Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 154: Popularity
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles County, the city of Burbank.

In the top floor office of Walt Disney headquarters, the current head, Don Tatum, and the future successor, Ron Miller, sat opposite each other, with an envelope and several photos scattered on the coffee table in front of them. The envelope was yellow, without any records or labels on it, and the photos were bright, and the male and female characters in the photos could be distinguished, but their facial features were a little blurry, probably because they were secretly photographed.

However, this did not hinder the two's judgment. They could recognize the middle-aged man in the photo even if he turned into ashes. After staring at the three people in the same frame and going upstairs together for a long time, Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron Miller, a guy with a mustache, clenched his fist and hammered the armrest of the sofa. At the same time as the dull sound appeared, he also looked up suddenly, "Roy really didn't give up! Ethan Jones went to see him on the first day he came to Los Angeles?"

"MFxxk!"

"If I remember correctly, it was the celebration party for Star Wars, right? Twentieth Century Fox didn't send us an invitation! Under such circumstances, Royte actually ran over on his own? Oh! Sxxt! This is really a disgrace to the Disney family!"

Ron Miller's face was filled with anger, and his eyes were bloodshot as if they could spit out fire.

And Dwyane Tatum, who was sitting opposite him, also had a gloomy look on his face.

There was no way. Who made Ron Miller and Roy Disney's relationship so incompatible? Since Dwayne Tatum had already taken sides in the party dispute, he couldn't stay out of it, right? Either he succeeded or he died.

"Roy made a great move. In chess, this move could even be called a checkmate."

Don Tatum said: "Now, everyone in the world knows that Ethan Jones's games are very profitable, and the speed at which he makes money is beyond the reach of all other industries. At this time, Roy went to him for cooperation, which was a signal to the outside world, a signal that Roy Disney was willing to bend down for the revenue of the Disney Group. In the eyes of ordinary people, this kind of thing may not be commendable, but for investors, this is a qualified group manager. As long as they can make money, they can even sell their souls to Satan, and this is exactly what investors like, because they invest in a company and buy a company's stock to make money."

How could Ron Miller not understand such an easy-to-understand truth?

And it is precisely because he understands this that he is anxious at this moment!
"We must take countermeasures!"

"Don't let him reach a cooperation with the Destiny Game!"

"The company cannot be taken over by him! Because it was originally the property of the Walt Disney family!"

"The company is called Walt Disney! Not Disney Brothers!"

Ron Miller shouted.

At the same time, almost in an instant, he had thought of a solution.

"Don, we have to contact Destiny Game immediately! Contact Ethan Jones! We can tell him that in 1975, Roy promised Nolan Bushnell and Don Valentine of Atari that if they got the copyright of Snake, he would buy Atari for a premium of tens of millions!"

"Doesn't Ethan Jones hate Nolan Bushnell?"

"Didn't he invite Nolan Bushnell to the press conference for the Pac-Man project and disgust him right there?"

"With this news, Ethan Jones will definitely not cooperate with Roy!"

"As long as we can make Ethan Jones hate Roy from the source! Then Roy will not be able to find new profit points for the company from other places!"

The rapid words were like a rainstorm, echoing in the office.

The anxious attitude was like a fire on the butt, and Tatum couldn't help shaking his head when he heard the insane remarks.

In order to cut off the cooperation between Ethan Jones and Roy Disney, Ron Miller deliberately told Ethan Jones about Roy Disney's previous plan?

Isn’t this guy mentally ill?

Although those things were done by Roy Disney, is he, Ron Miller, innocent?
You are all from the Disney family!
Even though Ethan Jones would break off all ties with Roy Disney after knowing the truth of that year, he would also have a bad feeling towards the entire Disney family!
If Ethan Jones was just an ordinary rich man, that would be fine.

The point is, he isn't!
"Ron! Calm down!"

Don Tatum said loudly: "Although we all want to squeeze Roy out of the company, we can't use the method of snitching to sever his relationship with Ethan Jones! Because now Ethan Jones is not only a big boss in an emerging industry, but also has a great reputation in the fields of technology and film and television!"

