America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 10 Eric’s Advantages

Judy: "OMG! Huge profits, simply huge profits. I have never seen such a huge profit business.

"30 million, it doubled 11 times in one game and became 330 million. If Gambling were a woman, I would definitely fall in love with her."

Warren kept making silly smiles: "11 times, my God, I should put more pressure on it, I should put all my wealth on it."

Eric: "Don't you only have $1,000?"

Warren: "Hey, there is actually a little left. I was worried about losing it all. Now it seems that my worries were unnecessary. Eric, you are so fucking amazing!"

Looking at these aristocratic guys, Eric quickly put out the fire for them. He knew how harmful pornography, gambling and drugs were.

Gambling and drug addiction will kill people once they get involved. As for pornography, it is nothing to the rich. After all, rich people have a lot of time and money to take care of their bodies. That’s why they say that I am sworn in with gambling and drug addiction!

Eric: "Please wake up. Gambling is just a crooked way. Even if you can win once in a while, no one can guarantee that you will win all the time."

"So this is the only time because I need to build up the initial capital quickly, but I want you to remember that you will lose if you bet for a long time."

"After this World Cup, anyone who touches gambling will no longer be my friend, Eric Cooper!"

Eric meant what he said, and he made sure he meant it.

However, these best friends are not ordinary people. With their wisdom, Eric believes that they will know what to do.

After two games and just one week, Eric's wealth reached an astonishing $500 million, which is like a dream.

500 million US dollars in 2002, which is a wealth that exceeds that of most Hollywood stars.

Even 20 years later, US$500 million will be enough to invest in two Hollywood blockbusters, the kind with big stars and big productions.

As of now, for example, Sony's "Spider-Man" has been released for a month, but there are still a few theaters that have not yet opened the film, and the cost of this superhero blockbuster is less than US$400 million.

MGM's "Windtalkers" is a war blockbuster with a production cost of only 300 million.

Although this cost is water-injected, the water-injection component is definitely not significant, because they are all listed companies, and the eyes of shareholders are watching, and what is even more frightening is that the tax bureau will audit the accounts.

If you lie about the cost and exaggerate it three to five times, you will cry to death when the tax bureau comes to visit.

In the United States, never mess with the tax bureau. Even if Hollywood dares to fool Wall Street, it does not dare to fool the tax bureau.

In addition to production costs, plus a certain amount of publicity and distribution costs, these are the two major components of the cost of releasing a movie.

Eric estimates that the total cost of "Spider-Man" and "Windtalker" should be around $800 million.

However, this is a cost relative to the needs of ordinary filmmakers. If Eric had participated in the entire production, the cost could have been kept down to at least 30 million to 40 million US dollars.

Because there are many scraps during the filming process, for example, for a 120-minute movie, the shooting time behind it may exceed 1,000 minutes, and the final editing is what the audience sees.

As a time traveler, Eric knows exactly what each movie should look like in the end, so redundant filming can be completely omitted.

This will greatly shorten the production cycle, which can not only reduce costs, but also release the film in advance. This is his advantage.

However, although US$500 million is enough for him to shoot several blockbusters, there is still a huge gap in funds to acquire MGM. He still needs more, more!

However, the wool cannot be gathered to death.

The last cut of US$190 million has already halved the profits of many small gambling companies in a few days.

With 330 million cut this time, even large gambling companies such as Pinnacle and Ladbrokes may see their profits plummet.

As for those small companies, it would be good if they can still make a profit.

These companies need to take a breather, otherwise the game will no longer be played.

Eric: "It's still the same old rules. No more betting these days. I'll pay for all your food, drink, and fun."

"But keep a low profile. We had two big upsets in a row. I'm worried that some casinos have been alerted. Anyway, be careful."

Time flies by and it soon comes to June 14th. There are two important things to do today.

First, "Windtalkers" was released, and Eric planned to go to the cinema to watch it for fun.

Second, there is an important game today, South Korea versus Portugal.

That's right, the stick is finally going to show its strength, and the biggest secret of the 2002 World Cup is about to begin.

Eric walked into the cinema alone, ordered a soda and popcorn, and waited silently for the movie to start.

During this period, he secretly observed the front desk and found that the vast majority of people who chose "Wind Whisperer" were men, many of them were accompanied by a few buddies, and there were very few couples or girls.

Next to him, a black guy was muttering to his companions: "I like John Woo's style. Nicolas Cage will transform into the God of War on the battlefield and send all the enemies to hell."

Another black guy showed his racial talent: "Bullets, doves, explosions, blood, bang bang bang"

A white office worker not far away was discussing John Woo with his companions: "I've watched Face/Off, Mission: Impossible 2, and Hot Shots. I like this guy's movies. I hope I can enjoy them this time." It’s a violent movie, I’m really tired from work, I need to relax.”

Everyone around him had this view, but Eric knew that they were going to be disappointed. What the audience wanted to see was a personal heroism movie. This was also the impression John Woo left on the public, but "Windtalkers" was obviously not it.

This is an Oriental movie disguised as Hollywood. What stands out is not personal heroism at all, but dedication to the country.

It was fucking Indians who dedicated themselves to the United States. It was obviously too early to do this in 2002.

Let alone 2002, even if it is 2022, the most it will be is the contribution of black people. When will it be your Indian turn?

Do you have any zero-dollar purchases? Do you have Black Lives Matter? Not even close, brother!

Entering the screening room, the lights dimmed and the movie officially started.

Eric's attention is sometimes on the big screen, sometimes on the surrounding audience. Although Nicolas Cage's acting skills are still excellent, the plot is really full of many flaws.

By the middle of the film's screening, many viewers had already frowned. It was completely different from what they had imagined.

Some viewers have gone to the toilet, and some have simply gone away. The appeal of the movie can be imagined.

Needless to say, there will be a massive media audience denouncement tomorrow.

Eric walked out of the cinema happily amidst the curses and denunciations of the audience. "Windtalkers" was dead, and it was time to cut his third crop of leeks.

Back home, the game between South Korea and Portugal has ended. Just like in memory, Portugal was sent off 2 people.

The 12-man South Korean team defeated Portugal's 9-man team. Portugal, the golden generation, failed to qualify in the final group stage and hated the northwest!

Now I hope that the vacation will end soon and the editor will give me a confirmation letter whether to sign or not after returning to work. Please collect and read it, this is the standard for editors’ judgment.