New Age Artists

Chapter 610: Hot Hollywood

disney.

Robert Iger's office exudes restrained elegance. Looking out from the upper floors, the Los Angeles skyline appears and disappears in the sun, as if the entire city is under his feet.

Behind the dark walnut desk stands a glass wall filled with his trophies.

Models of classic Disney stories such as Snow White and The Lion King are piled up on the left and right sides. Initially, these familiar traditional story protagonists were placed in the most conspicuous positions. Later, with the acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios, "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo" replaced them.

Two years ago, it became a replica of Marvel's "Iron Man" prop helmet, and recently it was replaced by a "Star Wars" lightsaber prop.

Lucasfilm is Robert Iger's goal after acquiring Marvel. He wants to incorporate it into his own entertainment empire, strengthen the Disney IP matrix, and further expand creative space in multiple fields such as film, television, and theme parks.

Rather than being silent medals of Disney's empire expansion, these are Robert Iger's trophy showcases, symbolizing his fire and fury.

"I see."

After receiving the secretary's reminder, Robert Iger frowned and said, "Make an appointment with them. Let's have an emergency conference call first."

The secretary took the order and left.

Compared to Michael Ace, who saved Disney and achieved its revival but was later deserted by his friends and relatives and was known as the Emperor of Disney, Robert Iger is not as strong on the surface, but is more ambitious.

With the completion of several major acquisitions, his prestige within the company has grown.

Soon after, a conference call was held involving Hollywood film and television giants.

Robert Iger, CEO of Disney Group, and Alan Horn, who is responsible for the overall operation of Disney Studios;
Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Entertainment, and Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures;
Philippe Dauman, CEO of Paramount's parent company Viacom, and Brad Grey, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures;
Steve Burke, CEO of Universal Pictures parent company Comcast, and Adam Ferguson, chairman of NBCUniversal Pictures;

Warner Bros. Pictures Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer, Jeff Robinov, who oversees the film division;
Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation, the parent company of 20th Century Fox, and Jim Giannopoulos, co-chairman and CEO of the film company.

As the six giants of Hollywood media, Disney, Universal, Sony Columbia, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Paramount, the competition, cooperation and feuds between them run through the entire history of Hollywood, involving copyright disputes, market monopoly, talent poaching and streaming media wars.

The dispute between Sony and Disney over the copyright of Spider-Man is mind-boggling.

Warner has IPs such as DC and Harry Potter, and is in direct conflict with Disney, which acquired Marvel, over superhero movies.

There is a dispute between Fox and Disney over X-Men.

Universal and Paramount have copyright conflicts over Transformers and Mission: Impossible, and Universal and Disney also have copyright conflicts over The Hulk.

In addition, there are several companies whose business conditions are either good or bad, such as NBC Universal, which was acquired by Comcast in 11.

The reason why the Big Six can sit together and respond to the invitation of the hated copyright rogue CEO of Disney is that they have to sit together.

At the end of the costume blockbuster, Disney became the slowest and unlucky guy, which also gave him a legitimate reason to launch the call.

Even if you are not present in person, have your representatives attend.

No one wants to miss this meeting.

This emergency meeting was a focus meeting to deal with the rise of the Dongda film market and the threat posed by its key figure, Shen Santong, the founder of Santong Entertainment.

With his localized narrative strategy and strong negotiation skills, Shen Santong weakened Hollywood's control over the Dongda market and pushed policies toward local industries, causing them to be deeply wary.

At the same time, this kind of meeting may at any time be transformed into a discussion on the collective attitude towards the Dongda market and negotiation of interest distribution. If one misses it, one may miss out on the spoils or become the prey himself.

"Mr. Murdoch?" Robert Iger was surprised by the appearance of someone.

Rupert Murdoch said bluntly: "It was Shen Santong who forced my News Corporation to choose a strategic withdrawal and leave Dongda."

After hearing this, Robert Egger suddenly realized that this was the case. There was some personal grudge involved.

