America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 76. The problems of our time can only be left to our time (Please subscribe and donate)

Seemingly having made a great decision, Ashley Olsen asked, "Do you have a script? Can we take a look at it first? Don't worry, I promise I won't leak it."

Eric scoffed inwardly, thinking, "Am I afraid you'll leak secrets? I'm worried that with your limited judgment, you two won't be able to distinguish right from wrong."

However, he still called Chen Xing in: "Tell Judy to bring the script for 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' and find another makeup artist."

"Okay, boss!"

As for the script, Eric wrote it in his spare time while filming Transformers. Since it's an art film, the dialogue is of utmost importance.

The film is adapted from the graphic novel "Blue Is a Warm Color" by French author Julie Marlo, but it was not released until 2003.

Without a source material as a foundation, he was really worried about handing over a rough outline to the screenwriter to fill in, because different people have vastly different comprehension abilities, especially for art films, which are still just outlines.

Not wanting to entrust the film to anyone else, Eric racked his brains to recall the plot. Fortunately, this film was the winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Palme d'Or that year, and their small circle had studied it carefully and watched it many times.

Therefore, I can recall the classic scenes and lines. As for the minor details, the screenwriter can fill them in without much problem.

After a while, Judy walked into the office with the script. The Olsen twins were facing away from her, and she didn't recognize them from behind.

"My boss, you've asked for this script back three times already, and each time it's just to add or delete some dialogue. I knew it wasn't time to find a screenwriter yet, and I knew you'd definitely ask for a fourth time. And it turns out my judgment was correct."

As she spoke, she put the script on the table, and when she turned around, she saw the Olsen twins. She felt that the twins in front of her looked somewhat familiar.

"Oh, you guys, let me think, I'm sure I can remember."

The Olsen sisters smiled as they looked at the woman in front of them, who seemed to be a few years older than them, but they had encountered this situation many times before.

Trying hard to remember, Judy patted her head and said with some doubt, "It's the Olsen sisters, you're the Olsen sisters, yes, it's you."

"Sorry, I can't tell you two apart. You're Mary Olsen, and you're Ashley, right?"

The two sisters pointed at each other: "It seems you've mistaken me for someone else."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, but in my mind I distinguish between you two like this: Mary's chin is a bit more pointed, and look at my eyes, they seem like they should see a doctor."

As Judy spoke, she looked the Olsen sisters up and down, feeling something sensitive trembling inside her; she always felt this way when she saw beautiful women.

Although her relationship with Barrefaeli has made a breakthrough, it doesn't stop her from liking other beautiful women.

No, this should be called appreciation.

After watching for a moment, she turned to look at Eric, a flash of inspiration crossing her mind, and suddenly cried out in surprise.

"OMG! You guys aren't going to be in this movie, are you? Eric, Ashley, and Mary are going to be in 'Blue Is the Warmest Color,' right?"

Eric understood the excitement of being a lesbian, but such overreaction was really unbecoming. He waved his hand and said, "Judy, you've said enough. You can leave now."

Judy took a few steps back and stood in a corner, apologizing softly like a little lackey: "I'll just stand here, I won't bother you, please don't kick me out, I like this scene."

Mary Olsen looked at her helplessly: "We just want to see the script, we haven't decided whether to act in it."

"Alright, you can take a look at the script first. Although it's not perfect yet, this is the general plot. I drew the storyboard, so it's easy to understand."

The two sisters thanked him and carefully flipped through the pages. As Eric had said, this film could help them compete for the highest awards in the film industry, so the Olsen sisters were looking at it with extra care.

Sensing it would take some time, Eric walked out of the office.

Upon seeing the boss come out, Chen Xing immediately followed. As a secretary, he had to stay by the boss's side at all times.

Looking at the young Chinese man in front of him, who was several years older than himself, Eric shook his head slightly.

Although Chen Xing is very diligent and has good comprehension, he has not been by my side for long. He has only done some basic work before, and it will be a long time before he can stand on his own. It will be at least two years later.

"You stay here and keep an eye on things. Call me after the Olsen sisters have finished reading the script."

"Okay, boss."

