America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 18. Get out!

On Monday, two stretch Lincoln limousines parked outside the MGM Grand, and the Cooper family, along with a group of people, walked into this 70-year-old film empire. From this day forward, they are the masters here.

The receptionist saw them and quickly ran over to press the elevator button.

The news has spread throughout the company; now everyone knows that MGM is about to undergo a major purge, and everyone's eyes are on it.

Those executives who usually clashed with Harry Cooper were definitely purged, and one of them even resigned two weeks ago.

The position became vacant, and many people were eager to take it.

At the board meeting, Charlie Cooper sat at the head of the long table, with a group of old friends he had invited sitting on his right, and Eric and his group on his left. The meeting room was now filled with the middle and senior management of MGM.

Eric was watching them, and these people were also speculating about the roles that Eric and his companions would play.

Once everyone was present, they looked around and Charlotte Cooper spoke first.

"Now that everyone is here, let's begin the meeting. This is the first major meeting of the new MGM, and it will be a new beginning for all of us."

"We've worked together for so long, you all know me well enough. I don't like to waste time and money on nonsense!"

"There is only one thing I want to talk about, and that is the reform of MGM. Only through reform can MGM be reborn. We must break away from the big studio model, embrace the new era, embrace the new market, instead of heading straight for death under the leadership of a group of self-righteous old men."

After speaking, Charlie Cooper looked at the executives who usually opposed him and rattled off more than a dozen names, covering almost all departments.

"Miller Silva, Sarah Dunn, Gosling Filler, Chandler Lauren, you are fired!"

Before the words were even finished, it was like a bolt from the blue; everyone whose name was called felt their head explode.

Although everyone knew that someone would be fired from MGM today, the fact that all senior executives in all departments except finance and human resources were laid off was still shocking.

A balding man suddenly stood up, his eyes practically spitting fire: "Charlie Cooper, you shouldn't do this! This will only lead to your downfall!"

Another elderly woman with a wrinkled face also stood up: "Xia Li, we've been colleagues for years. Don't you have any sentimentality at all? Besides, if you fire us all, MGM will be completely paralyzed, and you won't be able to do anything!"

Led by the two, many people began to chatter and complain, talking about their contributions to MGM, saying that the company would die without them!

"That's enough!"

Frustrated by the noise, Eric slammed his fist on the table and yelled at the group, "Shut up! All of you, shut up!"

The sudden shout stunned the group of people. They stared at Eric, then felt a sense of humiliation.

It would be a laughing stock if word got out that these senior executives, these people who have held high positions for many years, were yelled at by a young upstart.

A fat man glared at Eric: "Young man, who are you? Do you know who you're talking to?"

Eric slowly stood up: "Of course, I know very well what kind of people you are, a bunch of useless people who can only stay in the company because of Kerkorian's connections."

"You are utterly incompetent. You lack everything: the eye for choosing films, production quality, marketing skills, and market acumen. If there were a contest for the worst people in Hollywood, you would all be on the list!"

"Clinging to a ridiculous studio mentality, do you even know it's the 21st century? It's not the 1850s anymore! All I see in you is decay!"

"And I, I am the Vice President of the new MGM, you can call me Eric Cooper, remember that name!"

"Now, get out of MGM, get out of this building! From today onwards, parasites and trash are no longer welcome here. Everyone who doesn't work hard, get out!"

Overwhelmed by Eric's formidable reputation, the group knew the die was cast and they could no longer remain at MGM.

So rather than arguing with that greenhorn Eric and being ridiculed by the entire industry, it's better to leave now and save face.

"Charlie Cooper, you'll regret your decision today!"

After uttering a harsh remark, a group of people gradually left the conference room.

Seeing so many senior executives dismissed at once, everyone at MGM was on edge. Eric's ruthless behavior quickly spread throughout the company, and everyone knew that they couldn't mess with the new vice president. This was an effect that Eric was happy to see.

With that group of scoundrels dealt with, everyone left in the room was on their side. The meeting continued, and Charlie Cooper took the opportunity to have his son talk about the company's development strategy.

The reason he didn't come himself was naturally to let his son integrate into MGM as soon as possible. He wanted to tell everyone that Eric was not a second-generation playboy who was just there to have fun, but the true core of the company.

Eric looked around, his expression turning friendly: "As I just said, the root cause of MGM's failure to develop lies in the big studio model."

"I know that when MGM faced a crisis in the last century, the company risked everything and poured all its resources into the production of Ben-Hur."

"And Ben-Hur did not disappoint MGM, bringing us a lot of honor and wealth, but it was, after all, a product of the previous era, and the market no longer buys into that kind of thing."

"If we invest a lot of resources into a few big productions, it will be a heavy blow if they fail. We should not put our eggs in one basket. This is a principle that even a fool understands."

"Therefore we must reform MGM's system, and we must develop in multiple directions."

"From today onwards, the marketing department should stop focusing solely on big-budget, big-production films. We're not just going to make war movies and fantasy films; we're going to make horror movies and B-movies too. After this meeting, bring all your scripts to the conference room. I'm going to review them one by one!"

"In addition, our special effects department, as far as I know, only has about 50 people now, and the equipment is outdated. We need new blood. Special effects blockbusters are the future trend, and we can't fall behind."

"And then there's the props department. Our props used to be top-notch in the industry. Although special effects can replace props to some extent, they can't be neglected. The quality of some scenes shot live is incomparable to special effects."

"Then there are the illustrators. I grew up watching 'Tom and Jerry,' and we are still quite strong in this area, but we need to cultivate new talents to prevent a talent gap."

and also

The meeting lasted for more than an hour. Eric's speech was not complicated, but it covered almost all of MGM's problems. He wanted to completely reform MGM and let this movie giant stand at the top of Hollywood again.

Why haven't I received any new books yet?

Please don't let books remain unread; keeping up with the reading is crucial, otherwise, the book is doomed.

(End of this chapter)