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"In short, we can't let him succeed. Whether we do it openly or covertly, we have only one goal—to let him know how deep the waters are in Hollywood and make him back down."

Orion Pictures Chairman Arthur Crimson's gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally landing on Lou Wasserman. "Lou, you take the lead, we'll follow you."

Upon hearing this, Warner Bros. Chairman Steve Ross, 20th Century Fox CEO Marvin Davis, and Paramount's Barry Diller all frowned, hesitated to speak, and ultimately remained silent.

This statement can be considered a confirmation of power in this temporary alliance.

In Hollywood, whoever takes the lead is the boss.

Orion Pictures is considered one of the newest eight major studios. Before United Artists was acquired by MGM, Orion was just a newly established studio that had only been around for a few years. Although it developed rapidly, it was by no means one of the eight major studios in Hollywood.

Because United Artists was acquired by MGM, one less spot was available, and Orion seized the opportunity to squeeze into the ranks of the Big Eight film studios with a series of blockbuster films and its market share in the past two years.

Therefore, at this moment, Arthur Crimson did not hesitate to side with Lou Wasserman as the leader of this temporary alliance.

Lou Wasserman had been vying for this position, and Lin Haoran's arrival gave him an opportunity to legitimately bring the other studios to the same table.

Now, Orion Films Chairman Arthur Crimson's words indicate that he is accepting Orion's orders and arrangements!

The fact that none of the others objected means they tacitly agreed.

Lou Wasserman was secretly pleased with this, but he didn't show any extra expression on his face.

Having spent forty years in Hollywood, he knows all too well when to laugh and when not to.

At this moment, what he needs is composure, certainty, and the kind of leadership qualities that inspire people to follow him, not the smug and arrogant demeanor of a petty person.

The top five of Hollywood's eight giants are quite evenly matched, especially the top three.

Although Universal Pictures currently holds the top market share, Paramount, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox are all formidable competitors.

"Krim, I appreciate your trust, but let me repeat myself: this alliance is not one where Global is the only one that makes decisions. It is an alliance where the six of us make decisions together, act together, and advance and retreat together, all for our own interests."

My taking the lead does not mean I'm making decisions unilaterally. Any major decisions require the unanimous agreement of all six parties to be implemented. I hope everyone remembers this.

These words were spoken to Krim, but also to everyone present.

He wants to position himself in a position of "justice," not "authoritarianism."

Only in this way will the other companies willingly follow him.

"Alright, Lu, there's no need for these pleasantries. Let's get straight to the point and think about how to deal with this Chinese kid!" Marvin Davis, the head of 20th Century Fox, said, his voice tinged with impatience.

Having worked in the cinema industry for decades, he has seen too many outsiders who entered the market with capital, and too many failed cases of people leaving in disgrace.

What he hates most is when meetings are filled with a bunch of useless principles and frameworks, wasting time. At this point, why are they still fighting for the top position?

Lou Wasserman, upon hearing this, was not annoyed. He chuckled and took out six documents from his briefcase, giving one to each of the group. The words on the cover were very eye-catching: Strategies for Dealing with the New Capital Takeover of MGM (Draft).

Clearly, he came prepared.

"As early as when rumors first circulated that Kirk Koccrian was going to sell MGM, our team began discussing solutions, and the plans were further refined as they held a press conference to announce the deal."

"Our company's think tank has outlined five directions in this strategy to deal with this new Chinese-American boss. Everyone, take a look and see if you have any opinions!" Lou Wasserman explained as everyone opened the draft.

If MGM rises to prominence, the one most afraid will undoubtedly be Universal Pictures.

After all, Universal Pictures currently ranks first among the Big Six in terms of market share, film library value, distribution network, and theme park revenue.

If you sit in this position for too long, you'll start to think it's your right and that anyone who tries to challenge it is an unforgivable intruder.

Lou Wasserman turned to the second page of the draft and continued, “Five dimensions, five battlefields—public opinion, distribution, talent, finance, and legal affairs—will be at war simultaneously.”

We must make it impossible for Lin Haoran to move an inch on every battlefield, so that he will find out that this place is not as wonderful as he imagined, and it is not a place where money can buy anything.

This caused him to step on nails at every step, and every decision he made came at a much higher cost than expected.

He's just a non-American of Chinese descent. We need to let him know who the real owners of Hollywood are. He's just an outsider. We need to let him know that money can't buy everything in Hollywood!

Everyone's attention was focused on the draft, and they ignored Lou Wasserman's words.

The draft is very detailed, outlining specific action plans, division of responsibilities, timelines, and resource budgets for each front, including public opinion, distribution, talent, finance, and legal affairs.

Just by looking at the thickness and detail of this draft, you can tell that the Universal Pictures team has been preparing for it for at least several days.

It didn't begin after Lin Haoran held a press conference, but rather when Kekorian started spreading rumors about selling MGM.

"The first thing is the war of public opinion."

