I’m in Hollywood - Chapter 446
[Chapter 443: The Largest Collective Robbery]
In the following two weeks, with the assistance of Morgan Stanley’s acquisition team, Firefly successfully completed Disney’s stock repurchase work. On February 5, 1992, Disney officially announced its privatization and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Firefly Pictures. .
[First Release]
During this period, Universal Pictures, controlled by Japan’s Panasonic consortium, signed an agreement with Michael Eisner, who had just left Disney, and appointed Michael Eisner as Universal Pictures. De Simberg was fired.
Sid Simberg has been in control of Universal Pictures for nearly two decades, and his power in Universal Pictures is deeply rooted, and he has discovered a large number of famous filmmakers such as Spielberg.
The Japanese Panasonic consortium, like Sony, was concerned about the rebound of the American people. In the two years after the acquisition was completed in 1990, the degree of decentralization was even greater than that of Sony in Colombia. Panasonic basically did not participate in any decision-making of Universal Pictures.
Although Sid Simberg is not like Columbia’s Peter Cooper who only cares about his own spending and has no intention of running a film company, as a businessman, the performance of Universal Pictures in the past two years has not only not improved, but has fallen sharply. signs, while Sid Simberg himself made a lot of profits using Universal’s resources.
Panasonic executives realized that if this continued, the acquisition of Universal Pictures would become their biggest failure. In order to prevent the situation from worsening, they seized the good opportunity of Michael Eisner’s departure from Disney and began to significantly adjust Universal’s management. .
Because of Sid Simberg’s deep-rooted influence, Michael Eisner’s appointment was not easy at all.
“A week after Michael Eisner took office, 14 senior executives at Universal were fired,” Eric pushed a newspaper to Jeffrey Katzenberg, who had just walked into the office.
Anyone who knows Katzenberg knows that he is a very arrogant person, but at this time Katzenberg is sitting opposite Eric with a smile, at least on the surface with a respectful look.
Taking the newspaper handed over by Eric and quickly browsing the news on one side, Katzenberg said: “This is necessary. Many high-level executives at Universal have followed Sid Simberg’s direct line for more than ten years. If Michael doesn’t do this. Then in less than half a year, he has to leave as he goes to Universal, and Panasonic has to honestly invite Sid Simberg back.”
Eric held a pen.
As if nothing had happened, he wrote and drew on the manuscript paper in front of him, and asked casually, “Disney now has a lot of direct descendants promoted by Michael. What do you think I should do?”
Although Eric asked casually, Carson Berg has been energized for more than half a month.
The position of Disney has been vacant, and many people are speculating about who will be the next Disney, and rumors are spreading. Some say that Eric will serve as Disney himself, and some say that the successor is the current president of Disney, Frank Wells.
There are even rumors that Firefly will appoint Walt Disney’s nephew, Roy Disney, as the new leader.
However, Katzenberg got some hints from Barry Diller early on. During this time, he has been quietly preparing for it, and has not jumped up and down like some people.
The biggest problem Disney is facing right now is the beginning of the acquisition.
The ‘golden parachute’ plan passed by Disney management with a total compensation amount of up to 500 million US dollars means that within two years, Firefly is unlikely to make much changes to Disney’s top management.
“Eric, Disney is very different from Universal. Universal has been run by Sid Simberg for 20 years, and it is completely a piece of iron. At the same time, Sid Simberg was once a major shareholder of Universal. , when Panasonic moved Sid Simberg, it moved the interests of many people around the world. But Disney is different. Michael did personally promote a lot of people. But Disney is not his world alone, plus All Michael’s focus now is on Universal, and he won’t give Disney too much experience to mess with Disney. As long as we move forward with Disney’s established development path, there will be no problems. I think even if someone can’t help but want to Make trouble, Firefly can still get one or two people’s resignation compensation, right?”
Eric looked at Katzenberg, who was talking eloquently, and asked with a smile, “You know what?”
Katzenberg was stunned for a moment, nodded slightly embarrassedly, and said, “Barry gave me some hints.”
“In this case, many things can be said.” Eric put down the pen that he had been playing with, leaned on the back of the chair and smiled: “The reason why I am talking to you now is because I I’ve been a little indecisive, and I don’t know if handing Disney to you will turn into a disaster.”
Katzenberg shook his head confidently: “I promise never.”
“Jeffrey, you know, this kind of promise. Nothing works, there’s nothing wrong with your personal work, and over the years, 9 of the 11 films you’ve produced have turned a profit, which is an absolute miracle in Hollywood. And Barry personally recommended you to me, But, well, do you know what your problem is?”
Katzenberg’s lips moved, and Eric didn’t force him to say it himself, and continued: “I heard that you forced the employees of the studio more than once. Had a meeting at seven on a Sunday morning and a lot of people showed up in pajamas to protest. Also, your relationship with the Disney family’s Roy Disney is bad. If you’re just in charge of the production department, that’s not going to happen It’s too big, but if you’re at Disney, it’s hard for me to imagine the terrible consequences if all the employees don’t like your way of doing things?”
“I can change, Eric, give me three months. time,” Katzenberg said without hesitation.
Eric raised his eyebrows and asked, “Three months?”
Katzenberg nodded again: “It only takes three months. If I can’t change within three months, then I’ll get out of here.”
Eric looked at Katzenberg’s expression, and his heart was almost relieved. For a person with extremely strong self-control, since he said such a thing, it might not take three months for Katzenberg to stop. Changes can be made.
Eric stretched out three fingers and said: “Okay, just three months, but I still want to remind you, in addition to Michael’s 30 million severance compensation, about the golden parachute agreement. Firefly will not pay another penny, which is also It’s a test for you. You need to live in peace with the old man Michael left behind, and you must not affect Disney’s business. Otherwise, you will fail.”
