America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 277, Section 276: It's over, it's all over!

New York, Sergei Hasenfield's villa.

Compared to the Newhouse family's luxurious estate, his villa naturally pales in comparison, given the significant differences in both family heritage and the time it took to rise to prominence.

Moreover, Sergei was only a king in name only; the real prime minister was his uncle, Allen Hasenfield.

His power was equivalent to that of Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie. He had to obey Cao Cao's orders in everything. He might be a little stronger than Liu Xie, since he could still make decisions on minor matters, but he was far inferior to Emperor Chongzhen.

The maid brought in coffee and a plate of oddly shaped fruit.

"Try this, it's a specialty of Brunei, a small country in the Pacific Ocean. We went there for vacation a while ago, and it was delicious."

"A vacation? Looks like you two are still handling your relationship well. I was worried you'd have to spend the whole year on vacation."

Sergei smiled and said, "When you reach my age, you'll know how to best maintain a relationship, instead of letting rumors spread like wildfire."

Eric waved his hand. "Come on, everyone talks about this to me. My tongue's practically numb. Where's Winslet? Isn't she here?"

"Yes, but definitely not here. I'm a married man, and I need to be mindful of the impact."

"So you're just going to hang here like this? I'm really curious, how long can you hang here? If you can hang here for a lifetime, you'll be my big brother."

Sergei choked for a moment: "Actually, Kate also had some complaints about this. When we chose to be together last year, of course we should thank you for your help."

"At that time, several men were pursuing her, British and American, producers, singers, actors, etc., but I won them over."

"However, I also made a promise that I would get a divorce as soon as possible, then go public with our relationship and have a lavish wedding with her openly and honestly."

"But as you know, it's very difficult. My wife will definitely sue and try to take a large sum of money."

"This woman is secondary; what's more important is my uncle, Allen. He will never agree to this. Don't laugh at me, Eric, but I haven't dared to mention it to him yet."

"Hasbro is growing rapidly right now, and Alan won't allow any behavior that could negatively impact the company. He's a control freak!" Eric explained.

Sergei nodded straightforwardly: "Yes, he's a control freak, everyone knows that."

Eric sipped his coffee gently, feeling the molecules flowing through his blood.

"Sergei, I know you're in a difficult situation, so I've come here to help you resolve this issue."

"Heh. You? How are you going to solve this?" Sergei laughed mockingly.

"You're just afraid of Eren, aren't you? Just take him down, and the problem will be solved!"

"Murder! What kind of international joke is this? Are you crazy?" Sergei exclaimed in shock.

"You're crazy. You don't need to kill him to get rid of him. Just make him abdicate. I'm going to ask you a question, and you have to answer it honestly."

"explain."

"Do you want to be the true controller of Hasbro? Do you want to shed your puppet status? Do you want to truly be a man who can make his own decisions about his feelings?"

Sergei rolled his eyes speechlessly: "Eric, what nonsense are you talking about? If I had that ability, I would have kicked that old hag away long ago and sent Allen back to Canada to retire. But the problem is, I don't."

"I have!"

"What?"

After a pause, Eric said with a serious expression, "I said I have it. If you're willing to help, we can work together to drive Allen away."

"To get rid of that old guy, the minimum requirement is to control more company shares than him, and I'm almost there."

"Now all we need is your help. If you can get the support of more than half of the board members, Allen is doomed."

After listening to Eric finish speaking, word by word, Sergei was somewhat puzzled: "Eric, you're not kidding me, are you?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Your tone doesn't sound like it, but did you know that Allen owns 17% of Hasbro? That's a significant stake. How much do you own?"

"I'm also in the 17%."

scare!

Sergei was clearly stunned by the number and it took him a while to come to his senses.

He shouted, "Where did you get these shares? Did you gain the trust of those investment firms? Are you their agent?"

"No, I'm just my own agent. Don't worry about where I got the shares from. Just know that I can now go toe-to-toe with Allen."

"Let me ask you something else. How are Transformers toys selling these days? Five months ago, sales had already doubled last year's record. What are the current figures?"

