Daniel's remarks were not subtle, and Richard certainly understood what he meant, although he was not in the least embarrassed by it, or any other emotion, but on the surface, it was always necessary to hide it a little.

"The development of DD Pictures has always been smooth, of course, the development of any company is always regular, the cake of Hollywood is only so big, and the birth of a new big studio is not so easy, and it is normal."

Nodding meaningfully, Daniel had no intention of discussing with Richard today on this occasion the matter of the Big Seven setting the ceiling for independent studios. Although, both he and Richard clearly understand one thing, that is, since the new century, it is impossible for Hollywood to give birth to a seven-level studio.

First of all, MGM's predicament can fully illustrate one point, that is, if there is no media empire standing behind it, the studio will not be able to continue, relying only on box office revenue, speculation is too high, only a huge and complex media network can reduce expenses in all links, and squeeze out the value of the finished film as much as possible. Likewise, this also guarantees a small year in the studio, with the support of the group to get through difficult times.

Sony Pictures and Columbia are followed by Sony, behind Fox stands News Corporation, Warner Bros. is Time Warner, behind Disney Studios is Disney, and behind Paramount's towering snow-capped mountains is Viacom, a vast media starry sky, if MGM is really acquired by Sony or Warner, then the big studios will really become a game between entertainment and media giants.

In addition, as Richard said, after Hollywood enters the 21st century, there is no tendency to expand, and there is no way for a new giant to be born in a pool of stagnant water.

These reasons are why Daniel chose to spend a huge amount of money to buy MGM, rather than continue to develop DD Pictures, which wants to become a seven-level film studio independently, which is a very incredible, or very unlikely, thing.

"Maybe. Richard, this is my plan, I know Warners is already planning to step back, and now this is your only chance to get these movies. There's no way Sony is going to do this business with you. And we want to, we never think that the movies of the past are worth nostalgia, we have a future, and that's a more important thing. I think you'll be fully convinced of that, DD Pictures. Including MB, F2F, and even Google behind us, they don't have the ability and intention to take advantage of these movies. ”

"Richard, it's time for you to make a decision."

……

The news that Time Warner announced that it was withdrawing from the bid for MGM was a big deal anyway.

In fact, 2005 was an extremely important year for Daniel, which is why he decided to push MB to go public and acquire MGM.

This year, MGM will be Sony, of course. Now it may be acquired by DD Pictures, and the only supreme palace of Hollywood and even the world's films has to usher in a curtain call in a sense.

This year, the Weinstein brothers will be expelled from Miramax Films, the film company named after their father Mila and mother Max, whose 800-film library and 60 golden figures will say goodbye to the Weinstein brothers.

This year, Paramount will acquire Spielberg's DreamWorks — in addition to the DreamWorks Animation division, which has gone public.

This was the year Marvel Comics launched their own film company - and although they haven't released their own superhero movie yet, the search for collaborators has already begun.

Hollywood is in the fifth year of the new millennium. It is a good time for the "heroes" who are aspiring to make history to fight the wind and waves.

Daniel didn't want to miss this time, and thankfully, he didn't miss out either, the preparation of the past few years. At this moment, it is enough to prepare him with all the conditions and foundations for the challenge.

Time Warner's exit has made the competition between Sony and DD Pictures more distinct.

In just a few days, the two sides have exchanged many times, either directly or indirectly, and of course, there are also media and other opponents who have been involved. But there is no doubt that this event, which once again overshadowed the shine of the awards season, became the most high-profile news in Hollywood. Linton's home, and even Nobuyuki Idei, the old helmsman who is bidding farewell to Sony, is followed 24 hours a day by the media, and any wind and grass can be reported.

"Mike. Linton openly said that Daniel was delusional that MGM needed to be responsible for its own history and fans, suggesting that DD Pictures, which was only a few years old and had shallow accumulation, should not get MGM, which has a history of more than 80 years. If MGM's shareholders, especially Cork, decide to hand over MGM to DD Pictures, it will certainly be an irresponsible move. ”

"The arrogant will lose everything, and the company that understands the times is the one who can really be trusted. The Sony Pictures CEO's previous remarks seemed arrogant, arrogant, and ignorant. DD Pictures understands what audiences need in the current era, and DD Pictures' revenue of more than $1 billion in the past year is enough to illustrate this. MGM doesn't lack a glorious and illustrious history, but they lack the ability to adapt to this era, and DD Pictures is the best partner for MGM, and we can make it shine again. At this point, Sony's own performance is only unsatisfactory, so how can MGM trust Sony? ”

Sony's CEO Nobuyuki Idei has chosen the next CEO, and Howard Anderson, who is currently the vice chairman of Sony in the United States and the head of its global film and entertainment division. In an interview a few days ago, Stringer changed the name of Mike. Linton's fiery tone turned to praise 'Daniel. Sandler is indeed a rare talent of this era, and DD Pictures, which he founded, has become one of Hollywood's top independent studios', of course, Stringer did not forget to show his true intentions, and then said, 'We know that when DD Pictures is only as big as it is now, a great leader is enough to make it extraordinary, but when DD plus MGM, and then rely on one person's talent and ability, it is indeed a very dangerous thing. Stringer is clearly saying that DD Pictures lacks a mature system, and that much of its success is due to Daniel. Sandler, this is not an unusual opinion, in fact, except for Daniel. There is no reason why DD Pictures has grown so quickly, why MB and F2F have been born, and why Google has such a major shareholder. So. MGM's shareholders should probably think about it, after all, they have gambled many times and have no history of victory. ”

Howard. Stringer has a lot of experience in related fields. Nobuyuki Idei's choice of him as his successor was indeed very unexpected, and the closed nature of the Japanese corporate hierarchy is well known, and the choice of an expatriate as CEO shows that Sony has reached a point where it must change. For them, the film sector is not the most important, but the challenges faced by electronics, including music broadcasters, televisions, game consoles, etc., are the most critical crises. However, Howard apparently has proven himself on his resume of running Columbia Pictures. "Spider-Man" is his proud work. This time, he advocated the acquisition of MGM, and he also operated it single-handedly.

