America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 39, Section 41: Hollywood's Young Generation is Going Crazy (Seeking donations and monthly tickets)

Wednesday arrived in the blink of an eye, and a press conference on Monday propelled MGM and Hasbro into the entertainment headlines.

Hasbro's stock price rose in response, gaining 9% the next day to $33.6 per share.

Not only Hasbro's stock price rose, but Mattel's stock price also increased slightly.

Could it be that the market hopes Mattel will do something similar and bring Barbie to the big screen? If so, we'll probably have to wait 20 years.

As for Lego, it's a family business and not publicly listed.

Many retail investors who had sold their stocks earlier were filled with regret and could only curse, "Why didn't they release the news earlier after the deal was finalized?"

Since the last conversation, Dad has been secretly accumulating funds to buy up a significant amount of Hasbro stock. The Cooper family now holds 5% of Hasbro's stock, but $3 million of that is tied up in the stock.

These stocks are definitely not going to move for now, and we might even continue to increase our holdings until the movie is released and we make a big move.

As a result of this incident, even Winona's final trial for theft received far less attention from the public and the media. Although it was just an unintentional act of helping her, this big star should still treat her to a meal.

In just two days, everyone knows what they should and shouldn't know, and the feedback is that the vast majority of viewers are looking forward to a live-action Transformers movie.

Actually, when Terminator 2 was released, many people wrote to Hasbro hoping to bring Transformers to the big screen.

Back in 1991, these people only knew that both were robots, but they didn't consider that the difficulty of bringing them to life was on a completely different level.

Now, 11 years later, those who wrote the letter back then may have grown up and probably haven't watched Transformers in a long time, but when they heard the news, the fire in their hearts still burned.

Regarding Eric's bold claim of a $7 million box office gross, the Los Angeles Times conducted a street survey, randomly interviewing 200 passersby.

As a result, 67% of people believed it was possible and were willing to pay for a trip to the movies to relive their childhood.

However, many analysts and film critics are pessimistic about this, and many have criticized Eric for being too arrogant.

Major newspapers naturally seized the opportunity to interview top directors such as Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and Tim Burton, hoping to get some explosive comments from them, preferably a harsh critique of this arrogant young man.

When Spielberg was cornered at the company entrance, he looked completely bewildered: "Sorry, I'm busy with post-production on 'Catch Me If You Can't Be This Cute' and haven't been paying attention to this. I won't comment on it."

George Lucas just smiled and said, "Yes, I read the newspaper. 7 million is a difficult target, but I have confidence in Transformers. If Industrial Light & Magic needs our assistance, we would be happy to participate."

Peter Jackson, who was also busy with the post-production of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Rings," laughed heartily: "Come on, that's Transformers, an animated series that many people watched as children, and the favorite of countless teenagers around the world."

"I think $7 million is no problem at all. I'll definitely bring my family to see it. Of course, the film production process will require a lot of special effects, and Weta Digital has a lot of experience in this area. Remember to report that, hahaha."

These big-name directors are all shrewd people; how could they not know the dark thoughts behind the reporters' actions?

However, they were facing the head of MGM, not a newcomer, not someone who could be criticized simply because they had been in the industry for a long time or had a seniority. He was a representative of capital who was on par with them.

We see each other all the time, how could we say anything carelessly? We'll be making money together in the future!

Compared to the composure of established directors, it is the younger generation in Hollywood who are truly restless.

Although the female lead is gone, the male lead role is still vacant. This is a huge windfall, and it remains to be seen who can grab it.

Look at Tobey Maguire, he's the best example.

Before the release of Spider-Man, how many people knew his name? Even though he had been in the industry for ten years, he still hadn't made it big.

After Spider-Man, his career skyrocketed, and he became a favorite of directors and companies, with his salary increasing more than tenfold. He became famous overnight.

Moreover, Eric has already stated that he wants young actors who won't have to compete with big names, which will reduce the pressure considerably.

Beverly Hills, the Cooper family home.

My dad had already received seven phone calls while he was eating breakfast. After hanging up, he smiled helplessly: "It's James Franco's agent, another old friend. I can't ignore him."

"James Franco? The Green Goblin? Looks like he's eager to take it a step further!"

"Of course, otherwise why would I enter the Hollywood circle? If I didn't get Peter Parker, Transformers would have been a better opportunity."

"But my answer is always the same: come audition when the time comes. We don't do anything shady."

Eric was somewhat relieved that he hadn't been in the industry long enough and didn't know many people, so no one was calling him yet, and he didn't have to deal with these troublesome matters.

"By the way, Dad, how's your relationship with the Ministry of National Defense?"

"What?"

"The filming of Transformers will definitely require a lot of planes, tanks, and missiles. Dad, have you dealt with the Ministry of Defense? Can you get their support?"

Harry Cooper frowned. "Some films do deal with the Department of Defense and the FBI, but even with collaborations, the necessary funding is still required to gain their support."

"Actually, the person in the industry with the best relationship with the Department of Defense is Michael Bay. Everyone knows that his movies always feature explosions, so we naturally became familiar with each other after working together so much."

"Have you decided who to direct Transformers? If you don't have anyone in mind, I think Michael Bay would be a good choice; he's very good at these kinds of blockbuster films."

Dad's suggestion was good, and the original timeline was indeed directed by Explosion Bay, but Eric didn't want to use him.

One reason is the high price. After the success of films like "The Rock," "Armageddon," and "Pearl Harbor," Michael Bay is now one of Hollywood's most sought-after commercial film directors.

Based on current market prices, his box office revenue share will not be less than 8%, plus a fixed director's fee; $1000 million would be considered a friendly price.

Secondly, it's because of his personality. Michael Bay is known for his fiery temper. He dares to yell at anyone on set, including the producer. He's fearless.

Anyone with a brain knows Eric will definitely clash with him. Who will he listen to then? Let's not make a mess of things.

Finally, and most importantly, Eric wanted to direct the film himself; he had been longing for that microphone for far too long.

He pursued this microphone for twenty years, and even now, he still wants to fulfill his deepest desire.

(End of this chapter)