America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 326, Section 324: Six Major Sum-Ups – It Turns Out We Were Never Playing on the Same Track

Santa Monica, in a seaside villa.

A black Jeep Wrangler was parked nearby, and Eric got out.

"Are you sure you don't need me to go in with you?"

"Come on, what do you think it's about? Assassination?"

"What if? This isn't your territory."

"But it's not their territory, or do you think I can't beat six old guys?"

"Okay, then I'll wait for you."

"No need, I'll call you when it's all over."

Boom boom boom!

After seeing Judy off, Eric knocked on the door.

Soon, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and round glasses led him in; it was none other than Steven Spielberg, a top Hollywood director.

Since MGM clashed with the Big Six, as a Jew, he was emotionally more inclined towards companies like Disney and Warner.

However, as a company owner, his interests dictated that he preferred MGM; money was often more reliable than emotions.

So after Brad Grey made the request to negotiate that day, Spielberg acted as an intermediary and arranged a meeting at the villa.

"You're late, Eric. They've been waiting inside for half an hour."

"Yes, I did it on purpose."

"Heh... I knew it, the important characters always make their appearance last, right?"

"What would you like to drink? Coffee, tea, or alcohol?"

What would you like me to drink?

"Of course it's alcohol."

"Why?"

"Coffee and tea are always available, but alcohol is for celebration. To be honest, everyone hopes you guys will stop fighting."

"Everyone? Who are you talking about?" Eric asked, feigning ignorance.

"DreamWorks, New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, Summit..."

"Everyone has suffered enough this past year. You may be having a hard time, but we are having a hard time too."

"The constant rescheduling, rescheduling, and cancellation of release dates have disrupted the entire year's plans. You can ask any of them; who doesn't have several, or even a dozen, films that are stuck in production?"

"Eric, this can't go on. We're all fed up, and it's not good for the audience or the development of the film market as a whole."

"Are Bob and Yellen aware of today's meeting?"

"No, only I know, but we keep in touch privately. Everyone has a lot of grievances to vent."

"Let's just stop, that's what we all want, we're really tired."

Eric patted him on the shoulder: "As far as I know, DreamWorks made a lot of money this year, so you have no right to complain."

"Besides, I wasn't the one who started the war. They can't just stop it like that and dismiss me with a few words. Who will be responsible for the losses MGM has suffered?"

Spielberg shook his head slightly, thinking to himself, "If you hadn't insisted on getting into streaming media, how could things have gotten to this point?"

After leading Eric to the second floor and closing the door, Spielberg quietly withdrew.

Inside the room, six old men were puffing away on cigarettes, but the room fell silent the moment they saw him.

cough cough...

"I hate the feeling of smoke!"

Under the watchful eyes of 12 people, Eric opened all the windows.

It was still winter, and a cold wind blew in instantly. The elderly people inside were dressed in thin clothes, and they couldn't help but hunch their shoulders.

"Hmm, it's much better now. Do you want to continue smoking? Or keep the windows open?"

snort!

With a cold snort, Michael Ainas stubbed out his cigar, and the other five followed suit.

Eric smiled, closed the window, and sat down on the last empty sofa.

Then everyone looked at each other and fell into the same silence as before.

Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Brad Grey.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, Eric Cooper's actions upon entering told him this conversation was going to be difficult.

"Eric, we were planning to invite your father, but it seems that it's not convenient for Xia Li."

Eric nodded: "He and my mother are on vacation in Fiji and won't be back for a while."

"OK! Let's not waste any more time, let's get straight to the point."

"After a year of fighting, everyone has suffered great losses, and the film and television industry worldwide has been affected. It's time to stop."

"Were we affected? But I think it's great. At least MGM's stock price has been rising. I just heard the report on the way here, and it has already exceeded $200 billion."

Michael Ianas frowned instantly. The reason he agreed to the talks was because Disney had lost its leading position in the industry.

The board of directors was very dissatisfied with his performance during this period and put enormous pressure on him.

Brad Grey quickly tried to smooth things over: "Let's not talk about the stock price, but the losses everyone has suffered are real, so there's really no need to continue."

"We should go back to how things were before. We should maintain our cooperation. The seven major Hollywood studios have always been one entity, haven't they?"

"We set the rules together, we formed MPAA together, we conquered markets together. We should be brothers and friends, not enemies."

Hearing his high-sounding words, Eric sneered: "Now we're brothers again? But don't forget it was you bunch of good brothers who attacked me first!"

"Especially the Barrefaeli thing, you fucking want to put me in jail, not only to commercially destroy MGM, but also to kill me!"

"You think a few words can make me forget my hatred? Why don't you ask the Native Americans? Why don't you ask the Black people?"

"They still remember things from over a hundred years ago, and you expect me to forget what happened just a year ago?"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch; you can fight whenever you want and make peace whenever you want."

Michael Ainas retorted angrily, "But you ended up completely unharmed and even got Harvey arrested."

"Now he is not only bankrupt, but also fired by Dimen Company, and is facing huge compensation and decades in prison."

"Miramax is also in chaos and hasn't fully sorted things out yet. Isn't this retaliation enough?"

"Not enough!" Eric suddenly shouted, interrupting the other person.

"I am still able to sit here because I am powerful enough, not because you showed me mercy."

"Especially Disney, don't think I don't know, that bullshit Rio Operation was started by you."

"If it weren't for your interference, MGM, Universal, Fox, Paramount..."

"We could have coexisted peacefully, but you started a war to protect your own voice, Michael. You have to take responsibility for this, and Disney has to take responsibility!"

"Shit! If you hadn't been pushing this damn streaming service, would we be targeting you? You're challenging the rules of the industry!"

Eric berated him harshly, and a young man in his early twenties pointed his finger at him and cursed him.

