[Chapter 739: The Spy Movie Universe]
During a lull at the press conference, Eric Williams gathered Amy Pascal and other MGM shareholders attending the event to discuss the idea of issuing additional stock. Naturally, Amy Pascal and the others had no objections. Even though MGM appeared to be thriving after the consolidation, the financial situation was quite tight.
With a staggering $1.7 billion in debt, the annual principal and interest payments amounted to no less than $200 million. One of the reasons Kirk Kerkorian had repeatedly sold MGM was to restructure the debt through sale after sale, aiming to cut costs.
After this transaction, Kerkorian was driven out of Hollywood, and the new MGM could not afford to play such capital games, meaning those interest payments couldn't be avoided. If they could increase their stock issuance by 20%, the company's financial situation would improve significantly, providing ample funds to repair MGM's production and distribution systems and to kickstart major projects like The Lord of the Rings.
After discussing this matter, the staff announced that the press conference was about to begin, and everyone left the lounge to move into the conference hall.
...
Except for the cast and crew of the currently filming Charlie's Angels series, all the main actors from major franchises under the new company like 007, Mission: Impossible, Night at the Museum, and Resident Evil were present, making the venue gleam with star power. However, today, they were not the center of attention; the reporters focused entirely on MGM's shareholders and executives.
As the new CEO of the company, Amy Pascal stepped onto the stage with enthusiasm, taking over ten minutes to introduce the general overview of the new company and addressing a series of media questions regarding MGM's acquisition and consolidation process.
More than a hundred invited reporters were patiently waiting for the Q&A session that would follow the speeches of several MGM executives. Some people's eyes had already wandered to Eric, sitting in the guest section.
However, when Amy finally announced that MGM would issue additional stocks, the reporters immediately perked up.
Recent media predictions suggested that MGM would choose to privatize like Firefly Group, aligning with Eric Williams' usual style. Moreover, since MGM currently had only 12% of its shares publicly traded, the difficulty of privatization was quite low.
Thus, this news was a stark contrast to what most reporters had speculated, igniting a buzz among the journalists present as they questioned MGM's motives, or more directly, Eric Williams' intentions behind this decision.
Unfortunately, after Amy concluded her remarks, Frank Mancuso, who had just transitioned to president of MGM, came back on stage to introduce MGM's production plans for the coming years and invited the guest stars to the stage for a brief interaction.
After about half an hour, the anticipated Q&A session finally arrived.
...
Once Eric, Drew, Amy, Frank Mancuso, and John Calley took their seats on the provided chairs, the host announced the beginning of the Q&A session, and every reporter in the audience raised their hands all at once.
The host randomly selected a reporter, a woman with wavy brown hair and rimless glasses. When she took the microphone, she didn't immediately ask the burning question; instead, she directed her inquiry towards Eric, saying, "Mr. Williams, I'm a reporter for The New York Times. According to public information, Firefly Group has completely divested from MGM. In what capacity and stance are you sitting here today?"
Eric smiled; he had anticipated this question and, on a deeper level, many people already knew the reasons behind it.
However, Eric had no intention of dodging the question. He replied with a smile, "If you need a reason, I suppose I'm here as a representative of MGM's shareholders. My personal Firefly Investment Company is the largest shareholder of LTD Group, which is MGM's third-largest shareholder, currently holding 10% of the shares. That's it."
The female reporter from The New York Times pressed on, "Mr. Williams, why complicate things? Wouldn't it be simpler to directly utilize Firefly Group's capital for this?"
While many large corporations in North America exhibited monopoly behavior, executives rarely discussed their companies' monopolistic practices openly, and no one would even acknowledge any intent to monopolize, as such statements might become evidence in future antitrust investigations.
Eric certainly understood the unspoken rules. After a brief pause, he said, "The internal structure of Firefly Group is already extensive. If we continue to expand, it could become unwieldy, which would be detrimental to the company's healthy growth. Thus, MGM will operate independently outside the Firefly Group's structure. This way, potential competition in the future might also prevent Firefly Group from losing its drive and falling into complacency."
This somewhat truthful yet vague response left no room for the reporters to criticize it. The next journalist had to pivot the topic to MGM's upcoming stock issuance.
"Mr. Williams, why did MGM decide to issue more stock instead of privatizing?"
Eric had amassed a personal fortune that was nothing short of astonishing, and he would become even more wealthy as the internet wave exploded in the coming years. Therefore, he was no longer seeking rapid wealth accumulation but aiming to enhance his influence and control through that wealth.
Like MGM, Eric controlled 10% of MGM's shares indirectly through LTD, allowing him to fully manipulate the company. Simultaneously, owning only a small portion of shares meant that outside resistance would be relatively low. If he wanted to transform Hollywood into his own kingdom, Eric would likely adopt similar methods to gradually infiltrate other media groups in the future.
Of course, he could never articulate such thoughts publicly, as they would certainly raise concerns among many.
Therefore, in response to the question, Eric simply stated, "Every enterprise should have its own independent path for development, so I don't see this as an issue. The reason for issuing additional stocks is to enable MGM to develop better in the coming years. As you've just seen, MGM will continue filming the 007 and Mission: Impossible franchises while also commencing production on Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings, which all requires substantial funding."
