America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 342, page 340: We need to integrate the X-Men and Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"As a MGM fan, I went to see 'Chronicle' in the theater yesterday. It's hard to believe that it was made with only $1500 million. It's excellent in every aspect and definitely worth watching."

"Chronicle is less of a science fiction film and more of an educational film reflecting the psychological problems of teenagers. Although it doesn't preach directly, it does a very good job in this regard."

"Neal Blomkamp truly lives up to his reputation as someone mentored by Eric Cooper. The film's mise-en-scène, lighting, and shot composition are all very mature, showing none of the naivety of a novice director."

"The portrayal of the protagonist Andrew's changing thoughts and inner journey was very nuanced and deeply moved me. The mockumentary style brought a strong sense of realism, which was fantastic!"

"My God! After watching Chronicle, I was blown away by Dane DeHaan, who played the male lead. He delivered an amazing performance."

"Where did the director find this actor? Such acting skills from a newcomer? I was completely shocked by his desperate screams."

"Chronicle is a very profound film about family relationships, and I would like to recommend it to my friends."

"I didn't watch Chronicle, but I did watch The Conjuring 2. As a sequel, it didn't have a bad ending; the movie was still excellent."

"James Wan has once again done an excellent job as director. The Conjuring 2 has taken the scary elements to a whole new level. Even if you are a seasoned veteran, you will definitely feel your heart pounding."

"Please, James Wan, stop focusing all your energy on The Conjuring and go back to directing Saw. The third one was already clearly weak. If you don't come up with something new, I can't imagine what the plot of the fourth one will be like."

"Same here. James Winston isn't even listed as an executive producer for the fourth one. I have a feeling it's going to be a terrible movie."

There is no doubt that both Chronicle and The Conjuring 2 have been well received by the market.

Especially given that there hadn't been any new releases for two months, MGM fans poured all their enthusiasm into these two films.

While it wouldn't be considered universally acclaimed, it's certainly an excellent work.

As a commercial film, it has a score of 7 or higher on iMdb, which guarantees its quality and reputation.

Good word-of-mouth is reflected in the box office. Once the weekly box office figures are released, the potential of the two films can be roughly judged.

The Conjuring 2 won the championship without any suspense, thanks to James Wan's golden brand and more than 3500 theaters.

Summer is the peak season for movies, and with a combination of factors, the film grossed over $5800 million at the box office.

"Chronicle" opened in a relatively small number of theaters, only over 2600.

If it weren't for Eric's influence and MGM's reputation, this low-budget film by a newcomer would be lucky to get 1000 theaters in its opening week.

Fortunately, the movie performed well, breaking the $4000 million mark at the box office and taking second place with $4277 million.

The success of these two films once again proves to the market that the old guard is still the best!

MGM is now undoubtedly the world's number one.

Chronicle, with a new director, is even more profound than the original.

The ending of the film was also altered, and the protagonist, Andrew, was not completely killed by his cousin.

My cousin thought he had killed him and turned to run away.

He woke up again while the police were transporting the body, broke free and flew into the sky, and has been missing ever since.

This is naturally a way of setting up a sequel.

Actually, there's still a lot to explore in this movie, such as the strange stone that gives the trio superpowers.

The fact that it was filled in by the government suggests that the government is also paying attention to it and secretly studying it.

For example, after the male protagonist and his cousin are exposed, will the superhumans secretly researched by the government take any action?

If you want to make a film, you can make a quick buck by creating a shallow sequel, or at least squeeze out all the remaining value before abandoning the IP.

However, the original version was ruined when director Josh Trank went on to make Fantastic Four 2015.

Not only did he mess things up, but this person also had personality and temperamental issues. He had a major falling out with Fox, which led to him being disliked by the entire industry.

In addition to other reasons, the project was shelved and never thought of again.

To be honest, Eric really liked this movie, and making a sequel would be great.

"Well done, Neil, you've delivered an excellent performance," Eric praised over the phone.

"Hehe... I still learn and improve faster by following you, Director."

Stop flattering him. Where did you find this male lead? His acting is really good.

"You mean Dane de Haan?"

"Yes, it's him, Dai Hanhan."

