America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 57, Section 58: The Cuckoo Takes Over the Nest (Please add to your favorites and read on!)

Utah.

Today is the opening day of the Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Film Festival, more accurately described as the Independent Film Festival, is a festival specifically created for independent films.

Everyone knows that independent films have small budgets and often take an artistic rather than a commercial approach. These films are difficult to distribute and even more difficult to recoup their costs.

In order to prevent good films from being buried, the Sundance Film Festival was born.

Many famous directors have emerged from here, such as the Coen brothers, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino, making it a veritable talent generator for Hollywood.

This year's film festival will last for 10 days. Eric is currently on his way to Park City by taxi. The small town with just over 10,000 residents does not have an airport.

bell.

The phone rang; it was another, more private number, known to very few people.

Hi! Elena!

"Little guy, is this your plan? I woke up to find Hasbro's stock price had already dropped by 5 percent."

Eric frowned. "Only five percentage points? That's so little? Looks like the market still has high hopes for me as a director, hahaha."

"What are you thinking? Even I know this is completely unreliable. One reason why the stock price hasn't fallen yet is because someone is propping it up. Without a doubt, it's the Hasenfield family."

"Another reason is that the news broke so quickly that many people were in a wait-and-see mode, perhaps thinking it was just fake news."

"I understand, you want me to make this bigger, right?"

Elena said urgently, "Otherwise what? I'm lending you money illegally, the kind of illegal that could send me to jail. Don't let me down, Eric Cooper! Otherwise, I'll drag you down to hell with me."

Even over the phone, Eric could sense the other person's emotions and quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, this impulsive tone doesn't sound like the woman I know."

"I'm on my way to the Sundance Film Festival right now. It's the opening day, and all the entertainment media from across America are there. They're all bloodthirsty sharks, and they'll help us make this a huge success."

After catching his breath a few times to calm down, the person on the other end of the phone said, "I hope so."

More than half an hour later, the taxi arrived at its destination. In the snow-covered town, a huge area was fenced off, filled with screening rooms. Countless people were crowding inside, movie fans from all over the country.

call.

With a puff of white breath, Eric took off his hat and mask. It was a bit cold, but he figured he'd just have to put up with it so the media could capture him better.

I opted to buy a pass for $2000, which is unaffordable for most people. Usually, people buy the pass for whichever movie they want to watch.

Looking at the list of hundreds of movies in the manual, Eric began to look for any he recognized, and then he saw a movie on the second page—"Leland's America".

Although the director wasn't very famous, there were several familiar names among the lead actors: Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, and Michelle Williams.

Don Cheadle is the black man who played War Machine in Iron Man, not the one in the first movie.

He has been in the industry for over a decade and has already gained some fame. Although he is certainly not as famous as Denzel Washington or Will Smith, he is still considered a relatively well-known Black actor.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are both among the most promising young talents in Hollywood, with Gosling currently being heavily promoted and having recently auditioned for a role in "Transformers".

Having chosen his destination, Eric headed straight for the "Leland's America" ​​theater. The movie would start in a little while, and if all went well, he would run into a few media personnel.

After squeezing through the crowd for a while, I found the theater in a pretty good location. As expected, a small press conference was being held there.

There weren't many media outlets, only seven or eight, but that would do. Eric casually found a front-row seat and sat down.

A handsome man is unforgettable wherever he goes, like a shining star. The moment he arrived, Ryan Gosling's gaze followed him.

"Eric Cooper, it's him! Why is he here? Is he interested in my movie?"

With this thought in mind, Ryan Gosling nodded to Eric during the interview, and Eric returned the gesture with a smile.

This strange behavior naturally attracted the interest of others, and several people looked over at the same time, as did the media.

The filmmakers may not have known Eric's identity; they just thought the young man was handsome.

The media, however, reacted instantly, like sharks smelling blood, surrounding Eric as if afraid he would escape.

"Mr. Eric, is it true that you're going to direct 'Transformers'?"

"Mr. Cooper, could you please respond to the message from this morning? Was it a mistake by MGM?"

"Mr. Cooper, is it true that you want to be a director?"

Seeing the reporters' enthusiasm and then looking back at their indifferent attitude towards them, the director and actors felt uneasy.

This is our home turf! What's going on?!

Eric gestured for everyone to be quiet: "I will answer your questions, but only after the movie ends. It's an excellent film, with a great director and cast. Let's focus on them first, okay?"

After saying that, he leaned back in his seat and stopped talking. Seeing this, the media didn't press him for more information. Anyway, Eric Cooper had already made a promise, so they could just wait until the movie ended.

This is certainly one of the reasons why Eric didn't want to answer, but the main reason was that there were too few media outlets present, and they were all tabloids, so their influence was insufficient.

But as soon as the news of his presence gets out, I guarantee that after the movie ends, the theater will be packed with reporters.

Let the bullets fly for a while.

Seeing that the media's attention had returned to them and that they were much more enthusiastic, the director and actors couldn't help but feel grateful.

He's actually a pretty nice person.

More than an hour passed before they realized it, and the movie ended. Eric and a few other audience members applauded. Although it was an art film, it was of good quality.

After the creators went on stage to express their gratitude, the audience began to leave.

The director then led Ryan Gosling and other main actors toward Eric. Opportunities to meet such a big shot are rare, and no one wanted to miss out; he might just be the buyer of the film.

However, the media acted much faster. In addition to the original seven tabloid reporters, dozens of media outlets seemed to suddenly appear, surrounding Eric from all sides.

In an instant, cameras and microphones were shoved almost into his face, and a chaotic cacophony of voices erupted, while the film's creators stood awkwardly on the periphery.

The first day of the third round of recommendations was terrible; I feel like I'm going to be at the bottom.

(End of this chapter)