"Eric, you can't imagine how surprised I was when I saw Larry Feldman and Mathis standing outside Neverland Ranch, begging me to open the door like clowns."
"I was going to call the police, but they kept pleading not to, and recounted their experiences over the past few days, like two drowned dogs, utterly disheveled, as if they were about to drown at any moment."
Listening to Michael's description on the phone, Eric asked with a smile, "Doesn't seeing those two guys in such a sorry state make you feel great?"
"Of course, it feels absolutely amazing!" Michael said without reservation.
"After letting them in, I specifically frisked them to make sure they weren't trying to pull a trick."
"The two of them hoped I would let them off the hook and not sue them. In exchange, they would persuade Janet Avizo to drop her lawsuit and were willing to smear Sony."
"It seems Evan Chandler's death really scared them. They've been hiding in the room, not daring to come out. Larry Feldman received death threats, and Mathis received a bullet."
Eric snorted, "In the face of life, nothing else matters. Forget about asking them to smear Sony; they'd even say Bush instigated them."
"Eric, was that your doing?"
"Of course not. Although I hired private detectives to investigate them, that was legal. Death threats are too extreme a method. Maybe some righteous person couldn't stand it. Anyway, the situation is pretty good now, isn't it?"
Of course, Eric was behind it, but it was something that could be done but not spoken of.
Since Michael asked the question, he certainly had his own inclinations. Both of them understood without needing to say it.
"Michael, has Sony not contacted you proactively yet?"
"They did, but it was just an executive I didn't know, asking about my intentions. I ignored him. Tommy Mottola knows what I want."
"However, wanting to leave Sony with shares, even if Tommy Mottola is the president of Sony Music, he wouldn't dare to make that decision. He has to report to Sony headquarters."
"Heh heh. Then let's drag it out. We'll continue to build public opinion. Sony's stock price will definitely fall further, and Tokyo will inevitably react. Let's see how long they can hold out."
After hanging up the phone, Eric's attention returned to the filming of house of cards.
Sony, as a diversified multinational company, has business operations spanning film and television, music entertainment, electronics, video games, financial services, and more.
Sony Music, in fact, does not hold a particularly high position among these major areas.
In the current year, its most profitable industry is still electronics, followed by film and television, with video games and music entertainment accounting for a relatively low proportion in its financial reports.
However, now, due to the music business, the entire group's stock price has been dragged down by a quarter, which is a typical case of losing the big picture for a small gain.
Therefore, Eric didn't believe Sony could endure it. Even if the American side refused to back down, the Tokyo headquarters would surely pressure them to do so.
After a day of filming, Eric hosted a party at his home in the evening.
He invited more than a dozen people, including James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Little Mercenary, Chris Evans, the Russo Brothers, Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender, Judy, and Warren.
As for his women, he certainly couldn't invite any of them. They had all been involved in scandals; they would surely fight if they met.
Was he going to sacrifice himself to perform a show just because the party wasn't lively enough?
What a joke!
Only when he became more powerful could he slowly train them to accept each other.
Everyone chatted and ate in small groups. James Wan ran his hand through his non-mainstream red hair.
Eric spoke, "James, get out is very good. Critics and audience scores are not low, and with the contribution of our black brothers, the box office will certainly not be low."
"I must congratulate you. Two films have already made you an excellent box office director."
James Wan smiled somewhat shyly, "It's still because the script is excellent. It's your and Leigh Whannell's credit. I'm only responsible for presenting the script."
"Tsk tsk. I'm a director; don't I understand the role of an excellent director in a script? This is North America. One bit of skill can be exaggerated into ten. Humility isn't popular here."
"By the way, after get out finishes its run, have you considered your next movie?"
James Wan nodded, "Lionsgate approached me with a script, also a horror film. I've accepted it and plan to start filming after a period of rest."
Hearing Lionsgate, Eric's mind stirred, and that name naturally came to his mind.
"James, is it convenient to reveal the name of the movie?"