However, whether Shen Santong was present or not would not have changed the outcome of what happened back then.

As the economic influence of the University of Tokyo grows, foreign news groups will not be allowed to directly influence the internal affairs of the University of Tokyo.

As for the concessions made in order to join the WTO, they were merely a stopgap measure.

Everyone present would accuse Todai of "breaking the agreement" in front of the outside world, but privately, those who could reach their position are all realists, and there is no difference between turning their backs on someone and flipping the pages of a book.

It's not just Murdoch who has a personal vendetta, Disney does too.

Robert Iger said without further ado: "Everyone's time is precious. The Dongda film market and entertainment consumption market are bursting with infinite potential."

"A consumer market equivalent to the total middle-class population of Europe and the United States, or even several times that, is maturing and waiting to be developed."

"The problem is that a difficult person has emerged and we have more or less had dealings with him, directly or indirectly."

Next, no one at the meeting spoke empty words, but instead laid out their naked interests on the table for analysis.

No one can ignore a market of 13 billion people, a truly human market.

Without considering political factors, just the economic benefits, a rapidly growing emerging market is also an enormous benefit.

I had a great time last year, and the taste of the exaggerated growth of the Tokyo Film Market is unforgettable.

Hollywood movie box office nearly doubled.

No one can refuse.

This is performance and also an increase in annual salary.

It was also the reason why everyone present temporarily put aside their past grudges and stood together.

When facing Dongda, they always keep a bottom line for each other and try not to engage in vicious competition, especially since Shen Santong poses a great threat to them.

Previously, China Film Corporation had to rely on direct means to intervene in the market. After the rise of Shen Santong, direct intervention became indirect intervention. Taking the case to the WTO was originally their line, but now the situation has been reversed and it has become the other party's line.

Traditional methods are not effective and it is difficult to know where to start.

With the major liberalization last year, Dongda’s film policy must first look at Santong Entertainment’s annual production plan to decide to what level the quota for imported films can be relaxed, which directly affects their interests.

Robert Egger said: "Shen Santong's local narrative is more terrifying than ten Zhang Yimou and ten Li An."

In the eyes of outsiders, Li An is a American, but in their eyes, Li An is still a Southeast University student.

Although the other party is very well behaved and cooperative, skin color determines everything.

Murdoch said: "Dongda is undergoing profound changes. The root cause is economic strength, but Shen Santong has accelerated this step."

Everyone present quickly reached a consensus that Shen Santong must be dealt with.

Someone started to make a fuss: "He has a visit to Disney on his schedule, let's arrange for him to see some Disney princesses."

Robert Iger immediately said in displeasure: "Do you think Disney is a brothel?"

Murdoch was running out of energy and was a little sleepy. He didn't want to listen to their nonsense: "We have to use conventional means, but we can also use some unconventional means."

Someone denied it: "Not good, I heard he brought dozens of security guards with him."

Seeing that no one responded, Murdoch said, "What I mean by unconventional is to use his spirit of sacrifice. He is a person who insists on the local narrative and is hostile to us. Such people often have some kind of self-fulfilling heroic complex."

"We can use this in our economic negotiations with them, and let him play the role of luring the enemy or sacrificing and blocking the enemy. In order to win the negotiations, sacrifice and casualties are not considered."

"If he wants to gain certain benefits, that is, the results of the negotiation, he can be asked to sacrifice some of his personal interests."

Some people questioned: "Will he agree? Even if he agrees, how can we make it happen? The negotiations have come to an end."

Murdoch smiled: "We don't need to use bargaining chips. We can mobilize the other party's domestic forces to advocate Shen Santong's role in the negotiations, create an atmosphere of cooperation in the negotiations, and force him to be as friendly as possible."

At this point, everyone present understood - cards were created out of thin air.

If you think about it, it’s possible.

The other side has always attached great importance to international affairs, especially some people they influence.

