The taxi stopped on the side of a road at the top of Beverly Mountain, and the driver chatted happily with the middle-aged black-haired passenger in a crisp suit next to him, looking at the luxurious mansion outside the window, and teasing: "Man, I didn't expect the destination you visited to be here, a Beverly mansion of this size, which is inhabited by either superstars or top Hollywood producers, you must be developed." ”

Chris Wetch was also in a good mood, even a little excited, responding to the driver's words with a smile on his face, and turned around and walked to the door of the mansion with a briefcase after paying for the car.

After checking the house number again, Chris Wetch reached out and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently, remembering the phone call from the other day.

It all started in 1987, when Chris Wetch was just thirty years old, resigned from an animation studio where he was originally located, and founded a blue sky studio on the second floor of a dentist's clinic with a few partners to produce film and television special effects, after eight years of development, although the current blue sky studio is still far from being comparable with the digital field, industrial light and magic, these industry overlords, but it has also become famous in the film and television special effects industry, with more than 100 employees, and also undertook part of "Jumanji's Game" last year CG special effects production.

A few days ago, the producer who used to be in charge of the "Jumanji" crew in contact with Blue Sky Studios suddenly called him and asked him if he was interested in computer animation, Chris Witch has always been envious of the success of his former friend John Lasseter in 3D animation, and has made similar attempts, of course, nodding yes without hesitation. So there is this long-awaited meeting today.

A female voice came from inside the door inquiring. Chris Wetch felt the sound familiar. I didn't have time to think about it, so I quickly cheered up and responded.

The door opened, and a tall girl with a little red on her face appeared in front of Chris Wedge, her long blond hair was a little fluffy and unkempt, and her attitude was languid, and she wore a loose beige knit sweater on her upper body, and the round neckline was wide open, revealing a small patch of white skin on her shoulders obliquely. The hem of the knit sweater is a little wide though. But it didn't cover up the two slender **** wrapped in white close-fitting jeans.

Chris Wetch was stunned for a moment, until the girl frowned slightly, and then suddenly reacted, and said with some embarrassment: "Hello, Miss Roberts, it's nice to meet you, I'm your fan." ”

Chris Wetch said this, his right hand raised slightly, looking at Julia's green hand on the doorknob, and finally he was too embarrassed to reach out.

"Eric and Liz are waiting for you. Come with me," Julia replied. Reaching out and pulling at the knit sweater, he turned around and walked inside.

Chris Welch followed Julia through the corridor in the courtyard, calmed down at this time, recalled the situation when he first saw Julia, and realized that the Hollywood A-list actress was in a somewhat abnormal state just now, a little like she had just woken up, a little like she was drunk, or more like a little ...... Hey, Chris Wetch is sure he didn't smell the alcohol just now, it's already four o'clock in the afternoon, and even the nap time has long passed, let alone just woke up.

Thinking involuntarily in his heart, he walked around the path and saw two figures standing up and walking by the pool in front of the mansion, Chris Waige hurriedly put those messy thoughts away, thinking that these things would not do him any good, and it would be even worse if the owner guessed his thoughts.

Looking at the young man and woman walking by, Chris Weiqi eagerly stretched out his hand to Eric, who was walking in front: "Hello, Mr. Williams. ”

"Hello Chris, just call me Eric, this is Liz, you should be on the phone. ”

"Of course, Miss Murdoch, it's a pleasure to meet you," Chris Waich smiled again as he shook Elizabeth's hand.

The three of them sat down at a round table in the courtyard, and Julia brought them coffee, not in the mood to engage in conversation, but lazily walked to the beach chair next to them and lay down, flipping through a magazine.

Although Chris Wetch was a little confused about the relationship between the man and the woman in front of him, he carefully controlled his eyes and tried not to glance at Julia not far away.

"You and Liz must have talked on the phone, I've seen the special effects you did for films like Alien 3 and Bravegame, which are excellent, and I also know that during the production of Bravegame, you once invested in animated shorts in Colombia, but it didn't work out, right?"

Chris Witch nodded: "Yes, Eric, I used to do Disney animation outsourcing projects in my early studio, and I've always been very interested in animated films. ”

Elizabeth asked, "If it's an investment in cartoons, you should look for Fireflies, why did you get into Colombia?"

Chris Wetch smiled awkwardly and looked at Eric, not sure what to answer.

