Late at night, the clear tinkling of silver bells echoed in the bedroom.
Nicole's face was flushed, and she was completely naked.
She wore only bracelets and anklets, a beautiful belly button ring on her lower abdomen, and the concentric knot necklace Eric had given her from China around her neck.
Her body danced gracefully to the music, the background track being her famous work, moulin rouge.
Under the dim, ambiguous lighting, the small ornaments sparkled with the sound of the bells.
Each soft dance move traced across her smooth body, appearing and disappearing, exquisitely beautiful.
Suddenly, Nicole danced towards Eric, extending a long leg, her red-painted toes lightly touching Eric's chin.
Eric's gaze naturally fell to the opening between her legs, which was already slightly moist.
Nicole's eyes were like silk, and her breath was like orchids: "My love, would you dance with me?"
Eric gently kissed the back of her foot, grabbed her thigh with one hand, stood up abruptly, and wrapped his other arm around Nicole's slender waist.
His eyes flashed in the dim light, filled with desire and power.
"As you wish, my beauty, let us dance that classic tango!"
Nicole's fingers lightly touched the back of her head, and her waterfall-like long hair cascaded down as if the Milky Way had fallen from the nine heavens.
At the same time, the gramophone played the classic opera, "El Tango de Roxanne."
"Roxanne, why does my heart cry?"
"Roxanne, I feel weak all over."
"Roxanne, you can leave me!"
"But please, do not be insincere!"
Accompanied by the passionate singing, Eric and Nicole danced that famous tango.
Nicole seemed to return to moulin rouge, her eyes becoming sharp and melancholic, her movements graceful yet powerful.
One of her legs hooked around Eric's waist, her hands brushed across his chest, then slipped inside his shirt, her arms moving like nimble snakes.
Eric felt the soft, flexible wriggling on his skin, his white shirt having disappeared somewhere.
His lips kissed Nicole's neck, and the woman tilted her head back, like a beautiful swan.
In the gramophone, the grand and magnificent opera became even more impassioned.
"Roxanne, please believe in my sincerity."
"When I say I love you!"
"Even after enduring hardships, I will love you until death!"
"Until death comes!"
Passionate kisses separated, and chaotic footsteps trampled.
Nicole leaned her back against Eric, her delicate skin rubbing against his firm chest.
Eric's hands roamed over her body, sometimes crossing mountains, sometimes brushing over deep valleys.
A drunking sensation permeated with the music, as if the air was filled with aphrodisiac messages.
"Oh,"
A faint, almost inaudible hum, like her silent declaration of love in the movie.
Nicole slightly lifted one leg, tilting her head back to look at Eric's chin, while her hands wrapped around his waist, their bodies inadvertently intertwining into the most beautiful posture.
Her jewel-like eyes seemed to want to steal Eric's heart.
In the morning, Eric gently played with the small ornament on Nicole's navel, while she lay lazily on him like a kitten.
Slowly opening his eyes, Eric kissed her forehead: "You woke up a bit early today, my dear."
Yawning, Nicole complained, "If you didn't touch me, I could sleep longer."
Looking down at the hickeys on her body, she pointed to her neck: "Are there any here?"
"Hmm, a little, but you can say it was scratched by a cat. Don't you have a cat named Kitty at home?"
"Can a cat scratch be the same as a hickey? You know how sharp those paparazzi's eyes are. It seems I need to hide at home."
"By the way, what's going on with you and James Murdoch? Last night, I felt like there was some unpleasantness between you two."
Eric briefly explained the situation, and Nicole couldn't help but say angrily, "This guy is too much. 50% of the shares, his appetite is too big."
"Nicole, are you very familiar with James Murdoch?"
Nicole shook her head slightly: "Not really, just acquainted. Actually, I have a better relationship with his sister Elizabeth Murdoch and his brother Lachlan Murdoch. I didn't expect him to come to the party."
"So what kind of person is this James? What's his personality? What's his ability? Do you know?"
