After Michael's interview video was released, it naturally sparked widespread discussion.
True fans were both excited and heartbroken, wallowing in despair; the song title alone suggested sadness, perfectly matching Jackson's current situation.
Haters and Eminem's supporters were equally excited, planning to pick apart and criticize the new song once it was released—a standard procedure.
The only thing that surprised both sides was that the lyricist was Eric Cooper.
On a certain music forum, many people expressed their opinions.
"Did you see the interview? The lyricist for Jackson's new song is Eric Cooper. Isn't he a rich second-generation heir? Does he also understand music?"
"Eric Cooper is not just a rich second-generation heir; he's also a director and screenwriter. As a staunch supporter of Jackson, he certainly wouldn't mess around."
"You're right, they really are birds of a feather. Perhaps they're both pedophiles!"
"Hmph! Eminem's brats only know how to make personal attacks. Go ask your parents; they'll teach you who Michael Jackson is!"
"Parents? Such a brat probably doesn't even have parents, otherwise he wouldn't only know F-words and couldn't even speak a coherent sentence."
"FUCK! An old-fashioned relic who can't keep up with the times, singing outdated songs from the last century, far inferior to Eminem. Look at Eminem's new song data; it's rising steadily and will soon top the charts. All the pedophiles will have to kneel and lick Eminem's big tune!"
Just as any group eventually devolves into a lewd one, any topic ultimately devolves into a heated argument.
Besides the mutual insults, there was the neutral crowd of onlookers who didn't like either side, focusing on the song rather than the person.
If a song was good, even if the artist's character was terrible, these people would still listen.
But even for a superstar, they would only pick a few of the highest-quality songs to listen to, as it's impossible for every song to be a hit single.
"I've already listened to 'Just Lost It.' The rhythm and musicality are great. It's an excellent rap song. Now I can't wait to hear Michael Jackson's new song."
"A competition between an veteran superstar and a top modern singer—this is truly an exciting showdown. I just wonder what the losing side will do."
"Hahaha, what else can they do? Eminem's personality makes it impossible for him to apologize. He'll just pretend to be a good boy or stay silent."
"If Jackson loses, given his current situation, it would be adding insult to injury. I can't imagine what he would do."
Beverly Hills, Cooper Family residence.
His mother walked upstairs with a tray: "Eric, your breakfast."
Click!
The door opened, and Eric took the tray. Today was May 31st, his sixth day of seclusion.
Currently, Eric Cooper was unshaven, with bloodshot eyes, looking very disheveled, yet possessing a different kind of Gothic beauty.
"Son, are you alright?" his mother asked with concern.
"Yes, I'm great. My mind is incredibly stimulated right now. I just finished the first draft of the house of cards script, in only six days. It's a miracle."
Upon hearing this, his mother breathed a sigh of relief: "Then come downstairs. You've been cooped up in your room all day; we've all been very worried."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mom, for making you worry. But I'll just check the script one more time."
"Are you going to continue?"
"Yes, this is a very important project, and there's no room for error. I wouldn't feel at ease entrusting it to anyone else."
Closing the door, Eric sighed. It wasn't just his family who cared about him.
During his seclusion, Gadot, the Olsen Sisters, Nicole, Sevi, Judy, and others had called or sent messages.
It was fortunate that this wasn't the era of mobile internet, and phone functionality wasn't strong, otherwise he would have to lock his phone in a safe to concentrate on writing the script.
During this time, Andrea called on behalf of the blue is the warmest color crew. She was now experiencing the same pain Patty Jenkins had felt.
Damn it, what director would abandon the crew for more than ten days, completely out of touch, without even remote guidance?
If this movie gets made, will it be attributed to you or to me?
Andrea was unsure about some of the more difficult scenes. She wasn't as bold as Patty Jenkins and simply didn't dare to proceed. Now the crew's progress was very slow, all waiting for him, the backbone, to return.
Patty Jenkins also sent news. She had persuaded Charlize Theron to star in monster and called him for funding.
Eric, with a wave of his hand, approved 8 million US dollars for her.
In Eric's view, the biggest expense for monster should be makeup.
