America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 329, Section 327: Taking Down Avril

"They hate me, obviously those judges hate me, I didn't even get a single nomination! Damn it!"

"You'd better keep your voice down, Ivy, or you'll be on the news."

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm going to curse anyway!"

"It's really not a big deal. We'll work hard to produce better work this year, and you'll definitely win a big prize at next year's Grammys."

Avril angrily punched Eric on the shoulder: "It's all your fault! You should have released 'Something Just Like This' sooner. If it had been just half a month earlier, I wouldn't have missed the awards ceremony."

After rubbing his sore spots, Eric couldn't help but marvel at how strong this girl, who looked so thin and frail, was.

He suddenly remembered a news article he had read before: Avril Lavigne had been in fights with people many times.

On one occasion, she and her boyfriend faced four men, and they were not intimidated at all, fighting to a standstill.

The key point is that she really dared to go for it, and in the end she only suffered minor injuries. Although the details are unclear, it's unlikely that all four of them would have attacked her boyfriend alone, so Avril must have taken some of the damage as well.

In short, she's a hot-tempered, tough woman with considerable fighting ability.

She didn't win any Grammys this year, but she did release her second album this year. Although it was well received by the audience, it was clearly not liked by the judges.

The single "Something Just Like This" was officially released after December, making it impossible for her to participate in this year's Grammys, which is why she didn't win anything.

Otherwise, with this song alone, she could easily have received a nomination for Best Rock Female Singer or Best Pop Female Singer.

Whether they will win an award is hard to say, but being nominated is good enough.

The four members of the Mei Yi group were undoubtedly the brightest stars of the night, with all four nominated for this year's Best Newcomer Award, bringing the total number of nominees to a staggering eight, a historic achievement.

Bruno Mars ultimately won the Best Newcomer Award and thanked Michael Jordan and Eric Rudy profusely on stage.

Taylor Swift didn't win Best New Artist, but she was nominated for Best Country Album and Best Country Song.

It's a pity she didn't win any awards, after all, it was her first album and she was still a bit green. But it's still a recognition of her creative ability.

Katy Perry was nominated for Best Pop Solo for "Stronger," and Eric Carle was nominated for Record of the Year, but unfortunately, both were nominated.

However, the grand prize ultimately went to Mei Yi, because of her song "Let It Go," which brought ice and snow to the whole summer.

After topping the Billboard charts for 11 consecutive weeks, even after falling from the top spot, six months later, "Let It Go" remains incredibly popular and hasn't fallen off the charts. It's still ranked 14th on the overall chart, demonstrating its incredible stickiness.

This song became Celine Dion's most widely circulated hit song after "My Heart Will Go On," and even kindergarten children can sing a few lines.

With such a huge influence, the Grammys naturally cannot ignore it.

Celine Dion received nominations for Best Pop Female Solo Performance, Song of the Year, and Best Original Song for Film or Television.

As expected, he won all three categories, and his opponents applauded him wholeheartedly, proving that his defeat was well-deserved.

"Let It Go" became the most popular song at the awards ceremony.

Compared to the four-person group, Avril Lavigne, who had only recently joined the group, was naturally very frustrated.

She received nothing, and more importantly, not even a nomination. How can she have the face to be the leader? Aren't she ashamed in front of her younger sisters?

At that moment, paparazzi came over and started snapping photos.

Eric didn't want to stay there, so he said goodbye to everyone, got into his car, and left.

Looking at the golden phonograph in his hand, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

I, someone who can't even read sheet music, have already won two Grammy Awards.

This is the dream of many people their whole lives, and for those who have worked diligently their entire lives, it is undeniably ironic.

Beep!

Suddenly, a loud horn blared from behind.

Eric looked to both sides; there weren't many cars, and the road conditions were good.

What's going on? If you want to overtake, just overtake, why the hell do you need to honk your horn?

Beep!

Then the loudspeaker blared again, and he frowned, only to see that his phone screen also lit up.

"Hmm? Stop the car."

