Chapter 198 Why did His Majesty rebel?
California, Burbank, Disney Headquarters, Office of the Chairman.
Michael Eisner, wearing a suit with his hands behind his back, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the Group Plaza.
The commemorative bronze statue of Walt Disney Mickey Mouse in the center shines brightly under the sun, and the slightly colorful coat makes Disney's founder and head IP look extremely tall, and the two smiling faces seem to be in the same place. Tell people about their legends, and tell about the glorious development of the Children's Kingdom.
While he squinted his eyes to appreciate, a report came from behind.
"Michael, Miramax has sold the rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to Warcraft Pictures."
Hearing these words, Michael Ainas’s face didn’t change at all. It seemed that he didn’t care about the deal, but it was more like he had expected all of this, “I see, you go down…”
With a wave of his hand, he drove away the secretary who was reporting. When the dull bang sounded, Enas turned around, walked back to the desk, and picked up the document left by the secretary. When he saw the red one thousand After five million, a smile finally appeared on his face.
"Don't you want to do it? Now that the copyright is gone, I'm looking at what you do..."
The deep voice and smiling face formed a great contrast, like a devil whispering, but more like a madman.
After scanning the invitation date and signing date marked on the document, those extremely eye-catching fifteen days, lo and behold, Enas was smiling, and while putting down the contract, he also lit a cigar, "Aren't you going to Am I right?"
"What now?"
"I thought you could persist for a while, or rise up to resist, but I didn't expect your bones to be so soft."
"It's a pity that I didn't kill you this time..."
Yes, Disney knew that Roland was bullying the Weinstein brothers, but they didn't pay attention to it at all, and even secretly laughed at it.
Not only that, after learning that the Weinstein brothers were safe and sound, they also felt a little regretful.
The reason is also very simple, because they regretted it very much and bought Miramax that year.
When they first acquired Miramax, Disney had a great vision. As giants in the field of independent films, the brothers were the best at figuring out people’s hearts. Disney hoped that they could achieve something in the field of live-action movies that they were least good at. The two brothers have indeed made achievements, but unfortunately, their achievements run counter to Disney's development philosophy.
What is Disney's development philosophy?
Eternal fairy tale kingdom.
And what about Miramax?
The projects they operate have always been Cult movies, either R-rated or niche and niche.
If it's just these, then Disney will bear it.
The most difficult thing for them to accept is that the two brothers have been acting under the banner of Disney.
As a fairy tale kingdom, Disney’s image must be suitable for any age, healthy for body and mind, and represent the joy of the whole family. Before the big situation is clear, they will definitely not cast a movie like "Philadelphia Story".
But the Weinstein brothers have been challenging their bottom line.
To put it bluntly, if the Weinstein brothers were more obedient, then they might have given the green light to the "Lord of the Rings" project for the sake of their contribution to the Olympics, but the problem is that the two fat guys did not behave not good.
Not only that, as subordinates of the subsidiary, they often provoke the group management.
Disney acquired Miramax because they wanted to own an Olympic machine, not to find an ancestor for themselves!
So when they learned that Roland was after the Weinstein brothers, they almost had to set off firecrackers to celebrate!
When learning that the Weinstein brothers have left safely, the CEO of the group, Ainas, is really sorry...
Of course, the feeling of regret did not last long, and Anas, who was sitting there enjoying a cigar, was interrupted by his secretary again.
"Michael, the CEOs of headquarters, Touchstone, and Hollywood are already waiting in the conference room."
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Ainas put down his cigar, walked out of the office with the documents.
When he came to the pre-arranged conference room, the faces of Miao Miao and the others were filled with excited smiles.
Although they have conflicts in their daily work, today, they are really happy.
After sitting down, Ainas's words were even more frank and frightening, "Harvey, who has been provoking us, has finally been punished today. Of course, compared to our expectations, this is not enough, but according to the current situation Look, it's pretty good."
Hearing these words, everyone at the scene burst into laughter.
The wide and long conference room was filled with their laughter, and the hollow echo seemed extremely eerie.
"Who does Harvey think he is? Does he think he's Jeffrey (Katenberg)?"
"Even if he is Jeffrey, so what? Jeffrey who disobeyed orders, didn't he get out in the end?"