Nicole thought for a moment: "I know a little. Elizabeth once complained to me about her two younger brothers. All three of them were born to Murdoch's second wife, Anna."
"Older brother Lachlan is more conservative, while younger brother James is more aggressive. Do you know? He rejected journalism, which is related to the family business, and chose film history at Harvard University."
"But to show his individuality and escape his father's control, he dropped out of Harvard to pursue hip-hop music. Can you imagine how bizarre that is?"
Hearing hip-hop, Eric sneered. He had no feelings for hip-hop, and Eminem made him dislike the genre even more.
"Later, his hip-hop company was still acquired by his father, Murdoch, and only then did James return to work for the group. The facts show that he didn't prove anything, only that he was a rebellious child."
"So I'm not surprised that he dared to ask you directly for half the shares. This person is just like that."
"Isn't this James the president of Star TV Asia? I heard he made Star TV quite successful, so his ability shouldn't be weak," Eric said.
"I don't know about that. I've only heard things, but it's well known that the Murdoch family has internal discord."
"This old man has been married three times. His current wife, Wendi Deng, and Anna's three children have a very bad relationship."
"Involving internal power struggles within the group and the distribution of Murdoch's assets, it would be strange if they got along!" Eric said.
"Yes, and even the relationship between the three siblings isn't harmonious. The eldest brother, Lachlan, follows Murdoch's path, steadfastly developing the newspaper news business."
"As for this James, his personality dictates that he won't like the newspaper industry, so he hopes the group will focus its business on film and entertainment."
"Eric, I think competing and challenging you is most likely James Murdoch's personal decision. Old Murdoch may not approve of him."
Eric rolled over onto his stomach, and Nicole naturally straddled his waist, pressing and kneading his shoulders and back with her hands. She knew her man was working hard.
"Darling, do you want me to mediate? Competition is never a good thing. Even two movies know to avoid each other."
His large hand gently roamed over her smooth skin, enjoying the Oscar Winner's massage, and Eric relaxed comfortably.
"No need, don't get involved. If he wants to come, let him. Even if his father, Murdoch, joins him, it doesn't matter."
"I'm not short on funds; at least for now, supporting Facebook's operations is not a problem. As for public opinion, while it will have some influence on the public,"
"But the root of the influence is still Facebook itself, whether it's good or bad. As long as Facebook itself doesn't have problems and maintains its advantage, the public will know how to choose."
"The pursuit of excellence is human nature. If there's something good, no one likes to use something bad, just like everyone likes to watch good movies."
"Then what about sharknado?" Nicole asked teasingly.
"Uh, don't interrupt, or I'll spank you!"
"Actually, my only concern is if he tries to trip me up politically. If he mobilizes some departments to use their power to restrict Facebook, that would be troublesome."
"In any case, we'll take it one step at a time. In normal business competition, I can crush him!"
It was Monday, and the third-week box office results for the purge were out.
Compared to the second week, the box office continued to drop by 48%, earning 14 million US dollars, bringing the total North America box office to 86 million US dollars.
According to this trend, after another week of large-scale screenings, half of the cinemas will stop showing it, and the remaining eight or nine hundred cinemas will continue to show it.
By the end of the fifth week, the large-scale screenings will be completely over, and the box office potential will be almost exhausted.
At that time, pirates of the caribbean will also be entering the summer slot.
In North America, finding nemo still led the way. After earning 65 million US dollars in its first week, the clownfish Nemo continued its strong performance by taking in 49 million US dollars in its second week.
The box office decline was only 25%, far lower than the typical 50% drop for most films, which shows the outstanding quality of excellent G-rated animated films.
As the distribution company, Mickey Mouse is set to make a fortune again.
Globally, the purge has opened in Spain, Russia, Switzerland, and several other European countries, and also in India. Now, only Japan, a relatively large overseas market, is still pending.
The global box office also increased by 8.3 million US dollars, bringing the total overseas box office to 31 million US dollars, and the cumulative global box office is currently 170 million US dollars.
For such a small-budget thriller, this is already a very excellent achievement.
