Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 369: I already regret it.

With Dawn Group's IPO imminent, Aaron Anderson, who had returned to Los Angeles, was enjoying immense prestige.
The lack of foundation and international distribution channels that Dawn lacked were replenished after the acquisition of Universal.

In particular, Aaron withdrew from United International Pictures (UIP), a joint venture with Paramount, immediately after acquiring Universal Pictures, and founded Dawn Universal International.

At the same time, we will focus on developing Universal Studios and prioritize the consumer products marketing department going forward.

Michael Eisner, who had just returned from Anaheim City Council, looked rather grim at Disneyland Anaheim.

The Anaheim Angels, an MLB team owned by Disney, suffered a major collapse this year, and their home stadium, Angels Stadium, was already overburdened due to years of disrepair and damage from last year's Los Angeles earthquake.

The idea of ​​the Anaheim city government funding the renovation of the stadium has been shelved again, and the NFL team Los Angeles Rams, which also used Angels Stadium as their home stadium, moved to St. Louis this year!
Michael Eisner was surrounded by a crowd during his inspection of Disneyland Anaheim, and he paid close attention to everything about the park.

Michael Eisner's reforms to Disneyland played a crucial role in Disney's rapid rise from a market capitalization of $20 billion to over $300 billion today.

“Mr. Eisner, Ovitz wants Hollywood Records to sign Janet Jackson to a record deal.”

Assistant Igor suddenly spoke up, "Sign Janet Jackson's contract for six to seven records for $75 million;"

Previously, Mr. Michael Ovitz was in charge of the Jackson family's management contracts, but this year Michael Jackson switched to UTA.

"But Mr. Ovitz was confident he could persuade Janet Jackson to sign with a Hollywood record company."

Hollywood Records is a record label owned by Disney, and its new president, Michael Ovitz, is currently in charge of Disney's record and publishing business.

This is clearly Michael Ovitz's attempt to expand his Hollywood record label.

Michael Eisner frowned. "When did Disney suddenly become so reliant on external contracts?"

"We trained ourselves!"

Michael Eisner was clearly unhappy. Michael Ovitz had only been with Disney for a few months, but various problems had already emerged, such as being late for meetings, leaving early, and abusing entertainment expenses.

Some time ago, Michael Ovitz led a group of directors, actors, agents, singers and writers to visit the Disney studio, hoping that Disney could sign them and develop their films.

However, none of these proposals received the approval of Joe Roth, the chairman of Disney's film division, which caused great complaints from Roth!
“Tell Ovitz to do his job first,” Michael Eisner regretted not long after Ovitz joined the company.
He needs a compliant CEO like Frank Wells, not an ambitious one.

Igor sensed Michael Eisner's displeasure in his tone and quickly changed the subject, "Does ABC need Mr. Ovitz's involvement?"

Michael Eisner shook his head immediately. "He has specific work to do!"

"By the way, I heard Universal Studios has a lot of new projects coming up, right?"

Michael Eisner suddenly asked his assistant, Igor.

"Universal Studios, indeed, Mr. Anderson launched the Universal Studios Japan project in Osaka;"

"At the same time, expansion plans for Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Orlando are also in the works. Dawn's IPO is mainly for financing the expansion of Universal Studios!" Recently, there has been no shortage of talk about Universal Studios.

Michael Eisner raised an eyebrow. "It seems Pixar's Toy Story gave Aaron tremendous confidence."

"The first Universal Studios overseas was also located in Japan!"

Igor nodded. "Aaron personally went to Japan to participate in the negotiations; the investment in Universal Studios Japan in Osaka will be no less than 150 billion yen."

"Dawn's determination towards Universal Studios Japan in Osaka is truly remarkable!"

Michael Eisner simply smiled and said, "Running a theme park is not like making movies. Disney, after half a century of development, owns a series of popular characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Winnie the Pooh."

"Universal Studios is primarily a film entertainment venue; how can it compare to these globally renowned animated character IPs?"

Most importantly, movie theme parks are a business with high investment and slow returns. Dawn's style of investing heavily will inevitably deplete its cash flow quickly.
In a sense, Michael Eisner would love to see the light at the end of the tunnel and invest in Universal Studios.

Igor agreed, "Yes, since Viacom acquired Paramount, it has also acquired the operating rights to several theme parks in North America."

Unfortunately, these theme parks, built during the boom period of new theme parks that emerged in the 1980s, have consistently operated at a loss.

"Entering the theme park market as a newcomer is not an easy task!"

Not to mention Universal Studios, Paramount and Warner Bros. also operate theme parks at home and abroad, but they certainly can't compare to Disneyland and Universal Studios in terms of scale and business.

"However, we still cannot underestimate Aaron Anderson;"

"Universal Studios is the only film-themed park in the world that can rival Disneyland, especially Universal Studios Hollywood, which is a city icon of Los Angeles!"

To be valued by Michael Eisner, Universal Studios Hollywood must have a lot of visitors, considering that Universal Studios Orlando only opened in 1990.

"Dawn launched the Universal Studios Japan project in Osaka simply to compete with Tokyo Disneyland."

The Kanto and Kansai regions of Japan have always been the most important economic areas in Japan!

Igor chuckled, "At Universal Studios, the most popular attractions are still Spielberg's films."

"Now that Spielberg has built DreamWorks, it's a huge loss for Universal Studios."

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Experience and Jurassic Park are top attractions at Universal Studios. The formation of DreamWorks SKG is not only a major rival to Disney, but also a source of great hope!
Jeffrey Katzenberg's ambition to develop DreamWorks Animation will give Disney a headache, but it will also be a competitor to the young Pixar.

Michael Eisner has always held a grudge against DreamWorks; Jeffrey Katzenberg's departure is unforgivable!
Perhaps I should make time to meet with Aaron Anderson; after all, Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks is a common enemy of both companies.

After the success of Toy Story this year, DreamWorks' poaching targets are no longer limited to Disney animators; Pixar is also a victim.

Jeffrey Katzenberg's move forced both companies to raise salaries, directly causing economic losses to both sides!
(End of this chapter)