"MGM is like crazy. First, they strongly supported Mel Gibson, and then they want to do some streaming. I still don't understand what streaming means."
At a private party, Charlie Sheen complained while drinking.
Elton John sighed: "Charlie, I thought you were holding another party like last time, flying back from abroad specifically to attend, but it turns out it's just drinking and chatting."
"Uh, originally I hired a dozen actresses from San Fernando Valley, but now everyone is discussing this matter, so I'm not interested and sent them back."
It's well-known in the industry that Charlie Sheen likes to host orgies. A group of his debauched friends always have a great time. Don't people like to be friends with a scoundrel like you just for this hobby?
And you're not even doing it? You're not keeping your priorities straight!
Elton John shook his head, cursing inwardly, 'You're not interested, but I am. Don't look at my age, I brought my medicine and I'm ready for three hundred rounds.'
James Franco was lying on the sofa, puffing smoke, giggling foolishly from drugs.
Ever since he became popular for playing Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin Jr. in "Spider-Man," James Franco received an invitation to join this secret party.
He himself had an improper conduct, and at heart, he was a pure scoundrel. It was just that he had been famous for a short time and was very good at hiding it; at least, it hadn't been exposed yet.
At Charlie Sheen's party, everyone had to hand in their phones, no recording was allowed, and absolute secrecy was required. Here, James Franco completely let loose and showed his nasty nature.
"Hahahaha. Eric Cooper, a guy who rolls around on his dad's achievements. This brat must be mentally unstable."
"Bullshit Lionheart Network, bullshit streaming. All I see is him simultaneously offending The Big Six companies and all the television stations in the United States. He's finished, and MGM is almost finished too."
"Can you imagine? This idiot is completely out of his mind. I would do a much better job as CEO of MGM than him."
John Mayer guzzled a glass of brandy, looking at James Franco mockingly: "I think you're just jealous. He didn't give you the male lead in "transformers," but gave it to an unknown.
"I heard you were the biggest name among those who auditioned that day, but you lost to Chris Evans. Now he's not only Sam, but he's also going to be captain america, and you're still the Green Goblin Jr."
"Frank, so you're very upset, am I right?"
James Franco blew a puff of marijuana smoke at him: "Shut your stinking mouth, John, he even won a Grammy!"
"And is that guy a musician? I heard he can't even read sheet music, but he can defeat you professionals. You should be ashamed!"
"Alright, stop arguing, quickly help me think about this problem." Charlie Sheen paced anxiously.
"What problem?"
"The problem I just mentioned."
"Charlie, you haven't said anything yet."
"Hmm? Fuck! My head is getting more and more muddled. Recently, MGM has several big productions, and my agent got an audition spot."
"But now Eric Cooper is clearly going to lead the company to its funeral. Should I still go for the audition? If I participate in an MGM movie, will The Big Six resent me and affect my future development? I'm very conflicted right now."
Elton John rolled his eyes, thinking, 'Who doesn't know about your mountain of debts? It's common knowledge. Would they even use you?'
However, since Charlie Sheen participated in Sony Columbia's sitcom "Two and a Half Men" last year, his superb acting and hilarious plot did make this scoundrel popular again. His salary once approached a million dollars, which was considered a top salary in the American drama industry.
James Franco waved his hand: "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't go for the audition again. I'd find a reason to decline."
"On one side is MGM, and on the other are The Big Six and all the television stations in the United States. Even an idiot should know how to choose?"
"James, but we are actors. This is a battle between film companies. The guild and the agencies have not expressed support for either side. I think even if I participate, it won't have much impact, right? There's a role I really like."
Watching Charlie Sheen's conflicted look of 'I'm worried but I also want it,' James Franco nauseatingly threw up.
"Wake up, Charlie Sheen, I received news, top-secret news that won't be announced publicly."
"Not publicly announced, then how do you know?"
"Uh..."
"Alright, tell me quickly."
"A few days ago, the executives of The Big Six held a meeting to launch an attack on MGM. They must let Eric Cooper know what's what. This plan has a codename, Operation Leo. Do you know what it means?"
