America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 165 165. Send Gadot away and aim at Marvel

Gadot's apartment at night.

I haven't slept at her place for several days, and if I don't come again, the little girl will start to complain.

Eric and Gadot, Judy and Bar Refaeli, three women and one man were each sitting on a sofa making out. There were snacks, fruits and beer on the table.

uh-huh!

"Hahaha, it's okay. It's a little itchy. Stop scratching it."

Gadot slapped away Eric's dishonest hand: "Okay, the last episode is about to start, don't make trouble!"

Only then did Eric move his head away from her neck, and his eyes fell on the TV. HBO was doing the final warm-up, and the finale of the first season of "The Walking Dead" was about to start in a few minutes.

After three months, this groundbreaking zombie TV series is about to reach its final episode.

The reason why it has been broadcast for so long is because the first season led by Eric was actually a fusion of the original content from the first and second seasons, but the boring and long-winded emotional scenes were carefully edited.

The original 19-episode content was compressed to 13 episodes, coupled with Darabont's superb directing skills.

The plot has a very strong ability to pull the audience's emotions, and the climax can be described as one after another.

From the launch to the present, the premiere episode has been watched by 8 million users. By the 12th episode last week, the number of viewers had exceeded 13 million.

HBO is also very excited. For this final episode, promotional resources have been mobilized with full force, with the goal of breaking the 14 million mark tonight.

You must know that the peak number of "Band of Brothers" is only 10 million, while the peak number of viewers of HBO's old pillar "The Sopranos" has not exceeded 9 million.

This shows that the ratings of "The Walking Dead" are very high, especially among young people, and its influence is far greater than other shows.

According to the current data obtained by MGM, HBO has grown nearly 4 million new users thanks to "The Walking Dead".

By the time tonight's episode ends, according to the contract, the TV station will have to pay MGM an additional $10 million in remuneration.

"Judy, give me a beer."

The lips of the two women parted, and Judy rolled her eyes at him: "Can't you see what I'm doing? You have hands and feet to help yourself."

"Be careful, I will fire you tomorrow just because you step into the company with your left foot first."

"Giggle, dear, let me get it for you."

Gadot sat in Eric's arms holding a plate, her vanilla-scented hair was refreshing, and she held pieces of fruit with her fingers and brought them to his mouth.

"Tsk tsk. Look at the two of you, you look like a fatuous king and his doting little lover." Judy complained.

The two ignored her, and Gadot bit off half a piece of apple and snuggled against Eric.

"My dear, the filming of "Happy Death Day" has been completed. Do you plan to arrange a new job for me recently?"

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. If I don't have a new job, I plan to go home and have a look. It's been almost a year since I was tricked by you. I can only contact my family on the phone. I miss them."

Barrefali looked over and said: "Gadot, how long it has been since you haven't been home is just as long as it has been for me. My mother also wants me to go back and have a look."

Looking at the two homesick women, Eric also felt that it was time to give each other a holiday, rest for a while to adjust, and the clockwork could not be tightened all the time.

He nodded lightly: "Then go back. I'll give you a month's leave. "Happy Death Day" will be released at the end of August. You can come back early. You still need to cooperate with the promotion."

"What about me?" Refaeli asked hurriedly.

"You can't do it. "House of Cards" starts filming on Monday. Your role is very heavy and you have to participate in the whole process. You can't let Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright wait for you."

Barrefali choked and asked the best actor and best actress to wait for him unless he had a headache.

Even though "The Walking Dead" made her stand out and was labeled as a new star and dark horse by some media, she still had to compete with whom.

Hollywood also pays attention to seniority, which is a common rule all over the world.

Judy patted her back and said comfortingly: "Lefali, Eric shoots movies very quickly, much faster than Darabont. A TV series will never take more than two months."

"Furthermore, "House of Cards" is a key project of MGM. With the blessing of an Oscar-winning actor and actress, it will definitely raise your popularity to a higher level."

