America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 202 200. Prepare for a rainy day

On December 17, "Transformers" was released for a month, and the box office was released in the fourth week.

After earning US$52.5 million in the third week, the North American box office this week reported a normal decline of US$27 million, bringing the total North American box office to US$364 million.

Although this number is not high, it still won the box office championship this week and won the fourth consecutive week.

"Magic Cat", "The Last Samurai", "Dirty Dancing", "Kill Bill", etc. are no match.

Even Sony Columbia's newly released movie, the romantic comedy "Love is Compromise" which brought together veteran actors Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, and Keanu Reeves, failed.

Jack Nicholson does have superb acting skills, especially The Shining and The Joker, which left a deep impression on people, but Naihe is indeed older and not attractive enough to young people.

If he plays a supporting role and Keanu Reeves plays the leading role, the box office will definitely be higher.

In the end, "Love Is Compromise" only received more than 16 million US dollars at the box office, ranking third.

"Dirty Dancing" was pushed to fourth place, and "Magic Cat" has dropped to fifth place due to its poor reputation.

On the contrary, "The Last Samurai" is still strong and still sitting in the runner-up position. It received US$26.5 million at the box office this week, just shy of taking the championship.

But this is its last chance. Failure this week means that it will not win a weekly championship, because "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is about to be released.

It is foreseeable that "Transformers" will also step down from the throne in a dignified manner and hand the crown into the hands of the knights of Middle-earth.

The achievement of winning the championship for four consecutive weeks is dazzling enough, and Eric and everyone at MGM are very satisfied.

In terms of overseas box office, the film was released in more than 20 countries in the last week, and the box office decline was relatively small.

After taking in US$95 million in the third week, this week it made US$77 million, unsurprisingly becoming the weekly champion of these countries.

Currently, the overseas box office revenue of "Transformers" is 805 million U.S. dollars, officially breaking the 800 million box office mark.

"The Matrix 2", which was in the way last week, was eliminated, and "Transformers" left The Savior behind with a huge gap of more than 60 million US dollars.

Now the only thing standing in front of it is "Finding Nemo", and Disney is still trembling because the difference between the two is less than $70 million.

Even though the boom period of "Transformers" has ended, with the last energy, it may not get 70 million US dollars in one week, but it will be stable in two weeks.

There is a high probability that the clown fish Nemo and his son will not be able to withstand the impact of the Autobots and will give up their throne as the global box office champion in 2003.

But don't be too happy for the Autobots. The Knights of Middle-earth have already booked the annual championship, and no one can change this.

Clownfish has been the champion for at least half a year, and Transformers should abdicate in a month.

But the good thing is that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is over. It will take a few years for the market to recover next time it is filmed. Transformers has just started, and the sequel will be released next year.

At the premiere of "Lord of the Rings 3", Eric and Gadot attended to help on stage, which immediately attracted cheers from fans. There were many people who liked both movies.

Peter Jackson put his arm around his shoulders: "Look at you, you are much more popular than me. People who don't know think this is your home stadium."

Eric pushed away his beard: "It's time for you to lose weight, Peter, and this big beard makes you look ten years older."

"Do you know why I'm more popular than you? Because I'm young and handsome!"

Next to them, Cate Blanchett, who played the Elf Queen, and Liv Tyler, who played the Elf Princess, happened to pass by and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Female celebrities in Europe and the United States have always been more bold and unrestrained. There is no such thing as smiling without showing their teeth, keeping their appearance, and not messing up their makeup.

Especially at non-serious evening ceremonies, people are often caught making emojis and making all kinds of jokes. The jokes here are not derogatory.

This kind of performance will not actually reduce their status in the hearts of fans, but will make them more down-to-earth and attract more fans.

Peter Jackson pointed at Gadot's back and said: "Did you see it? If you want to be really popular, you can't rely on me, you can rely on this young talent."

"Come on, beautiful lady, now I'm giving you the opportunity. Maybe you can get the heroine of his next play."

As he spoke, he pushed Eric into the arms of Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler. He held up his suit that was almost stretched by his big belly and left. The two women stood on Eric's left and right and posed.

