Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 524 The Battle Between Studios and Television Stations

The disaster blockbuster "Armageddon" by Dawn Global is showing in theaters and has received a lot of positive reviews, but it has also received a lot of negative reviews.
The fact that there are more than 200 product placements in the movie has drawn criticism from many film critics, who think it's like a TV commercial strung together with advertisements!

In late July, Aaron returned to Los Angeles and happened to catch the premiere of DreamWorks and Paramount's war epic "Saving Private Ryan".
This World War II epic, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, has been highly anticipated since filming began.

Saving Private Ryan grossed $3000 million in its opening weekend and received a lot of positive reviews!
The media generally gave high praise to the Normandy landings scene recreated in the film. Premiere, Empire, Rolling Stone and other publications all believed that this part was extremely impactful.
Publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, The Chicago Herald, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker have given high praise to director Steven Spielberg's directing style and his handling of the World War II subject.

At a cocktail party at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Aaron and Disney executive Michael Eisner enjoyed a piano performance together in the lobby!

"Saving Private Ryan is a really good movie, isn't it?"

Michael Eisner chuckled. "Aaron, there have been quite a few negative reviews too. The Associated Press criticized the film for its vague character development, and the Washington Post criticized its overly didactic ideological tone."

"The Wall Street Journal also said that only a small portion of the film is exciting, and most of the rest is just blood and gore!"

Aaron took a sip of his drink. It seemed that Michael Eisner's hostility towards DreamWorks was still as strong as ever.

Previously, when DreamWorks was founded, it signed a 7-year, $2 million television production agreement with Metropolitan/ABC Television Group.
However, after Disney acquired Metropolitan/ABC, it quickly ended its partnership with DreamWorks Television.

It's worth noting that the sitcom "Little Men in Politics," which premiered on ABC in 1996, was one of ABC's highest-rated shows in the past two years, and it was produced by DreamWorks Television.

Unfortunately, Disney cleanly and decisively canceled its further cooperation with DreamWorks Television, which was a significant blow to DreamWorks' television business.

Aaron took a sip of his drink. "Disney's animated feature film 'Mulan' is very good. It's adapted from a Chinese folk tale and is very creative!"

Michael Eisner glanced at Aaron and said, “Universal is pretty good too. In the second half of the year, not only will Pixar’s ‘A Bug’s Life’ be released, but there are also two DreamWorks animated feature films.”

Aaron shook his head. "We only handle the overseas distribution of DreamWorks' 'Antz' and 'The Prince of Egypt,' but Disney has been quite active this year!"

First, Disney's brand experience has been extended to the sea, launching the Disney Cruise line and providing tourists with a brand new way to vacation;

The "Disney Magic" cruise ship is making its maiden voyage and can carry 2700 passengers on routes that include the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the Mediterranean.

In addition, Michael Eisner not only pioneered the Disney Cruise line, but also spearheaded the global expansion of Disney Stores, aiming to open new Disney Stores in more cities and upgrade and renovate existing ones.
Disney stores are an important retail channel for the Disney brand. By selling Disney merchandise, Disney can further promote its brand image and increase its commercial value.

In Aaron's view, Disney's chain stores and Disneyland have built Disney's absolute dominance in the consumer market!
Of course, Disney's biggest move this year was the acquisition of Fox Home Entertainment Channel.

Michael Eisner sighed, "I'm increasingly worried about Dawn's pace of development, the expansion of Universal Studios Orlando, and the construction of Universal Studios Osaka overseas."

"Not to mention your dominance in the film market, Dawn's expansion in the television field is also alarming!" AMC cable television network has added several channels and started cooperation with the BBC in the UK, ARD in Germany, and ARD in France, clearly showing its pace of expansion into Europe.

In addition to its previous expansion into Latin America, including Canada and Mexico, AMC has been rapidly expanding its presence in the cable television sector since Dawn made AMC a wholly-owned subsidiary.

"In the cable television industry, we all have to learn from Time Warner!"

Aaron smiled. Not only did they have Time Warner Cable as their supplier, but their cable television network was also the envy of many.

HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT, TCI, and WB, as well as Warner Bros. Television, the world's largest television production company.

For Time Warner, cable television revenue accounts for more than 60% of the group's total revenue, with the remainder coming from film and music, magazine publishing, consumer products, games, and other businesses!
As he watched Michael Eisner leave, Aaron thought to himself that Disney was still indulging in the glorious past of 2D hand-drawn animation.

Meanwhile, Pixar, the company behind Pixar, will release "A Bug's Life" this year and its sequel "Toy Story 2" next year.

After the peak of Disney's animation with "The Lion King", it has clearly begun to decline!
A short while later, Tom Rothman, co-president of Universal, came to Aaron's side.

Aaron asked, "Disney, haven't you made any plans to appoint a new president yet?"

Currently, Michael Eisner is still the CEO and president of Disney!

Tom Rothman shook his head. "Disney needs Michael Eisner's approval to appoint a new president, which will likely face considerable difficulties."

In the spring, Disney appointed Lloyd Brown as the new president of Buena Vista Television, to be led by Joe Ross, chairman of Disney Studios.

"However, I received information that Jamie Tuthers, the programming director ABC poached from NBC two years ago, had a very poor attitude towards Lloyd Brown;"

"ABC is suppressing Buena Vista Television's productions."

Aaron thought for a moment, "If I'm not mistaken, Lloyd Brown was definitely introduced by Joe Ross, right?"

Tom Rothman nodded. "That's right, it was Joe Roth who first persuaded him."

Aaron laughed. Disney is really in a mess right now!
Joe Roth is the chairman of Disney Studios, responsible for the film and entertainment of the Disney Group, and has always been a strong contender for the presidency of Disney.
Robert Iger, chairman of ABC, is also a contender for the presidency of Disney, and Jamie Tuthers is one of Robert Iger's key lieutenants.

Clearly, this is a power struggle between Disney's studio and ABC. It seems that the marriage between Disney and ABC is not going smoothly at the moment!

(End of this chapter)