"Although our roots at Disney are in the entertainment field, or even in the animation field, no one knows what will happen tomorrow. We don't know if we will get involved in technology in the future! We don't even know if we will make a live-action movie tomorrow! Under such circumstances, there are only disadvantages and no advantages in making enemies with him!"

"So, you can be angry! But don't be stupid! Okay?"

The sudden roar made Ron Miller stunned for a moment.

After a few seconds, he sighed, although he was still furious.

"Sorry, Tang En, I was anxious."

He looked at Dwyane Tatum with apology, "Because of what happened in Florida..."

"You know."

"When we have that... no one can stay calm all the time, right?"

Such a rhetorical question made Twain Tatum purse his lips.

After a moment, he nodded helplessly.

He could understand why Ron Miller was anxious. Because he knew what kind of wealth the brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney left for their descendants.

The Walt Disney Company owns a large piece of land in Orlando, Florida. In the second year after the death of its founder Walt Disney, ground was broken there to build the world's second Disneyland, the first and possibly the only Walt Disney World.

Because when designing that place, the Walt Disney Company mobilized all its strength and reached an agreement with the Florida state government, which was passed by the Florida legislature in 1967 and became a bill. The full name of the bill is the Reedy Creek Improvement Act.

The core of the bill is that Florida gives Disney broad control over all properties and municipal services on all plots of land in Orlando. To put it simply, Disney has all the substantive power of the local government on the land in Orlando and can decide how to plan, build and operate its theme parks and resorts without complying with local regulations and standards.

And just how outrageous is this self-determination?
That is, if Disney thinks it is feasible, then it can be built.

Airports and the like are child's play, and nuclear power plants are all within the scope of what is feasible and can be built.

When this power appeared, the Reedy Creek Improvement District obtained by Disney naturally became a government entity that could issue bonds to the outside world at will. Once Disney got into trouble, it didn't matter. As long as they gave up the Reedy Creek Improvement District, they could get away with it. The debt repayment responsibility of all debts would be directly transferred to Orange County, to which the Reedy Creek Improvement District paid taxes.

Although this kind of autonomy is hard-won and Disney will only give it up if it gets kicked in the head by a donkey, when the fact that it only needs to self-regulate its bond issuance and does not have to bear the ultimate responsibility for the failure emerges...

As long as you are a human being, you will be attracted by everything here!
This is what the Walt Disney family came for!

As for Roy Disney's family...

This is all I want!
After all, who doesn’t love a real kingdom!
Not to mention, this kingdom was passed down from their father!
"Ron, I understand your feelings. I believe you can handle this matter calmly, right?" Twain Tatum sighed and said, "Although none of us expected that Roy would throw a strong punch at us as soon as he resigned from the group, since he has thrown a punch, we must respond. What we can do now... I think you should know, right?"

The twisted words were confusing at first, but the guy who was pushed by a family to run the company was definitely not a fool. Ron Miller's previous words were just because he was blinded by anger. After calming down... he nodded and said, "I understand. Roy currently only has a management position in the feature animation department. Apart from producing animations, he has no power."

"That means we can stop whatever he promised Ethan Jones."

"He couldn't license the company's animation rights to Ethan Jones to make a game."

"In this way, even if he wants to make a game——"

"He can't do it either!"

When Ron Miller brought the matter back to the orthodox palace fight, a smile appeared on Twain Tatum's face. Just as he was about to speak and add a few words, Ron Miller said, "If that's all, I don't think it's enough."

"After the release of Star Wars, all the Hollywood companies focused their attention on the video game industry. Although 20th Century Fox did not make money from video game projects, Star Wars has proved that the path of combining movies and games is feasible."

"Perhaps it won't be long before all companies will join the video game industry, and Universal and Fox have the greatest advantages in this field."

"Universal has Steven Spielberg, right? With him around, Sidney Sheenberg can wake up laughing in his dreams, because he doesn't need to think about how to connect with the Game of Destiny. As long as Steven Spielberg's movie has the potential to be made into a game, the fanatical fans of this video game will go to Ethan Jones themselves, and then Universal can collect the money with its eyes closed."

