Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 453 Statement

Robert Iger hung up the phone and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Will he come?"

Tilda Swinton asked with some anticipation.

"Tilda, I'd like to know, to what extent are you capable of doing this?"

Robert Iger didn't answer Tilda Swinton's question; instead, he turned to her and asked.

Tilda Swinton considered for a moment before saying, "Mr. Iger, you should know that the jury president can't decide too many things, especially the Golden Bear... I can only say that I will try my best to communicate with the president of the Berlin Film Festival..."

Robert Iger frowned. As the CEO of Disney, he was well aware that while the three major European awards seemed fair and the seven-member jury seemed to decide the winners, that was just for show.

There is often a power struggle between the jury and the film festival officials.

To put it simply, if the jury president and judges are influential enough, the film festival organizers will definitely give them more decision-making power in order to invite them.

However, if the judging panel lacks sufficiently authoritative figures, its power will be limited to a certain scope, and it may even be unable to decide on slightly larger awards.

However, no matter who chairs the jury, the three highest awards of the three major European awards are not something the jury can easily decide.

“Tilda, what I want is a specific answer about what you can do, not a vague and uncertain one.”

Robert Iger said.

He was somewhat dissatisfied with Tilda Swinton's statement.

If you can't do anything, why the hell did I even ask you to come here?

Why were you allowed to step into this office? Don't you know the answer?
Just last month, on the 6th, Disney released its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2008.

The global financial crisis had a significant impact on Disney, with various businesses, including consumer products, theme parks, and television advertising, suffering varying degrees of damage. Net income fell by 14% in the fourth quarter.

Disney’s revenue primarily comes from four business segments: media networks, theme parks and resorts, film and television entertainment, and consumer products.

Operating profit for media networks was flat compared to the same period last year, while operating profit for theme parks and resorts fell by 4%, and operating profit for film and entertainment fell by 42%.

Only the consumer products division saw operating profit growth, reaching $1.76 million, a 14% increase year-over-year.

What worries Robert Iger is that, according to existing models, the company's performance is expected to decline even more significantly next year.

Unfortunately, the financial crisis led to an overall contraction in the advertising market, and Disney's television advertising revenue decreased significantly.

During the financial crisis, consumers reduced non-essential spending, leading to a sharp decline in visitor numbers and revenue at Disney's six global theme parks.

Almost all of Disney's live-action films produced in 08, except for High School Musical 3, were flops.

Especially highly anticipated is "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," a sequel to the first film, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which grossed over $7 million worldwide.

So Disney invested $2.25 million in the production of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" in order to replicate the success of "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Robert Iger isn't asking for more than $10 billion in global box office revenue; he just wants it to surpass the first film's box office.

Theoretically speaking, Robert Iger's demands are not high at all.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: New Horizons" is a reboot film. The first one flopped, and this one only had a budget of $1.6 million. Cao Yang still managed to make it a global box office hit of $10.7 billion.

With a budget of $2.25 million, and the first film being a global blockbuster, how could a sequel "easily" surpass the first film?
Director Andrew Adamson is no nobody; he directed the phenomenal animated film Shrek and also the first blockbuster, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

But as it turned out, not every director is Cao Yang. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian only grossed a meager $4 million worldwide, far below expectations.

Disney's stock price also plummeted.

In September, when the financial crisis broke out, Disney's stock price reached a high of 16.89 that month, but by December, it had even fallen to a low of 6.10, which put Disney's top management in a very passive position.

Robert Iger's analysis concluded that among the four business categories—media networks, theme parks and resorts, film and television entertainment, and consumer products—the film and television entertainment segment is the easiest to grow.

Because Disney also has the hugely popular film project, "Pirates of the Caribbean."

In particular, Cao Yang's "The Dark Knight" was a huge hit during this summer's box office, grossing $12.3 billion worldwide.

With Cao Yang's "Joker" still showing in theaters, based on the current box office trend, it will definitely surpass $6 million in North America, and its global box office could even reach $15 billion.

Robert Iger firmly believes that as soon as the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean," a collaboration with Cao Yang, is announced, Disney's stock price will definitely rise.

Regardless of how well the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean" performs at the box office, the mere announcement of this news leaves a great deal of room for maneuver.

But there's a crucial question here: how can we win over Cao Yang?

Before Cao Yang collaborated with Warner Bros., Robert Iger was confident that Cao Yang would return to Disney's "embrace." After all, the box office success of "Pirates of the Caribbean" speaks for itself, and no director would give up on making a sequel to such a hit movie.

After the release of "The Dark Knight" and "Joker," Robert Iger lost all his confidence.

Can't there be a sequel to Batman?
Can't there be a sequel to Joker?
He had heard that Warner Bros. CEO Barry Mayer was also lobbying Cao Yang to continue their collaboration.

