America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 128. Mike is ready.

After reading the New York Times report, Eric angrily threw the newspaper on the ground.

That scoundrel Amy Amém is definitely starting to try and gain attention by creating drama.

His new single, "Just Lost It," contains lyrics that blatantly and unabashedly insult Michael Jackson.

For example, this sentence: "Come here little kiddies on my lap".

"Come, child, lie on my lap."

"I done touched on everything but little boys"

"I've touched everything except little boys."

"Bend now, touch your toes, and just glide"

"Bend over, touch the ground with your toes, and glide out in the moonwalk."

"Like TP for my bunghole"

"It's like being teleported directly into my cave."

These lyrics are blatant insults, treating the rumors of MJ's child molestation as a source of amusement and mockery.

Some people might think that rap is all about criticizing what you don't like, and that's part of rap culture.

Eminem was simply using this method; he had no ill intentions towards Mike.

This is complete nonsense. Do you think everyone is blind? You can tell at a glance whether someone has malicious intent.

This guy even knew how to layer armor on himself and wrote two lines of lyrics to show that he was joking.

"Thats not a stab a Michael, thats just a metaphor"

"This song isn't meant to criticize Michael; it's just a metaphor."

I'm just psycho, I go a little bit crazy sometimes

"I'm just crazy, I've always been a little crazy."

He knew he was putting on layers of armor, so he must also know how stupid and terrible his actions were, and he was afraid of being caught off guard, so he took precautions first.

After thinking for a moment, Eric dialed Michael's number. It had been a while since he'd seen him, and he wondered if Michael's single was ready yet.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hey, Eric," came MJ's somewhat deep voice from the other end of the line.

"What's wrong, Michael? You sound unhappy."

"It's nothing, just a little worry."

"Is it because of Eminem's new song? I just saw it in the newspaper."

Michael paused for a moment: "So you know too? I don't even know this person, let alone why he would insult me ​​like this!"

Eric said coldly, "Michael, like I said, you're too kind, and you always assume others are as kind as you, but there are many venomous snakes in this world."

"That scoundrel Eminem is clearly trying to use your fame to promote himself. For profit, this kind of mad dog won't care about others."

"Why would they do this? I really don't understand. Eminem has already won the Oscar for Best Original Song and made a name for himself in the rap scene, yet he still resorts to such despicable tactics."

Michael's voice was clearly annoyed. He rarely lost his temper in public or in front of the media, always maintaining his composure. He only showed anger in front of friends and family.

"Because in the eyes of such villains, song sales are the most important thing. For the sake of sales, let alone insulting you, he can curse the whole world to die. Some people just have no bottom line."

"Michael, don't let others take advantage of your kindness. Pick up the weapon of law and sue him to make him apologize publicly."

Michael hesitated, "Is this a good idea? My case will be heard in court soon, and I'm worried that suing him now will not only be useless, but will also make things worse."

"Do you think this bastard will use the trial to attack you? Or use the incident to amplify his publicity?"

"Yes, since he chose to believe the rumors and insult me, it's not impossible for him to go further. There are too many people who don't know the truth. To be honest, I hope the trial can come soon so that I can clear my name."

Eric tapped the table gently, pondered for a moment, and felt that Michael's choice might make more sense, and that he himself had acted somewhat impulsively.

Going through legal proceedings now might not be a good time. Once the truth comes out, these guys will be able to keep their mouths shut.

At that time, there would be no need for Michael to file a lawsuit; fans and a large number of self-proclaimed righteous people would naturally smear them.

"Michael, maybe you're right, but I'm still not willing to let him off so easily. If there are any media interviews, just keep your composure; I'll definitely unleash a torrent of abuse. It's not the first time I've confronted someone like that, so who's afraid of who!"

Michael chuckled, his tone becoming much more relaxed.

"Don't worry, Eric, I won't just sit idly by. Don't forget our song, it's already finished."

