Hahahahaha
"Did you see the expressions on my classmates' faces? They're probably green with envy!"
Inside a private cafe, Eric and Liu Yifei sat facing each other.
After finishing the CCTV6 program, he turned down invitations from Zhang Yimou and Lou Ye, and met Liu Yifei here. She found the place, so it seemed she had a lot of experience.
Counting today, it was the first time the two of them had a date alone. Although they had met before and communicated via phone privately, Liu Xiaoli was always present, watching them like a hawk.
He had slept with her mother, and the young girl herself was only 16, no, almost 17.
Anyway, he didn't feel comfortable being openly mischievous, at most he would tease her during private chats.
Liu Yifei's responses were also very active. She went to America at 10. Although not as open as the 17-year-old Olsen Sisters, she could handle most topics.
However, whenever Liu Xiaoli was present, she would usually become silent and speak less, mainly because her mother was very strict.
"Heh heh, let them be envious. I just feel some of them look down on Huang Bo, so I did it on purpose."
"Eric, you're such a nice guy."
"Uh... don't say that. What I dislike most is the 'nice guy card.'"
"Nice guy card? Why?"
"Because when a girl says you're such a nice guy, it often means she's rejecting you romantically."
Hearing this, Liu Yifei's heart skipped a beat, and she secretly rejoiced.
"Is he saying this to flirt with me? How annoying, why does he always say such strange things, hehe."
"Eric, what movie are you planning for Huang Bo to star in?"
"Oriental MGM's upcoming project, a shark disaster film. Spielberg's is called 'jaws,' and this one is called 'meg.'"
"The movie will include many Chinese characters. Huang Bo will play a supporting role and have a humorous death. Whether he can stand out depends on him."
"Hahahaha, Huang Bo should be able to do it. Although I'm not familiar with him, I've heard others say he's very interesting. Also, are there any roles in the movie suitable for me?"
Eric shook his head slightly: "No, it's a small supporting role with only a few minutes of screen time and not many lines. You shouldn't get involved."
"The protagonist is a divorced scientist with a child. Your age and temperament don't fit, so don't consider it."
"After 'transformers' is done, MGM will start a new film, 'the hunger games.' You can play a more significant supporting role in that, which has more potential than 'meg.'"
Liu Yifei was a little disappointed: "Eric, when can I play a lead role?"
Eric patted her head: "You want to play a lead role after only one or two films? Your popularity hasn't accumulated yet. Be careful of damaging your reputation; no one will dare to cast you again."
"You listen to my arrangements obediently, especially practice your martial arts. In 'the hunger games,' I will arrange excellent action scenes for you."
"You and the female lead will have a fierce battle, and you will even be stronger than her, chasing her relentlessly."
"Although you will ultimately be defeated, it won't be due to a lack of strength. You will be ambushed and die from a sneak attack."
"What kind of characters are more easily remembered? Characters like this. Powerful martial arts are the most striking label on a character."
"Your character will make the audience feel regret. They will appreciate this, rather than just passing over it and forgetting it after leaving the cinema."
Liu Yifei's eyes lit up: "I know, just like Lu Bu in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' Although he didn't appear much, the scene of the Three Heroes fighting Lu Bu made him shine and known to everyone."
"Exactly, this is the path I've planned for you. You've lived in America, so you should understand the limitations of yellow skin. Start with supporting roles, steadily build your foundation, and then the controversy of playing a lead role will be much smaller."
"And you have a huge advantage, do you know what it is?"
"What?" Liu Yifei looked at Eric curiously.
"Age, age is your advantage. Just like Huang Bo, who is almost 30 and still in school, you're already on the small screen."
"So don't be impatient. Give yourself more time to grow, and in the future, I will make you a world-class female star."
Liu Yifei's anxious heart settled down: "Okay, then I'll follow your arrangements. You must be responsible for me."
"Career responsibility or romantic responsibility?"
"Eric, you're being annoying again!"
Although she said she was annoyed, Liu Yifei secretly added, "Of course it's romantic responsibility."
However, Eric had many rumors, and although none were confirmed, Liu Yifei didn't believe that a powerful figure like him had no women around him. Perhaps those rumors were true.
