In any place, government departments or the board of directors of large companies, there would always be power struggles. This was the best aphrodisiac, and everyone wanted to have a taste of the sweetness it brought. How could Disneyland be an exception?
Yes, Michael Eisner was a powerful man, and the board of directors of Disneyland had almost become his word. In fact, in a parallel timeline, he had been in power for nearly ten years. The members of the board of directors were either the company's top executives or his subordinates. Eisner could almost do whatever he wanted.
Although such a powerful person would never have a good ending, and Eisner was eventually kicked out of power by the board of directors, it was undeniable that he was still a legendary figure. If he had successfully acquired ABC, the board of directors of Disneyland would still have been his word in two or three years. Unfortunately, there was now Adriaan.
Disneyland was not a monolithic organization, and many people were quite critical of the acquisition of ABC. After all, ABC had been losing money for too long, and it was likely to become a huge burden for Disneyland. Not everyone had a forward-looking vision. Besides, on a parallel timeline, ABC had indeed lost money for ten years before it started to become profitable. Therefore, it was not difficult for Claude to contact the people who wanted to replace Eisner, such as Jeffrey Craven.
Craven was considered one of the more senior directors of Disneyland. He had been a member of the board before Eisner. Seeing Eisner gradually increase his power and kick his friend out of the board, it was inevitable that he would feel sad. In addition, he had feelings for Disneyland's animation, and was dissatisfied with Eisner's strategy in this area. Furthermore, he opposed the acquisition of ABC, so it could be said that he hit it off with Claude. The only problem was whether Claude would provide him with this opportunity.
Therefore, when Pixar became famous with Toy Story, there was a lot of discussion within Disneyland. Most people knew that the head of the animation department, Cox, had tried to persuade Eisner not to give up Pixar, but Eisner did not take it to heart. Therefore, when Craven realized that the opportunity had come, he immediately started to make things difficult for the people he had contacted.
Unfortunately, Eisner was Eisner after all. He had been in this position for seven or eight years, and his control over Disneyland had reached a certain level. Even if there was a butterfly like Adriaan, if he had not interacted with him, Eisner would undoubtedly have completely controlled Disneyland. Therefore, how could Craven be his opponent?
After the meeting, Eisner swiftly and decisively reorganized the internal department, declaring his authority without hesitation. Craven was caught unprepared, and the people he had previously contacted quickly fell apart under Eisner's methods. Some defected, some resigned, and in the end, he was chased out of the board of directors.
For a time, everyone in Disneyland was in a state of panic, and there was an uneasy atmosphere everywhere. Many economic commentators also criticized Eisner's tough stance, saying that it did not help stabilize the situation.
"No matter what, Michael Eisner has indeed made a mistake in his decision-making, and Jeffrey Craven's request was not excessive, but not only did Michael not give a corresponding answer, he even kicked him out of the board. Although he has stabilized his position, it has also brought about a considerable negative impact," an article in the Wall Street Journal said.
Therefore, Eisner immediately began to pacify the situation. Although he had been in power for a long time, and his style was tough, the results were there for all to see. In addition, he had the help of many of his trusted aides. He also announced to the public that this was a very ordinary arrangement, and also expressed to the animation department that he would not reduce their support, so it did not take long for the internal situation to stabilize.
It seemed that it did not achieve the effect that Adriaan and the others had expected, but in many matters, even if it was just a moment of hesitation and confusion, it was enough for the other party to turn the situation around.
"Alright, you won again. Although I believed that you would succeed, since your foresight has always been very sharp, I did not think that you would succeed to this extent." Claude's cheerful voice came from the other side of the phone, and he seemed very happy.
"So, are you planning to worship me?" Adriaan said jokingly, and then sighed. "But I also did not expect Craven to lose so quickly and so thoroughly. If only he could hold on for a little longer."
"It's okay, we already got what we wanted," Claude said indifferently.
Using the opportunity of Eisner dealing with the internal chaos in Disneyland, Claude quickly reversed the situation of the negotiations with ABC. Look at Eisner. Although he is very resourceful and capable, he still has many enemies, and he may not necessarily be able to consider everything perfectly. What he sees in you is more of your position and influence in the broadcasting company. We are different. Although we are young, we are more energetic, and we do not have as many constraints. Our prospects for development are far better than theirs.
Of course, Adriaan's famous foresight also played a big role. Everyone knew what the ugly duckling of Silicon Valley was like when he first took over Pixar. Now, in less than two years, it had become a white swan that everyone envied. Looking at the current development of TBS and thinking about the achievements of this miracle director in the television industry, it seemed that AC Media was a good choice.
"If Craven knew that the final outcome would be like this, I don't know if he would have agreed to your proposal." Adriaan sighed.
