Eric glanced at the female assistant, and after getting a look reply, he continued: "The income forms of animation peripherals are mainly divided into toy production, image licensing, amusement park themes, soundtracks, stage plays, etc., because of the innate 3D stereo advantage, whether it is the type of toy peripherals that can be developed or the popularity, 3D animation is far more than 2D animation. ”

"You can see these from the table in your hand, for example, "Toy Story", this 3D animation has more than 100 types of toys and more than 300 image authorizations. The total number of toys in "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" is only more than 60, and the sales are far from being compared with 3D animation, and the number of peripheral licenses is also less than that of 3D animation. ”

"Other peripheral categories, according to this data, the peripheral income of 3D animation basically surpasses that of 2D animation, and the only peripheral that 2D animation is ahead of 3D animation is the box office revenue of stage plays adapted from animation, mainly because the live-action story theme of 2D animation is relatively easy to adapt. But this part of the income is insignificant in all the peripherals. ”

In the end, Eric concluded, "So, I can't think of a reason to continue with the 2D animation department when there will be no advantages in terms of cost, box office, and merchandise." ”

Noticing the expressions of the three old guys nodding at the same time, Eric smiled slightly, but he didn't intend to stop, turned a new page, and said, "Then, next, is the difference in the production cycle of the two animated films." ”

Ignoring the obvious wry smile that the three of them showed in an instant, Eric said to himself: "In the Disney era, from Michael. Eisner took the helm of Disney in 1984 and made changes to the animation department. to the release of the first hugely successful "The Little Mermaid". It took a total of 5 years. And the subsequent animated films such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" are basically also in Michael. Ace began to start in the years when he took office. ”

"I have done a simple statistic, the average production cycle of hand-drawn animated films is 5 years, because hand-drawn animation has a very big disadvantage compared to computer animation, after the animation image of computer animation is 3D modeled by the computer, many materials can be used repeatedly, which saves a lot of manpower and time costs, therefore. Pixar has only been working on "Toy Story" and "Bug Crisis" for just over two years. ”

"In addition, in order to ensure that there is not too much useless work in the production process, before a hand-drawn animation project is launched, it is necessary to go through a long period of project incubation to determine every detail of the animated film, which will seriously delay the production process of a hand-drawn animation."

Noted David. The corners of West's mouth moved, and Eric smiled, "I think David, you must be asking, why don't you hire more people?" ”

"Okay," said David. West reluctantly spread his hands. Very 'cooperative' to imitate Eric's tone: "Why not hire more people?" ”

The box rang out with chuckles from the others, and Eric explained with a smile, "This goes back to what I just said." After 3D animation is modeled by computers, the image of the animated character is fixed, so the number of animators in charge of a project can be many, and of course, this number is definitely not infinitely expanded. ”

"But hand-drawn animation is different, because different animators have their own painting styles, the number of animators in a project is limited to a certain range, and the style of the whole animation can be kept unified, but if there are too many people in the project, unless the producer and director have super coordination ability, otherwise, the audience is likely to find differences in the style and even the image of the characters before and after the film during the viewing process, I think whoever encounters this situation during the viewing process will be in a very bad mood, right?"

After the three Buffetts were 'forced' to nod again, Eric said: "Actually, a long production cycle is nothing, as long as it can bring excellent work and good profits, I don't think time is a problem." But here's the problem, compared to 3D animation, 2D animation not only has a long production cycle, but also has another very important disadvantage, you know what it is? ”

Warren Buffett smiled and shook his head, David. West and Tom. Murphy, however, unceremoniously flipped through another page of information.

Kelly sitting next to Eric. Haynes, of course, knew the answer very well, but he didn't mean to answer Eric's question, just looked at the young boss next to him with a smile, and unconsciously raised his chin, with his unknown admiration in his eyes.

