Chapter 326 324. The six big players seek to sum up. It turns out that everyone is never playing on the same track.

Santa Monica, in a beachfront villa.

A black Wrangler pulled up nearby and Eric got out.

"You really don't want me to go in with you?"

"Come on, what do you think you're doing? Assassination?"

"What if? This is not your territory."

"But it's not their territory, or do you think I can't beat six old guys?"

"Okay, I'll wait for you then."

"No need, I'll call you when I'm done."

Knock, knock, knock! After sending Judy away, Eric knocked on the door.

Soon, a middle-aged man with a beard and round glasses brought him in. It was Steven Spielberg, the top Hollywood director.

Ever since MGM and the Big Six started fighting, as a Jew, he was definitely more emotionally inclined towards companies like Disney and Warner.

But as a company owner, interests determined that he preferred MGM, and money was often more reliable than emotions.

So after Brad Grey proposed negotiations that day, Spielberg acted as a middleman and set up a meeting in this villa.

"You're late Eric, they've been waiting inside for half an hour."

"Yeah, I did it on purpose."

"Haha... I knew that the important characters always appear at the end, right?"

"What would you like to drink? Coffee, tea, wine?"

"What would you like me to drink?"

"Wine, of course."

"Why?"

"Coffee and tea are available at any time, but wine is for celebration. To be honest, everyone hopes that you will stop fighting."

"Everyone? Who are you talking about?" Eric asked knowingly.

"DreamWorks, New Line, Lionsgate, Summit..."

"Everyone has suffered enough in the past year. You may not feel well, but we also feel bad."

"The constant rescheduling, advancement and withdrawal of films have disrupted the entire year's plan. You can ask a few of them, who doesn't have a few or even dozens of films in backlog?"

"Eric, this is not a solution. We are all tired of it. It is not good for the audience and the development of the entire film market."

“Do Bob, Yellen and others know about today’s meeting?”

"No, I'm the only one who knows, but we keep in touch privately, and everyone has a lot to complain about."

"Anyway, please stop. This is our common wish. We are really tired."

Eric patted his shoulder and said, "From what I know, DreamWorks made a lot of money this year. You are not qualified to complain."

"Besides, I was not the one who started the war. You can't just stop it and send me off with just a few words. Who will be responsible for the losses suffered by MGM?"

Spielberg shook his head slightly, thinking, if you hadn't insisted on doing streaming media, how could things have developed to this point today?

Taking Eric to the second floor and closing the door, Spielberg quietly left.

Inside the room, six old guys were smoking. When they saw him, the scene instantly became quiet.

Ahem…

“I hate the feeling of smoke!”

Under the gaze of 12 eyes, Eric opened all the windows.

It is still winter now, and the cold wind blew in instantly. People in the house were wearing thin clothes, and several elderly people couldn't help but shrink their necks.

"Well, it's better now. Do you want to continue smoking? Or leave the window open?"

Humph! With a cold snort, Michael Inas put out the cigar in his hand, and the other five followed suit.

Eric smiled, closed the window, and sat on the last empty sofa.

Then everyone looked at each other and fell into the same silence as before.

Finally, all eyes fell on Brad Grey.

He felt his scalp tingling, and when he saw Eric Cooper coming in, he knew that this conversation was not going to go well.

"Eric, we were planning to invite your father, but Charlie doesn't seem to be able to do that."

Eric nodded: "He and my mom are on vacation in Fiji and won't be back for a while."

"OK! Then let's not waste time and get straight to the point."

"After a year of fighting, everyone has suffered huge losses. The film and television industry around the world has been affected. It's time to stop."

"Have you been affected? But I think it's good. At least MGM's stock price has been rising. I just heard a report on the way here, and it has exceeded 20 billion US dollars."

Michael Inas frowned instantly. The reason he agreed to the peace talks was because Disney had lost its position as the industry leader.

The board of directors was very dissatisfied with his performance in office during this period and put tremendous pressure on him.

Brad Gray quickly tried to smooth things over: "Let's not talk about the stock price, but the losses everyone has suffered are real, so there is really no need to continue."

"We should go back to the way we were before. We should keep cooperating. The seven major Hollywood companies have always been one, right?"

"We make rules together, we form MPAA together, we conquer the market together, we should be brothers and friends, not enemies."

Hearing his high-sounding remarks, Eric sneered: "Now we are brothers again? But don't forget that it was you good brothers who attacked me first!"

"Especially with the Bar LeFari thing, you f*cking wanted to send me in, not only to destroy MGM commercially, but to kill me!"

"A few words now make me forget the hatred? Why not ask the Indians? Why not ask the blacks?"

"They still remember things that happened over a hundred years ago, but you want me to forget what happened a year ago?"

"If you want to fight, you fight. If you want to make peace, you make peace. There is no such good deal in the world."

Michael Ainas said angrily: "But you were unharmed in the end and sent Harvey to prison."

"Not only is he bankrupt now, but he has also been fired by DIMENT. He is also facing a huge amount of compensation and decades of imprisonment."

"Miramax was also in a mess, and it hasn't been completely straightened out yet. Isn't this revenge enough?"

"Not enough!" Eric suddenly interrupted the other party with a roar.

"I am still sitting here because I am strong enough, not because you showed mercy."

"Especially Disney, don't think I don't know that you were the one who initiated that damn Rio Operation."

"If you hadn't interfered, MGM, Universal, Fox, Paramount..."

"We could have coexisted peacefully, but you started a war for your right to speak. Michael, you and Disney should take responsibility for this!"

"Shit! If you didn't want to do the damn streaming, would we target you? You are challenging the rules of the industry!"

He was criticized harshly by Eric and scolded by a young boy in his 20s.