"He's a newcomer who just entered the industry this year. Although he's already 19, he's only ever done small-scale stage plays and has never been on the big screen before."

"I can't afford to squander $1500 million, so I have no choice but to hire new people."

"Then this kid came to audition, you know what? He didn't even have an agent, God knows where he got the information from."

"But you've got your eye on him!"

"Yes, boss, I took a liking to him at first sight! His appearance is perfect for this kind of bitter and resentful character, especially his fierce eyes, which are just like a child who has been suppressed for a long time."

"So after the interview, I decided it was him. By the way, why don't you guess how much he gets paid?"

"$2?"

Eric gave a asking price, which was low, but that's how it is in Hollywood.

Even if you're the lead actor, a complete newcomer with no experience can only get this price.

If you're a newcomer or a supporting character, congratulations, you'll get another cut in half.

You will likely have to spend six months on set, including pre-production training and filming.

What should I do if I don't have enough living expenses?

Haha, that's your own problem.

Not enough?

Many people would kill for this opportunity. Even if you don't become an overnight sensation, as long as you pass the test, your salary for the next film will start at least at $100,000. Big productions will be even more lucrative, with $200,000 to $300,000 being normal.

"No, actually he only spent $1. He was the lowest paid actor among all the actors, even less than the extras who worked a few more days."

"You've gone too far! Be careful the union doesn't cause trouble for you, and the company will have to clean up your mess!" Eric cursed, hearing Neil's eerie laughter.

"Don't worry, boss. Dane doesn't have an agent, and he's not even a member of a union. He might have one now, but he was a complete novice when he signed the contract."

"And what can I do? You only approved this little bit of money. If we don't use it sparingly, we won't even be able to film the final battle."

"You're blaming me for your mistakes! 95% of directors never even get a three to five million dollar investment in their entire lives."

"Fortunately, you did a good job. We can give you a larger budget for the next one."

"Are you planning a sequel to Chronicle, or do you have a new idea?"

"I haven't decided yet. At least let me rest for three months first," Neil replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Alright, put work aside for now. Contact Kevin Feige of Marvel and give him Dai Hanhan's contact information."

"What? Wait a minute, boss, you mean this kid's about to hit the jackpot?"

"Hmm, there's a role that would suit him well, and I'd like him to give it a try."

Which character?

"Green Goblin Harry Osborn".

Now that an agreement has been reached with Sony to jointly develop the Spider-Man copyright, MGM will not hold back.

You have the original Tobey Maguire, so I'll make a Garfield version of The Amazing Racer II.

The Garfield version of Harry Potter, the Green Goblin, was played by Dai Hanhan, and it received good reviews, but overall it was not as good as the James Frank version.

But this isn't a problem with the actors; it's a problem with the script.

The Green Goblin only appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2". He is said to be Peter's childhood friend, but there is not much of a storyline about their friendship.

Instead, he gave a flimsy excuse: he had never been in the United States.

Without any buildup, after just a few minutes of simple plot, the two best friends suddenly broke up.

The reason for the falling out was that Harry was dying from a hereditary disease and hoped to be cured with Spider-Man's blood, but Peter refused.

Please, that's your best friend, your brother who grew up with you, and you just stood by and watched him die? Are you even Spider-Man?

Although there are risks, it's better to give it a try than to just wait to die.

Anyway, the script was written by a complete idiot, and Harry even killed Gwen. You can't imagine how the Sony executives made that decision.

Moreover, everyone in the industry knows that Sony originally wanted the movie ending to be one where Peter realizes his responsibility and pulls himself together.

Instead, he met Mary Jane, forgot about Gwen's death, and found love again in Mary Jane.

Yes, Sony plans to introduce Mary Jane at the end, making her the female lead in the third film.

It's easy to imagine that if it were filmed like that, Peter Parker would be vilified by the audience; he'd be such a scumbag.

Why isn't there a third installment of "The Amazing Spider-Man"? Do you really think it's because of box office performance?

In fact, the second film alone brought Sony a gross profit of over $2 million. The reason for not making a third film was its poor reputation.

So you can't film it like that!

In Eric's vision, Garfield's Spider-Man definitely needs to be integrated into the Marvel Universe, otherwise such a popular character as Spider-Man would be wasted.

