Chapter 181 180. Happy Death Day is released, Gadot's inner thoughts
Through the window, Eric could see the two men arguing as they got into the car and left.
Isaac Perlmutter must have been very dissatisfied with Avi Arad's rude attitude and words just now.
It can be seen from one exchange that these two people are not the same kind at all.
The former is a typical businessman. Money is more important than anything else. This kind of person is easier to deal with because everything can be priced in their minds.
The latter is more difficult to deal with, as you want an old otaku to sell his collection of figures and cards.
Unless the sky falls, no one will come forward.
Since it was so difficult, Eric decided not to do it himself and simply left it to Isaac Perlmutter.
For his own benefit, he will probably do whatever it takes.
As for the equity swap he proposed, it is actually not unacceptable, but the degree must be struck properly.
Currently, MGM's equity is divided into five parts, of which he controls 98.2%, Judy holds 1%, Billy and Bordeaux each hold 0.3%, and Warren holds 0.2%.
At the beginning, the four of them followed Eric to bet on the World Cup and each won some money, with a total investment of 20 million US dollars.
Although the shares are not many, they will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars when MGM is relisted in a few months.
If Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad reach a deal, Eric's inner price is that the former can exchange for no more than 4% of the shares and the latter no more than 2.5%.
He can then acquire 27% of Marvel's shares and become the largest individual shareholder.
Then, he used MGM's name to acquire 20% of the shares held by Beech Toys, so that his direct and indirect controlling stake could reach 47%.
He neither violated any rules nor made Marvel his own one-man show, and no one was qualified to challenge his position.
After seeing the two off, Judy came over to report on her work.
Now she is the deputy director of both the script and production departments. Everyone at MGM knows that she is Eric's most trusted and capable general.
"Boss, regarding the invitation to Inception, Christian Bale has agreed to star in it, and his asking price is $6.5 million."
"Heath Ledger was also very willing to act in the film, and perhaps because he was worried that he would be screened out because of his high asking price, he lowered his salary to only $2 million, which was lower than the market price."
Hearing this, Eric laughed: "It seems that they are all people with vision and know the excellence of this movie."
"Yes, Heath Ledger has not been doing well recently, and the commercial performances of "Kelly the Carrier" and "The Sinner Eater" have not been good."
"He had hoped to establish himself as Australia's top new generation actor with these two films, but unfortunately he failed."
"Anyway, he urgently needs a well-received film to make a comeback."
Anyone in the entertainment industry knows how much of a blow a series of flops can be to an actor. It's easy for an actor to be labeled a box office poison.
"When Transformers was casting for the lead actor, I said I would work with him, and this time I've fulfilled my promise."
"Accept their salary request. I will personally talk to Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron."
"In person? It seems that you have a really good relationship with these two women." Judy suddenly teased.
"Watch your tone ma'am, if you have nothing else to do, get out."
"Wait, Clint Eastwood agreed to direct and star in Million Dollar Baby, for a combined $14 million."
"So expensive? Is its market price so high?" Eric was a little surprised.
Judy explained, "Because the old man gave up the box office dividend, he probably thought that sports-themed movies didn't have much box office potential."
"Hilary Swank also agreed to play the female lead, and her salary was much cheaper, only $4 million."
At this point, Judy suddenly frowned: "Actually, I always feel that it's a bit unfair. Christian Bale hasn't won any important awards, but he can ask for $6.5 million."
"Hilary Swank is an Oscar-winning actress, but she only dares to ask for $4 million. This phenomenon is really unreasonable. The difference in pay between male and female actors is too big."
Eric chuckled. "What are you trying to say? Sexism?"
Judy waved her hands and said, "Forget it. We are both women and I can't help but complain. The pay is ultimately determined by the market, and the market's choice is the audience's choice."
"The audience naturally includes both male and female audiences, so half of the reason why actresses are paid so little is because of women themselves."
"We who study finance all understand that it is women who choose to lower themselves."