"Do you think that when the second season of The Walking Dead starts filming, Maggie will surpass Daryl and Rick and become the number one in the popularity rankings? Isn't that very motivating?"

Barrefali thought for a moment, and a smile appeared on his face.

On the TV screen, the BGM belonging to "The Walking Dead" sounded, and the last episode began.

The opening is a big scene, with countless zombies moving quickly towards the farm in the darkness.

Rick, who had just killed his good brother Sean, fled with his son Carl and was almost knocked down by zombies several times.

The speed of these zombies is as fast as a human trot, and their attack power is fierce. This is also the zombie rule set by Eric and Darabont. Don't be slow.

Then the farm attack and defense battle started, and the team began to be killed by zombies one after another. The scene was cruel and exciting.

Gadot's eyes widened nervously: "How come so many people died! If they die again, there will be no one left in the protagonist group."

Eric stroked her little head: "It's the last episode. Of course, we have to screen out the insignificant minor characters. After the screening is completed, it will be the time when the protagonist group is officially established, and then a new copy of the second season will be started."

A zombie battle lasted for more than ten minutes, and finally the farm was caught in fire.

Hundreds of flaming zombies rushed towards the car. At the critical moment, the protagonist group finally escaped separately, leaving only the unlucky Andrea who was left out.

"OMG! Andrea hasn't gotten in the car yet, Rick hasn't noticed her, and she's going to die too!"

"Don't worry, Andrea has her own destiny, and someone will save her."

On TV, Green, played by Daniel Wu, and Maggie, played by Refaeli, were seen playing opposite each other.

Eric couldn't help but ask: "Lefali, how was Daniel Wu's performance on the set?"

"Very good. He is an experienced actor. He taught me some lessons when we acted together. He is also very gentlemanly."

"Later I found out that he was already a big star in Xiangjiang and very popular there."

"Did you know? He hurried back to China after finishing filming. Darabont originally didn't want to let him go, but Daniel said that he had joined the crew of Jack Chen and was about to shoot a new film by Jack Chen. Only then did Labonte let him go."

"Jackie Chan's movie, New Police Story?"

"I don't know the specifics. It seems to be related to the police. That day we found out that Daniel was a big star in Hong Kong. He only made movies and not TV series."

Judy chuckled and said, "So you still don't understand? Movie stars from other countries have to start with small roles when they come to Hollywood. Only in Hollywood can you become a world superstar."

Eric added: "Daniel Wu is actually an American, but because of his yellow skin, he went to China to develop. When the market on the other side of the country develops, he will get more opportunities."

Finally, after escaping from the farm, the protagonist group reunited. At this time, only Rick, Daryl, Cam, Green, Maggie, Carl and other members were left.

Rick finally became the leader of the team through his words and abilities.

After 13 episodes of preparation, the core of the team is established in the finale, and they need to find a new shelter.

The camera zooms out, and a prison stands there, symbolizing the location of the main stage of the second season.

Meanwhile, Andrea escapes from the farm, but is unable to escape the zombies.

She finally fell to the ground exhausted, and was about to be eaten by zombies when she heard the sound of breaking wind.

A cold light flashed, and the zombie's head had been chopped off.

Andrea looked at the savior in front of her in surprise. He was a man shrouded in black robes, and the katana in his hand shone with a cold light.

Behind the man in black robes, there were two zombies chained up. Everything looked very strange.

At this point, the first season of "The Walking Dead" has officially come to an end.

"Huh? Is this the end?" Gadot looked at the credits with wide eyes.

"It's over. You haven't seen this episode for sixty minutes. It's an extended version."

"But the matter hasn't been explained clearly yet. Who is the man in black robe? Why doesn't he show his face?"

"Okay, honey, that's the suspense left for the second season. We still have to rely on them to attract the audience."

"No, no, please tell me what will happen next, and what is the identity of the man in black robe?" Gadot pestered him relentlessly.

