America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 299, Section 297: The Show Most Copied by "iPartment"

"He has a problem? He has a problem with you, the director in charge?"

"He didn't really have an opinion, but his words revealed a reluctance. He kept mentioning that it wasn't about money, and he seemed unwilling to give his opinion."

"Old Zhou, does Chen Jinfei dare to disrespect you?"

Zhou Xiaopeng gave a wry smile: "Eric, it's not a matter of giving him face or not. He's not a nobody here; he has superiors. I can't be too forceful."

"But don't be disappointed. As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. Besides, Liu Yifei has already gone back to the United States, and Chen Jinfei can't control her anymore."

"But the contract is still signed with someone else's company, which is unclear, and I don't like to leave potential problems."

"How about this, give me a little more time, I'll find a few people to talk things over, I believe he won't make things too difficult over a woman."

"Regarding your investment in expansion..."

"Don't worry, the factory will still be built. In the meantime, take Chen Xing to run some connections. He used to be my secretary, and he will be staying in China for quite a long time this time."

What kind of local people do businessmen need to cultivate good relationships with most?

High-level?

Wrong!

However, these bureau chiefs usually rotate through various local government agencies, and they are the people that businessmen have the most frequent contact with.

You will find this out after you conduct a thorough investigation and research.

This applies to county towns, to higher-level cities, to foreign countries, and to the whole world.

"Okay, I understand. I'll cover for you in public. Also, I'll let you in on a little something that might be useful."

"What is it?"

"Chen Jinfei is not only a major shareholder of Tongchan Group, but he also has another identity as a shareholder of First Carey Investment Bank in the United States."

"Wall Street?"

"Eric, Wall Street is no longer in China; that's your territory now."

That's all I have to say. I'm hanging up the phone.

Eric called Carole in and asked her to investigate the matter.

If they really have business on Wall Street, that would make things much easier. I've never even heard of Kerry Investment Bank; they're probably just a small-time crook with not much capital.

As we approach the end of August, the sweltering summer is finally showing signs of coming to a close.

The second season of The Walking Dead has also premiered on Lionheart. With the high popularity of the first season as a foundation, the second season, despite the trouble caused by Bal Lefari, is still the most anticipated show in the survey.

In the Olsen family's large villa, Eric sat on the sofa watching TV—or more accurately, a private cinema. With a $5000 million renovation budget, he had everything he could want.

He had his arm around Neeko on his left and Theron on his right, while the others played in the swimming pool in the yard.

For the third season, he only provided an outline, leaving the specific details to Darabont to fill in and refine.

As a result, he ended up filming 12 episodes, which was undoubtedly much more compact than the original 16 episodes.

Seeing Hershel undergo a forced amputation due to a zombie bite, the gushing blood and the faintly visible white bone made Nico involuntarily reveal a mask of pain.

"Why does this season feel like it's gotten even bloodier?"

Theron, however, seemed to be enjoying it: "Really? I think it's pretty good. You remember at the beginning of the first season, they smeared zombie entrails on themselves, that was disgusting."

"Okay, now that you mention it, I do feel much better."

"Oh! It's that bitch Balrefali, she's still in the show?"

"The parts filmed earlier are still there. Although she was a traitor, I heard from Judy that she has already left the United States. Let's keep them; at least it will save us some money on reshoots."

Nico peeled a grape and fed it to Eric, but he wasn't satisfied after finishing it.

"Oh dear, finish eating the fruit first, it's so slippery and itchy!"

"A mysterious figure appeared at the end of the first season. I'm really looking forward to seeing who he is. Where is he?"

Boo!

"I don't know, let's see. I haven't even watched the final cut in its entirety; it was reviewed by my subordinates. But Darabont is very capable; I trust him completely."

boom!

Ah!

Suddenly, a loud crash occurred, and shattered limbs filled the screen. It turned out that a roaming zombie on the prison roof had jumped down to attack the protagonist group, but ended up smashing itself to pieces. This scene startled all three of them.

The camera then pans up, revealing dozens of wandering zombies on the prison roof.