"That betting agreement!"

"That's right, I need to know if the performance-based agreement has been achieved. Once four times the sales target is reached, the highest clause must be honored."

Hasbro either pays MGM 55% of its toy net profit or 4% of its equity.

"Back then, if you had stood up and advocated for the transfer of shares, I could have controlled 21% of the shares, and the power of the conversation would have been transferred to us."

"Sergei, I've come here today to lay my cards on the table. I trust our relationship and believe you won't betray me."

"In return, I will not let you down. As long as you are willing to help me get rid of Allen, you will be the one in charge of Hasbro from now on, truly in charge."

"Just like YouTube and Facebook, I'm responsible for planning and coordinating the company's development direction and formulating policies, while you're responsible for the specific operations and management."

"If you want a divorce, then get a divorce; if you want to marry whomever you want, I will only applaud and congratulate my friends."

"Sergei, my good friend, my good brother, your fate has reached a crossroads; the time for your choice has come!"

Sergei remained stunned for a long time, sitting there expressionless, his mind in turmoil.

This is a big deal. She's become a club model, she's even gone so far as to do the splits herself and become a model.

Eric could simply walk away, but he had no other place to call home.

Seeing his conflicted expression, Eric didn't want to rush him. He stood up and patted him on the shoulder: "Think it over carefully. I'll wait for your answer, as soon as possible!"

After saying this, he prepared to leave, but just as he opened the door and stopped, Sergei suddenly stood up and grabbed him.

"Wait, wait, I need more information. Sit down and let's have a proper talk."

Do you have any ideas?

"Brother, you need to let me sort out my thoughts before you speak. This is a difficult decision."

"How about this, you stay at my place tonight. It's quite big, so let's have a deeper conversation."

"Sure, although there's an emergency press conference waiting for me to hold when I get back."

Early the next morning, Eric flew back to Los Angeles.

He closed his eyes to rest and soon fell asleep.

Last night, after a long talk by candlelight, Sergei's years of pent-up anger finally erupted, and he decided to have sex with Eric to vent his pent-up resentment.

Of course, the main point was to review our own advantages, and after summarizing, we found that they were still significant, and the possibility of success was indeed not low.

First, they were in the shadows while Allen was in the open; Eric had been plotting for a long time.

Secondly, Eric has shares in his portfolio, which stabilizes his core position and gives everyone confidence.

Then, after his child died, Alan became increasingly eccentric, offending almost everyone in the company over the years.

He hasn't stepped down simply because he owns a large number of shares and Hasbro's performance is decent. As long as you can lead everyone to make money, he'll tolerate even the biggest grudges.

But resentment only grows stronger the more it's suppressed; people are just holding it in and afraid to let it out.

Once a turning point appears, Sergei is confident he can persuade many people to stand on Eric's side.

Now he's checking the accounts and verifying the completion of the betting agreement. Once the targets are met, it's time to launch a surprise attack on Allen Hasenfield.

My dad also came home from Mexico last night, and he brought some good news.

Jim Giannopoulos accepted the offer and would use his influence within Fox to cause trouble for Robert.

Even if we can't force him to leave the league, we can at least make him feel constrained.

The price is that Eric has to provide the other party with a sum of money. Anyway, the worse Fox gets beaten, the more confident Jim will be in getting a new contract next year.

The company suffers the loss, but the individual benefits.

I'm just a high-level employee, of course I should think more about myself and put the company aside for now!

At the MGM Grand office building, a press conference is being prepared.

Two days ago, MGM announced that it would provide a thorough clarification of the incident and invited all media outlets across the country to witness it.

But clearly, only online media were willing to listen to him; major television stations and newspapers did not respond.

However, things changed after visiting Judy's parents yesterday; the Newhouse family still wields considerable influence.

Moreover, the media is not a monolithic entity; there are power struggles within it, and they can easily mobilize the resources of their own factions.

As a result, many media outlets that were initially indifferent to the press conference suddenly showed up at the scene.

