America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 228, Section 227: The Oscars' Strongest Host

The Hangover was undoubtedly a huge success, as evidenced by the laughter of the audience and the smiles on their faces as they left.

Everyone was happy that the movie was a success.

But if we're talking about who's the happiest person, besides Eric who's making a fortune, it's probably Adam Sandler.

He voluntarily lowered his fee to participate in "The Hangover" in order to achieve another breakthrough in his career and truly enter the ranks of top-tier comedians.

His vision and choice proved to be absolutely correct. With the support of "The Hangover," the media and fans no longer needed to hide it and could openly place him alongside top comedians such as Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, and Robin Williams.

"Mr. Cooper, I must thank you again for giving me the opportunity to star in The Hangover. It was absolutely the best decision I ever made."

Eric smiled and said, "The film's success is the result of your joint efforts; my contribution was minimal."

"No, without your approval, this project wouldn't even have started, so it's all thanks to your discerning eye."

As expected, she knows how to speak; there's nothing wrong with what she said, and it makes people feel comfortable.

As the director, Todd Phillips was all smiles and a huge beneficiary. However, unlike celebrities, directors are not in the public eye, so the media's attention certainly wouldn't be on him.

Although Todd Phillips had previously directed several successful films, the budgets for those films had always fluctuated in the tens of millions.

If The Hangover's box office soars, major studios will undoubtedly extend offers to him for A-list productions.

A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier, and a director who doesn't want to direct blockbusters isn't a good director.

"Todd, I heard you turned down Warner Bros.' 'The Hangover'?"

"Well, I had two scripts in front of me at the time. After reading them, I decisively chose The Hangover. Well, actually I struggled for a while, but The Hangover's plot was more appealing to me and more marketable."

"Don't worry, you won't make the wrong choice. 'Police Duo' will be released on March 5th. Let's wait and see."

As he spoke, he put his arm around the shoulders of the group and said, "Since the audience's reaction has been so positive, it's time for me to put 'The Hangover Part II' on my schedule."

Upon hearing this, the group's gazes tightened, and the same thought simultaneously popped into their minds: was it too early?

After all, it was just the premiere. Whether the movie was truly a success or just an illusion, we'll have to wait until the first week's box office results are in to make a judgment.

Many movies have a bang at the start and receive rave reviews, but then they fizzle out.

"Why are you all staring at me like that? Are you lacking confidence, or do you not want to make a sequel?"

Little Deadpool immediately replied, "I'm fine with it. Just contact me once the project starts."

Seeing this, the others nodded in agreement. If you, the big boss, aren't worried, then we employees are even less worried. On the contrary, you should give us a raise.

Given Ryan Reynolds' current status, even at a friendly price, his salary would not be less than $300 million. He only received $70 when he filmed his first movie.

Adam Sandler's salary is even higher; getting $700 million would be considered lucky, and the salaries of other actors will also increase significantly.

Why do movie sequels often seem to have a much lower production quality, lacking special effects and grand scenes, yet their production costs increase so much? Here's the reason.

In the following days, MGM's investigators in various cities reported that attendance was quite good, laughter was frequent, and reviews and word-of-mouth were released.

It achieved a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received excellent reviews from audiences, surpassing the vast majority of comedy films.

"Haha, I highly recommend watching 'The Hangover.' It's the funniest movie I've seen this year, full of witty remarks. But I don't recommend taking kids with you because some scenes are quite explicit."

"Do the elements of alcoholism, drug use, streaking, and public urination make you think *The Hangover* is a dark drama? But let me tell you, it's a really explosive comedy. Ryan Reynolds is so handsome, especially the scene where he's rubbing a tiger, OMG!"

"I'm into toilet humor movies; they bring me a different kind of joy. Lately, it's all been blockbusters, award-contending art films, or horror movies. I'm tired of them. 'The Hangover' brought a fresh experience to me and my friends. This is the kind of comedy movie we've been hoping to see."

