"Have you finished the script?" Eric asked when he returned to the office.
Ashley Olsen nodded, "Yes, we've read the script, but there's a problem."
"Please tell us!"
"Mary and I noticed that the script involves a lot of intimate scenes. As professional actresses, we are not against it, but can those overly explicit parts be deleted? We mean, keeping it at the kissing stage would be fine."
Eric thought this request from the Olsen Sisters was reasonable. After all, they are biological sisters, and it wouldn't be good to make it too explicit on the big screen.
If it was too explicit to pass censorship, it could only go to DVD, and the more intense scenes could be put in the director's cut.
Moreover, blue is the warmest color is a relatively fresh, girlish film, and both female leads are high school students, so concessions can be made regarding the explicitness.
"I think it's worth considering. We can communicate further on the specifics. This isn't the final script, after all. Actually, in my mind, I've already decided on your roles."
"What?"
"Regarding your character assignments, Ashley, you are suitable to play Adele, and Mary is suitable for Emma."
Nearby, Judy had been staying in the corner, unwilling to leave. Hearing this, her eyes instantly lit up, and her expression gradually shifted towards that of a fanatic. No one knew what she was thinking.
"Why? Why should I be Adele?" Ashley Olsen asked, puzzled.
"Can't you tell? Wait, I'll give you the answer right away."
Eric said, calling in the makeup artist, "Give them a simple makeup application according to these two characters."
The makeup artist looked at the character sketches Eric had drawn, then began to apply makeup to the two, quickly completing the simple look. Then, she took out a blue wig and placed it on Mary Olsen's hair.
After the makeup was done, the sisters' distinct feelings immediately emerged. Because Mary Olsen's chin was sharper, after putting on the blue short hair, she clearly had a tomboyish feel, with more assertive energy.
And Ashley Olsen's chin was rounder, and after makeup, she clearly had a hint of a lost and somber feeling.
The two sisters stood together, and it was clear at a glance.
"Do you see? Your temperaments and face shapes have already determined your respective identities. Judy, don't you agree?"
Judy chuckled strangely a few times, making the Olsen Sisters even more puzzled. Ever since she saw them, this woman had been acting strangely, her eyes full of desire, as if she wanted to devour someone.
"Ashley, Mary, you are simply perfect! You absolutely must star in this movie. I don't think anyone is more suitable than you!"
After speaking, she looked at Eric again, "Can I be the producer? Please, please let me be the producer. You know me, I will give it my all!"
Eric slowly nodded, "Yes, I am absolutely confident about that. Alright, Judy, you can go out first. I still have other matters to discuss with them."
After sending off Judy, the fanatic, Eric said, "The script still needs polishing, but it won't take more than two months at most. In short, clear your schedules recently."
The Olsen Sisters nodded in agreement. In fact, due to successive failures, the two sisters were no longer getting film offers, otherwise they wouldn't have had to find someone to write a script and then go around looking for investment.
Schedule? That was the most abundant thing they had right now.
"Then the movie is settled. The contract will be drafted as soon as possible. Next, let's talk about the Dual Star Entertainment shares. What have you decided?"
Ashley Olsen spread her hands, "A question, if we can't reach a consensus on this matter, will the movie also not be ours?"
"Exactly! This is one of the terms of the deal, you should understand!" Eric didn't hide anything from them and stated it openly.
"Yes, business is business. We have no objection to that, but there is a problem currently."
"What problem?"
"Eric, you should know that ever since Mary and I debuted, we have always had a consistent agent. His name is Robert Thorne."
"He helped us get roles, helped us plan our future path, and even Dual Star Entertainment was founded with his help. Our parents divorced very early, so it can be said that Robert's help in our careers far exceeded that of our parents."
"And although Dual Star Entertainment is nominally Mary's and my company, the ownership is not entirely ours. Robert also holds a large portion of the shares."
"So, if you want to buy shares, it's not enough for just the two of us to agree. He must also agree. That's where the problem lies."
"How many shares does this Robert Thorne hold?" Eric asked.
"45%!"
"That high! You actually let your agent hold nearly half of your company's equity!" Eric was a little surprised.
