America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 347, Section 345: Superman and the Joker

"Breaking news! Eric Cooper completes acquisition of Warner Bros., Hollywood enters the era of the Big Six."

"The biggest acquisition in Hollywood history has been finalized, and Warner Bros. has a new owner."

"Hollywood is undergoing a major reshuffle. Who is the most powerful person in Hollywood right now? How long can Disney enjoy its glory days?"

"The frenzied expansion of MGM and the acquisition of Warner Bros. symbolized Eric Cooper's formal ascension to the throne of Hollywood emperor."

"The old Hollywood system centered on Disney has collapsed, and a new pattern centered on MGM is about to be established."

"With MGM, Warner Bros., Fine Arts, Facebook, YouTube, Lionheart, Marvel, DC, DoubleStar Entertainment, and Hasbro under his belt, Eric Cooper's ambitions are growing ever larger. Which company will be his next target?"

With the acquisition officially completed, this major news spread throughout the world at the same time.

Compared to the recent acquisition of Lucasfilm, this is clearly more shocking.

After all, just put the two numbers on the table and you can tell which one is more impactful: $30 billion and $510 billion.

The media and Hollywood professionals are discussing the impact of this event and what consequences it will have on themselves and the film industry.

The audience had absolutely no interest in discussing any of this; all they knew was that it was finally over, that the damn acquisition was finally over.

Since the program began, all Warner Bros. films have been withdrawn from release.

These include major works such as "Batman Begins" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," which can finally be released to meet fans. We can't wait!

Moreover, now that Eric Cooper has taken over Warner Bros., he will definitely develop DC with the same intensity as he developed Marvel.

Those small-scale pranks are really boring. Warner Bros. will always only focus on Batman and Superman, as if there's no one else besides these two characters.

They made "Catwoman," and Halle Berry is indeed very hot, but the movie is a complete pile of crap.

Please, the two older brothers are indeed quite fierce, but the younger brothers and sisters are not incapable of fighting either.

Wonder Woman, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Nightwing, and Constantine are all second-tier characters, and their comic book sales are comparable to Captain America's.

The next tier includes Batgirl Barbara, Aquaman, Wally West, Shazam, etc. Their comic book sales are slightly lower than Captain America's, but much better than Iron Man and Daredevil, who haven't had any film or television adaptations.

There are plenty of great characters waiting to be developed, but Warner Bros. is just blindly focused on Superman and Batman.

Now that Eric Cooper has taken over, DC's golden age is finally about to begin.

Who knows, maybe in the future they can create a Marvel vs. DC crossover series. Anyway, the two companies have released several crossover comics, so there's material to draw on.

Beverly Hills, the Cooper family home.

They didn't celebrate the acquisition of Lucasfilm last time, so they waited until today to hold a grand party.

Eric was in a great mood today and invited an unusually large number of people.

In addition to close friends, the heads of various film and television companies also received invitations, as well as well-known directors, film critics, singers, and others.

It means that the villa at home is big enough, otherwise it wouldn't be able to support so many people.

The doorbell rang, and Henry Cavill walked in, dressed in a sharp suit; he had clearly dressed very carefully.

His beard was shaved clean, his hair was combed meticulously, and he wore a light perfume.

It doesn't feel like attending a party; it feels more like attending a promotional event or press conference.

The nanny, Lisa, was immediately struck by his appearance and whispered, "You're too reserved, big star."

Henry Cavill frowned. When he went inside, he saw that almost everyone else was dressed in casual home clothes, and he immediately felt itchy and out of place.

"I thought this was a very formal and serious party."

"Looks like you're overthinking it, bro. But it's okay, with your looks, you'd be popular even if you dressed up as a beggar."

He gave a wry smile. Since he was already there, what could he do? He could only quickly take off his coat and hand it to Lisa: "Please keep it for me for a while, that will make things easier for me."

"No, unless you give me a kiss."

Upon hearing this, Henry Cavill's eyes widened, wondering if all the maids in the big boss's house were this fierce.

"Hehe. Just kidding, I recently watched Twilight."

Not far away, Paris Hilton's radar suddenly went off, her spider-sense telling her that a handsome man was nearby.