Judy said happily: "Don't ask Gadot, Eric must not know either. He must not even be sure whether the person in black robe is a boy or a girl, so he covered his whole body."

Eric nodded: "Yes, I only wrote the script for the first season. Darabont will be in charge of the second season. I don't care."

"If you want to know the plot, you have to ask the bald guy, but I guess he's still thinking about it."

In desperation, Gadot could only keep her curiosity in her heart.

And Eric did not lie to her. In the second season, he only gave Darabont a few pieces of advice.

For example, an external boss needs to be added to put pressure on the protagonist group, and some characters need to be gradually grown to enhance the strength of the protagonist group. In addition, some characters that the audience hates can also be taken offline appropriately.

He didn’t make any specific requirements, and he didn’t even give a story framework.

Eric believes that with Darabont's ability, the level of "The Walking Dead" will not drop off a cliff within at least five seasons.

As for after five seasons, it’s normal for the writer and director to run out of inspiration and just need to replace them with new people.

Eric is now looking forward to the Emmy Awards in September. He doesn't know how many awards "The Walking Dead" can win, and whether he can win the best screenwriter in the drama category.

Moving forward, with a wall that allows both sides to hear each other's voices, Eric and Judy are in game mode.

Fight from Baicao Garden to Sanwei Bookstore, and then fight from Sanwei Bookstore back to Baicao Garden.

See who has better endurance and who can make the sound louder.

Finally, after hearing two high-pitched tweets from the opposite side, Eric also delivered the goods to the already exhausted Gadot.

The next day, after sending Gadot to the airport, Eric came to the office as usual.

Chen Xing was waiting outside the door and followed up with a piece of information: "Boss, I've investigated and sorted out the things you arranged. I've sorted out the details, and they're all here."

Eric nodded: "Okay, let's go out and let me take a look first."

This information covers the development history of Marvel and is also the next key goal of MGM.

It is now 2003, and time is already pressing. We have to wait for another two years.

Once Marvel successfully raises funds and the Iron Man project is launched, the best opportunity will be missed.

Remember that Mickey Mouse spent more than 4 billion US dollars to buy Marvel in 2009. If the Iron Man project had been established before, this value could have been reduced several times.

Eric opened the information. Many people knew the previous history, so he skimmed it and skipped it.

Captain America took advantage of World War II to beat up the mustache comics and sales surged, and Marvel began to make a name for itself in the industry.

After the end of World War II, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, the juvenile crime rate in the United States soared. Due to the lack of supervision, comics involved a large amount of erotic and violent content, which naturally became the target of social criticism.

What followed was a trial by law and society. For a while, comics became the source of evil, and were even directly listed as contraband in cities such as Detroit and Salt Lake City.

It seems that at the beginning of the century everything was the fault of games. Games were the culprits that ruined children. Games smelled like electronic powder.

What’s even more funny is that in order to restore their reputation, publishers have joined forces to formulate new industry rules, requiring that justice must defeat evil, and at the same time, werewolves, vampires, Frankenstein and other creatures are prohibited from appearing in comics.

He also faced off against the people over there who were not allowed to have spirits and couldn’t become tricks.

When this trend subsided, comic sales once again ushered in a period of growth, and Marvel began to gradually surpass DC to become the new industry leader.

And in 1989, Marvel finally ushered in the destined person, and was about to begin its tragic ten years of wandering.

This person is of course not Stan Lee, but the capital tycoon Ronald Perelman, who is eyeing the hot comics market.

As we all know, once capital targets you, most situations will not end well.

Perelman spent $82.5 million to acquire Marvel, and then used his connections to go public and raise funds.

Marvel's stock price soared to a peak of more than 30 US dollars, and its market value exceeded 4 billion US dollars. Then it began a crazy money-spending model and continued to expand and merge.

