America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 241 240. I couldn’t hold it back this time

Canada, Alberta, Calgary.

It is located on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Affected by the alpine climate, the temperature in winter is actually warmer than that of ordinary inland cities.

However, the high mountains on the edge of the city are covered with snow all year round, and the scenery is very beautiful, so it is a filming location for many movies.

Even the name of the city Calgary is very charming, meaning clear water.

More than half a month had passed since the scene in Paris. In the middle, the crew flew to London, England for filming. There were more than a dozen photos taken before and after. These photos were all used for post-production special effects.

The crew then flew across the Atlantic to Canada and entered Alberta, where part of the snowy mountain forest battle in the third dreamland will be shot.

The Snow Castle Battle will be filmed in Chile, South America, where the crew found a very old private castle in a small town close to the Andes Mountains.

According to the owner, it was handed down from the 16th century. Hearing that it was going to be used for filming, the other party happily agreed and accepted a symbolic reward of 1 US dollar.

But there was an additional condition: I hope my daughter can appear in the movie, with a close-up of her face.

Eric flew over to inspect it and immediately agreed. It would cost a lot of money to build a castle like Nolan did, not to mention the need to dismantle it after it was built.

There are already existing attractions that can save millions of dollars with a little renovation, so why not? Besides, the shooting effect is not worse than the original version.

As for the requirements for people to appear on camera, they were simple. Eames happened to have a scene where he pretended to be a woman to seduce Fisher. Not only did the beauty have a close-up, but she also had lines.

At worst, I could add a few more lines to her and extend the scene for ten seconds, which would be considered an explanation.

“OH!“

"OMG!"

"quick! quick! quick!"

Under the dense pine needle trees, two figures meet in the heavy snow.

From the sky, snowflakes fell like goose feathers, not only pressing the pine trees lower, but also covering the lovers' bodies with white.

But in a fierce battle, people with rising blood cannot feel the cold.

What's more, although the mountains and forests are empty, there is still the excitement of being discovered, which makes people extremely excited.

"Honey!"

Theron's legs tightened around Eric.

Falling snowflakes fell on her thighs.

After a long while, the aftertaste faded away, the coldness came over, and white mist came out of both of them as they spoke.

Eric kissed the tip of Theron's nose and teased: "Baby, if your voice is louder, we won't have to go out, the avalanche will bury us here."

"When the rescue team finds us in a few days, the international news headlines will definitely belong to us. Even if the president dies, we will have to make way!"

Theron stuck out her tongue and kissed him, and the blush on her face looked cute and attractive.

"That's not bad. What does that sentence say? If we can't live together, we must die together, right?"

"We can't share the same quilt in life, but we have to share the same hole in death?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That means you cannot sleep on the same bed when you are alive, and you must be buried in the same grave when you die."

Theron nodded: "Yes, that's what it means. But I think if we really died like this, your parents and my mother would take us home and bury us."

"Then we will become the butt of global laughter and after-dinner talk."

"Well, I think that's more likely."

Ha ha ha ha

"Honey, my legs are a little cold and numb, please let me down."

"Wait a moment."

"Sorry baby."

Theron looked down and said, "It's okay. I'll take care of it when I get back to the hotel."

"Take medicine?"

"Of course not. Taking medicine is bad for your body. As you said, you shouldn't get pregnant in this position."

"But I can accept it even if I am pregnant. I am almost 30 years old and have thought about having children. Now this age is right."

"But you just won the Best Actress Award, shouldn't it be the golden period for your career? If you get pregnant, it will delay your career for at least a year."

Theron shook his head: "I wanted to win the statuette, and now I have won the statuette, so I am a little confused about the future development."

"My mother told me that when you are confused, it is better to slow down and think carefully."

"So if I am really pregnant, then God is telling me to slow down and God is giving me enough time to rest and think. Why don't I accept it?"

"Wait, why does it sound like you are reluctant? Eric, what are you going to do if you really have a child?"

Compared with Nicole, who likes to sharpen her knives slowly, Theron's character is relatively strong. She often gets straight to the point when it comes to problems and doesn't laugh with you.