"An unparalleled good movie. It's completely different from Jim Carrey's comedies, but it's just as addictive and hilarious. Everyone in the theater was laughing their heads off. These rascals brought me joy."

"If you want to laugh, watch The Hangover. If you want to be scared, watch Saw II."

The moment the Rotten Tomatoes score was released, everyone knew the movie was bound to be a huge hit. MGM had created another new film series, a cash cow.

However, unlike the positive reviews from audiences, film critics have mixed opinions.

After all, they are film critics, and some of them consider themselves noble, judging a film from the perspective of appreciating art.

Let alone a toilet-themed movie like "The Hangover," even movies like "The Lord of the Rings," "Transformers," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and "The Matrix" won't be considered good if they're too commercial.

Only arthouse films like "Blue Is the Warmest Color" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring" appeal to these kinds of film critics.

For example, the Chicago Tribune published an article stating that "The Hangover" contributed a decent trailer, but that was all.

The Independent: The Hangover is a vulgar, boring, and tasteless movie. You can hardly find any funny comedic elements in it. The whole movie is full of toilet humor. If you want to have a good laugh, you'd better not buy a ticket. It will only waste two hours of your life.

Pravda: A dull and unoriginal film, The Hangover completely wastes Adam Sandler's comedic talent, delivering only a bunch of extremely boring and vulgar vignettes.

Nothing in the world can please everyone, not even money.

Amid the controversy, MGM's stock price rose by nearly 3 points again, bringing it one step closer to 20th Century Fox's share price.

Meanwhile, some movie fans on the internet have compiled a list of all the films and TV series produced by MGM over the past year and were surprised to find that almost all of them were profitable, and not just small profits, but at least tens of millions of dollars, with very few losing money.

If "Barbershop," "Red Dragon," and "007" are the excellent legacies of the previous generation, then starting with "Sharknado," this lion has started running in full force.

Saw, Get Out, Hold Your Breath, Happy Death Day, The Purge, Transformers.

Even a niche arthouse film like "Blue Is the Warmest Color" managed to rake in over $200 million worldwide, which is truly outrageous.

With the addition of the highly anticipated "The Walking Dead," it can be said that both the movie and the TV series are a success.

If we're talking about the few movies that didn't make money, there are probably only "Whale Rider" and "Monster," but both of these movies received very good reviews.

It's just that the box office revenue wasn't profitable; the subsequent copyright revenue will definitely still be profitable.

Fans are already calculating how long it will take for MGM to surpass Disney and become the top company among the seven major studios.

The answer that received the most upvotes on this topic was two years.

The premise is that MGM can continue to develop smoothly, while Disney cannot keep producing blockbusters. For example, "Finding Nemo" boosted Disney's stock price by nearly 10%.

Some netizens even offered their own creative ideas, hoping that MGM would become powerful enough to acquire Warner Bros., so that they could get back many of the lost copyrights.

Eric strongly agrees with this suggestion from netizens; he desperately wants the rights to DC and "Tom and Jerry."

If DC and Marvel were both in one's hands, a Justice League vs. Avengers movie could easily defeat Titanic.

With audience adoration, The Hangover has undoubtedly taken the top spot at the box office this week.

With 2555 theaters generating $5700 million in box office revenue, it topped the charts.

February 27, Los Angeles, Dolby Theatre.

Today, this place is packed with people, and all the world's top stars have gathered here to attend the 76th Academy Awards ceremony.

Unlike the Golden Globes and Emmys, the Oscars don't have the usual roundtable dinners and drinks; everyone sits in formal attire and suits.

To Eric's left is the crew of "Blue Is the Warmest Color," to his right is the crew of "Transformers," and behind him are the crews of "Get Out" and "Monster."

With opening remarks from veteran actor Sean Connery, the awards ceremony moved into the tribute segment.

