"You mean, Brad Grey has wavered?"
"Exactly. Think about it, at first, he directly rejected my invitation."
"But then his secretary contacted me, saying he was busy with the Christmas season and couldn't spare the time."
"Just yesterday, his secretary contacted me again, and I went to his estate in New Jersey. We met."
"He stated his position? What exactly does this guy mean?"
Judy chuckled, "Just as you said, Brad Grey has finally wavered. He asked me to pass a message to you."
"Paramount will withdraw from the competition for the Christmas season, but he definitely won't state that publicly. He doesn't want to directly offend Disney, Sony, and Warner Bros."
"So he plans to wait and see, hoping that Disney and I will fight it out, and then Paramount will make a statement."
"Pretty much. Paramount is weak, and besides playing both sides, they don't have many other options."
"Haha, have you heard a saying?"
"What?"
"Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolutely disloyal! At least this door has been opened for now."
"Hmm, everything still depends on the Christmas season's performance. Eric, I've actually always had an idea."
"What idea?"
"Your woman is great. Can I borrow her?"
"Ah?" Eric didn't react.
"Haha, just kidding. Regarding this year's final tough battle, the Christmas season is about to begin. Maybe we should launch a counter-encirclement."
Eric looked at her face suspiciously, wondering if something had happened between her and Gadot when they went on vacation together.
"What do you think? We've always been on the defensive. The Big Six can always mobilize all sorts of resources to attack us. Although MGM hasn't failed, the market impression is that we are always in a passive, disadvantaged position."
"I don't like this feeling. I prefer to take the initiative. Last time, when we planned to acquire Lucasfilm, you once thought of mobilizing several blockbusters to encircle star wars: episode iii."
"Later, I kept thinking, since that's the case, why not launch a counter-encirclement against The Big Six during the Christmas season?"
"Eric, now is the most crucial moment. Shareholders are watching, and Paramount is also waiting."
"It's time to show our sharpest fangs, even if it causes self-cannibalization, we must show our momentum."
"You must let everyone know that MGM has plenty of resources and countless backup plans. It's time for the title of the world's largest film and television company to change hands."
Judy's suggestion was like a wake-up call for Eric.
He suddenly realized that he seemed to be stuck in a thought loop.
For big productions, he always left enough time slots to prevent self-competition and consumption.
This way, even when facing the encirclement of The Big Six, even if he lost money, he would lose less.
But this war of attrition had been going on for more than half a year, giving a feeling of endlessness. It would be better to launch a climactic counterattack.
Let The Big Six also taste what it's like to be targeted. Perhaps this is the turning point, the point where offense and defense change.
Moreover, MGM's market value is currently second only to Disney. If Disney is defeated in this wave, MGM might jump to the top.
The increased market value at that time would definitely be enough to offset the money lost in the films.
"Hmm, that's a good idea. It's definitely worth a try. I also don't like feeling passively beaten."
As he spoke, he picked up the phone and called Kevin Feige.
"Boss, is something wrong?"
"Kevin, how are the productions of Iron Man and captain america coming along?"
"Very smoothly, they're both in post-production."
"I want to know the completion rate. How much longer until the fastest finished film?"
"According to the feedback progress from Weta Digital last week, Iron Man is 90% complete, and captain america is around 80%."
"If you're in a hurry and push them, we should be able to get the finished film of Iron Man in half a month."
"Good. I'll push Peter Jackson. You immediately go and handle the review process."
"Boss, what happened? You said Iron Man wouldn't be released until at least February next year."
"I changed my mind. This Christmas season is when Marvel will shine. Notify the actors to prepare for promotions."
"Oh! Understood!"
Although he didn't know what Eric wanted to do, Kevin Feige knew he just needed to execute the task.
At least before the results of the two films were out, he didn't have the confidence to offer his own opinions.
"By the way, how is the collaboration that Marvel and Hasbro were discussing some time ago?"
"It's going smoothly. The contracts have all been signed, but exclusive authorization isn't possible yet. Our contracts with several companies have ended, but there are still a few left."
