America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 77. Driving a tiger to devour a wolf? Inviting a wolf into the house? (Please subscribe and donate)

"Have you finished reading the script?" Eric asked when they returned to the office.

Ashley Olsen nodded: "Yes, we've read the script, but there's a problem."

"Speaking!"

"Mary and I noticed that the script involved a lot of intimate scenes. As professional actors, we are not opposed to them, but could we cut out the parts that were too explicit? We mean, we just want to keep the kissing scenes."

Eric thought the Olsen twins' request was reasonable, after all, they are sisters, and it wouldn't be right to go too far on the big screen.

If it really can't pass censorship, then we'll have to go with DVD. The more exciting scenes can be put in the director's cut.

Moreover, "Blue Is the Warmest Color" is a more innocent and lighthearted film for girls, with both female leads being high school students, so there's room for leniency in terms of explicit content.

"I think it's worth considering. We can discuss the specifics further. After all, this isn't the final script. Actually, I've already decided on a position for you in my mind."

"What?"

"Regarding your roles, Ashley, you're perfect for Adele, while Mary is perfect for Emma."

Judy, who had been lingering in the corner, suddenly lit up when she heard this, her expression gradually turning into that of a pervert. No one knew what she was thinking.

"Why? Why should I be Adele?" Ashley Olsen asked, puzzled.

"Can't you tell? Wait, I'll give you the answer right away."

Eric called the makeup artist in and said, "Give them simple makeup according to these two characters."

The makeup artist looked at the portrait Eric had drawn and then began to dress the two of them up. She quickly completed the simple makeup and then put a blue wig on Mary Olsen's hair.

After the makeup was done, the two girls' personalities immediately became apparent. Because the younger sister, Mary Olsen, had a more pointed chin, she clearly had a tomboyish feel after getting short blue hair, and her aura was more assertive.

Her older sister, Ashley Olsen, has a rounder chin, and after applying makeup, she clearly looked a little lost and downcast.

The two sisters standing together are easily recognizable.

"See? Your demeanor and facial features have already determined your respective identities, Judy, don't you think?"

Judy chuckled strangely, making the Olsen sisters even more puzzled. From the moment she saw them, this woman had been acting strangely, her eyes filled with desire, as if she wanted to devour them.

"Ashley, Mary, you two are absolutely perfect! You absolutely have to be in this movie; I don't think anyone would be more suitable than you!"

After saying that, he looked at Eric and said, "Can I be a producer? Please, please let me be a producer. You know me, I will do my best!"

Eric nodded slowly: "Yes, I'm absolutely certain about this. Okay, Judy, you can go out now. I have other things to discuss with them."

After sending Judy, the infatuated woman, away, Eric said, "The script still needs polishing, but it won't take more than two months. In short, you need to make time for it recently."

The Olsen twins nodded in agreement. In fact, after a series of failures, the two sisters were no longer able to get film offers. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to find someone to write the script themselves and go around seeking investment.

Schedule? That's the most abundant thing they have right now.

"Then the movie deal is settled. The contract will be drafted as soon as possible. Next, let's talk about the shares in Double Star Entertainment. What are your thoughts?"

Ashley Olsen shrugged: "Excuse me, if we can't reach an agreement on this, does that mean we won't get a chance to make the movie?"

"That's right! This is part of the deal, and you should understand!" Eric didn't mince words and stated it openly.

"Yes, business is business, and we have no objection to that, but there is currently a problem."

"What's the problem?"

"Eric, you should know that since Mary and I debuted, we have always had a regular agent named Robert Solny."

"He helped us get roles, helped us plan our future path, and even helped us establish Double Star Entertainment. Our parents divorced very early, so you could say that Robert's help in our careers far exceeded that of our parents."

"Although Double Star Entertainment is nominally Mary's and my company, the ownership does not belong entirely to us. Robert also owns a large portion of the shares."

"So if you want to buy shares, it's not enough for just the two of us to agree; he has to agree too. That's the problem."

"How much of a share does Robert Solny own?" Eric asked.

"45%!"

"That's high! You actually let your agent own nearly half of the company's shares!" Eric was somewhat surprised.

