"There's a situation," Chris Barker reminded, "I have to tell you upfront that several of the production crew, including me, have non-compete agreements with Disney. ”

Ronan had already understood the relevant situation and said: "You can rest assured that all the liquidated damages will be borne by Relativity Entertainment." ”

These people are not Disney executives, and the liquidated damages of the non-compete agreement are not particularly high, not everyone in the team has signed them, that is, more than a dozen people in the core team, and the total amount is about 50 million US dollars.

Compared to the team that inherited Disney's animation production, this liquidated damages are nothing at all.

Chris Buck was a little relieved, and then said, "If we join Relativity Entertainment, will we enter the Sand Sea Entertainment Animation Studio?"

This is also one of his major doubts, judging from several animations, Shahai Entertainment Animation Studio is completely incompatible with their style.

"No, it won't. Ronan gave an answer without hesitation: "You and Shahai Animation Studio, like you, have become an independent animation production department of Shahai Entertainment, and if the development goes smoothly in the future, you and Shahai Animation Studio can also be listed as subsidiaries of Relativity Entertainment." ”

This refuted some of Chris Buck's doubts, and he continued, "Production?"

Ronan said: "On the basis of maintaining your excellent traditional production concepts of truth, goodness and beauty, it is also necessary to integrate new concepts that are in line with social trends, and the success of the film cannot be separated from social reality." I didn't come to you to make a spoof comedy animated feature film like DreamWorks Animation Studio or Shahai Animation Studio, but to create a new fairy tale movie that meets the needs of the new era!"

Chris Barker suddenly showed a helpless smile: "We have encountered a lot of difficulties in computer animation production. ”

"It's not hard to solve. The Disney shareholders' meeting was about to be held, and Ronan had no need to hide it anymore, and said directly: "Pixar Studios can provide you with all-round assistance." ”

Chris Buck immediately realized the meaning behind the words: "What?Pixar Studios?" He looked up at Ronan with a bit of shock and asked, "You guys...... Relativity Entertainment is going to partner with Pixar Studios?"

"I've reached an agreement with shareholders of Pixar Studios such as Steve Jobs that Relativity Entertainment will buy Pixar Studios," Ronan said. ”

"It's ......" Chris Barker needed to digest the news, and after a while, he gradually calmed down: "Michael Eisner ruined Disney animation." ”

Ronan said slowly: "Chris, Relativity Entertainment is very sincere. ”

Chris Barker said: "I need to talk to the team members before I get back to you. ”

Ronan nodded slightly: "I'm waiting for your good news." ”

Chris Buck stood up and shook Ronan's hand: "Emotionally, I don't want to leave Disney Animation Studio, where I've worked for more than a decade, but people sometimes have to make choices. ”

Ronan was sincere: "You will not regret the choice of relativity entertainment. ”

The two sides ended the interview, and after Chris Barker left, he immediately found his old partner Byrne Howard, who was waiting for news, to discuss it together.

Chris Buck recounted his meeting with Ronan in detail.

"Ronan Anderson and Relativity Entertainment are really sincere. "We became a team of losers in Hollywood, and we didn't take it seriously within Disney, but he talked to you personally and promised us a lot of creative freedom," Byrne Howard said. ”

Another core member of the team, Rich Moore, has been with Disney for a relatively short time and does not have such a deep affection for Disney, saying: "Don't say it's our team, after 1999, the entire Disney animation studio has been marginalized, and if we don't leave, are we waiting to be fired?"

Byrne Howard was silent at first, then said, "Disney is not the Disney of the past. ”

Several other people echoed that they actually saw Disney's situation in recent years.

Chris Barker has been silent and seems to be having trouble making up his mind.

Byrne Howard looked at him and said, "Chris, at a time like this, do you still have illusions about Roy Disney?"

"It's not fantasy. Chris Barker looked at everyone present and said slowly: "If Roy can win the Disney shareholder meeting, it will end the situation of Michael Eisner's arbitrariness, and Disney is very likely to get back on track and develop steadily again." ”

Rich Moore replied: "It's going to be a Disney shareholder meeting soon, with the current situation, is Roy Disney likely to win?"

No one answered, and the answer was obvious, Disney stock price is currently rising, most centrist shareholders are on Michael Eisner's side, and Roy Disney's chances of winning are getting smaller.