Katzenberg hesitated for a moment, but nodded quickly.
Eric smiled satisfactorily and said, “As for your treatment, we will talk about it later, now. You can talk about your thoughts. Since Barry has already disclosed the news to you, I think you will definitely do it. Are you ready?”
Katzenberg said succinctly: “I want Pixar.”
After the success of “Toy Story”, basically all Hollywood studios saw the potential of 3D animated films, and “Toy Story” was released. Since then, the Pixar studio has faced several waves of poaching frenzy, and even John Lasseter has been contacted. Fortunately, Eric took the right measures, and Pixar was not hurt.
Before Toy Story, animated films had been monopolized by Disney.
Since Disney was acquired by Firefly, it is normal for Katzenberg to propose this condition in order to maintain the original monopoly.
Eric said: “You don’t have to. Starting from the next animated film, all Pixar works will be handed over to Disney for distribution. At the same time, the brand management and derivative development of Pixar animation will be handled by Disney.
” Ke, I read some Pixar materials, don’t you think that Pixar’s efficiency is too low?”
“It is indeed a bit low to have an animated film in two years, but Pixar is taking the boutique route. Moreover, as a Disney studio, you The president of the company, you should know that animated movies can’t be fast even if you want to.”
“But at least one animated movie a year should be no problem, right? Computer production is much faster than manual production?”
Eric remembered the original time and space.
DreamWorks Animation, founded by Katzenberg, is known for its high output. However, except for “Shrek”, DreamWorks Animation has not produced a few high-quality products. This may be the result of focusing too much on quantity.
“Jeffrey, isn’t Disney’s animation studio also making animations? The two studios are combined. It can also be said to be an average of one movie per year. By the way, speaking of Disney’s animation studio, you must be too. I have seen the potential of computer animation, so I like to spend three years of overtime to digitize all the original hand-drawn methods of Disney Animation Studio.”
“You mean, fully switch to 3D animation production, but now Disney has 600 hand-painted Animators, if there is a reform, these people can…”
Eric shrugged: “Jeffrey, if any industry can’t follow the trend, it will only face elimination. I have given three years, which is already very generous. Now, they have enough time for training, and if they can’t adapt in the end, then I can only say sorry.”
In the original time and space, the success of “Toy Story” directly announced the decline of Disney’s hand-painted animation, except for the subsequent “The Lion King”, Disney has never again appeared in a 2D hand-drawn animated film that topped the box office charts.
“Okay, I’ll make arrangements,” Katzenberg agreed with a nod.
After this conversation, Eric soon announced the appointment of Katzenberg. Although this appointment made many people dissatisfied, compared with the hardships of Michael Eisner’s appointment to Universal, Disney generally still Calm.
Many people were worried that Katzenberg would act in the same way as before after taking over as Disney, and even prepared to resign in the face of high pressure, but within a week, many people discovered that Katzenberg’s management style had changed. A lot, no longer so reckless and go his own way, and even say ‘thank you’, which is a surprising thing.
Because Katzenberg never said ‘thank you’ to people at work, to explain in his own words, he was not ignorant of manners, but unwilling to waste this time.
After appointing a new one, Eric finally felt a little more relaxed. He didn’t have to put too much energy on Disney. Although the acquisition has been initially completed, it will take at least half a year for the remaining affairs to be handed over and integrated. These things are still It is the responsibility of the Morgan Stanley team. For this professional acquisition team, Eric is not only relieved, but even a little coveted. Unfortunately, Firefly Investments cannot support such a team now.
“Not only can’t we afford it, but we don’t need these,” Chris said while eating dinner in the dining room of the Sharphorn Manor.
After completing this acquisition, Chris will also return to New York. Eric specially practiced for Chris at the Sharphorn Manor. In addition to Chris, Chris’ girlfriend Emily Brighton also appeared in Los Angeles because of his business. the scene.
“I just said that although I can’t afford it now, I will definitely use it sooner or later,” Eric retorted.
Chris smiled and said, “Maybe, Eric, what are you going to do next? We only have less than $1.5 billion in funds, which is not enough to pay off the debt left by Disney, and I don’t recommend you do it. Debt repayment. In the process of business operation, an appropriate degree of debt is necessary. Compared with the current market value of Firefly, UU Kanshu www.sonicmtl.com US$2 billion is only equivalent to a debt ratio of about 25%. It is the lowest among the big film companies.”
Eric thought for a while and said, “Actually, I have also considered that since we can’t pay off the debt, let’s make an investment. Hey, it’s just a pity that last year the Soviet Union disintegrated and we couldn’t take the opportunity. Make a fortune.”
“Don’t think about it, the fat of the Soviet Union. It’s not something we can touch at all. This is a world-wide plunder. In order to prevent possible annexation of the Soviet Union, behind this incident is the The governments of Europe and the United States are manipulating,” Chris said, he couldn’t help swallowing, took a sip of the red wine in front of him, and continued: “In just half a year, the ruble has depreciated by 110,000 times, and the Soviet Union has lost 80% of its value. It’s exciting to think about the nearly 28 trillion US dollars of wealth accumulated over the years, which has been looted by people with only a few hundred million US dollars.”
Sitting beside Eric, Jennifer Connelly, who has been quietly acting like a lady, couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, what are you talking about, why can’t I understand it?”
Chris looked at the person on the opposite side. The beautiful and beautiful woman, even though her girlfriend was by her side, still couldn’t help showing off the instinct of a man: “I’m talking about the largest mass robbery in human history.” (To be continued.)
…. Easy. Look. Small. .
[End of this Chapter]
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