At the MGM Building, Eric personally stood in the lobby on the first floor. This time, he was welcoming guests from the Department of Defense.
At that time, it only cost 10 million US dollars at a bargain price to get the Department of Defense's cooperation and approval. Today was the day for inspection.
They had to treat the inspectors well, otherwise, the original release schedule might have to be changed.
As a Hummer arrived in front of the building, three men in military uniforms got out of the car. Among the three, Eric only recognized Lieutenant Colonel Freeman.
Smiling and shaking hands with him, Lieutenant Colonel Freeman introduced the two parties.
"Eric, this is Major General Gain Hotz, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering, and Defense, and this is Colonel Angellawin Chester, Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance."
Eric shook hands with both of them. The former's palm was rough, indicating he had experience in the military.
The latter's palm was relatively delicate, probably indicating he rose through civilian ranks.
As Lieutenant Colonel Freeman had said before, the end of a typical person's military career in the US Army is a colonel. Those who can advance further almost always have complex connections behind them, and these two should be of that type.
He invited the three to the company's internal cinema, where his father was waiting. Everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while.
"Mr. Cooper, let's not waste time, please start quickly. I have something to deal with at noon."
Eric nodded: "Okay."
On the big screen, the movie officially began, without an opening sequence, going straight into the main feature.
The movie was still in its initial version, the special effects were not complete, the transformers were not vivid, and some parts appeared relatively blurry.
During the screening, Eric occasionally looked towards the Department of Defense's side, only to see their expressions alternating between frowning and nodding, making it hard to understand what they meant.
Two hours later, as the city battle ended, Megatron was eliminated, and the Decepticons either died or fled.
"That's enough, let's stop here," Major General Hotz said.
Eric gestured, the big screen turned off, and the lights came back on.
"Major General Hotz, do you have any comments? Shall we go to the conference room to discuss?" his father suggested.
Looking at the time, Major General Hotz initially wanted to just chat there, but Eric immediately gave him a look.
Beside him, Lieutenant Colonel Freeman advised: "General, the conference room is quiet and has fewer people. After watching explosions for so long, a change of environment would be good."
Hearing the words "fewer people and quiet," Major General Hotz looked at Lieutenant Colonel Freeman meaningfully: "Okay, then let's go to the conference room."
Inside the conference room, irrelevant personnel were cleared out. This was a closed-door meeting.
Not long after, half an hour later, a group of people walked out of the conference room, laughing heartily.
Major General Hotz said: "Eric, although I don't understand filmmaking, I know that a director as young as you is very rare."
"transformers is very well made, especially in showing our military's determination and courage to fear no strong enemy, protect the people, and defend our homeland."
"Angella, after you go back, submit a report to the Department of Defense, reporting the results of our discussion. In principle, express satisfaction with the quality of the film."
"Alright, it's getting late, and I have to rush back for a meeting."
His father immediately grabbed the other's hand: "Major General Hotz, it's almost noon. You can't go to a meeting on an empty stomach."
"I've already prepared lunch. MGM will still be making transformers sequels in the future, and we'll still need your help."
Major General Hotz feigned modesty for a moment, then, at Lieutenant Colonel Freeman's urging, stayed. What meeting? It was just an excuse.
Even if there was a real meeting, it would go on without him. Now, there were real benefits to be had. It was too easy to distinguish between the important and the trivial.
A moment later, two cars left the MGM Building one after the other.
By the time the Department of Defense personnel were sent off, it was already past four in the afternoon.
Eric and his father were both drunk.
Damn, these military guys are really fierce, similar to those in China. The higher the rank, the better their alcohol tolerance.
At first, everyone was a bit reserved, but after a few drinks with the hostesses, they completely let loose and became wild.
The meal actually ended around two o'clock, and what they did for the next two hours was common knowledge.
Finally, the three enjoyed themselves with food, fun, and drinks, and each left with a sum of money.
As for Eric, he disdained these high-class prostitutes. With the high quality of women around him, he naturally looked down on those common hussies.