Eric went straight to the next floor and arrived at his father's office a moment later.

My dad's secretary is a woman, nearly forty years old, named Susan. She has a lot of work experience and used to work in the finance department before being transferred here to be a secretary.

According to Eric, Susan has been with her father for over five years.

Generally speaking, it's impossible for someone to stay in a secretarial position for five years; three years is already a long time. They'll either be demoted to a more important position, or they'll be dismissed due to insufficient ability, or assigned to a sinecure.

It's rare for someone like Susan to have worked for five years, and Eric suspects that his father might have some kind of improper relationship with her.

After all, although this woman was almost forty years old, she was still beautiful and had a great figure, with a voluptuous chest, and she always wore glasses with no prescription.

Many people like girls who wear glasses, as it adds a touch of intellectual beauty and is said to increase attack speed.

Upon seeing Eric arrive, Susan hurriedly opened the door; her father was looking at a document.

Looking up, he saw his son arrive, signed his name on the document, and handed it to Susan: "Have Xiu Lun revise this agreement again."

Susan closed the door and left. Charlotte Cooper asked, "Eric, what's up?"

He found a seat and sat down: "Dad, do you remember what I told you about the China branch?"

Dad nodded: "I remember. What do you want to do?"

"These past few days, a company called Star Overseas from Hong Kong has approached us seeking investment; it's the document I showed you yesterday."

"Yes, that Stephen Zhou, right? The $2200 million investment. Since you think highly of him, I'm relieved."

"Yes, I asked him to act as a go-between in mainland China. Stephen has connections with senior executives at Huaying Group, and I think this is a good opportunity."

"Huaying Group? That's the company that controls the import of films, right? I've heard of it, but I've never dealt with it. The revenue share in the Chinese market is too low, and it's far from being developed."

"Yes, if we only think about box office revenue, there's not much profit to be made in mainland China, but I want to expand other businesses there."

"What?"

"Acquire land, build our own factory, and develop DVD and related businesses."

At this point, Dad immediately understood: "You want to sell Transformers merchandise over there?"

"It's not just Transformers, but also the various related products that have sprung up from subsequent movies."

Upon hearing this, Dad hesitated for a moment: "I know what you're thinking, including what you said about Shuangxing Entertainment not long ago, but piracy is too serious in China, so this may not be a good choice."

"Even if it's serious, it's not as serious as in the United States, is it? We are the world's number one pirate nation," Eric laughed.

Piracy has always been a major enemy of the film and television industry.

To be precise, it's not just film and television; songs, games, books, toys—basically everything can be pirated.

For film and television companies, the most hated are undoubtedly the producers of pirated DVDs.

A genuine DVD sells for over ten dollars, while a pirated DVD sells for only five dollars. For most people, the choice is obvious.

Even though pirated DVDs may have low resolution and incomplete storylines, with parts of the beginning or middle cut out, their low price is the most effective selling point.

Before he traveled back in time, when Eric was a child, pirated DVDs were all too common at roadside stalls or in street-side video stores.

In big cities, you can buy them for 5 yuan, while in small towns, 2 yuan is the standard price.

Often, a movie can be available in the market within two days of its release.

This problem exists not only in China, but all over the world; the piracy problem is also very serious in the United States.

Even though the law severely punishes pirates, the huge profits still cannot be stopped, and the market cannot be eradicated; once it is cracked down on in the open, it will go underground.

What truly eradicated pirated DVDs was the development of the internet; the rise of video websites gradually relegated DVDs to the dustbin of history.

Since then, although the discs are still in circulation, most of them are commemorative editions released by major manufacturers, and they are generally bought for collection purposes.

Hollywood studios are facing a major headache in figuring out how to combat piracy.

"Dad, I've never understood why Hollywood doesn't unite to fight against piracy, given how serious the harm it causes?"

Upon hearing this question, Charlie Cooper said helplessly, "Of course we've thought about it, and everyone is looking for effective solutions, but with little success."

"I once had this idea: to unite all the companies in Hollywood and support a large factory to license legitimate products at low prices, driving pirates out of the market by offering prices even lower than those of pirated products."