Michael Ainas had never been insulted so much before. He was immediately furious and all kinds of dirty words came out of his mouth.

"Rules are made by the strong. The development of the Internet will only get faster and faster. Streaming media is the general trend."

"If we don't do it now, someone else will in a few years. You are like a zombie about to enter a coffin. Your half-dead brain has become rigid and you don't understand anything!"

"Okay, that's enough, stop arguing."

"We are all sitting here today to resolve conflicts, not to intensify them."

"Eric, calm down! Michael, can you please sit down too?"

Seeing that the two were arguing more and more fiercely, the others rushed to comfort them.

Knock, knock, knock! At this time, there was a knock on the door. Spielberg asked with some concern: "Gentlemen, you seem to be in trouble. Do you need me to do anything?"

"Water, with ice. Someone needs to cool down."

Michael Ainas did not sit down. He was so angry that he wanted to punch Eric as soon as he saw him.

But at his age, he was definitely no match for the other person, so he left the room angrily.

Seeing him go out, Eric asked, "Who else wants to go out? Don't worry about my expression."

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Warner CEO Barry Meyer left without saying a word, and Howard Stringer also stood up, but when he saw that Universal, Paramount, and Fox did not move, he sat down again after hesitating.

Without the quarrels, the scene gradually became peaceful.

"Okay, now that the annoying person is gone, we can talk. Please continue Gray."

Brad Grey nodded: "Let's talk about cooperation. We have come up with a plan after discussion."

"Regarding the streaming media platform, Lionheart.com, you can continue to operate it, but the six of us need to invest in it."

"The specific share can be negotiated, but the total share cannot be less than 40%. Of course, we will purchase the shares, so you will not suffer any loss."

"But the deal must be completed within three months, which is one of the few requirements we have."

Hearing this, Eric frowned, it was obvious that this was taking advantage of him.

The development speed of Lionheart.com can be described as booming, but it will take at least a year before it can go public.

In just one year, the company's valuation can easily increase several times.

If they make this request after the listing, Eric can consider it.

But now they are demanding to enter the market. Not to mention the issue of voice, the loss of money alone is at least tens of billions of dollars.

Are you crazy? You are taking advantage of others and now you are the one being fleeced.

Eric waved his hand with a fake smile and said angrily and amusedly, "Brad, there is one thing you don't seem to understand."

"The reason why we can sit here and negotiate today is because the offense and defense have switched positions."

"Before, the six of you united to deal with MGM, but now MGM is attacking the six of you at the same time."

"I still have plenty of bullets in my hands, Dragon Ball, Twilight, Transformers 2, Drive, The Hunger Games 2, Bohemian Rhapsody, Saw, The Conjuring."

"As for the Marvel series that has already been developed, I can guarantee that every movie will make money. Can you?"

"I'm sorry that my words may sound a bit harsh, but look at you all, you look like lost dogs."

"Who gave you the courage to make such an absurd request? Now the initiative of war and peace is in my hands."

"Whether to continue competing or to cooperate again depends on how much you are willing to pay, do you understand?"

"And DreamWorks, New Line, and the others, do you think they will lean more towards you or me?"

"Anyway, I can fight with you till the end of time, until one of us is completely defeated!"

Eric's threat was obvious, and he didn't give the four people any face at all.

They wanted to refute, but after thinking it over they had to admit that the other party was right.

Who would have thought that the world would change so suddenly in just one year.

The new emperor ascended the throne, the old king abdicated, and the entire Hollywood structure was overturned.

Seeing that the four were silent, Eric stopped being aggressive and softened his tone.

"But then again, this is a partnership that has lasted for decades. There is really no need to fight to the death, especially for the four of you."

"I know you don't want to get involved in this mess, but you have to give face to Michael Aeneas and Barry Meyer."

"This is a misunderstanding. I have never considered you as an enemy."

The four of them looked at each other, confused as to what they were trying to do.

"Now I propose a way of cooperation. If you want to join Lionheart Network, I can agree to it."

"What do you want?"

"Good question, I want Warner!"

"What?"

"I said I wanted Warner!"

Seeing that Brad Grey still didn't understand, Eric said directly: "I mean to acquire Warner!"

Boom! His words were like thunder exploding in broad daylight, and the four people were stunned.

After a moment of silence, Howard Stringer suddenly laughed out loud: "Eric, Eric Cooper, although there are grievances between us, I admit that you are a very capable young man."

"But buying Warner, are you kidding? Do you know what Warner's market value is? More than 15 billion US dollars."

"And your acquisition will definitely be at a premium. Let's use a relatively low 35% as the calculation. You will have to pay at least $20 billion to complete this deal."

"And MGM's stock price has just exceeded $20 billion. What right do you have to acquire Warner? Where does your money come from?"

"This is the biggest joke I've ever heard!"

Looking at Howard Stringer's disgusting face, Eric said calmly, "Who said I want to use MGM to acquire Warner?"

"What's the meaning?"

“Don’t you know I’m also the founder of Facebook?”

"Eh? Are you planning to?"

"Yes, I have made connections, and Facebook's business will soon be fully rolled out throughout Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand."

"Looking around the world, except for Asia, South America and Africa, all economically developed regions in the world have been included in Facebook's business scope."

"I will continue to capture the remaining areas."

“It has been proven that the advertising business is completely viable and now brings in countless profits every month.”

“Number one in the world, no rivals, monopoly position, high profitability.”

"In other words, the time is ripe for Facebook to go public, in the first half of this year."

"Let's play a little game. What do you think the stock price will be after Facebook goes public? What will the valuation be?"

“50 billion? 60 billion? 70 billion? Or 100 billion?”

Looking at each other, they suddenly felt powerless. It turned out that everyone was not playing on the same track.

(End of this chapter)