America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 352, Section 350: The Return of Transformers

In cinemas, Twilight continues to resonate.

This love story may be melodramatic, but young people just love it.

Just like many years ago, young people in China were attracted to brainless and melodramatic plots like "Meteor Garden" and "Youthful Days".

Quanmei also likes Huang Zitao. It's the age when people like blondies, a common problem during the chuunibyou phase.

Moreover, Henry Cavill is indeed very handsome, especially after the release of the Superman costume photos, which boosted the movie's popularity to a new peak, as young women love to watch it.

On the contrary, Blake Lively, who played the female lead, did not generate much buzz and could not be compared with the original Kristen Stewart at all.

In addition, Lively was the female lead in the original Green Lantern, but she was also removed in this adaptation, which is quite unlucky.

To date, Twilight has grossed $2.06 million at the North American box office.

Released in multiple countries worldwide, it grossed $2.49 million at the box office.

With a box office of $450 million, it ranked second in the summer box office, while the champion was "Star Wars: Episode III" with a global box office of nearly $900 million, and it is still slowly increasing.

Although the difference was quite large, I was still the runner-up.

"The Mystery of the Swordsman" was also released in theaters, but unfortunately, its box office performance was not very good.

It only topped the box office in its first week, and has so far grossed $2.35 million worldwide, which is rather disappointing.

However, it has received very good reviews; both film critics and audiences have given it mostly positive feedback.

Christian Bale's Batman and Liam Neeson's Ninja Master have both received acclaim.

Inside the Warner Bros. office building, in the CEO's office, Judy straddled Eric's lap.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, gently licking his ears while flipping through the documents in her hands.

"Please, can you be serious? This is very inefficient."

Judy rolled her eyes and snorted, "What can I do? Look at the files on the table, they're practically a mountain."

"I wanted to finish this before I left work. Maybe I should just forget about it and could you give me a massage? My shoulders are so sore."

As she spoke, she walked to the sofa and sat down, while Eric stood behind her and gently massaged her temples.

"Yes! That's it, your hands are still the most comfortable."

"Even more comfortable than D'Addario's?"

"Yeah, she's weak, so I always end up doing the work towards the end."

"But I haven't been able to take care of them these past few days. I just didn't expect that reading documents and listening to reports could be so troublesome. You seemed to have it easy at MGM."

Eric chuckled and said, "It's just that you haven't gotten used to your new position yet. Your mindset is still that of your old, hands-on role."

"After a while, you will naturally learn to let go. Remember, baby, what we need to do is to control the overall situation and set the general direction, that's enough."

Judy sighed. "Well, it seems I still have a lot to learn."

After humming and hawing for a while, Judy opened her eyes again: "By the way, darling, 'Batman Begins' doesn't seem to be as good as you said, at least not at the box office."

"Based on the current trend, it's unlikely to break $4 million in global box office revenue, which is a bit disappointing."

"Even if it doesn't break $4 million, we can still make money, just less. Besides, it's part of DCEU."

"Besides, I've already promised Nolan that a sequel must be made, and the investment will be increased. You can't make me look like a scoundrel who breaks his promise."

"Hehe. Of course not. Actually, what I meant was, could the budget be reduced a little?"

"For example, adding $1000 million would be enough; why insist on increasing it to $5000 million?"

"I've taken a look, and besides the DC Universe, there are quite a few excellent scripts in the library waiting to be developed, which I'd like to film."

As she spoke, she suddenly stood up and took out a stack of scripts from the cabinet.

"Look, these are films I found in my library and ones I acquired from the market; they all seem to have great potential."

Eric glanced at it and saw that the first one was very famous, the script was called "The Departed".

If the name looks familiar, that's why; they bought the rights to the Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs".

After Infernal Affairs became a hit, Warner Bros. bought the adaptation rights, which was widely publicized by the media at the time.

This film won numerous Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay, fulfilling Martin Scorsese's dream of becoming a director.

It's a masterpiece that has achieved both critical and commercial success; it would be a waste not to film such a good resource.

"Great stuff, take a picture, you absolutely have to take a picture!"

"You know it's good without even looking at it?" Judy asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I've seen the Hong Kong version. With a reliable director and actors, it's sure to be a huge hit."

As he spoke, Eric picked up a second script, another one by Leonardo DiCaprio, the famous "Blood Diamond".

Although the movie was well-made, it was a bit too cruel. It received high ratings but low box office returns, and it also helped Leonardo DiCaprio get another Best Actor nomination.

"Blood Diamond"

"What, you don't think it's okay?"

Seeing Eric carefully flipping through the script, Judy asked.

"The subject matter is too dark, and it's clearly aimed at winning awards. I guess it'll be difficult to make money from it."

"But if you want to film it, go ahead. It's good if it brings some honor to the company."

"Then forget it. Since you said it wouldn't work, let's just sell the laptop to Sony and take a small share, just to share in the good fortune."