Moreover, there was also the reason of Liu Xiaoli, so even though Liu Yifei had a good impression of Eric, it was still too early for her to accept him.
The two met, had some food at the cafe for lunch, and then she flew back to America in the afternoon.
She had taken a day off from the crew without Liu Xiaoli's knowledge.
As a newcomer, no one knew her background, and Liu Yifei temporarily didn't want to publicize her relationship with Eric, so she hastily flew back to China and then had to hastily fly back to America.
It could be imagined that upon her return, she would inevitably face Liu Xiaoli's storm of anger.
In the evening, Eric and Gadot jointly participated in the recording of "Lu Yu You Yue." Since its premiere, this program had achieved immense influence nationwide and had excellent ratings.
Although later on the internet, what spread were parodies and negative history of Lu Yu, one cannot deny the program's social influence in that era.
"Lu Yu, your program is excellent, but I heard you didn't major in broadcasting."
"That's right, I majored in journalism."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true, you can check my university."
"I don't believe it!"
After two busy days, Eric and Gadot did not continue recording the program.
They visited Wangfujing, toured the Ming Tombs, and climbed the Badaling Great Wall again.
During this period, as the program aired, their popularity soared, especially Gadot, as the female lead of the movie, was too easily recognized.
During this time, it was a one-stop service of autographs, photos, and group pictures, emphasizing approachability. These events once again made headlines on the entertainment sections of Sina, Sohu, and other websites, positively impacting box office growth.
After staying in China for nearly four days, the two boarded a plane to Australia, beginning the final leg of their journey.
Meanwhile, across the ocean, the box office battle in North America was still fiercely unfolding.
"the last samurai" only took in $24.4 million at the box office in its opening weekend of three days. This figure surprised many of Tom Cruise's fans and analytical agencies, and Warner Bros. was also caught off guard.
That was Tom Cruise, the hottest international action superstar in the world today, and with an investment of $400 million, it was definitely a big production. Yet it only grossed $24.4 million, almost the same as "eight below." Neither Tom Cruise nor Russell Crowe worked wonders.
The box office performance could only rank second among the new releases this week.
Stronger than it was Universal's "The Cat in the Hat," a children's family film.
Although the film was criticized for being poorly made, thanks to the huge advantage of its G rating, it still took in $40.1 million at the box office, far exceeding "the last samurai."
In third place was also Universal's "Honey," starring the sweet beauty Jessica Alba.
The youth dance genre has a limited upside, but Alba's beauty attracted a group of people to the cinemas, grossing $14 million in its opening three days.
Looking at older films, "kill bill," "the haunted mansion," and other films continued to be suppressed, and "transformers" still sat on the championship throne, laughing wildly.
After grossing $97 million in its second week, "transformers" raked in another $52.5 million this week, bringing its North American total to $370 million.
Overseas, a dozen new countries released the film this week, injecting new vitality.
The overseas box office took in $95 million, bringing the overseas total to $630 million.
The global box office for "transformers" has already reached $1.04 billion, officially breaking the $700 million mark. Eric's bold prediction was realized in just three weeks.
At the same time, "transformers" also surpassed "pirates of the caribbean"'s $654 million, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 2003.
Now, "the matrix reloaded" stands ahead with $739 million, but everyone knows that even the savior cannot hold up, and it will surely be surpassed next week.
After flying for more than a week, the two returned to Los Angeles. Gadot still wanted to play for a few more days, but Eric really couldn't spare the time.
Now Chris Evans and Ryan Reynolds' European tour was not yet finished, but AK Films was already pressing them.
During this period, Warren called Eric, hoping that Ryan Reynolds could return earlier, as Christmas was approaching and "sharknado 2" was about to be released, requiring him to run promotions.
At the same time, the Olsen Sisters had also been urging Eric to return, because "blue is the warmest color" was also scheduled to be released in half a month, and as the director, he had to appear.
Theron also asked several times when he would return. On one hand, she missed Eric, and on the other hand, "monster" was also about to open.
It was only because "la vie en rose" would be released next year that Nicole didn't have to ask.
Many people at MGM were also waiting for him to return, as many projects required his signature and procedures.
On the Marvel side, Avi Arad was also looking for him. A month had passed since the stock swap between the two parties was completed.