After Elizabeth said what she just said, she immediately understood that Firefly already has the top 3D animation technology in the industry, and under normal circumstances, it is impossible to look at Blue Sky Studio.

Eric didn't seem to hear Elizabeth's question, and directly chatted with Chris Witch about the 3D animated movie, Chris Witch has also been quite well prepared these days, skillfully dealing with Eric's various problems, and also took out a set of pre-prepared animated short film storyboards to show Ric.

Even if it has some technical accumulation, an animation studio still has to start with animated short films in the production of 3D animated films, and Pixar has accumulated enough experience to get involved in animated feature films after continuously producing short films such as "Jumping Light" and "Tin Iron Soldiers".

Half an hour later, Chris Wetch put the sketch away and said, "Eric, this short film only needs $3 million to invest, and as long as we can get the funds, I promise to come up with a piece that proves that we have the ability to control animated feature films within six months." ”

Eric shook his head and said, "Chris, I'm not going to invest in Blue Sky Studios. ”

Chris Wetch just had a disappointed expression. The animated script of the short film that he thought he had prepared accurately did not pass Eric's approval. But Eric continued, "I'm going to buy Blue Sky Studios. ”

Chris Witch immediately looked up: "Eric. You mean...... Acquisition?"

Eric nodded, a smile on his lips, "Yes, acquisition." ”

Although he is not in Hollywood circles, Chris Witch still knows a little about the relationship between Eric and Elizabeth, and he has always felt that Fox must be more interested in Blue Sky Studios, even if he wants to buy Blue Sky Studios, it should be Elizabeth who represents Fox to speak.

But after this half-hour exchange. Chris Wetch realizes that Eric is still playing a leading role in this matter, which makes him wonder again. Firefly already owned two animation studios, Pixar and Disney Animation, and even if Firefly wanted to continue to expand in the field of animated films, it should be limited to these two studios.

Although he knew he would not turn down the offer, Chris Welch asked cautiously, "Eric, ...... Can you know why?"

"Of course," Eric explains, "although the rating of animated films has always been limited to the PG-13 level because of the audience. But for Disney, there are still a lot of good ideas that don't fit Disney's core values, and these ideas are released by Disney. It will damage Disney's established brand image. So, I'm going to take those ideas out. It was produced by an animation studio that was completely independent of the Disney system, and distributed by other film companies. ”

Chris Wetch asked, "Aren't there many studios under Firefly?"

"Disney is a very important brand in the Firefly system, and if Firefly releases animated films in other film divisions, the audience will naturally associate it with Disney, and what I want is to completely strip it. ”

Chris Wetch nodded, looked at Elizabeth, and said, "So, Eric, what are the terms of the acquisition?"

"In order to show the sincerity of the long-term cooperation, we do not plan to acquire a wholly-owned company, Firefly and Fox will each pay $5 million to acquire 45% of the shares of Blue Sky Studio, you can continue to retain 10% of the shares, in addition, Firefly will give Blue Sky Studio animation technology support. The studio's future animated film will be distributed by Fox. ”

The offer price of 10 million dollars to acquire 90% of the shares is far lower than Chris Wetch's expectations, after all, this studio is his eight years of hard work, but Eric's promise of technical support for Blue Sky Studios made Chris Witch immediately did not hesitate too much, you know, the top 3D animation technology in the hands of Fireflies is not something money can buy, this is the foundation of Firefly's monopoly on the 3D animation film market in recent years.

After thinking about it for a moment, Chris Wetch nodded decisively and said, "Eric, I agree to this deal." ”

"Very well, I hope we can have a good time working together in the future," Eric got up and shook Chris Wetch's hand, and the two sat down again, and Eric began to talk about his detailed plans.

When it came to sunset, Chris Waige took the initiative to say goodbye with great interest. The specific acquisition agreement will be negotiated in more detail in the coming period.

After sending Chris Wetch off and the two returned to the pool, Elizabeth looked at Julia, who was still lazily leaning on the beach chair, and said, "Eric, look at her, Chris Witch has glanced at Julia more than once just now, I think he must be guessing that Julia seems to be high, and it's big news to spread it." ”

As if suddenly alive, Julia threw the magazine in her hand at Elizabeth, and retorted, "You're just getting high, I'm just a little tired." ”

"Hehe, come, I'll help you check if you're really tired," Elizabeth said, and was about to grab Julia's waist, but Julia nimbly lifted her foot and kicked it away.

