Chapter 184 179 Equity Swap, Borrowing a Knife to Kill

Chapter 180 Equity swap, borrowing a knife to kill

Four days passed in a flash. During this period, Eric returned to the "House of Cards" crew to film, and took turns rolling with Nicole, Charlize Theron and the Olsen sisters.

Rolling three times in four days, each time for several hours, he had to kneel down and foam at the mouth when the donkey came.

To deal with four women, such a high-intensity job, even with the support of health wine and green juice, still made him feel tired.

But there was no way. He had been dealing with Michael's affairs for some time, and he had neglected a few women.

The fields lacked irrigation, and he, as a farmer, had to plow the fields and loosen the soil.

Fortunately, Gadot hadn't come back yet, otherwise he would have been working non-stop and wouldn't have gotten a day off.

The North American box office for the second week of "Get Out" has been released. Although there was a decline, the decline was smaller than expected, about 34%.

Black guys still gave strong support, and the social discussion of racial discrimination was very high.

With the fermentation of word-of-mouth, many white people also walked into the cinema to find out.

The final box office closed at 34 million US dollars, continuing to lead the schedule and winning the second weekly box office champion.

The second place is still "Pirates of the Caribbean". The tenacity of the Black Pearl has not been exhausted, and it continues to cut more than 17 million US dollars in the box office.

From this, it can be seen that the box office of a truly well-received big production is both explosive and lasting.

However, horror and alternative movies such as "Get Out", "Saw" and "Sharknado" generally only have explosive power, but lack of lasting power. The box office potential will be exhausted in a month or more.

As for Tobey Maguire's "Season", with a box office of less than 10 million US dollars, no one cares about it anymore.

In the MGM building, Chen Xing brought Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad into the office.

Eric stood up and shook hands with the two of them.

These two people gave Eric a completely different feeling.

Isaac Perlmutter was dressed in a neat brown suit, shiny black leather shoes, and his hair was combed meticulously.

This man's face gave people a sharp and sinister feeling. Eric could detect cunning from his eyes. In short, he was dressed like a very authentic businessman.

Avi Arad was just the opposite. He had a beard and the beard on his chin was long enough to be a finger.

He was wearing a sports short-sleeved shirt and casual shoes with Captain America printed on them. He didn't look like a company executive, but more like an old otaku.

"Hello, Mr. Cooper, it's my honor to meet you."

"Hello, Mr. Cooper."

Even the way of speaking to greet people gave people a completely different feeling.

The three of them sat down and said some nonsense to each other, such as "I have heard a lot about you for a long time", and then got to the point.

Isaac Perlmutter said, "Mr. Cooper, I'm sure you know why we're here this time. We're mainly here to attract investment from Marvel."

"Marvel is developing very well now. Our performance has been rising steadily over the past three years."

"Spider-Man and Blade Warrior in recent years have both achieved great success in film and television adaptations. As an industry insider, you know this best."

"So Marvel is preparing to restart its film and television department. We intend to start cooperation with major Hollywood companies to jointly bring superheroes to the big screen."

"Now we plan to develop Thor and Captain America, two well-known comic characters. Anyone who is a comics fan will be interested in them."

Isaac Perlmutter took out a financial report and handed it to Eric. The content on it was indeed profitable for three consecutive years.

However, this thing is okay for ordinary people. Eric is not ignorant of the business. He has also specially investigated Marvel's situation in advance.

Why is there no idea about the three consecutive years of profitability?

That's because it has hit the bottom. What else can it do if it doesn't rebound?

If it falls further, it will be the eighteenth level of hell. If it is replaced by a normal and honest operator, the company can make a profit.

So this thing is not credible.

Eric glanced at it briefly and threw it aside, looking at the other party with interest: "Mr. Perlmutter, the value of this thing is far less than the S&P 500 index, I think there is no need to look at it."

"Let me tell you what you think. What kind of cooperation method does Marvel intend to adopt? What reasons do you intend to use to convince me to invest?"

Isaac Perlmutter was not embarrassed by Eric's words. He continued to speak with a normal expression.

"The cooperation method we are considering is that Marvel provides copyright and related comic knowledge support, and bears 50% of the filming and publicity costs."