Eric spread his hands and said, "Yeah, I can't blame others for my own choices. In fact, for most actors, the pay standards for men and women are the same. There is no discrimination at all."
"The standard for extras is $100 a day, and the first-time supporting actor's pay will not be higher than $20,000. Everyone starts at the same level."
"These actors account for more than 99% of all practitioners, so the pay for male and female actors is also very fair."
"As for the less than 1% of big stars, these people are survivors and cannot represent the actor group at all."
"As for the inequality in the pay of big stars, the audience should pat their chests and ask themselves why."
"The same is true for the modeling industry. Why do top female models earn much more than male models? Men should ask themselves why."
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Anyway, I've agreed to the salary. I'll meet with Clint Eastwood as soon as possible. I hope the project can start within five months."
The reason for giving such a long preparation time is mainly to give Hilary Swank time to exercise and learn boxing.
This is a movie that is aiming for an Oscar, so every aspect has to be perfect to have any hope.
In addition, unless there are any unexpected events, the actual shooting time for this type of movie will not exceed two months.
Clint Eastwood is well-known in the industry for his efficiency in filming, and it is normal for a movie to be completed within a month and a half. It will definitely be released next year.
Judy wrote down the request: "Then there's The Passion of the Christ. The movie is finished and Mel Gibson wants you to attend a private screening."
"Also involved were evangelicals in Colorado Springs and religious leaders in Pennsylvania to ensure the film's content was not offensive to the Bible."
Hearing this, Eric refused without a second thought. He had no interest in this kind of purely religious film and didn't want to have anything to do with it other than its distribution.
Although the main cast includes Monica Bellucci, there is no need to go out of your way to get to know her.
Ball flower?
But in Eric's heart, he is still inferior to Theron.
"Just send someone who has no faith to judge it from the perspective of plot and art. Also, let's set the release date to February next year."
"Okay, finally, the question about Mean Girls. The Olsen sisters don't want to be in it, so what do you think?"
"Should I personally come forward to persuade them both, or choose another actor?"
Eric thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go for an open audition, and the director will choose Andrea."
“She has very solid basic skills, and her business and artistic senses are in place. After following me on two projects, her ability to provide independent guidance has greatly improved.”
"After the filming of House of Cards is finished, I'm sure she will like this new job very much. It will be more exciting than shooting a short film."
Judy laughed strangely: "As long as they are assistant directors working on your projects, their abilities will improve quickly. It's because you like to be a hands-off boss."
"Hahahaha... I can think of this as cultivating talents in disguise."
Time flies and it is now the end of August. After a month of battle, "Get Out" has earned nearly 135 million US dollars at the box office, which is an absolute huge harvest.
There is still about half a month left before its potential is realized. It will be no problem for the final North American box office to exceed 150 million, and it is also possible to expect it to exceed 160 million US dollars.
However, the overseas box office is far inferior to that of North America.
Eric believes that the country with the highest overseas box office should be France, after all, there are a lot of black guys there.
In another ten years, Paris will be occupied and the old Parisians will be driven out of France.
Unexpectedly, the highest box office appeared in South Korea. After being released simultaneously in Europe, it has already earned more than 9 million US dollars.
On the other hand, the highest box office in Europe was in the UK, followed by France, which only took in more than 7 million US dollars.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Is it because of the class oppression in South Korea and the superiority of the US troops stationed in South Korea that the Koreans resonate with racial discrimination?
The current total overseas box office has barely exceeded 45 million US dollars, and it is expected that the global box office will only reach 60 million US dollars.
While "Get Out" continues to reap the box office, "Happy Death Day" is also about to be released.
As Gadot's first film, although it was a low-budget one, Eric still decided to hold a premiere.
The scale was not large, and mainly invited media from Los Angeles and nearby cities and some famous film critics to participate.
After all, she is your woman. If I don’t spoil her myself, who will?
