I’m in Hollywood

In a silence, the director of "The Lion King" Roger Eros still asked some unwillingly: "Mr. Williams, you just really said, would you like to change a new boss for the Disney animation department?"

"Not Disney Animation Department," Eric added the pronunciation of ‘Disney.” “Exactly, I plan to sell the hand-painted animation department as a whole. The Disney brand belongs to Firefly, no one can take it. ● Hey,”

In another silence, Peter Schneider suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis. If Eric did not care about the Disney animation department, what other things he and Roy Disney had done before, what is more important, more important The loss of the Disney animation department is this reliance, they are two people...

The fear in the heart gradually turned into fear. Peter Schneider suddenly stood up from his seat and pointed to Eric and shouted: "No, you won't, Eric Williams, you will never put Disney animation." If the department sells it, you just want to force us to give in. We will never give in, absolutely not."

Eric looked at Peters Schneider, who was hysterically, and said to the female assistant next to him: "Kelly, go and call the security guard."

Kelly glanced at Peter Schneider and got up and walked out of the meeting room.

After Kelly left, Eric told Peter Schneider: "Sit down and continue the meeting, or give me out, or I let the security guard throw you out."

Peter Schneider’s face was so embarrassing that he bit his teeth and stagnated for a few seconds, still sitting down.

Roy Disney's heart is even more shocked than Peter Schneider's gaffe, but Roy Disney, who thinks he is used to the storm, understands that the more he is, the more he wants to calm down. He also thinks that Eric may I just wanted to force the animation department to make concessions and think about it. Roy Disney asked: "Mr. Williams, do you think that Disney without the animation department can be considered Disney?"

Eric suddenly sighed, and for a long time, these people still didn't figure out his mind: "Disney will always have an animation department. It just doesn't use hand-drawn animation to make animated movies. And, Disney. Will save a few cartoon studios in Canada, Australia and other, continue to provide TV animation for the Disney channel. However, Disney's animated film will be fully turned to 3D digital production."

Roy Disney heard Eric's tone and calmly stated the plan. My heart squeaked, but on the surface, I still calmly pointed out more than a dozen people in the conference room. "So, you are going to pack all of us, that is, more than 700 people in the hand-painted animation department, huh, even if you I really don't plan to continue to save the hand-drawn animation department. Do you think that we will be willing to let you sell it as a chip?"

Roy Disney’s words immediately gave a strong shot to everyone who was in the dark, and all the animation department management looked at Eric. As if Eric had to say anything wrong, they would immediately resign and make the animation department a worthless empty shell.

Hand-drawn animation is very different from computer animation. The production of computer animation requires not only skilled digital animators, but also a large number of technical patented tools and technical support departments. Therefore, it is not so easy for digital animators to change jobs. . But the hand-drawn animation is actually an industry with a technical content that is not too high. An animator can participate in the production of hand-drawn animation after a few years of training, and even if he leaves the original company, the hand-drawn animator can continue himself without any obstacles. Occupation.

Of course, Eric knew this and looked at his dozen eyes. Eric smiled and rubbed the folder on the table. "You don't have to tempted each other anymore. The decision to abolish Disney's hand-painted animation department has been won by the Firefly system outside Warren Buffett, Tom Murphy and David. The consent of the three directors of West. So there will be no more accidents in this resolution."

There was another sizzling in the conference room, but in the end no one was angry at the point where the door fell. Even Peter Schneider, who was just furious, was just glaring at Eric.

Eric patiently waited for everyone to calm down again and continued: "So, let me talk about the disadvantages of your resignation. You can leave all. Turn the animation department into an empty shell without any value. This is the root of the firefly. It won't cause any damage. But then, let's make one of the most satisfying assumptions. You have found a new employer who fully agrees with the rich conditions that you originally proposed to Fireflies, with an average monthly salary of over 10,000, a new work park or something. Well, this negotiation will take at least half a year. After half a year, you still need to start from scratch, set up a new animation production department, start development planning, and find a suitable animation project, which will be half a year. Then, animation The preliminary planning of the project, everyone knows how long it will take, and it is very uncertain. Perhaps, from the time you take the initiative to leave the first animation, the production process is two years later, the production time is at least two years, then you The new animation department took out the first animated film, maybe already four In the future, no doubt, if you remember very well, you should remember clearly how long it took for Michael Eisner to revitalize the animation department to the release of "Little Mermaid". In five years, I have helped you shorten it for a year. Therefore, according to the salary conditions you have proposed, the entire animation department needs to spend at least 100 million US dollars per year to maintain its operation. In four years, it is 400 million US dollars, enough to make five big productions. At that time, you took out the animated film. If you don't achieve the amazing effect of "Lion King", think about what it would be like to wait patiently for the new owner's heart that has invested a lot of money in four years. You should all know that "The Lion King" is an accident, Disney. The average level of the animation department should be "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast". Therefore, 90% of them may be very disappointed, then reduce the animation department's expenditure, reduce the budget, and the quality of the animated film is affected. Impact is a common vicious circle."

