"Eric, you rascal, I knew that men from the Cooper family are not so easily broken!"
Eric was walking on the hospital lawn with his mother when his brother Joshua Cooper suddenly appeared and punched him in the chest.
"Joshua, you're hurting him!" their mother said angrily.
"Don't worry, Mom, I didn't hit him hard."
Eric looked in surprise at the sturdy guy in front of him. "Joshua, you're supposed to be in San Francisco training. How did you get here?"
Joshua Cooper, the eldest son of the Cooper family, was 23 years old. Unlike his brother, Joshua was not academically inclined, but he was in excellent physical shape. He had been a member of the football team since school and continued to play in college. After graduation, he moved to San Francisco and now plays for the 49ers. Although he's not a starting player, he still gets playing time.
Joshua pointed at their mother. "Why am I here? Of course, because of our dear mom. She called me last night, and I came right away this morning."
"Did the team give you time off? It's the middle of the season."
Joshua smiled mysteriously. "I have good relations with Mrs. Brown in management, so I got three days off."
As he said this, he winked at Eric.
Eric hadn't yet responded when their mother, a traditionally minded woman, said sternly, "Joshua, if you behave inappropriately, I can't spank you, but you won't be allowed back in the Cooper house!"
Joshua waved his hands. "Whoa, whoa! Mom, you make it sound like I've committed some terrible crime."
Emily coldly snorted. "You know what I'm talking about."
"Okay, Mom, my relationship with Mrs. Brown is just that I bring her donuts and hot dogs. She loves them, that's all."
Saying this, he made a gesture that only Eric could see, mimicking a circle with one hand and inserting a finger into it with the other.
Eric grabbed his head. "Alright, Joshua, I don't think you need to explain. Better help me with a request."
Joshua hugged his brother. "Of course, what do you need? I'm always ready to help."
"Organize a party for me."
Joshua immediately understood. "We brothers think alike. After all this, you really need to relax."
He leaned in and whispered in Eric's ear. "I'll find a place and arrange for some hot girls."
Eric looked at his brother in bewilderment, thinking, "Do Americans really think about that when they talk about parties?" But as someone with a Chinese mentality, he didn't particularly approve of such entertainment. Instead of "fast food," he preferred homemade "dishes" – clean and tasty.
"Joshua, the party will be at our place. Who you invite is up to you, but I have a list, and these guys must be invited."
"What are you planning? Who are they?"
"My classmates, the closest ones. If you want to invite girls, I won't object, as long as Mom doesn't mind."
Their mother folded her arms and gave a look that said, "It's up to you."
Joshua immediately felt deflated. "In that case, let's forget about it. We'll watch a movie, eat barbecue, and drink beer."
After realizing what time he was in, Eric began to worry about the upcoming John Woo film Windtalkers, which was scheduled to release in June 2002. This war film, which had massive financial backing, almost drove MGM to bankruptcy. Moreover, after this film, John Woo's reputation, which had been built on Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2, plummeted. The following year, his film Paycheck also failed, and Hollywood no longer wanted to work with him.
As a result, John Woo returned to China, where, leveraging his reputation as a major director, he persuaded companies like China Film, Beijing Galloping Horse Group, and Yoozoo Pictures to invest in films like Red Cliff and The Crossing.
However, his old film concepts and models could no longer keep up with contemporary demands. The aesthetic level of audiences rises daily. Frankly, they're hard to fool.
The result wasn't surprising: all these films failed at the box office, and The Crossing even accelerated Galloping Horse's bankruptcy. It was a complete disaster.
But the most frightening thing for Eric wasn't MGM's financial failure but the potential dismissal of several high-ranking company officials, including his father, Charlie Cooper.
However, everyone focused on the directors and actors. Except for Hollywood insiders, no one noticed who the retiring executives were, including his father, Charlie Cooper.
It's no wonder he's been working overtime lately and looks very worried. It seems MGM conducted an internal evaluation of Windtalkers, and the results were obvious.
Eric realized that if his father lost his job, it would severely impact the entire family and his own future plans. His path in filmmaking would likely become bumpy, so he couldn't allow his father to resign.
Eric pondered a solution to the problem all day until it suddenly dawned on him: why strive so hard to prevent his father's dismissal?
If the goal is to make films, what could be better than owning your own film studio?
And what could be better than buying MGM?
MGM is one of Hollywood's seven major studios. Though it's currently weaker than the others, it's still stronger than Lionsgate, Dimension Films, and New Line. Especially now, in 2002. Although this giant is barely staying afloat, it hasn't gone bankrupt yet.
Moreover, unlike other companies with complicated shareholder structures, the majority of MGM's shares are owned by one person who isn't interested in film production. This makes the purchase simpler – all that's needed is to find the money.
The main question remained: how much is MGM worth and where to get the money?
Eric remembered that before his time travel, Amazon bought MGM for $8 billion, half of which was debt. In 2002, MGM's assets and debts weren't as large, and he could get the exact figure from his father, approximately $3-4 billion.
But finding such an amount in a short time wasn't easy.
Stocks, futures, bitcoins – all these were too slow, and he wasn't knowledgeable about them.
So, Eric turned his attention to the upcoming World Cup in Korea and Japan.