America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 233, Section 232: MGM's 2004 Sniper Plan

It has been a year since Frozen was handed over to DreamWorks, and MGM has invested $1.1 million in the project.

Its fame needs no introduction; it was the highest-grossing film of 2013, raking in a staggering $12.8 billion worldwide.

Because it was released in late November, Frozen was still showing in theaters when December ended, and its box office at that time did not exceed Iron Man 3's $12.1 billion.

Many people thought that the title of "Iron Man 3" would go to Iron Man 3.

Who knew that Frozen would continue its strong performance and rake in huge box office profits in 2014, achieving a year-end comeback and ultimately defeating Tony Stark?

Eric's task for Spielberg was to release the film in time for the summer blockbuster season. DreamWorks has been working overtime for the past year, but the average production cycle for animated films is always longer than that for live-action films, so whether this goal can be achieved remains to be seen.

If it really can't make it to the summer season, then it will have to be moved to the Christmas season.

However, he has several other big films scheduled for the Christmas season, such as The Hunger Games, Inception, and Transformers 2.

Overcrowding is definitely not an option; competing on both sides will only result in mutual losses. If we can't adjust the schedule, we can only schedule it for 2005.

The production plans for Captain America and Iron Man have also been announced.

Among them, "Captain America" ​​was directed by the Russo brothers, who also directed "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Captain America: Civil War," which later became Marvel's highest-rated films. "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" were also directed by the brothers.

Last year, Eric let them direct "Happy Death Day," so this time he might as well hand over the entire Captain America series to them.

As for the script, Eric wrote the outline, and then the Russo brothers and Stan Lee refined and revised it.

The original Captain America 1 wasn't exactly a disaster, but it was at least mediocre—a very bland and unremarkable film.

If you only follow Douban, you might be surprised by a rating of over 7 points and think it's pretty good, but this score is the result of a combination of various factors.

Firstly, it was 2011, when the Chinese film market was just beginning its boom, and a new generation of moviegoers had just become the main force.

These young people haven't experienced the baptism of excellent superhero movies. When they suddenly see a "Captain America" ​​movie, they are naturally attracted by the elements such as serum, cube, and super soldiers, and think that this is what superhero movies should be like.

Then there's the fact that moviegoers' overall appreciation level is indeed quite low, so any kind of bad movie can get popular and make a fortune, with the "Tiny Times" series being a prime example.

Feng Xiaogang's statement that there are many bad films in China because there are many bad viewers has some truth to it.

Ultimately, it's because they haven't seen anything good before; their horizons are too narrow. They get excited whenever they see something new or interesting.

This situation lasted for about ten years before it improved. The overall level of moviegoers improved, and bad movies were no longer so easy to make money, which is why masterpieces such as "Dying to Survive" and "The Wandering Earth" were able to emerge.

However, looking at European and American audiences in 2011, their economic advantages meant that watching movies was a daily pastime.

Superhero movies like "X-Men," "Spider-Man," and "Fantastic Four" are frequent visitors to cinemas; everyone has seen them countless times.

Nolan's Batman, in particular, brought superhero movies to a new level, with The Dark Knight making it into the top 250.

They've already tasted all sorts of delicacies, so it would be a miracle if they thought Marvel was serving up this borscht was delicious.

There are many aspects that have been criticized, such as the plot being dragged out and many of the dialogue scenes in the early stages being completely unnecessary and could be cut.

Marvel isn't going down the deep and serious path of DC, so why all this drama? Fun and lighthearted action is what you should be doing.

Never try to imitate Batman, or you'll die!

Furthermore, the war scenes were too childish, likely due to insufficient funding. Most of the war scenes were skipped, and there weren't many grand scenes. How could they dare to call it World War II?

Compared to the war scenes in "Wonder Woman," it's far inferior, and it can't compare to professional World War II films.

The action scenes were equally terrible. I don't expect you to fight beautifully, but at least the fight between Captain America and Red Skull shouldn't look like street thugs brawling each other.

Agent Smith, you were in The Matrix, after all. Think about the fight scenes in The Matrix and compare them to the fight scenes in Captain America. Even without a martial arts choreographer, it shouldn't be this bad.

Speaking of major villains, Red Skull, as Captain America's most classic opponent, was portrayed as too weak in the movies and was also disliked by the audience.

Due to a combination of factors, the global box office of "Captain America: The First Avenger" did not exceed $400 million. Compared to the production and marketing costs of nearly $200 million, Marvel undoubtedly lost money.

This is one of the few movies that made Marvel lose money. Another movie that lost money was "Thor," which was released in the same year. It had a terrible plot and was even worse than "Captain America: The First Avenger."

However, it may be because it was more popular than Captain America, and the Protoss were indeed more appealing to the audience than the Terrans, so the final box office reached $4.4 million.