Nowadays, the bosses and editors of mainstream Hollywood entertainment media and industry publications such as The Hollywood Reporter and This Art are all insiders in the Squid Circle, and they can collectively set the tone and portray Lin Haoran as an "outsider".

There's no need to fabricate lies; simply present the facts selectively, emphasizing his Chinese heritage, his financial background, and his supposed lack of understanding of film, then let the readers draw their own conclusions.

Lou Wasserman turned to the page in the draft concerning information warfare, which was filled with detailed operational plans.

He continued, “I’ve already spoken with the editor-in-chief at The Hollywood Reporter. They’ll be doing a feature story on next week’s cover. I’ve even thought of a title: ‘The New Owner of MGM: A Hong Kong Tycoon Who Made His Fortune in Real Estate.’”

The tone isn't neutral reporting, but rather questioning and scrutinizing. Readers seeing this headline will immediately think, "What is this outsider up to? What gives him the right?"

"Variety will collaborate on a series of commentary articles, inviting several industry veterans to speak anonymously and analyze the various risks following the acquisition of MGM."

The article will not directly attack Lin Haoran, but it will convey anxiety and unease to the entire industry in a tone of concern.

As for the broader public discourse, we still have a few big cards to play. Jack Nelson, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, is one of Hollywood's most influential film critics, with his column read by over five million people each week.

"I have spoken with him, and he has agreed to write several analytical articles about the future direction of MGM over the next few weeks."

The article doesn't directly criticize Lin Haoran, but rather uses a rational analytical approach to point out the numerous difficulties facing MGM's revival. After reading it, readers will feel that it's not someone attacking Lin Haoran, but rather that the objective facts themselves are unfavorable to him.

Lou Wasserman said a lot in one breath.

MGM is a long-established film studio in the United States and a representative of Hollywood's golden age, with many loyal fans.

MGM is like a first love to many people; they don't want to see the MGM brand decline, let alone disappear.

Therefore, Universal's goal is to use public opinion to make MGM fans believe that Lin Haoran's takeover of MGM will only hasten the demise of this century-old brand.

What can a Chinese businessman who doesn't understand movies and a speculator who only knows how to operate capital do?
He only knows how to remake MGM's classic IPs into unrecognizable commercial films, turning this once-glorious studio into a tool for making money.

This is not reviving MGM, it is desecrating MGM.

“What about the Critics’ Guild?” Paramount Chairman Barry Diller asked, looking up. “Those critics who write columns for various media outlets have more influence combined than any single media outlet. If they collectively predict MGM’s downfall, audience expectations will be dashed.” “It’s already arranged,” Lou Wasserman turned to the next page of the draft. “I’ve had someone contact the twenty most influential critics in the industry, one column each, with the same theme: ‘Can MGM’s Golden Age Return?’”

The article concludes not that it's impossible, but rather that it's very difficult. It analyzes the reasons for MGM's decline in recent years from a professional perspective, implying that the new owners are unable to turn the situation around.

There's no need to directly attack Lin Haoran; simply keep predicting a downturn in MGM's future. When readers see film critics all predicting a demise, they'll naturally lose interest in MGM's new films.

Marvin Davis also chimed in, "What about those big directors and producers? What if they publicly support Lin Haoran? We can control the media and film critics, but we can't control those creators who have a voice."

"No way." Lou Wasserman's lips curled up slightly, revealing a confident smile. "Besides MGM, I've already had people speak to the directors, producers, and veteran actors of all the major studios."

This industry is small, and no one wants to offend the six major film studios for the sake of an outsider. Anyone who dares to openly support Lin Haoran will be completely blacklisted and have no roles to play.

This is not a threat, it's an industry consensus. In Hollywood, consensus is more powerful than law.

Once the entire propaganda war succeeds, it will be a serious problem for Lin Haoran. Not to mention we have backup plans. We need to show him that Hollywood isn't a place a newcomer like him can handle!

Orion's boss, Arthur Crim, then raised a question: "I have no objection to the media war, but I have a question: what if Lin Haoran fights back? What if he gives a media interview and personally comes forward to clarify?"

He's very rich; he can hire the best PR team. Can the media outlets we control withstand his counterattack?

Lou Wasserman's lips curled into a slight smile, the kind of smile an old hunter gives when he sees his prey walk into a trap.

"Of course he will retaliate, but we fired the first shot in the war of public opinion, and we controlled the pace. By the time he reacted, the basic situation of the public opinion field had already been formed."

He has been labeled an 'outsider,' a 'film novice,' and a 'capital harvester,' and it will take him a lot of time and effort to change that perception.

In the process of changing his impression, we will continuously release new materials to keep him on the defensive.

The essence of a public relations battle isn't who's right, but who speaks first. The first person to speak out defines the battlefield, and everyone else is simply responding.

The others nodded, quite satisfied with Universal Pictures' public relations strategy.

"Secondly, we need to lock down MGM with theatrical distribution channels. The propaganda war is just an appetizer; the distribution channels are the most lethal weapon!" Seeing that no one else objected to the propaganda war plan, Lou Wasserman smiled and continued to explain the second plan.

