America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 57 Funeral Bells

The box office of "Saw" continues to rise, especially because of the surprisingly good online reviews. Horror film lovers have formed a network and started to benefit from each other.

Although this situation is somewhat unexpected, if you think about it carefully, it makes sense.

American horror films have always used blood plasma as their selling point, and most of them rely on screams and tomato sauce flying in the sky to attract people.

As for the plot, that’s not important. Some viewers watch horror movies for the plot. In addition, the cultural atmosphere is different, so many times Eastern-style psychological horror movies cannot work in this continent.

Counting back, you will know what American horror movies are like, the four old kings - Leatherface, Freddy, Uncle Mike and Jason.

Except for Eric's favorite dream weakling Freddy, the other three are all violent, and the four major series are all antiques from the last century.

For example, the last movies of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" were both from 1994. It is said that there will be a sequel this year, but it will be 10 years apart.

Later standouts such as "The Return of the Ghost" and "Scream" series, as well as the just-opened "Death" also received good reviews.

"Dead Man" is indeed an innovation, while "The Return of the Devil" and "Scream" are essentially the same old movies.

The current horror film market is extremely thirsty for innovative films like "The God of Death", and movie fans are eagerly waiting for it.

"Saw" just meets this demand. It does not kill people for the sake of killing. It has its own positioning and its own intention. This alone surpasses most horror films, so it can receive widespread praise.

A few days ago, the box office data for the week was released. MGM's smile was almost crooked, with a total of 42.5 million US dollars, which was like a big baby bump.

At the Cooper family, Eric invited James Wan and Ray Whannell to a family gathering in the backyard. Now the two are very popular, and many people want to treat them to dinner.

After having enough wine and food, my mother brought over the freshly made dessert.

"Try it, this is what I'm best at." Emily Cooper said with a smile.

James Wan quickly stood up and took the plate: "Mrs. Cooper, your cooking skills are excellent. This is the most delicious meal I have enjoyed since I came to the United States."

Emily immediately covered her mouth and laughed: "What a sweet-tongued young man. This father and son have never said such things."

Revonard directly picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, then gave a thumbs up, and I didn't need to say anything to flatter him.

After his mother left happily, Eric looked at the two of them: "Do you know what my biggest feeling is now?"

"What?"

"It's confidence. I see confidence and calmness in you. Thinking about the first time we met at Super Burger King, you were completely different."

As a Westerner, Revonard has a more assertive character and said noncommittally: “Successful men are always confident.

Ha ha ha ha

The three of them laughed at the same time.

After laughing, it was time to talk business. Eric crossed his legs and asked, "What are your next plans?"

"I'm going to write the script for 'Saw 2'," Ray Whannell replied.

James Wan shook his head: "I don't know, at least there are no plans at the moment, but as we talked last time, I am no longer interested in directing "Saw 2", but I am still willing to participate in behind-the-scenes work."

"I knew you would say this, so take a look at this, the next movie I prepared for you." Eric took out a script outline and handed it over.

“‘Get Out’ is a very interesting title.”

Revonard also came over, and the two of them looked at each other, while Eric stood up and walked around to eat.

After a while, after the two of them finished reading, James Wan thoughtfully said: "Although it is a script outline, it is undeniable that it is an interesting story. Let me guess, "Barbershop" inspired you, right? ?”

"You guessed it right."

Eric did not deny that although "Barbershop" was released after only one month, it still earned 80 million US dollars at the box office for MGM.

The actual cost of the movie was only about US$8 million, which was an absolute huge profit.

According to subsequent research, more than 80% of the movie's audience were black, which also made Eric aware of the vastness of the black market.

Since then, he has been thinking about how to develop this market, and then James Wan popped up, and "Escape" also jumped into his mind.

As a screenwriter, Ray Whannell obviously saw it more deeply. He praised it after reading it carefully.

"Eric, this script has great potential. It seems to be a horror film, but its core actually expresses racism and the exploitation of black people by white people."

“The idea of ​​using hypnosis to take over a black person’s body is not new, but if a white person uses hypnosis to take over a black person’s body, it would be very new.”

"Race will always be a top concern for Americans, and this movie finds a very original angle."

"Who is the screenwriter of the script? Please introduce him to me. This man has an amazing imagination."

Eric didn't say anything and simply looked at him. After being stunned for a while, Revonard finally reacted.

"It's you?"

"What if?"

"What! You shouldn't be a producer, you should be a screenwriter. This is definitely one of the best horror movie ideas I've ever seen."

"I cannot afford this compliment, and I have only given an outline, and the specific content still needs to be filled in."

Revonard couldn't wait to pat his chest: "Leave it to me, I will definitely do this job beautifully."

"But, the script of "Saw 2"?"

"Don't worry, I promise there won't be any delays. These two notebooks are the focus of my work this year. If something goes wrong, I promise not to share any of it."

For the sake of Levonar's words, Eric couldn't shirk it. The two of them put their palms together and the deal was concluded.

Then he looked at James Wan: "James, Lei is the screenwriter, will you take the director's job?"

Before Wen Ziren could express his position, Levonard had already put his arms around his neck: "We are golden partners, are you going to abandon me?"

Spreading his hands, James Wan said helplessly: "OK! With a good script and a good producer, I think I have no reason to refuse, and it is indeed an interesting story."

Late at night, after seeing off James Wan and Ray Wonnell, the Coopers sat in the study.

"Dad, how's the stock deal going?"

"Today we just polished off all the 300 million U.S. dollars, and got back 400 million U.S. dollars. I don't know which unlucky guy took it."

"Haha, someone has to take over, right?"

"That's right, then let's announce the news?"

In the study, the midnight bell rang at exactly this moment.

Eric nodded: "Announce it, I seem to hear the funeral bells!"

Please read, these three days are the key to the third round, please don’t keep books, thank you!