My absurd experiences in North America over the years

The meeting room was as quiet as a dry well without water.

However, Ford was not convinced. He sat across the table, his fingers interlaced on the surface, and spoke in a rather serious, even somewhat intense, tone.

"Mr. Li, I understand the principle of 'treating a serious illness with strong medicine' that you mentioned, but there are two possibilities when a patient takes strong medicine. It might save them, but most likely the patient's body can't withstand the strong medicine and they will be sent away directly. MGM is still on its last legs. If we make the wrong move, it will really be gone."

His voice carried throughout the entire venue, clearly audible even in the corners, and it sounded somewhat reasonable.

"Is that so?" Li Fu didn't deny it, but instead asked directly, "Do you have a better way?"

Ford didn't have a better solution, otherwise MGM wouldn't be in this situation today. "I'm just analyzing it from a financial perspective. If we were more conservative and used low-cost projects to slowly recover our losses and stabilize our debts, we might survive within two to three years..."

"But who's going to give you two or three years?" Li Fu interrupted him, looking at him and his tone growing increasingly serious. "Mr. Ford, you know better than I how much money MGM burns every quarter. Do you think debt defaults will give you that much time? The profits from small projects can't keep up with the increasing default penalties, which means the recovery rate can't keep up with the bleeding. Steadily operating small projects is doomed to failure!"

Ford's fingers tightened instantly on the table. He couldn't refute it. Just as Li Fu said, he was the CFO and knew how much debt MGM was about to default on, as well as how much money was on the books.

If MGM makes a big bet and fails, it may never be able to recover. But if it doesn't make a big bet, MGM will definitely face bankruptcy and restructuring.

It's only a matter of time. $5 million is a huge sum, but it won't last long in the face of even greater debt and considerable expenses for the company. Taking a gamble might offer a chance of survival.

Li Fu turned his gaze away from Ford and looked at everyone present, saying slowly, "I agree that strong medicine might kill the patient, but if we don't do it, MGM will have no chance of turning things around. This is our only chance. We don't have much time left. The sooner we make a decision, the better for us."

The meeting room fell silent again.

No one dared to participate in decision-making at this time, because failure would mean losing everything.

At this point, one of the independent directors bravely stood up. He only dared to ask two questions: "Mr. Li, how confident are you? What if we bet everything on these two films and they ultimately fail?"

His words represented the sentiments of almost everyone present; they were afraid of losing everything if they failed.

Li Fu suddenly realized that those elites he had thought of in his previous life were not much different from ordinary people when faced with major issues. They hesitated and shrank back, truly showing that they were afraid to risk their lives for great things, but would risk their lives for small gains.

Indeed, most successful people are simply riding the wave of the times.

Only a very few people possess both wisdom and courage.

"The price of failure is losing MGM, but the price of not doing it is also losing MGM. Both paths lead to death. The difference is that the former has a side road, through which we have the opportunity to achieve success."

He tried to make everyone present understand the situation.

Cooper sat at the head of the table, remaining silent until now, when he slowly spoke: "Mr. Li, we currently only have 500 million in cash on hand. The production of the 007 sequel is expected to cost 200 million, and the production cost of The Hobbit is even higher, possibly reaching 250 million. Even if we only spend half that, it will still be over 100 million US dollars. With such high expenditures, the company cannot continue operating, not to mention the debts that are due."

His concerns were real; as the saying goes, even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, which is why he wanted seven hundred million dollars before.

For the company to survive, $7 million is the minimum.

Moreover, why would Warner Bros., which owns the rights to The Hobbit, help them?

It's good enough that they don't kick us when we're down.

Since Li Fu wanted to launch these two super IPs at the same time, he naturally had a plan. "My idea is that the 007 sequel will be produced and distributed independently by MGM. As for The Hobbit, I will find Time Warner to co-produce it, let them bear the production costs, and we will retain half of the revenue rights and some overseas distribution and television broadcasting rights."

The other half of the rights to The Hobbit are held by Time Warner, so there's no way to develop this IP without going through them.

But why would Time Warner help them?

Warner Bros. and MGM have always been direct competitors. Wouldn't it be better to wait for MGM to go bankrupt and reorganize or to be acquired at a lower price?

This was Cooper's first thought, but he then realized that behind Li Fu was Forrest Capital, a giant with a vast business empire, and Forrest Capital was a major shareholder of Time Warner.

This matter might actually come to fruition.

"What should be done if the debt defaults?" This was Cooper's final question.

JPMorgan Chase's bank loan is about to mature.

"Debt default?" Li Fu pondered for a moment. "I'll talk to JPMorgan Chase. Deferred payment is no problem. If the remaining debt is due during the film's production and they are unwilling to extend it, we can apply for a bridge loan from JPMorgan Chase."

"Apply for a loan?" Cooper thought he had misheard.

If MGM could still apply for loans, why would it be in such a sorry state?

Everyone else shared the same thought, and some even wondered if the man who had created a legend on Wall Street had lost his mind today.

"Don't worry, if that day ever comes, I will guarantee the company's loan and make sure JPMorgan Chase releases the funds smoothly," Li Fu said calmly, as if guaranteeing a loan of several hundred million dollars was a trivial matter.

If MGM breaches the contract, he will have to pay it back himself.

Cooper was shaken, his voice trembling slightly, "You're really willing to do this? This isn't a small amount of money."

"Of course," Li Fu said firmly, "but I have one condition. As long as this condition is met, everything will be fine."

"Please speak," Cooper leaned forward, ready to agree to anything as long as it wasn't excessive.

"In the coming year, the entire company will focus on the 007 sequels and The Hobbit projects. In addition, any other projects must be approved by me."

Li Fu's requirements were not demanding; he simply wanted to ensure that these two big-budget productions could be released smoothly.

If he remembers correctly, the 007 sequels and The Hobbit both grossed over $10 billion.

Other peripheral revenues are not included.

As long as it can be released, it will be a huge profit. Why worry about losing money with guarantees or anything like that?

When Cooper heard Li Fu make this request, he almost thought he had misheard. It couldn't even be called a request. The 007 sequels and The Hobbit were related to the company's future and the prospects of everyone present. The entire company would definitely revolve around them.

As for other projects, they need Li Fu's approval, need I say more?

Currently, whoever provides the funding has the final say.

The other directors shared the same idea and readily agreed.

"In that case, after the meeting, please have the working group contact the relevant personnel immediately to start the project. I will personally negotiate with Time Warner. We expect to have results within three days. You all get busy..." Li Fu began to assign tasks.