"Same thing with Fox. As long as they keep George Lucas on the payroll, they'll have a good relationship with the best video game developer on the planet."

"Warner is in the second tier in this whole incident. Although Atari was indeed destroyed by Ethan Jones, as long as the company, technology and patent licenses are there, they can continue to run. At most, it is just a matter of spending some money."

"The ones who are really lagging behind are actually Paramount, Columbia, MGM and us. That's why Roy took the initiative to contact Ethan Jones because he knows that this contact will only benefit him, no harm, regardless of whether the cooperation can be achieved."

“And now that he has already contacted Ethan Jones, we can’t give up this opportunity. We have to turn his cooperation with Ethan Jones into our cooperation with Ethan Jones.”

"As for how we communicate with Ethan Jones..."

At this point, Ron Miller paused.

But soon, his eyes suddenly lit up!

He looked at Twain Tatum with burning eyes and asked, "Has MCA talked to us before about obtaining the laser disc distribution rights for animated films and music records from us?"

"We only gave them the animated film part at that time, but we haven't reached an agreement on the music record yet?" "Contact Sidney Sheinberg and tell MCA that I can give them the laser disc distribution rights of the music record, but we want them to help us connect with Ethan Jones, and we want Steven Spielberg to help us get the negotiation rights for the project cooperation!"

"And in this negotiation, we can bring out all the roles!"

"Mickey Mouse! Donald Duck! Goofy! Winnie the Pooh! He can develop any one he wants!"

"Isn't everyone optimistic about video games now? Doesn't Roy want to make a comeback with video games? Sure, we can just squeeze him out in the name of group cooperation!"

"This way, we can stabilize other shareholders and also clamp down on Roy!"

"Bingo!" Dwyane Tatum snapped his fingers with a smile.

"That's the Ron I know!" He clapped.

Ron Miller also entered a fighting state. While accepting the praise, he also urged: "We can talk about other things after things are successful. We must act immediately!"

"Because I always feel..."

"Roy's contact is just the beginning."

"In addition to Warner, Paramount, MGM and Columbia may all visit Ethan Jones. No one can refuse the fact that tens of millions of dollars can be earned in two months. Compared with the box office returns, video games make money too quickly! So-"

"We have to go faster!"

With a roar, Dwayne Tatum got busy.

When he called the presidents and CEOs of MCA and Universal, several other Hollywood companies, as Ron Miller had guessed, could not resist the charm of money.

In Paramount's CEO office, Barry Diller, who officially took over the company in 1974, was knocking on the table and looking at his capable general Michael Eisner with a smile on his face.

"What do you think Ethan Jones likes?" he asked.

"If it's a science fiction work, I think Star Trek is a good choice," said Michael Eisner, who is already bald.

"Then I'll leave this to you?" Barry Diller said with a smile, "I think you are the most suitable person in the entire Paramount to contact Ethan Jones, because once the game of fate rejects us, you can continue to find him through your own connections, right?"

"Hehe - yes -"

This made Michael Eisner smile and nod. "Although I don't like the last name Eisner because it puts a lot of pressure on me, I have to admit that this last name allows me to do everything I want to do..." After sighing, he took on the task assigned by the other party, "I will go to Palo Alto in person and bring my sincerity to the Game of Destiny..."

Michael Eisner did not start from scratch, or rather, he is a top second-generation in the American upper class. His mother's family is the founder's family of the American Safety Razor Company. Since the 1870s (), they have been slaughtering in the American consumer goods market and have been competing with Geely for a century.

His grandfather was the clothing provider for the American Boy Scouts when they were first established. His grandmother's family owned a large piece of land in Monmouth County, New Jersey. His father was a full-time lawyer and department head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and participated in the drafting and revision of the American Housing Act. If this is not enough to explain his power, then a simpler sentence can summarize his energy, that is, they are the ones who manage Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

When such a powerful guy in both the political and business circles enters the entertainment industry...

If they cannot massacre, it is definitely not a problem of ability, but a problem of backing.