"The latest one is Toy Biz, whose authorization period won't end until the end of next year. Then it will only be Dual Star Entertainment and Hasbro left."
Eric couldn't do anything about the contracts that had been signed before. He couldn't unilaterally break them; that's not how business is done.
At most, when Marvel becomes popular, those people will come to seek reconciliation, and he'll just politely decline.
"Communicate with Dual Star Entertainment and Hasbro to produce merchandise related to Iron Man and Captain America in advance. We're going to make a fortune."
After hanging up, Eric contacted Peter Jackson again, asking him to speed things up.
The two had a good relationship, and the bearded man was straightforward and readily agreed.
Mainly, Eric gave the rights to the hobbit to New Line Cinema, and New Line Cinema invited Peter Jackson to continue directing, offering him top industry pay.
If he could make another trilogy, Peter Jackson would easily earn three or four hundred million dollars.
He was very grateful.
"You plan to release two superhero movies?"
"Yes. Also, summarize the filming progress of other movies. If we're going to fight, let's fight a big one."
Soon, MGM released several new movie trailers, including Iron Man, captain america, transformers 2, rampage, wanted, and la vie en rose.
At the same time, it announced that the release dates for Iron Man, captain america, and wanted would be moved up to the Christmas season.
Watching the cool Iron Man suit in the trailer, Robert Downey Jr. conquered many audiences with just one trailer, mainly because the armor was simply too cool.
In addition, he had been very honest this year, quitting alcohol and drugs, attending various public welfare activities, constantly showing his healthy side, and his public image had greatly improved.
Chris Evans' captain america also received many praises. Moving through a hail of bullets, his fierce action scenes gave a completely different feeling from superheroes like X-Men and Spider-Man, being both realistic and magical.
The curving bullets also sparked a lot of audience curiosity, and James McAvoy finally got his chance.
Nicole also fully showcased her charm in the film, a biographical, art-house film, clearly aiming for this year's Oscar.
Suddenly, the Christmas season's atmosphere became explosive. Looking at MGM's all-out assault, it was The Big Six that seemed a bit chaotic.
To accept the challenge or not? To fight or not to fight?
That is the question.
If they accepted the challenge, they would have to mobilize more resources for a counterattack. It should be known that MGM was almost exclusively using A-list blockbusters this time.
wanted might be a bit weaker, but its production cost also reached 80 million US dollars. In this situation, bringing in small fry wouldn't be very effective.
But this year had already reached its final stage, and in order to target MGM earlier, most of the blockbusters had almost been used up.
Most of what The Big Six held in their hands were blockbusters scheduled for release next year.
Bringing them over would be like jumping into this meat grinder, but admitting defeat was even worse.
Disney, Sony, and Warner Bros. were all worried.
Finally, everyone's eyes turned to Disney. As the big brother, can you really do it?
"Can you do it?" is a taboo topic for a man, and it was for Disney too.
To defend its position, it had to do it even if it couldn't.
So, Mickey Mouse quickly announced that the chronicles of narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, originally scheduled for next year, would be moved up to the Christmas season.
Sony also announced that Will Smith's starring film, Hitch, would be moved up to the Christmas season.
20th Century Fox announced that mr. & mrs. smith, originally scheduled for June, would be moved up to January.
At the same time, Warner Bros. and Universal also announced that films like batman Begins and Meet the Fockers would likely change their release dates, but they did not specify the exact dates.
Paramount, however, shrewdly remained silent, playing the ostrich.
The calm before the storm. Seeing them rush forward again, Eric simply added more fuel to the fire.
Coincidentally, at BK Films, The Invisible Man and Pearl had already been completed and were waiting for release dates.
No need to wait. They would enter the Christmas season to February slot along with saw III.
And then there was Kung Fu Hustle, which had been invested in for a long time, and Stephen Chow had already finished filming it.
According to the original agreement, Stephen Chow would be responsible for distribution in China, and MGM would be responsible for worldwide distribution. It was simply crammed into this death slot.