This is also related to her family of origin. When she decides on something, no one can persuade her except her mother.

What Eric could say about this issue was, of course, to raise his hands and feet in agreement.

Seeing his attitude, Theron suddenly smiled and thoughtfully took out a tissue to wipe the two of them clean.

Eric put his arm around her shoulders and walked down the mountain.

After sending Theron back to the hotel, Eric went to a local Chinese leisure club.

The two of them were secretly dating, so naturally they had to hide it from other people, especially Nicole.

It happened that Bob Shaye, the president of New Line Company, wanted to discuss cooperation with Eric, so he flew to Canada.

It's snowing heavily again today, which makes filming inconvenient. Everyone has a day off.

Eric used this as an excuse to go to the mountains with Theron to have sex.

In the club, Eric was lying on a chair enjoying a massage from a technician. He had been flying or running recently, and he had to take time to comfort two women in between. His body was indeed a little tired.

Squeak!

After knocking a few times, the door was pushed open, and the waiter led two men in. It was New Line President Bob Shaye and Vice President McLaney.

Both of them are somewhat chubby, Bob Shaye has thicker hair, and McLaney is older and already bald and half white.

Seeing them, Eric stood up and walked over.

Handing the coat and scarf to the waiter, Bob Shaye immediately opened his arms and hugged Eric.

There was a warm smile on his face, and he thought Eric and them were very good old friends. Little did they know that they only met at various cocktail parties and award ceremonies. They would say hello and chat a few words, but nothing much happened in private. connect.

"Eric, the youngest best screenwriter in history, I have been looking forward to having a good chat with you for a long time."

McAleney shook hands with Eric: "Mr. Cooper, your talent is amazing and you have brought MGM back to the top. I have great admiration for your ability."

Eric laughed loudly: "The development of New Line is really enviable. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is so classic, and it has swept 11 Oscars unrivaled."

"Bob, Michael, your vision is really amazing. Harvey Weinstein regarded "Lord of the Rings" as garbage, but you can find treasures."

The sedan was carried by others, and the three of them exchanged pleasantries and then complained about Harvey Weinstein.

The rumors are getting louder and louder, and it is said that Disney is really planning to kick the brothers out.

Everyone in Hollywood knows Harvey Weinstein’s methods and style, but in the past few years, Miramax was so popular that no one said they couldn’t stand it.

But in the past two years, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. When you are no longer good, all your enemies will naturally appear. There are already countless people who complained about Weinstein in front of Eric.

Two more technicians were ordered, and the three of them talked while enjoying the massage.

"Eric, actually we came here specifically this time. You must know what we want to do."

Eric closed his eyes and calmed down and said slowly: "The copyright of "The Hobbit" is probably for this matter."

"Yes, when I first invested in "Lord of the Rings," I didn't expect that the final box office would be so good."

"Now that we have a good start, it is better to continue filming. The story of "The Hobbit" is in the same vein as "The Lord of the Rings", and the adventures of Bilbo Baggins will definitely be welcomed by the audience."

McAleney chuckled and said, "Eric, why don't MGM sell the rights to New Line? We are willing to pay a high price."

Understanding that he was testing, Eric glanced at the other person: "How high can it be?"

"How about $100 million?"

"Haha...Michael, let me ask you a question, does MGM have the ability to independently shoot "The Hobbit"?"

"Of course, you are here after all." McClaney replied awkwardly.

"Then let me ask another question, how much revenue did the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy bring to New Line?"

"If you don't tell me, let me take a guess. It is expected to reach 1 billion U.S. dollars within two or three years. This number is about the same."

"So if The Hobbit's box office is the same as or lower than The Lord of the Rings, MGM can earn at least $800 million."

"There are two piles of Franklins in front of you. The left side is as high as a hill, but the right side is only as big as a dressing table. Please tell me how to choose?"

Bob Meyer looked over: "But you still chose to meet with me, which means you want to talk, doesn't it? Eric."

"Yes, I want to talk."

"Why don't you tell me the conditions? What do you want? New Line must have what you need."