For a true-story adaptation film without grand scenes, 8 million US dollars was already a considerable amount.
This was also out of consideration for Patty having followed him and contributed greatly; otherwise, an approval of five or six million would have been enough.
Ashley and Mary complained that he had broken his promise, saying he would come over for dinner this week, but then disappeared for days, leaving little Elizabeth disappointed again, and the two sisters' hormones were also very restless.
Gadot's hormones were equally restless; she was so eager to rush to Beverly Hills, but luckily, reason told her not to.
Nicole, however, maturely expressed her support for Eric, stating that a man should prioritize his career. Regardless of whether it was true or false, this was the attitude of a mature woman.
Also, Liu Yifei and her mother had arrived in Los Angeles, but Eric certainly didn't have time to see them, so he brushed them off with a few words.
Warren reported the first weekend box office for the purge. This time, Eric made the decision to open in 1720 theaters, much more generous than during sharknado's release.
Although the number of viewers for the premiere was not large, the critics' reviews and online comments were very good.
IMDb currently has a rating of 9, which is considered a high score for a commercial film that doesn't require deep analysis.
Rotten Tomatoes' freshness reached 81%, a figure that even surprised Eric, as it was remarkably high.
Audience comments below mainly focused on the conflict between the government forces and the resistance, with many anticipating this would be the plot of the next installment.
The audience's reaction precisely proved Eric's successful adaptation, but the next installment might be difficult to film.
Once it involves the confrontation of two forces, the cost will definitely soar significantly. Now the key is to see how much box office the movie can achieve.
Currently, the purge's first weekend box office was 22.18 million US dollars, and its first seven-day box office was 45.90 million US dollars.
This figure surpassed the matrix reloaded's 33.22 million US dollars, successfully securing a weekend box office championship.
Even though it was the third week for the matrix reloaded, it was still a remarkable achievement.
Compared to the purge's production cost of 3 million US dollars and marketing expenses of less than 1 million US dollars, it had undoubtedly made a huge profit.
The impressive results once again attracted the attention of many companies.
The success of sharknado had initially prompted New Line Cinema and Lionsgate to consider mergers, but later, people in the industry learned about AK Films's relationship with MGM, so naturally, no one pursued such ideas anymore.
And Eric heard that Dimension Films was planning to establish its own B-movie company, hoping to replicate MGM's path. The road of B-movies is also full of competition.
He spent a few more hours refining the script, marking places that felt unsuitable. By evening, the first draft of the house of cards script was finally complete.
Next, he would find a script doctor for further refinement and processing, and then it would be almost ready.
After some thought, Eric opened his email and sent it to Billy, who was in the United Kingdom, asking him to seek Michael Dobbs's opinion.
"OMG!"
After completing all this, as if finishing a major project, Eric spread his arms, stretched vigorously, and then collapsed into sleep.
He was vaguely woken by the phone ringing. He picked it up and saw it was Michael.
"Hi! Michael!"
"Eric, do you have time to come out?"
"Of course, what's up?"
"Nothing, I have an interview in Los Angeles tonight, and it's still early. Have you eaten?"
"No, but wouldn't it be too ostentatious outside, especially for a big star like you? Why not come to my place instead?"
"Thank you, but I didn't bring a gift, so I'll visit another day. I know a private restaurant; we can go there."
"No problem, tell me the address."
"See you later."
Michael was a very shy and easily embarrassed person. Inviting him to his home suddenly was indeed inappropriate; he would feel uncomfortable with too many people around.
Getting up to wash, he hadn't showered in a week. Smelling himself, Eric pinched his nose in disgust.
Washing away the dust, he shaved his beard, and the whole person transformed back into that young, handsome lad.
"Eric, is your work finished? Are you going out again?"
"I'm meeting a friend for dinner. Don't worry about me."
Walking to the garage, Eric suddenly realized his car was missing.
"Joshua must have taken it out to pick up girls."
Shaking his head, he rubbed his still groggy temples, deciding not to drive. With severe sleep deprivation, if an accident occurred, his rebirth would be for nothing.
Hailing a taxi, Eric got in.
"Sir, where to?"
"New Huat Street, Leonard's restaurant. Do you know the place?"