Mary Olsen looked at Eric meaningfully, "So you need to convince Robert. Ashley and I have already discussed it. You can buy shares, but only from Robert."
"If you two can reach an agreement, Ashley and I will fully support it and guarantee not to interfere!"
After chatting for a while, Chen Xing, on behalf of Eric, escorted the Olsen Sisters out of the MGM Building.
Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling window, the two sisters' figures entered a red car, then merged into the traffic and disappeared without a trace.
The pencil in his fingertips spun smoothly, then suddenly there was a crisp snap, and wood shavings fell to the floor.
"You want me to help you clear obstacles? Driving a tiger to devour a wolf! Heh heh!"
The red lamborghini couldn't reach its speed during rush hour and could only move slowly in the traffic. The Olsen Sisters sat steadily in the back seat.
"Ashley, is this really a good decision? Do we really want to bring Eric Cooper into the company? I always feel this path is very dangerous."
Ashley Olsen looked at her sister helplessly, "Then do you want to continue enduring Robert's control?"
After a moment of stunned, Mary Olsen sighed, "No, it's been over a decade, and I'm fed up with him. And he really can't keep up with the times. Look at the path he chose for us, still treating us like little girls from ten years ago."
"The current Robert Thorne is no longer the man who once wielded great influence. Perhaps he has some power in the television industry, but he is no longer what we need. What we need is the big screen, and he cannot provide that."
Ashley Olsen also sighed, "Yes, it's a pity this man still sees himself as a godfather figure. It's very difficult for us to break away from him with just our own strength."
"But Eric Cooper, I'm worried he wants more than just a portion of the shares; he wants the entire Dual Star Entertainment," Mary Olsen said worriedly.
"Mary, everything has risks. At least getting rid of Thorne is what we need most right now. As for Eric Cooper, in the worst-case scenario, if he gets all of Thorne's shares, it's still only 45%."
"And the two of us also own 45% of the shares, plus David and Jeanette's 5% each, we still hold absolute say."
"Alright, I hope so. Oh, Elizabeth's gift, I almost forgot about this. Tomorrow is her 14th birthday."
"What did you buy?"
"I can't tell you that. We can have a competition to see whose gift Elizabeth likes more."
Today was the weekend, Santa Rosa Middle School was on holiday, and the crew also had a break. Eric didn't plan to go to the set; it wouldn't be too late to go on Monday.
Yesterday, the movie whale rider, which was bought at the Sundance Film Festival, was released.
As it was an art-house film, the screening scale would certainly not be too large. This was unavoidable; even if MGM wanted a large-scale release, the theater chains would not agree, fearing too low profits.
So, it actually only landed in over 600 cinemas, and the promotion was not extensive. Eric approved a budget of 1 million US dollars as a gesture.
The money wasn't much, just enough to buy some space in newspapers for a little publicity, and then to hire online trolls for hype, focusing on environmental and animal protection angles.
Just like racial issues, gender discrimination, and vegetarianism, environmentalism and animal protectionism have always been popular in the West, belonging to absolute political correctness.
Those who oppose it can do so in their hearts, but once they speak out, it often causes trouble. Both groups have loyal fans and rabid fans.
Similar to barbershop and get out, which made money from "little black fans," whale rider made money from their fans.
At AK Films, Bema Hardy and Warren found two novice directors from somewhere, then each gathered a group of extras, and were shooting scripts written by nine-tier screenwriters they found.
One movie was called "Saw Spirit," no need to say who it was a knockoff of.
The other was called "Dragonfly Man," naturally targeting Sony's spider-man.
As for whether Sony would be enraged and sue AK Films, there was absolutely no need to worry about this. Let alone Sony, even if Disney came, they still wouldn't win.
Because among the laws concerning copyright, there is an article called transformative use.
Roughly, it means that if someone else's work is quoted, but their own secondary innovation is added in the middle, then a new work is formed, belonging to a new copyright.
The core is to have one's own innovation, so that after the audience sees it, they immediately understand that the spiritual core is completely different from the original work, and can replace the uniqueness of the original work.
For example, Dimension Films' "Scary Movie" series parodied a large number of famous films such as "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," the matrix, "The Exorcist," and "The Grudge," but it did not constitute infringement.