Rick and Daryl hurriedly told everyone to run, while the zombies ran along the edge of the roof and followed, swarming down like dumplings being dropped into a pot, only to smash to pieces.

A little over a minute later, a long trail of blood was visible on the ground, and limbs were scattered everywhere. Zombies that hadn't broken apart continued to crawl toward the main characters with two severed arms or one arm.

The thrilling scenes not only left the main characters wide-eyed and breathless, but also thrilled the viewers watching on screen.

This is exactly what they wanted to see: the zombies were still as fierce and aggressive as ever, except for that woman, Balafali, who was a bit of an eyesore.

With the appearance of Michonne, the enslaved zombies became incredibly exciting, and this woman was clearly very fierce at first glance.

However, compared to the original Michonne, a Black actress whose appearance was rather unappealing, this version of Eric changed his race to Mexican and found a more attractive actor.

It's the kind of thing that doesn't look particularly pretty at first glance, but you start to think it's not bad after a few more looks.

Maybe Rick and Michonne will actually end up together someday. They're too ugly for the actors to handle, and the audience would feel disgusted watching them.

Just like Tom Holland's Romeo and the Predator, it's absolutely amazing!

Before they knew it, the three of them had already finished watching the second episode. Darabont was indeed very good at handling plot conflicts.

In the second episode, they couldn't wait to get rid of the scheming, manipulative Lori after she gave birth; this character is indeed a bit annoying.

Looking at the baby still covered in blood, Nicole's expression was complicated: "If something like this really happens, then she's a miracle baby."

Eric hugged and kissed the two of them: "We'll have it, we'll have it. If all else fails, we can always do IVF."

"But I also want to experience what it's like to be pregnant. If I don't, I feel like I'm missing an important experience in my life."

"Wait, Lori just died like that? Really? Is there going to be a twist later?" Theron was incredulous. As Rick's wife, she should be treated like the female lead.

Eric chuckled: "Without a reversal, I'd rather she'd died too late. Didn't you see the poll?"

"What kind of vote?"

"I know, I know, it's that poll about who we most want to see die, right? Now that you mention it, Lori does seem to have gotten first place, but it looks like Maggie's time will be soon too."

This seems to confirm Neeko's guess: in the third episode, Michonne was chased by the Governor and escaped to prison.

Then Glenn and Maggie were captured by the governor and subjected to inhuman torture.

If you only look at this part of the story, you might feel sorry for the two of them, but once you see Balafali's face, you feel like they didn't get beaten up enough.

The comments section on Lionheart.com suddenly started flooded with messages.

"Fuck! Beat her up! Beat that bitch harder!"

"Good job, Governor! Torture her to death! That bitch almost made me never see my favorite show again."

"Suddenly, the governor seemed to have become a good person, and Moore also looked kind and gentle."

"I like the character Maggie, but Balrefali ruined her. She should be taken offline."

"I was looking forward to it when I saw the trailer, and now that this part is finally here, I feel so sorry for Glenn."

"I feel sorry for Glenn for three seconds. Not only does he have to get beaten up, but he also has to break up his on-screen couple. I hope the director finds him a new girlfriend."

"Daniel Oh is quite handsome. I've suddenly become a big fan of his looks. I hope he gets better opportunities."

Seeing the governor pointing a gun at Maggie's head and threatening Glenn to reveal the main characters' base, Eric couldn't help but sigh.

"If only the governor had shot Maggie dead during filming."

"Who are you going to kill?"

The door was pulled open, and several people of all ages walked in wearing only bikinis, their wet hair leaving a water stain on the floor.

"The Walking Dead? You guys are still watching it?" Mary asked, somewhat surprised.

"Because it's good, even more exciting than the first season."

"Great, but not my cup of tea. I still prefer 'The Office' and 'Friends'."

"Eric, why doesn't Lionheart make sitcoms? All their self-produced ones are explicit, full of dark politics and monsters, leaving kids with no choice."

"Elizabeth, do you like this type of content?"

Olsen walked over barefoot, and Neeko and Theron made way for her.