Mary Olsen looked at Eric meaningfully: "That's why you need to convince Robert. Ashley and I have already discussed it. You can buy the shares, but only for Robert."

"If you two can reach an agreement, Ashley and I will wholeheartedly support it and promise not to interfere!"

After chatting for a while, Chen Xing took Eric's place and saw the Olsen sisters out of the MGM building.

Looking through the floor-to-ceiling window, the two sisters' silhouettes disappeared into a red car, then merged into the traffic and vanished without a trace.

The pencil spun smoothly between my fingers, then suddenly snapped with a sharp crack, and wood shavings fell to the floor.

"You want me to clear away obstacles for you? Like using one tiger to devour another! Hmph!"

The red Lamborghini couldn't utilize its speed at all during rush hour and could only move slowly through the traffic, while the Olsen sisters sat comfortably in the back seat.

"Ashley, is this really a good decision? Are we really going to bring Eric Cooper into the company? I have a feeling this path is dangerous."

Ashley Olsen looked at her sister helplessly: "So, do you want to continue to put up with Robert's manipulation?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Mary Olsen sighed, "No, it's been over a decade. I've had enough of him. Besides, he's really out of touch with the times. Look at the path he's chosen for us; he still treats us like little girls from ten years ago."

"The Robert Solni of today is no longer the man who could command the winds and waves. He may still have some influence in television, but that's no longer what we need. What we need is the big screen, and he can't deliver that."

Ashley Olsen sighed as well: "Yes, it's a pity that this man still sees himself as the godfather, and it will be difficult for us to break free from him on our own."

"But Eric Cooper, I'm worried he wants more than just a stake; he wants the entire DoubleStar Entertainment," Mary Olsen said anxiously.

"Mary, everything has risks. At least getting rid of Solni is what we need most right now. As for Eric Cooper, in the worst-case scenario, even if he gets all of Solni's shares, he will only have 45%."

"And with the two of us owning 45% of the shares, plus David and Garnett's 5% each, we still hold absolute control."

"Okay, I hope so. Oh, right, little Elizabeth's gift, I almost forgot about that, tomorrow is her 14th birthday."

"What did you buy?"

"I can't tell you that. We can compare and see who Elizabeth likes better."

It's the weekend, St. Rosa School is closed, and the film crew is also on holiday. Eric doesn't plan to go to the set; he'll wait until Monday.

Yesterday, the film "Whale Rider," which I acquired at the Sundance Film Festival, was released.

Because it's an art film, the screening scale will definitely not be very large. There's nothing that can be done about it. Even if MGM wanted to expand the screenings on a large scale, the theaters wouldn't agree, worried that the profits would be too low.

So in reality, it only appeared in more than 600 cinemas, and the publicity was not extensive. Eric approved a budget of $100 million as a token gesture.

The money was limited, just enough to buy some space in newspapers to spread some buzz, and then hire online trolls to hype things up, focusing on environmental protection and animal welfare.

Just like issues such as race, sexism, and vegetarianism, environmentalism and animal rights have always been popular in the West and are considered absolutely politically correct.

Those who oppose something may oppose it in their hearts, but once they speak it out, they often get into trouble. Both groups have die-hard fans and brainwashed fans.

Films like "Barbershop" and "Get Out" made money off Blackie, and "Whale Rider" made money off them.

At AK Films, Bermahadi and Warren have somehow found two novice directors, and each has gathered a group of extras. They are currently filming a script written by a third-rate screenwriter.

There's a movie called "Saw," and it's obviously a knock-off of something else.

Another one is called "Dragonfly Man," which is naturally aimed at Sony's "Spider-Man."

As for whether Sony will sue AK Films in anger, there's absolutely no need to worry. Even if Disney came along, they wouldn't win the case.

Because one of the laws concerning copyright is called transformative use.

The general idea is that if you quote someone else's work but add your own secondary innovations, then it becomes a new work and is subject to new copyright.

The key is to have your own innovation, so that the audience can immediately understand that it is completely different from the original work's core spirit and can replace the original work's uniqueness.

For example, Dimension's "Scary Movie" series parodied a large number of well-known movies such as "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "The Matrix," "The Exorcist," and "Ju-on," but it did not constitute copyright infringement.