How do you know Sony is willing to take over?

"I told you it was a project Eric Cooper was interested in, but the company is currently too sprawling to manage everything. Do you think someone might take the bait?"

Snapped!

He gave Judy's pert bottom a loud slap: "Are you using me as bait?!"

"Hehe. Your reputation is great, so why not take advantage of it?"

"Take another look at this. The people below think it looks very promising and are already planning to extend a directing invitation to M. Night Shyamalan."

"Shyamalan? That Indian director Shyamalan?"

"Hmm, darling, your reaction seems a bit off."

"Never go to India," Eric said solemnly.

"Why? I know you hate Indians, but Shyamalan can make money. He's very sought after in the directing market."

"Both 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Signs' were huge hits, and he's good at the subject of 'Lady in the Water,' so I think it's a great film."

"Moreover, this project was originally intended to be invested in by Disney, but for some reason, Shyamalan and Disney had a falling out."

"As a rival, it's good to disgust Disney."

Eric sighed, reached out and pulled Judy into his arms, stroking her head and whispering, "Be good, baby, you can't trust any Indians."

"I've studied Shyamalan. His success was more due to sheer luck than to his own strong abilities."

"He's good at playing with concepts, like a shocking plot twist, which he reveals to you at the very last moment of the movie."

"But the problem is that he's only good at digging holes, not filling them in. You know, a leaf can't fill a crater."

"And have you ever wondered why Disney doesn't invest in his new projects? Isn't it because they're too bad?"

Director M. Night Shyamalan has a nickname – the American Chen Kaige.

They all started at their peak, then plummeted and never recovered.

His downfall began precisely with this film, "Lady in the Water".

He went on to make films for companies like Paramount, Sony, and Universal, until he botched "The Last Airbender" and "After Earth," which cemented his place as a master of bad movies.

Let whoever wants to vote can vote; being near Eric is considered unlucky.

Judy nuzzled against his chest and hummed in agreement: "I'll do whatever you say, but if the movie makes money in the end, you have to apologize to me and compensate me."

"What compensation?"

"Be ridden like a dog!"

"No problem, but what if you lose?"

"I'll let you ride my dog."

"Aren't you already one?"

"Go to hell!"

"Hehe. When you get Daddario sorted out, we'll make sandwiches for you, and you can have the front."

"Let's wait a while, until I've helped her mentally prepare herself. She still doesn't understand our relationship."

"Where's Avril?"

"Ivy is quite stubborn, I'll ask her out again this weekend."

"Mua! I'm counting on you, baby!"

"Actually, what I really want to try is Crystal Liu. I've never been in a relationship with an Asian girl before."

"We'll have to wait. I asked her mother to talk to her. She's on vacation in China right now, and I don't know when she'll be back."

"Okay, her skin looks very comfortable."

Eric pinched her cheek: "Yours is healthier, you'll definitely get to eat it."

"Are you so sure?"

"Of course, when you cross someone's bottom line, she will only lower her bottom line. If she can accept that I have other women, she can accept going further."

"You think you know everything, you pervert!"

August has arrived, the last month of the summer movie season.

The big screen has been somewhat sluggish in the past week, with no new blockbuster releases and the three new films that have been released having little box office appeal.

The reason for this situation is, of course, that everyone's attention is focused on a new movie that is about to be released.

This year's media predictions suggest that only a handful of films could rival Star Wars Episode III.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, War of the Worlds, and Transformers 2.

Now, a year and ten months later, the sequel to Transformers has finally returned to the big screen.

The Arc Light Theatre is hosting MGM's biggest premiere of the year.

With the company's current influence, as long as an invitation is sent, whoever is invited will come unless they are really unable to attend.

Moreover, the celebrities don't come for nothing; at least they gain exposure and can also strengthen their friendships, making it a win-win situation.

Eric had Chris Evans standing to his left and Ryan Reynolds to his right, with flashbulbs going off non-stop.

Gal Gadot and Charlize Theron walked hand in hand on the red carpet. Gadot was the female lead, while Theron voiced the female Transformer Arcee.

Even Sergei flew over specifically to show his support, and standing next to him was Kate Winslet.

"What are you doing here?"

Sergei chuckled: "I came to the premiere and also to extend an invitation to you. I'm planning to marry Kate next month."

"What! You're getting married?" Theron's eyes widened upon hearing this.

Kate Winslet hugged her: "Theron, you're the one who introduced us, so you absolutely have to come!"

"This is so sudden! When did you two get engaged?"

"It's been almost half a year, and it hasn't been announced; it's only been within the scope of family members."

"Theron, Sergei and I are about to take our oaths, but why haven't you and Eric made any moves? We can't find any news about you in the newspapers or online."

"We...we prefer to keep a low profile."

"We can't be too low-key. We need to seize the opportunity to tie him down and get married as soon as possible."

Theron grunted a few times, looked down at his stomach, and didn't say anything.

(End of this chapter)