"Even if he didn't agree, there would be others. There will always be people who don't like Eisner, and there will always be people who think that they are right." Claude said with a smile. "Besides, Craven was not prepared at all. If it were me, even if it was inevitable that I would be kicked out in the end, it would definitely not be so fast. It can only be said that Craven has ideas but lacks ability."
"I heard that you met Eisner at the cocktail party. He didn't seem to be very polite." Adriaan suddenly thought of something.
"Not really. It was just a little bit of mockery. He seemed a little unconvinced." Claude recalled. "Don't worry. You also said that in such an occasion, everyone is wearing a mask. Even if they want to beat each other up, they have to talk with a smile on their faces. As for Eisner's possible counterattack, hehe, since the initiative is now in our hands, how can I let him get away with it? "
"It sounds like Godfather and my uncle are ready." Adriaan suddenly sighed. If AC Media's scale exceeded Disneyland's in the future, such a situation would probably happen.
"Sometimes, it's not good to think too much." Claude seemed to know what he was thinking, and said, "I remember you quoting a proverb from somewhere before? Japan or China? It means that even if there is no road on the mountain, when people walk up it, a road will appear. "
"Of course it's China." Adriaan listened to his description and said, amused. "Okay, I got it."
Sharing was inevitable, so it was inevitable that such a situation would occur, but that was a matter for a long time in the future. Even so, as long as the company could maintain profitability, and with his support for Claude, it would not be difficult for him to control the company. Why was Eisner able to monopolize the power in Disneyland? It was because he had developed Disneyland from a company with a market value of a few billion to the current tens of billions. So, there was no need to dwell on this question now.
"Let's talk about Pixar. After such a dazzling success, don't you plan to continue working hard?" Claude immediately changed the topic.
"You know, my principle is not to meddle in the internal affairs of Pixar. They have their own system, which is the soul of the animation they produce." Adriaan replied, "Of course, I will give them suggestions, but it is up to them to decide what to do."
If memory served him right, after the unprecedented success of Toy Story, Jobs took Pixar public. But Adriaan did not intend to do so. Now was not the best time to go public. The prospects of Pixar were far broader than imagined. Every one of its animations was extremely popular. If they went public in two or three years, the market value would definitely be several times higher than it was now.
Adriaan understood Jobs' approach. After all, Pixar had been losing money for almost a decade at that time. Although Toy Story was a big seller, not only did they have to share the box office with Disneyland, but the peripheral rights were also owned by Disneyland. Jobs' main focus was not on Pixar, and he could not come up with more money, so he had to choose to go public for financing.
Things were different now. Adriaan had bought back the contract with Disneyland a long time ago, and the peripheral rights were also in the hands of Pixar and AC Media. But from the crazy buying of Hudi and Buzz's toys, one could see how amazing the profits of the peripheral rights were. Everyone knew that the most profitable aspect of animation was the peripheral rights. The reason why Disneyland could develop to its current scale was that the animation peripheral rights accounted for a large part of the profits. This was also one of the reasons why there was such a big reaction within Disneyland. As the chairman of a well-known and established animation company, he had lost such a big piece of meat because of a small profit, and he did not care about the parts that made him famous. It would be strange if the board of directors did not have any objections. It was only because of the pressure from Eisner that no one dared to make things difficult except for Craven and a few others.
"I guarantee that their glory days have just begun," Adriaan said casually, and then he thought of Jobs.
After Pixar's success, the media was full of sarcasm about Jobs, saying that he had lost a great opportunity, or that he had worked hard for a few years only to benefit others, and so on. They completely forgot that just a few months ago, they had praised him for making a good deal.
But Jobs himself did not seem to take it to heart. Two days ago, Adriaan had no choice but to go to a cocktail party with Claude, and then he met this middle-aged man. The man calmly congratulated him and asked about Kamal, Rust, and the others. He also promised that Adriaan would return to Pixar when he had time. Although these were basically polite words, Jobs behaved appropriately and did not show any negative emotions. Of course, everything else was the same. After a few words, he quickly began to talk about his company and new technology.
He was not ecstatic about his success, and he did not regret his mistakes. He had changed a lot after being kicked out of Apple. But this was the way to do big things. The glory that followed was not a fluke. It was time for him to get ready to return to Apple. Adriaan thought so. There was no hurry now. If he remembered correctly, there would be a chance to intervene soon.
This opportunity came by chance when he was looking for movies on the Internet in his previous life. He did not expect it to come in handy now, but he would have to wait at least two years.
"By the way, Krau, what happened to that thing?" Thinking of the Internet, Adriaan remembered another thing.
"Which thing?" Claude immediately asked. He had a lot of things to do every day, and he really did not remember the thing that Adriaan mentioned.
"The movie website in the UK."