This year's host is Billy Crystal, who comes from a Hollywood acting family. He is a multi-talented writer, director, and screenwriter, and his hosting skills are outstanding, surpassing many professional hosts and talk show performers.

This year, because "The Lord of the Rings" is likely to make history, its importance is self-evident, so ABC specially invited him over.

They invited him, rather than having him compete for the position, because this guy's resume is too impressive.

He started hosting the Oscars in 1990, and because it was so successful, the Oscars became almost his personal showcase.

1991、1992、1993、1997、1998、2000，其中1998年正是《铁达尼号》横扫全场的年份，也是克里斯托镇场子，所以ABC请他就不奇怪了。

Eric recalled that at the 82nd Academy Awards, when the original host, Eddie Murphy, had to withdraw at the last minute, they had to bring this guy in to save the day. That's how trustworthy he is.

In the short film, Kristoff is eating popcorn in a movie theater when he finds a golden magic ring inside. After putting it on, he is instantly sucked into the big screen, his clothes are blown off, and he is half-squatting on the ground, just like in "Terminator".

He then sailed the high seas with Captain Jack Sparrow, received the King's Sword from the Elf King, raced horses with Tobey Maguire in the last century, and swam in the ocean with Nemo, contributing a famous Hollywood meme.

Christo, disguised as Gollum, talked to himself in the lake.

"I cannot preside over this session."

"No, you must go. They're all counting on you."

"I haven't hosted Oscars since the evil wizard took over."

"You mean orcs?"

"No, it's the Weinstein brothers!"

Hahahaha

At this point in the short film, the audience burst into laughter, and many of them were genuinely laughing.

Everyone knows that Peter Jackson deliberately used Harvey Weinstein as a model to create an orc commander in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, in order to mock him.

Harvey Weinstein's use of various despicable means to attack his opponents and win major awards has been despised by many.

Seeing this scene, everyone naturally felt a secret sense of satisfaction.

Even Harvey Weinstein himself, who was sitting in the audience, could only smile and applaud, having to appear magnanimous, though he must have been seething with hatred for the screenwriter and director inside.

Finally, guided by Jack Nicholson disguised as Gandalf, Kristoff walked onto the awards ceremony stage.

"Distinguished guests, let's welcome our host—Billy Crystal!"

Amid thunderous applause, Christo smiled and waved to the audience.

"We will be presenting many trophies tonight, and many of them are first-time nominees."

"A reminder to all first-time nominees: if you win, remember to tip the host."

"Charlize Theron, a first-time nominee!"

The camera panned to Charlize Theron, who was wearing a beautiful white evening gown and immediately flashed a shy smile.

But inside, he was screaming, "The Oscar! The Oscar! I must get the Oscar! Give it to me!"

"Theron, you look radiant tonight, but you could scare people to death in the movies."

"And Ashley and Mary, this is your first time being nominated, good luck to you both."

For such a provocative scene, the audience naturally applauded, eager for a good spectacle.

The two sisters, both dressed in red and blue evening gowns, waved and smiled at the camera.

They were also screaming in their hearts: "Damn it, if we don't get the Best Actress award, we might as well all die!"

"There's a really interesting movie this year called Lost in Translation, and director Sofia Coppola is the first woman to be nominated for Best Director."

"Sofia said that being nominated was good enough, and she didn't have high hopes of winning, but I don't think that's the case."

"Because early this morning, many judges said they found a horse's head next to their pillows."

Hahahaha

Sofia Coppola is the daughter of Francis Coppola, and the horse head is a famous scene from Francis's classic film "The Godfather".

What followed was a medley of operatic arias, showcasing Christo's talent to the fullest.

Tens of millions of viewers watching this scene on television had to admit that he was indeed the strongest. Even the most popular talk show hosts, such as Allen, Conan, and Jimmy, all had to admit defeat.

After a spectacular show, Crystal announced loudly, "Let's welcome our first presenter, last year's Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones!"

(End of this chapter)