Michael Ainas had never been so insulted before, and he was instantly enraged, hurling all sorts of profanities at the top of his lungs.

"Rules are made by the strong, and the development of the internet will only accelerate. Streaming media is the inevitable trend."

"If we don't do it now, someone else will in a few years. You're like a zombie about to enter its coffin; your half-dead brain is already rigid, and you don't understand anything!"

"Okay, that's enough, stop arguing."

"We are all sitting here today to resolve conflicts, not to escalate them."

"Eric, calm down! Michael, please sit down too, okay?"

Seeing that the two were arguing more and more intensely, the others quickly tried to calm them down.

Boom boom boom!

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Spielberg asked with some concern, "Gentlemen, you seem to be having some trouble. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Water, with ice, someone needs to calm down."

Michael Ianas didn't sit down; his anger made him want to punch Eric whenever he saw him.

But knowing he was too old to beat his opponent, he stormed out of the room in anger.

After he left, Eric asked, "Who else wants to leave? Don't worry about my expression."

Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer left without a word, and Howard Stringer also stood up, but seeing that Universal, Paramount, and Fox hadn't moved, he hesitated for a moment and then sat down again.

With the argument over, the scene gradually became peaceful.

"Alright, now that the annoying person is gone, we can have a proper talk. Please continue, Gray."

Brad Grey nodded: "Let's talk about the cooperation. We've come up with a plan after discussion."

"Regarding the streaming platform, Lionheart.com, we can allow you to continue, but the six of us need to invest."

"The specific share can be negotiated, but the total share cannot be less than 40%. Of course, we will purchase the shares, so you won't lose out."

"However, this deal must be completed within three months, which is one of our few requirements."

Upon hearing this, Eric frowned; it was clear that this was an attempt to take advantage of him.

Lionheart.com's growth rate can be described as explosive, but it will take at least another year before it goes public.

In just one year, the company's valuation could easily increase several times over.

Eric might consider it if they make this request after the company goes public.

But demanding entry now, setting aside the issue of influence, means financial losses of at least several billion dollars.

They've tried to fleece people but ended up fleecing themselves; have they gone mad?

With a forced smile, Eric waved his hand and said, both amused and annoyed, "Brad, there's something you two don't seem to understand."

"The reason we are able to sit here and negotiate today is because the roles have reversed."

"In the past, the six of you joined forces against MGM; now, MGM is attacking all six of you at the same time."

"I still have plenty of bullets to shoot: Dragon Ball, Twilight, Transformers 2, Madness, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Bohemian Rhapsody, Saw, and The Conjuring."

"And with the Marvel franchise already developed, I can guarantee every movie will make money. Can you do that?"

"I'm sorry if I'm being a little harsh, but look at you all, you look like a bunch of stray dogs."

"Who gave you the courage to make such an absurd demand? The initiative for war and peace is now in my hands."

"Whether you continue competing or cooperate again depends on how much you're willing to pay, understand?"

"And what about DreamWorks and New Line Cinema? Do you think they're more inclined to favor you or me?"

"In short, I can fight you until the end of time, until one side is completely defeated!"

Eric's blatant threat showed no mercy to the four of them.

They wanted to refute it, but after thinking about it, they had to admit that what the other party said was true.

Who could have imagined that the world would change so drastically in just one year?

A new emperor ascends the throne, the old king abdicates, and the entire Hollywood landscape is overturned.

Seeing that the four people remained silent, Eric stopped being aggressive and softened his tone.

"However, on the other hand, after all, it's been a decades-long cooperative relationship. There's really no need for a life-or-death struggle, especially for the four of you."

"I know you don't want to get involved, but we have to give face to Michael Ianas and Barimeer."

"This is a misunderstanding. I have never regarded you as enemies."

The four looked at each other, puzzled. What were they trying to do? They were a little confused.

"Now I'm proposing a cooperation method: if you want to join Lionheart.com, I can agree."

"So what do you want?"

"Good question, I want Warner!"

"What?"

"I said I wanted Warner!"

Seeing that Brad Grey still looked confused, Eric cut to the chase: "I mean, we'll acquire Warner!"

boom!

His words were like a thunderclap in broad daylight, leaving the four of them dumbfounded.

After a moment of stunned silence, Howard Stringer suddenly burst into laughter: "Eric, Eric Cooper, although we have a history, I admit you are a very capable young man."

"But acquiring Warner? Are you kidding me? Do you know how much Warner is worth? Over $150 billion."

"And your acquisition will definitely come at a premium. Let's take a relatively low estimate of 35%. You'll need to come up with at least $200 billion to complete this deal."

"MGM's stock price has just surpassed $200 billion. What makes you think you can acquire Warner? Where will your money come from?"

"This is the biggest joke I've ever heard!"

Looking at Howard Stringer's repulsive face, Eric said calmly, "Who said I was going to use MGM to acquire Warner?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you know I'm also the founder of Facebook?"

"Uh? You mean you're planning to...?"

"That's right, I've already made the connections, and Facebook's business will soon be rolled out across Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand."

"Looking at the world, apart from Asia, South America and Africa, all economically developed regions in the world have been included in Facebook's business scope."

"I will continue to conquer the remaining areas as well."

"Moreover, it has been proven that the GG business is entirely viable, and it now generates countless profits every month."

"Number one in the world, no rivals, monopoly position, high profitability."

"In other words, the time is ripe for Facebook to go public, in the first half of this year."

"Let's make a little game: What do you think Facebook's stock price will reach after its IPO? What will its valuation be?"

"500 billion? 600 billion? 700 billion? Or 1000 billion?"

They looked at each other blankly, a sense of powerlessness rising in their hearts. It turned out that they had never been playing on the same track.

(End of this chapter)