Facing the shouts of the opposing general. Daniel responded to him by attending a public event in Hollywood for the first time in more than a year.

DD Pictures hosted this year's Oscar nomination luncheon, and Daniel personally attended to entertain the distinguished guests, and in an interview, he clearly responded to the two sides that have come and gone in recent days.

"I am very grateful for Mr. Stringer's compliment. But I have to say that I don't know what Sony's corporate culture is, but DD Pictures is not a company that advocates individual heroes, and we don't have dictators who do it all. I will choose some scripts for DD Pictures and recommend some actors and directors. That's where my strength lies, after all, I'm a Hollywood actor with some achievements and fame, and you allow me to be arrogant. However, the specific production and distribution of a movie. It's up to David, Alex Ferguson and our team members. I don't have the ability and the time to do everything. A clear example of this is the success of The Social Network, its post-production, publicity, distribution, I was adjusting to my new life on campus in Berkeley, but obviously. My buddies are doing a great job. So Howard's concern about DD Pictures, we are grateful, but feel completely unnecessary.

Before deciding to acquire MGM, we had a lot of plans and preparations, and we were determined to continue this great brand, and we had the ability to do so, and I think we can be trusted. ”

The level of speech on both sides is getting higher and higher, and it is time for Howard. Stringer and Daniel. By the time Sandler caught the fight, it was already clear that the final result was very close. After all, Sony and MGM have been in contact for more than half a year, and DD Pictures has been operating for several months.

Both MB and F2F have created dedicated pages for this acquisition that is about to reach its final conclusion, with a timeline that clearly shows the major events and milestones in the entire acquisition journey.

The latest point, of course, is Time Warner's exit.

Subsequently, Times announced that it had joined DD Pictures' leading acquisition group.

Apparently, Richard was convinced, and then he convinced Warner's board of directors — a sign that the media was not wrong in their guesses, and that Time Warner's goal was MGM's prized library. So when they signed an agreement with DD Pictures, they quickly gave their rival Sony a stab and turned to support DD Pictures.

This is, of course, a major positive for DD Pictures.

If DD Pictures was still a little thin before, then after joining Time Warner, they have obviously surpassed the Sony consortium in an all-round way.

Howard is arguably deeply entrenched in the film industry, but he also has no way of knowing what agreement was reached between Time Warner and Daniel. Why did Daniel take such a shocking and dramatic turn so quickly after a visit to Richard, Time Warner actually abandoned its acquisition plan and became part of DD Pictures?

Although Sony and Viacom also cooperated in this acquisition, this is not the same, and in front of Time Warner, DD Pictures really does not deserve an equal, or even a superior status.

Speculation about this shift is, of course, also a lot of speculation.

There are two people who can relate to this.

One of them is Disney's Robert. Egger, when Daniel wanted to join Pirates of the Caribbean, faced Gore. Wibinski and Jerry. Bruckheimer's joint opposition, Daniel resolutely received Robert's direct help at the cost of 30% of the investment, and the investment rights of the "Pirate" series 30% are now one of the most important assets of DD Pictures. So, among Hollywood's power figures, Robert is probably the one who understands Daniel's strong will best, and if he identifies one aspect, he will make quite a risky move — and this time, Warner is clearly convinced by him. Robert guessed exactly what this risky move was, and perhaps Daniel decided to cede MGM's library, a treasure trove that would be of little use to him but meaningful to Time Warner — and could spell the birth of a new king for content providers in the field of movies and TV series.

Knowing Daniel as well as Robert, and Larry who is far away in Silicon Valley. Paige, who was severely calculated, although he did not have any bad feelings about Daniel, he was clearly deeply aware of Daniel's discussion of what he was doing. He must have pinched Time Warner's G-spot, otherwise Warner would not have decided to cooperate with DD Pictures so quickly. Based on this principle, Page also set his sights on MGM's coveted library.

Either way, these speculations will not be confirmed by Warner and DD Pictures.

On February 6, Sony and DD Pictures announced their latest offers at the same time.

4.8 billion!

4.8 billion!

The two parties made the same offer of $3 billion to MGM to acquire all the shares at $12 per share, in addition to the $1.8 billion in foreign debt that MGM had accumulated over the years.

Obviously, the two sides have the same estimate of MGM's current value, 4.8 billion is the highest estimate at present, and it makes no sense to go higher. Even, for Time Warner, more than 4.6 billion is not attractive enough in itself. After all, with the exception of the film library, the "007" series, the "Pink Panther" series, and the rights to "The Hobbit", all other assets are to be disposed of for Warner.

Now, the options are in the hands of Cork and the shareholders.

In the end, the price code is the same.

In the end, it was to sell MGM to Sony, which owns Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures.

Or "married" the company to the independent studio DD Pictures, creating a new record in the history of Hollywood mergers and acquisitions.

It's a difficult but not a sad choice – no matter what, Cork will make a fortune. (To be continued.) )