Chapter 252 247 Never Retreat

Chapter 248 247. Never retreat

"Boss, Disney, Universal, Sony, Paramount, Fox and Warner have jointly requested us to ban Mel Gibson!"

After Carol finished speaking, Eric's face instantly sank. Damn these bastards.

"When did it happen?"

"Last night, it was said that the people from the six companies had a meeting and negotiated for a long time. They were supposed to have gone off work, and then the official letter was delivered to us at 11 o'clock in the evening."

"Considering that you might have rested, I didn't call, but only sent a text message."

"Okay, I know, thank you for your hard work."

"Boss, what should we do? They are pressing very hard this time. The six major companies have joined forces to ban one person. This kind of thing rarely happens in Hollywood history."

After thinking for a moment, Eric said directly: "It's okay, don't pay attention to them, just delay and don't reply. Just say that I am filming abroad. After all, this is not a trivial matter. Mel Gibson is not just Mel Gibson, he also owns a company. Anyway, everything will be discussed after I return home."

Understanding that Eric was looking for an excuse to delay, Carol was more certain that he must have expected him to go abroad on the day the movie was released.

Since the boss is not in a hurry, as a secretary, there is no need to be in a hurry. Just listen to the arrangements.

After hanging up the phone, Eric shook his head to make himself more sober. He had been fighting continuously last night and didn't pay attention to the text message.

After washing my face, I walked to the window and looked into the distance. It seemed that the people who came this time were not friendly.

However, Jews accounted for a large proportion of the senior executives of Disney, Universal and Warner, so it was understandable that they wanted to ban Mel Gibson.

Fox also had reasons. After all, "American Idol" was about to compete with "The Voice", and they were eager for MGM to be in trouble.

Moreover, the competition between Facebook and Myspace had reached a white-hot stage. Murdoch would definitely support his son. Hitting MGM was equivalent to hitting Facebook.

Not to mention Sony. Because of the Michael Case, MGM had long been a deadly enemy with the other party, and the little Japanese had been looking for opportunities to retaliate.

The only one who had no reason was Paramount. MGM had no conflict with the other party. It was probably coerced.

Walking out of the room and heading to the restaurant, Eric considered countermeasures as he walked.

After thinking carefully, he realized that he and Paramount did have friction.

At the beginning, they also took a fancy to "Transformers", but the copyright was snatched away by him.

If the movie fails, Paramount will just laugh and feel lucky that MGM helped them to take a risk and test the market reaction.

But if the movie is a big hit, then the other party will definitely be resentful and have ideas.

"Honey, what's wrong with you?"

In the corridor, Charlize Theron's voice suddenly sounded behind her. She was getting better and better with constant nourishment every day, and her face was rosy.

"You are a little absent-minded, what are you thinking about?" Charlize Theron asked curiously.

Eric did not hide it from her, and told her everything.

After hearing this, Theron sneered: "I think these guys are jealous. They are jealous of MGM's getting better and better, and they are worried that one day MGM will regain its position as the overlord of Hollywood like in the last century."

"Dear, think about it, since you took the helm, MGM's movies have not lost money. The movie industry is a high-risk and high-investment industry. MGM's performance is really scary."

"Well, there are actually some losses."

"What?"

"Monster hasn't paid back yet."

"Hate it!" Theron punched Eric in the chest with a pink fist.

"In less than two years, more than 2 billion US dollars of debt has been paid off, and MGM has been re-listed. The market value has already rushed to the third place among the seven major companies. If it weren't for the stock price drop in the past few days, it would have surpassed Warner and rushed to the second place."

"It has a lot of popular IP cash cows, and it also holds a large number of shares in Double Star Entertainment and Marvel. It has also created two very promising emerging websites, Facebook and YouTube."

"My boss, they are scared. Anyone would be scared! Especially Disney, it must be the most scared. Maybe Mickey Mouse is the one who led this matter."

Eric nodded. What Charlize Theron said makes sense. You have to know that in the early last century, there were no so-called seven major companies in Hollywood.

At that time, there were only five strong film companies, Paramount, Warner, MGM, Fox and RKO.