"Really?" Eric asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, the music video shooting was basically completed last week. In the past few days, I have been using my personal connections to contact some radio stations, mainly Black radio stations. I think it's ready for release."

Eric was thrilled to hear the good news.

"That's great! I'll contact DreamWorks right away and get ready to release it, Michael. Rolling in the Deep is just the right time. Let's teach this little rascal a lesson and show him what a real song is."

Michael gave a firm "Mmm": "Eric, I'll leave this to you."

"No problem, I guarantee DreamWorks will go all out. And when David Geffen sees the potential profit, unless he's a fool, who would turn down money?"

The two chatted for a while longer, and before they knew it, they were talking about Facebook, which was about to be launched.

Perhaps because he had received so much help from Eric, Mike couldn't find a suitable opportunity to repay him. After learning about the role of Facebook, he said he could join.

"Eric, let me do something for you too. Besides, the kind of social networking you mentioned is very trendy. I like new and popular things. Like when MSN came out, I was one of the first to use it, although I don't use it anymore."

But this time, Eric hesitated.

"Michael, to be honest, I don't want to involve you, because once you open a Facebook account, not only will you have fans following you, but you will also attract a lot of insults and attacks from haters."

"In the past, these guys could only say a few words in forums, chat rooms, or offline. They could say whatever they wanted, and at least we didn't have to see them or be bothered by them."

"But if you open an account, you'll have to face these attacks directly, and I don't want it to affect you."

But Mike seemed determined to stick to it.

"Eric, let me ask you, will my joining Facebook bring me any attention?"

"Yes, and it will attract a huge amount of attention. Even those who criticize you won't create a separate account just to criticize you. As long as users participate in social interaction, they will eventually become part of Facebook and help Facebook grow into a giant tree."

"Then what are you waiting for? Not only will I get involved, but I will also mobilize my friends. You can also get the celebrities around you involved. The influence of celebrities is always stronger than that of ordinary people."

Michael's suggestion hit Eric right on the mark.

He slapped his forehead, wondering if he'd been out of his mind. How could he have forgotten the most useful card in his hand?

No matter the time, the celebrity effect is always the best attraction for the general public, especially young people.

Think about Weibo in China. Although the vast majority of them are fake fans, even if each celebrity's active fans are only one-tenth of the total, the combined number is still extremely terrifying.

On international social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, the number of fans a celebrity has becomes even more staggering.

I was really limited by David Fincher's "The Social Network" and actually forgot about this trump card.

Imagine the massive surge in traffic that will occur when Facebook launches on June 1st, with celebrities like Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman, and the Olsen twins opening accounts one after another.

With the established promotional strategy in place, taking over 4000 colleges and universities across the United States in two months is no longer the goal; the goal is to dominate the entire United States.

"Thank you, Mike. You've opened up new horizons for me. I also have a suggestion for you: recruit a few people to manage your account, especially during this time. Be sure to delete comments."

"Yes, I understand what you mean. Maria called me. Let's talk another day."

"Wait, Michael, there's something else I feel I need to tell you."

"What?"

"Regarding your trial, I can try to obtain some evidence that is favorable to you, but I must obtain your consent."

This time, Michael remained silent for a long time. If Eric hadn't heard his breathing, he would have thought Michael had hung up the phone.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Will violence be used? I don't want my child to get hurt; he must have been coerced by his parents."

"No, don't worry, I also believe the child is innocent."

"Alright then, thank you Eric. Your appearance is so important, like a savior in my life."

After hanging up the phone, Eric finally felt reassured.

Even though it helped MJ a lot, the US and China are different; people in the US value boundaries in their relationships.

Even between parents and children, or lovers, there must be a necessary distance and privacy.

Therefore, he would not take any action without Michael's consent, as that might cause dissatisfaction.

This insult and provocation from Eminem, coupled with recent media reports of Janet Avizo visiting law firms, has exacerbated the situation.