If this mediocre work doesn't change its plot, it will definitely flop if it goes up against "Batman" next year.

So Eric made a lot of changes, addressing the criticisms from the audience at the time by reducing the amount of dialogue scenes, expanding the war scenes, and making the war scenes more realistic, shooting them like Wonder Woman.

The ending for the main villain, Red Skull, has also been changed. He's now killed off and goes offline—screw that teleportation!

Marvel might have been laying the groundwork for something, keeping Red Skull alive just in case it came in handy someday.

But then they forgot about it. Seven or eight years later, when they were filming Avengers: Infinity War, they suddenly remembered that there was such a character. So why not quickly bring him out for a spin, at least to attract some nostalgia and earn a few extra cents at the box office?

This approach is purely wasteful; it lacks any logic or foreshadowing, and there's no need to force this plot point—it's incredibly awkward.

Eric should cut out all these boring plot points and just tell a thrilling, action-packed hero origin story; that will guarantee a box office success.

Chris Evans plays the lead role of Steve Rogers, while the villain, Red Skull, is once again played by Elf King Smith, Hugo Weaving.

Eliza Dushku successfully auditioned for the role of Agent Carter, but the character had too little fame and commercial potential, and Marvel only produced one season of the TV series before abandoning it, so it didn't matter who got the role.

Eliza Dushku is beautiful and has extensive acting experience, having participated in popular films and television series such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Newbie," and "Wrong Turn." She is more than capable of playing this role.

As for whether she went through any unspoken rules in getting the role, Eric couldn't be bothered to care.

Another important supporting role, Bucky Barnes, was taken over by Luke Evans. The original actor for the Winter Soldier hasn't even debuted yet, so there's nowhere to find him.

Eric didn't pay attention to the other minor characters; whoever they were, it didn't matter, they were all cannon fodder with very little screen time.

The cast list was released and received a lot of positive feedback, with the most controversial point being Chris Evans's physique.

He lost weight and muscle to play Sam, but now that he's playing Captain America, some people think he's too weak and doesn't look like a super soldier.

In response, Chris Evans and his fans posted photos of him as a burly schoolboy from his previous roles, expressing his confidence in playing Captain America, which effectively shut them up.

The script for "Iron Man" doesn't need any changes; it already presents Tony Stark's growth arc and is excellent.

But you would hardly imagine that this script was actually written on the spot by the director and screenwriter.

Iron Man was Marvel's last gamble, and in theory, it should have been fully prepared before filming began. However, for some reason, the $1.4 million investment was ruined in the early stages.

Every day when everyone arrives on set, the first thing they do is wait for the director and screenwriter to communicate, flip through comic books for inspiration, and then write two pages of script.

Once the provisional script is completed, the director will give the order, and then everyone can start filming.

This blockbuster, which ushered in the era of superheroes, would have been a complete flop if it weren't for director Jon Favreau's excellent ability to control the overall situation and Robert Downey Jr.'s strong ability to improvise.

If the subsequent "Captain America 1" and "Thor 1" fail, Marvel will be doomed, and the DCEU will never come into existence.

Therefore, it's no wonder that Robert Downey Jr. receives hundreds of millions of dollars in salary from Marvel.

However, Iron Man 2, still directed by Jon Favreau, was a flop, receiving poor reviews from both fans and casual viewers, and the direction of Iron Man 3 was handed over to someone else.

Unfortunately, Iron Man 3 was also mediocre, with worse fan reviews than the second film, though it received better reviews from casual viewers.

The Iron Man series was a hit from the start, relying entirely on the first movie and a few Avengers movies to carry it. Fortunately, the Avengers movies, except for the second one, were all well-made, otherwise this superhero franchise would have collapsed.

Tony Stark is played by Robert Downey Jr. Since his comeback with "Shoulder Dance," he has been constantly apologizing and repenting. Although many people still have doubts, Downey's public image has improved considerably.

Chili Pepper chose Jennifer Lopez, a beautiful woman who combines popularity and acting skills.

Nick Fury continues to employ Samuel L. Jackson, while the main villain Iron Monger is still played by veteran actor Jeff Bridges.

Aside from some criticism of Robert Downey Jr., the overall casting was well-received by fans.

In "The Hunger Games," Gal Gadot took the lead, giving Liu Yifei the role of the fox from District 5, which was originally played in the original film.

This character is very intelligent, and Eric is also very skilled in combat. Chinese stars who want to establish themselves in Hollywood must be able to fight, so Liu Yifei's year of martial arts training should come in handy.

The male lead was chosen as Andrew Garfield, who was Eric's ideal choice for Sam. Unfortunately, he did not participate in the Transformers auditions at the time, but he finally made his debut this year.

The British trio also each have a blockbuster film in mind. Tom Hardy's "Inception" needs no introduction, and the film attracted a lot of attention the moment the cast was announced.

