America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 209, Section 208: Women's Views on Marriage, The Golden Globe Awards Arrive

Beverly Hills, the Cooper family home.

Under the bright moonlight, Eric stood on the balcony answering a phone call, looking at the swimming pool in the yard.

"Eric, congratulations on MGM's relisting, and even more congratulations on becoming the world's youngest billionaire."

Over the long-distance call, Han Sanping loudly spoke auspicious words.

Eric was so tired of hearing these words that he had received far too many congratulatory calls that day.

Not to mention my ears, even my eyes and fingers are sore and tired because I still have to read and reply to text messages.

Those who can reach me by my personal phone number are all acquaintances. It wouldn't be good to ignore anyone, and it would be embarrassing not to return the favor.

After leaving the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Dad flew back to Los Angeles first, while Eric went to meet Sergei Hasenfield.

This old guy is riding high right now, not only in his love life but also in his career.

He was emotionally thriving with Kate Winslet, and his withered heart seemed to come back to life. He even stopped boxing and found a new source of excitement.

He even considered divorcing his wife, but Eric advised him to think carefully, as marriage is no small matter, especially for a wealthy and successful person like him.

The distribution of the property is a big problem, there are also the children, and his uncle, Alan Hasenfield, will not agree to it either.

Influenced by the movie, Transformers toys sold like hotcakes, and Hasbro's stock price soared, almost matching MGM's growth, with its market capitalization exceeding $10 billion.

Now is the peak season, and Allen Hasenfield will not allow even the slightest bad news to affect the stock price, including Sergei's marital problems.

Sergei is the apparent head of Hasbro, after all.

His relationship with his uncle Alan was the exact opposite of that with Eric and Charlie Cooper.

MGM Eric was the Prime Minister, and Harry Cooper was the King.

Hasbro's Allen is the prime minister, while Sergei is the king.

After listening to Eric's advice, Sergei, who had been acting rashly, gradually calmed down and realized that he had been thinking too simply.

He hated Allen Hasenfield more and more, and cursed loudly that with that old man around, he would probably never be able to turn his life around.

Eric then inquired about the sales figures for his toys, and Sergei said he didn't yet know the exact numbers, but he had a rough estimate.

In just over two months, Transformers toys have already surpassed the sales of the entire previous year, almost doubling the previous year's figures.

If this trend continues, it is really possible to achieve four times the sales volume in a while.

Once this number is reached, it means that the highest clause of the performance-based agreement signed by both parties must be fulfilled.

Hasbro will then face two choices: pay MGM 55% of its toy net profit, which could potentially reach $5 million or more.

Alternatively, they must pay MGM a 4% stake.

Once the shares are in MGM's hands, there are many more ways to operate. They can sell them directly to Eric personally, since he is the one in charge at MGM, it's just a matter of transferring the shares from one hand to the other.

If Eric acquires this 4% stake, he will control 20% of Hasbro's shares.

It will instantly surpass Allen Hasenfeld's 17% stake and become Hasbro's largest shareholder.

The key now lies with Sergei. Eric has helped him so much, and this guy is very dissatisfied with Allen. It won't be difficult to win him over.

Bringing his thoughts back, Eric said, "I can accept the first 'congratulations,' but forget about the second one. What do you mean by 'world's youngest billionaire'?"

"Those kinds of statistics are just random lists designed to grab attention. They only count publicly disclosed assets, while the real problem lies in the hidden assets of many large families and corporations, which are impossible to account for in statistics."

Old Han laughed heartily: "They have hidden assets, don't you? I don't believe you even if you say you don't!"

"In short, you are the richest person I know. There is only one Chinese person on the Forbes list, Ding Lei, who is in the internet industry."

"The gap is still quite large. If you have time, come over and give us some guidance. Those wealthy people in China would definitely be happy to come and listen to our lectures."

The two chatted for a few minutes, then Eric made an excuse to hang up.

Han Sanping is right. Others may have hidden assets, but he has just as many.

With a 45% stake in Shuangxing Entertainment, the company's products are becoming increasingly popular after more than half a year of operation.