The five companies have a complete vertical integration structure, studios, theater chains, and international distribution networks.

Even the theaters are controlled by the film companies. Just think about how terrifying it is.

At that time, film and television companies were the absolute overlords, and stars and audiences had no choice.

You must shoot whatever I tell you to shoot, and the audience must watch whatever I want them to watch. There is no room for negotiation on this overbearing clause.

In addition to the Big Five, there are Universal, Columbia and United Artists, but these three are very small, at most equivalent to the current Dimension.

Among the Big Five, Paramount was the first to be established. MGM was established in 1924, 12 years later than Paramount, but it quickly surpassed the latter.

How strong was MGM at that time?

It was hailed as the greatest miracle in the history of world cinema, and it was said to have more stars than the stars in the sky.

The average budget for each movie reached 500,000 US dollars, which was 500,000 US dollars in the 1930s and 1940s, and the cost was much higher than that of other companies.

It has created countless classic screen images, and even the founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is MGM.

That's right, the Oscars were first initiated by MGM.

Due to the huge influence of the film, MGM's lion logo once became a symbol of the United States.

This lion king is the undisputed largest, most influential, and most profitable super movie giant that combines production, distribution, and screening.

To make an analogy, it is equivalent to the current United States, which is the only super company. At that time, the Hollywood structure was one super and many strong.

Does Eric want MGM to reproduce its former glory?

Of course he wants to, he dreams about it, and he is doing so.

After he becomes completely big, the first target will be Warner, because you have my ancestral property in your hands, and you also hold DC comics.

You have already got a way to die!

Eric is still a non-Jewish, and he may have anti-Semitic tendencies in his heart when he released "The Passion of the Christ". I'm afraid the other party is really afraid of him, so it's not surprising that he is targeted.

"Theron, do you have any good suggestions for the current situation?"

Theron frowned: "Dear, I don't know your trump card, but if it were me, I might give in when facing the joint pressure of the six major companies."

"Give in? Are you sure the other party won't push it further after you give in?"

"This depends on their true intentions. You must have made a decision in your mind, right?"

Eric snorted. He definitely couldn't give in.

First of all, it would affect his prestige.

It would also affect MGM's integrity. If you sell out your teammates when you are under pressure, people will definitely have concerns about doing business with you in the future.

In addition, small second- and third-tier companies such as DreamWorks, Lionsgate, and New Line are all watching. They all want to see if MGM can withstand it.

If you can't withstand it, these guys can be potential allies today, and they will become potential enemies tomorrow.

The most important thing is that Lionheart Online is about to go online anyway.

This is a life-and-death struggle. Only when one side falls and admits defeat, there is no point in giving in. Just do it!

Having made up his mind, Eric took out his phone and called Robert Mirren.

"Robert, how are the preparations going?"

Robert Miron was obviously excited when he received the call.

"Boss, it's already been completed, just waiting for your order. Seeing how well Facebook and YouTube are developing, everyone can't wait any longer."

"Very good, the time is set for next Saturday. I'll give you a few days to prepare, and it will be online on time at 9 am."

"In the next few days, you must immediately contact major websites, as well as shopping malls, big screens, subways, public toilets, in short, use everything except TV stations, and advertise to death for me."

"It must be overwhelming, so that everyone in the United States knows it."

"In addition, we must connect well with Facebook and YouTube, and they will help promote it. I want to launch information bombardment online and offline at the same time. As long as you are a person who is in contact with society, whether actively or passively, you must know the name of Lionheart Network."

"Don't worry, boss, I will complete the task. What works will we launch in the first wave?"

"House of Cards, Supernatural, The Voice, and Peppa Pig."

In the next few days, the controversy caused by The Passion of the Christ continued to ferment, and a death occurred, which pushed the movie to the forefront.

A radio station in Kansas treated its employees to a free movie. When the movie showed the cruel scene of Jesus being crucified, Ms. Scot, the 56-year-old radio marketing manager, had a heart attack. Although the cinema immediately stopped the screening and rushed her to the hospital, she eventually died.

