedy. In addition to its theme, it is more important to remind parents to pay attention to communication and communicate more with their children."

ABC Entertainment Online: "Juno's cast isn't huge, but everyone contributes wonderful acting skills."

"Elizabeth Olsen has proven herself, and there's a breakthrough magic in this little girl."

"Andrew Garfield is also great. He plays the role of a young, confused, and gentle character very well."

"He is a convincing student, and we have reason to believe that he can also adapt to the role of Spider-Man."

The Independent: "Juno is so bad, so bad, so bad it's bad."

“It’s a very serious subject, but the director treated it in a warm way.”

"There is no bad person around Juno. Her parents, teachers, classmates, and lovers all love her very much."

"It looks great, but it's impossible in reality. You will face more criticism from society and family."

"This movie chose a realistic theme, but it's not true at all. I hope everyone will not watch Juno to avoid having a negative influence on their children."

While other newspapers and media were praising the company, The Independent continued to criticize MGM and everything related to Eric.

They have been doing this for years and have never forgotten their original intention. Not only the public has become accustomed to it, but Eric himself has also become accustomed to it.

The Independent has apparently turned this behavior into traffic. Every time MGM has a new film, many people wait to see how the Independent will smear it.

The audience just had fun watching it because no one believes the Independent's film reviews anymore.

Even the writers privately said that sometimes it was not easy for them to discredit Eric Cooper.

You have to keep finding tricky angles and be able to make up for the poor logic, which is not easy.

With the support of excellent reputation, Eric directly approved $1000 million and did a lot of public relations for me.

The money

Andrea, Elizabeth and Xiao Liu also accept interviews frequently. When they are busy, they have three or four announcements a day. Everyone is building up momentum.

In addition to promoting "Juno", MGM's other award-winning film is "Bohemian Rhapsody".

After a few months, Queen's songs were once again sung all over the United States.

Uncle Phoenix is ​​also ready to go, forcing himself to participate in various shows to increase his presence, but at the same time he also received more punches from Cate Blanchett.

Time moves forward quickly in this process, and major award ceremonies are held one after another.

Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Award, Cinematheque Award, National Board of Review Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, Boston Society of Film Critics Award, New York Film Critics Circle Award, National Society of Film Critics Award.
In short, if you really want to go for it, there are really many different awards in the United States.

The above mentioned are all quite influential. Although they are not well-known among the general public, they are all symbols of recognition within the entertainment industry.

The judges are all professionals in the industry, mainly professional film critics and senior industry veterans.

In addition to professional awards, there are also entertainment awards that are mainly for the public, such as the Saturn Awards and Popcorn Awards. Strictly speaking, the Saturn is between entertainment and professional.

A large number of these judges also serve as judges for the Oscars. After all, there are now more than 6000 judges for the Oscars.

If you can win these awards, your chances of winning an Oscar will greatly increase.

Snap! Snap!

Outside the Kodak Theater, a long red carpet was laid to the edge of the road, and reporters were surrounding both sides of the red carpet and taking pictures frantically.

Countless fans also crowded around, wanting to catch a glimpse of their favorite male and female idols.

As a classic black extended Bentley slowly stopped by the roadside, a sharp-eyed reporter saw the license plate clearly and immediately turned the camera.

The reason is simple: the owner of this car is more dazzling than any star.

Movie stars and company bosses all bow their heads when they see him. Even today's Oscars ceremony is proud to have invited him.

Eric got out of the car, then opened the door very gentlemanly, and Elizabeth got out holding his hand.

The two sisters got off the car from the other side. Today, all three sisters were wearing evening gowns.

Eric held Elizabeth's left hand and Ashley's right hand, with Mary standing beside them, and the four of them walked onto the red carpet together.

"Look this way, Eric look this way."

"Eric, you look so handsome today. Let's stop and take a picture."

"Wait, walk slower, Elizabeth. You sisters should get closer."

The red carpet at large award ceremonies actually has a time limit, and generally speaking it must be completed in about 2 minutes.

If you stay here and refuse to leave, what will happen to the stars behind you?
In a few years, China will have a large number of carpet stars who are just trying to get by without any works.

For example, Fan Bayi, Zhang Xinyu, and other major internet celebrities often refuse to leave and are driven away by security guards.

Some people are disliked for walking too slowly, while others are disliked for walking too fast. The organizers will try to hold you back and make you stay on the red carpet for a while longer.

As soon as Eric showed up and took a few steps with the three girls, they were surrounded by two outdoor hosts, and the three sisters were pushed out directly.

The two hosts talked about this and that, asking about career and relationships.