Moreover, Cao Yang also owns the copyrights to so many novels, several of which are highly sought-after for film adaptation.

Cao Yang doesn't necessarily have to collaborate with Disney on "Pirates of the Caribbean"; he has many options.

Especially after he tried to contact Depp, Depp directly asked: "The sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean? What's that?"
Then she hung up his phone without hesitation.

It was at that moment that Robert Iger truly realized that Pirates of the Caribbean could not exist without Cao Yang, Disney could not exist without Cao Yang, and he, Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney, could not exist without Cao Yang either.

It seems exaggerated, but if they want to continue filming the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean," Cao Yang is indispensable.

This is why Robert Iger kept calling Cao Yang after he learned that Cao Yang had come to the United States.

This is why Robert Iger immediately sought out Tilda Swinton after she was invited to be the president of the jury at the Berlin Film Festival.

Disney desperately needs a shot in the arm right now, and the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean is the perfect one.

According to Robert Iger, the best way to get Cao Yang to prioritize working with Disney on the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean" is to help him win the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

To be honest, if it were an Oscar, Robert Iger would have plenty of ways to work it out, but the three major European clubs, especially Berlin... are really difficult to manage.

Germans are known for being stubborn and methodical, sometimes even inflexible, which can be quite a headache.

"Mr. Iger, to be honest, Berlin gave me some good authority to decide one of the four major awards: the Jury Prize, Best Director, or Best Actor and Actress."

As for the Golden Bear, frankly, I can only offer some suggestions at most.

Tilda Swinton decided to tell the truth.

Dieter Kosslick, the head of the Berlin Film Festival, gave her the power to decide on one major award. Don't think that having only one major award to decide is a small amount of power; it is actually quite remarkable.

Just imagine, at the Berlin Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious arts and culture events, she can decide one of the four major awards—the Grand Jury Prize, Best Director, or Best Actor and Actress—with a single word.

In other words, she can make a director or actor famous overnight, or even turn a nobody into a world-renowned director or actor. It's no exaggeration to say that she controls other people's destinies.

Isn't this level of access sufficient?
At least Tilda Swinton believes that Berlin has given her a great deal of authority, so she no longer has to argue and fight like some judges do in internal meetings over their favorite films or actors.

"Tilda, you know, if you can help Cao Yang get the Golden Bear, he will definitely not treat you badly. The whole world knows that he is best at promoting actresses and creating hit shows."

"Don't you want to be the lead actress in a blockbuster movie? Don't you want to win an Oscar for Best Actress? Don't you want to be Disney's first choice for a live-action movie?" Robert Iger coaxed.

miss you!
I fucking want it so badly!

Which actor in Hollywood, or even the world, wouldn't want to be Cao Yang's go-to actor? Like Johnny Depp, who went from an arthouse actor to a global superstar overnight.

Tilda Swinton also wants to become the next "Depp"!

She also wants to join the 20 million club like Julia Roberts or Angelina Jolie and become a global superstar.

Even if we take a step back, it would be great to have the same status as Charlize Theron or Nicole Kidman.

“Mr. Egger, I will do my best.”

Tilda Swinton is determined to go to Europe tomorrow and try to mobilize all her old connections, hoping to have a positive effect.

Robert Iger glanced at his watch and said to Tilda Swinton, "It's about time. Let's go pick up Director Cao Yang."

Tilda Swinton stood up somewhat awkwardly, her opinion of Cao Yang rising to a new level—there are probably only two or three people in all of Hollywood who would have the CEO of Disney personally pick them up.

To Cao Yang's surprise, after meeting Robert Iger and Tilda Swinton, Robert Iger did not make any requests, and did not even mention the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean".

After meeting, they talked about the Berlin Film Festival. He also mentioned that he would be going to Germany in January and hinted that he would find a way to silence certain people or forces in other European countries and prevent them from putting pressure on Berlin.

Tilda Swinton, on the other hand, patted her chest... well, although there's no such thing, she still firmly stated that she would definitely work with some people to make Cao Yang's film the sole candidate for the Golden Bear.

Cao Yang's heart tightened upon hearing this.

Robert Iger's approach is actually commendable.

At the national level, it is estimated that the pressure was blocked by the German government.

If Robert Iger were to genuinely intervene, Disney's influence could likely mitigate a significant portion of the influence of certain "stubborn" white male supremacists in Europe and America.

This significantly reduced the pressure on Berlin.

But Tilda Swinton's words, as the newly appointed president of the Berlin Film Festival jury, were somewhat out of place.

Many Germans are stubborn, the kind who are both obstinate and inflexible.