But he can't become Iron Man's son; that would be too beneath him and lower Spider-Man's prestige.

We may be poor, but we have integrity!

So how do we integrate them? The answer lies with the Green Goblin father and son.

Osborn Corporation is an industrial giant that can rival Stark Industries, but one is in energy and arms, while the other is in biopharmaceuticals.

Don't be fooled by the movie; Norman Osborne was actually very powerful and had access to a vast amount of resources.

Given how terrible the original "Avengers: Age of Ultron" was, Eric definitely wouldn't use it.

Why not just use the Dark Reign timeline as the main storyline for Avengers: Age of Ultron?

The plot of Dark Dynasty could be adapted into a movie.

The comic tells the story of how the Avengers lost the trust of the authorities, and Norman Osborn seized the opportunity to take over and gather a group of villains to form the Dark Avengers.

Then, in order to maintain his power, he began to crack down on opposing forces and eliminate dissidents.

Characters including the X-Men, the official Avengers, Asgard, and Molecule Man Owen were all attacked by the Dark Avengers.

Of course, if you're making a movie that's over two hours long, you can't include all of these things, and many characters have to be cut.

For example, Sentinels and Molecule Men shouldn't even exist. In many people's minds, the strongest hero, the Ancient One, is just a junior compared to them.

Earth already has experts of this caliber, would Thanos dare to come?

The conflict will still revolve around the Dark Avengers, the X-Men, and the official Avengers, culminating in a final showdown.

The hero, Bug, defeated Green Goblin once again—perfect!

This approach allows for the integration of popular characters like the X-Men and Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe while simultaneously telling a compelling story.

Polishing the script properly would definitely be much better than that rubbish Age of Ultron.

Time flies, and it's already the end of June, with the summer movie season in full swing.

With its impressive performance in the first week, "Chronicle" quickly expanded its release to more than 3600 theaters.

After a month of intense competition, it has already grossed $1.27 million at the North American box office, making it an absolute blockbuster.

Dai Hanhan also rose to fame overnight and became a highly sought-after actress among the younger generation.

Privately, he has already accepted Green Goblin's offer, and the salary will definitely not be another $1.

Instead, it increased 150 times, $1.5 million, which was a good deal, and he signed a contract for four movies at once.

Conversely, Andrew Garfield, as a newcomer to the screen and the new Spider-Man, only received a mere $5 in salary.

This is only because he played a minor supporting role in a TV series; otherwise, it would have been $2 a month.

The Conjuring 2 performed even better, grossing $1.53 million in North America.

It has already been released in some countries and has achieved remarkable results, accumulating $2.39 million worldwide.

Xiao Wen is such a reliable person; everyone who uses him speaks highly of him!

Dragon Ball has also completely wrapped up filming. Eric wasn't there in the middle, so some scenes were reshot. It should wrap up in less than a month.

As a movie that follows the comic book, the editing difficulty is too low.

He only worked on it for one day before handing it over to the assistant editor. Unless he's as mentally unstable as Sony, it's impossible for him to mess it up.

136 Linyin Avenue.

In the living room, the soft, intimate sounds of lovers were playing a constant symphony.

Little Liu was lying on the round table, and Eric was using the same tactics he used to assassinate the King of Qin to penetrate her body.

As for Lao Liu, he was naturally sent away by Xiao Liu, who said she had found a concert for her to enjoy.

"I can't take it anymore, Eric. Why do you seem to be lasting longer and longer?"

"Of course, you think I went to China for nothing? I train every day now, otherwise how could I have controlled you?"

"Phew, I don't need you to worry about me. Every time, I can't take it before you even come out. Do you have other ideas?"

"How dare you doubt me!"

Eric glanced at the phone next to him and slapped it hard.

Sensing the increased frequency, her eyes widened and her mouth opened wide: "I'm coming! I'm coming!"

Click!

Ah!

Just as she raised her neck high, the door suddenly opened, and Old Liu walked in.

The loud, clear voice reached her ears, and she stared in disbelief at the scene.

The text message Eric sent him was still in his mind.

"Return immediately if needed!"

(End of this chapter)