America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 305, Section 303: Sisters, Nephews, and Younger Sisters

"The 56th Emmy Awards have come to a close, with 'House of Cards' and 'Angels in America' emerging as the biggest winners."

"The Emmy Awards show people what's going on right now; the battle between HBO and Lionheart continues."

"Drama and miniseries have become the battleground for dramas with explicit content, leaving only comedies for public channels to compete for. This situation is not healthy."

Eric Cooper makes history again, winning Best Writing, Best Directing, and Best Drama Series for "House of Cards," while "The Sopranos" suffers a crushing defeat!

"The most daring people at this year's Emmys have emerged: Jim Carrey complains that the Academy won't give him an Oscar, and Eric Cooper threatens the Academy to give him an award."

"Sunk costs plus potential threats: Eric Cooper's acceptance speech brought laughter to the entire audience."

"Sandra Bullock laughed so hard she 'sprayed water,' and the hilarious moment was captured on camera."

"The Emmy Awards viewership reached a record high of 3660 million, and Eric Cooper was the biggest contributor to this record. Although he did not attend, he was the most eye-catching star of the awards ceremony."

After the Emmy Awards livestream ended, many people noticed that Eric Cooper was actually quite humorous and adorable.

It's rare to see a celebrity who dares to directly criticize the academy and doesn't thank them at all, especially given that they've received so many awards.

Damn it, money really does buy you anything!

In a coffee shop in Los Angeles, Eric is chatting with David Fincher.

Eric had this idea ever since the latter expressed his love for "House of Cards" at the awards ceremony.

I certainly don't have the energy to manage so many projects myself, so I might as well invite David Fincher to direct the second season of "House of Cards".

His dark style is very suitable for making thrillers, and since he was the director of the first season, it's like returning the property to its rightful owner.

"A clever story, and even more interesting political games—I like this script."

"David, you can look at it more carefully, and you can make changes if needed, because I think you are very suitable to direct."

David Finch chuckled: "I don't know why, but I also feel like I can handle this job skillfully, as if I've already done it once in a dream."

"But I have a question. The character Balrefali died. Was that a last-minute change or part of the original design?"

"Hehe. Do you even need to ask this question? I can't just let her continue living. When filming, just find an actress with a similar build, but don't show her face."

"Yes, the audience will definitely understand. What surprises me is that you were able to reconcile the story so smoothly. They really should give you the Best Screenplay award."

"So you're planning to take this job?"

"Why not? My last movie was in 2002. I've had enough rest, it's time to get back to work."

"Moreover, I am very interested in such an excellent script, and there are also good actors. I have long wanted to work with Kevin Spacey again."

"Kevin Spacey is really great. The last time you two worked together was on 'Seven,' right?"

"Yes, that was in 1995. Almost ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, apart from 'Fight Club,' I haven't made any other satisfactory works."

Eric chuckled. "David, if you say that, a lot of directors will be jealous. I remember 'War Room' grossed $2 million worldwide, right? Aren't you satisfied with that?"

David Fincher hesitated for a moment: "Although the box office was very good, sometimes that's not what you want to express. Relatively speaking, I still prefer 'Seven'."

"Of course, who wouldn't like it? I still remember when I saw that the box contained the female lead's head."

"OMG! That was a really shocking concept. I'm so glad you didn't give it a close-up, or I would have been traumatized. I was probably only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time."

David Fincher clapped his hands with delight: "Hahaha. Many people have complained to me about this. Actually, I really wanted to give it a close-up. I even made the props, but the shot was cut."

"When New Line Cinema gave me the script, I read it and thought it was very good, but there were still some flaws, so I said I could consider it."

"Then New Line informed me that the script was wrong; I received the first, discarded version, and the one we were going to film now was the revised second version."

"After I read the second version, I thought it was just a damn good-for-nothing defense. All the interesting plots were gone, and it turned into children's play."

"So I threatened them that if they wanted me to direct, they had to make the first version, otherwise there was no point in talking."

"Guess what happened in the end? New Line compromised and let me revise the script myself. Except for the scenes with excessive content, I could film it however I wanted."

David Fincher recounted the story with great enthusiasm, as if to say, "Look how awesome I am! Even capital has to yield to me."