The CEO of the headquarters, who was sitting next to Ainas's right hand, waved his hand, and the light words seemed to be describing the death of a bedbug.
After hearing his words, the CEO of Hollywood Pictures laughed and agreed: "That's right, the most important reason why Disney's stock price has risen thirty-fold in the past ten years is to obey orders. Follow the rules, but anyone who conflicts with Michael's business philosophy cannot stay at Disney, because these guys are unstable factors."
"Yes, we have clearly reached a consensus that any subsidiary company is not allowed to produce R-rated films in the name of Disney, but Harvey must make mistakes again and again. If it wasn't for his achievements, I would even suspect that he is another company. The undercover agent was sent." The CEO of Touchstone, who was usually at odds with the Hollywood film industry, also voted in favor.
Happy voice fully revealed his heart.
"Okay." After listening to the flattery of the three parties, Enas also waved his hand, saying that everything in front of him is not worth mentioning, "After Harvey confesses, he will probably be honest for a while, and people will continue to stare at him. If he If you dare to contradict me, then..."
Speaking of which, Enas, who glanced at the document in front of him, changed the subject, and abruptly held back what he wanted to say about "that is trying to deal with him", and then said: "What do you think about "Lord of the Rings"?" What are your thoughts on the two projects with "The Hobbit"?"
What?
The guys who were still condemning Harvey were all stunned.
After touching for about two seconds, these guys with happy smiles lowered their heads and looked at the documents that were already placed in front of them.
When the dazzling 15 million came into their eyes, the CEOs of the headquarters, Touchstone, and Hollywood immediately had their own ghosts.
The CEO of the department smiled slightly and said: "We don't know much about live-action movies, I only know that we only have four projects on hand, namely "Hercules", "Mulan", "Tarzan of the Apes", and "Fantasia 2000". All personnel are already operating at high load, and the already established projects of "Dinosaur" and "The Transformation of the King" can only be produced after the release of "Hercules" next year, so... Are "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" valuable? , and we don’t have time to participate in the evaluation.”
"However, Tolkien's works have a large number of fans, and now Roland has taken a fancy to these two projects, so I personally guess that there should be room for operation..."
"After all, so far, only George, Steven, James, and Roland are the only guys in Hollywood who can make live-action movie series and have great influence. If Roland wants to do it, the first three will help evaluate of."
Fuck you!
Really special is a dog leg!
For more production costs, can you lick projects that have nothing to do with you?
The words of the CEO of the headquarters made Touchstone and the CEO of Hollywood curse in their hearts.
The headquarters is the prince of the Disney Group, rich and powerful, four projects can eat up 400 million.
Compared with the headquarters, Hollywood Films and Touchstone Films are much worse. The former has a bunch of projects with a total investment of only 300 million yuan, while the latter has more co-productions, although the performance is better than the former. Okay, but none of the copyrights belong to Disney.
For them, the words from the headquarters are more like showing off provocation and flattering Eisner.
After all, if you just look at the inclination of the group's resources, the touchstone and Hollywood are worse than those raised by stepmothers.
The problem is that even if the cartoon characters loved by children are the foundation of Disney, if a company is stagnant and lacks innovation, then they will eventually be washed away by the tide of the times.
It's like Nintendo will not cling to Mario, and work hard to create Pokémon.
While Disney has been successful in the animation field, they also hope to get a share in the live-action field.
After all, children will always grow up. When they grow up and no longer need Disney, only their children can keep them paying for Disney, and cultivating new users is risky. First, the development of live-action movies and the use of adult fairy tales to tie adults firmly to Disney's chariot will not only allow them to continue to draw a lot of profits from the existing customer base, but also allow them to bring their offspring continuously. into Disney.
Because one ticket can not only satisfy the relaxation of adults, but also satisfy the innocence of children.
For customers, this is blood money!
But it's a pity that they started out as animation and entered the field of live-action movies, which is equivalent to talking about cross talk for stubborn people who smoke, drink, and burn their heads. Soaring to 300 easily?
That is a dream.
So, letting the right people do what they can do has become Disney's operating creed.
Cooperate with Bruce Highmore's studio to learn from each other's experience.
Invest in the project that the Jewish gang came to, and earn money from the other party for the teaching fee when you run the project.