With a little more influence, leverage that didn't exist before will now exist.

Of course, some people secretly thought that Murdoch was quite sinister.

Just now he mentioned "unconventional" means. If anyone takes the opportunity to answer, they may fall into a trap or even leave evidence behind. It's not that they haven't done dirty work before, but they can't do it openly.

Shen Santong was actually very far away from them, so they were close to each other.

To put it bluntly, if there are two buttons on the desktop, and pressing one will cause Santong Entertainment to go bankrupt, and pressing the other will cause Disney to go bankrupt, the people present will make Disney go bankrupt without hesitation.

When it comes to negotiating quotas, someone suggested: "Increasing by 14 is too few. We increased by 20 last year. It can't be less than last year, right?"

"Even if it is verbally agreed that more restrictions can be lifted, it is still empty talk if it is not implemented in documents. Even if Shen Santong is brought down, there are still others."

"We are going to continue to put more pressure on the White House to make our issues a priority."

A consensus was reached quickly.

After all, there is a layer of separation between them and Shen Santong, so they are more familiar with putting pressure on the politicians they have nurtured.

Murdoch's proposal can be turned into reality, and the empire can give up some more interests in the negotiations.

Not just for their own personal gain.

It will allow more imperial culture to enter the other side, and in the long run, it can bring benefits to the empire in a roundabout way at a lower cost.

It's also a roundabout way of being patriotic.

After Shen Santong and Han Sanping got off the plane, they split into two groups.

Han Sanping has his own schedule, while Shen Santong is a representative of a private enterprise and has a different schedule.

The agreement on the introduction of Hollywood blockbusters 12 years ago was one of the relevant agreements reached at the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade held in Los Angeles this time.

In addition to increasing the number of films, it also includes quota adjustments for split-revenue films, increasing the participation of major Japanese companies, as well as specific terms for market access and other requirements.

Shen Santong participated in negotiations on film-related matters as a representative of a private film company very early on.

In the past, the University of Tokyo agreed to increase the quota for 20 "special formats" such as IMAX and 14D films on top of the original 3 Hollywood films imported each year, bringing the annual number of American films imported to 34.

At the same time, the profit-sharing ratio was adjusted to allow American film companies to enjoy a higher box office profit-sharing ratio for the 14 new films, from the original 13% to around 25%, in order to encourage the introduction of high-quality films.

There is also strengthening of cooperation between the Chinese and American film industries, including encouraging co-production and technical exchanges. At the same time, Dongda film companies have also gained more opportunities to participate in the international market.

The market is more open in this life.

It has been confirmed that 14 films will be added, regardless of format, and all will be accepted.

The bottom line is 20 films, and it depends on what conditions the United States can offer.

Of course, compared to the previous life, Dongda has more proactive requirements in the film industry. It must distribute Santong Entertainment films fairly and justly, giving the same strength to Dongda as it does to distribute Hollywood films.

If we trace back, negotiations in the film field were a very important part of the earliest negotiations for Tokyo University to enter the WTO.

In the WTO accession negotiations, the United States and the European Union are the most difficult opponents.

The United States always acts as the "leader" of all WTO members in negotiations, asking for the highest price and conducting the most difficult negotiations.

During the negotiations, the US trade representative even said that the US's economic structure and export structure are very complete, and it is interested in more than 6000 tariff numbers of products imported and exported by Dongda, so "we must negotiate one tariff number at a time."

The demands made are totally unreasonable. Even if the United States has a strong economic power, it is impossible for it to be strong in more than 6000 commodities.

It is because it likes to form cliques, show off its power, and claim to represent others, so it can gain many benefits from it.

The United States has been saying all day that the WTO has harmed it, which is simply ridiculous. They have gained enough benefits.

In order to join the WTO, the substantive negotiations with the United States were extremely difficult. We first broke the requirement of "comprehensive negotiations" and eliminated products one by one, until only more than 4000 products were left.