But Eric looked at him like he was an idiot: "David, your story is interesting, but as the chairman of MGM, how about I give you a rundown from an investor's perspective?"

"What are we reviewing?"

"I think the original story should have been like this: New Line Cinema really wanted to make a film about 'Seven,' but you're such a busy person with so many scripts on your plate, how could we possibly get your attention?"

"So we decided to use the reverse psychology tactic of having two scripts. You are an excellent director, and no excellent director can bear to see a good script turned into a piece of waste paper."

"So you fell for it, you agreed!"

"Huh?" David Fincher was stunned.

boom!

After a while, he slammed his fist on the table: "Mazefuck! Those old bastards, back then I had a bunch of good projects like 'Heat' and 'The Usual Suspects' in my hands."

"This boast has been going on for almost ten years, and it turns out I was the one who got played?"

Eric patted him on the shoulder: "But it's not a bad result. Seven is a classic, isn't it? A win-win!"

In September, MGM released two movies, both of which were sequels.

One film, "Don't Breathe 2," and another film, "Happy Death Day 2."

"Don't Breathe 2" once again features veteran action star Dolph Lundgren as a blind veteran.

The story takes place a few years after the first film, continuing the storyline of the first film, but the plot is completely different from the original.

The original "Don't Breathe 2" was mediocre, turning the exciting, confined space battle into a brutal, hand-to-hand combat.

The action scenes were indeed very exciting, but they lacked the tension and excitement of a cat-and-mouse chase.

The plot was also flimsy and full of loopholes, which led to its box office and critical failure after its release.

To be precise, it was a critical and commercial flop, but it still made a small profit, considering the costs involved. However, the sequel was completely canceled.

This is a common problem for low-budget films. They can surprise the audience with their first film, but the reason a surprise is called a surprise is because the audience didn't expect it to be so good.

With expectations already high for the second installment and all the mysteries revealed, it's difficult to uncover anything new.

So how can we get the audience excited again?

The answer is to introduce new characters, create new surprises, and at the same time, follow the plot of the first film logically.

So Eric designed the children as the new source of excitement for "Don't Breathe 2".

The veteran wanted a child, and he finally realized his dream with a daughter.

Of course, it wasn't his biological child, nor was it stolen; it was the orphan of a former comrade-in-arms whom he adopted.

However, according to the law, he, an old blind man in very poor economic condition, was not eligible to adopt, so the veteran never dared to let the child go to school, fearing that his daughter would be forcibly taken away by the government.

Instead, they teach their children limited knowledge and impart more of their own skills in fighting, survival, and other areas where they excel.

"Dakota Fanning looks so cute," Nicole whispered in the movie theater.

"She is indeed very cute, and her acting skills are also quite good. She is also very dedicated to her work."

"Dedicated? Are children's plays really that difficult?"

"It's not easy, at least in this movie, but hard work pays off. I guarantee she can broaden her acting range and find more opportunities for future development."

As the story progressed, Nico quickly realized where the difficulty lay.

The first story is about a rich girl who was kidnapped. Her father searched for her for several years and finally confirmed that his daughter had died at the hands of an old soldier.

Retaliation began when the wealthy man sent men to kidnap the veteran and his daughter, imprisoning them in his mansion.

What followed was torture and interrogation. The veteran was subjected to brutal torture and had one of his legs crippled.

Many viewers began to worry: how can someone who has lost a leg and can barely walk properly fight back?

The movie quickly provides the answer: it wasn't the veteran who launched the counterattack, but the little girl.

She seized an opening, taking advantage of the enemy's momentary lapse in attention to disarm them, and swiftly sliced ​​open a man's neck.

Immediately afterwards, the spinning blade was thrown out, instantly damaging the basement's power supply.

Darkness was the best camouflage for this father and daughter.

Bang bang bang!

Gunfire erupted in the basement, accompanied by screams of agony. Although there were no direct kills, the screams and the clanging of metal still vividly illustrated the horror of the battle.

When the tycoon led his men into the basement, the lights came back on, and they saw several people lying scattered on the ground, with blood splattered everywhere.

Gunshot wounds, throat slits, eye gouging, testicle explosions—the manner of death varied, resembling a hellish realm.

Considering Dakota Fanning's youthful face and the beautiful dimples that appear when he smiles, the stark contrast stimulates the nerves of every viewer, sending a chill down their spines.

