Chapter 2 2 Acquisition of MGM

Chapter 2 Acquisition of MGM

"Eric, you little brat, I knew that the men of the Cooper family would not be knocked down so easily!"

On the lawn of the hospital, Eric was walking with his mother, and his brother Joshua Cooper jumped out from nowhere and punched him in the chest. [】

"Joshua, you will hurt him!" Mom stared.

"Don't worry, mom, I didn't use much force."

Eric looked at the strong man in front of him with some surprise: "Joshua, aren't you training in San Francisco? How come you are here?"

Joshua Cooper, the eldest son of the Cooper family, is 23 years old this year.

Unlike his younger brother, Joshua's academic performance can only be said to be barely passable, but his physical fitness is better.

Since high school, Joshua has been a member of the football school team, which has continued until college.

After graduating from college, he went to San Francisco and now plays for the 49ers. Although he is not a core player, he can always get a chance to play in general games.

Joshua Cooper pointed at his mother and said, "Why am I here? Of course it's our dear mother. I received a call last night and drove back early this morning."

"Did the team approve the leave? It should be the game season now."

Joshua smiled mysteriously: "I have a good relationship with Mrs. Brown in the management department, so I got three days of vacation."

After saying that, he gave Eric a look that showed you understand.

Eric hasn't spoken yet, but his mother's face has changed. As a more traditional woman, Emily's tone is a little angry.

"Joshua, if you dare to mess around outside, I can't spank you, but you'll never be able to enter Eric's house again!"

Joshua waved his hands and stepped back: "Wow, what are you doing, mom? It's like I've committed some unforgivable sin."

Emily snorted coldly: "You know what I'm talking about."

"Okay, mom, I have a good relationship with Mrs. Brown because I always bring her donuts and hot dogs. She loves this, that's all."

Joshua said with his hands behind his back, doing obscene movements at an angle that only Eric could see, one hand clasped into a circle, and the other hand's middle finger thrust in and out.

Well, it was just donuts and hot dogs.

Eric slapped his forehead: "Okay Joshua, I think you don't need to explain. Instead of wasting time explaining, why not do me a favor."

Joshua put his arm around his brother's neck: "Of course, just ask me if you have anything to say. As your brother, I have no choice but to do it!"

"Party, help me throw a party."

Joshua understood immediately: "Why don't we say we are brothers, because we have the same idea. After going through so much hardship, you really need to relax."

As he said, he leaned close to Eric's ear and whispered: "I'll find the location, and there will be enough hot girls!"

Eric looked at his cheap brother speechlessly, thinking to himself, do Americans think about this kind of thing when they talk about parties?

Unfortunately, as a Chinese, he doesn't really accept fast food in his bones. It feels a bit dirty. He prefers to eat home-cooked meals because they are clean and exciting.

"Joshua, the venue is set at home. I don't care who you want to invite, but I will give you a list. These guys must be notified."

"What do you want to do? You are so mysterious. Who are they?"

"My college classmates, the ones I have the best relationship with. Anyway, I don't object to you inviting girls, as long as my mother agrees.

Next to her, Emily Cooper crossed her arms and looked like you can do whatever you want.

Joshua immediately showed a bitter face: "Then I think it's better to forget it. Watching a movie, eating barbecue and drinking beer is also pretty good. ”

Ever since he knew the time he was in, Eric realized that something was wrong, because the movie "Windtalkers" was coming soon.

"Windtalkers" was John Woo's last movie in America, and I remember it was released in June 2002.

This war movie, which required a huge investment, almost bankrupted MGM, and it can be said that it lost almost all its money.

Since then, John Woo's reputation created by "Face/Off" and "Mission Impossible 2" has collapsed.

The following year's "Memento Momentum" also lost money. Although the loss was not as tragic as "Windtalkers", no one in Hollywood was willing to invest in him anymore.

Unable to make it, John Woo had to return to China, and with the title of an international director, he persuaded companies such as China Film, Pony Ma, and Youzu Films to invest in the filming of "Red Cliff" and "The Crossing". .

However, his old film concept and model can no longer keep up with the needs of the times. The audience's aesthetic level is gradually improving. To put it bluntly, it is not easy to fool.

As a result, all the movies failed, and even "The Crossing" caused the acquisition of Pony Express. It can be said that it was a complete failure.

And it is not the most terrible thing to let MGM be used as pants. What is more serious is that many executives of MGM resigned because of this.

However, everyone is paying attention to the director and actors. Except for the people in the Hollywood circle, no one noticed who the executives who resigned were. Unexpectedly, his cheap daddy, Charlie Cooper, was one of them.

No wonder the daddy has been working overtime in the company recently, and he looks worried. It seems that MGM has evaluated "Windtalkers" internally, and the result is self-evident.

If Charlie Cooper fails and resigns, it will have a huge impact on the entire family, especially his future plans. His film journey will probably become bumpy and rugged, so he must not let his father resign.

Eric has been thinking about countermeasures. After thinking for a day, he suddenly had an idea. Why am I so obsessed with not letting my father resign?

The purpose of not letting Charlie Cooper resign is to make it easier for himself to make movies. After all, movies are what he is most proficient in and it is also a career that can be successful.

And since the purpose is to make movies, what is more convenient than starting your own film company?

And since you want to start your own film company, what is more suitable than acquiring MGM?

As one of the seven existing Hollywood film companies, MGM is the weakest, but it is stronger than Lionsgate, Dimension, New Line, etc., especially now in 2002. Although this giant is in its twilight years, it has not fallen yet.

And compared with the complex equity structure of other companies, most of MGM's equity is held by one person, and this person is not interested in making movies at all. It is relatively easy to acquire, as long as the money is in place.

Then the remaining key question is to find out how much money is needed to acquire MGM and where to get the money?

I remember that before crossing over, Amazon seemed to have spent more than 8 billion US dollars to acquire MGM, but the debt accounted for half or more of it.

In 2002, MGM's assets and liabilities were not so exaggerated. This can be inquired from his father, and it is estimated to be about 30 to 40 billion.

It is not easy to get billions in a short period of time.

Stocks, futures, Bitcoin, etc. are too slow, he can't wait, and he didn't pay attention to these aspects in his previous life, so he can't do it.

So Eric focused his attention on the crooked way, that is, the upcoming World Cup in Korea and Japan.