America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 186, Section 185: A Charge into Battle, the Autobots Mobilize

"Congratulations, Eric! Fifi and I both saw the news. You won the Emmy Award for Best Writing, breaking the record in film history."

Eric found it strange to hear Liu Xiaoli's compliments.

"Does China still care about the Emmy Awards? They're not importing American TV series anymore."

"There will definitely be no live broadcast, but Sina, Sohu, and some other websites will have text and picture news, which many people will read."

"Feifei, why are you silent again? Didn't you have a lot to say to Eric?"

"Mother."

Eric chuckled and said, "Alright, stop making things difficult for Crystal. Have you been studying hard lately?"

Liu Yifei sweetly hummed in agreement: "After returning to China, I've been studying very hard, and now I even have muscles in my arms."

"My female classmates are several years older than me, but they are not as strong as me."

"Well done! You must keep improving yourself, and come here to film 'Supernatural' in a while."

"MGM will be making a big production next year, and I've reserved a role for you. It will involve action scenes, so get ready."

"Really?" Liu Yifei asked in surprise.

"Of course it's true. Have I ever lied to you?"

Liu Yifei pouted, thinking to herself, "You definitely haven't lied to me, but I don't know if you've lied to my mom."

Liu Xiaoli's anxious voice came through the phone again: "Eric, is he an important character?"

"It's a supporting role, but I'll be designing a few outstanding action scenes, so the opportunity is in my own hands."

"What about the shooting schedule? Has it been set? Should we ask Fei Fei to make time for herself?"

Eric thought about it and realized that once Transformers was released in November, Gadot would be traveling all over the world to promote it, which would keep her busy for at least a month.

Then take a break, attend various parties and award ceremonies, and it's estimated that filming for "The Hunger Games" will start in February or even March.

"Filming is expected to start around February or March, so please allow for two months of availability. Do you have any projects lined up right now?"

"No, but many production teams hope that Feifei will join them. There's a fantasy drama adapted from a game that she really likes, and Feifei wants to take it."

"But the filming for this TV series is also scheduled to start next February, so there might be a scheduling conflict."

As soon as Liu Xiaoli mentioned it, Eric knew which show it was; it must be "Chinese Paladin," which had become a beloved classic in many people's hearts.

One is a TV series that is bound to be a hit, and the other is a movie that may open the door to Hollywood for her.

Without Eric as a guide, I would definitely have chosen the first option, but with his help, the choice is beyond question.

"Then tell the producer that it would be best if the TV series could postpone filming, but if not, then refuse. Hollywood is more important."

His answer hit the nail on the head for Liu Xiaoli and Liu Yifei; they knew exactly which was more important, the movie or the TV series.

After hanging up the phone, Eric turned on his computer and found that the entertainment section was flooded with posts about last night's Emmy Awards.

The youngest Emmy Award winner for Best Writing in history has been born!

At 23, he broke the record, and Nicole Kidman gave him a kiss.

The Emmy Awards broke with convention, boldly choosing youth this time.

The Emmy Awards ratings are in, and the peak was achieved because of a kiss.

At the Oscars, she called me a knight; at the Emmys, I called her a lucky charm!

A significant portion of the news was about him, especially the passionate kiss between Nicole and him on stage, which was widely reported.

Compared to things like best service, best editing, or best sound, these kinds of offbeat news stories are more likely to grab attention.

However, Nicole spent a short time at the Vanity Fair party last night and gave an interview about the kiss.

She stated that she and Eric Cooper are very good friends, and celebrating for her good friend doesn't mean anything.

Besides, Adrien Brody kissed Halle Berry passionately, so what's wrong with me kissing her twice?

However, the rumors about the two from six months ago resurfaced, and many tabloids made wild guesses, taking the opportunity to stir up trouble again.

The Best Screenplay award also gave Eric a lot of exposure, with many media outlets and netizens calling him a genius screenwriter.

Some fans of "The Walking Dead" have even predicted that his self-written and directed film "Blue Is the Warmest Color" is likely to be an Oscar contender.