In short, under the leadership of Michael Eisner, Disney has been heading straight towards the goal of a fairy tale kingdom for all ages, but the emperor is a bit too thoughtful, and he hopes that everyone has to listen to himself.
And now the department not only praised Disney's animation film roots, but also praised Eisner's live-action film development ideas. This is not dog licking, what is it?
Knowing all this, when Eisner listened to the speeches of the headquarters and turned his attention to the two CEOs of Touchstone and Hollywood, these two guys, while praising their stinky feet, gave their own opinions. 'unique opinion.
The CEO of Touchstone Films, who is used to cooperating with other film companies, said: "Although there is no precedent for successful fantasy movies in Hollywood, if Roland and the others want to do it, I think we can cooperate with them."
"This is not trust in fantasy films, nor trust in Tolkien, nor trust in Peter Jackson, but trust in Roland Allen, trust in his resources."
"Since the group of guys who have written successfully for countless times are optimistic about this movie, then we can participate..."
Before he finished speaking, the CEO of Hollywood Pictures also spoke, and his words were even more blunt, "Although the "Into the Deadly Island" we invested in failed, it doesn't matter, we still have money in hand." There's the Francis Coppola project."
"Our Hollywood film industry has no grievances with Roland. We were defeated in a head-to-head battle. This can only be regarded as inferior skills."
"And since we can't beat him, let's join them..."
"Although I don't have confidence in "Lord of the Rings", as everyone said, I have confidence in Roland Allen."
"If Warcraft Films needs a partner, we Hollywood Films can cut some projects, squeeze out funds, and cooperate with them."
"The point is, we do "Lord of the Rings", and there is a little bit of benefit."
"That is to disgust the Weinstein brothers."
“When they hold the copyright, we don’t invest. When they sell the copyright, we choose to cooperate instead.”
"Harvey and Bob will definitely be furious and cursed when they hear the news..."
"If the project fails, we will only lose a little money. Compared with the brand public relations fees we paid after Miramax fiddled with it, it is nothing. If it succeeds, the two brothers will have no shame At Disney, so, Michael, with your permission, I can go to Baja California right now and talk to Roland…”
As soon as these words came out, the CEOs of the headquarters and Touchstone changed their faces instantly.
You are the real licking dog of Eisner!
Watching Miramax sell the filming rights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" in the first step, and then rushing to cooperate with Warcraft Pictures in the next step?
And all of this comes down to **** off the Weinstein brothers?
If outsiders know all this, they will definitely ‘meow meow? ’, why did His Majesty rebel?
And if people in the circle know...
Then they will feel perfectly normal.
Because the current Disney is Michael Eisner's kingdom alone.
Revenue?
What is this? Is it important?
For him, an obedient Disney is more important than revenue.
It is the best to be able to develop at a high speed while being obedient.
Because of this, when Eisner heard the words of "Brother Weinstein are **** off", a smile bloomed on his face again.
Compared to the smile when he saw the Weinstein brothers admitting their love before, he smiles brighter now.
"Good."
"That's a good proposition."
Eisner looked at the CEO of Hollywood Pictures very appreciatively, and slowly said: "If Roland is willing to cooperate, we can provide a venue to co-produce "Lord of the Rings" with him. , Overseas distribution can let him go to Sony, after all, in their contract with Sony, it is clearly marked that they are responsible for their own profits and losses."
"If it weren't for last year's "Seven Deadly Sins", this year's "Spider-Man", Sony's distribution company would lose money there again."
"As for the Weinstein Brothers?"
"Since they have given up on this project, we don't need to mention him in the future."
"After all, what we admire is Roland Allen who can sit down and talk about everything, not Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein who are always confronting the parent company, right?"
"Yes." The CEO of the headquarters nodded first.
"That's right." Touchstone CEO followed closely behind.
"We absolutely cannot condone Miramax's behavior." The Hollywood CEO said righteously.
"Okay, it's up to you to follow up on this matter."
Hearing the full approval, Ainas glanced at the CEO of Hollywood Pictures.
"But don't be too impatient. According to Roland's usual habits, he will formally inject funds into the "Lord of the Rings" project after the dividends from "Spider-Man". It is enough for another family to **** this project, and there is no need to worry about DreamWorks, they have no money."
While he gave the order, the dog leg of the CEO of Hollywood Pictures also responded repeatedly.