Eric and the other three all opened the following information before continuing: "Everyone knows that Hollywood's sequel films are often the most stable and profitable, but whether it is "The Little Mermaid", "Aladdin" or "Beauty and the Beast", these hand-drawn animated films have not released sequels publicly, but plan to release the tape directly. The main reason for this is that the production cycle of 2D hand-drawn animated films is too long, and if you get entangled in the script of the sequel, it may exceed the average five-year period, reach six or seven years, or even longer. ”

"- And as I just said, the younger audience of 2D animated films will be updated every seven years, and perhaps after the sequels of these films are made, the children's audience, which originally accounted for more than 40% of the moviegoers, has grown up to be teenagers who are no longer interested in 2D animation, and the sequel will not have much popularity base among the new young audience."

Therefore, after a popular hand-drawn animation, Disney's consistent strategy is to directly produce sequel works for videotape distribution, which is facing the small screen, whether it is a plot or picture quality requirements, which also has the advantage of fast production and low cost, the film version of "Aladdin" cost more than 20 million US dollars, and the production cycle is four and a half years, while the production cost of the sequel to the direct release videotape is only 5 million US dollars, and the production process only took two years. Although it has made huge profits, this kind of shoddy video tape works only in pursuit of profit maximization is actually an overconsumption of the Disney brand. in this regard. 3D animated films are both in terms of the age distribution of the audience group. Or in terms of production cycle. As long as the 3D animation work is popular enough, not only can a sequel be produced in two to three years, but even after seven years or more, because of the popularity base of all ages, the sequel can still be launched. ”

Speaking of which, the three old men no longer had the idea of continuing to open the next information, and Buffett took the lead in saying: "Eric." I can publicly support your decision tomorrow in the newspapers if you need to, and I don't think Tom nor David would mind doing that. However, I have one last doubt, and you can choose not to answer, and I will not change my decision. ”

Eric nodded.

Warren Buffett asked: "With Firefly's current strength, it is not a big problem to continue to maintain Disney's hand-drawn animation division for a few years to make a more gentle transformation, and I think this department will still bring enough profit to Disney in the short term." In the case of "The Lion King" box office momentum. Why do you insist on such drastic measures? ”

Eric replied, "It reminds me of a little story from an article about your life experience. ”

Warren Buffett smiled and motioned to Eric to continue, Tom. The three Murphy also showed curious expressions.

Eric said: "I remember the article about Berkshire. Hathaway Textile Mills. In 1985, Hathaway's textile mill was completely shut down, and almost all the equipment in the factory was auctioned off for just $160,000 at the price of scrap metal. The article specifically proposes to mention that in 1981 Hathaway textile mills replaced 200 units of some kind of textile equipment, the unit price was $5,000, and only four years later, the average price of this batch of equipment is only $16, if you choose to close the still profitable textile business in 1981, not only can you avoid the loss of millions of dollars in equipment spending, but also can bring Hathaway millions of dollars in additional income by selling the textile business, but only four years later, The value of it all has slipped to $160,000. ”

Buffett did not refute, nodded very frankly, and said: "This is indeed a personal business mistake of mine. ZEISS kept urging me to sell my textile business, but I didn't. ”

Eric brought the topic back to Warren Buffett's question, saying: "Actually, the measures I took were not drastic, two years ago, I already revealed that I wanted to fully shift the animation department to 3D production, but most people don't seem to take it too seriously, they may think that hand-drawn animation is indispensable for Disney." Half a year ago, I officially announced the detailed reform plan to the Disney animation department, but it still didn't attract enough attention, and now ...... "Eric's booth hand:" Maybe even the members of the Disney animation department who originally supported the digital reform must have changed their minds. Disney's hand-drawn animation department has more than 700 animators, and the rest of the support department staff combined, more than 1,000 people, whether it's due to social impact or labor law constraints, I never wanted to put these people out of work directly, I gave them enough time to make the transition, but they didn't cherish it. This is a good opportunity, and with the influence of "The Lion King", even if they leave Disney, I don't think there is a risk of losing their jobs, so this is the best time to get rid of their baggage, and maybe the Fireflies can also get some extra income from it. In the future, 2D animated films will decline, and those who need to worry about the livelihood of these people will no longer be fireflies. ”