The bearded man is right. If you want to say who is the hottest female star in Hollywood right now, fans and the media will definitely tell you that it is Gal Gadot.

In just two movies, MGM turned her into a global icon, with countless interviews and invitations pouring in, as well as fashion magazines and brand endorsements.

In the past Eric could just walk into Gadot's apartment and do whatever he wanted.

Not anymore. Since "Happy Death Day" there have been more paparazzi, and now there are paparazzi who sit around every day.

The two could only go out secretly on a date, and Eric thought it was time to give the last house to Gadot.

"For Frodo!"

"For Frodo!"

Amidst the roars for Frodo, the allied forces of China and Earth launched a charge towards Mordor.

As the Supreme Lord of the Rings was taken by Gollum and fell into the lava of Mount Doom, Sauron's big eyes instantly collapsed, the orc army fled, and the coalition forces won.

In White City, during the coronation ceremony of Human Emperor Aragorn, everyone knelt down to thank the four hobbits.

Even though he has watched this scene many times, Eric still feels excited. The classic never goes out of style and can make people moved whenever he watches it.

There are many viewers who have the same idea as him. You can get a glimpse of it from the warm applause after the movie.

"Oops! I have a bad feeling, honey." Gadot whispered.

"What's wrong?" Eric looked at her strangely.

"This movie, The Lord of the Rings, is better than expected. Oh my god, I don't like this kind of epic fantasy theme, but I was still attracted to it."

"Look at these ardent fans. Their screams are almost tearing down the ceiling. It's so scary."

"Uh what's wrong? Isn't this normal? I like it too."

"Why did you suddenly become stupid Eric, I mean the box office, the box office of "Transformers", we may lose."

Eric slapped his forehead and thought, "You must be daydreaming, but you really want to win."

Quietly pinching Gadot's palm: "If you lose, just lose. Don't worry about this kind of thing. There is no shame in losing to a masterpiece like "The Lord of the Rings" that is destined to leave a mark in the history of cinema."

"You can think of it this way, we are qualified to compete with "The Lord of the Rings" for the first place, but other movies are not?"

"So we've succeeded. Doesn't it feel more comfortable to think like this?"

Gadot chuckled: "You know how to comfort people."

"Haha. Go talk to those people. I have something to do with Peter Jackson."

"Um."

After the premiere, Eric and Peter Jackson left together and found a quiet literary bar to sit down.

Coming here to help out today is just superficial, the real purpose is to make plans for the future.

Some time ago, John Adams had already sent a letter, and preparations for network issues were in place.

Five days ago, Facebook carried out a maintenance upgrade, which was actually a first step to try to connect the network to it.

The results are great. In the past, it took two or three seconds for users to open a homepage. After the upgrade, it can be opened in almost seconds.

An online questionnaire survey with excellent user feedback.

If Facebook has no problem, then YouTube and Lionheart must have no problem either.

Howard Hughes and Robert Millen led a team of more than 300 people and the algorithm they worked on for more than half a year was released.

After testing, it has initially reached the standards required by Eric, and the follow-up will be continuous update and development.

The back-end databases of the three software have been synchronized to the same format. Once online, you can log in with one account at the same time.

It can be said that all preparations have been completed.

In less than a month, MGM will be relisted, and the YouTube channel will be online immediately after the listing.

After the oil pipeline stabilizes, it is expected that Lionheart will be online in half a month.

If it is a YouTube channel, it will definitely not arouse the vigilance of other film and television companies, and maybe it will be viewed as a joke.

Lionheart Network is different and will inevitably be surrounded and suppressed.

According to Eric's memory about Netflix, many people in the industry knew about the overt and covert struggles between the two parties at that time.

After Netflix came out and started streaming media, it quickly encountered hostility from several major companies and TV stations.

Several companies have joined forces to ban their works from appearing on the Netflix platform.

Privately, they even resorted to underhanded tactics, including threatening the special effects producers to choose one of the two. If they wanted to continue taking our orders, they would not be allowed to take orders from Netflix.

The harsh environment forced Netflix to seek help from institutions in Europe, Asia and other places.

