America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 83. The Fish Is About to Take the Bait

Double Star Entertainment, the Olsen twins have just finished a commercial event, endorsing a children's bath product brand.

Looking at the seven- or eight-year-old girls and boys in the audience, as well as a small number of teenagers, the Olsen sisters felt uneasy.

Children, and more children. It seems that the two sisters are deeply connected with children, dealing with these little brats wherever they go.

The constant chattering and noise is annoying. Everyone says that children's smiles are the cutest, but after watching them for more than ten years, it's hard not to get tired of them.

After finally completing the event's procedures, the two sisters had been faking smiles for over an hour, making them feel like their cheekbones were about to stiffen.

Now that I'm back at my own company, I can finally relax a little.

As major shareholders of the company, they have the privilege of sitting in a special rest room.

A comfortable and soft bed, an extravagantly designed dressing table, and even a bathroom with a beautiful bathtub—only here can you unwind from the fatigue of work.

Slumped on the sofa, enjoying the services of a professional masseuse, Ashley Olsen murmured, "Now, just attending an event makes me feel so tired; it wasn't like this before."

Mary Olsen, the younger sister, felt the same way: "I think the reason is not physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion; our hearts are too tired."

"Yes, I'm tired of this situation."

"Ashley, why hasn't that guy contacted us yet? Hasn't the script been revised yet? When I saw it at MGM last time, it was already a very mature script. I think it's a hundred times better than 'New York Time'."

The pressure on her shoulder made Ashley Olsen let out a comfortable groan. With her eyes closed, she said, "Mary, 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' is an art film, so of course it needs to be meticulously crafted."

"Actually, I would prefer MGM to spend more time on the draft, because this might be our last chance, and the better it is, the better it will be for us."

As she spoke, she suddenly waved her hand irritably: "As for that stupid 'New York Time,' a terribly bad script, it cost us $50, damn it!"

Mary Olsen chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Perhaps we can look on the bright side. It was this terrible script that led us to fly to New York to raise funds, and that's how we met that Eric Cooper guy."

"But he was also a detestable fellow; the stench of greed practically permeated his entire being, like rotting leaves."

dong dong dong.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Sister, it's me!"

Hearing the energetic voice outside the door, the two sisters exchanged a glance, both feeling a little envious of their little sister.

The door opened and Elizabeth Olsen ran in. Although her clothes were a bit thick, they couldn't hide her adorable charm, and her smile was even sweeter than her two older sisters.

What her two older sisters envy most is her height. Although she is only 14 years old, Elizabeth Olsen is already as tall as her two older sisters.

"I knew you'd be here!"

Elizabeth, quite naturally, went and sat down on the third massage chair; she frequented this place.

"Elizabeth, have you finished filming?"

The little girl nodded gently: "It's just a cameo role, it'll be over soon."

She stared at her two older sisters' faces and said, "OMG! Why do you two look so tired? You weren't like this the day before yesterday."

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired. You don't feel it yet."

Elizabeth pouted, "Are you saying I'm not famous enough? Although I know that's true, after all, when people talk about the Olsen twins, they're talking about the two of you, and nobody ever cares about me."

When her younger sister acted coquettishly, Ashley Olsen's tone immediately became indulgent.

"Elizabeth, you're still young. It's too early to worry about these things. You'll find your own path, and our whole family firmly believes you can become a big star."

Mary Olsen added, "But remember, don't follow the same path as Ashley and me. You should go to the big screen and never spend too much time on the small screen, as that will limit your development."

Elizabeth frowned. "But nobody's offering me any acting roles. I wanted to act in 'Spy Kids,' but the production team said I wasn't suitable."

"They gave the role to Alyssa Vega, and the second movie was released last August, grossing over $8 million. Now Alyssa Vega is the hottest teenage actress."

She waved her hand, signaling the masseuse to leave, leaving only the three sisters in the room.

Mary Olsen then said, "Elizabeth, becoming famous too early isn't necessarily a good thing. It puts you in the world of fame and fortune too early, which can wear down an actor's talent."

"Too many young actors who become famous waste their studies. Not everyone is a genius. Most people don't hone their acting skills through movies. Instead, they gradually fix their acting skills as they act more and more. They only use the most comfortable and effortless way to perform, and become formulaic."

Ashley Olsen suddenly interrupted, "Wait, you seem to be talking about ourselves."

"Isn't that right? Fans often criticize our acting for being monotonous, always just smiling, grinning, frowning, pouting, and then accompanied by a few exaggerated physical movements. Don't you pay attention to the fans' comments?"

Ashley Olsen's eyes widened: "Of course I pay attention, but I only pay attention to those who like me. I never look at those who criticize me, even though I know they might be right."

"I really envy you. I just can't ignore those haters. I get angry when I see them criticizing me, but if I don't watch, I feel like something's missing. Sigh!"

Elizabeth Olsen jumped off the massage chair, took two chocolates out of her pocket, and tossed them to her sister.

"If you're unhappy, eat this. I took it when I left the set. Then, if you do a good job in 'New York Time,' people will change their opinion of you."

Looking at her innocent younger sister, Ashley Olsen smiled wryly and said, "Elizabeth, I forgot to tell you some bad news: 'New York Time' has been canceled."

"What?! My role?!"

"It's all gone, absolutely all gone. Everyone says that script was terrible, and that making it would just be a money-loser."

"But I think the script is great. It's inspiring, funny, and full of youthful passion. I like this story."

Ashley Olsen pulled Elizabeth into her arms and gently stroked her head: "Yes, that's why it failed, because only people your age like it. Slightly more mature audiences don't watch this type of movie anymore."

"But don't worry, Elizabeth, we've found a new project. This movie is fantastic and might win an award."

"Is there a role for me?"