"Of course, it will be announced in a while anyway. The tentative title of the movie is dead silence. The script is quite creative."
"dead silence, hmm. Not bad, Lionsgate has good taste in finding you. Keep up the good work!"
Hearing Eric's encouragement, James Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Eric. I thought you would be angry. Now I can rest assured."
"Heh heh. Why would I be angry? We didn't sign a slave contract. You have the right to take on the films you like."
"However, you can't slack off on saw 2 either. Even if you're not directing, you must be the producer. As for our next collaboration, it's not too late to discuss it after you finish filming dead silence."
James Wan patted his chest, "Don't worry, I will fulfill my responsibilities as a producer. Eric, you have been my benefactor, and I won't forget it."
Eric patted his shoulder and encouraged him a few times. When a child achieves some success, he naturally has his own ideas, so let him go for it.
Although dead silence was terrible and a box office flop, at least it was no longer a small-scene confined space.
Losing money is losing money. Anyway, Lionsgate is paying for it. At least it can train James Wan's ability to direct large scenes and accumulate experience for filming more commercial blockbusters in the future.
With his potential, Eric couldn't let him remain stuck in horror films.
the fast and the furious, transformers, or superhero movies, he would inevitably be used for them in the future.
A neighbor paying for your child to practice, a profit!
Seeing Eric and James Wan finish their conversation, Tom Hardy, who had been peeking from the side, quickly walked over.
"Tom, what's wrong?"
"Director, I have some questions about that script that I'd like to ask you about."
"inception?"
"Yes, I don't know if it's my intelligence that's the problem, or…"
"Or is my script the problem?" Eric finished his sentence for him.
Tom Hardy gave an awkward smile, "You know what? I spent at least ten hours reading this script, because the dreams are constantly nested. Every time a character enters a new layer of dream, I have to flip back through the script to find the reason."
"When I finished reading it the first time, I thought I understood it, but when I calmed down and thought about it carefully, I realized I didn't understand it again."
"Especially with many detailed issues, I thought about them until my head hurt and still had no answers."
"For the sake of confidentiality, I can't discuss it with anyone else. I really can't hold it in any longer, Director. You must tell me the answers."
Eric looked at him playfully. When inception was first released, it sparked a huge amount of discussion. Many people said they weren't smart enough to understand the film.
In fact, if one watched carefully, most viewers could understand the main plot.
But the key lay in the details. After recalling, many details didn't match up, and it felt like there were logical bugs.
Then they would wonder if they hadn't understood it, or if there was a problem with the script?
Eric felt it was a bit of both, and another important factor was the translation issue.
Translation problems from English to Chinese are commonplace, but for a brain-teasing mystery film, they can be fatal.
Eric spent a month and a half trying to patch up the logical loopholes, but even with repeated checks and deliberations, he couldn't guarantee that new loopholes hadn't been created.
This was, after all, just a commercial film, not a space shuttle; it couldn't be perfect and all-encompassing.
"Tom, are you planning to take this role?"
Tom Hardy nodded vigorously, "Needless to say, this is the coolest script I've ever encountered."
"Then don't ask, because others will have the same questions as you. I'll clarify everything before filming starts. You just hold it in."
"Ah?"
After chatting with everyone for a while, the phone rang. It was Theron calling.
"Calling me late at night, is there good news?"
Eric answered somewhat excitedly, "Theron, it's me."
"Hmm? Eric, it sounds lively over there."
"I'm having dinner with friends, a family gathering."
"Boyfriends? Or girlfriends?"
"Heh heh. Are you jealous?"
"I'm not. If you don't want to say, then don't."
"It's boyfriends, don't worry, this heart is filled with only you now." Eric began his daily flirtation.
Now, the two exchanged constant messages every day. After their passionate kiss last time, Theron wasn't offended by Eric's suggestive remarks and sometimes even responded.
If Eric got busy and forgot to message her, Theron would even proactively send one. She was already somewhat losing control of her emotions.
