MGM management hopes to get rid of the constraints of creditors and obtain new funds to keep the company running normally.

Nor do they want anyone to take away the management rights and let the company fall into the hands of outsiders.

The $100 million can ensure the company's normal operations in the next two years, repay the $4 billion limit in four years, and guarantee the operating rights to a great extent.

In the end, it is the 8 percent stake that seems unimportant.

Of course, if Li Zhenyu can really turn the company from loss to profit within four years, pay off the US$4 billion foreign debt, and regain the glory that belongs to MGM.

What will happen if we give him the management rights?

If that day really comes, he won't even need to say a word, as countless people will come forward to support him in continuing to run MGM.

CEOs who can make money are like brothers, everything else is bullshit.

If you can't make money, all the big talk is just rubbish.

Whether he can successfully take over MGM next depends entirely on Li Zhenyu's methods and abilities.

"Cooper, since we are all family, I will leave the distribution of my new movie to you."

Li Zhenyu's trust in Stephen Cooper, who continued to serve as president, made Cooper himself doubt himself.

Am I some distant relative of his? Otherwise it doesn't make sense!

After obtaining the management rights, shouldn’t the first thing be to place your own people in charge of important departments of the company and ensure the transfer of power?

But when it comes to him, it's the opposite.

Not only did they allow him to continue serving as CEO, they also treated him as their own.

Hey, it’s very difficult for me to deal with you like this!

Cooper was a little confused, and Li Zhenyu saw it clearly, but he had no choice.

He also wanted to place his trusted aides in charge of MGM, taking over the company from top to bottom and keeping the company firmly in his own hands.

There will be some overt and covert power struggles, but...

He has no one!

Li Zhenyu left too quickly. Not to mention his trusted subordinates, there were only a few people he could use.

If there was really no one else available, he would not have considered Cooper as his own.

However, this is not impossible.

Cooper is a capable person, but he is not very lucky.

It just so happened that at this time, he took over such a mess as MGM, and happened to run into the financial crisis and the bad period of economic downturn.

Several projects and investments that had been agreed upon were terminated due to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

The projects that were expected to restart were also completely shut down due to lack of financial support.

Cooper did not give up in this situation. He planned to gather all his strength to raise funds to shoot a 007 sequel so that the public and investors could regain confidence in MGM.

Unexpectedly, the creditors jumped out at this time and tried to hold him back desperately, with a ruthless attitude of "If I don't make money, I will kill myself."

Cooper was completely confused at the time. What was going on?

In fact, it’s not the creditors’ fault. They are just scared.

I believed the MGM sign and jumped into the pit, thinking that we could fill it up by working together.

But just as they started, they found kerosene buried in the pit, and then a big fire (subprime mortgage crisis) broke out, burning all the people in the pit.

Now, they just want to get out as soon as possible, even if it means losses.

As long as it's cash, I'll accept the loss of 40 to 50 percent even if my heart is bleeding.

After all, their own main business is also waiting for money to save their lives.

It is better to escape from the pit with half loss than to stay in the fire pit and slowly burn to death.

Under such complicated circumstances, Stephen Cooper was still able to hold on and delay the fate of MGM's bankruptcy and reorganization. His personal ability is truly rare.

In the short term, Li Zhenyu was not worried that he would cheat and do something behind his back.

After all, the two people's interests and goals are the same.

Restart the classic IP, pay off the debt, and regain MGM's honor as one of the top eight.

Only in this way can the shares in his hands turn from waste paper into valuable.

After signing the contract, Li Zhenyu’s first administrative order was: restart 007.

As the center of the global film industry, Hollywood has its own filming process, and the industrial assembly line is not just a hype.

Each project starts with preparation, and different shooting teams are formed according to the style and needs of the film.

Generally speaking, art is the largest department in a production team, which is further divided into design, set design, props, visuals and so on.

The following are further subdivided into junior art group, art director, assistant director, on-call director, draftsman, illustrator, graphic designer, storyboard annotator, model maker, coordinator...

They need to constantly observe and revise flaws and mistakes that occur during filming, whether the scenery is in place, whether any details in the play are missed, and the shooting effects, and make adjustments as needed at all times.

The set design team is actually the stage design department. To ensure everything is in order, responsibilities are divided in detail.

Internally there are supervisors, assistant supervisors, set designers, scenery workers, buyers, gardeners and so on.

This department has a large number of people and needs to work closely with other departments to ensure that all equipment and props are completed on time, manage department budgets, and arrange set construction and decoration.

In addition, they also have to deal with various tedious inspections to ensure that the filming team complies with all safety protocols.

The set design team is the on-site construction team, and its job positions are divided into: set designer, construction coordinator, carpenter, painter, plasterer, set artist, sculptor, etc.

They are responsible for on-site construction. For example, if Li Zhenyu needs a house now, they will build a house that meets his requirements as quickly as possible.

Whether it's distressing, using foam board to create rock patterns or brick walls, or painting glass in a 'glazed religious' style, they are experts in this area.

The props team has relatively few people, including prop masters, prop makers, weapon masters, etc.

The prop master is responsible for confirming the accuracy of the props, including age, style, details, workmanship, etc.

The prop maker will perfectly replicate the props according to the information provided by the prop master.

Weapon masters are responsible for managing all dangerous goods, including swords, firearms, gunpowder, etc. Due to the nature of their work, they often need to undergo rigorous training and obtain permission to use weapons.

The above is just the structure of the art department under the production team.

The detailed division allows everyone to focus on their own responsibilities without being distracted by other trivial matters, thus ensuring the normal operation of their own links to the greatest extent possible.

They are like high-speed precision parts, together forming a high-performance super racing car.

The director is the race driver and the navigator is the producer.

The two just need to work together to drive this high-performance racing car along the correct track (script) to the finish line.

A large and mature behind-the-scenes team is the basic guarantee for the shooting progress and quality.

It is not difficult to find a filming team to reboot the 007 IP, as MGM has a large contact list of people with good experience and abilities.

What made Stephen Cooper hesitate was that Li Zhenyu himself wanted to serve as producer and director.

"Boss, this is too risky."

Cooper did not express his opposition directly, but thought from his perspective.

There's nothing wrong with restarting 007 as soon as he took over.

No one from top to bottom in the company would object, as 007 was their trump card for a comeback.

But his behavior of taking charge of both production and directing is too risky.

The premise of the production-centered system is that the producer must bear all responsibilities related to the project.

If a film fails, the first person to suffer is the producer.

If, just say if 007 fails to start, the results obtained will not be ideal.

Li Zhenyu will definitely be held accountable by creditors and shareholders, and the management will also put pressure on him, which will inevitably affect the management rights.

For him, this is not worth the loss.

But under Li Zhenyu's repeated insistence, Stephen Cooper had no choice but to obey.

At least for now, it seems that forming a united front with the new boss is not a bad thing.

Shareholders and creditors are pressing forward step by step. With Li Zhenyu as a new backer, Stephen Cooper can finally relax for a few days and take a breather.

However, he still needs to make plans early.

If the film fails, one must ensure that the rights in one's hands are not affected.

And how to take away the project review rights from the new boss and persuade him to invest again so that he can restart the IP and turn the situation around.

Stephen Cooper had no intention of kicking a big money sponsor like Li Zhenyu out of the company.

After driving away the financial sponsor, who will invest and support me? (End of this chapter)