Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 259: Restructuring MGM

"How's the data?" Tang De was sitting in the office, and You Fei in front of him was reporting to him on many matters of the day.

Today she changed into a white silk shirt, paired with a black hip skirt, and did not wear stockings. The flesh on her thighs trembled slightly when she walked.

Facing Tang De's question, You Fei adjusted his glasses and replied, "The data provided by YouTube shows that our trailer is very successful. It has been online for a week and has reached 12 million views."

"That sounds great." Tang De picked up the pen and tapped the table. "It would be great if all these people could be converted into audiences."

"This data also includes repeated playback," Yufei added.

"I know."

This is the first time that Tang De has tried to cooperate with a video website to promote the film, and it seems to be working very well.

He has already discussed follow-up cooperation with YouTube, and when the next movie trailer comes out, it will still be displayed in full screen.

However, I believe that after those film companies discover this method of promotion, they will also try to contact the video websites.

After listening to the data report, Youfei looked at Tang De and asked, "MGM President Parent is here. He said he has something important to discuss with you."

"Let him in." Tang De was also very curious about what Parent was up to. Was he planning to quit MGM and join his team?

However, when Parent walked into the office, Tang De was a little surprised as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Don, are you interested in buying MGM?"

"What?" Tang De shrugged: "You are kidding, Parent."

If you want to acquire MGM, it will not be a matter of 6 million yuan. It will cost at least tens of billions of yuan.

After all, compared to the declining Miramax, MGM, once one of the eight major film studios in Hollywood, has a larger film library and IPs.

"I'm not kidding, Don. How about owning MGM without spending any money?" Parent's tone was full of temptation.

But what he said really impressed Tang De. If he could get MGM's IP without spending any money, it would be a good deal for Norton Eye.

"Tell me."

"It's like this... You know, MGM has been looking for a company to acquire it, but until now, no one has agreed. So the board of directors has decided to let MGM file for bankruptcy." Parent lowered his voice and stated the company's decision.

"Bankruptcy, then what?" Tang De looked puzzled.

"After bankruptcy, it's time for reorganization..." Parent squeezed his hands and said, "This is a great opportunity, Tang. You can use Norton's Eye to reorganize with MGM into a new company. In this way, you can not only get shares, but also the right to use MGM's film library."

Tang De raised his eyebrows, he didn't expect that the turning point of the matter would be here.

"But what about you? What can you get?" Tang De asked.

"I can continue to be in charge of MGM, and this is my biggest gain." Parent's words did not seem to have much selfishness, but in America, it is impossible to believe that a person is completely selfless.

So Tang De thought for a few seconds and then laughed, "Parente, you are dragging me down with you."

Parent frowned: "Why do you say that?"

"Because once Norton Eye and MGM reorganize, MGM's debt will become my debt, right?"

Hearing Tang De's question, Parent was slightly stunned, and then said awkwardly: "You are right, but you also got the film library and IP, right? The most important thing is the shares."

"How much can it be? Three percent, five percent?"

"Uh..." Parent didn't know how to answer.

"And the real controlling shareholder of MGM is Sony, Providence Equity Partners and Texas Pacific Capital Fund." Tang De paused for a moment and said, "Also, even if I really reorganize with MGM, once MGM finds a suitable buyer, the film library and IP will not belong to me, right?"

"Ah."

"So why should I spend my time trying to help MGM out? Is it because my head looks big?"

Parent seemed a little guilty under Tang De's questioning.

He did come to Tang De because he had similar thoughts.

But he originally thought that Tang De would be interested in MGM. After all, it was one of the Big Eight in Hollywood, not an ordinary film company.

By owning MGM, Donald will instantly stand out from the upstarts and become a true Hollywood old school.

This is indeed a good thing for his status.

But correspondingly, Tang De also needs to endure and pay a lot.

But just when Parent thought that the negotiation would end in failure, Tang De suddenly said, "I can agree to the reorganization."