"MGM bears the other 50% of the filming and publicity costs, and the filming of the film is jointly controlled by our two companies."

"The box office revenue of the movie is divided equally between the two of us, and the copyright of the film and television belongs to Marvel, but the filming of the sequel is still completed by our two companies."

Before Isaac Perlmutter finished speaking, Eric had already sneered in his heart. Due to his status, he was embarrassed to roll his eyes at him.

What a bullshit proposal. According to this plan, I will become your employee.

If the copyright belongs to MGM, there is still room for negotiation. If the copyright still belongs to Marvel, then I am not a pure clown.

After laughing a few times, Eric said, "Mr. Perlmutter, the conditions should be put forward from the position you should stand in."

"Why do you put forward these demands? Where is your confidence? It is not ten years ago. The environment has changed."

"I think you should face the reality. The era of comics has long since declined, and Marvel is no longer the market leader it once was."

"So my suggestion is to be pragmatic, otherwise this meeting can end early."

Avi Arad hurriedly explained: "Mr. Cooper, although the era of comics has passed, the era of superhero movies has just begun."

"Last summer, Spider-Man grossed $500 million worldwide, Blade 1 grossed $700 million, and Blade 2 grossed $500 million."

"X-Men 1 grossed $200 million, and this year's X-Men 2 also grossed $400 million."

"The prospects of superhero movies have been widely recognized by the market, and everyone still likes superheroes."

"So cooperation is beneficial to both parties. Thor and Captain America are no less famous than Spider-Man, and the movie will definitely get a generous reward for MGM."

"$100 million, $200 million, or even more than $300 million, you really should consider this seriously."

"What about the Hulk? Is the Hulk less famous than Spider-Man?" Eric asked back.

After a moment of hesitation, Avi Arad answered: "Of course not. According to the questionnaire, if aliens attack the earth, people think that the Hulk will be the first to jump out to protect everyone."

"So, how do you explain the failure of the Hulk? It was in June this year, and it was still the summer season, but this movie made Universal lose tens of millions of dollars."

"There are also Spawn, Punisher, Duke of Hell, etc., none of which made money."

"Overall, the market prospects of superhero movies are not clear. Most of them still lose money, and the investment is often over 100 million, which is too risky."

"Gentlemen, I would like to ask, which one are you going to shoot? How much is the estimated investment?"

Avi Arad was speechless when asked in return, and Isaac Perlmutter replied: "It is best to shoot Thor and Captain America together."

"Thor is a fantasy background, involving the Nine Realms and the World Tree, and will use A lot of special effects are needed, and the estimated investment is $100 million. "

"Although Captain America can save a lot of special effects, it is set in the background of World War II and will involve war scenes."

"Props, costumes, group performances, scenery, etc. will be a huge expense, and the estimated investment is $200 million."

Seeing Eric staring at him expressionlessly, Isaac Perlmutter suddenly felt a little guilty, and changed his words and said, "In fact, it should be okay to invest less. I think it can be filmed with $100 million."

Finding that Eric's eyes were still very sharp, he changed his words and said, "80 million US dollars to shoot it, we can appropriately streamline some scenes."

Avi Arad immediately became anxious: "80 million is not enough. If the movie can't be shot, it's better not to shoot it. We can't ruin our reputation anymore."

Isaac Perlmutter quietly hit his leg below, signaling Avi Arad not to speak.

First, fool the money in hand, and then add investment during the filming. Isn't it easy to find a reason?

How did Cameron's "Titanic" come about? It's not the first time that they can get 200 million investment, but in the end they still forced Paramount and Fox to pay.

If you don't want to pay, you can't finish the filming, and ignore the sunk cost? The initial investment is wasted?

The two were also helpless. Marvel is too poor now. The maximum liquidity on the books is 50 million US dollars.

It's simply a fantasy to want to make a superhero blockbuster with this little money.

They don't want to sell the copyright or take it to the bank for mortgage, so they can only fool the major film and television companies to see if there will be any fools.

Eric is so young, he should be easier to fool than the old foxes in other companies.

"Mr. Cooper, actually you can shoot one first. MGM only needs to invest 40 million US dollars, and you can get hundreds of millions of dollars in return soon."