This time, it was really packed, with no empty slots left.
Many people realized that after this round, if they won, a new emperor would be crowned.
If they lost? If they lost, then they lost. It would be a lose-lose situation.
Time thus entered December, with only one week left until the Christmas season began.
Eric's daily routine, besides filming, was spending time with his many women, which was dry and boring.
During this period, he also bought a house for Little Liu and moved Old Liu in.
Then he also received a request from China, as the annual Spring Festival Gala was entering its preparation countdown again.
Given the unprecedented popularity brought by Michael's attendance in the previous year, CCTV once again sought him out.
They didn't need big stars; they just hoped to invite Taylor Swift, Cyril, Katy Perry, and Mars Bro to perform a song together on stage.
Because programs like The Voice of America and Ninja Warrior had been introduced there and received widespread praise after broadcasting.
For mainland China at that time, major singing variety shows and talent competitions, besides the National Youth Singer Competition, were Super Girl.
Although the National Youth Singer Competition was more professional and the singers were talented, the format was too old-fashioned, viewership had long declined, and audiences didn't like it.
Super Girl, on the other hand, was a product imitating American Idol and British Idol, and it didn't even pay copyright fees, making it plagiarism.
It was indeed very popular, but a slew of negative news also broke out, and it was even sued by a British copyright company.
In an era where copyright awareness was weak and laws were incomplete in mainland China, facing a British company without influence, Mango TV would definitely win, but their reputation would certainly be tarnished.
CCTV was producing its own The Voice of China, which was scheduled to air in the first half of next year.
Eric, of course, would not refuse this request. He just needed the four of them to spare two or three days to go, which wouldn't delay anything.
Since their albums were released, the four had become some of the most prominent singers of the new generation, receiving countless commercial performance invitations.
Among them, Mars Bro had the highest net worth. Although he didn't win the championship, after the competition, he seemed to have been labeled as Michael's successor.
If they couldn't invite Michael, they would invite him. Anyway, he was also a skilled singer and dancer, and he could even sing Michael's songs for free.
Katy Perry followed closely, her song "Stronger" scored big and was a strong contender for next year's Grammy.
Taylor Swift and Cyril were on par, with their appearance fees reaching 250,000 US dollars.
Friday, the ArcLight Cinerama Dome, Inception premiere.
As usual, a long red carpet was laid out onto the asphalt road, with cameras and microphones aimed at the stars who came to support the event.
Conan O'Brien was invited to host, strolling back and forth on the red carpet, cracking jokes.
Today, Eric not only invited many stars but also many directors to attend the premiere.
After all, this was Inception, a highly-rated masterpiece on IMDb. If he didn't invite these peers, how could he show off?
"Christopher, it's so good of you to come."
Seeing Nolan walk towards him, Eric initiative extended his hand and shook his.
"When I received your invitation, I pushed aside all my evening plans. My only task tonight is to enjoy your masterpiece."
Eric laughed heartily. He really wanted to see Nolan's expression while watching the movie later.
Holding his hand, Eric slightly lowered his head and whispered, "Nolan, you just said you had plans tonight. Is it because the post-production of batman isn't finished yet?"
Nolan gave a dry laugh, "Don't ask about that. If people knew you got information out of me, Warner Bros. would definitely come after me."
"Warner Bros.? Warner Bros. is nothing!"
Listening to Eric's undisguised cursing, Nolan was awkwardly at a loss for words.
I know you two don't get along, but big brother, please be a little careful. There are cameras everywhere. It wouldn't be good if it got recorded. People might think I've defected.
"If you're not happy working at Warner Bros., why don't you collaborate with me on your next film? You can shoot whatever you want, and I guarantee no interference."
Nolan at this time had not yet become a god. Although his talent was recognized, his commercial success still lacked a definitive work, and he couldn't make films as freely as he would later.
So, hearing Eric's promise, he was somewhat tempted.
"I'll consider it, Eric."
"Hmm, remember, I really admire you, Nolan!"
"Hahahaha, the pleasure is all mine."