"Huh?" Parent was shocked by the 180-degree turn and asked quickly, "Really?"

"That's right." Tang De crossed his legs and put his hands on his chest: "But I won't use Norton's Eye to reunite with MGM."

"What do you mean?"

"I will reorganize with MGM under the name of Norton Eye subsidiary. I will serve as the CEO of this company to help MGM get out of the quagmire."

"I'm afraid..." Parent hesitated. If it was just a branch of Norton's Eye, then once MGM's business was not doing well, Tang De could withdraw at any time without taking any risk.

Doing this is like giving it away for free.

However, Tang De said bluntly: "Don't be afraid, Parent, now MGM is begging me. Let me put it this way, in the whole Hollywood, I am the only one who is confident that I can lead MGM out of the quagmire, because my vision has never been wrong."

"Let me be in charge of MGM's film investment. I can guarantee to make money and pay off the debt."

"But if you look for someone else, you will probably only get anxiety and worry. If investments fail one after another, MGM will be further and further away from its goal of paying off its debts."

Although Tang De said it very directly, Parent did not refute it because he thought so in his heart.

In his mind, he believed that only Tang De had the ability to keep his position and make money.

He watched Tang De progress all the way to become a top director in Hollywood.

The reason for finding Tang De was also to let him direct the movie.

After all, "Valkyrie" did make a lot of money, but the subsequent films were all vetoed by Tang De and could not be reproduced again.

"I know you can't make the decision on this matter." Tang De saw Parent's face was in suspense, so he said, "Go to the board of directors and explain my request to them."

“First, Norton’s Eye subsidiary will be reorganized with MGM, and I want to obtain the operating rights.”

"Secondly, I want to get 10% of the shares, which will be the operating compensation you give me."

"Finally, after the reorganization, Norton Eye will be able to use MGM's IP image, and the revenue will be shared with MGM in accordance with the usual copyright sharing."

"If you agree to these three conditions, we will cooperate."

After Tang De finished speaking, he pressed the doorbell on the table, and the next moment Yu Fei pushed the door open and walked in.

"Mr. Parent, please."

Parent didn't have any chance to speak at all and was directly asked to leave by Yufei. However, his frowning expression showed that he was not at peace at the moment.

To be honest, Tang De's conditions were not harsh, but they did touch MGM's bottom line, making Parent very embarrassed.

He could only bring these terms back to the company and plan to discuss them in the board of directors. Back at MGM, Parent immediately found the director Sally who supported him.

When he heard Tang De's conditions, he was also a little surprised and embarrassed.

"That's a pretty good offer." Sally was silent for a while, then said, "We have to see how well Lucy does at the box office."

"Lucy?" Parent repeated.

"'Inception' can only prove that Tang De has the ability to shoot blockbuster films, 'Lucy' will prove his appeal and vision. And if we want to convince other directors, we also need enough box office to prove it. After all, we need money to pay off our debts now. Whoever can bring us the most box office will be more valuable to MGM."

In fact, in addition to Dond who was recommended by Sally and Parent, other directors recommended different candidates.

For example, Director Robert recommended Barber, the president of Spyglass Entertainment, who is also a self-made man. He founded his own private film studio and has been reaping great rewards in recent years. Robert believes that Barber's vision can help MGM get out of the haze.

Of course, there is still a big gap between Barber and Tang De.

But Barber's conditions were not as harsh as Tang De's.

This is also the key to their dilemma: should they choose the most expensive and most capable one, or choose the one with high cost performance but more risky?
This is a multiple-choice question that cannot be regretted.

So they need to see reassurance, which is "Lucy".

If the box office of "Lucy" can reach the level of "Inception", it means that Tang De already has extraordinary appeal and unique vision for blockbuster movies. Everyone must be very relieved to let him take charge of MGM.

But if "Lucy" fails to meet expectations, then they can use this opportunity to lower Tang De's demands and negotiate again.

Waiting with them was Vincenzo.