Plop -

Elizabeth was unprepared for a moment, and fell into the pool with her body tilted.

"Ahh......h

Elizabeth, who was kicked into the pool by Julia, quickly poked her head out, lay on the edge of the pool, and shouted to Julia angrily: "But I won't live with you, you vicious woman, murdering your husband." ”

Eric laughed and pulled Elizabeth out of the pool, urging her to change her clothes. Turn around and sit down on the beach chair where Julia was lying. Reach out and put the girl in her lap.

Amused by Elizabeth, Julia, who had just regained her spirits, felt the movement of Eric's hands. A few low sounds, as if the cat had been pulled out of the bones, quickly softened back into a lazy and misty state.

Elizabeth came back with a change of clothes, wiped her wet hair with a big towel in her hand, looked at Julia who was soft on Eric, this time she didn't provoke the cat who would go crazy at any time, sat down next to her, and said, "Eric." You've been talking about some animated film ideas that don't fit Disney's distribution style, do you already have an idea?"

Eric picked up the magazine in Julia's hand just now and flipped through it casually, and said, "I saw a completely anti-fairy tale album some time ago, the author is Wilhelm Steiger, and you can start to take down the adaptation rights of this album recently." ”

"What, you didn't even make it clear. ”

Eric smiled and said, "You can buy a copy tomorrow and take a look, that album is basically a complete subversion of Disney's previous fairy tale routines, but I think it's very interesting, and it can be made into a special animated movie." But this animated film is unlikely to be distributed by either Disney or any of Firefly's studios, otherwise Disney's carefully crafted brand image will be greatly affected. That's why I came up with the idea of starting an animation studio that would be separate from Firefly. ”

Elizabeth became interested: "Oh, what's the name of this album?"

Eric said, "Shrek." ”

DreamWorks' "Shrek" in the original time and space is completely an animated work after Katzenberg left Disney in a bad mood in order to take revenge on his old club, it can be seen from the quality of the movie that the film investment is not high, and the production is also very rough, but what I didn't expect is that this low-budget animated film that spoofed Disney's fairy tale was an unexpected box office hit, and even won the North American box office champion that year, which also brought the precarious DreamWorks Animation back to life. Now that Katzenberg hasn't left and DreamWorks has taken on a different look, Eric is almost certain that an alternative 3D animated film like Shrek won't even be in the world again if he hadn't intervened.

Recently, in order to find projects for Firefly next summer, Eric also sorted out some films in his memory, and naturally thought of these.

Shrek, Ice Age Although other series have achieved box office results no less than Disney animation in their previous lives, these animated films have somewhat deviated from the core spirit of Disney animation, and the 3D animated film market is far from saturated.

Thinking about this, Eric remembered another thing again, and said to Elizabeth: "Liz, there is one more thing, since there is Blue Sky Studio, are you interested in buying a toy company here?"

Elizabeth wondered, "Toy company, why?"

"In the future, the animation produced by Blue Sky Studio will definitely produce peripherals. ”

Elizabeth stared at Eric for a few seconds and pouted, "You're again, not many people would buy a restaurant just for a steak, right?"

"Okay," Eric smiled, "It's actually because of the rights in the hands of this toy company, Hasbro, you know?"

"Transformers," Elizabeth blurted out, but immediately picked herself up, "You mean Transformers?"

Eric nodded: "You see, when it comes to Hasbro, you immediately think of Transformers, which shows how well-known this toy series is, and if it is developed into a live-action movie, it definitely has unlimited potential." ”

"Then we don't have to buy Hasbro, we just buy the rights to the Transformers, can't we?"

"Of course not, there will always be a term for copyright, and Hasbro will not be stupid enough to sell you the perpetual copyright, so you can only take Hasbro once and for all. When the special effects technology develops in a few more years, I believe that the value of Transformers copyright is not much worse than that of "Star Wars". ”

"You're exaggerating, what movie copyright can compare to Star Wars," Elizabeth shook her head almost subconsciously, the influence of "Star Wars" has been ingrained in the minds of Westerners. Even Julia, who was on Eric's lap, shook her head slightly.