Among the stocks purchased were Beech Toys, a very important toy company, and two shareholders of Beech Toys also joined the Marvel board of directors, namely Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad.

But this kind of scenery only lasted for two years, and the comics market once again ushered in a big collapse. The reason was that the leeks were cut too hard.

The general market pays attention to sustainability and fishes from the bottom, but the comics market at that time did not care at all and went directly to eliminate the roots.

Major companies continue to launch collector's editions, limited editions, and special editions, hyping comic books as works of art and collectibles.

A limited edition comic book can cost thousands of dollars, more than gold.

The question is do you have that value? Does the public recognize the value of your art?

You don’t have the ability to know!

It’s just a small circle and an enclosure for true fans.

And this kind of chaos, even the most ardent fans cannot afford to play it. It is like a junk game that is trying to make money. In the end, players will get out of the trap one after another, and the market will completely collapse.

Whether it’s Marvel or DC, their sales cannot be described as being cut in half, they are close to a sudden death.

When Marvel was at its lowest, they laid off staff until only six screenwriters were left, and a large number of comics were discontinued. From that time on, Marvel embarked on the path of selling copyrights to continue its existence.

The bosses are in such a miserable state, but the small companies are even more miserable. According to statistics, at least 300 companies have gone bankrupt.

But even at this critical moment of life and death, Perelman still feels that Marvel still has room to exploit.

This old man wants to continue to engage in expansion and mergers. To put it bluntly, he is creating an illusion and blowing bubbles so that he can continue to harvest leeks in the stock market.

However, this time he was unsuccessful, and he encountered opposition and sniping from Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad.

After a series of incidents, the lawsuit eventually went to court and Perelman was driven away.

Marvel merged with Beechcraft Toys, or rather was acquired by the latter.

You must know that when it was prosperous two years ago, Marvel bought 46% of the shares of Beechcraft Toys. Unexpectedly, it took out the shares a few years ago and was counter-taken by others.

After several years of hard work, now, although Marvel has made some progress, it has been impacted by the Internet and video games.

People's enthusiasm for comics has been greatly reduced, making it difficult for it to regain its past glory.

Now I only survive by selling peripheral products, and the only well-known film and television rights in my possession are Thor, Captain America, etc.

In the stock market, Marvel's stock price is currently US$3.21 per share. It cannot be said to be a junk stock, but it is still far from the average. It is typically a life-threatening stock.

The market value is also very low, and it also relies on selling toy peripherals as its main profit point.

Hasbro's stock price has now reached US$39.2 per share, especially after the release of the trailer for "Transformers", which directly rose by 11%, and the company's market value is nearly US$7 billion.

The market value of Marvel is only less than US$1.2 billion, a difference of 6 times. So although now is not the best time to buy Marvel at the bottom, it is also the last chance.

If you want to acquire Marvel or take the first step to become the controlling shareholder of Marvel, you must negotiate with Beechcraft Toys.

Because the current CEO of Marvel is Avi Arad, and Avi Arad actually has to take orders from the real big boss, Isaac Perlmutter.

As for Stan Lee, whom many fans consider the father of Marvel, he can only receive dead wages and movie dividends.

Of course, this movie dividend is only for movies produced by Marvel itself, and the copyrights sold do not count, so it is equivalent to none.

Stan Lee is just a high-level jobber and has no say in the company's decision-making. He just has a high status in the hearts of fans.

"Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad, it looks like I need to pay them a visit."

"But what's the good reason? To help you sell toys? It seems that I don't need this."

"At least the channels that Double Star Entertainment has, Marvel also has. Before controlling Hasbro, the toy peripheral strategy was not attractive enough."

"Invest to help you make movies? Turn Marvel into your own worker, and then wait for MGM to complete the acquisition after it goes public. This is a feasible way."

bell.

While Eric was thinking, the phone suddenly called, it was Fitzheisenberg.

"Fitz, what's wrong?"

"Boss, myspace is online!"