Ever since he wrote an analysis of the trailer for Lucy, his blog traffic has been increasing every day.

Including the article he wrote after repeatedly watching the video, his blog has been viewed 20,000 times.

This excited him so much that he spent every day thinking about how to find new details about Lucy to write his analysis.

He even stole a Lucy poster and put it on the wall of his house.

As for the interviews with the actors and staff, he also watched them many times just to find the details that he had overlooked.

And today, he finally waited for the second trailer release day of "Lucy". He went downstairs to buy three bottles of Coke and a large bag of potato chips, and had dinner early.

Just to see the trailer of "Lucy" as soon as possible.

16:59 minutes.

There is only one minute left until the trailer for Lucy is released.

Vincenzo took a sip of Coke, locked the door, and sat in front of the computer, waiting eagerly.

"10, 9, 8..." He stared at the numbers on the watch, counting down, and when the minute hand moved, he immediately clicked the mouse.

"Click."

The webpage refreshed, and instantly the black crystals appeared again, covering the entire page, and then a line of words appeared on the screen.

Brain development: 0%.

"What? What is this?" Vincenzo didn't understand what it was. He clicked the screen with some confusion and was immediately redirected to an exclusive page. He got the answer from the text above.

It turns out that this is an activity produced by the production team of "Lucy". The progress of brain development is represented by the number of users who have played the video.

只要播放用户到达一定次数，就能解锁新的物料和视频。而几个节点分别是20%、40%、60%、80%、100%。

This is actually equivalent to an interactive game, but Tang De used it in the movie.

Vincenzo found this format very interesting and beneficial for someone like him who writes film analysis, because he could obtain more materials and understand more details in the film.

So he couldn't wait to open the video and contribute his own number of views.

The video begins with Scarlett looking embarrassed.

She was squeezed into the elevator by several big men, her face panicked.

"I'm just an ordinary person...please don't do this!" In the scene, as she shouted, the elevator door slowly closed.

"Ding!"

When the elevator opened again, Scarlett was the only one left, her face stained with blood and her eyes unusually cold.

The narrator said: "This world is a world where the strong prey on the weak."

"We need your help with something."

The scene changes to outside the hotel.

"What?" Scarlett looked at her boyfriend in a cowboy hat with some confusion: "Why do you want me to send him off? I won't."

"No, no, no, sweetheart, I've delivered it several times, there's no danger."

The next second, Scarlett saw her boyfriend being shot in the hotel while holding the box.

The scene goes back to Scarlett being taken into the hotel room. She was tied to a chair in panic. She had a hot body, like a sexy wild leopard.

Then, there was a sound of heavy footsteps and machinery. She raised her head and looked at the man walking towards her in surprise.

Vincenzo on the screen also held his breath, wanting to get a glimpse of the villain's true appearance.

Unfortunately, the scene immediately flashed and there was no sign of the villain at all, and the car chase, gun battle and fighting scenes began directly.

In these images, different super powers appear, such as mental hypnosis and remote control.

When the fierce battle scene ended, Scarlett appeared on the screen again.

She was wearing a hospital gown and standing in the hospital corridor, with more than a dozen police officers pointing guns at her.

Then she raised her hand slightly.

In an instant, all the policemen fell to the ground unconscious, leaving only the policeman played by Chris Hemsworth standing there alone.

He looked around awkwardly, then whistled: "Oh, this is amazing, I want to learn it too, can you teach me?"

Scarlett raised the corner of her mouth: "No."

"Then just pretend I didn't say anything." Chris Hemsworth put down the gun, shrugged, and gave up resistance.

"Let's go, there's not much time left." Scarlett Johansson left with Chris Hemsworth. After they walked out of the hospital, the camera pulled up to the sky and saw flocks of planes appearing.

"We've got her targeted, sir."

"Fire!"

"boom!"

After the violent explosion, the movie's famous character Lucy appeared in front of Vincenzo again.

(End of this chapter)