Pete immediately turned the steering wheel and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

The black Hummer pulled up in front of Eric, and Avril beckoned, "Get in, let's go for a ride!"

Eric shook his head: "Your car is too flashy; it's already been documented by the media. If you really want to go for a drive, you should get in mine."

A few minutes later, the two drove towards the sea, while Pete drove Avril's Hummer away.

"Eric, your car looks different from the last one. Is it just my imagination?"

"Of course it's different. I change to a new car every month to avoid being followed by paparazzi."

"Every month?" Avril asked, somewhat surprised.

"right."

"Well, you're really rich. This car looks expensive."

"When you have hundreds of millions of dollars coming in every month, money will become less and less important to you, and gradually it will really just become a string of numbers."

"However, I don't only drive luxury cars. Luxury cars are too flashy. Actually, I can drive cars that cost tens of thousands of dollars. What I need is discretion."

"Why are you so concerned about your privacy? Are you always going on dates secretly, afraid of getting caught in a scandal?"

Eric nodded: "That's right, I actually have six girlfriends. We live together, and I also keep several others on the side."

"Hahaha. Can your body handle it?"

Avril let out a hearty laugh, opened her own beer bottle, and gulped down half of it. Clearly, she didn't believe Eric's words.

Living with six girlfriends? Why don't you call yourself Superman? What a load of bull!

Eric could only sigh, "See, when I tell the truth, people don't believe me."

Sigh! Why is it so difficult to build trust between people?

"Beer?"

"OK!"

Drinking a little beer won't affect driving. Avril shoved the half-bottle she had left into his mouth and blew it all down in one gulp.

"Hey! Look at that one, do you think I can make the shot?"

"It's a bit far, unlikely."

"Don't underestimate me, you bitch."

As she spoke, she opened the sunroof and climbed out, the beer bottle hitting the GG sign high up on the roadside with pins and popping right on Alessa Moore's chest before she evolved into a pink mom.

"Yes! I hit it!"

Eric gave a thumbs up: "Impressive, but I don't understand why they would smash Alessa Moore?"

Avril shrugged. "How should I know? Maybe it's because I was drunk."

"Come on, you look perfectly fine, Ivy."

"Really? But I always feel drunk and want to do things that only a fool would do."

"You're just in a bad mood. I'll write you a song in a while. Anyway, the Grammys are held every year, so you can win it next year."

It would have been better if the Grammys hadn't been mentioned, because as soon as they were, Avril Lavigne seemed to get angry again and started hurling a string of angry curses.

Eric could only nod and agree silently after she had been hurling insults at him for more than ten minutes. Anyway, he didn't know any of the people she was criticizing, and he hadn't even heard of many of them.

Before we knew it, the car had reached the seaside.

It was late at night, and the place was quiet; there were hardly any people left.

Eric rolled his eyes as he watched the punk girl continue to post.

"Come on, girl, no matter how much you yell, it won't change the facts."

Avril suddenly looked at Eric's trophy, grabbed it, slammed the glass shut, and threw it out the window.

"Huh? What are you doing?!"

Before he could finish speaking, a wave of heat hit him as Avril's tongue slipped into Eric's mouth.

Under attack, especially with their vision obstructed, the car crashed into a tree with a loud bang.

Although the speed was not fast, the deployed airbags still squeezed the two people together.

The two removed their seatbelts and climbed out of the car.

Looking at her car, whose front end was dented, Avril said somewhat awkwardly, "I think I really did drink too much."

"You're really drunk. Why did you suddenly kiss me?"

"I don't know, maybe it was just a moment of impulse."

"Then let's continue."

"what?"

Eric picked her up and placed her on the trunk, but Avril seemed to have woken up and was shaking her head like a rattle.

"Eric, I'm really drunk. We can't do this, and what if someone sees us?"

"It's so late, no one will show up."

"Wait, wait, it's cold, too cold, you'll catch a cold."

"It's okay, two people can generate heat by rubbing against each other. Eskimos like to use this method to keep warm."

"No, I'm afraid of the dark, it's too dark here."