It was not until "House of Cards" broke out and a series of high-quality film and television dramas followed that it broke through the blockade and completed PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

But the siege did not end here. Film sources could not be blocked, and major companies put pressure on film festivals and award ceremonies such as Cannes, Berlin, and Oscars.

Movies that claim to be synchronized online cannot be called movies and are not worthy of competing with other normal theater movies for awards.

Even the three major film festivals had to succumb to this force and could only refuse Netflix's participation.

If it doesn’t hinder your development, then it will hinder your honor.

This blockade was not broken until Eric crossed over.

Netflix has experienced so many disgusting things, and Lionheart will definitely not be able to escape it either.

All Eric can do is plan ahead and arrange some things in advance to prepare.

Peter Jackson is just one of the people he is looking for. Eric will also contact second-tier independent film and television companies such as DreamWorks, Lionsgate, and New Line.

What if you can win over an ally? What if someone is willing to cooperate?

Each opened a bottle of beer.

"Eric, congratulations to "Transformers" for being the runner-up. The success of "Finding Nemo" is just around the corner!"

"Haha. Are you making fun of me? The quality of "Lord of the Rings 3" is very high. I give up in advance, okay?"

The two laughed loudly and blew a bottle first. The bearded man had a bold and arrogant personality, not Spielberg's type who drank red wine from a cup.

belch!

"Tell me, what do you want from me?"

"Can't I have a drink with you if I have nothing to do?"

"If I were a beautiful woman, this reason would be somewhat credible. Eric, what on earth do you want to do?"

"I want to send you money, lots and lots of money."

Hearing this, the other Jackson frowned, with doubts in his eyes.

"We had a great time cooperating on "Transformers". I am very satisfied with Weta Digital's technical level and efficiency, so I plan to continue to cooperate with you."

"How about all the special effects for MGM's movies in the next two years being handed over to you? Isn't that a good thing?"

Peter Jackson did not show a happy look, there must be something evil when something goes wrong.

"I don't understand, why do you do this? You should know that Weta Digital's level is at the top in the industry, but its charging standards are also the highest in the industry."

"A lot of special effects in movies don't actually require our help at all. Ordinary small companies can do them."

"You're wasting your own money, it's going to cost you tens of millions of dollars more every year, and it's completely unreasonable Eric Cooper."

"I'm not a fool. I don't believe that someone would take the initiative to give money to others."

Eric didn't intend to hide it from him. Peter Jackson was not the owner of a film and television company, and he had no competitive relationship with him.

After hearing what he said, the bearded man opened his mouth wide in surprise.

"OMG! Do you know what you're doing?"

Eric nodded slightly.

After being stunned for a moment, Peter Jackson stared straight at him and suddenly laughed.

"Eric, a feeling suddenly arose in my heart just now, a very complicated feeling."

"This feeling is mixed with surprise, admiration, arrogance, contempt, respect and other indescribable things. That's how I feel about you."

"You want to challenge the entire Hollywood on your own. Your courage is admirable."

"I am 42 years old this year, and I suddenly have the urge to make a big fuss with you. It feels like I am back when I was young."

Eric raised the corner of his mouth: "Peter, as long as the contract is signed, if someone comes to trouble you, you can completely shirk the fact that I was deceived."

"After all, there is money to be made, who would dislike it? Right?"

"Hahaha, it seems you have even thought of a way out for me."

"Of course, I've always been open-minded to my friends. If you don't want to, I won't force you."

boom!

The bearded man slapped his hand on the table: "I'm joining. It can make money and disgust some people, so I'm determined to join."

"Anyway, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is over, and I also want to take a break. I won't touch any big productions again for at least a year."

"Tell me, how many dramas do you plan to open next year?"

Eric thought about it. Marvel alone will have at least two movies next year, as well as "The Hunger Games", "Inception", "Transformers", etc.

He spread his fingers and said: "At least five major productions, plus others, I'm a little worried about whether Weta Digital can complete it."

Peter Jackson patted his chest: "I can do as much as you have, it's nothing more than adding more machines and manpower."

"Well, we can sign a contract first and agree on 30 movies for the time being."

"30 movies in two years?"

"Just a little more!"