Chapter 19. Transformers, The Walking Dead, and Gal Gadot (Part 1)

In the MGM conference room, the number of people had significantly decreased.

After a while, someone brought in a stack of scripts: "Boss, these are the projects currently in production and those planned for next year."

Eric picked up one and started flipping through it. A film titled "Bachelor Party," a city comedy. He had never heard of it, clearly a failing project. He immediately tossed the script aside.

The second script was titled "Shaggy Dog." The target audience was teenagers. Another unknown project, likely a flop. To the trash!

The third script was "Out of Time," starring Denzel Washington. The contract was already signed, and filming was about to begin. Eric remembered this film, but not in a good way. It flopped at the box office, and Denzel became infamous for his temperamental behavior on set, even making the news. Eric tossed the script aside.

He went through several more scripts, finally stopping at "Legally Blonde 2." Despite the film's budget doubling to 26 million dollars, he remembered that the box office grossed over 100 million. Considering the revenue from DVD sales and TV rights, the film was bound to be profitable. This was a quality project.

But it was the only decent project among dozens of garbage scripts, except for a joint James Bond film. The rest were outright weak.

Eric saw his father, Charlie Cooper, and the other employees watching him, waiting for his decision.

Sighing, he said, "We'll continue with 'Legally Blonde 2,' but try to bring the budget down to 22 million dollars. The rest of the projects are canceled."

???

The room fell silent. Even his father was stunned.

"Eric, isn't your decision too drastic? Some films are already in production, contracts are signed. We'll lose millions of dollars!"

Eric smiled, "Dad, trust my instincts. These projects are a waste of time and money. Better to lose a little now than much more later. We need a win! We need a hit! Trust me!"

Seeing his son's determination, Charlie Cooper recalled their agreement. He would steer the new MGM like a ship's captain, but Eric had absolute authority in choosing films until his first project failed.

"It will be as Eric Cooper said. Regardless of the stage of production or signed contracts, all these scripts are put on hold for now," Charlie said firmly.

The other employees exchanged glances, not daring to object. It's your company, run it as you wish, just pay our salaries on time.

Judy asked, "So, we'll only have 'Red Dragon' and 'Barbershop' this year, and 'Legally Blonde 2' next year. Do we need to develop new projects?"

"Of course," Eric replied. "I've already decided on our next major project. This year and next, MGM's main project will be a 'Transformers' movie!"

Eric had long thought about which film to make first. Initially, he thought that being transmigrated to 2002 was a great opportunity, but remembering the films that became blockbusters, he realized it would have been better to arrive a few years earlier.

For example, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series—five films with a combined gross of 4.5 billion dollars, averaging 900 million per film. But the first film would be released next year, and Disney had been working on it for a long time, making it impossible to snatch that project.

The "Harry Potter" series—J.K. Rowling had long sold the film rights to Warner Bros., and the first film was released in 2001.

The "Fast and Furious" series—the only successful racing franchise on the market, grossing billions. But its first film was released in 2001.

The "Jurassic Park" series—a masterpiece of the last century.

The "Star Wars" series—another masterpiece of the last century.

The "Lord of the Rings" series—like "Fast and Furious," the first film was released in 2001, and the rights to Tolkien's works had long been sold.

All the major franchises that came to his mind had released their first films a year or two before this moment.

Now it was clear why time travelers preferred to arrive at the turn of the millennium.

After much thought, Eric decided to focus on one of the few missed opportunities—the "Transformers."

Although the later films in the series were unsuccessful, one cannot deny their ability to generate revenue. On average, each film grossed over $800 million.

Furthermore, the rights for the adaptation had not yet been sold to Paramount. Right now, if we contact Hasbro, there's a high chance we can secure the franchise rights.

The biggest challenge in creating "Transformers" is, of course, the special effects. MGM's current capabilities in this area are insufficient, so we will need to engage professional teams like Industrial Light & Magic or Weta Digital.

The original "Transformers" started filming in 2005, and if we begin preparations now, we could start shooting by 2003. A two-year difference is not significant in terms of technical capabilities.

In fact, the most profitable film franchise should have been the Marvel movies.

Although 20th Century Fox had already released the "X-Men" series and Sony recently released the first "Spider-Man" movie, the true superhero era began with "Iron Man" in 2008.

From "Iron Man" to "Avengers: Endgame," it took 11 years, during which superhero movies took over the world, significantly overshadowing other genres.

However, after those 11 years of glory, "Avengers: Endgame" seemed more like a sunset, followed by a long night and the beginning of the decline of superhero films.

There were many reasons for the superhero genre's failure: the pandemic, political correctness, mismanagement by DC and Marvel. But Eric believed the real reason lay elsewhere.

The main problem was aesthetic fatigue. Marvel's blockbuster formula remained unchanged for 11 years, and viewers worldwide grew tired of this monotony. The audience's potential was exhausted.

This situation will only correct itself over time when a new generation of viewers grows up. Only then can superhero movies regain popularity. Any other attempts will be unsuccessful, and even if there are a few big hits, they will be exceptions, not the rule.

Although the period of brilliance was short-lived, the films brought enormous profits. In the worst case, we can change direction. Eric was sure that this was a lucrative opportunity worth fighting for in advance.

DC had long been bought by Time Warner, but Marvel was still an independent company, though it was in dire straits. The company survived by selling the rights to its characters.

Spider-Man and his friends, as well as Ghost Rider, were sold to Sony; the "X-Men" series to 20th Century Fox; "Hulk" to Universal; "Black Widow" to Lionsgate.

Even "Iron Man" was sold to Universal, who then resold him to 20th Century Fox.

20th Century Fox considered this second-tier hero difficult to adapt and sold him to New Line Cinema.

New Line held the rights for several years, unsure how to make a movie about this iron guy, and eventually sold him back to Marvel.

Marvel went all in, mortgaged all its assets, and released "Iron Man," risking everything and winning. Now, with Marvel in such a deplorable state, it is the perfect time to buy it.

However, immediately after acquiring MGM, Eric feared starting new mergers, worrying that even his father would not support him.

The others did not see the potential. To them, the current Marvel was a worthless company with no value.

Eric decided to tackle this matter as soon as he achieved his first successes and planned to do so next year.

"Mr. Wool, contact Hasbro. Try to secretly acquire the rights and only then announce it. I don't want any complications," Eric instructed.

Wool was a talent recruited by his father. He had worked for twenty years at a small film company and had extensive experience.

"Don't worry, I'll get in touch with Hasbro as soon as possible."

Eric nodded and said, "In addition, I plan to launch a zombie-themed TV series. The plot will be about how an infection sweeps the world, where a few survivors fight for their lives in post-apocalyptic conditions."

Eric was talking about the series "The Walking Dead." Besides movies, television also represented a huge, profitable market, not to mention various entertainment shows.