Cao Yang can put pressure on Dieter Kosslick, the head of the Berlin Film Festival, given Cao Yang's status and influence, and the fact that he can have an equal dialogue with Kosslick.

Even if Cao Yang puts pressure on him, Dieter Koslick will only seriously consider the gains and losses, rather than feel "insulted".

But Tilda Swinton is different. First of all, she is the chair of the jury elected by Berlin. If she becomes uncontrollable and betrays Berlin, what if others follow suit?
Frankly speaking, the Berlin Film Festival appointed her as the jury president mainly because she had previously won the Best Actress award at Venice, and now that she's working in Hollywood, more people know her, which could bring more attention to the Berlin Film Festival.

But this does not mean that Tilda Swinton has the ability to compete with Berlin or that she can be on the same level as Dieter Kosslick.

Even though she's a second-tier Hollywood actress who has won the Venice Film Festival Best Actress award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, she's still far behind Dieter Koslick in the film industry.

Cao Yang was genuinely afraid that if Tilda Swinton put pressure on Berlin, it would backfire.

Or rather, Berlin, for the sake of the future, for authority, and for face, is determined to render Tilda Swinton's threat meaningless.

Cao Yang had initially thought that Tilda Swinton wasn't needed for anything, but then he realized she was still somewhat useful.

Tilda Swinton debuted in 86, spent more than a decade in the European arts and culture scene, and even won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival in 91.

Since she's a Venice Film Festival Best Actress winner, she must be involved in the most elite circles in Europe and have a lot of connections.

Letting her do the same thing as Robert Iger in Europe is actually a very good choice.

In the European arts and culture scene, relationships are incredibly complex, and nobody knows who has close relationships with whom. A Berlin Film Festival jury president with the title of Venice Best Actress can still accomplish quite a bit.

Well, the three of them got along quite well.

Disney CEO Robert Iger did not discuss the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean" until he sent Cao Yang back.

The day before Cao Yang was to return to China, Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff came to see him.

Cao Yang thought it was about "Joker", but it turned out not to be.

“My dear director, congratulations on your film ‘Like Father, Like Son’ being selected for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival. This is something to celebrate.”

Cao Yang was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"Has Berlin announced its shortlist of films?"

"Yes, they just announced the first batch of selected candidates. I thought I was seeing things, but after checking carefully, I found it was true."

Jeff Robinov laughed and said, "Damn, I know you're just one Golden Bear away from a Grand Slam in Berlin, but some stubborn guys living in the past are trying to stop it from happening. Their behavior is disgusting."

Then, he looked at Cao Yang and said seriously, "Cao, don't worry, Warner will never let them succeed, and neither will I."

"I will, on behalf of Warner and personally, resolutely prevent those forces and individuals from putting pressure on Berlin; leave these off-field factors to me."

Coincidentally, right after Jeff Robinoff left, Cao Yang received another call from Amy Pascal, president of Columbia Pictures.

When Cao Yang first came to Hollywood, all of his films, including "The Dirty Milk," "District 9," and "Inception," were collaborations with Columbia Pictures.

However, the person directly in contact with Cao Yang at that time was Tom Rothman, the then executive director of Columbia.

Now that Tom Rothman has been promoted to Sony's global vice president, Cao Yang didn't expect that Amy Pascal, president of Columbia Pictures, with whom he hadn't had much contact, would call him.

Amy Pascal chatted and laughed with Cao Yang on the phone, as if they were very familiar with each other.

Just before hanging up, she got to the point.

She said she despised white supremacists the most, and after learning that Colombia's most important partner was aiming for the Berlin Golden Bear, she decided to stop those who were putting pressure on Berlin...

Okay, another one added.

It's likely that Eminem Pascal has also seen the list of the first batch of participants selected for the main competition announced by Berlin.

Releasing two films a year, or three billion-dollar movies if you include "Pirates of the Caribbean," makes Cao Yang the most desirable partner in the eyes of these major Hollywood studios, and most likely the number one.

Hollywood has mastered the art of interpersonal relationships and social interactions.

Just as Cao Yang had predicted, Tom Rothman called shortly after he hung up on Amy Pascal.

Cao Yang and Tom Rothman have a good relationship. Rothman's promotion to Sony's global vice president is inseparable from the "achievements" he made in several films in collaboration with Cao Yang.

He told Cao Yang not to worry about Amy Pascal not helping, as he and Amy Pascal were currently allies, and Colombia also wanted to cooperate with Cao Yang; helping Cao Yang was just a side thing.

Okay, so one, two, three of the six major Hollywood film studios have already made statements. Will these people really get things done?
Or is it just talk?

Cao Yang wasn't actually sure either.

However, when the profits are large enough, perhaps anything is possible.

(End of this chapter)