Upon hearing that it was an award-winning film, Elizabeth Olsen looked up and asked, her eyes filled with longing.

"Well... I'm not sure, but Mary and I have both read the script, and it doesn't seem like there are any roles suitable for teenagers."

"profound"

The two older sisters felt a little guilty when they noticed that their younger sister was a bit disappointed, since the role that had been arranged for her had suddenly been canceled.

"Elizabeth, this film is financed by MGM, we can't make that decision."

"Okay, we'll give Eric a suggestion, maybe he can get you a role in another movie."

"Eric! Eric Cooper? The vice president of MGM?" Elizabeth Olsen pushed her sister away and said in surprise.

"Yes, it's him. You actually know Eric Cooper?"

Elizabeth's eyes lit up: "Of course I know. He's been in the media a lot lately. My God, he's so handsome, more handsome than a lot of male celebrities."

"You've met him. Is he as handsome as he's portrayed in the media?"

Although Eric left the Olsen sisters with the deepest impression of greed, in retrospect, his handsomeness was undeniable, comparable to Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic.

Given his status and position, if he were to act in an idol drama, he would likely become the dream of every teenage girl in the world.

"Yes, Eric Cooper is indeed exceptionally handsome."

"Can you take me to meet him?" Elizabeth Olsen asked like a fan chasing after a celebrity.

"No problem, I think we'll see each other again soon, and I'll take you with me then."

Yes!

boom!

The three sisters were chatting happily when the door to the lounge was suddenly pushed open, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses barged in.

"Ashley, Mary, what are you trying to do? GG complained to me this morning that your behavior was very unprofessional."

Upon seeing the man in front of them, the three sisters immediately stopped smiling. Elizabeth stepped back, a little afraid of him.

"Robert, we arrived early to interact with fans and introduce products. I don't think we acted unprofessionally."

"Besides, as I've said before, this is our private space. You can't just barge in without Mary's and my permission!"

The Olsen sisters had no intention of giving a kind look to the man who had created them and wanted to control them.

Clearly, Robert Solny was aware of the conflict between them, and their relationship had long been irreconcilable; their connection was purely based on self-interest.

However, Shuangxing Entertainment's performance has been declining in recent years, and the two sisters are no longer very obedient.

After calming himself down, Robert Solney asked, "Ashley, I heard you gave up on 'The New York Time.' Why didn't you discuss it with me? You missed a great opportunity."

Mary Olsen scoffed, "We don't need 'New York Time' anymore, because we'll have a new movie soon."

"What! How come I didn't know about this? What movie is it?"

"Keep it a secret!"

"you!"

Seeing the Olsen sisters' determined eyes, Robert Solny knew that continuing would be pointless, so he sneered and turned to leave.

Seeing the person she disliked leave, little Elizabeth asked, "Isn't that a bit much? Mr. Solny seems very angry."

"Don't worry, someone will take care of him."

In the corridor, Robert Solney felt suffocated. The Olsen sisters were becoming increasingly audacious, completely disregarding him.

It's frustrating that I only own 45% of Shuangxing Entertainment's shares, so I can't do anything about them.

Back in his office, Solni rubbed his forehead, unable to help but think of what had happened a few days ago.

A private equity firm on Wall Street contacted him through a friend, saying they had a good project and were looking for investment.

It turned out that MGM needed to raise funds for this project, and Robert Solny met with the other party through a friend's introduction.

"Mr. Solney, as someone from Hollywood, you should know MGM very well. Now this lion wants to raise funds through private placement to expand production. This is a great project."

"That sounds good, but I don't understand why MGM suddenly needs funding. It's been doing very well lately, and all its new movies are making money," Solny asked.

"Heh. Good development doesn't mean you don't lack money. The Cooper family mortgaged everything and took out huge loans to complete the acquisition from Kerkellyn."

"After paying Kerkellyn, they didn't have much cash on hand, but they had to deal with bank debt collection, company operations, and investment in new projects."

"Especially the collaboration with Hasbro, which cost over $2 million in copyright and film production, plus other films and TV shows produced, put MGM under a lot of financial pressure."

"But the film industry is a slow-return industry, so the Cooper family is now facing a problem. I think you've heard that MGM is planning to relist."

"However, relisting takes time, and MGM can't wait that long, so they've entrusted us with a private placement."

Robert Solny couldn't help but recall the news he had seen recently, in which both Harry Cooper and Eric Cooper had expressed, to varying degrees, the idea of ​​relisting the company during their interviews.

Why do companies go public? Of course, it's for better financing and development.

How many shares is MGM willing to offer?

"20% in exchange for $10 billion, that's the valuation we're giving. As long as MGM maintains its good momentum, its market value will only be higher, not lower, once it resumes trading in a few months."

"Then why choose me? There are clearly many more suitable investors in the market," Solny asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Haha, Robert, you're just one of our targets because MGM has set conditions: the private placement targets cannot be other major Hollywood film studios. They don't want their rivals to infiltrate MGM."

"At the same time, investors must also have some experience in the entertainment industry. They don't want to argue and fight with shareholders who don't know anything. Then we don't have many options left."

These two conditions are reasonable, but not enough to dispel Robert Solny's doubts.

After that, he asked around about MGM, and among the group of executives who had been ousted by the Coopers was a friend of his, who was the main person he inquired about.

This group of people were well aware of MGM's debts, and when they heard the price of $28 billion, they couldn't help but gasp.

He then sought inside information from friends at the bank, and after paying some kickbacks, he learned the inside story that the Cooper family was burdened with $20 billion in loans.

The private equity firm also investigated and confirmed that it was indeed a legitimate company.

These events corroborated each other, making everything seem reasonable and dispelling most of Solni's doubts.

(End of this chapter)