America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 100. Classification of Women, My mind is very clear!

Eric had lunch with the Olsen sisters and promised to take little Elizabeth to the MGM studios another day before he could leave.

The collaboration with the Olsen sisters has officially begun. Let them have a taste of success first, and rebuild the brand. This will also benefit us.

More importantly, it deepens the bond between Twin Star Entertainment and MGM. When products fail to sell or sales plummet due to the lack of MGM's support, that's when the Olsen sisters' dependence on Eric is at its highest.

45% of the shares certainly wouldn't satisfy Eric. Even if he wasn't aiming for complete control, he at least needed absolute control.

Otherwise, if Eric can use his methods to get rid of Robert Solny today, he himself may become the new Solny tomorrow.

Eric's willingness to accept only a low royalties is certainly not out of a love for charity; it's just that the Olsen sisters will have to pay a much higher price to repay this debt in the future.

The following day, MGM and DoubleStar Entertainment simultaneously announced their collaboration on their official websites. At the same time, they also announced the production plan for "Blue Is the Warmest Color," which did not use the word "lesbian" in the description, but instead used the phrase "reflecting the emotional lives of girls."

The Olsen twins also attended an event and took the opportunity to promote the film, stating that it would be a transformative work for the two sisters.

They want to use this movie to tell everyone that their children have grown up and that the two sisters are no longer the little girls they once were. However, they also stated that if the movie fails, they will choose to retire from the entertainment industry and focus on running their business.

The phrase "retiring from the entertainment industry" naturally became a focus of media attention, attracting a lot of traffic. The two sisters, who hadn't been on the entertainment page for a very long time, surprisingly made it to the front page. Although it wasn't the headline, it was still quite an achievement.

Online speculation about the movie's plot and discussions about the two sisters have emerged, and their fans seem to have been resurrected.

On the other hand, filming for Get Out had already begun, and Eric went to take a look as a sign of respect; he still trusted James Wan quite a bit.

At this stage, although his directing skills are not yet fully mature, as long as he is not given too much funding and the background of the film is not made too grand, James Wan is fully capable of handling it.

Get Out is a small-scale horror film, with the plot mainly revolving around a country villa, and other buildings in the town rarely appear.

In the original timeline, after James Wan directed "Saw," he produced two more films, and then Lionsgate invested $2000 million in him to make "Dead Silence."

Lionsgate believes that if a $1 million "Saw" movie can gross over $100 million, then this time they're going to go big, and the movie is bound to take off!

But it turns out they were wrong. James Wan and others overestimated their directing abilities. At that time, he couldn't handle big scenes and hadn't evolved to the level he had when directing "Fast & Furious" and "Aquaman".

The film "Dead Silence" was a complete flop, both in terms of ratings and box office.

The film only grossed a little over 20 million at the box office, and the DVD market was already in a slump at the time, so the copyright sales were also poor, causing Lionsgate to lose at least 20 million US dollars. It was one of the few failures in James Wan's film career.

However, the film was more popular abroad than at home, and it received a very good response in China.

But what good is that? Can it contribute a single penny to Lionsgate? In an era when piracy was rampant online, platforms like Youku and Tudou didn't buy copyrights, nor could they afford to.

There are many similar cases; cultural differences lead to significant differences in tastes between Eastern and Western audiences.

For example, MGM's upcoming film "A Quiet Place" has been heavily criticized in China, with many people saying the plot is illogical, full of plot holes, and the screenwriter is simply brainless.

Even its Douban rating has lost its previous Hollywood aura, scoring only 6.3.

However, the film was a huge hit in the West, receiving a 7.5 rating on IMDb and a fresh rating of over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is quite high for a horror film. Its box office performance was also outstanding.

Why is there such a big difference between East and West? Is it because Western audiences don't know how to appreciate things? Are they all idiots?

Of course not. The bugs that Chinese audiences can spot, Western audiences can spot too; it's just that their focus isn't on that.

