America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 90 Passion sets in

Vanity fair party banquet.

Eric and Spielberg were standing in the corner of the hall. The two of them had been talking for a while.

Looking at the audience, although the stars attracted the attention of the camera, the Oscar statuettes were also very dazzling.

But those who really know the industry understand that although it is lively when celebrities gather together, it is over when the excitement is over, and it does not have much real effect.

The real bosses are people like Eric and Spielberg who don't like to appear in public. They are relatively quiet and secretive in the corner, but important decisions are often made here.

So even though the two of them were just standing with their backs to the crowd, there were already countless people in the middle who wanted to get closer.

They want to join in, even if they serve tea and water, they don’t mind.

This is the entertainment industry. Didn't you see that Zhang Ziyi used her hands to pick grape skins in order to please Jackie Chan?

But ideas are just ideas after all. Everyone has different levels. To be more serious, there is a class gap.

Not to mention ordinary celebrities, even Spielberg's favorites Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio could only watch from a distance, not daring to get close without being summoned.

"Since that time we talked, I told Jeffrey and David about your proposal and we discussed it many times and they were very interested."

"In fact, everyone in Hollywood knows that what DreamWorks lacks most is overseas distribution capabilities. If this shortcoming can be supplemented, it will be very beneficial."

Eric continued to add food to his mouth: "Although MGM's global distribution capabilities are not as good as Disney's, they are not weaker than other companies. Steven, I'm curious about how many overseas releases DreamWorks' previous films can receive." income."

Speaking of this topic, Spielberg couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Before you joined MGM, the major companies had already negotiated the price. In fact, there were only two options before DreamWorks. Either package and sell the overseas distribution rights directly like Titanic, or Just take the number between 22% and 25%.”

"That's it! I thought it would be at least half open."

Spielberg sighed: "You can ask your father. He knows better than anyone else. He was also involved in the formulation of the rules."

"Well, hearing you say that, I feel like I have become an exploiter."

"No, there is no such thing as exploiting and being exploited, it's just a unequal strength. If DreamWorks and MGM were to swap places, I would do the same thing."

"Steven, you are very open-minded."

"Having been in the industry for a long time, you can naturally see everything. Why bother trying to get into trouble with yourself?"

Eric somewhat admired Spielberg's open-mindedness, or to put it bluntly, he lay flat.

"Okay, let's talk about cooperation. If MGM and DreamWorks cooperate, MGM is willing to give 45% of the overseas profits of DreamWorks' movies. This is my sincerity."

Hearing this, although Spielberg still had the same expression, his heart was filled with turmoil.

He had many conversations with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, and the focus was naturally on the share issue of DreamWorks, which was the focus of negotiations with MGM.

Negotiations are originally a process of trying to figure out each other's psychology and trump cards. The three giants of DreamWorks finally set a price range of 35% to 40%.

If MGM is willing to give up profits to this extent, DreamWorks' efficiency will directly increase to a higher level.

So even if the animation studio fully supports MGM, it is not unacceptable, just like Pixar fully supports Disney.

At the end of the day, 32% of the quota must be obtained, otherwise cooperation will be unnecessary.

Spielberg also came here with this goal in mind, but what he didn't expect was that Eric was so majestic, almost halfway through his mouth.

It was 5 percentage points higher than his highest psychological expectation. It was all money and green Franklin.

At this moment, Spielberg was very happy, even ecstatic. With a smile on his face, he swallowed the bacon on the plate in one gulp.

Seeing the old man's happy look, Eric naturally understood what he meant.

At 45%, although MGM will earn less, the benefits are obvious. DreamWorks' future works will be exclusively distributed overseas, which is equivalent to small profits but quick turnover, small profits in quotation marks.

Overall, it's still profitable, not to mention that you can tie the best animation department of DreamWorks to your own tank, so why not?

"So, when will the contract be signed?"

"I think it will be soon. When David and Jeffrey know the news, they will definitely be willing." Spielberg said with a smile.

"Try to do it within this week."

"Eric, are you in a hurry?"