The office of MGM was equally busy. After receiving a call from the current boss Kirk Kerkorian, the current president Daniel Melnick immediately summoned the company's lawyer.

"Help me draft a legal document immediately. The specific content is to authorize "007" and "Tom" and "Jerry" to Destiny Games to produce video games!"

"You don't have to worry about the authorization time or the authorization amount!"

“You don’t even have to fill in the project share!”

"This is what the boss said. He heard that the Disney people went to find Ethan Jones!"

"He asked us to intervene before Disney and Destiny come to a deal!"

"We at MGM are lagging far behind in the field of video games. We can't let this continue!"

While MGM's president Daniel Melnick was driving away the company's lawyers, Columbia Pictures was also in a state of chaos. The current CEO David Beigelman held the phone and nodded continuously.

"Okay, okay, boss, I understand..."

"I'm going to Palo Alto right now..."

"Yes, yes. We don't actually have any movies in Colombia that can be made into games."

"I understand that when we are at a disadvantage, I will attack others to gain an advantage..."

“Disney?”

"Oh - it's too easy to attack them, right? Ray Kroc, the father of McDonald's, was tricked by Walt Disney and Roy Disney. Anyone who cooperates with them is a fool!"

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll leave right away..."

As the phone call was hung up, Columbia Pictures CEO David Beigelman picked up the tie from the hanger, tied it around his neck, and then strode out of the company.

When his driver drove hundreds of miles to take him from Culver City to Palo Alto, he was stopped by security as soon as he entered the campus of Stanford Research Institute.

He took out his business card and briefly introduced himself. Before he could explain why he was there, the security guard waved his hand and asked his driver to drive right.

"Go straight along this road, turn left at the end, and the second building is the Game of Destiny."

Such an introduction made David Beigelman frown slightly, and when he arrived at the office building of Destiny Game, the all-LA license plates in the parking lot made his mouth twitch.

When he got into the building...

The familiar faces on the left and right made him smile even more.

"Oh guys, what a coincidence—"

He greeted her as if nothing had happened.

His words also attracted the attention of several other people.

When they saw who it was, they all laughed.

"Oh David, you are an unlucky guy too." Michael Eisner said very familiarly.

"Huh?" David Beigelman didn't understand what he meant.

"Ethan Jones is not here." Don Tatum spread his hands and said, "We came up empty-handed."

"What?" David Beigelman was surprised.

Daniel Melnick, the president of MGM, laughed. "Who told you to contact him so urgently? Now everyone is holding back..."

That’s right! When the heads of the major Hollywood film companies were afraid that they would fall behind the times and rushed over impatiently, Ethan Jones hadn’t returned home yet!

Or in other words, he did go home, but he didn't return to the company.

He is currently in Los Gatos.

When he took off the sunglasses on his nose with his mouth slightly open...

The clear pupils suddenly contracted!

“Yi Yi Evelin…” His words trembled a little.

"You, you said... this, this, this, all of this... were bought by you?"

He asked, pointing to the endless fields in front of him.

Note: ① The "Reedy Creek Improvement Act" mentioned in the article is the core of the real-life battle between the descendants of Walt Disney and Roy Disney, and is also the reason why countless companies want to acquire Disney. Because the privilege of government autonomy is so outrageous, the fact that the debt issuance does not bear the consequences mentioned in the article is also true. When the Florida governor announced the reversal of the bill last year, the Wall Street Journal specifically reported on this matter, saying that Disney used that place to issue more than 1978 billion in debt. If they lose their autonomy, according to the law, the debt will be borne by the local government that gains power. Then the governor got scared and set up a management committee to replace the Disney board of directors. Although the law was passed, Disney's counterattack was even more powerful. It made a clause for the king of the United States who took office last year. When his last descendant dies for years, the autonomy will be returned to Florida. ② Michael Eisner is indeed a top second generation. ③ Before the Atari crash, Hollywood Studios was indeed crazy about making games. In reality, Disney directly used Mickey to make games in the early s, and Columbia Pictures acquired arcade manufacturers in the mid-s. ④The CD licensing agreement between Disney and MCA was indeed not finalized until .

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(End of this chapter)