"Oh, yes. I remember now. According to our contacts, they have the intention to set up a commercial company, but they are suspicious of our motives."
"What do you intend to do?"
"If you really want it, there are many ways to take down such a small website."
"No, no, no. We want their brand. If it's just a website, we can just invest in it. But word of mouth is hard to say. Although it's a free website, many movie fans worked hard to set it up. Word of mouth on the Internet is more important than reality. If we forcefully take down the website, these movie fans can totally set up another website and pull the popularity over. " Adriaan paused. "So I suggest that we talk to them first. For example, we can sponsor them to set up a commercial company. The price is that we will have priority access to their database. Their database is quite rich. We can use the information they collected when we are promoting or doing special topics. If we have new or old movies, we can post them on their website immediately."
"After a long time, we can slowly infiltrate the website. This way, we can maintain the website's reputation and control it. Is that right?" Claude immediately smiled and said, "Well, I like this proposal. It suits my style."
"Then, I'll leave it to you." Adriaan finally put away the phone and handed it to Charlize, who was sitting next to him in the car.
"The British movie website? The one you asked me to collect information on six weeks ago? " Charlize, who put away the phone, asked. He paused and looked at the driver and bodyguard sitting in front of him. He then chose to ignore the hand that was stroking his thigh.
"Yes, IMDB, a very good movie website. It was founded in 1990 and has a good reputation among movie fans." Adriaan looked at Charlize with a smile. He had no intention of withdrawing his hand.
On formal occasions, such as in the office or when he went out to discuss matters with celebrities as a producer, Charlize would dress very formally. Frankly speaking, her black or gray OL attire was quite elegant. Although she had only been a model for a short period of time, she had the aura of a clothes rack. Coupled with her slender legs wearing black transparent stockings, she looked very sexy and attractive.
"Yes, your taste is rarely wrong, isn't it?" Charlize rolled her eyes at him.
Adriaan laughed and finally withdrew his hand.
The Internet Movie Database, or IMDB for short, was an online database about movie actors, movies, TV shows, TV stars, video games, and movie production. It was only a medium-sized website now, but Adriaan knew how famous this website and its movie ranking list would be in the future.
Countless people searched for movies on this list, and countless people fought for the rankings. It was as if those who had not seen the top ten movies on the list were not qualified to talk about movies at all. Adriaan admitted that the movies on the list were still very good, but were they really so good that everyone should watch them? Not necessarily. In the end, it was just the crowd effect.
Although IMDB's voting system was indeed good, there were only a few hundred thousand members who were eligible to vote. There were five billion people in the world, and there would be six billion in the future. How many people could a few hundred thousand members represent? However, ordinary movie fans flocked to IMDB. This was the effect of a brand.
As Adriaan, who aspired to develop AC Media into a dominant company, how could he let go of this opportunity? After all, the opportunity to develop the Internet was coming soon.
With IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, in the future, the power of comments and information collection would greatly increase. However, Rotten Tomatoes would probably only be established in a few years. Perhaps he could be a step ahead?
As soon as this idea came up, it was rejected by Adriaan. He knew less about Rotten Tomatoes than Imdb. If he did it in advance, it was likely to be self-defeating. It was better to wait for them to appear on their own. As for the possibility of being rejected by him, there was already IMDB, and there was no Rotten Tomatoes or Rotten Apples. He just had to pay attention when the time came.
Just as he was thinking, the car had already driven into a magnificent villa.
"Hey, Tommy." After getting out of the car, Adriaan immediately greeted Tom Cruise.
"Ha, you're finally here. You're too slow, Eide." Cruise, who stood at the door, smiled and shook hands with him. He then looked at Charlize, who was next to him. "Your secretary is still so beautiful."
Charlize responded with a faint smile and said nothing.
"I came from another big area. It's not like you don't know the situation on certain roads." Adriaan shrugged helplessly and looked around, but he didn't see Nicole.
"Do you have any suggestions, Tommy?" After coming to the living room and greeting Cruise's agent and the person in charge sent by Bosworth, Adriaan sat down and went straight to the point.
"Oh, of course. As for the supporting actor, among the candidates you provided, I think Cuba Gordin Jr. is the most suitable. I know him. He's an excellent black actor," Cruise replied immediately, with a hint of superiority in his tone.
"Really?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows. It seemed that he and Gordin had a good relationship. "I think he can do it too."
Cruise's smile suddenly became much warmer, and he immediately sat up straight. "As for the supporting actress, I recommend Renee Zellweger."
"Really?" Adriaan's eyes suddenly narrowed. "I've decided on the supporting actress. Kate Blanchett will play the role. This Australian actress is very good."
"No, no, no." Cruise shook his head. "Kate Blanchett is not suitable. Renee is the best choice."
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