“What’s agreed upon, I like to get it off the ground as quickly as possible, and it’s time for Frozen to start.”

"Okay, I'll call you within this week."

After talking to Spielberg, Eric's stomach was full. The purpose of attending this party had been achieved, and there was no need to stay here any longer.

Saying goodbye to the old man, he turned and left.

The Lamborghini was driving fast. The clock had struck midnight and there were not many pedestrians on the streets of Los Angeles.

Even if there are, many of them are gangsters, drunkards, or even criminals.

Not long after, as they were approaching Beverly Hills, Eric's phone suddenly rang with a text message.

"Peter, turn around!"

"Huh? Where are you going, boss?" The driver slowed down steadily and turned the car around.

After a pause, Eric said: "Get off the car and find a hotel nearby to stay for one night."

If the boss suddenly asked him to get out of the car, he must have something private to do. As an experienced driver, Peter obeyed decisively.

Beverly Hills is full of luxury hotels. With my salary, I can't bear to book a room here. This time I just wanted to experience it. It's a public account anyway.

Eric switched to the main driver's seat, and the Lamborghini continued to run, and soon drove into the area of ​​Beverly Hills. However, it did not move towards the location of Cooper's house, but drove in the opposite direction.

It didn't take long to arrive at the destination, which was a magnificent mansion that was no less impressive than the Cooper family.

Not long after he waited, he saw a red Rolls-Royce catching up from behind and slowing down after approaching the Lamborghini.

The car window was lowered, and Nicole Kidman came over with a wink: "Follow me."

Under the leadership of her master, entering the mansion was a matter of course.

The two cars parked smoothly into the open-air garage. As soon as Eric got out of the car, he was knocked against the car door by a gust of fragrant wind.

"it's here?"

He responded with cold lips.

"hiss"

Suddenly, feeling a pain in his tongue, Eric pushed Nicole Kidman away.

"Why did you bite me? Are you drunk?"

Nicole Kidman's eyes were blurred: "No, alcohol can't make me drunk, but when I see your young and handsome face, I can't help but want to take a bite."

"Okay, it seems you are really drunk, so let me help you sober up." Eric said viciously.

As he spoke, he stepped over, picked up the woman and put her on the hood: "See? The space here is more suitable."

Shit!

A crisp sound passed through the dark night sky, the woman's skirt was torn to pieces, and the evening dress worth tens of thousands of dollars turned into a rope for binding.

Eric pressed himself against Nicole Kidman's back and kissed her cheek gently.

The woman felt a fire burning in her chest, and the cold winter night could not resist it. A low murmur sounded in her ears.

"what do you want?"

There was no hesitation.

"Own me, own me hard!"

"ah"

At three o'clock in the morning, the sun shone into the bedroom and fell on Eric's face, and he slowly woke up.

Hearing the sound of water coming from next to him, Eric got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.

After finishing in the garage last night, the two returned to the room to continue the harmony of life.

They drank while doing it, until both of them couldn't hold it anymore, they fell asleep. They didn't even take a shower, and they couldn't remember how long they had been doing it.

"It's great to be young. If it were before time travel, you would have to lie in bed all day to play like this."

Opening the bathroom door, Nicole Kidman is washing her hair under the shower.

When he saw Eric, he immediately said complainingly: "It's all your fault. Now my hair is sticky and uncomfortable."

Eric spread his hands and made an innocent expression: "How can you blame me?"

"Then you can't be more accurate?" Nicole Kidman said angrily.

"You were not like this last night, woman."

"What do you want to say?"

"Nothing, I mean I'm here to help you."

"Well, please help me open my hair. Yes, that's it. It needs to be rinsed thoroughly."

"Wait, where are you touching? Take your hand away quickly, I don't want to take a shower again, hahahaha"

On the sofa, the two of them were wearing warm nightgowns, and the curtains around them were all drawn. Although it was daytime, it felt like night.

The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, and the American version of "The Ring" was playing on the home theater.

But their attention was obviously not on the movie, even though Sadako was climbing out of the well.

