Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 338 Decomposition and Integration

Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Angels Theater.

Jack Wells leaned back in his chair, exhaling smoke rings, and looked at Aaron on the sofa beside him. "Have those protesters been dealt with?"

"Otherwise, it's just layoffs, what's the big deal?"

Aaron wouldn't worry about any of that; protests and demonstrations were minor matters.

"By the way, Michael Jordan has been back with the Bulls for half a month now. The NBA's viewership should have increased significantly, right?"

Jack Wells nodded. "Of course, the effect is quite noticeable; it's just that the Rockets' performance this season has been mediocre."

"The Rockets' winning percentage is about the same as the Bulls' in the East."

Currently, the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz dominate the Western Conference, while the Orlando Magic, who are first in the East, would only rank fourth or fifth in the West!

Aaron stood up and stretched. "As long as we make the playoffs, that's all that matters. The Dawn Center in Houston is almost finished, right?"

"Yes, the second half of the season officially begins, and the Rockets will be able to move to the new arena next season!"

Jack Wells said, looking at Aaron, "I heard you're worried about Universal Studios Japan in Osaka?"

There are now only two Universal Studios locations: Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Orlando, Florida.

"Yes, Panasonic wasn't interested in building Universal Studios in Osaka before."

"However, I think it's possible. Building a Universal Studios in Osaka could absolutely compete with Tokyo Disneyland!"

Of course, Aaron still needs to reclaim the other half of Universal Orlando's shares, which are currently held by the British company, Rank Films.

With the release of Dawn Pixar's first 3D computer-animated feature film, "Toy Story," it opened in 2457 theaters in North America, grossing $2914 million in its opening weekend.
Toy Story was a critical and commercial success upon its release. As the world's first 3D animated film, it caused a sensation with its innovative technology and unique character designs.

The Chicago Sun-Times: "It draws on the best of cartoons and reality to create a world somewhere in between."

The New York Times: "This Toy Story is suitable for all ages. Children will enjoy the novel experience of the toys coming to life, while adults will be amazed by the humorous script and the anthropomorphic characters."

The Washington Post: "While Toy Story is widely praised for its 3D animation, it is in no way inferior in terms of plot, character development, and excellent pacing!"

Burbank, Disney headquarters, Michael Eisner arrives at Disney Animation and meets with Roy Disney and Peter Schneider.

“What do you think? Pixar’s Toy Story has been a huge hit,” Michael Eisner said, already regretting not taking it seriously earlier.

Roy Disney waved his hand, "Animation should stay traditional, hand-drawn, not computer-generated; otherwise, it lacks soul."

"The success of The Lion King is proof enough. Our Pocahontas will be released this summer. Disney's animation is the real thing!"

Michael Eisner frowned. "Don't underestimate Aaron Anderson. With the acquisition of MCA Universal, Dawn has everything it needs."

"Furthermore, Dawn is preparing for its IPO, and nobody knows what big moves Aaron Anderson will make next."

"But I'm sure he'll definitely increase his investment in Universal Studios. Pixar's animated films, combined with Dawn's live-action films, provide Universal Studios with a considerable amount of material."

Peter Schneider chimed in, "Jeffrey Katzenberg has been in contact with quite a few animators at DreamWorks SKG; Although Jeffrey Katzenberg didn't have a good reputation within Disney, DreamWorks SKG is offering him significantly higher salaries than we are."

“If this continues, I feel that a large number of animators will leave Disney and join DreamWorks.”

While Jeffrey Katzenberg may not have been adept at interpersonal relationships, the phenomenal success of Disney animated films during his leadership of Disney's production business was undeniably due to his influence.
With DreamWorks SKG now having secured investments from South Korea's CJ Group and Paul Allen, they're not short of money at all. Jeffrey Katzenberg is poaching his former subordinates, showing his generosity.

Michael Eisner thought for a moment, "I will leave this matter to the new president of Disney!"

Who is Disney's new president? It's Michael Ovitz, of course.

When Edgar Bronfman Jr. of Scragren made a high-profile move to acquire MCA, most newspapers believed that Michael Ovitz was the designated manager.

But now Dawn has the last laugh, while the Seagram Group and Edgar Bronfman Jr. remain silent, and it seems there are no more obstacles for Michael Ovitz to join Disney!
Michael Eisner doesn't have time to deal with these internal Disney matters right now; he's busy acquiring Metropolitan/ABC Television Group.

Meanwhile, in the headquarters office of Fox Entertainment in the Century Square building in Century City, Rupert Murdoch and Fox Entertainment CEO Peter Chernin sat facing each other.

"He's really young and promising!"

Rupert Murdoch put down the newspaper. Dawn Group's valuation had already surpassed News Corporation's. Once Dawn Group went public, its market capitalization would make it the world's fourth-largest entertainment group.

"By the way, Carlock filed for bankruptcy protection, so James Cameron's Terminator 3 shouldn't be canceled, right?"

Rupert Murdoch has been busy with the development of Fox Broadcasting Networks recently, such as the creation of the Fox News cable network and the Fox Sports cable network;

He had paid less attention to 20th Century Fox, the film division of Fox Entertainment, but now that Dawn had acquired Universal, he felt the pressure.

Peter Chernin said somewhat helplessly, "James mentioned it to us, but Carlock's current asking price is too high."

"Bill McNichols meant that we should wait until Carlock officially goes bankrupt before we negotiate directly with the banks to acquire Carlock's copyright assets."

Bill McNick is currently the president of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation!

After all, James Cameron is preparing a blockbuster about the story of "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic";

Twentieth Century Fox provided over $1.2 million in funding for the film, so Terminator 3 would definitely have to wait.

Rupert Murdoch nodded. "Universal's *Waterworld* is seriously over budget, and we must be careful to control the budget for James Cameron's new film, *Titanic*, which we're investing in."

"Could this be the reason behind Aaron Anderson's ruthless suspension of most of Universal's projects?"

“Understood,” Peter Chernin knew, of course, that Aaron had halted almost all of Universal Pictures’ major projects and was reviewing them again.

This was clearly a sign of Aaron's distrust of the top management at Universal Pictures. Sidney Heinberg and Tom Pollock left, and Lou Wasserman was marginalized to manage MCA Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.

The split and restructuring of the MCA Group will essentially involve a major overhaul and massive layoffs at Sugon.

The key focus is Universal's film and television division!

(End of this chapter)