CBS and NBC arrived at the major public broadcasters' center, and reporters from influential newspapers and magazines across the country or several states, such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, and People, also arrived one after another.

Although not all of them were present, their presence was enough to create a media storm across the United States.

Eric rushed to the company after getting off the plane, where Carroll reported the situation to him.

The press conference was broadcast live on Lionheart.com, and even before it officially started, millions of people had already flooded into the live stream.

Swish swish.

As Eric led the way into the arena, white light immediately began flashing incessantly.

Once everyone was seated, Eric turned on the microphone: "I know what you want to know, and I know what the national audience wants to know."

"Fortunately, after our unremitting efforts, we finally found Barrefali, who was willing to attend the press conference and tell everyone the truth."

In front of the television, Howard Stringer's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly picked up the phone and dialed Barry Farley, but unsurprisingly, the phone was switched off.

He swallowed hard, his mind filled with questions.

Wait a minute, Barrefali should be in Japan, and she sends me messages every day to let me know she's safe. What's going on?

"Did Eric Cooper hire a fake one?"

An outrageous idea popped into his head, and then he saw the real person on TV.

In an instant, as if struck by lightning, Howard Stringer was completely stunned.

He wasn't the only one bewildered; the reporters at the scene and the tens of millions of viewers in front of their screens were also bewildered, yet incredibly excited.

There's definitely some juicy gossip to be had today!

Barrefali removed her hat, sunglasses, and mask to show that she was indeed herself.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "It's a hoax, a hoax. It's all part of a huge conspiracy against Eric. What you've seen is all fake."

boom!

As expected, his opening remarks were explosive, and the reporters' eyes lit up.

Barrefali then recounted the events with slight alterations, naturally portraying herself as a naive and easily deceived young girl.

Although I made a mistake, I am willing to turn back to the side of justice and tell the truth. I hope everyone will be less critical of me because I have turned over a new leaf.

"That's how it is. It's all Harvey Weinstein's fault. He caused all of this."

"When I realized what was happening, it was too late. I must apologize to everyone. I'm sorry!"

Miramax, along with the Weinstein brothers, were also watching the situation closely. When they saw Barrefali direct the fire onto himself, they both knew something was wrong.

Bob Weinstein glared at his brother, annoyed. "This is your plan? That bitch is completely untrustworthy!"

"It's not my fault. How did that kid find the person? Howard said it was safe. I'm going to call him."

"What's the use of saying all this now! The whole country is watching, we must come up with a solution quickly."

Harvey Weinstein, strong and composed, replied, "What's there to be afraid of! Even if Barrefaeli throws dirt at me, am I supposed to admit it?"

"Who can tell the truth from the falsehood? Many people would think that bitch was coerced by Eric Cooper. This matter is unclear; at most, it's just a messy account."

Bob Weinstein sighed: "It had better be that way. You'd better keep your mouth shut."

Before the two could finish speaking, a video started playing on the TV screen. The scene in the video was all too familiar to them, especially that bright red sofa—it was none other than Harvey Weinstein's office.

"Lefari, if you're willing to cooperate, you're the perfect female lead in Cinderella Man."

"Russell Crowe is the lead actor, Ron Howard is the director, they are both top-notch in the industry, and this will be an Oscar contender."

"If you star in this movie, I guarantee you'll get at least one Oscar nomination for Best Actress next year."

"You can completely trust my methods. The reason Gwyneth Paltrow won the Best Actress award is because I, Miramax, stood behind her."

"But if I frame Eric Cooper, won't I face retaliation?"

"Retaliation? Hahaha. What are you worried about? If handled properly, MGM will be severely weakened. Eric Cooper won't have time to retaliate against you; he's already in dire straits himself."

After a long conversation, the scene shifted to something inappropriate for children, and the video was then cut off.

Harvey Weinstein's face twitched, first his hands trembled uncontrollably, then his entire arm shook, and finally his whole body of fat jiggled incessantly.

It's over, it's over!

(End of this chapter)