If he can also win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, then this title of the youngest person in history to achieve this honor will be almost impossible to break in the future.

However, while there are praises, there are also doubts. There are also many fans of shows like "The West Wing," "Six Feet Under," "24," and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

These people questioned the fairness of the awards, arguing that what's so great about The Walking Dead? It's just killing zombies; how can it demonstrate the logic and rigor of a script?

The Independent once again jumped out to sing a different tune, implying that Eric, being a billionaire, was already in an invincible position simply because of his status as the head of MGM.

This award was decided long ago; the other nominees were destined to be runners-up from the start.

Unfortunately, many people believe this argument. Resentment towards the rich exists everywhere, especially when you are a second-generation rich kid.

bell.

The phone rang again just after I hung up. I looked down and saw it was Han Sanping.

"Old Han, calling so early in the morning, is it to congratulate me again?"

"It's morning there, but it's late at night here. I was worried about disturbing your rest, so I waited until now to make this call."

"That's so thoughtful, that's so thoughtful."

"Hahaha. I've been thinking about you a lot. You're such a busy person, when will you have time to come to China for a visit?"

Eric sighed: "I'm currently filming a TV series, and with post-production, it won't be until October. Then I need to prepare for the release of Transformers, so I can't get away for the time being."

"In short, I'll be very busy these next few months, but there will be opportunities in the future."

"I think you're just making excuses. Even elementary school students here know the saying, 'Time is like water in a sponge; you can always squeeze some out.' It just depends on whether you're sincere."

Sensing that the other person was acting strangely today, Eric couldn't help but ask, "Old Han, why are you in such a hurry to have me come over? Is something wrong?"

"You recognized it?"

"perhaps."

"Hehe. To be honest, it's mainly about Oriental MGM. Since the lifting of the ban, the company's structure has gradually become complete, and the funds will be in place soon, so it's time to get started."

"Originally, I wasn't the person in charge of the company, but since I was the direct person in charge of the project, Director Wang from our optoelectronics department put all the responsibility on my shoulders."

"Now, in addition to Huaying, I also serve as the vice president of Oriental MGM, which means I'm in charge of all the day-to-day operations."

Eric understood; Han Sanping wanted political achievements.

After hesitating for a moment, Eric finally asked, "Old Han, are you about to be officially promoted?"

Since Eric was an American, Han Sanping saw no need to hide it from him and simply admitted it.

"After the first project of Oriental MGM was launched, I was confident that I could make a request to the leadership, Eric. This was very important to me."

"Where's Susan? Didn't you talk to her?"

"We communicated, but there were problems. The main issue is that my team and your team had significant differences in creative choices."

"The leadership wants to showcase more Chinese elements, but your team feels that such works cannot reach a global audience. Ms. Susan has been coordinating to find a compromise as soon as possible."

Eric said, "Cultural integration inevitably takes time, so you can't wait? Are you in such a hurry to make progress?"

"Who in the system doesn't want to advance? Otherwise, I wouldn't need to come to you directly to ask for help. My future depends on you."

"Hehe. Alright then, MGM has plenty of scripts piling up in their library. I'll see if I can find any suitable ones. If not, I'll write one for you."

"That would be wonderful! If you, the best screenwriter, were to do this, I would be eternally grateful."

"I've already thought it through for you. Transformers will definitely be released in China. My promise is right here: no matter how explicit it is, even if it shows nudity like Titanic, I won't cut it at all."

"When you come here and do some promotion for a day or two, we can discuss the project properly, and I'll do my part as a host."

"We'll talk about that later. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll go. Besides the project, I'd also like to discuss importing TV dramas and variety shows with you."

"MGM?"

"Yes, I want to establish a stable mechanism for importing American TV series. We have a lot of excellent works in our hands and film library."

"We'll discuss this in detail when you arrive."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Eric began to consider collaborative projects. In his memory, there were very few successful Sino-US co-productions, such as "The Meg" and "Kung Fu Panda 3".

