America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 315, Section 313: MGM Launches a Counterattack

"You mean, Brad Grey has wavered?"

"That's right. Think about it, at the beginning, he directly rejected my invitations."

"But then his secretary contacted me, saying that he was busy with the Christmas season and couldn't find the time."

"Just yesterday, his secretary contacted me again, and then I went to his estate in New Jersey and we met."

"Has he made his stance clear? What exactly does this guy mean?"

Judy chuckled: "Just like you said, Brad Grey has finally wavered, and he asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Paramount will withdraw from the competition for the Christmas season, but he definitely won't say so. He doesn't want to directly offend Disney, Sony, and Warner."

"It means they're planning to wait and see, hoping that I and Disney will reach a conclusion before Paramount makes a statement."

"Pretty much. Paramount is too weak, so they have no better options than to sit on the fence."

"Hehe. Have you heard that saying before?"

"What?"

"Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolutely disloyal! At least this door has been opened for now."

"Well, everything depends on the Christmas box office results, Eric. Actually, I've had an idea in my mind for a while."

"What are your thoughts?"

"Your woman is very nice, can I borrow her for a while?"

"Huh?" Eric didn't react.

"Haha. Just kidding. As for the last tough battle of the year, the Christmas season is about to begin. Maybe we should launch a counter-encirclement campaign."

Eric looked her face up and down suspiciously, wondering if he and Gadot had gotten into something during their vacation together.

"What do you think? We've been enduring this all along. The Big Six have always been able to mobilize all sorts of resources to besiege us. Although MGM hasn't failed, the impression it gives to the market is that we've always been in a passive and vulnerable position."

"I don't like that feeling. I prefer to take the initiative. When you were planning to acquire Lucasfilm last time, you wanted to use several blockbusters to attack Star Wars Episode III."

"Later, I kept thinking, since that's the case, why not launch a counterattack against the Big Six during the Christmas season?"

"Eric, we've reached the most critical moment. Shareholders are watching, and Paramount is also observing."

"It's time to show our sharpest fangs, even if it means crushing ourselves, we must still demonstrate our strength."

"You must let everyone know that MGM has enough resources and countless backup plans. It's time for the title of the world's number one film company to change hands."

Judy's advice came as a wake-up call to Eric.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen into a mental trap.

He always makes sure to allocate enough time for big productions to prevent himself from being consumed by competition.

Even if we face an attack from the six major powers, we can minimize our losses.

But this war of attrition has been going on for more than half a year, giving people the feeling that it will never end. It would be better to launch a major counterattack.

Let the six major powers also experience what it's like to be targeted; perhaps this is the turning point, the point where offense and defense shift.

Moreover, MGM's market capitalization is currently second only to Disney's. If they can defeat Disney through this wave, MGM might be able to jump to the top spot.

The increased market value will definitely be enough to offset the losses from the movie.

"Yes, that's a good idea, definitely worth trying. I also don't like the feeling of being passively attacked."

As he spoke, he picked up the phone and called Kevin Feige.

"Boss, is there something you need?"

"Kevin, how are the productions of Iron Man and Captain America going?"

"Everything is going smoothly; we're currently working on post-production."

"I'd like to know the completion status, and how much longer until the film is finished?"

"According to the feedback from Weta Digital last week, Iron Man is 90% complete and Captain America is around 80% complete."

"If you're in a hurry, and push them a bit, you should be able to get the finished Iron Man movie out in about two weeks."

"Okay, I'll urge Peter Jackson. You go and get it approved right away."

"Boss, what happened? Didn't you say that Iron Man wouldn't be released until at least February next year?"

"I've changed my mind. This Christmas season is Marvel's time to shine. Tell the actors to get ready for the promotional tour."

"Oh! I understand!"

Although he didn't know what Eric was going to do, Kevin Fitch knew that all he had to do was carry out the mission.

He lacked the confidence to offer his opinion until the results of the two films were released.

"By the way, how's the collaboration between Marvel and Hasbro that I talked to you about a while ago going?"