Because the audience understands that this is a humorous, gross-out movie, and has nothing to do with horror or thrillers.
However, videos like film commentary, such as Bilibili UP masters Liu Laoshi and Lao Xie before Eric's transmigration, are strictly speaking infringing.
Because they are based on commentary and Make complaints of film and television works, but it is merely simple commentary and Make complaints, without adding their own innovation. Audiences clearly understand that you are talking about someone else's movie, and saying a few witty remarks is not considered innovation.
If the companies owning these works were to seriously pursue legal action, the UP masters would almost all be wiped out.
Beverly Hills, Cooper Family.
"Dad, Robert Thorne, do you know this person?"
Harry Cooper nodded, "The CEO of Dual Star Entertainment. We've dealt with him before. He's the Olsen Sisters' agent and has some influence in the television industry."
"What kind of personality does he have? What's his character like?"
"I'm not sure about that. We haven't had in-depth discussions. I can't even remember the last time I saw him, and I can't even recall his appearance in my mind now."
As he spoke, his father's eyebrows twitched, "Why do you ask about him? Is it related to Dual Star Entertainment's shares?"
"Exactly, Robert Thorne is our target."
Eric recounted his conversation with the Olsen Sisters yesterday, and his father, an old hand, naturally saw through the situation at a glance.
"It seems the Olsen Sisters don't plan to continue working with Thorne, but after more than a decade of relationship, these sisters don't want to directly fall out with Thorne. They are concerned about their reputation."
"You're right, but MGM must acquire the shares of Dual Star Entertainment, so the problem is how to convince Thorne."
Harry Cooper pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "How about this, I'll first discreetly investigate the situation of Dual Star Entertainment, and then sound out Thorne."
"If he intends to sell shares, even an overpriced acquisition is acceptable, provided the price is within our acceptable range, of course."
"If Thorne insists on not selling, then we'll look for other solutions."
"Hmm, I hope he's someone who knows when to advance and retreat, otherwise we'll just have to set a trap for him. In short, we need him to 'willingly' sell," Eric said, his gaze cold as he looked into the distance.
Santa Monica, not far from Los Angeles, is a great place for a summer vacation due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
At this moment, inside a resort hotel, a young attendant pushed a cart down the corridor.
As she passed room 706, a high-pitched cry almost broke through the walls, even though the room's renovation was soundproof.
"Damn bitch, screaming so loudly, is someone going to kill you?"
She couldn't help but crouch down and press her ear against the door to eavesdrop. The faint cries now became clearer.
Lost in thought, she felt a surge of excitement, and in a daze, she didn't know how long she had been squatting.
"Ouch!"
Feeling her legs go numb, the young attendant fell onto the floor with a thud. She quickly looked left and right, and finding no one, she blushed and hurried away.
"Oh, that's so embarrassing, but it's so uncomfortable. Oh, I'll call Francis, he always wants me."
Cough cough.
Inside the room, Chloë Sevigny coughed violently. The powerful impact and the sensation of a foreign object rushing into her throat made her cough.
She glared at the half-naked Eric, "You're still so crude, Eric Cooper!"
"But you like it this way, don't you?"
"Hmph! Did I say I liked it?"
"No, but the honesty of the body cannot be faked."
"You hateful guy, you're just using me as a tool to vent your desires."
Eric frowned, "Sevi, that's a bit hurtful to say. In this world, who isn't someone else's tool? The only difference is the purpose."
Chloë Sevigny looked at him with complex eyes, "Why can you so brazenly say such shameless words? As a man, shouldn't you be coaxing me, even if it's just pretending?"
"Well, in principle, yes, but you also said it's pretending. I think it's better for people to be real."
"But I feel uncomfortable," Sevigny pouted her lips, a little wronged.
Seeing this, Eric's expression softened into a smile, and he gently helped her up from the floor, "Would doing this make you feel better?"
"Yes, at least you still know to help me up."
"How about this then!"
Slap!
With a crisp sound, Chloë Sevigny fell onto the bed, covering her reddened cheek, looking at Eric with some surprise.
Then her eyes became excited, "I like it even more!"