America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 2.2. Acquisition of MGM

"Eric, you brat, I knew the Cooper men weren't so easily defeated!"

On the hospital lawn, Eric was taking a walk with his mother when his older brother, Joshua Cooper, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and punched him in the chest.

"Joshua, you'll hurt him!" Mom glared at her.

"Don't worry, Mom, I didn't use much force."

Eric looked at the burly man in front of him with some surprise: "Joshua, weren't you training in San Francisco? What are you doing here?"

Joshua Cooper, the eldest son of the Cooper family, is 23 years old.

Unlike his younger brother, Joshua's academic performance was only so-so, but his physical abilities were far superior.

Joshua was a member of the school football team from high school through college.

After graduating from college, he went to San Francisco and now plays for the 49ers. Although he is not a core player, he can usually get playing time in games.

Joshua Cooper pointed to his mother and said, "Why am I here? Of course, it's because of our dear mother. I received a call last night and drove back first thing this morning."

"Did the team grant you leave? It should be the start of the season right now."

Joshua smiled mysteriously: "I have a good relationship with Mrs. Brown in the management department, so I was granted three days off."

After saying that, he gave Eric a knowing look.

Before Eric could speak, his mother's expression changed. As a rather traditional woman, Emily's tone carried a hint of anger.

"Joshua, if you dare to mess around outside, I may not be able to spank you, but you can forget about ever setting foot in the Cooper's house again!"

Joshua waved his hand and backed away, saying, "Wow, wow, what kind of mother are you trying to be, as if I've committed some heinous crime?"

Emily scoffed, "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"Okay, Mom, I get along well with Mrs. Brown because I always bring her donuts and hot dogs, and she loves them, that's all."

As Joshua spoke, he put his hands behind his back and made lewd gestures from an angle that only Eric could see, making a circle with one hand and inserting his middle finger with the other.

Yes, it really is just donuts and hot dogs.

Eric slapped his forehead: "Alright, Joshua, I don't think you need to explain anymore. Instead of wasting time explaining, why don't you do me a favor?"

Joshua wrapped his arms around his brother's neck: "Of course, just say the word if you need anything. As your older brother, I'll do my best to help!"

"Party, please throw me a party."

Joshua immediately understood: "That's why we're called brothers, because we share the same thoughts. After going through such great hardships, you really need to relax."

He leaned close to Eric's ear and whispered, "I'll find the place, and there'll be plenty of hot girls!"

Eric looked at his cheap older brother speechlessly, wondering if Americans think about this kind of thing when they talk about parties.

Unfortunately, as a Chinese person, he doesn't really accept fast food deep down, feeling it's a bit dirty. He prefers home-cooked meals because they're clean and stimulating.

"Joshua, the location is at home. I don't care who you invite, but I'll give you a list. Make sure these guys are notified."

"What are you up to? Why are you being so secretive? Who are they?"

"My college classmates, my closest ones, I won't object if you want to ask a girl out, as long as my mom agrees."

Beside her, Emily Cooper stood with her arms crossed, giving off a "you figure it out" vibe.

Joshua immediately made a face: "Then I think we should forget about it. Watching a movie, having barbecue and drinking beer would be pretty good too."

Ever since he learned the timeline he was in, Eric realized something was wrong, because Windtalkers was coming soon.

As far as I remember, "Windtalkers" was John Woo's last film in the United States, and it was released in June 2002.

This big-budget war film nearly bankrupted MGM, leaving them almost penniless.

Since then, John Woo's reputation and momentum, built up by "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible 2", have collapsed.

The following year's "Paycheck" also lost money, although not as badly as "Windtalkers," but no one in Hollywood was willing to invest in it again.

Unable to make a living in the film industry, John Woo had no choice but to return to China. There, he used his reputation as an internationally renowned director to persuade companies such as China Film Group, Pegasus Motion Pictures, and Yoozoo Pictures to invest in films like "Red Cliff" and "The Crossing".

However, his outdated film concepts and models are no longer keeping up with the times. Audiences' aesthetic standards are rising, and frankly, they are no longer easily fooled.

Unsurprisingly, all the films flopped, with "The Crossing" even accelerating the acquisition of Pegasus Motion Pictures, making it a complete failure.

But the worst part wasn't that MGM was forced to wear trousers; what was even more serious was that, as far as I remember, several MGM executives resigned as a result.

However, everyone was focused on the director and actors. Apart from people in Hollywood, no one noticed who the executive who resigned was back then. Little did they know that his adoptive father, Charlie Cooper, was one of them.

No wonder Dad has been working overtime at the company lately and looks very preoccupied. It seems that MGM has already evaluated "Windtalkers" internally, and the result is self-evident.

If Charlie Cooper were to fail and resign, it would have a huge impact on the entire family, especially on his own future plans. His film career would likely become much more difficult and challenging, so his father absolutely cannot be allowed to resign.

Eric had been thinking of a solution for a day, and then a sudden inspiration struck him: Why am I so insistent on not letting my father resign?

The reason for not letting Charlie Cooper resign was to make it easier for him to make movies, since filmmaking was what he was most proficient in and a career that he was sure to succeed in.

Since the goal is to make movies, what could be more convenient than starting your own film company?

And if you're going to start your own film company, what could be more suitable than acquiring MGM?

As one of the seven major Hollywood film studios, MGM is the weakest, but still stronger than Lionsgate, Imperial, and New Line. Especially since it is only 2002, this giant, though old and frail, has not yet fallen.

Moreover, compared to the complex shareholding structures of other companies, the vast majority of MGM's shares are held by one person, who has no interest in making movies at all, making acquisition relatively easy, as long as the money is in place.

So the remaining key questions are: how much money is needed to acquire MGM, and where can we get the money?

Before I traveled through time, Amazon apparently spent over $80 billion to acquire MGM, but the debt accounted for half or more of that.

In 2002, MGM's assets and liabilities were not this exaggerated. You can ask your father about this; I estimate it was around three or four billion.

Raising billions in a short period of time is no easy feat.

Stocks, futures, Bitcoin, etc. are all too slow; he can't wait. Besides, he never paid attention to these areas in his previous life, so he can't get involved.

So Eric's attention turned to a crooked path, namely the upcoming Korea-Japan World Cup.

(End of this chapter)