The news attributed Ms. Scot's death to the movie, believing that the scene was too cruel and caused strong discomfort to everyone.

Judaism and some social organizations clamored even more fiercely, demanding that Mel Gibson be held responsible for this.

Under tremendous pressure from public opinion, this veteran in the entertainment industry finally couldn't stand it and chose to accept an interview with NBC.

He repeatedly emphasized that he had no anti-Semitic tendencies and just wanted to make a movie.

"I didn't expect things to get to this point. This was not my intention. I am not against Jews or Judaism. In fact, I have many Jewish friends."

"Really, I just want to make a profound movie. This is the pursuit of every director."

"If the plot of the movie hurts anyone, I am willing to apologize to you."

"I hope everyone will look at "The Passion of the Christ" with a normal mind. Neither I nor the movie has any ironic position. I apologize again to those who are hurt."

Mel Gibson's public apology finally appeased some people, and the voices of opposition weakened a little.

But the Jews are very strong, and the influence of Catholics, Protestants and other sects is not weak. They publicly support the movie, and the two sides have a war of words.

Finally, the topic was led to an ultimate question, that is, who should be responsible for the death of Jesus?

Everyone understands that this is not a matter of Mel Gibson's apology. It is a contest between two camps.

In the past few days, Eric received a call from Carol every day.

The six major companies knew that he was playing a procrastinating tactic and wanted to drag it out until the competition between the two camps was over, so they urged him even more urgently.

On the first day, they hoped that he would return to China as soon as possible to discuss the ban. Eric replied that he could not leave because he was filming a critical part.

On the second day, the six major media hoped that he would return to China immediately. The matter must be resolved quickly to appease the public anger. Eric's answer was that I was considering it and would give an answer immediately.

On the third day, the six major media demanded that he must ban Mel Gibson and also take down "The Passion of the Christ" in advance. He did not even pretend.

In response, Eric's reply was that you guys would not pretend anymore, and I would not pretend anymore. Your request can be summed up in two words - no way!

On the fourth day, the six major media hoped that he would think it over again, and seemed to have softened.

Eric thought that the other party was a paper tiger, just bluffing.

Unexpectedly, on the fifth day, the six major media suddenly issued a joint statement.

"In view of the huge controversy caused by The Passion of the Christ, which has caused a very bad social impact, Mel Gibson himself has shown strong racist and anti-Semitic tendencies."

"So after our discussion, we decided not to establish or maintain any work intersection with Mel Gibson in the future. This is hereby declared!"

The six presidents of Disney, Warner, Fox, Paramount, Sony and Universal signed the signature.

The announcement immediately caused a shock in the industry and widespread discussion.

The so-called ban can be achieved in China, a country with an optoelectronics bureau and administrative management.

But in the United States, there is no real ban. The reason why many stars suddenly disappeared from the big screen is that some of them did it themselves.

For example, Ingrid Bergman in the last century, Hollywood was very conservative at that time, and she cheated and was boycotted by the whole people. She was banned by the audience, but she continued to act after a few years.

There is also Megan Fox, who is familiar to everyone. She annoyed Bay and Spielberg, but she just didn't make big productions, and she still got small investment movies.

In Hollywood, a society where money is everything, as long as a star is valuable, it doesn't matter if you offend a few big guys, and you won't really lose your job.

But this time it's obviously different. The six major companies have united to ban one person. This kind of scene is unheard of and unseen.

Faced with such an exaggerated force, Mel Gibson's company will definitely be finished, and other independent small companies dare not cooperate with him again.

Because these small companies have a fatal shortcoming, that is, the distribution ability, which can only be relied on by large companies.

But at the same time, many people also noticed that something is wrong. There is one less big Hollywood company, MGM?

Just when everyone was wondering what happened, MGM also threw out a statement.

"Mel Gibson is an excellent director, and "The Passion of the Christ" is also an excellent movie. We are very sure that he is an upright person, and the movie does not mix any personal tendencies."

"MGM is willing to continue and cooperate with Director Gibson for a long time to bring more excellent works to everyone."

Signed: Eric Cooper!