Chapter 40: MGM's Plans

As soon as Kevin heard the news, he immediately agreed.

Appearing on this show would increase his familiarity among the public and help build his personal brand as a director.

It would also be beneficial for box office earnings, so he had no reason to refuse.

...

The date was May 4th, and Get Out had been released for three days.

During these three days, it grossed $10.82 million on its opening day, followed by over $12 million and $13.3 million in the next two days.

At this pace, it was highly likely to cross the $100 million mark in North America.

In North America, the first two weeks were crucial for box office earnings, as there would be a significant drop afterward.

Therefore, the initial promotion was of utmost importance.

Even though it was already on track to make over $100 million, Warner Bros. and Kevin were not satisfied.

Hence, the opportunity to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show was arranged by Warner Bros.

This was a chance Kevin understood was gained through sharing.

Otherwise, no matter how good the film was, such an opportunity would be hard to come by.

...

Kevin, Will Smith, and Angelina Jolie arrived at The Oprah Winfrey Show.

A cheerful middle-aged black woman with curly hair approached them with a smile.

"Hello, Kevin, Jolie, Smith! Nice to meet you!"

Kevin, Steve, and Jolie responded warmly.

After a brief chat, the program officially began recording.

The Oprah Winfrey Show was known for its empathy, or as Kevin saw it, playing the victim card.

During the show, Kevin revealed his orphan background and how he became a brilliant director at the University of Southern California through his own efforts. He also mentioned the success of his two consecutive hit movies.

"Kevin, this is the epitome of the American dream. Through your hard work, you've become immensely wealthy. I heard you bought a multimillion-dollar mansion in Beverly Hills."

Oprah Winfrey exaggeratedly acted out the scene.

After a simple display of wealth, the talk show moved on to the main topic.

"Kevin, how did you come up with the idea to make a movie with a black protagonist?"

Oprah Winfrey curiously asked.

"Why can't a black person be the protagonist?" Kevin countered before continuing, "In my movies, I cast actors based on the specific roles, not their race. If they fit the role, I cast them directly."

Oprah Winfrey followed Kevin's response and skillfully continued the discussion.

They talked about various issues related to discrimination against black people in American society, and Kevin portrayed a sympathetic face towards black people.

Will Smith occasionally interjected with his witty remarks as a black rapper.

The talk show lasted for over two hours. After Kevin, Steve, and Jolie exchanged contact information with Oprah Winfrey, they left and returned home.

One day later, The Oprah Winfrey Show aired, instantly attracting numerous black and liberal viewers to watch Get Out.

That day, the box office successfully surpassed $20 million.

Don't think that this is too much. You should know that The Oprah Winfrey Show currently has a fixed viewership of 30 million people per week.

When divided by each day, it has over 4 million viewers.

An increase of a few million dollars is not much, really.

...

MGM Studios, one of the eight major Hollywood film companies.

However, according to Kevin, there were actually only five major ones.

Since its acquisition by a casino magnate in 1970, MGM had not produced any notable works and relied solely on its past successes.

James Bond and Tom and Jerry were their last glimmers of glory.

However, the executives at MGM didn't want it to end there.

They were searching for a way to free MGM from its predicament and regain its former glory.

In this situation, MGM set its sights on Kevin.

Unlike other established directors who had ongoing collaborations with film studios, Steve Kevin, as a newly famous director, had not yet established any particular association with a film company.

MGM's idea was to take a gamble and be the one to discover Steve Kevin's talent.

In the office of the MGM President.

"Can we afford to invite Steve Kevin to produce a moderately budgeted film?" asked the serious-faced president, Reed.

At that time, MGM was in debt of hundreds of millions of dollars, burdened by heavy financial obligations, which naturally made them hesitant and cautious in their actions, especially in film investments.

But Reed, as the president, knew that if they continued on this path, MGM would be slowly dying.

They had to find a way to reverse the situation.

For a film company, there was nothing more capable of changing the current situation than a successful blockbuster film.

However, renowned directors were either making arthouse films with a high risk of losses or were involved in multimillion-dollar blockbuster productions.

Both of these options were unacceptable for MGM.

Of course, there were renowned directors willing to make smaller productions, but they had long been lured away by other film companies.

They had nothing to do with MGM.

As things stood, MGM seemed to have only one chance, for now.

"We can, but if it fails..."

The speaker's intention was clear: if it failed, President Reed would bear the main responsibility.

The consequence could very well be carrying the blame and leaving MGM.

As a middle-aged person who had climbed the ranks to become a high-level executive at MGM, no one wanted to leave under such circumstances.

However, everyone also knew that if things continued as they were, MGM wouldn't last many more years. They had to find a solution.

Therefore, from the bottom of their hearts, everyone supported President Reed. Of course, it was impossible for him to bear the blame alone.

"I will take full responsibility. Please support my decision."

With these words, no one would refuse.

And so, the president of MGM began exploring various avenues to find Kevin's contact information.

Inside the villa, Kevin was reading the news in the newspaper.

Since appearing on the Oprah talk show, there had been a sudden surge of support for "Get Out," especially from the most famous black actors.

Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Samuel L. Jackson, and other renowned black actors had all published messages in the newspapers expressing their support for Kevin and " Get Out."

After Kevin clearly established himself as an advocate for equality and with the lead role in the film being portrayed by a black actor, these black actors united in showing their support for Kevin.