"I'd be a fool to believe you. I called to tell you that I've already arranged to meet Kate Winslet."
"Really? What time? Where?"
"August 7th, a few days from now, at my place. That day is my birthday."
"Your birthday! That's a big day, so is this an invitation to me?"
"Whether it counts or not is for you to consider, whether to come or not is for you to decide."
"Hahaha, of course I'll come, and I'll also present you with the most extravagant gift."
"No, I'll be happy just if you come. And if the gift is too expensive, others will have opinions."
"I'll consider everything carefully. I'll bring my friends with me then."
"Okay, waiting for you."
He didn't expect that he had just celebrated Nicole's birthday not long ago, and now it was Theron's turn.
The gift must be given, and it must be extravagant enough, not only for Theron to see, but more importantly for Stuart Townsend to see. He didn't believe he wouldn't be annoyed.
When he gets annoyed, he will definitely lose his temper, and the more he loses his temper, the more Theron will see his true colors.
Then it would be easier for him to take advantage of the situation. It was a pity he hadn't taken her down at Theron's house last time.
The next day, as expected, Sony's stock price opened with another drop, negatively impacted by the accusations from Larry Feldman and Mathis.
Within minutes, it plummeted and triggered a circuit breaker, halting trading for fifteen minutes.
After trading resumed, it fell again. This time the drop wasn't as severe, first falling 7.7%, then slowly rising.
Either there was a main force supporting the market, or institutions were buying at the bottom, or both.
But Eric was not going to buy this dip, because once Michael truly leaves Sony with the copyrights, whether the stock price can recover is questionable.
Even if it could recover, it would probably take a considerable amount of time, and all his funds were earmarked for other uses and couldn't be tied up.
Fans and righteous individuals continued to condemn Sony online and in reality. Now, if anyone dared to say they used Sony products, they would instantly be drowned in spit.
Over several days, Sony's global product sales plummeted, especially in the large markets of Europe and North and South America, where sales almost ground to a halt.
This situation continued until two in the afternoon. Soon, the market would close again, and Sony's stock price had only risen by 5 percentage points after the circuit breaker, meaning its market value had evaporated by another 2 billion US dollars.
Adding yesterday's 5 billion US dollars and the day before yesterday's 800 million US dollars, nearly 8 billion US dollars in market value evaporated in three days, a truly heavy loss.
At this critical juncture, Sony once again held a press conference. This time, not only Sony Music President Tommy Mottola appeared, but also Howard Stringer, the head of Sony North America, whose position was higher than the former.
Facing questions from reporters, Howard Stringer did not respond but instead announced a piece of news on his own.
"Sony will meet and discuss with Michael Jackson tomorrow to address the current situation."
"Sony and Michael have many years of cooperation experience. We were once like-minded friends, we are now, and we will continue to be in the future."
"We also believe that this is merely a minor interlude encountered on our path of cooperation, and we hope the public and media will not continue to magnify it."
"After tomorrow's talks conclude, we will announce the results at an appropriate time. Please believe that a satisfactory outcome will be achieved."
The press conference was very short, lasting less than ten minutes. Eric immediately called Michael after watching the live broadcast.
"Michael, did Sony contact you proactively?"
"Yes, Howard Stringer contacted me personally. We'll negotiate tomorrow morning. With the stock price dropping so much, it seems they're finally scared."
"Howard Stringer's words are quite reliable. He is Sony's head in North America, and his power is much greater than Tommy Mottola's, not inferior to Tokyo's."
"Michael, seize the opportunity, remember you still hold a trump card. Having it and using it are two different things, but if necessary, use it to threaten them."
"I remember. Wait for my good news," Michael said firmly.
After this press conference, investor confidence rebounded, and within minutes before the market closed, Sony's stock price began to rise.
Ultimately, it closed up 8.1% from before the circuit breaker, at least recouping some losses.
As for whether it will fall or rise tomorrow, that depends on the outcome of the negotiations.