But. Elizabeth quickly reacted again. If this sentence is said from other people's mouths, it naturally has little credibility, but Eric says it differently: "Eric, you can't be serious, right?"

Eric nodded firmly, "Do you think I'm joking?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Then why didn't the fireflies take Hasbro down themselves?"

Eric shrugged his shoulders and said, "The target of the fireflies is too big, if we make a move, not only will someone jump out to fight for it, but Hasbro itself will also open his mouth." My plan is similar to Blue Sky Studios, Fox is in the future. The fireflies are in the dark, so let's take Hasbro down here first, and then we'll split it in half, how about it?"

Elizabeth shrewdly blinked, "What if I'm not going to share it with you?"

Eric clenched his fist viciously, and pinched the bone joints with a crackling sound: "Then I'm going to have to move." ”

Elizabeth was not in the slightest intimidated by Eric's movements, but Julia emotionally pulled Eric's fist to her cheek and rubbed it, and exclaimed in a low voice, "Eric......"

Elizabeth looked at Julia's appearance with an unbearable expression: "I think you should drag her into the house and beat her first." ”

Eric reluctantly pulled Julia up, reached out and gently slapped the girl's ass, "Stop pestering, let's make dinner." ”

"Hmm. What are you going to eat?"

"Eat whatever you have in the fridge. ”

Watching Julia drift away, Elizabeth shrugged. Turning back to the topic just now, since Eric looked so determined, she no longer doubted it, and asked, "How much does this company cost?"

"I've checked, Hasbro's current market capitalization is $2.9 billion, and if it is a good faith merger, it can be won for about $3.5 billion, and even if it is a hostile takeover, it should not exceed $4 billion. Moreover, I think that with the influence of Fox, there is still a good chance that the acquisition will succeed. ”

"But, 3 to 4 billion dollars," Elizabeth retreated again: "Eric, I think we should buy the Transformers copyright first, and try to extend the copyright period as much as possible, 20 years, is it enough?"

Eric shook his head and said, " Hasbro's operation is very stable, the net profit in recent years is about 200 million US dollars, after the completion of the acquisition, with the Blue Sky Studio's peripheral licensing and Hasbro's perfect toy production and distribution system, there must be a lot of room for improvement in future performance, coupled with the huge potential of Transformers copyright, it can be said that Hasbro is the kind of company that is seriously undervalued, merger, even if it is not for the development of film and television rights, it will be able to recover all the investment within ten years, if it is not for the Firefly has too many plans to carry out in recent years, I will definitely do it myself。 ”

Before Eric's rebirth, the global box office of the first four parts of the "Transformers" series alone was close to $4 billion, and the peripheral profits generated by the film were even more incalculable. In my memory, after Disney successively acquired Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, it also made an offer to Hasbro, but Hasbro's offer was too high, and the most important "Transformers" copyright was also grabbed by Paramount, so the deal could not be completed.

In recent years, special effects films have become more and more dazzling in Hollywood, and Eric believes that someone will soon notice the Transformers copyright, and if he doesn't take it down in advance, he will only regret it. Hollywood-related copyright authorization, the longest case is only 20 years, but Eric knows that 20 years later, Transformers are still filming, even if this time and space will advance the production date, with the popularity of Transformers, there is absolutely no problem with the length of the series surpassing Harry Potter, then, 20 years of copyright authorization time is far from enough. What's more, Hasbro will definitely not agree to sell Transformers for 20 years, rather than suddenly encounter the risk of losing control of copyright when the Transformers series is in full swing in the future, it is better to eat this company completely.

The reason why I took out this cake to share with Fox is that, on the one hand, Firefly already owns Marvel, a copyright gold mine that is enough to develop for decades, and there are many animated films and live-action movie copyrights that can be developed, even if you want to take all the profits, it is impossible to have enough release time and schedule. On the other hand, the development of Firefly itself has reached a limit, because of the restrictions of anti-monopoly and other factors, Firefly can no longer merge other film companies with great fanfare, and the way of cooperation has become the best way for Eric to penetrate the entire Hollywood system, so that while obtaining profits, Eric can also expand his control over Hollywood step by step, just like MGM at this time, with the cooperation of many film projects, Eric has no less stealth power in this film company than its CEO, if Eric speaks, MGM's major shareholder, Crédit Lyonnais, will definitely not hesitate to replace MGM's helmsman. (To be continued.) )