"Nicole, I feel very strange. Yesterday we were at the Oscars. It was the first time we met, and now you are in my arms. It's a magical and incredible feeling. Do you feel it? "

Nicole Kidman nodded slightly: "Yes, but I don't know what's wrong? I think maybe it's catharsis."

"Cathartic? Do you use me as a tool to vent?"

Eric frowned. Although he told Chloë Sevigny that everyone was a tool, it was obvious that no one really wanted to become a plaything for others to use.

Nicole Kidman raised her eyes and asked in a joking tone: "Little guy, does this answer make you uncomfortable?"

"How should I put it? A little bit."

Nicole Kidman climbed up from Eric's arms, hugged his neck and kissed him, saying: "Don't think of Eric like that. In fact, it has nothing to do with you. It's all about my experiences in the past few years. I need a chance to vent my feelings. "

Eric looked at her and listened quietly.

"As everyone knows, Tom Cruise and I were married for 11 years, but in 2001, we divorced, and it was a difficult process."

"When I came to Hollywood from Australia, as an unknown newcomer, I had to face huge pressure and competition, as well as unspoken rules that might appear at any time."

"And Tom Cruise came along, and I married him at the age of 23, and from then on I became the woman that everyone envied."

"He used his power to protect me from wind and rain and get good resources. I never deny this, even if he is ridiculed by the media and many people."

"He was really nice, except for one thing, and this was the fundamental reason for our divorce, he was a Scientologist and I was a Catholic."

"Although this sect is called Scientology, it is not scientific at all. Its dogma is unbelievable and intolerable."

"My father is a psychologist, so I kept trying to talk Tom Cruise away from Scientology, and it started to have some effect."

"But then I faced the revenge of Sanda Christ. Those believers brainwashed Cruise even more crazily and regarded me as a thorn in their side."

"They followed me, monitored me, harassed me all the time, and bribed the media to paint me as a disgusting woman."

"Even the children we adopted are actually the children of believers, and these two little guys also hate me and hate me under the influence of Scientologist."

"It wasn't until 2001 that Cruise suddenly filed for divorce. You should know that I was still pregnant with his child at that time. I think Scientologists were worried that after the child was born, Cruise would become uncontrollable within the church. In short, The marriage ended suddenly."

"At that time, I thought, let's end it. I even laughed happily, but those guys didn't want to let me go at all."

Nicole Kidman paused as she spoke, seeming to recall a lot of bad things.

"Perhaps he was worried about our remarriage, so Sanda Christ quickly arranged a new girlfriend for Tom Cruise, and he continued to smear me, follow me, and secretly photograph me."

"The rhetoric escalated and I became a bitch who hooked up with Cruise and was worthless without him."

"Even Isabella and Connor, even my children, treat me as a villain who framed their father."

"Because of this, I must prove myself. I must let those people know that even without Tom Cruise, I am no worse than anyone else."

"I took over the filming of "Moulin Rouge". In order to play this role well, I strangled one of my ribs and broke another rib, but I had to win the Best Actress."

"It's a pity that I lost to Halle Berry, and then those people jumped out and described me as a scheming woman who marketed misery and hard work."

"You can't refute without results, but this time I succeeded. I can shut up those vicious devils. I can prove that I am not a useless woman relying on Tom Cruise. I can stand up in front of everyone and speak loudly. , I’m Nicole Kidman, the Oscar-winning actress.”

As she said this, she suddenly burst into tears, which could make a woman who has been struggling in Hollywood cry for more than ten years, which shows how much grievances she hides in her heart.

Sighing, Eric hugged Nicole Kidman tightly.

He understood how this woman felt, and he just appeared at the most suitable time.

The two hugged each other for a long time until the end of the movie, when Nicole Kidman's tears were wiped away.

"Nicole, can I ask you a question?"

"Um?"

"Would you do it if someone else saved you at the award ceremony?"

"No, what are you thinking!" Nicole Kidman glared at him.

"Well then why us?"

Nicole Kidman twisted like a water snake, put her hands around Eric's neck, and whispered in his ear: "I don't like ugly people."

"Well, that's an acceptable reason."

"Stop talking and kiss me!"