America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 23 The little bitch and Sharknado

New York, JFK International Airport.

A Lincoln was driving on its way to Rhode Island.

Eric looked at the exquisite gift box in his hand, which contained an old Longines watch.

A stainless steel case and a beige dial that has aged to a rich cream color and is just plain ugly and dated compared to modern craftsmanship.

But its former owner was Oskar Schindler, the prototype of Spielberg's "Schindler's List". Chen Xing spent a lot of effort to buy it from RR Auction House in Boston.

The price is not very expensive, it was bought for 10,000 US dollars, but it is of great significance, especially to the Jews. This will be his gift to Gal Gadot, which is not expensive but can show sincerity.

bell

The phone rang, and Warren's voice came out.

"Eric, they said you went to New York."

"Well, I'm already here and on my way to Rhode Island to get ready to contact Hasbro."

"Yeah, you can definitely deal with them and get the copyright to Transformers."

"I hope I can succeed the first time, but I guess it won't be that simple."

"You will always find a way, but since you are not in Los Angeles, I will call you to report on the work."

Over at AK Film and Television, Beima Hadi has hired a deputy manager who will join the company in the next few days.

The script of "Sharknado" is in preparation and is expected to be completed in a week. This kind of illogical and bad movie is really not challenging.

The screenwriter even made a request. He just wanted to make some extra money, but he didn't want to be embarrassed, so his name shouldn't appear in the film. He didn't want to be nailed to the pillar of shame.

Except for the male lead, all the actors have been finalized. Eric doesn't know any of them, they are all transparent, and the salary will not exceed 100,000 US dollars.

There are many such actors, whether in Hollywood or China, who enter the entertainment industry to pursue their dreams, hoping to become a big star.

After wasting a few years or more than ten years, he may have acted in a few movies, but most of the time he was just a sideshow, never became popular, and finally left the show sadly.

The result is that youth is ruined, time is wasted, and other livelihood skills are not available. It is a mess.

Fortunately for women, as long as they are beautiful, they can usually find a suitor, but they may not necessarily be rich and stable.

The male actor is miserable. In the end, he can only work as a side job or as a cashier, insurance salesman, etc. His peers around him have wives and children who are in love with each other, and he has to work hard to deliver food.

When people around me ask what I did for a living before, they can only smile bitterly and advise young people not to enter the entertainment industry, which is a black hole.

"If there is no choice for the male lead, I will recommend someone."

"His name is Ryan Reynolds. He started out as a child actor and has been in the industry for many years. However, he has never become popular. His current situation should not be good. You can contact him."

“Tell him that although Sharknado is a bad movie, it’s bad in a very distinctive way and it will definitely help him gain a reputation.

"And this is my project. If his performance is good enough, MGM will give him priority in the new movie, and the salary can be appropriately higher. If he is hesitant, please contact me."

On the other end of the phone, Warren wrote down his name on a piece of paper: "Ryan Reynolds, I remember him. There will definitely be no problem with the person you recommend. I will contact the Screen Actors Guild right away."

Speaking of the male protagonist, Eric's name suddenly popped up in Eric's mind, and he immediately gave Warren an idea.

Ryan Reynolds and "Sharknado" seem to go together quite well when you think about it.

Moreover, Xiao Jianjian is not famous yet. Although he entered the industry very early, he was not very lucky. He has been in the industry for more than ten years and has not been able to get ahead.

Eric remembered that Ryan Reynolds had a movie released some time ago, which seemed to be from Lionsgate and was called "The King of Repeaters."

This kind of campus youth film is not as impressive as "American Pie", so the box office will naturally not be much higher.

After the movie was released, Ryan Reynolds's reputation increased, but not much. It can only be said that he began to stand out among teenagers.

If you believe that the money is in place and you give a certain amount of commitment, it won't be a problem to win him over.

"As for another director, I would also recommend someone. Kieron Everly Wayans, the director of "Scream", is a member of the Wayans family. He is good at this style of movies. You can try to invite him. , if it doesn’t work, forget it, you can take care of it yourself.”

"Okay, I took note of it."

"Boss, we're here."

At this time, the car slowly stopped in front of a building. Chen Xing, the co-pilot, jumped out of the car and opened the door. He was faced with a Volvo and a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"Boss, this is Mr. Sergey Hassenfeld, the CEO of Hasbro." Volvo introduced hurriedly.

This time it was someone who asked for help. Eric walked up quickly and held his hands together.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hassenfeld!"

"Me too, Mr. Cooper, you are the hottest star in Hollywood recently, with a fortune of 2.8 billion US dollars. I have long wanted to get to know you."

The two looked at each other, smiled, exchanged a few words and then entered the building.

It has to be said that Volvo's work efficiency is indeed very high. In just ten days, he got in touch with Hasbro's senior management.

Sergey Hasenfeld, current CEO of Hasbro, is second only to the CEO in the group.

The CEO's name is Alan Hassenfeld, and the two are uncle-nephew.

According to Volvo, Hasbro has long wanted to develop the gold mine of Transformers, especially after seeing the success of Spider-Man. The bouncing boy next door brought Sony more than $300 million in direct revenue and indirect revenue. The income is another huge sum.

With such a terrifying ability to attract money, any company, let alone Hasbro, would be jealous, which is why things are progressing so smoothly.

There was no visit and survey, and the two parties went directly into the conference room. After discussing some details, everyone made concessions to each other, and finally came to the issue of greatest concern.

"Mr. Hassenfeld, I hope you understand that we are extremely sincere in our cooperation. We believe that Transformers has extraordinary market potential. As long as it is released, it will definitely trigger a global movie viewing frenzy."

"I also believe that Transformers has a wide audience and influence around the world, affecting countless people's childhoods, but we still have some concerns about shooting live-action movies."

"Speaking."

"The first is the shooting issue. Can current digital technology support the shooting requirements of Transformers? Inferior effects will only affect its brand value."

"Mr. Hassenfeld, this is also our focus. This will be a special effects blockbuster. MGM's investment in special effects, I can promise you, will not be less than 100 million US dollars, which can be written into the contract."

Upon hearing the figure of $100 million, Hassenfeld's eyes instantly lit up.

He inquired that the production cost of Spider-Man is about 300 million. After deducting the director, actors, props, post-production and other expenses, the special effects cost is actually only about 70 million US dollars.

And if MGM's investment can really reach US$100 million, the effect will be absolutely explosive.

Nodding with some satisfaction, Hassenfeld raised the second key question: "The other issue is the copyright fee. I think you all know that the Transformers animation ratings were very good last year, so we hope to increase the licensing fee by 20%. "

I will work hard. If you have any good ideas, please share them and read them. Thank you!