Turning my head, I saw Henry Cavill there, looking around as if searching for a place where he could fit in.

"Look at his handsome yet anxious appearance, like a confused little puppy, he's so cute, I wish I could strip him clean and swallow him whole."

"You've got your eye on him? Isn't Eric Cooper your target?" Nicky Hilton teased.

Paris then looked at Eric, who was chatting with Bob Mayer, Spielberg, and others.

"Forget it, that guy is too high-class, I can't reach him."

"Yes, he's not even from the same species as us people his age. The entire Hilton family isn't as rich as him."

"Hmph! That damned guy, he can spend his whole life playing with the old man."

Nicky Hilton chuckled and said, "Be careful, those words you said will reach Eric's ears, and he might retaliate against you."

Paris rolled his eyes: "That would be even better. If you're going to send it, send what I'm about to say too."

"What?"

"If you want revenge, come and beat me up, don't miss a single word."

After saying that, she wiggled her hips, picked up two glasses of wine, and walked towards Henry Cavill with a smile.

Upon seeing this notoriously promiscuous woman, the other person felt a sudden unease.

He didn't want to get too close to Paris Hilton; in fact, he didn't even want to attend this party.

Instead of wasting time, he'd rather stay home and play games. He just built a new computer with really high specs.

"Nice to meet you, Henry, Paris Hilton."

"Uh, I know, your name is often seen in the newspapers."

"Negative news, right? Let me tell you, most of it is actually fake. The media always likes to look at me with prejudice."

"Have a drink? Don't you know anyone here?"

Henry Cavill shook his head slightly: "My director doesn't seem to be here, and I can't find Lively either. Actually, I'm a newcomer."

Paris Hilton's eyes curved into crescents as she thought to herself, "Newcomers are good; they're easy to fool."

After this party, I'm going to get you into my bed no matter what.

"It's okay, I can introduce you. Let me introduce you to my sister and best friend first. They're super nice people."

After saying that, he immediately took action, pulling Henry Cavill towards his small team.

Just then, Twilight producer Mark Morgan suddenly waved his hand: "Henry, come here, Henry!"

Superman immediately found a reason: "Sorry Paris, I have to go check on him, he's my boss."

With no other option, Paris Hilton let go, glanced across the room, and saw Eric sitting in the center. She couldn't help but think that this guy must be the one causing trouble.

"Damn it, he doesn't want to sleep with me, and he won't let me sleep with other people!"

Mischa Barton laughed heartily: "I think you're delusional. They clearly want to discuss serious matters. Wait, look who's behind you!"

Paris turned around and immediately saw Chris Evans appear.

Thinking of Captain America's pectoral muscles in the movie, she felt a surge of heat. She licked her lips and walked towards him.

"Henry, come here right now, you're about to hit the jackpot."

Henry Cavill arrived in front of a group of big shots, bewildered. Although he didn't recognize several of them, those who could appear around Eric Cooper were definitely not ordinary people.

"Sit down," Eric said, gesturing to the seat next to him.

"Henry, congratulations on doing a great job. Your performance in Twilight did not disappoint me."

"Eric personally selected you for the lead role, you didn't know that, did you?" Mark Morgan added.

"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Cooper."

"I was drawn to your looks and charisma. Twilight will be made into a series, so you can continue acting in it. But I need to give you a challenging task."

Henry Cavill's heart skipped a beat, wondering if he was being asked to accompany Paris Hilton and her socialites.

"Wh-what mission?"

Have you seen Superman?

"I've seen it. I've seen the comics and the anime, I've seen the old movie, and I'm also watching Smallman."

"That's even better. It saves a lot of time getting to know the characters. You know I acquired Warner Bros. and now I'm planning to develop the DC Extended Universe."

"I'm planning to cast you as the new Superman!"

Upon hearing this, Henry Cavill was stunned.

Then came ecstasy. It was like a windfall! It was Superman, the undisputed number one popular character in American comics.

Although Spider-Man movies were very successful, they didn't make Spider-Man more popular than Superman, even though Superman hasn't had a movie in years.

Before Nolan's Batman trilogy was completed, Batman's popularity was not as high as Superman's.