Unlike China, where supernatural beings were forbidden after the founding of the People's Republic, horror films in Europe and America have always been a popular genre with relatively low production costs, making them a favorite among major film companies.

However, with a large number of films, homogenization is inevitable. If you take a look at the history of European and American horror films, you will see that the plots are almost all focused on supernatural, bloody, violent, and erotic scenes.

Audiences are already experiencing aesthetic fatigue; even if adrenaline surges, it's impossible for that to continue for decades.

Therefore, when a high-concept, novel horror film like "A Quiet Place" appeared, it naturally received a lot of praise. There were even scenes where the audience and the big screen held their breath at the same time. The immersive experience brought by the audiovisual images was quite good, and the plot holes were overlooked.

AK Films is already more than halfway through filming for "The Purge" and will wrap up in just over half a month. The film is scheduled for release on May 25, and they hope to boost the box office during the summer season.

In addition, two more knock-off movies have been completed, namely "The Lord of the Rings" and "Fox and Mouse Game". It goes without saying which movie they are knock-offs. They are currently in the stage of being sold.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's April 15th.

Eric has been in the editing room for four days straight. Only he can do the editing; if other editors were to handle it, the final product would likely be ruined.

Fortunately, everything was in my head, and there weren't many unnecessary shots. I edited almost entirely according to the numbers, making the process very smooth.

In just four days, the rough cut was completed.

It goes without saying how explosive this speed is. To put it simply, in Hollywood, the average editing time for a blockbuster like "Transformers" is about six months.

The difference between 180 days and 4 days is only more than 40 times.

The next step is to send the rough cut to Weta Digital for additional effects, which is the truly time-consuming and labor-intensive part.

That evening, Eric drove to Gadot's apartment.

Today is the premiere of "The Walking Dead," and Eric promised Gadot he would watch it with her.

dong dong dong.

A moment later, Barrefaeli opened the door and saw Gadot vacuuming under the sofa.

"Why do housework at night? To aid digestion after dinner?" Eric asked, somewhat puzzled.

Barrefali remarked sarcastically, "She not only wanted to make her house spotless, but she also changed into pretty earrings; this style is really nice."

"Okay, but there's no need for that. It's not like this is my first time here. If you make it too big of a fuss, I'll feel embarrassed."

Eric chuckled as he looked at the beer and snacks he was carrying.

"This isn't your first time here, but it's the first time you've stayed for more than ten minutes. Some people are really bothered by that."

Hearing Barrefaeli's teasing, Gadot immediately became embarrassed: "It'll be over soon, wait, I need to wash myself up, I'm sweating a lot, please have a seat, Eric."

After saying that, she dragged the vacuum cleaner into the bathroom.

Only the two of them remained in the room. Although they had known each other for some time, to be honest, Eric and Balefali were not particularly close, and the two had never been alone together.

Seeing the other person staring at him with wide eyes, Eric still felt he should say something.

"Lefarly, The Walking Dead is finally going to air, you're going to be a big star soon."

Barrefali curled her lip: "It's still early. I don't have any scenes yet, I don't know which episode they'll be cut from."

"The order of appearance is not important; the key is the charm of the character. Some characters appear at the beginning of the story but are never remembered, while some characters can be remembered by the audience even if they only have one scene."

"This argument gets brought up all the time, but I don't think anyone wants to have a small role. Eric, do you think I belong to the former or the latter?"

"Of course it's the latter. Maggie is a charming character. In my vision, this character will live until the end of the series. She will have a complete character development arc, which is why I gave this role to you. Plus, you're a beautiful girl, which is a huge plus."

"Pretty? Do you think I'm pretty?"

After a pause, Balefali suddenly asked.

She stared into Eric's eyes, her tone changing, her gaze seemingly carrying a hint of aggression and seduction.

The more time Eric spent with women, the more sensitive he became to this feeling; he had sensed that look in the eyes of many women.

"What is she doing? Is she trying to seduce me?"

Seeing Eric looking at her strangely, and hearing the sound of water coming from the bathroom, Balefali smiled slightly.

