America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

"Is this how you treat your woman?"

Connery glanced sideways at Ernst, who was sitting in a leather office chair, his tone a mix of reproach and provocation.

"My woman?"

As he twirled his gold-plated pen, he looked up and saw the iconic MGM lion head logo hanging high on the wall opposite his desk.

In the chairman's office at MGM, Ernst was now seated, transformed into a true big shot and power holder in Hollywood.

Wenger is very efficient; in fact, Wells Fargo's loan processing speed is quite fast.

The Hunger Games' global box office success rendered Wells Fargo's previous risk assessment report worthless.

The issue is no longer about selling Ernst; the loan has become a rare and valuable asset.

As soon as the loan was received, Ernst swiftly completed the acquisition with the Italian consortium, becoming the largest shareholder.

With a 41.2% stake, MGM was effectively in control.

After taking over MGM, Ernst immediately produced two scripts, and his first choice for the role was Connery, with whom he had a brief affair.

"Right now, the whole of Hollywood is buzzing with the rumor that the world's first love goddess has become your personal accessory."

Connery nestled in the velvet chair, looking like a black panther poised to pounce.

The smoky gray velvet dress, with its bow at the neckline and cutout design in the middle, seems to be playing a game of feigned attraction.

The posture of crossing her legs has the languidness of a feline, and the satin skirt is folded up by her knees, revealing the delicate skin on the inside of her calves.

But what's most captivating is the way she looks when she lowers her eyes. Her eyelashes cast fan-shaped shadows on her eyelids, like a forest lake at dusk. The slight upturn of her lips carries a touch of nonchalant charm, yet also seems to hold an unspoken invitation.

Is this humble door now opened for you? Even Ernst had to admit that this woman was so young and beautiful that she could be directly nominated for intangible cultural heritage protection.

"A personalized accessory?"

Ernst suddenly slid his chair back, drawing a defiant arc across the empty office.

"Now that it's been labeled, shouldn't it show its owner some 'value-added services'?"

Connery rolled his eyes so hard they could have sparked, but still walked around to the table in his high heels.

What a perfect "domineering CEO and beautiful lady" drama.

As the secretary entered, she brushed past Connery, who was leaving. Seeing the corner of Connery's mouth, still wet from his illicit affair, she cursed him inwardly as a bitch.

"Boss, the Faraday brothers have agreed to direct 'There's Something About Mary,' and the contract has been signed. The production team is assembled, and the next step is casting. Helen asked me to inquire if there are any other arrangements?"

"There's Something About Mary" was one of the big opening gifts Ernst prepared for MGM.

The cost wasn't too high, with production and promotion expenses totaling less than $2300 million, yet it raked in a staggering $3.7 million at the global box office, enough to establish MGM's reputation during the Ernst era.

Moreover, Ernst once again lowered the production costs. Apart from the Faraday brothers' $200 million director's fee, the highest salary for the actors was only $50 for the female lead, Connery.

This is a drama with a strong female lead; everyone else can be considered a supporting character.

Ernst plans to keep the total production cost around $13 million, and allocate another $7 million for promotional expenses, bringing the total budget to around $20 million.

This is why Connery approached him; although his image was typecast and it was difficult for him to get big productions, Connery's fame was undeniable.

Her asking price is between $3 million and $5 million, so Ernst's $500,000 salary was a real slap on the wrist.

However, he was eventually persuaded by Ernst's emotional appeal and insightful reasoning. The key was that the film featured a female lead, and as long as the box office performance wasn't too bad, it would allow Connery to successfully transition his career.

"Let Helen handle the rest of the roles herself."

Helen McKerson was once a close associate of Garlins.

After Garlins' incident, Helen's time at MGM was not good for more than a year.

However, now that Ernst has become the new ruler of MGM, the situation has reversed.

For the film "There's Something About Mary," Ernst personally selected Helen to be the producer.

Hollywood operates on a producer system, where the producer holds the most power on set. Even world-renowned directors like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron are subject to the control of producers.

Sarah, the secretary in front of me, also had a stroke of good luck. She was Garlins's first secretary, but after Garlins's incident, no one was willing to take her in, so she could only become an ordinary clerk at MGM.

On his first day at MGM, Ernst summoned the other party, primarily because he needed a secretary.

I can't stay at MGM forever; I'll focus more of my energy on the internet technology industry. Once I find a satisfactory professional manager, I'll relinquish control of MGM.

Therefore, he needed a secretary to report on the internal situation of MGM at any time, which also served as a check on the existence of professional managers.

Of course, the more important reason is Sarah's loyalty, her loyalty to Garlins.

Even Ernst, who rarely met with Galin, knew that this female secretary had taken the blame for him before.

"And then there's 'The Man from Earth.' Beasley wanted to increase the budget. He felt that a production cost of one million was too little, saying it wouldn't even cover the actors' lunchboxes."

This is another work by Ernst, a true example of achieving great things with limited resources.

In the history of global film and television, there are two films that are absolutely indispensable when it comes to return on investment.

One of them is "The Blair Witch Project," which grossed $2.48 million worldwide with a box office of $6, a return of over 4100 times.

However, this film's marketing outweighed its content, requiring perfect timing, location, and circumstances, and it seemed more like a matter of luck that Ernst rejected it.

Another film is "The Man from Earth," which, with a production cost of $20,000, grossed $350 million worldwide, a return of an astonishing 17,500 times.

"One million dollars isn't enough?" Ernst frowned. "The entire film was basically made in a log cabin, and the main appeal is the dense dialogue. How could the budget be too low?"

Sarah shrugged. "You know, movies aren't just about sets, they also have actors' salaries."

Could Ernst not have thought of this? The reason for allocating a million dollars was to make the film more refined, both in terms of set design and actors.

"Tell Beasley that what I need for this film are cheap, reliable, and talented veteran actors; I don't care about their fame. If he can't handle it, then I'll find someone else."

Giants have their advantages, namely, excellent teams and a wide variety of talents.

But giants also have their disadvantages; when it comes to getting them to accomplish big things with little money, they're all blind to the risks.

"Also, this film has to be released during this year's Thanksgiving season."

American movie release schedules are mainly divided into five periods: winter, spring, summer, fall (Thanksgiving), and year-end holiday.

The winter movie season runs from the first Friday of the new year until around the end of February. This period usually sees the release of low-budget films and sequels, which are generally aimed at achieving big success with small budgets and critical acclaim.

The spring movie season runs from spring break to Memorial Day weekend. This period is typically for mid-sized films, and like the winter movie season, these two periods are considered the off-season for American films.

From late May to September each year, the peak season begins, officially entering the summer season.

This is the most important period for the American film market, usually a time when big-budget, high-production films are released in droves, and it is also the most popular box office market of the year.

The fourth is the fall movie season, specifically the Thanksgiving period, from late September to before Thanksgiving. This period typically features films with female protagonists or smaller, less mainstream themes.

Finally, there's the year-end holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving in November, spanning Christmas, and continuing until the end of the New Year.

This period is also a battleground for Hollywood giants, but the fiercest competition is around Christmas, while Thanksgiving is relatively less competitive.

Forget about "There's Something About Mary" this year; Ernst plans to use it as the opening act for MGM's summer season.

But "The Man from Earth" is different. Filming takes less than half a month, editing is easy, and it's more than enough to catch the Thanksgiving season in the fall.

The film was released a week or two before Thanksgiving, allowing it to build positive word-of-mouth so it could explode on Thanksgiving. However, by the time it entered the fiercely competitive Christmas season, the film's popularity had essentially faded.