But Eric had been busy with "transformers" and didn't have much energy to focus on Marvel for the time being. Avi Arad waited and waited, but still couldn't get attention.
So he became anxious, very worried that Eric would be another Perelman, only treating Marvel as a financial toy, and he was already burning with impatience.
In addition, there was one most important matter, which was MGM's relisting.
Especially the issue of profit distribution before the listing, which was the key of keys.
Since The Coopers took over MGM, the company entered a phase of rebuilding.
Everyone had worked hard with you for over a year, putting in both mental and physical effort, so naturally, they couldn't be left out when it came time to divide the cake.
Especially since they had all resigned from their original companies, following you out of trust, abandoning stable jobs to enter a new environment with an uncertain future. What was it for? Was it for a fixed salary?
They worked hard, waiting for this moment, waiting for dividends.
Being willing to share profits is a quality and character that a qualified boss should possess, and only through benefits can others be firmly united around oneself.
In addition to distributing the cake, equity also needed to be nested to ensure that even after MGM was relisted, power would still be firmly in Eric's hands.
And for this major event, he postponed the launch dates of Lionheart Network and YouTube.
Early Wednesday morning, Avi Arad rushed into Eric's office.
Seeing Eric, he finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Cooper, I finally get to see you. It's really not easy."
Eric smiled and instructed Chen Xing to make him a cup of coffee.
"Sit down, Avi. I know you're anxious, so you're the first person I'm seeing after returning to the country."
Taking the coffee and saying thank you, Avi Arad was in no mood to drink.
"Eric, regarding Marvel, you are now the largest shareholder. What exactly are your plans?"
"My point is, it's been over a month, we need to do something."
"Avi, just speak directly, no need to beat around the bush. You just want to go the film and television route, right? I strongly agree with this strategy."
"Currently, the only valuable character copyrights we hold are Thor, captain america, and Ant-Man. Other characters are not worth independent films."
"I've already decided during this time: the first film will be 'captain america.'"
Hearing this, Avi Arad swallowed all the words he had intended to say. He had originally thought he would have to spend a lot of effort to get the work done, but he didn't expect it to be so easy.
However, he then asked cautiously, "What about the investment?"
"Don't worry, I know better than you how much superhero blockbusters cost. It won't be less than $200 million."
"Yes!"
Avi Arad excitedly pumped his fist. The fact that he, at his age, would make such a gesture truly showed his youthful spirit and genuine passion!
"I haven't finished yet. You can get excited a bit later."
"What?"
"I plan to create a Marvel Superhero Cinematic Universe. It's not just captain america; he will only kick off this cinematic universe."
"Then, we'll gradually bring characters like Thor, iron man, Ant-Man, Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, and others to the big screen."
"At the same time, these characters need to make cameo appearances in each other's films, connecting all the characters with a main storyline."
"I've already thought of the main storyline: we'll use six Infinity Stones, with one appearing in each major character's film."
"Then, we'll set up a grand villain, and Thanos is quite suitable. His powerful equipment in the comics is the Infinity Gauntlet."
"In his quest to collect the Infinity Stones, he comes into conflict with Earth's heroes. When all the major characters have been brought to the big screen, that's when Thanos makes his appearance."
"That's roughly it. Can you understand?"
Avi Arad was a comic book fan himself, and the various multiverses in American comics were even more chaotic and complex than Eric described, so he understood instantly.
After understanding, he became even more excited. It turned out that Eric had long-term plans, and they were even more far-reaching than his own.
He was still fixated on making one film to test the waters, while Eric had already mapped out plans for the next decade or so.
No wonder he pulled MGM out of the mud in just one year. He truly was an extraordinary strategic master.
"Good that you understand. I will personally write the script during this time."
"Boss, what do you need me to do?"
"Your task is even more difficult: try your best to get the copyrights back from various companies for me."
Avi Arad sighed with a heavy expression: "Selling the copyrights back then is my most painful memory. I will do my utmost."
"Hmm, also, do you have any talented individuals under you who are proficient in the film industry?"
Avi Arad thought for a moment: "There seems to be a young man who's quite good. He's currently working at Toy Biz, and we get along well."
"What's his name?"
"Kevin Feige."