Because the audience understands that this is a comedic toilet humor movie, and has nothing to do with horror or thriller.

Videos that provide explanations of movies and TV shows, such as those by Bilibili UP masters like Teacher Liu and Lao Xie about Eric's time travel, are strictly speaking considered copyright infringement.

Because their commentary and critiques are based on film and television works, but they are merely simple commentary and critiques without adding their own innovation. The audience clearly understands that you are talking about someone else's movie, and that making a few witty remarks does not constitute innovation.

If the companies that own these works really take legal action, the content creators will almost certainly be wiped out.

Beverly Hills, the Cooper family home.

"Dad, do you know Robert Solny?"

Harry Cooper nodded: "The CEO of Twin Star Entertainment, I've dealt with him before. He's the Olsen twins' manager and has some influence in the television industry."

"What kind of personality does this person have? What is their character like?"

"I don't know about that. We haven't had any in-depth conversations. I can't even remember when I last saw him, and I can't even recall what he looked like now."

As he spoke, his father's eyebrows twitched: "Why are you asking about him? Is it related to the shares in Double Star Entertainment?"

"That's right, Robert Solny is our target."

Eric recounted his conversation with the Olsen sisters from the previous day, and his father, being a seasoned veteran, immediately saw through the deception.

"It seems the Olsen sisters don't intend to continue working with Solni, but after all, they've had a relationship for over a decade, and the sisters don't want to directly break ties with Solni; they're worried about their reputation."

"That's right, but MGM definitely wants to acquire DoubleStar Entertainment's shares, so the problem is how to convince Solni."

After a moment of contemplation, Shari Cooper slowly spoke: "How about this, I'll first secretly find out about Twin Star Entertainment, and then sound out Scherney's opinion."

"If he intends to sell his shares, we're willing to pay a premium, as long as the price is within our acceptable range."

"If Solni refuses to sell, we'll look for another way."

"Well, hopefully he's someone who knows when to back down, otherwise we'll have to set him up. In short, we need to make him sell 'willingly'." Eric looked coldly into the distance.

Santa Monica, not far from Los Angeles, is a great vacation spot in the summer due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

At this moment, inside a resort hotel, a young waiter is pushing a cart along the corridor.

As we passed room 706, the loud shouts almost pierced the walls, even though the room was supposed to be soundproofed.

"Damn bitch, yelling so loudly, is someone trying to kill you?"

She couldn't help but crouch down and press her ear against the door to eavesdrop, which made the previously faint cries even clearer.

Lost in thought, I felt a surge of excitement and, in a daze, I lost track of how long I had been squatting there.

"Ouch!"

Feeling a bit numb in her legs, the waiter fell to the ground with a thud. She quickly looked around and, finding no one there, left blushing.

"Oh, this is so embarrassing, but it hurts so much. Oh, right, call Francis, he always wants me."

Cough

Inside the room, Colossevini coughed violently; the force of the cough and the sensation of something entering her throat made her cough uncontrollably.

Eric Cooper rolled his eyes at the half-naked Eric: "You're still as rude as ever, Eric Cooper!"

"But you like it this way, don't you?"

"Hmph! Did I say I liked it?"

"No, but the body's actions don't lie."

"You despicable bastard, you're just using me as a tool to release your lust."

Eric frowned. "Sevier, that's a bit hurtful. In this world, who isn't someone else's tool? The only difference is the purpose."

Colossevini looked at him with a complicated expression: "How can you say such shameless things so brazenly? As a man, shouldn't you at least try to comfort me, even if it's just pretending?"

"Yes, in principle, but you also said it's just pretending. I think it's better for people to be more genuine."

"But I don't feel comfortable." Sevilla pouted, looking a little aggrieved.

Seeing this, Eric's expression softened into a smile, and he gently helped her up from the ground: "Will doing this make you feel better?"

"Yes, at least you knew to help me up."

"How about this then!"

Snapped!

With a crisp sound, Colossevini collapsed onto the bed, covering his flushed cheeks, and looked at Eric with some surprise.

Her eyes immediately lit up with excitement: "I like it even more!"

(End of this chapter)