Byrne Howard patted his old friend on the shoulder: "It's time to make a decision." ”

Chris Buck nodded first, then shook his head: "You guys have a little patience, wait a minute, give me two more days." We are not bad for these two days, and Ronan Anderson and Relativity Entertainment will not change their minds because of these two days, and we wait for the results of the shareholders' meeting. ”

Rich Moore and Byrne Howard looked at each other and said, "Okay, but Chris, don't get your hopes up too much for Roy Disney." ”

Byrne Howard said, "Even if Roy Disney wins, will he be able to run Walt Disney?"

Chris Buck has nothing to say, Roy Disney is a good guy, but not a good manager and manager.

In mid-December, the entire Los Angeles film and television industry was making a fuss about the awards season, and "Brokeback Mountain" released by Embassy Pictures began to be screened in Los Angeles and New York, where the Oscar judges are relatively concentrated, with 10 theaters.

The main creative team is working hard every day to win the awards, Ang Lee in a suit and leather shoes, haunting various banquet parties in Beverly Hills, in addition to Heath Ledger, who is filming "The Dark Knight", including Annie Hathaway and Jack Gyllenshill and other main actors, not only running promotional announcements, but also participating in another loud gay parade in the Los Angeles area.

Canada, America's neighbor to the north, officially passed the gay marriage bill, and two more states joined the ranks.

The gay community was greatly encouraged and activities were taking place.

There are a large number of conservatives in Hollywood, but there are also many leftists, and the voice for equal rights is getting louder and louder, driven by some people.

This is driven by the general trend of society, and it is not something that any one person or company can stop.

Although Utah explicitly restricted the release of "Brokeback Mountain" in the state and continued to voice criticism, public opinion in favor of "Brokeback Mountain" was even more turbulent.

Sometimes I have to admire the white left, maybe the earliest white leftists fooled those minorities into getting on their thief ship to sell their lives, but the flickering time was long and the intensity was greater, resulting in the derivation of many real white lefts.

When the white left wave appears, whether it is true or fake, smart people will choose to follow the trend.

Even if it doesn't like the eye, it doesn't make a statement and doesn't make it public.

Since its release, "Brokeback Mountain" has received a series of outpost award nominations and best director and best picture trophies, and "Capote" and "Good Night, Good Luck" have become Oscar favorites.

"Capote" also caught Ronan's attention, because it was also a gay film.

In the words of the media, "Capote" showed viewers that not all gay people are cowboys, but also some are sissy New York intellectuals.

Fortunately, the director of "Capote" Belite Miller has limited qualifications, the producer is only a small company called Infinite Media, and the distributor Sony Classics is unlikely to invest too much resources in this non-Sony film.

As of mid-December, Ang Lee has eaten nearly 20 meals of "plastic chicken", and "Brokeback Mountain" has gradually become the first favorite of the Oscars.

At the same time, the Walt Disney shareholder meeting was held in Burbank.

Since Relativity Entertainment did not have any Disney shares in its hands, Ronan was unable to participate in the shareholder meeting, but heard that at the two-day shareholder meeting, the conservative faction led by Roy Disney and the management faction led by Michael Eisner had an unusually fierce confrontation.

And, at a critical moment, a third faction rushed in, and Ryan Kavanaugh and David Ellison, who represented Maple Leaf Pictures, joined several other minority shareholders to elect Dick Cook to take over the position of chairman and CEO of Walt Disney.

It is very obvious that Dick Cook, who was originally a staunch Michael Eisner supporter, has privately struck a deal with Ryan Kavanaugh and David Ellison to become the spokesperson for Maple Leaf Pictures' interests at Walt Disney.

The dispute between the three factions caused a mess in Disney's shareholders' meeting, and some shareholders even left the venue early in anger.

Roy Disney's motion to remove Michael Eisner Walt Disney Chairman and CEO is unlikely to pass because there are far less than half of the supporters.

But at the shareholders' meeting, Roy Disney, a stubborn old man, said that he would never give up and would unite with some shareholders, including the Disney family, to continue to sue Michael Eisner for dereliction of duty in the Delaware Court of Chancery!

Michael Eisner kept his position and became the winner, but instead of rejoicing, he was wary of the emergence of a third party.

Of course, he knew that Ronan and Relativity Entertainment had abandoned him at the time of the shareholders' meeting and chose to maximize their interests.

Also, Michael Eisner was quite angry about Dick Cook's betrayal.

The third faction is on the rise, Walt Disney is even more chaotic than before, and it is impossible to get back on track in a short period of time.

Michael Eisner felt powerless, but in order to protect himself, he had to stay in this position.

Since then, Walt Disney has entered a new situation of three-way hegemony.