"Copyright and a statement at a critical moment!" Eric said seriously.

"New Line can obtain the film rights to "The Hobbit" and you can still make three dramas without any interference from MGM in the process."

"I want 10% of the box office share of the first movie, 15% of the second movie, and 20% of the third movie."

This price was determined by Eric after careful consideration. If a profit of 1 billion US dollars is used as a standard, of course it will definitely not reach that high. At least the cost will soar much higher than that of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Calculated based on the amount, MGM can get about 150 million US dollars, which is equivalent to spending 850 million US dollars to buy all the film rights of New Line.

Not only since the company was founded to date, but also for all movies shot in the next ten years, the average is less than 100 million a year.

It includes many valuable movies such as "Lord of the Rings", "Freddy vs. Jason", "Friday the 13th", "Rush Hour", "Blade Runner", "The Shining", "Ace", "Freddy vs. Jason", etc. copyright.

Even at the current price, this deal is not a loss. If you wait until five or six years later, when copyright fees are skyrocketing, it will be a big profit. It depends on whether the two people know what the goods are.

Next to them, Bob Meyer and McAleney looked at each other and felt that the two things Eric wanted were unusual, especially the word "statement".

When something has nothing to do with money, it is definitely something scarier than money.

"Eric, you'd better explain it in detail."

"Copyright refers to all the film copyrights owned by New Line. I want exclusive online broadcast authorization, and the term is tentatively set for ten years."

Bob Meyer frowned. He had encountered various copyright-buying issues.

Such as physical goods, luxury cruises, TV channels, computer games, etc., but this is the first time I have heard of this exclusive broadcast right on the Internet.

It’s not that videos aren’t broadcast on the Internet in this era. The official websites of major TV stations occasionally do.

However, all they buy are TV broadcast rights, and sometimes they are used on the Internet, and no one deliberately distinguishes the difference between the two.

"Eric, I don't quite understand. I'm afraid you need to explain it in more detail."

When Eric told him about Lionheart Network, both of them were shocked.

"So what do you mean by taking a stand?"

"Support me when the time comes, it's that simple."

Hearing this, Bob Meyer almost yelled, your words were so simple.

But if New Line really sides with MGM, it will inevitably be attacked by the other six major companies, and the major TV stations will no longer place advertisements for New Line, which will be very harmful.

Yes, the new line has developed very well in recent years, but Bob Meyer doesn't have the courage to let it face the six traditional giants of hard steel.

Global distribution alone is too weak. If you leave it to others, you won't necessarily earn more by taking a commission than you would if you did it yourself.

Bob Meyer also had a dream of becoming the eighth player, but this dream must be achieved step by step.

After the experience of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, New Line's global distribution capabilities have been further improved.

As long as he gives himself a few more years, he will be confident that this area will be no weaker than the seventh largest, and then he will truly have the confidence to attack the eighth largest position.

"Eric, the statement you want to make is too heavy, I'm afraid I can't bear it."

"Are you ready to give up before you start? Bob, how courageous were you when you took over "Lord of the Rings"?"

Bob Meyer frowned: "Can these two things be compared? Even if "Lord of the Rings" really fails, New Line will pay more than 100 million at worst, and it won't break your muscles and bones. If you do it, you may end up with more than just It’s just a broken muscle, I’m worried that it will be shattered to pieces.”

"So, you don't want the rights to "The Hobbit" anymore?"

"I think about it, I really want to, but people always have to do what they can."

Seeing that he was really giving up, Eric secretly cursed as a coward.

"Bob, if you don't want to take risks, I won't force you. I'll give you a compromise. We'll exchange copyrights and forget about expressing our opinions. How about that?"

"Let me think about it. Can you tell me whether you have found other allies?"

"This issue is over the line Bob. I hope you can keep it confidential, even though it won't be long before the website goes online."

"Don't worry, I understand the rules, but give me a week."

"Well, look how nervous you are, relax and enjoy the massage."

Looking at this young man with an indifferent face, Bob Meyer had mixed emotions.

Then he was no longer in the mood for a massage, and hurriedly took McAlaney on the plane back to the United States.