Christian Bale, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Heath Ledger, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman

Apart from Tom Hardy and Heath Ledger being a bit inexperienced, the rest were either Oscar winners or nominees, and at the very least, they were Best Supporting Actor.

Coupled with Eric, a director who is capable of both commercial and artistic works and is also a best screenwriter, the Oscar-caliber lineup is so impressive and dazzling that it has already been labeled a must-see by many.

James McAvoy has also landed the male lead role this time, and MGM plans to film "Wanted".

Or, to put it another way, the more famous one, the movie where bullets can curve, which featured the iconic scene of Star-Lord's teeth flying out: "Wanted."

In the original timeline, he truly rose to prominence through this drama. This time, we're giving it back to him, hoping he can soar to great heights.

Besides "Wanted", he was also cast as the male lead in another low-budget thriller, "Split".

A car chase movie that stole the idea from "Fast & Furious" is about to start filming, choosing "Fast & Furious 5," the masterpiece that truly elevated the series to a top-tier IP.

You have Vin Diesel, so I'll invite Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to fight me.

If you have Paul Walker, I'll choose Michael Fassbender, who also has a beard.

Anyway, whatever features are in Fast & Furious, I have in Crazy, with fast cars, beautiful women, and lightning speed.

The story of a group of car thieves racing through Rio de Janeiro is definitely much better than last year's "Fast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift".

A year later, it's time to start a new 007 series. The last film, "No Time to Die," was sold to Universal due to MGM's poor management, which made them a lot of money.

This time, Eric naturally wouldn't back down. Since Bruce Pierce had stepped down as 007, a global audition had already begun, and British actor Daniel Craig was ultimately chosen.

Having grown accustomed to his 007 roles, it's clear that no one is more suitable than Craig.

So the film was naturally confirmed, and filming for "Casino Royale" has already begun.

MGM also acquired the film adaptation rights from the Queen copyright management association and is about to launch the music biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody".

This film is an absolute model of the high degree of integration between commercial appeal and art. It grossed more than $9 million worldwide and received multiple Oscar nominations, winning the Best Actor award.

Eric personally extended an invitation to Joaquin Phoenix, who readily agreed after reading the script, but required at least three months of preparation time to thoroughly study Queen's singing style.

Eric readily agreed to take on the role of such a dedicated actor.

If Eric hadn't traveled through time, Joaquin Phoenix should have been filming "Walk the Line" next year, another musical biopic, which also won numerous awards, so he was the perfect choice for the lead role in "Bohemian Rhapsody".

In addition, casting for "Twilight" has begun. Robert Pattinson, the male lead, has not been found, but Henry Cavill, the actor who plays Superman, has been found.

He has only been in the industry for a year, and his physique is not as strong and masculine as when he was a superhero. With makeup, he can play a vampire, and his age of 20 also fits the character.

It's even less likely that Kristen Stewart will be cast as the female lead; she's only 14 and hasn't even fully matured yet.

Blake Lively was lucky to land the role; at 17, her proud face and demeanor made her a perfect fit for the part.

These are just some of the projects planned by MGM for 2004, which also included many smaller-budget films in addition to the big productions.

Million Dollar Baby, Mean Girl, A Quiet Place, The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity, Napoleon, Juno, Wedding Crashers, Brokeback Mountain, Barber Shop 2, Saw III, Happy Death Day 2, Don't Breathe 2

In addition to "Sharknado" and "The Purge", AK Films is preparing to start filming the "Machete" series.

The newly established BK Films, temporarily led by Bermahadi, will focus on low-budget horror films in the future.

This year, I plan to film "Hostel", "The Human Centipede", "The Invisible Man", and "Pearl".

This only includes movies, not TV series and variety shows.

Compared to last year, the production density has increased significantly this year.

The reason for taking so many photos is twofold: firstly, to drive traffic to Lionheart.com, and secondly, to target other companies.

With the launch of Lionheart Online drawing ever closer, MGM is also nearing the moment when it will become the target of public criticism.

The most common tactic used by film companies to compete is to "target" your release date and use blockbusters to suppress your box office.

As long as several companies team up, this month you take the lead, next month I take the lead, and the month after that he takes the lead.

They might lose money, but the companies targeted will definitely suffer greatly.

There's only one exception: if all my movies are top-notch, even if you try to suppress them with blockbusters, at worst we'll both suffer losses, and neither of us will benefit.

Only when these guys are beaten hard and scared, when they lose money until they're heartbroken and their stock prices plummet, will they finally admit defeat and acknowledge the status of streaming media.

That was Eric's plan, so he approached Peter Jackson and placed a contract for 30 films, 30 being a conservative estimate.

It's important to understand that special effects aren't only used in blockbusters; low-budget films also use them, the only difference being the amount of special effects.

(End of this chapter)