And now that it's well promoted, it will also boost the box office of Transformers in two months, so Eric also attended the premiere for the first time.
You know, he hasn't attended such an event since the premiere of "Red Dragon" last year.
The red carpet was not very long, and most of the fans were hired. The extras created a great atmosphere, and on the surface, it was no different from a blockbuster premiere.
After the process is completed, the movie segment begins.
The original plot of "Happy Death Day" is very bloody. The heroine has the same birthday as her mother, and because her mother died, she begins to indulge herself and alienate herself from her father.
She turned herself into a bad woman and started not celebrating her birthday. Finally, after experiencing a time loop, she was cleansed and reconciled and became a good girl.
What a bullshit logic!
Your mother wasn't killed by your father, so is that why you turned bad? You're still a mistress and hooking up with a married man, a pure green tea bitch, you deserve to be hacked to death.
In other words, it is covered with a layer of time loop, otherwise this kind of bloody movie would definitely end in a violent death.
With such a lame plot, Eric must make some drastic changes.
First, the role of the heroine's father was deleted, and it was changed directly to a story that she lost her father at a young age, and then because of her own mistakes, she caused the accidental death of her mother.
That's why she closed her heart and gradually fell into depravity, using depravity to numb her own pain. This makes more sense.
But there must be a limit to decadence. "Happy Death Day" may seem like a horror film, but in fact it is more like a youth comedy.
Especially the interweaving of various ways of death of the heroine creates an effect that is not scary at all, but rather a bit funny. Coupled with cheerful music, it feels like watching fun.
So Eric deleted the plot where the heroine was a mistress, and changed it to one where she chose to seek help after being killed again and again.
The teacher and friends finally decided to help her, and were killed again and again by the murderer.
All this made her feel the true love of the world, so she freed herself and reached a reconciliation.
On the big screen, after the lion head roared, the movie officially began.
Gadot quietly grabbed Eric's hand and whispered, "Honey, I just walked the red carpet and had the interview. I feel so nervous."
Eric was amused by her cute and naive look and grinned: "You will get used to it in the future. Adjust your mood. You still have to be interviewed later."
"Did you notice my shoes? Aren't they too flat? I should have worn a pair of high heels."
"Forget about that idea. You are already taller than Benjamin McKinsey. If you wear high heels, how can he dare to go on stage?"
"Hehehe, that's right. Come to my place after you're done."
"Are you itchy? Do you want it?" Eric asked teasingly.
Gadot scratched his palm and replied without disguising: "Yeah, I miss you so much! I need you to fill my heart and body."
As he spoke, he licked his lips and his eyes looked like tears were about to drip out.
After more than an hour, the movie ended.
Many audience members and media personnel spontaneously stood up and applauded. MGM did not pay for this segment; it was a natural reaction.
After all, they are new directors and actors, and film critics and journalists will not have too high expectations of them. The quality of the film has exceeded many people's expectations.
Directors and actors including Gadot, the Russo brothers, and Benjamin McKenzie took to the stage to continue being interviewed.
During the period, questions were asked about the screenwriter, and the media's attention was drawn to Eric.
He originally didn't want to go on stage, but he had to go up and answer a few questions.
After more than half an hour, the Q&A session ended and the cocktail party continued, but Eric left early.
She went straight to Gadot's apartment, and waited until after eleven o'clock in the evening, when Wonder Woman finally finished her social activities and returned to her room.
After washing up and lying on the bed, the two began to make love and expressed their longing for each other during this period.
The waves of shouting disturbed Barlefali next door so much that he had no choice but to walk out of the house.
Her heart was broken.
"It's not over yet! I put up with you for an hour, and you did it for another hour."
"I thought things were finally over, but you guys are still going on. Are you going to let me live?"
"I'm tired of listening to it, but I'm not tired of doing it! It's too much!"
"Sex is like a knife that scrapes bones. Sooner or later, I will scrape you two bastards to death!"
(End of this chapter)