Chapter 38 40. My Goal (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Rhode Island, Hasbro headquarters, press conference site.

Alan Hassenfeld casually pointed, and the reporter from the New York Entertainment News immediately stood up and asked, "Mr. Hassenfeld, it is rumored that Paramount is also seeking the copyright of Transformers. Why did Hasbro choose MGM instead of Paramount?"

Hassenfeld's face turned dark. What the hell? He came up and started trouble. Are all reporters in the entertainment industry so blind?

However, he still replied: "MGM and Paramount are both excellent film and television companies. In fact, I can choose either one. The reason why I finally decided on MGM is because my family likes Tom and Jerry very much."

"In other words, this is a choice based on sentiment rather than production ability?"

Hassenfeld laughed: "Isn't nostalgia a plus? Otherwise, why are you all standing here today? Transformers themselves represent nostalgia. Of course, Paramount is also a very powerful company, I have said that!"

"But Tom and Jerry now belongs to Warner, and all those classic works of MGM now belong to Warner, so why not go to Warner?"

What kind of stupid question was this from a stupid reporter? It was obvious he was looking for trouble. Not only was Alan Hassenfeld embarrassed, but everyone at MGM was embarrassed as well.

Kerkorian resold MGM many times, although he bought it back every time.

But after some transactions, Warner chose to intercept some classic films and TV series and add them to its own film library, and only sold those inferior products back to Kerkorian.

These include classic works such as "Tom and Jerry", "Waterloo Bridge" and "Gone with the Wind".

This incident can be said to be an eternal pain for MGM. If it wants to get these classic works back, the only way is probably to acquire Warner. However, for MGM now, this is nothing short of a fantasy.

Alan Hassenfeld didn't want to pay any attention to the reporter: "Sorry, you've asked enough questions. One question per person, next one!"

A reporter from the Long Island Herald raised his hand and asked, "Transformers is the childhood of children all over the world. Countless people are waiting for its live-action adaptation. Is MGM confident that it can be made well?"

Eric nodded secretly. This was a normal question. Could it be that the guy just now was bribed by Paramount to cause trouble?

Eric turned on the microphone: "This is an unnecessary question. We are absolutely confident that we can make a good Transformers. We will find the best director and screenwriter and choose the most suitable actors. It will be a big production!"

"Can you tell me about MGM's investment and expected box office?"

Since the other party was very understanding, Eric didn't mind answering one more question.

"MGM plans to invest no less than $150 million. I'm talking about the production cost. If you want to present the Autobots on the big screen, you'll need a lot of special effects. We're ready."

"As for the box office, I expect it to be around $700 million, but this is just my expectation. We will have to wait until the movie is released to find out."

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene suddenly became lively. Everyone was in the entertainment industry and knew a lot about movie box office.

You have to know that it was only 2002, not the era of box office boom, so what does $700 million mean? It was definitely a standard that only top blockbusters could achieve.

Even Hollywood can only produce one or two movies a year with global box office exceeding $700 million.

The box office champion in 1998 was "Armageddon," with a global box office of $553 million.

The box office champion in 1999 was "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace", with a global box office of 1.027 billion US dollars.

But the runner-up, "The Sixth Sense," had a global box office of 672 million U.S. dollars, which did not reach 700 million.

The box office champion in 2000 was "Mission: Impossible 2", with a global box office of 546 million US dollars.

The box office champion in 2001 was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, with global box office of $974 million.

The runner-up was "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", with a global box office of $898 million.

The third place is "Monsters, Inc.", whose global box office did not break $600 million.

So far in 2002, only Spider-Man has grossed over 700 million, reaching 835 million U.S. dollars. Even the traditionally strong Star Wars cannot do that.

"Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones" only grossed $653 million worldwide, far less than the first film and far from the expectations of George Lucas and 20th Century Fox.

In 5 years, Hollywood has only produced 4 movies with box office revenue of over 700 million. You can imagine how terrible this number is, as they are aiming for the annual championship.

When Eric made this bold statement, not only did Hasbro frown, but even Charlie Cooper was also startled.

This is too big a statement. Even if Cameron were to come, he wouldn't dare to boast about the box office of 700 million.

In an instant, all the reporters turned their cameras on Eric, and some of them started asking questions without regard for the order.

Eric smiled and kept silent. It was enough to say the answer once. It would be a waste of words to say more. Anyway, this sentence will definitely be in the newspaper tomorrow. As for whether others scold him or praise him, the market will give feedback.

The reporter pressed the question for a while, but seeing that it was of no use, the scene gradually returned to calm.

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The press conference continued. After more than half an hour, more and more questions were asked, until the host said that time was running out and there was only one question left.

Eric pointed to an Asian guy standing in the back row. He had been raising his hand for a long time, but he was too short and never got any attention.

"Hello, Mr. Eric. I'm a reporter from Entertainment Online. I'd like to ask about the actors. What are MGM's plans? Do you have a candidate in mind, or are you preparing for an audition?"

Eric took a sip of water and said, "Both. The actress and the second male lead have been chosen. MGM has already found the most suitable people."

"But the other roles have not been decided yet. We welcome all actors to audition, but for the male lead, I have one requirement: the age should not be over 24 years old, or at least look young."

The reporters' eyes lit up and they hurriedly took notes. This was big news. The Asian guy hurriedly asked, "Mr. Eric, can you tell me who the heroine is? I think many people who like Transformers want to know who she is?"

"I can't reveal this question for now. I can only say that she is the one that MGM has been looking for for a long time and she will definitely not disappoint everyone's expectations."

After saying that, Eric turned off the microphone. The press conference ended and everyone began to take their positions, but the reporters were still asking questions loudly.

"Mr. Eric, is that Natalie Portman?"

"Keira Knightley, that's her, isn't it?"

"Kirsten Dunst, it has to be her, right?"

"Charlize Theron? Is that Charlize Theron?"

"Angelina Jolie?"

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(End of this chapter)