Charlie Sheen shook his head. He lived in a daze every day, and besides drinking, doing drugs, and having sex, his brain couldn't hold much information.
"Idiot, you're at least from the 60s, don't you know what the name Leo means? MGM, Leo, don't you know?"
"That lion, it refers to that lion!" Charlie Sheen finally reacted with a delayed realization.
It's well-known that MGM's opening logo is a roaring lion, but many people don't realize that in the early days, this lion was not a special effect composite, but rather filmed live.
In the 1920s, you couldn't do special effects, so to create this opening, the company could only rent a real lion and capture the moment it roared.
It's said that several cinematographers were replaced, and the lion's stomach was almost bursting, though of course, that's a joke.
MGM has used a total of 7 different lions for its opening credits, and they all had their own names, such as the first one named Cairbre, later changed to Slats.
The second lion was named Jackie, and the third was named Telly.
However, MGM collectively referred to them as Leo, the lion Leo, and this name also became a symbol of the company.
James Franco nodded: "That's right, it's MGM's lion. Although The Big Six haven't issued another statement, it's clear that Eric Cooper protecting Mel Gibson and creating the Lionheart Network has angered them. Now it's six against one, and they're targeting this lion!"
"And I heard that various television stations are also negotiating, and it's likely that results will be announced soon. Brother, now is really not a good time to get close to this lion."
"Okay, if your information is accurate, now is indeed not a good time."
James Franco's so-called top-secret information was, of course, not top-secret. The Big Six intentionally leaked it, and it not only spread within the entertainment industry but soon even the audience knew about it.
Two days later, Disney took the lead in announcing that several of its films would be rescheduled.
This year, Mickey Mouse's carefully crafted animated masterpiece, "the incredibles," was postponed from its original August 5th release to December 7th, clearly targeting "Inception" in the Christmas slot.
Nicolas Cage's adventurous blockbuster, "national treasure," was rescheduled to June 11th, more than two months earlier, targeting "frozen."
"Holes," adapted from a best-selling children's book, was also moved to September 17th, targeting "don't breathe 2."
Anne Hathaway's sequel to her breakout hit, "The Princess Diaries 2," was pushed back to September 24th, also targeting "don't breathe 2."
Even films originally scheduled for next year, such as "the chronicles of narnia," "Sky High," and "Twitches," were rescheduled, with announcements to accelerate production and aim for release this year.
After Disney announced a large-scale rescheduling of its films, Warner Bros. quickly followed suit.
The super IP "harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban" was postponed from August to November, targeting Gadot's "the hunger games."
The highly anticipated "the polar express," meticulously produced by director Robert Zemeckis, was rescheduled to May 21st, simultaneously targeting "the purge 2" and "Million Dollar Baby."
The epic blockbuster "Troy," meticulously filmed for over a year and featuring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, had its release date pushed back from May to June 17th, joining "national treasure" in targeting "frozen."
Subsequently, Universal Pictures also announced its rescheduling plan.
First, the hybrid blockbuster "Alien vs. Predator" was postponed from April to September, targeting MGM's "happy death day 2," a direct confrontation.
Then, the flagship IP "the bourne supremacy" was moved up from July to June, also joining the ranks to target "frozen."
The popular comedy "Meet the Fockers 2" canceled its release date, possibly preparing to aim for "the hangover 2"'s slot.
Hugh Jackman's "van helsing" was postponed from May to November, targeting "the hunger games."
"the fast and the furious 3" also announced accelerated production, clearly aiming for "rampage," which shares a similar racing theme.
Sony's mega-blockbuster "Spider-Man 2" was moved from the summer to the Christmas slot, joining Disney's "the incredibles" in besieging "Inception."
20th Century Fox's blockbusters like "The Day After Tomorrow" and "I, Robot" also rescheduled their releases.
Paramount's films such as "The Prince & Me," "Alfie," "Tomorrowland," and "The Zero Effect" also joined the fray.