Eric picked her up, and the two shared a passionate kiss. The little girl had successfully won everyone's affection and love, and no one would be jealous of her.

"It's alright, but sitcoms are definitely more suitable for family viewing."

Eric shrugged helplessly: "I understand what you're saying, but making a good sitcom is really too difficult."

"I went through MGM's script library and there wasn't a single usable script. You can produce several good soap operas every year, but you might only produce a few good sitcoms in 10 years."

"Since the end of last year, when news broke that Friends was going to end, the writing team was snapped up by major companies, including MGM."

"However, they seem to be tired and need a long break; at least for now, there's no news of them signing with any companies."

"In short, it's not that I don't want to do it, it's just that there's no point in making garbage; the only effect would be to ruin our reputation."

What type of movie is the most difficult to make?

The answer is comedy.

What type of movie is the most difficult to act in?

The answer is also comedy.

This is a widely acknowledged fact in the industry, which is why top comedians can command such high salaries—making people laugh is truly a very rare skill.

For actors to make people laugh, there is another major prerequisite: they need a sufficiently funny script.

Even in Hollywood, where there's a systematic teaching method, you can learn the formulas for writing scripts in genres like romance, suspense, and horror, but you won't find comedies.

Because there really are no clichés. Clichés would make people feel tired, and if people feel tired, they won't be able to laugh. If they can't laugh, how can it be a comedy?

Great comedy writers rely on talent, not on learning.

They need to possess keen insight into life, exaggerated imagination, and unconventional thinking.

Such talent is extremely rare, even in Hollywood; it's something you can only dream of.

However, if we look at China, which started later, the number of TV series such as "I Love My Family," "A Family in Northeast China," "My Own Swordsman," and "The Story of the Cooking Squad" can be counted on two hands.

What?

You mean "Home with Kids"?

It was indeed a childhood memory for many primary and secondary school students, but for viewers who had seen "Growing Pains" in advance, this show was a shoddy product that was plagiarized.

Not only is the acting more affected than the original, but there are also instances of plagiarism throughout the entire series, such as an episode called "Magic Stone".

The reason it wasn't exposed was mainly because by the time it aired, the generation that watched American sitcoms back then were already in college and weren't very interested in "Home with Kids." Otherwise, you could try it.

What?

You mean "The Apartment That Gets Copied"?

Fuck!

Our friendship is over!

Eric also wanted to make sitcoms, but he really couldn't remember the plot details, and many jokes would lose their flavor if just one word was changed.

So all we can do is wait, wait for a good notebook to appear.

Not particularly interested in The Walking Dead, Gadot dragged Theron along to play mahjong with the Olsen twins.

Olsen then lay on Nicole's lap and asked, "Nicole, can you teach me acting?"

Somewhat surprised that Elizabeth would ask for her help, a feeling of sisterly affection welled up within her, and Nicole nodded happily: "Of course, Elizabeth, I'll teach you whatever you want to learn."

"An underage mother, Eric's new play, you teach me what it's like to be a mother."

Upon hearing this, Nicole looked somewhat embarrassed, because her child was adopted and she didn't know how to act with a big belly.

"Honey, I can only tell you about my experience raising a baby, but you should probably ask your mother about what it's like to be pregnant, or go to a relevant organization to experience it firsthand."

Eric chuckled: "No need for all that trouble, I'll just let you experience it for real."

Monday arrived, and Eric was reviewing the first batch of Dragon Ball interview candidates when Judy knocked on the door and walked in.

Seeing Carol turn and leave, she pointed to the other woman's large buttocks and whispered, "Eric, was she trying to seduce you?"

"No, she's seducing you."

"Hehe. I'm not interested in old women. I only like fresh, young bodies, like Gadot."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Was the agreement signed?"

"It's signed. If everything goes smoothly, you'll be able to acquire Lucasfilm next year. Also, I've found a great script, the kind of show we're currently lacking the most."

Judy pushed the notebook in front of Eric, on which was written the title "How I Met Your Mother".

Translated into Chinese as "How I Met Your Mother".

(End of this chapter)