Among these more than 4000 products, the United States is most interested in agriculture, banking, insurance, telecommunications, distribution, automobiles, film imports, etc., which constitute the content of the lengthy negotiations.

In other words, film imports had already been an important item in bilateral negotiations in the 1980s.

It is ranked alongside several areas with the most oil and water and the greatest lobbying power.

It is totally not what some people say, that the Dongda market is small and people look down on it.

In fact, in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, there were still various forms of exchanges and various exhibitions were held.

It’s just that in the early years, the exchanges were more about industry, and we were relatively strong-willed people. When we saw the gap, we thought, instead of kneeling, we could do it too.

After the 1980s, the humanities and social sciences were the fields that dominated the voice. When they saw the colorful world outside, they immediately thought that they could do it too and knelt down to be accepted by others. That’s why there were all kinds of strange voices.

Even so, in that era of chaotic thoughts, there were many people who insisted on national interests and adhered to principles and bottom lines.

If necessary, Shen Santong will also collaborate with Hollywood giants on a co-production.

So this time, we have already made plans to visit Hollywood giants such as Disney and Warner.

No matter how unhappy they were, they were both decent people on the surface.

Of course, when Shen Santong came to the United States, the security was tight and he had double the security.

He was not worried about assassinations, but about the shootings that occurred every day in public security.

Mainly guard against the means that are on the surface, and don't worry too much about those under the surface.

How can it be so scary?
In the cultural field, it is nothing but a side chess piece, at most icing on the cake.

The strong changes that Todai has brought to the international system are the result of the hard work of every individual.

The honor belongs to every migrant worker, every worker, every small boss, and every front-line cadre responsible for attracting investment, but it does not belong to those who only know how to talk big and talk about concepts.

Those who can't shut their mouths can never tell the truth.

Because the truth is the only thing that comes naturally when you fight the world with silence.

Shen Santong can probably be considered a person who speaks the truth, but that's all.

He has gained enough benefits and does not need to gild himself.

The United States attaches great importance to the film industry. For the country, industry always comes first. The memorandum of understanding to resolve WTO film-related issues is only a small part of the economic and trade negotiations between the two sides.

Shen Santong has no interest in Hollywood or Western culture, and does not have too many expectations for Hollywood.

2 month 12 day.

Shen Santong arrived at Disney headquarters.

Robert Iger came to greet him personally. Seeing this smiling tiger, Shen Santong said, "I'm just strolling around. You came here in person. I want to apologize. We had a little friction back then."

"Haha, Shen, you are a distinguished guest of Disney." Robert Iger did not neglect at all.

Putting aside their respective positions, Shen Santong, as a self-made CEO who founded a multi-billion dollar media company, has leveraged enormous resources and deserves respect.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Anne Hathaway, our Disney princess and queen." Robert Iger introduced: "She admires your legendary experience very much."

Anne Hathaway is almost 30 years old. At this age, female stars from the East University are still at their peak, but for white women, their prime has passed.

Anne Hathaway is still at the end of her flowering period. She is wearing high heels, just like a rose in the dark night. The hem of her cashmere windbreaker sweeps across her honey-colored skin, and her collarbone is faintly visible at the collar of her satin shirt, like a carefully designed visual trap.

The scattered hair behind the swan's neck rises and falls with her breathing, and the black lace shoulder straps inside are faintly visible, sliding half an inch out from the wide collar of the trench coat. Every cell in her body is interpreting what dangerous elegance is.

Shen Santong shook hands with Anne Hathaway and felt the enthusiasm of Hollywood.

The dark red nails scratched the edge of the palm, and she lowered her head. The amber high heels outlined a perfect curve.

Anne Hathaway's golden brown curly hair fell on her shoulders. Her brown eyes aroused three parts of curiosity and seven parts of teasing. Her voice was lazy: "Welcome to Hollywood."

Just sugar-coated bullets, right?
He will definitely stand the test!

(End of this chapter)