Once Peppa Pig and Rick and Morty are produced, the products will be highly compatible with DoubleStar Entertainment. Although the merchandise may not be as popular as Transformers, it will still be a major IP in terms of sales.

He bought back these shares from Solni for $3 million, and their current valuation has more than doubled. If the company goes public in the future, their value will increase many times over.

The 16% stake in Hasbro is also quite valuable, worth over $15 billion at the current share price, and it's still growing.

The value of Facebook, YouTube, and Lionheart is even more insignificant; he certainly can't compare to those super-rich second-generation heirs now.

But given time, perhaps only ten years, Eric Cooper will undoubtedly be the world's richest man, and he will hold that title for a long time.

After finishing the phone call and returning to the dinner table, my mother complained somewhat discontentedly, "These people are really something. Why don't they pay attention to the time? Couldn't they have given you half an hour to eat something?"

The nanny, Lisa, reheated the cold food: "Eat quickly, Eric, there will definitely be another call later."

"It's alright, it'll be fine after today. Hmm... why does the stew smell so good today? It doesn't taste like chicken, and it doesn't taste like pork either, what is it?"

"It's ostrich meat, it tastes pretty good, doesn't it? It's been processed using a special method," Mom said with a smile.

Eric nodded, then took another big bite: "Delicious! Why did I suddenly want to eat ostrich meat today?"

"It was a gift from someone else; I just followed the instructions and did some secondary processing."

"Who sent it?"

Nicole Kidman.

"Well"

Eric choked for a moment, then quickly drank a sip of soup to calm himself down.

"Nicole Kidman? Why would she send you ostrich meat? Wait, how did you two meet? Didn't you dislike her?"

Eric clearly remembers that after last year's Oscars, rumors about him and Nicole were rampant.

My mother was quite upset when she heard about it. She had heard more or less about the mess between Nicole and Tom Cruise, so she didn't have a good impression of them.

"Eric, God taught us to judge a person with time and heart, not with our eyes. I must admit I was wrong."

"Based on past media reports, I made the wrong judgment and thought Nicole was a problematic woman."

"However, we met at church recently, and it turns out she is also a devout Catholic with a deep understanding of the Bible."

"We became friends, and she gradually opened up to me, telling me a lot about her past, including that terrible marriage."

"However, I have to keep it a secret and can't tell you the details, but it really wasn't Nicole's fault; she was a victim too."

"Those tabloids are so annoying. They always make baseless accusations and report things randomly. They twist a perfectly good woman into a crazy woman."

Eric's eyes widened when he saw his mother standing up for Nico.

He suddenly remembered that some time ago, when the two of them were together, Nicole had asked him if he usually went to church or something like that.

Eric didn't take it seriously at all, since they chatted so much during the day, who would care about such a thing?

I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that I think about it, I guess that girl was trying to trick him into revealing information.

Then she secretly contacted her mother without telling herself, successfully turning her image around. The two even became good friends, which was truly astonishing.

If Eric waits until the two become best friends before getting involved with her, it would be like a scene from "Why Women Kill".

Of all the women in my life, Nicole is undoubtedly the most active, often bringing up marriage topics intentionally or unintentionally.

Eric knew exactly what she was thinking, and usually just laughed it off.

After doing this so many times, she probably harbored some resentment, so she would occasionally launch a surprise attack on herself.

She didn't have any bad intentions; she was just more anxious because she was much older than Eric and lacked a sense of security deep down.

She also talked about children, expressing her fear that she might not be able to get pregnant easily in a few years, and that she is about to enter the ranks of advanced maternal age.

So deep down, she worries that Eric might suddenly attack her, but this time it might be a really bad one, maybe even a breakup.

In order to win over a man, I have to work harder to find ways and methods.

Surprise kissing at the Emmy Awards was clearly a poor move, and Eric reprimanded her afterwards.

But this time, Nico seems to have found the right approach, breaking through by focusing on her mother, which is a pretty good method.

In comparison, the other women were not as active, and at least they did not express their opinions on marriage.

Gal Gadot is only 19 years old, and the Olsen twins have just turned 18. They are too young to grasp the significance of this.

