America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 70, Section 71: The Biggest Problem with Transformers

On February 4th, the box office results for the fourth week of "Saw" were released. The film grossed $12.5 million in North America, bringing its total North American box office to $109 million. It will run for one last week before being taken off the screens.

Overseas, the film has premiered in South Korea, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and other regions, but it is still not available in China. After all, it is difficult to import such R-rated films, and even if it is imported, it will not sell for much money.

However, since it has been almost a month since the North American premiere, pirated copies have already been leaked, which will definitely affect the box office.

This week's overseas box office grossed $4475 million, bringing the total overseas box office to $9900 million. The global total box office for "Saw" is currently below $2.1 million, which is a respectable result.

It is projected to gross another 30 to 40 million US dollars globally, bringing the total box office to 250 million, which could exceed analysts' estimate of 220 million US dollars.

Today is a special day at Hofta Military Base in Nevada.

Around 10 a.m., several vehicles of different sizes appeared outside the base gate. The only thing these vehicles had in common was that they all had a lion head logo printed on them.

When the MGM convoy arrived, countless weapons were aimed at them from different angles, terrifying the staff so much that they dared not breathe.

If one of the soldiers were to accidentally fire, it could take the lives of everyone in the vehicle.

In the passenger seat, Lieutenant Colonel Freeman made a phone call, and a few minutes later, the base gates opened, letting Eric and his group inside.

"Follow me!"

After getting off the vehicle, Lieutenant Colonel Freeman led Eric to meet the base commander, another tough-looking man named John DeFal Adams.

His rank was higher than Freeman's; although he was a colonel, Freeman privately said that he was about to be promoted to brigadier general.

However, this situation is actually a good thing, because at the crucial moment of promotion, the other party will not act recklessly.

After presenting the Department of Defense's approval document, the two sides communicated for a while, and John Adams indicated that he would cooperate with the filming.

But when Eric showed the other party the shooting plan, the other party immediately frowned.

"Director Eric, do you know how outrageous this list you wrote is? Soldiers are fine, you can have as many as you want at the base, carbines, Brownings, any firearms you want, we'll take them all."

「但7架V22鱼鹰，不少于5架黑鹰武装直升机，至少5架低空铺路者IV型直升机，一个M60、M1艾布拉姆斯坦克营。」

Are you kidding me?

Eric pointed: "There's more to come; you'd better read it all at once."

Upon hearing this, John Adams continued flipping through the pages, then his eyes widened: "A squadron of F-22s? Are you really planning to make a movie?"

Seeing John Adams' reaction, Eric was also feeling uneasy. As a military advisor, Lieutenant Colonel Freeman had certainly seen his filming plans.

When he looked at it, he raised a question: Eric's request for equipment was a bit too much. Even in the United States, there are few military bases that could provide all of that equipment at once.

Especially that squadron of F-22s, a full 26 of them, if deployed in Africa, could utterly destroy every country.

But Eric also had his own thoughts. Although the original Transformers movies were quite good, they always gave people the feeling that these metal lumps seemed too weak.

Aside from the base destroyed by the dizziness at the beginning of the movie, this part is quite eye-catching and gives the audience the feeling that the Decepticons are really powerful.

But then things went awry. The scorpion launched a barrage of attacks, burrowing and flailing about, making for a flashy display, but the score was 0 to 5.

The main villain Megatron was suppressed by several missiles and forced to retreat repeatedly by tank bombardment.

Please, you're Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons on Cybertron. How can a mere bunch of human weapons cause you so much trouble? Where's your shame?

Not only are they shameless, but where are the energy cannons? Where are the shockwaves? Where are the death rays?

All the alien high-tech weapons have been sealed away, the boss's fighting power is not even as good as the underlings, and the Decepticons' most powerful ability is actually stun. How can this be!

In Eric's view, this was the biggest failure of "Transformers," and there are rumors that Michael Bay embezzled a lot of money from it.

Because of his good relationship with the Department of Defense, Michael Bay used Paramount's funds to lobby the Department of Defense, and whatever he saved went into his own pocket.

So, should we add more planes and cannons to the movie for special effects? Or is it enough to just make do, but still rake in millions? This is a choice that any normal person would make.

"Colonel Adams, we're filming Transformers. I think you probably watched it when you were a kid. The enemy is aliens. If one or two planes and tanks can win, don't you think that's absurd?"

"Moreover, this film is essentially a military propaganda film. MGM and the Department of Defense have already reached an agreement that they must do their best to show the strength of the US military. If the equipment is too little, not only will people in other countries not believe it, but even our own people will not believe it."

John Adams frowned. "No way. Everything else is fine, but an M1 Abrams tank battalion and an F-22 squadron? Absolutely not! That's ridiculous!"

"Colonel Adams, without this equipment, the movie won't be able to achieve the desired effect. And I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. You see, the movie also includes an aircraft carrier battle group and AC-130 Ghost Gunships, etc. I know you don't have them, so I'll find a way to address that."

John Adams glared at the young man in front of him, thinking to himself, "You still know I don't? This is an army base, where are you going to build an aircraft carrier!"

"In short, no, one squadron is too many. I can only send you a maximum of five."

"Colonel, are you kidding? The Ministry of Defense has already approved it. How about this, I'll make a concession too, 22 aircraft."

"10 aircraft!"

"20 aircraft!"

"13 aircraft!"

"Nineteen aircraft, that's the minimum!"

"A maximum of 15 aircraft. That's the total number at the base, including those delivered last month. If you're not satisfied, I'll explain to the Ministry of Defense. Please leave my base!"

Seeing that the other party was about to get angry, Eric quickly grabbed his hand, knowing that local bullies shouldn't be messed with.

"make a deal!"

"Director, we're here!"

Just as Eric and John Adams reached an agreement, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Hardy, Ben Foster, and Michael Fassbender walked over from a distance.

After being placed in the base for a month of training, when I saw them again, I could sense an unusual aura from afar.

To be more precise, they look more masculine and manly. With their stubble and military uniforms, strangers would definitely mistake them for soldiers.

Eric smiled as he observed the changes in the four men.

"Very good. You now have the aura of elite soldiers. How is the training going?"

Ryan Reynolds, holding an M16, performed a one-handed magazine change in front of Eric and made several tactical maneuvers.

Eric doesn't know if it meets the standards, but it looks pretty decent enough to pass muster on the big screen.

Looking at the other three, they were all performing the same actions with the same standard, showing that they were all very dedicated.

"Very good, then we'll start the machine promptly at 2 PM!"

It's the weekend, and today I'm going to do 8000 words a day. I won't go to sleep until I do. I want to challenge myself.

Thank you, Lao Ma, for the 500 coins! Thank you, boss!

(End of this chapter)