The driver nodded: "Of course, there's no place I don't know."
"Heh heh, that's a private restaurant, you seem to know it quite well."
"Because I work in Beverly Hills. I didn't know it at first, but with so many people going there, I naturally learned about it. Do you mind if I put on some music?"
"Whatever, go ahead."
The driver hit the gas and the car started, and at the same time, dynamic music blared from the car speakers.
Listening to the intro, Eric couldn't help but chuckle. The song playing was 'Rolling in the Deep.'
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
But you played it
You played it
You played it
You played it to the beat
As the song played, Eric hummed along. Adele and Michael's singing styles were certainly different, but it also made Eric understand why good singers are so versatile.
For truly top-tier singers, musical style and melody are not reasons to limit them.
Even if there are indeed hard physical limitations, they can find suitable ways to perform.
Moreover, the singing difficulty of 'Rolling in the Deep' is not extremely high; Michael can completely handle it, and his vocal skills are world-class.
Through his performance, this song not only retained Adele's feel but also incorporated Jackson's musical style.
It's impossible to judge which version is better; each has its own unique characteristics.
"How is it? It's great, right? This is Michael Jackson's new song, just released."
Eric nodded: "It's indeed very good. Are you a Jackson fan?"
The driver chuckled: "Look at my age, young man. I came from Jackson's era. Back then, he drove the whole world crazy. Many of my friends and I chased his concerts all over the country."
"Sigh! But Michael's situation isn't great now. I absolutely don't believe those pedophilia rumors, but what can we do? We can only hope Michael can stand up again."
Listening to the taxi driver, Eric couldn't help but sigh. A large number of Michael's fans were concentrated in the 30-40 age group.
These people are busy and have lives to lead, so it's impossible for them to constantly follow their former idol like younger people.
However, this group also has a characteristic: they have money. The capital and real voice of society are actually in their hands, but it needs to be guided appropriately.
Just look at the strikes of various unions: a truck drivers' union strike can paralyze national transportation, a teachers' union strike can close schools, a port and dock workers' union strike can bring the East and West Coast docks to a standstill, and so on.
"I'm also a Michael fan; I'll definitely buy his new song," Eric said.
"I'll buy it too. Right now, this is the only way we can support Michael."
The car arrived at Leonard's restaurant, where Michael was already waiting.
Eric ordered himself a sumptuous dinner, and Michael was a bit surprised: "Eric, are you very hungry?"
"A little. I've been busy with a script recently, and it's taken a lot out of me."
"I see. I remember now, you're also a screenwriter. Your name is on that recent movie, the purge."
"You still have time to watch movies?" Eric asked, a bit surprised.
"People can't always be tense; just like a guitar string that's stretched too long will break, we all need to relax. In a couple of days, I'm even planning to see finding nemo; I like animated films."
Eric nodded: "Although finding nemo and I are competitors, I still recommend seeing it. It's indeed an excellent film."
"Michael, are you in Los Angeles to promote your song?"
"More or less. Actually, I'm participating in a music interview. I've been doing similar things these past few days, which will help with single sales."
Promoting songs on the charts is something newcomers and less famous singers in the music industry often do. Superstars like Jackson usually don't need to, but the current situation is special.
"Has the CD officially been released?"
"DreamWorks is ready; the release is set for tomorrow."
Eric chuckled: "That's wonderful. Facebook also launches tomorrow. You can promote it yourself then, and I'll help you promote it too."
"As for that guy Eminem, I'll teach him a lesson. He'll never be able to use Facebook or any social network under MGM."
Michael frowned slightly: "Is that alright? Doesn't that infringe on freedom of speech?"
"Freedom? Freedom of speech doesn't mean you can spout nonsense. The things he says and does are completely corrupting the next generation. It's perfectly reasonable for me to ban him for that reason. If he's not happy, he can sue, right? Besides, with that thug's personality, I don't believe he'd choose to go to court."
"That's true," Michael chuckled. "Eminem will most likely write another song specifically to insult us."
"By the way, what's your current ranking on Billboard?"
"Billboard rankings primarily consider sales. Once it goes on sale tomorrow, the results will be out in a week."