These are just a portion; just as MGM still has films in production without announced release dates, The Big Six also hold many cards, waiting for MGM to make its move.
Everyone was numb, completely numb!
Suddenly, the market was filled with tension. Lionsgate, New Line Cinema, and other small and medium-sized companies were on edge, also announcing reschedules.
Although they had secretly reached an agreement with Eric, they publicly declared neutrality, choosing no side and no stance.
Rescheduling was also to avoid their sharp edge, but after looking around, they found no good slots. Almost every slot was a battleground, so they could only choose a weaker battlefield to join.
DreamWorks has three major productions releasing this year: the meticulously prepared "shrek 2" and "shark tale," which have been in the works for over two years, as well as Spielberg's "The Terminal."
"shark tale" was urgently moved up from August to the upcoming April 15th; the flagship "shrek 2" withdrew from June and moved to October.
"The Terminal" wandered around for a long time, realizing it couldn't find a place, and could only announce that its release date was to be determined.
Unlike the small and medium-sized companies struggling for survival, movie fans were excitedly cheering.
Although some movie release dates were postponed, the overall number of good movies available this year increased.
Movie theaters were also very happy. The more movies, the hotter the market. They don't care about your competition, as long as they can make more money.
And just as The Big Six sounded the horn of attack, the long-awaited response from across the United States finally came, with major television stations jointly issuing a statement.
This statement was almost identical to that of The Big Six, also publicly pointing the finger at Mel Gibson, making it hard not to suspect that the two sides had communicated privately.
"Given the huge controversy caused by 'the passion of the christ,' which has created a very negative social impact, Mel Gibson has further shown strong racism and anti-Semitic tendencies."
"Such ideology is undoubtedly dangerous, and for television stations, which are public mouthpieces, it is even more threatening and aggressive."
"Therefore, after discussion, we have decided not to establish or maintain any work interactions with Mel Gibson in the future. This is hereby declared!"
The signature was a long list of television station names, but the smaller local ones at the end could be ignored; the key was to look at the first two lines.
These included public broadcasters CBS, ABC, Fox, NBC, WB, UPN, and cable channels FX, AMC, CNN, HBO, Showtime, and others.
From now on, neither Mel Gibson nor MGM would be able to run another advertisement, nor would they see any positive reports about themselves on television.
Eric had nothing to say about this. He still threw out a statement, tit for tat. Whoever flinched was a coward!
MGM Building, Eric hadn't been to the set these past few days, leaving the filming to Neil, and himself commuting to and from the company every day.
There was no other way; morale was a bit unstable, and his presence could stabilize the troops.
"Thank you, truly thank you, Eric, you are my benefactor."
On the phone, Mel Gibson repeatedly expressed his gratitude. When you are abandoned by everyone, the person who is willing to lend a helping hand, you can only repay them with a gushing spring.
"I wouldn't abandon my partner. You don't have to worry, Mel. If you can't be on TV, then so be it. There are still online channels, aren't there?"
"YouTube and Facebook can also be used for promotion, and they can also allow you to speak out. The box office of 'the passion of the christ' is so good, those guys can't stop it."
Mel Gibson sighed: "Eric, your mindset is incredibly steady. It's unbelievable that you're only in your 20s."
"May I ask a question? Aren't you worried at all? To be honest, our situation is not looking good right now."
Eric chuckled: "Since I did it, I anticipated this day. Now I just need a big victory to boost morale!"
Mel Gibson did not speak, because he did not know how this victory could be achieved.
On Saturday, March 31st, Lionheart Network officially launched.
As it was a weekend, millions of users flocked to the website, and the interface designed under Eric's personal supervision immediately impressed many.
Unlike the simplicity of Facebook, Lionheart Network was the opposite; it was meticulously categorized and very ornate, similar to interfaces a decade later, presenting a sense of dimensionality reduction from just one screen.
Among these users, a significant portion went straight to the variety show section and clicked on the top recommended "The Voice of America."
Because today was also the day Fox's "American Idol" Season 2 aired, everyone wanted to see who would win.
MGM versus Fox, the first battle has begun!