Feeling like there is nothing to do, I just grab a passing celebrity and say a few words to him.

Paris Hilton has received an invitation to the Oscars due to her growing popularity on variety shows over the past year.

Seeing Eric standing there, I couldn't help but sneer in my heart, you have rejected me time and time again, I gave you the room number but you still won't get in the car, you damn guy!
Just as I was distracted, I was suddenly grabbed by someone and brought in front of Eric.

After saying a few words in a daze, she suddenly felt her head getting hot. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Boo!
Suck secretly!

In front of numerous cameras, Eric was attacked in the face.

The reporters were stunned, the host was stunned, even Paris Hilton herself was stunned.

Instead, Eric himself sighed helplessly: "That's what it's like to be too popular. Too much charm, too much charm! Alas!"

Leaving behind a pretentious back, he slowly walked into the theater.

"Welcome to the 78th Annual Academy Awards. I'm your host, Jon Stewart."

On the stage, veteran talk show host Jon Stewart was giving his opening remarks while Eric was whispering with Elizabeth and Xiao Liu.

The academy still knew how to handle things, and put the crews of "Juno" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" together.

On Eric's left is A-mei, and on his right is the big devil.

The camera swept over from time to time. ABC was very clear about it, and the director was also very clear about it. If more shots were given to the world's richest man, the ratings would definitely increase dramatically.

“The piece that got the best sound was ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.”

On stage, Jessica Alba and Eric Bana made the announcement together.

The music of Queen was immediately heard in the hall, and John Link went on stage to receive the trophy, expressing his excitement.

He has worked for MGM for decades, and this is his first time standing on the Oscar stage.

After thanking her family and colleagues, and thanking Eric again, she walked away wiping away tears.

A few awards later, Ben Affleck's girlfriend Jennifer Garner walked onto the stage.

"The winner of Best Sound Editing is Bohemian Rhapsody, congratulations!"

Another old MGM employee walked up to the stage and received the trophy. There was no dispute about these two awards.

Even if Satan came to judge, he would be embarrassed to give it to other movies.

Then, The Devil Wears Prada was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but she had already won this award last year, and this time it went to Rachel Weisz for "The Constant Gardener".

The Big Devil was a little disappointed, and Xiao Liu was even more disappointed, as she didn't even get a nomination.

There's no way around it. She has relatively few scenes in "Juno", even less than Cate Blanchett.

Ao Mei squeezed her hand and said, "There will be opportunities in the future, Crystal."

"It's nothing, we're here for you this time." "Six-Shooter" won the Best Live-Action Short Film, and the Best Supporting Actor was won by George Clooney for "Syriana."

The Best Animated Feature Film was won by "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit", while "Howl's Moving Castle" lost.

The Best Foreign Language Film award was won by the South African film "Gangsters", and there were no Chinese films this year.

As the various awards are handed out one after another, the ones that remain are the more important grand prizes.

Rain Man Dustin Hoffman pointed to the big screen: "The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are: Brokeback Mountain, Juno, Capote, The Constant Gardener, Munich."

The camera is focused on five directors and screenwriters, with the focus on "Brokeback Mountain" and "Juno", the two films with the greatest social impact.

The worst one is "Munich", which was shortlisted purely because of political benefits. Everyone can see that this is a work that Spielberg rushed to make.

Nomination is to give face to senior colleagues, otherwise you won’t get any nomination at all, which is not a good look.

"I declare the winner to be Brokeback Mountain."

The crew not far away immediately cheered, Eric took a look and saw Ang Lee also happily standing up and hugging the screenwriter.

Instead, he smiled and said, "This is good news. The more awards you lose, the greater your chance of winning Best Actress."

Elizabeth is also laughing. Come on, reveal the answer.

Uma Thurman, wearing a dress, walked up with an envelope in her hand, said a few words to liven up the atmosphere, and then opened the prize.

"Nominees for Best Original Screenplay: Bohemian Rhapsody, Good Night, and Good Luck, Crash, Match Point, and Syriana."

"Let me see who I can bring good luck to."

Tearing open the envelope, Uma Thurman laughed and said, "It's him again, that guy again. He's going to take all the screenplay awards home."

"I'm sure you've guessed his name. The winner is Eric Cooper from Bohemian Rhapsody."

Wow!

call!
In an instant, the whole audience burst into thunderous applause to the sound of music.

Eric hugged the crew and walked calmly onto the stage.

Uma Thurman took the initiative to kiss him on the cheek, and then asked curiously: "Eric, you don't look excited at all."