She seemed to deliberately wiggle her hips as she walked back to her bedroom like a model on a catwalk. A moment later, she reappeared wearing a dress, except her smooth back was exposed to the air.

Turning her head slightly, her eyes half-open, Barrefaeli softly asked for help, "Eric, Gadot is taking a shower. Could you help me zip up my jacket?"

"That's right, this woman is seducing me!"

Having made up his mind, Eric chose to refuse directly and decisively.

Just kidding. I'm not a good person, and I'm not exactly discreet in my private life, nor am I particularly morally upright.

But I'm perfectly clear-headed!

Eric knew perfectly well which women he could sleep with and which he couldn't, and Balefali clearly belonged to the latter category.

This woman is quite scheming; you could tell from their first meeting that she's the same type as Zhang Ziyi.

Eric had one basic requirement for his woman: she couldn't be submissive. She could be a little temperamental and make demands, but she absolutely couldn't cause trouble.

He has a clear definition and scope for what constitutes his woman.

People like Liu Xiaoli and Nikki Caro don't count; it's just a casual fling. I can't expect to give them much in return just because I slept with them once. At most, I'll just give them a little something. Getting something for free isn't impossible, since it's hard to say who will actually lose out.

People like Colise Vinicius and Elena Olsen are in a mutually beneficial partnership; romantic feelings are a luxury for them. If they maintain contact over the years, they might develop feelings for each other, but certainly not now.

Eric could talk about other women in front of them without any problem, but he wouldn't expose these things to Gadot because Gadot is capable of expressing her feelings, so he cares about her feelings.

Nicole Kidman is the type of person who can be developed into a relationship. Although the two had a relationship, their feelings for each other were not very deep; it was more about passion.

Whether there will be any further developments depends on both Eric's decision to continue and Nicole Kidman's intentions.

Their relationship tends to be more equal. Given Nicole's status and influence, she doesn't need to ask Eric for resources; she has a constant stream of film offers, which is different from Colosseigni's situation.

Then there are the Olsen twins and Liu Yifei, who are the "nurturing" type. Eric can provide them with decisive help in their careers. The only difference is that the former are "raised" while the latter are "free-range."

Whether to eat them after they've fattened up depends on my mood. If I'm in a good mood, I'll gulp them down; if I'm in a bad mood, I can still exploit them to generate commercial value.

Then there are people like Balefali and Zhang Ziyi, who are the clingy type. Getting involved with these vixens will definitely bring you trouble, so absolutely avoid them!

If it weren't for Judy's sake, Eric wouldn't have bothered with her at all.

Seeing that Eric refused to zip up his zipper, Barrefali didn't react excessively and instead zipped it up smoothly by herself.

Then he poured a glass of water and handed it to Eric: "Are you thirsty?"

Eric was about to take it when Lefari flicked her wrist, and the cup returned to her. Then, in front of him, she parted her red lips and took a sip.

"Sorry, I'm a little thirsty too, Eric. You don't mind, do you?"

Seeing that this woman was still being unreasonable, Eric decided not to give her any face.

dong dong dong.

Just as he was about to give her a good talking-to, the doorbell rang at an inopportune moment.

"Lefari, are you done cleaning up? Come out now." Judy's voice rang out from outside the door.

"Fine, I can't really yell at you in front of Judy, so I'll spare your life this time!"

Eric opened the door as he thought about it.

Judy immediately punched him upon seeing him: "Eric, you haven't been to the company for days, where have you been hiding?"

"I'm editing Transformers right now, I'll go tomorrow, you take Lefari with you."

Hearing the sound of water in the bathroom, Judy whistled and beckoned to Barrefaeli, "Come with me, baby, let's leave some space for the young couple."

He then winked, pulled a small box from his pocket, and handed it to Eric: "This is for you. Remember to use it."

"What is it?"

boom!

The door closed, and the two left.

Eric opened the box and saw a small pill lying quietly inside.

"Fuck! This guy!"

(End of this chapter)