Having said that, Eric paused and seemed to be waiting for the reaction of everyone in the conference room. However, Eric is also very sure that they will not react any more because he just said All are facts. Original time and space. After leaving the Disney self-supporting portal, Kasenberger has dug away a group of people from Disney animation to set up a dream factory animation. It took exactly four years from the establishment of DreamWorks Animation to the first "Egyptian Prince". The box office of "The Prince of Egypt" is also not warm. DreamWorks’ second animated film, Shrek, has been around for three more years. If it wasn't for the "Shrek" lucky box office explosion, the DreamWorks animation, which only completed two animated films in seven years, must only end in a close.

After waiting for a while, Eric patted his hand and said: "Sorry, forgive me for being a villain with a lot of words. Oh, no, my role today seems to be a villain, but I still want In addition, if you quit, it is a voluntary violation of the labor contract. Originally because of the success of the "Lion King" box office, the year-end dividend should have been lost. This year-end award should be equivalent to the salary of most people for more than half a year."

Roger Eiles, sitting near Eric, asked dryly: "Mr. Williams, we can know why you insist on canceling 2d animation?"

“It is like a steam textile machine instead of a manual textile machine. The electric textile machine replaces the steam textile machine. This is an inevitable trend of technology development. 3d animated film has too many advantages, of course, this can only be proved by time, if After a few years, you find that I am actually wrong, then you can laugh at me as much as you can. But now, I insist on my own judgment, and I have given you enough time to change. But recently these things made me realize that It’s better for everyone to do it.”

Roger Ales looked at the silent Roy Disney and Peter Schneider and sighed. Nothing to say.

Of course, Eric will not take the detailed information out to these people. If no one asks anything, he will continue: "Now, let’s talk about the benefits of packaging the animation department. First, even if you leave The profit share of your "Lion King" will still be distributed to you. Secondly, you can unify the treatment with the new owner and believe that the treatment you receive will definitely be much better than your own. Again, you can Take the animation department and have prepared several 2d animation projects that can enter the production stage immediately. I have a look, oh, "The Winds of the Wind", "Mulan" and "Taishan", these are great ideas. You can also take away the sequel to the sequel to the 2D animated films of "The Lion King", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin", which will greatly shorten the time for your achievements."

In amazement, Roger Ales asked in an incredible tone: "Mr. Williams, are you sure you are not kidding again?"

If Eric decided to sell the Disney animation department and it made everyone feel that he was not normal, let them leave with the copyright of "Lion King", and suddenly gave him a feeling that he was completely crazy.

Of course, Eric is not crazy, but very calmly explained: "Of course I am not kidding, but what you can take away is that the "Lion King" films are very simple sequels to make copyright, your new employer only With the power to make sequels using these copyrights and make profits through film distribution, the cartoon image and peripheral development of films such as "Lion King" still belong to fireflies."

Although the original "Lion King" global box office exceeded $900 million, the sequel was still directly released with videotapes.

However, Eric believes that if he gets the sequel to make copyright, even if there is no development power around him, other movie companies will definitely not hesitate to develop a sequel to the movie, under the stimulation of the world's $900 million box office. At that time, fireflies could still sell around through the influence of these sequels.

With the current global box office outbreak of "Lion King", Roger Ailes can also experience the harsh conditions of Eric and the coexistence of lure, and he has begun to involuntarily ponder the sequel to "The Lion King". The plot.

"So, lastly, after the animation department has packaged and sold successfully, you can get 5% of the total transaction amount as a reward. There is no precedent. It is a kind of compensation that Firefly is willing to use as a bargaining chip for you."

If Eric first proposed this condition, it would definitely cause a strong resentment, but now everyone has not resisted much. Peter Schneider, who has been silent for a long time, said: "Mr. Williams, 5% of the supplement... the bonus is too small."

"The average annual salary of the employees in the animation department is about 50,000 US dollars. If the animation department sells 1 billion US dollars, the average compensation you get will be 70,000 US dollars, equivalent to 16 months' salary, plus "The Lion King." "The rewards of bonuses, each person is equivalent to the salary of the previous two years." Eric explained, sneer at the corner of his mouth and looked at Peter Schneider, said: "And, Mr. Schneider, you, and Roy Disney Sir, it is not on this list of awards. This is the last resolution I want to announce at this meeting. From now on, you are fired!"

......

The Firefly Group will package the sale of the hand-painted animation department. After the meeting, the conference quickly detonated the entire Hollywood. And on the second day of the "Los Angeles Times" was officially confirmed, fireflies will be open auction in the form of a public auction one month later.

Then, the fireflies responded to the requirements of the Firefly Credit Union Alliance's board of directors in an unprecedentedly tough stance.

After the release of the Firefly Group’s first-quarter earnings report for the first half of 1994, the second-half profit forecast and the huge transaction with the Condé Nast Group on paper media assets of $1.52 billion, the Firefly Group spokesperson publicly stated that the funds brought by the hand-painted animation department to be sold, fireflies The Group's expected non-operating free cash flow at the end of 1994 will be no less than US$3 billion, which is sufficient to illustrate the excellent operational and financial status of the Firefly Group.

The Firefly Group regularly discloses relevant operational and financial information to creditors, but does not require creditor directors to participate in the management of the company. If the creditor institution remains concerned about investment security, the Firefly Group is very willing to initiate bond repurchase measures in advance. (To be continued.)