"Haha. If you didn't tell me that I've won all the screenwriting awards in recent years, there's nothing to be excited about."

Hahahaha
Eric expressed his thanks as usual, and indeed he was no longer surprised at all, as it had become a habit.

Afterwards, last year's Best Actor Jamie Foxx took the stage to present the Best Actress award.

"The nominees for Best Actress are: Keira Knightley, Pride and Prejudice; Reese Witherspoon, Keep Calm; and Judi Dench, Mrs Henderson Presents."

“Felicity Huffman in Across America and Elizabeth Olsen in Juno.”

The big screen showed five people. Eric could clearly feel that Olsen's body was tense and her hands were shaking with nervousness.

"The winner is Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line."

As the results were announced, Elizabeth instantly became like a deflated ball. She quickly adjusted her expression and faced the camera to applaud.

Eric leaned close to her ear and said, "It's nothing, baby. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I will make sure you win the Best Actress award before you turn 18."

The encouragement from her lover made Olsen smile again. In fact, getting the nomination was already great for her.

Purely comparing acting skills, she is the weakest among the five.

"Just a little lost dear."

"I'll help you relax when we get home, how about that?"

Ao Mei's face turned red and she hummed softly.

The next three major awards left are Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture.

Uncle Phoenix has already won most of the awards, and he deserves the Best Actor award.

Even though Eric likes Heath Ledger very much and his performance in Brokeback Mountain was already great, he couldn't say in a clear conscience that it was better than the former.

Anyway, "The Dark Knight" is being prepared, so let's see if we can use the Joker to win him the Best Actor award.

Not worthy of a commercial film?
That also depends on who the investor is.

In another year or two, Eric's business empire will be even bigger and his relative voice will be even greater.

If you don't give me the award, don't blame me for starting Xinhe Liansheng.

As expected, the Best Director award went to Ang Lee, and the Best Picture award naturally went to "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Beverly Hills, everyone was comforting Olsen on the way back.

After entering the room, Ivy and Charlize Theron, who were with Nicole at home, also hurried to hug her.

After several times, Elizabeth herself didn't feel anything anymore.

"Your ways of comforting people are too old-fashioned. Let me do it."

Eric pushed the girls away, picked up Ao Mei and put her on the table.

It was gentle at first, but after a few minutes both of them started tearing off each other's clothes. Damn the gentleness.

Soon the villa was filled with the sounds of love.

The darkness faded away and the light came back. We spent half the night having fun, but it didn't matter since it was the weekend.

Eric wanted to sleep a little longer, but he opened his eyes dazedly. Before he regained consciousness, he was pulled up by a hand.

"We are short of one person. Hurry up and get up."

"what?"

"Ah what! Come over here and play cards!" Avril said harshly.

"You guys fight, I want to take a nap."

"Then you give me $100 million and I lose it all."

"How did you lose it all? Who did you play cards with?"

"Ashley, Mary and Elizabeth, they each won more than 30 from me. I suspect they cheated."

"They are three sisters, can't you fight with someone else?"

"No! I want to make a comeback, you give me 100 million."

Eric's eyelids were drooping. "Go ahead, go ahead. Put the loss into my account."

Avril then left with satisfaction. Eric had just been lying down for half a minute when he was pulled up again by a hand.

"Honey, try my freshly baked pineapple pie."

"And my apple pie, freshly baked, too."

Eric opened his mouth subconsciously, and Nicole cut off a small piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Ugh! What's that smell? The pineapple must be expired."

"Really? I wasn't paying attention to the time."

"Honey, try my apple pie. I guarantee it's not expired."

"Puh, puh, puh! What did you put there? It's going to make me sick to death."

"Is it too sweet? I just put a bottle of condensed milk in it. It looks like it needs some improvement."

"Okay, go to sleep."

Neither of them even had time to drink water, and Eric sighed and closed his eyes again.

Before I fell asleep, loud music was already ringing in my ears.

Judy, Gadot and Crystal are dancing. The three of them like to exercise and keep fit, so they dance when they have nothing to do.

Eric was so annoyed that he could only cover his head with a pillow.

After a while I got used to it and no matter how loud the music was, it couldn't help but make me sleepy.

I fell into sleep in a daze, and before my good dream began, I suddenly felt a pair of small hands touching my chest.

Daddario licked his ear and said, "Honey, I didn't satisfy you last night. You have to make it up to me."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Next time?"

"I want it now!"

"hehe."

PS: A new book has been released, titled "The Rise of Farming in Chinese Entertainment", which may be somewhat related to this book. Interested readers can take a look at it.

(End of this chapter)