"The Meg" is a typical commercial film. Shark disaster movies are a popular genre all over the world and are not limited to any particular era.

Moreover, the film's budget is moderate, affordable for both parties, making it a genre worth trying.

After thinking for a moment, Eric decided to go with it.

In October, filming for "House of Cards" finally wrapped up.

After seeing off Kevin Spacey and Robin White, whose expressions were complicated, this memory would surely be very vivid if they were to write a memoir in the future.

As the assistant director, Andrea had clearly lost a lot of weight: "Eric, please don't ever ask me to be your assistant director again. I'm exhausted!"

Eric reassured him, "You're busy, but your skills are improving rapidly, aren't they?"

"So I've decided to give you a good job. Stop making short films and go straight to making movies."

"What!" Andrea was somewhat surprised.

"Anyway, take a few days off first, then go to MGM to find Judy Newhouse. Your next task is to make a teen comedy called 'Mean Girls,' with a budget of $1500 million."

"What?"

Before Andrea could react, Neil Blomkamp had already jumped up.

"Director, when will I be able to direct independently?" He blinked at Eric.

"You don't have enough experience yet. You'll be the assistant director on my next film, and then we'll see how you perform. If you pass, you'll get to direct 'Chronicle'."

"Thank you, thank you, Director."

Andrea grasped Eric's hand and thanked him profusely, feeling that all the hard work had been worthwhile.

A $1500 million investment is a treatment many directors never receive in their entire careers; following Eric Cooper was definitely the right choice.

Get Out recently finished its theatrical run, ultimately grossing $1.62 million in North America and $0.65 million overseas, for a total of $2.27 million worldwide.

Not only did it become a box office hit, but many film critics and fans also declared their intention to challenge for an Oscar, especially the Black audience.

Some Black radio stations even believe it deserves four awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.

Eric can only say you're really imaginative; the current public opinion and social environment are not what they would be like in a decade or two.

Even more frightening is that Peter Jackson will be bringing us "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" this year.

The first two Oscars have already deliberately ignored them; even a fool knows that this year's Knights of Middle-earth will sweep the world.

The Lord of the Rings has already secured three major awards: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. For other films, receiving a nomination would be considered a success.

Eric's goal is to win Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress with Get Out, Blues of Adele, and Monster; he doesn't care about anything else.

After a month of release, "Happy Death Day" has entered a period of fatigue.

It has grossed $7300 million at the North American box office and nearly $5000 million overseas.

Based on the current trend, $150 million is probably the limit; breaking $200 million is impossible, which is a bit disappointing for Gadot.

The movie "Don't Breathe" was released a few days ago, and its tense and exciting plot has garnered most positive reviews. It is a decent popcorn movie.

Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, and Evangeline Lily instantly became famous.

As a veteran action star whose career has faded, Dolph Lundgren's portrayal of a blind veteran is the true protagonist of the film.

The movie also brought him back into the spotlight, and he is now frequently giving interviews, showing signs of regaining his former glory.

Billy spent two months scouting for talent and successfully found many promising young men, thus beginning preparations for "The Voice of America".

Besides Michael Jackson, the other three mentors were Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, and Celine Dion, all of whom are superstars in the music industry.

The cost of hiring the three of them alone reached $5000 million, and with other expenses, the cost of the first season of The Voice would not be less than $1 million.

Eric's decision was to do things to the best of his ability, not only to strive for excellence, but more importantly, to compete with "American Idol".

Only by crushing the opponent can you monopolize the market, and then you can naturally earn back the money you spent.

In the office, Julio excitedly walked in to report: "Boss, the review has been approved, Transformers is rated PG13."

Eric smiled; he understood that a G rating was impossible, and a PG13 rating would be the best possible outcome.

"Alright, let's release the second trailer then. It's time to start a large-scale promotion. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, the Autobots and Decepticons have arrived in major cities."

Eric glanced at the date in the bottom right corner of his computer screen: "Set it for next Monday, viral marketing launch."

(End of this chapter)