"Henry, what do you think? Say something." Mark Morgan nudged him.

"Yes, yes, I was just taken aback by this sudden good news."

"I'm sorry, I just never thought I could play Superman. It's like a dream. I will do my best to play Superman, Mr. Cooper."

Eric smiled and said, "Don't get so excited. I just mentioned that I have a tough task ahead of me."

"If you want to play Superman, you need to build muscle and get fit; you have to become a big guy."

"But in Twilight, you're a vampire, so you have to maintain a relatively slim figure. Therefore, you'll need to control your weight and muscles in a short period of time, which requires a lot of sweat and perseverance."

Eric then called out loudly, "Chris, come here, Chris."

Chris Evans, who was caught up in Paris Hilton's group of girlfriends, quickly responded and hurried out of the rosy circle.

This infuriated Paris Hilton again: "Damn it! That bastard Eric, he's definitely targeting me on purpose, it's infuriating!"

"Heh. You're not really angry. I bet if Eric just beckons, you'll be kneeling by his bedside right now," Nicky Hilton teased.

"What's wrong?"

"Let me introduce you to a friend, Henry Cavill."

The two greeted each other.

"Chris had to juggle filming Transformers and Captain America, so he was simultaneously gaining and losing weight and muscle. He can share some of his experience with you."

"Do you have any plans?" Tao asked.

Superman nodded: "Mr. Cooper wants me to play the new Superman."

"Wow! Such a great role, won't you give me an audition?"

"He's a better fit than you, Chris."

"Okay, come on over here, young man. We can be gym buddies from now on."

The two left and soon joined the team of Deadpool, Wolverine, and Robert Downey Jr.

Eric rubbed his slightly hungry stomach and walked over to the grill, where he saw Nolan intently brushing oil onto the meat.

"I never knew a great director like you had this kind of talent."

Nolan looked up and smiled shyly: "Actually, I'm not only a pretty good cook, but I'm also good at farm work. I've grown corn, wheat, beans, and peanuts."

"Really? I didn't expect you to be such a versatile person."

"Hehe. To experience life, have two pieces."

Eric nodded slightly: "No wonder you like real footage; you prefer using the real thing over the fake one."

"It smells so good, let us eat it first."

Judy appeared behind them with Avril and Daddario.

"Of course, ladies first." Nolan skillfully placed the grilled meat onto a plate.

Looking at the three beautiful women, Eric tentatively asked, "The three of you seem to get along quite well."

Avril scoffed, "It's better than someone who's heartless."

D'Addario said nothing, but looked at Eric with his big, dog-like eyes filled with resentment.

Eric felt a pang of guilt, realizing that he hadn't visited the two of them for over half a month.

"Alright, let's not delay the busy man's business. Come with me, let me introduce you to some new friends."

Judy winked at Eric and pulled the two resentful women away.

According to their plan, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Nolan, however, was puzzled. He is a genius director, and directors are very perceptive of all kinds of details.

The feeling he got from these three women and one man was very abnormal!

"Ahem. Nolan, I plan to release Beta in two weeks. You can prepare in advance."

"Yes, no problem."

"Besides, now that Warner Bros. belongs to me, you should give up the idea of ​​leaving and continue filming the sequel."

"My promise that I would not interfere with your creative process and that I would guarantee a sufficient budget still stands."

Upon hearing this, Nolan immediately perked up.

He certainly wanted to make a sequel, and he had already laid the groundwork for it.

At the end of "Batman Begins," the Joker's identity card appears, and the main villain for the second part has been decided.

Nolan had even conceived the basic framework, but Warner's serious interference made him worry about his creative freedom.

"The actual production cost of Beginner's Blade was around $1.15 million. I'll approve $1.65 million for the sequel, how about that?"

"But the movie hasn't been released yet, are you sure it will make money?"

"Whether you make a profit or a loss, we'll give you an extra $5000 million. All you need to do is focus on creating."

"Since you've put it that way, it seems I have no reason to refuse."

"Let's stick with Bale for Batman. As for the Joker, I have an actor I recommend, but it's up to you whether you use him or not."

"Who?"

"Heath Ledger!"

(End of this chapter)