With the sound of the meeting ending, the CEO of Hollywood Pictures, who had picked up a big deal, left the venue full of excitement, while the CEO of the Disney headquarters, whose instructions had nothing to do with himself, walked away with his hands in his pockets, only the CEO of Touchstone Pictures looked depressed, Because they have no chance to get the corresponding bonus...
And if Roland knew that Disney had such a discussion about Miramax selling the copyrights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" to Warcraft Film and Television, he would definitely be very happy.
It's not because Michael Eisner controlled Disney's stupid behavior because of the power struggle is too ridiculous, but because he understands that the efforts over the years have not been in vain.
When Francis Coppola met for the first time, he was very excited and said that he liked the other party's "The Godfather".
How much do you like it?
Even if he lived his life again and did not watch the movie repeatedly, he still clearly remembered the two lines in it:
‘The best threat is no action. Once action is taken and it doesn’t work, people no longer fear threats. '
‘It took me a lifetime to learn to be careful. Women and children can be careless, but men can’t. '
The first line has already shown its effect when buying "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit".
And the second line, the effect is showing!
After getting out of the time loop, Roland became more careful and careful. He would rather give up the profit than offend others, because he understood that the relationship network is the most important thing compared with the green and shiny knife. Are you afraid of not making money?
Ronald Perelman needs a stunt? To match the hype is...
Carl Icahn wants to place ads? How you want to implant, how we implant...
Fox, Universal, Sony, and Paramount want to exchange the copyright of Marvel garbage for his long-term portrait authorization in the "Home Alone" series, "Terminator 2", "Jurassic Park", and "Forrest Gump"? No problem, here you go...
Of course Roland knows that these guys are greedy. If the benefits are not distributed equally in the future, they won't think about their old relationship at all, and they will turn their faces when they should. But isn't what Roland wants to show is that the developing humans and animals are harmless?
When he rooted the concept of 'everything that happens to Roland has room for negotiation' into the hearts of these guys, and let them grow up through one incident, even if Roland had conflicts with them, the first thing that happened would definitely not be the same. It will be a tear beep, but sit down and talk slowly, just like Disney now...
It is precisely because everyone thinks that Roland Allen can be controlled, so Disney feels that it would be better to use Roland to attack the Weinstein brothers, and if he lacks start-up funds, he will cooperate with insiders again.
Same as Spider-Man, same as Titanic.
Roland has a background but is not greedy, which is the foundation of the comfort of the giants.
In this case, it is more time-saving and labor-saving for them to sit down and talk about things first.
As far as Roland is concerned, isn't the opponent's behavior showing his cards and super doubling?
Pour a cappuccino for auntie!
Seventeen cards are already enough to kill someone!
Note: ① In reality, Eisner is absolutely crazier than what is written in the article. Under normal circumstances, the company's board of directors will establish a nomination, remuneration, and audit committee mainly based on an independent board of directors to effectively restrain the CEO's decision-making behavior, but Disney does not have these. During Eisner's tenure, the Disney family was kicked out of the company. Katzenberg also founded DreamWorks with Spielberg because of disagreements with Eisner. The most amazing thing is that when it joined ABC, it was only acquired in 1995. In 1996, the management wanted to split off and do it alone. In addition, the era of high CEO salaries in the United States was started by Ainas. He paid himself a salary. Now CEOs who earn tens of millions a year are like his younger brother. Playmates took away 140 million (this matter went to the state court in 2004). ②The Disney operating philosophy written in the article is indeed the three points raised by Eisner when he was in office. ③When Eisner was in power, copyright was indeed less important than rights. The most obvious point was to allow Miramax to sell "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit". The second was to share the copyright of "Pirates of the Caribbean" with Bruckheimer , This is a project left by Walt Disney before his death. The copyright has always been in Disney's hands, and half of it was given away for nothing. ④The headquarters of Disney is the princeling of the Disney animation company founded by Walt Disney. Both Touchstone and Hollywood are raised by their stepmothers. Their biggest dispute is the production fee, commonly known as money. For this reason, when Pixar and Marvel joined, they all sprayed Headquarters.
PS, don’t think Disney is stupid, it’s Eisner who is stupid, and the root cause is power struggle.
(end of this chapter)