Everyone present turned to the document for the second proposal.

“The distribution channels are divided into three levels. First, the mainstream theater chains, the top theater chains in the United States. The capital and scheduling power behind them are tied to a few of us. It is difficult for us to force them not to distribute MGM films, but we can negotiate with the owners of the major theater chains to prevent them from giving MGM's new films prime time slots and prime theaters.

We six can exert pressure on them in the name of the industry association, instead of through our companies. This would make it a backroom deal and circumvent antitrust scrutiny, which these mainstream cinema chains would not object to.

"If our blockbuster is released in the same period, we'll push MGM's film into less popular times, to remote theaters, and with fewer screenings. Even if our film doesn't counteract this, we'll still give it the worst possible time slot—Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, weekdays, when there are the fewest viewers."

Barry Diller asked, "How exactly will it be done? The theaters need a plausible reason; they can't just openly say we're ostracizing them."

"Technical adjustments, for example, if MGM's new film is an action film, we will ask the theaters to say that there are already similar action films in the same period. In order to avoid splitting the audience, we decided to schedule MGM's film in non-prime time slots."

This reason sounds reasonable, and the audience wouldn't see anything wrong with it, but in reality, that so-called similar action film was a competitor that we deliberately scheduled to release in the same period. It wasn't a coincidence; it was planned.

Marvin Davis interjected, "If MGM's films are indeed of high quality and receive rave reviews from audiences, will theaters be unable to withstand the pressure and increase their screenings?"

Theaters also need to make money; if they don't show good films, they're essentially pushing money away.

“So we have to ruin his film at the source.” Lou Wasserman’s voice was completely flat. “Independent distributors all depend on us. Nobody dares to take on MGM’s overseas distribution and North American secondary market distribution.”

We can talk to those major independent distributors and ask them not to work with MGM. This would cut off their two major cash flows: North American domestic and overseas box office revenue, thus lengthening their payback period.

Under normal circumstances, a movie can recoup its investment in three to six months after its release. However, if no one helps with distribution, the payback period may be delayed to a year or even longer.

If he experiences cash flow problems, his project pipeline will be affected.

"Furthermore, for any niche cinema chains willing to cooperate with MGM, we will jointly exert pressure, cut off their access to blockbuster films, and force them to choose sides: either join our six companies or starve to death."

No theater chain wants to offend six companies that bring them a stable flow of customers just for a few MGM films. This isn't a threat; it's business logic.

Disney Chairman E. Catton Walker couldn't help but applaud and said with a smile, "Lu, your plan is very comprehensive. Blocking the distribution channels is the most crucial part of this plan, and also the part that will hurt Lin Haoran the most."

This is tantamount to forcing theater chains to choose sides: whether to choose films from Universal's six studios or MGM. The answer is self-evident.

No theater chain would give up the continuous supply of blockbusters from Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, Fox, Disney, and Orion just for a few films a year from MGM.

This isn't a multiple-choice question; it's a life-or-death question.

“I have no problem with this plan!” Barry Diller chimed in.

"I'm fine with it too!"

"agree!"

"I agree!"

The group eventually made a decision.

With just their propaganda war and distribution channels, they were able to make it very difficult for Lin Haoran to make a name for himself in Hollywood!

But what they wanted was not just to make things difficult for him, but to make it impossible for him to move forward, and ultimately to make it impossible for Lin Haoran to make it in Hollywood.

Although the six Hollywood giants do not have Lin Haoran's financial strength, they possess stronger Hollywood connections, resources, and influence than Lin Haoran. These are things that have been accumulated bit by bit over decades and cannot be bought with money.

Lin Haoran can buy MGM, but he can't buy the roots of Hollywood.

Lou Wasserman's smile deepened.

MGM's decline is not a matter of a day or two, but a chronic problem that has accumulated over more than a decade.

During Kerkorian's tenure, MGM's annual production dropped from 15 to 20 films per year to just a few, its market share fell from over 15 percent to below 8 percent, and its talent loss rate reached as high as 40 percent.

These figures cannot be reversed by Lin Haoran in a short period of time simply by spending money.

He then went on to introduce a plan to completely block top talent, a plan to jointly increase the cost of Lin Haoran's privatization of MGM, and a plan to legally block Lin Haoran by utilizing Hollywood industry associations, guilds, and antitrust regulations.

Each item is interconnected, precisely targeting Lin Haoran's weakest point.

Although Lin Haoran was wealthier than them, they believed that he didn't like being taken advantage of.

Meanwhile, in an office at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Lin Haoran and Kirk Koccorian sat on a sofa, chatting about their performance at the press conference that had just ended.

Lin Haoran was completely unaware that when he had just publicly announced his acquisition of MGM, Hollywood had already united and was meticulously planning a campaign to suppress him.

Six of Hollywood's most powerful figures sat in a private meeting room at Universal Studios, never open to outsiders, employing the most meticulous plans, the most thorough division of labor, and the most covert methods to try and nip this "outsider" in the bud. (End of Chapter)