Although Theron is 28 years old, the trauma from her family of origin has made her hostile to marriage, and she is showing signs of becoming a staunch advocate of not getting married.

At least before Eric's arrival, Theron was not married.

They're all at the peak of their careers right now, so we'll arrange work for them after the awards season. Once they're busy, they won't have to think about it so much.

On January 22, just one week after MGM relisted, its stock price, which had been stagnating, suddenly surged, rising by more than 8%.

Because yet another event has occurred that could ignite Hollywood.

Harry Cooper officially announced his retirement, and Eric Cooper took over the company completely.

Eric's abilities have been proven, so the market is generally optimistic about him, and the stock price has naturally risen.

After two months of widespread screenings, Transformers has come to an end. Currently, only remote areas in North America and some overseas countries are still showing the film, but the impact is no longer significant.

With a current global box office of $9.43 million, it can stay at the top for a while longer, but The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is about to catch up.

"Blue Is the Warmest Color" has already grossed over $100 million at the North American box office, reaching an astonishing $1.45 million.

It also grossed $3200 million at the overseas box office, bringing its global box office total to $1.77 million and making it the top-grossing film.

It surpassed the global box office record of $1.08 million for a gay-themed film, "The Hours".

And "The Hours" is the film that won Nicole Kidman the Best Actress award last year.

Eric suddenly discovers that all of his women, except for Gadot, have acted in lesbian films.

It doesn't sound bad. When we're sleeping together in the future, I definitely won't be able to take care of so many people at the same time. Letting them please each other is not bad either.

Shark2 also grossed over $100 million at the North American box office, bringing its total to $1.32 million, more than $10 million higher than the previous film, but its potential has been largely exhausted.

These kinds of movies make quick money; they're specifically released for die-hard fans. The upper limit is locked, but their advantage lies in their low cost, so they'll make money no matter how they're made.

"Monster" fared poorly, grossing only a little over $1700 million at the North American box office in three weeks. Hopefully, the upcoming Golden Globe Awards will turn things around for the film.

On January 25th, a grand movie party was held at the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

The Golden Globe Awards, broadcast live by NBC and watched by over 2800 million Americans and nearly 4 million people worldwide simultaneously, are coming soon.

As two of the most important film awards in the United States, the Golden Globe Awards are often referred to as the precursor to the Oscars.

Films and actors who win the Golden Globe Award usually also win the Oscar, and the Screen Actors Guild Award is similar in that regard.

However, on a global scale, the Golden Globe Awards have a far greater influence than the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

If you don't believe me, just ask around. Not to mention Asia, even in Europe, very few people pay attention to the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

There are many films nominated this year, but The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is undoubtedly far ahead, not only receiving the most nominations but also having the highest probability of winning.

It received five nominations, including Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor in a Drama, Best Original Song, and Best Original Score.

It was widely predicted that Russell Crowe would have a low chance of winning a Best Actor nomination for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," and that he would likely win a nomination for "The Far Side of the World."

However, "The Far East" was severely overshadowed by "Transformers," and its global box office ultimately reached $8900 million.

Compared to the $1.5 million investment, Miramax suffered a devastating loss, and its influence was greatly diminished.

So the nomination went to Elijah Wood, who played Frodo, making him the only actor to date to receive an award nomination for any of the three Lord of the Rings films.

As the daughter of renowned director Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola received three nominations for her role in "Lost in Translation," but some media outlets criticized her for relying on her father's influence.

Clint Eastwood is competing with "Mystic River," which is funded by MGM, and "Million Dollar Baby," which he is directing, has already begun filming.

Because the Golden Globe Awards are organized by the Foreign Press Association, and most of the judges are not professionals, there are no technical awards such as Best Special Effects or Best Makeup.

Therefore, Transformers fared poorly, only receiving a nomination for Best Original Score.

However, what was lost on one front was gained on another. "Blue Is the Warmest Color" won four major awards: Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actress – Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

"Monster" garnered nominations for two major awards—Best Actress in a Drama and Best Screenplay—thanks to its darker and more brutal storyline.

Get Out also received two nominations: Best Screenplay and Best Actor in a Drama Series.

MGM received a total of 9 nominations with four films, ranking first!

(End of this chapter)