Everything was going in the wrong direction. Mike seemed to have finally come to terms with reality and stopped having any illusions about that family.

A delicate aroma wafted from the kitchen, and Eric's stomach immediately began to rumble.

I got up and went over, and there stood Nicole, wearing Eric’s white shirt, wielding a spatula in front of the stove.

She was tall and slender; even men's clothes could only cover her hips.

Her shirt fluttered up and down with the movement of her arms, causing her firm buttocks to be faintly visible.

It's said that women who cook are sexy, and Eric has certainly experienced it for himself.

He walked over quietly and grabbed Nico from behind around the waist. Nico screamed in fright, and the biscuit-like object in the shovel flew out of her hand.

"Hehe. Stop fooling around, I'm cooking!"

"You look so sexy, darling. Your beauty is enough to fill my stomach."

"Haha, I'm serious, stop kidding, it'll be done soon, we have plenty of time today."

"No, I like this setting. You do your thing, I do mine, and we won't bother each other."

He kissed her all over until she was trembling all over, but Eric suddenly withdrew.

"Okay, you can continue, darling."

Hearing this, Nicole stared at him wide-eyed: "Eric, you're such a little rascal! Don't go! Keep going!"

Eric grinned and waved his phone in his palm: "If you won't let me go out to work, you have to let me make a few phone calls, right? If you want it, hurry up."

After teasing Nico, Eric called Fitzheisenberg.

"Boss, what's up?"

"Fitz, regarding the server issue you mentioned last time, after thinking about it, I feel we need to accelerate the process. How many users can our current server cluster accommodate?"

"1000 million people, but only temporarily, because as users continue to post new updates, the data storage will increase over time, and the pressure will be even greater."

"The 1000 million people I mentioned are based on an estimate of 3 posts per person per day, not including comments. That should be enough to support them for about six months."

"Can it only hold 1000 million people? No, that's too few. Install that Blade server you mentioned right away. I want to get that number to 5000 million."

"Uh, boss, isn't 50 million people a bit of an exaggeration? Last year's report showed that about 5000% of households in the US have internet access, but households don't represent individuals. If you exclude the elderly and children, I don't think we need that many for now."

Realizing that we are not yet in an era where everyone is online—only 50% in the US, not to mention other countries—we understand that this is not the era of universal internet access.

Eric asked, "Fitz, I'm planning to bring in a bunch of celebrities to promote our product on Facebook. It'll definitely generate a lot of traffic. How many do you think would be appropriate?"

"3000 million people, I think that's enough for now. Even if it's not enough, we can increase it. Don't worry, boss, there's plenty of time."

"Okay, we'll do it your way, but quickly, try to finish it before it goes live on Facebook."

"OK."

Eric had just finished making the phone call when Nicole came out carrying a soup bowl.

Seeing this, he also went to the kitchen to get the food, and in a short time, Nicole actually cooked three dishes.

Although they were all quite simple and looked rather unappealing, they were still considered pretty good for a big star.

Eric picked up a piece of olive and put it in his mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound before swallowing.

Nicole looked at him somewhat anxiously: "How is it? Does it taste good?"

"It's alright, at least it's fully cooked. It would taste even better with some salad dressing."

Nicole quickly got up to get it: "Honey, there's only ketchup. Do you still want some?"

"Sure, I'm not usually a picky eater, come and eat!"

The two sat at the table, and Eric served Nicole a stew.

"Hmm! The potatoes aren't fully cooked; they're still a bit raw inside. What should I do?"

"Then I'll eat it."

"Um."

Nicole picked the potatoes off her plate and put them on Eric's plate.

Warm sunlight streamed in from the balcony, bathing the two of them.

"Eric, this feels so good."

"What?"

"This feeling of home is so nice, so warm and cozy, it makes me feel very comfortable."

Eric smiled, knowing what the woman was thinking, and reached out to pull her into his arms.

(End of this chapter)