Eric didn't plan to talk about the two people's daydreaming attitude anymore.

He interrupted the other party directly: "Mr. Perlmutter, please stop for a moment. Let's stop lobbying here. I have no interest in your cooperation plan."

"But I also have a plan in hand. Are you willing to listen?"

The two were stunned for a moment, and then nodded.

"As a businessman, we are all for money and interests, but Marvel's development has been very sluggish in recent years, so you haven't made any money."

"Now that superhero movies have improved, you want to get a share of the pie, but you don't have the funds, and you can't afford any risks, so you must find other people to cooperate, right?"

Isaac Perlmutter nodded slightly, while Avi Arad did not move.

"You want to make money but don't want to take risks. There is no such good deal in the world, so I give you a suggestion."

"Sell your shares to me, I can buy them at a premium, you can cash out and leave, and each of you will get hundreds of millions of dollars to return to Beech Toys to continue to be an executive."

"As for the hot potato of Marvel, just throw it to MGM. After all, you haven't been able to handle it for several years, which can only mean two things."

"One is that Marvel has long been unable to adapt to the market environment, and the other is that you simply have no ability to manage it."

"Instead of letting it continue to be a big mess, it's better to sell it to me as soon as possible. It's a good thing to get rid of this burden, isn't it?"

"As for the risks, MGM will bear them alone. Whether it is Spider-Man or the Hulk, that's my business."

"Think about it carefully, this is a reasonable suggestion."

After Eric finished speaking, the two looked at each other.

They came here to attract investment, how come they were suddenly acquired? The script is wrong.

But thinking about it, I feel that the proposal is still very tempting, especially since Eric said he was willing to acquire at a premium.

If you are willing to pay more, it is not impossible to consider it.

After a long silence, Eric was about to send him away, and Isaac Perlmutter suddenly said: "Mr. Cooper, I want to ask a question, is MGM going to go public again?"

"That's for sure, what's wrong?"

"Then I guess the time for re-listing will be after the release of "Transformers", right?"

Eric did not deny that MGM had submitted the relevant materials, and if you ask for information from your connections, you can find it.

"Almost. I have this plan."

"Mr. Cooper, I also have an idea. I hope to exchange my Marvel shares with your MGM shares."

Eric was shocked. He just proposed the acquisition, and the other party came up with a replacement. It turned out that he was a businessman with a keen sense of smell.

"Mr. Perlmutter, do you want to exchange MGM's equity and then cash out when it goes public?"

"Yes, this is an idea. In addition, I am very optimistic about the future development trend of MGM."

"Mr. Cooper, since you took over MGM, this lion seems to have regained its vitality. Every movie and every project is profitable."

"This rate of return and accuracy is simply too scary. I believe that under your leadership, MGM will regain the glory of the last century and become the top of the seven major film and television companies."

"So if we have an equity exchange, I also plan to hold MGM's shares for a long time and get a stable income."

"But when it really comes to the re-listing, once the major institutions get involved, with my personal strength, I am afraid I can't even get 1% of the share."

"So this is also a good opportunity. Forget about the acquisition. The only way I can accept is equity exchange."

Eric looked at Avi Arad, but he didn't expect the latter to refuse very decisively.

"I will never sell my shares in Marvel. I like comics. These superheroes are like my friends and my children."

"I can accept cooperation in making movies, but it is impossible for me to sell my children!"

After saying that, he stood up and left, walking out of the office without any hesitation.

Isaac Perlmutter reached out to hold him, but he shook his hand and broke free, not paying attention to his companions at all.

"Sorry, Mr. Cooper, Avi is just an old otaku. He has the most feelings for those comics and toys."

"But don't pay attention to him. I don't have such deep feelings for Marvel. Let's continue to talk about equity swaps."

Eric took a sip of water and moistened his throat.

"Mr. Perlmutter, you only hold 17% of Marvel's shares. Even if you swap, I am not the largest shareholder of Marvel. It's meaningless."

"So it's not impossible to talk about swaps, but the premise is that you have to deal with your companions."

"I want the shares of both of you. Contact me after you finish this matter."