"Things are going fairly smoothly. The contracts have all been signed, but exclusive licensing isn't possible yet. We've terminated contracts with several companies, but we still have a few left."

"The last one is Beechcraft Toys, whose licensing period will not expire until the end of next year. At that time, only DoubleStar Entertainment and Hasbro will be left."

Eric couldn't do anything about the contract that had already been signed; he couldn't just unilaterally break it—that's not how business is done.

At most, if Marvel becomes popular, those people will come asking for a reunion, and we'll just politely decline.

"We've reached an agreement with DoubleStar Entertainment and Hasbro to produce Iron Man and Captain America merchandise ahead of schedule. We're going to make a fortune."

After hanging up the phone, Eric contacted Peter Jackson again, asking him to speed things up.

The two had a good relationship, and the bearded man, being a straightforward person, readily agreed.

The main reason was that Eric transferred the rights to The Hobbit to New Line Cinema, and New Line Cinema then invited Peter Jackson to continue directing, offering him a top-tier salary in the industry.

If he could make another trilogy, Peter Jackson would easily rake in three or four hundred million dollars.

He was very grateful.

"Are you planning to release two superhero movies?"

"Okay, also, summarize the filming schedules of the other movies. If we're going to have a fight, let's have a big one."

Soon after, MGM released several new movie trailers, including Iron Man, Captain America, Transformers 2, The Rumble, Wanted, and La Vie en Rose.

At the same time, it was announced that the release dates of "Iron Man," "Captain America," and "Wanted" would be moved forward to the Christmas season.

Looking at the cool Iron Man suit in the trailer, Robert Downey Jr. won over many viewers with just one trailer, mainly because the suit was just too cool.

In addition, he has been very honest over the past year, quit drinking and drugs, attended various public welfare activities, and constantly showed his healthy side, which greatly improved his reputation.

Chris Evans' Captain America also received a lot of praise. His action scenes, which involved charging through a hail of bullets, were completely different from those of other superhero films like X-Men and Spider-Man, feeling both realistic and magical.

The bullets that could curve aroused the curiosity of many viewers, and James McAvoy finally got his chance.

Nicole Kidman fully showcased her charm in the film, a biographical film and an art film, clearly aiming for this year's Oscars.

Suddenly, the tension intensified during the Christmas season. While MGM launched a full-scale offensive, it was the Big Six that were in a bit of a mess.

To accept the challenge or not? To fight or not?

this is a problem.

If they want to counter this, they'll need to mobilize even more resources, especially since MGM has deployed almost all A-list productions this time.

"Wanted" may be weaker, but its production cost reached $8000 million, so bringing in smaller players wouldn't be very effective.

But this year is already at its final stage, and in order to counter MGM, they have almost run out of big-budget productions.

Most of the films currently in the hands of the six major studios are blockbusters scheduled for release next year.

Pulling them over is like jumping into a meat grinder, but giving in is even worse.

Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., everyone is worried.

Finally, everyone's attention turned to Disney. As the big brother, are you up to the task?

Whether or not it's feasible is a taboo topic for a man, and it's also a taboo topic for Disney.

To defend their position, they have to make it work even if they can't.

Mickey Mouse quickly announced that "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," originally scheduled for release next year, would be moved up to the Christmas season.

Sony also announced that Will Smith's "Hitch" will be released during the Christmas season.

20th Century Fox announced that it will move the release of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" from its original June release date to January.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. and Universal also announced that films such as "Batman Begins" and "Meet the Parents 2" may be rescheduled, but did not give specific dates.

Paramount, however, remained shrewd and ostrich-like, refusing to comment.

A storm was brewing, and seeing them swarm in again, Eric decided to add fuel to the fire.

Fortunately, BK Films has already completed production of "The Invisible Man" and "Pearl" and is just waiting for their release dates.

There's no need to wait any longer; let's go for the Christmas to February release window together with "Saw III".

Then there's "Kung Fu Hustle," which has been in development for a long time, and Stephen Chow has already finished filming it.

As originally agreed, Stephen Chow was responsible for distribution in China, while MGM was responsible for distribution worldwide, so they simply squeezed it into this deadly release window.