Eric nodded. "That's a great suggestion. I've had that idea before, and then what?"

"And then? Then, of course, it's impossible; the resistance is too great. First, all the major companies need to speak with one voice, but that step is already very difficult to achieve."

Why?

"Because of profit, although everyone is affected by piracy, the degree of loss they suffer is not the same. For companies that suffer less loss, the cost of doing so is greater than being pirated."

"Then there are internal issues. Do you really think all pirates are enemies? Of course not. Behind many pirates are actually high-level executives of major companies."

"Do you remember Gosling Fuller?"

"The former head of marketing at MGM?"

"Yes, that's him. As far as I know, he's running a bootleg factory behind the scenes, which harms MGM's interests, but the money is definitely going into his own pocket."

"These parasites, letting them go so easily is too good for them, they even got compensation!" Eric cursed.

Dad sighed: "This is just my guess, there's no concrete evidence, but many companies have this problem."

"What I just mentioned were internal company reasons. Then there are external reasons, like if we spend a lot of money to drive those pirates out of the market, then what? What do you plan to do? Will you still sell at low prices?"

"Of course not, at the very least the price should be restored to its original level, otherwise why bother doing all this?"

Dad smiled and said, "Then another problem arises: when we restore the price, the market will go back to what it was before, and many low-income people will not be able to afford genuine products."

"The needs of this group of people will always have to be met, so it won't be long before pirates reappear, and then everything will be back to square one."

"In this process, we will spend a lot of time and money, but the result may just be that everything remains the same. People who can afford to buy genuine products will still buy genuine products, and people who cannot afford them will still try to buy pirated products. So what is the point of doing this?"

"Therefore, the consensus among major companies is to make the genuine products better and more refined in order to retain our core customers. Those users who do not belong to us will not belong to us no matter how hard you try."

Eric's father's words opened his eyes. Upon reflection, he realized that it was true: genuine and pirated products target different groups of people. If it's not yours, no matter how hard you try, it won't be yours.

"Dad, how about we make pirated copies too? I mean the same quality as those pirated DVDs, but with the beginning and end cut out and the story incomplete."

Dad sighed: "I've thought of that method too, but first of all, piracy is illegal, you need to understand that."

"Of course, it's not illegal to pirate your own company's works, but if you only target your own company, you have absolutely no market competitiveness when facing Hollywood's century-old film library."

"So you need to unite all the major companies, but then the problem comes back to square one: everyone has suffered different losses, so it's impossible to unite them. It's a dead end."

"So let piracy happen. It's a product of market forces, and no one can stop it. All we can do is try to crack down on it and minimize the losses."

After his father's analysis, Eric was filled with despair.

Perhaps, as he said, the problems of our time can only be left to our time, and the problems of development can only be left to development.

When the era enters a new age, there will be no need to crack down on piracy; the problem will disappear on its own.

"By the way, how's the filming of Transformers going?"

"Everything is going well. We're currently filming the school scenes in Santa Rosa. Patty Jenkins is with us, so everything's fine."

bell.

Just then, the phone rang; it was Chen Xing calling.

"Boss, the Olsen sisters have finished reading the script."

"Okay, tell them to wait a moment, I'll be back soon."

After hanging up the phone, Eric got to the core issue.

"Dad, we'll have to expand our business in China sooner or later. After all, Disney, Paramount, New Line Cinema, Universal, and others all have offices or branches. We can't fall behind."

"However, the decision regarding the branch office manager still needs to be made by you."

"That's a tough question. Who do you think is the best fit? Most people wouldn't consider it an easy job."

"I don't know either. Billy loves to travel, but he's too young and not capable of running a company. I need your support."

After hesitating for a moment, Dad looked through the glass towards the door: "How's Susan?"

"Can she do it?" Eric frowned.

"You can rest assured about her abilities. Do you know why I've always kept her by my side?"

"It's not because she's bad, but because she's so useful. Susan is the most capable secretary I have, and I can't bear to let her go."

"Really? She's that amazing! Is it her professional skills, or something else?"

"You brat! Get lost!"

(End of this chapter)