"That's why you should hold me tighter."

"No, you already have six girlfriends, I can't be the seventh."

"It's all a lie, nobody would believe that."

"But it's me!"

"Ivy, it's like a dream."

"This is the area outside the Kodak Theatre, the venue for the Academy Awards, where media from all over the world gather."

"The countdown to the 2005 Oscars has begun, and countless awards will be presented today."

"Hello everyone, I'm your host, Chris Connery."

"Hello everyone, welcome to the awards night. I'm your host, Jane Carl. Let's go and interview these superstars."

On February 27, the 77th Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Kodak Theatre.

The same golden splendor, the same dazzling starlight.

A long red carpet, a venue full of celebrity guests, and countless enthusiastic spectators.

At this moment, even the most seasoned movie fans will find many celebrities they don't recognize.

There are too many; you won't find another event in the world that brings together so many of the world's stars.

"Eric, look here, do a cool move."

"Nicole, why don't you move a little closer? It would make you feel more comfortable."

Eric then hugged Nico tightly. "It's what you asked for. I'm just cooperating."

After a burst of flashes, the two finally separated.

"Nicole, your performance in 'La Vie en Rose' was absolutely brilliant. Do you think you have a chance of winning the Oscar for Best Actress?"

"I don't know, it depends on the judges' opinions. Everyone is excellent, so it wouldn't be surprising who wins."

"Do you think you have the best chance of winning, after all, you've already won the Golden Globe for Best Actress?"

Eric patted Nicole's beautiful back, gesturing for her to leave: "I'll answer for her. Everyone wants to win, and I want to win too, but no one is absolutely certain."

"It would be great to get it, but it doesn't matter if you don't. As Forrest Gump's mother said, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get, right?"

After he finished speaking, he prepared to leave, but was stopped by the host, Chris Connery.

"Eric, I've found you."

Eric chuckled to himself, thinking, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Why are MGM movies being pulled from release schedules one after another?"

Since the collapse of the Big Six, not only MGM, Universal, Sony, Paramount, and Fox have been happy, but many second- and third-tier companies have also been delighted.

It's fair to say that everyone in Hollywood, except for Disney and Warner Bros. who were unhappy, was overjoyed.

Then DreamWorks, New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, and other companies came to us, complaining bitterly about the grievances and losses we had suffered over the past year.

The implication is that they hope to re-plan the scheduling.

The younger guys all have a lot of films that are stuck in production, so the older guys should give us some time off so we can get started.

The request was actually quite reasonable, and Eric shared the same idea.

Give them some benefits so they won't be lured away by Disney and Warner Bros.

Then, a meeting was held with all the companies to sort out the current chaotic situation.

The final decision was to allocate two months of slots to the various second- and third-tier companies. In principle, these five companies can only release a maximum of two films per month, and these cannot include A-list big-budget productions.

This request is not unreasonable, since big productions are usually scheduled for late May.

Moreover, after a year of intense competition, the A-grade inventory held by several companies has been almost completely depleted.

As the new industry leader, MGM's Eric Schaffner set an example by guaranteeing that no new films would be released during the two-month window, resulting in the withdrawal of some previously scheduled films.

As for two months later, we will naturally return to the previous model, where everyone will discuss and decide how to proceed, ensuring that everyone gets a share of meat.

Disney and Warner Bros. were not invited to this meeting, and MGM will likely launch a targeted attack on the two companies in the future.

"Withdrawing an application is a rather complex issue, involving many aspects, and it can be considered a re-regulation of market behavior."

"So, does that mean Hollywood will go back to what it was before?"

"Yes, this is good for everyone. I'm talking about every practitioner and countless stock market investors. Everyone can enter the market with confidence and boldness. Times have changed."

"But Disney and Warner Bros. don't seem to have made any statements on this matter. Why?"

Eric smiled and said, "I don't know about that. You can interview Michael Inners and Barrymeyer."

After saying that, he ignored the host, grabbed Daddario and Liu Yifei who happened to be passing by, and left the red carpet.

(End of this chapter)