"Mr. Williams, GoldenEye also had an Easter egg for the second Charlie's Angels movie. Fans have been very curious -- will MGM have a crossover between 007 and Charlie's Angels in the future?"
Upon hearing this question, Eric smiled and handed the mic to nearby Amy Pascal, saying, "Let Amy clarify this question for everyone."
Amy Pascal and others had been kept on the sidelines for a while. They were not unhappy because Eric was drawing all the attention, but the disappointment was inevitable.
Seeing Eric voluntarily hand over the mic, Amy understood that he was subtly signaling to the reporters. She shot him a grateful look, then took the mic and said, "The company has held detailed discussions on this matter. Our plan is to create a unique spy movie universe for MGM over the next ten years, incorporating the 007 franchise, the Charlie's Angels franchise, the Mission: Impossible series, and potentially other spy movie franchises into crossovers. Soon, you will see James Bond, Charlie's Angels, and Ethan Hunt all on the same screen."
A spy movie universe?!
Other spy movie franchises?
James Bond, Charlie's Angels, and Ethan Hunt appearing together on the big screen.
...
A moment of silence fell over the reporters as they processed Amy Pascal's statement, but they quickly reacted, and the venue buzzed with excitement once more.
Charlie's Angels and Mission: Impossible had undoubtedly been among the hottest spy films in recent years, and the popularity of the 007 series was undeniable.
While there may have been some tongue-in-cheek B-movies featuring crossovers, no massive blockbusters had ever attempted to create an intersecting series of films. The implications of doing so involved not only movie rights but also whether the related stars would be willing to participate, which was a significant obstacle.
The mere possibility of a crossover between the 007 series and the Charlie's Angels series was exciting enough for many movie fans, and MGM's ambition to create a 'spy movie universe' stirred considerable enthusiasm among some reporters who were also film aficionados.
After a brief pause, flashes went off wildly as eager reporters threw aside the conventions and began to yell questions.
"Amy, could you please elaborate on the 'spy movie universe' plan?"
"Amy, has MGM discussed this issue with Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner, and the three leading ladies from Charlie's Angels?"
"Is MGM not concerned that this plan might affect the brand of the 007 series?"
"..."
The scene descended into chaos until the staff loudly restored order, allowing everyone to calm down once more.
Afterward, the reporters launched inquiries toward Amy about the 'spy movie universe,' leaving Eric to enjoy the spectacle as he shifted the focus of questions onto Amy and the others.
The 'spy movie universe' was undeniably inspired by the later series of Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Universe, and Monster Cinematic Universe. In the original timeline, these renowned spy films like 007, Charlie's Angels, and Mission: Impossible belonged to different film studios. The possibility of a crossover then was nearly impossible.
But this time was different. Eric had recently realized that these legendary spy films, thanks to MGM's consolidation, would all fall under one film studio's purview. In addition to these three completed projects, even the rights for the Bourne series rested with Flower Films, making the prospect of creating a unique spy movie universe for MGM highly possible.
Although the backgrounds of the various series differed, that was hardly a problem.
Except for the more unconventional Bourne series, the core plot of the other spy blockbusters revolved around the key words: save the world.
As long as a complete world background was created within this theme and all the major series were placed within that narrative context for production, starting with individual films and eventually forming a crossover to tackle a significant antagonist and complete the task of saving the world, the entire story could come to fruition.
At the same time, the crossover of these major spy films would bring broader discussions and influence for all the series, and behind all of this was the potential for substantial economic benefits.
Indeed, when MGM announced at the press conference that it would unite the 007 series, the Charlie's Angels series, and the Mission: Impossible series to create a standalone spy movie universe, the media across North America and even worldwide began buzzing with excitement the next day.
...
"James Bond, Charlie's Angels, and Ethan Hunt -- all prominent screen heroes appearing on the same screen -- it's hard to resist imagining that! I feel a strong urge to rush to the theater. I hope MGM can pull this series off flawlessly."
"I have serious doubts about the feasibility of this plan. With the three major movie series having seen box office success, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner, and the Charlie's Angels trio have reached ten-million-dollar salaries. If you gather all five, the salary expenses alone would be quite staggering! It's hard to fathom how, if a crossover were realized, the overall film budget would reach such frightening heights. Perhaps when released, it may need a global box office of $1 billion just to break even."
"This is undoubtedly a foolish idea. I really wonder if Eric Williams is getting carried away by his own success. A spy movie universe featuring three potentially blockbuster franchises could easily ruin the reputation of all three. Perhaps this is just some hype concocted by MGM, especially with their impending stock issuance plans."
"..."
As the media extensively reported, discussions erupted on Yahoo forums, with fans showing a unified sense of anticipation for the films despite the diverse perspectives of journalists.
Subsequently, the box office performance of the currently screening GoldenEye surged dramatically as moviegoers flocked back to the theaters, eager to spot potential crossover Easter eggs from other series. Initially expected to drop below $20 million in the third week, the buzz from the press conference caused GoldenEye's earnings to soar to $23 million, pushing the total box office past $100 million and easily surpassing its predecessor's box office record. In the coming weeks, that total might even rise to $150 million or more.
*****
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