That was brutal! That was ruthless! That was so satisfying!

Eric glanced to the side and saw that Nicole's eyes were wide open and her mouth was slightly agape.

"Now you know why I said Fan Ning is dedicated, right? There are even more intense action scenes later on, many of which she performed herself."

Nicole let out a heavy sigh: "Honey, this role is a bit over the top, the movie is going to get a lot of flak."

"What are you going to say about me? That I have a bad influence on teenagers? Let them say whatever they want, I get plenty of insults out of the box anyway."

"Usually it's film critics who criticize you, but this time I'm afraid many parents will also criticize you."

"Hmph! I'm just asking you, isn't this character cool? Isn't he charismatic enough?"

"She's absolutely awesome, man!" Before Nicole could even speak, a young man in the seat in front of her had already answered for her.

"This character is so cool! The screenwriter is a genius!"

Eric shrugged, as if to say, "See? Plenty of people like it. We'll make a HitGirl next time."

The rest of the plot is simple: the father and daughter return home and set up traps and mechanisms, waiting for the enemy to come.

Then, taking advantage of their home ground, they wiped out all the invading enemies, and finally returned to the mansion only to lose the tycoon.

But the tycoon's death did not end the killings. He set up a revenge fund that would be activated after his death, summoning assassins from all over the world to hunt down the father and daughter, and the killings continued.

After Eric's adaptation, the sequel has completely deviated from the original direction, shifting towards action scenes.

He didn't know if the audience would accept it; if they did, he would continue filming; if they didn't, he would stop.

In contrast, Eric did not interfere in the other film, Happy Death Day 2.

Because it involves science fiction elements such as time travel, the filming of this sequel was far more difficult than that of "Don't Breathe 2".

So he handed everything over to someone else. If you have a great reputation, that's because you're awesome. Otherwise, don't take the blame.

When MGM releases a film, the Six Globe Films will naturally follow suit, with films such as "The Unfortunate Adventures of Raymond Snicket," "The Princess Diaries 2," "Alien vs. Predator," and "King Arthur" hitting theaters.

However, although MGM and the Big Six have engaged in another fierce battle, both sides know that the championship will not belong to either side, because DreamWorks' super ace, Shrek 2, has also set its release date for mid-September.

Against a backdrop of blue skies, a small passenger plane is flying along its flight path toward New York.

Liu Yifei came out of the bathroom and sat down next to her mother.

After a while, Eric also came out of the bathroom and sat down in the seat next to him.

Liu Xiaoli's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, but in the end she didn't say anything. Anyway, she couldn't control it, so let them do whatever they wanted.

However, from a series of recent events, she could tell that Eric Cooper was definitely not the kind of heartless person who would discard someone after using them.

Even if his daughter doesn't get any official status after being with him, she will definitely receive some financial compensation.

"Eric, look at these reviews. Dakota Fanning has been shown to have an unexpected side, giving everyone a big surprise. Don't Breathe 2 is an excellent sequel."

Eric waved his hand: "Forget it, I already knew the reviews, they're mixed."

"Don't be discouraged, at least the box office is pretty good."

"Heh. Don't try to comfort me. Shrek 2 is just too brutal. Luckily, the Big Six are also going to suffer together. If we're going to die, we'll all die together."

Do you think Shrek 2 can surpass Frozen at the box office?

Eric shook his head: "Impossible. Frozen had absolutely no competition in its third week, it had a huge advantage. And look at Shrek 2, how many enemies are around?"

"Moreover, next month will see a host of blockbusters like The Hunger Games, Van Helsing, Kill Bill Vol. 2, and Alexander the Great. It would be good if they could even reach the box office of the first one."

"Actually, I'd prefer a higher figure, with MGM handling the overseas distribution. The higher the figure, the more money I'll make."

"The six strategies are all about hurting the enemy eight hundred while also losing a thousand of your own; let's see who suffers the most in the end."

In the evening, the plane landed in New York, and Zhou Wenqiong came to pick it up in her car.

Tomorrow marks the reopening of the Hudson Theatre, signifying the official start of competition between MGM and Disney in the theater industry.

Eric came over to show his face and encourage the employees.

Sister, younger sister, niece, tsk tsk.

(End of this chapter)