This time it's really packed, there's not a single gap in the schedule.

Many people realized that after this round, the winner would ascend the throne as the new emperor.

We lost? So what if we lost? It's a lose-lose situation.

December arrived, and there was only one week left until the Christmas season began.

Eric's daily routine, aside from filming, consists of having sex with various women, which is both dull and boring.

During this time, they also bought a house for Xiao Liu and brought Lao Liu to live with them.

Then we received a request from China, because the annual Spring Festival Gala is now in its final countdown.

Given the unprecedented buzz generated by Mike's appearance at the previous event, CCTV once again sought his help.

They don't need big stars; they just want to invite Taylor Swift, Shirley, Katy Perry, and Bruno Mars to come on stage and sing a song together.

Because shows like "The Voice" and "Ninja Tournament" were imported and received high praise after airing.

In mainland China today, the most influential singing talent shows, besides the CCTV Young Singers Competition, are Super Girl.

Although the CCTV Young Singers Competition is quite professional and the singers are talented, its format is too outdated, its viewership has been declining for a long time, and audiences don't like watching it.

Super Girl is a product that imitates American Idol and British Idol, and it did not pay copyright fees, which constitutes plagiarism.

It was indeed a huge hit, but it also generated a lot of negative news, and was even sued by a British copyright company.

In this era of weak copyright awareness and imperfect laws in mainland China, TVB would definitely win against an uninfluential British company, but it would certainly lose the man.

CCTV is producing its own "The Voice of China," which is scheduled to air in the first half of next year.

Eric naturally wouldn't refuse this request, telling the four of them that they only needed to take two or three days to go over, which wouldn't cause any trouble.

Since the album's release, the four have become one of the most eye-catching singers of the new generation, with numerous appearances and commercial performances.

The highest-paid player is Bruno Mars. Although he didn't win the championship, he was seemingly dubbed Michael Jordan's successor after the competition.

If we can't get Michael to come, then let's invite him. He's a great singer and dancer, and he can sing Michael's songs for free.

Katy Perry followed closely behind, scoring high marks in *Stronger*, making her a strong contender for next year's Grammys.

Taylor Swift and Celia are about the same, with appearance fees reaching $25 each.

Friday, Arc Light Grand Theater, Inception premiere.

As usual, a long red carpet was laid out on the asphalt road, and long lenses and cameras were set up all around, aimed at the celebrities who came to the event.

Conan O'Brien was invited to be the host, strolling back and forth on the red carpet, making witty remarks.

Today, Eric not only invited many celebrities, but also a number of directors to attend the premiere.

After all, this is "Inception," a highly-rated masterpiece that ranks high on IMDb. If I don't invite these peers, how can I show off?

"Christopher, it's so good to have you here."

As Nolan walked towards him, Eric took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with him.

"Upon receiving your invitation, I cancelled all my plans for tonight. My only task tonight is to appreciate your masterpiece."

Eric laughed heartily; he was eager to see Nolan's expression as he watched the movie.

Holding the other's hand, Eric lowered his head slightly and asked softly, "Nolan, you just said you had something to do tonight. Is it because the post-production of 'Batman' isn't finished yet?"

Nolan chuckled a few times: "Don't bother asking about that. If people find out you tricked me into revealing information, Warner will definitely come after me."

"Warner? Warner is nothing!"

Listening to Eric's unfiltered insults, Nolan was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

I know you guys don't get along, but brother, you should be more careful. There are cameras all around. It's not good if they record it; people might think I've defected to the enemy.

"If you're unhappy at Warner Bros., why not work with me on your next film? You can make whatever you want, and I promise I won't interfere at all."

Nolan has not yet achieved legendary status. Although his talent is recognized, he still lacks a blockbuster film that will solidify his commercial success, and he cannot make films as freely as he will in the future.

So when I heard Eric's promise, I was somewhat tempted.

"I'll consider it, Eric."

"Yes, remember, I admire you, Nolan!"

"Hahaha. It's my honor."

(End of this chapter)