Warren Buffett listened carefully to Eric's words and asked, "You mean that you plan to sell Disney's hand-drawn animation division as a whole?" ”

"My first choice is still to have the hand-drawn animation department digitally transformed, Disney's hand-drawn animation department has very good production and directing talent, if we can successfully transform into 3D animation production, Disney will not have to re-cultivate," Eric said, shaking his head with some regret, "but now, it seems that this possibility is very low." If we can't come to an agreement, I'll sell the entire hand-drawn animation department. ”

"It doesn't seem to work," said Tom. "The most important thing in the animation department is the hand-drawn animators, not valuable assets like real estate, patents or copyrights, and if they don't negotiate in the end, I think they're even less likely to let themselves be sold as leverage," Murphy said. ”

"It's nothing more than profit," Eric said, "as long as they agree." Fireflies can compensate for a portion of the funds from the sale of the animation department. Return it to them. And. I think buyers will also want to get a full animation production department, and Firefly can also sell part of the rights to 2D animated films to increase the success rate of the transaction. At the same time, the whole sale will allow the employees of the animation department to get a higher remuneration package from the buyer. Well, the interests of the three sides are completely identical, and I can't think of any reason for them to refuse. ”

David. West couldn't help but say, "Eric, I really want to know. Is there anything else you haven't taken into account. ”

Eric was just about to answer, but Buffett had already said: "There are also long-term bonds being issued, Eric, I inquired about bond issuance before I came, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank have sold a total of $4.9 billion in Firefly long-term bonds, and there are still $3.1 billion in remaining shares." If you insist on shutting down the hand-drawn animation division, it will definitely have an impact on Firefly's current bond issuance, have you considered it? ”

"Of course," Eric nodded, "Firefly has divested its print assets for sale and the hand-drawn animation division, which is likely to be sold, which will bring at least $2 billion in free cash flow to Firefly." This amount of money is more than enough to cover any possible impact of an unfavorable bond issuance. And, I believe that after the release of the Firefly financial report for the first half in July. The likelihood of bond sales being blocked is almost zero, and investors who aren't stupid can see a hand-drawn animation division that doesn't have much impact on Firefly Group's profitability. ”

"Well, I don't have any problems here," Buffett finally said, "Eric, if you need our help with this, can you just ask?" ”

Eric tapped on a few documents on the table and said, "Regarding the contents of this document, I hope everyone can keep it confidential, once it is leaked, those potential buyers will definitely change their minds." ”

Buffett has recorded the entire document in his mind with his extraordinary memory, and he originally hoped to be able to leave this document for a good taste, but Eric said this, Buffett picked up the information and handed it over in order to show his sincerity, and said with a smile: "In this case, maybe it is safer for you to bring this document back." ”

Tom. Murphy and David. West then handed the file back to Eric as well.

Eric did not refuse, put away a few documents, and said: "Also, about this matter, as long as everyone can cooperate and help persuade the other shareholders to remain silent, and then wait for the final result." ”

Warren Buffett said, "No problem, I'll make a few phone calls after dinner." ”

Tom. Murphy and David. West made the same promise, and all three of them represented the interests of some of the original ABC shareholders behind them, and as long as they lobbied, there would definitely be no more chaos within the Fireflies.

After the disagreement was resolved, the next dinner was very pleasant, Buffett and the three were all elites who had been in the business world for decades, although Eric looked too young in the eyes of several people, but the complete memory bank of his previous life also made him face any topic of the three old men without falling behind, which also made the three Buffett impressed again.

It was already eleven o'clock at midnight when dinner ended, and because it was a civilian-level restaurant, the total consumption of five people was only 220 US dollars. The invitation was sent by Warren Buffett, but there was no scene of scrambling to pay the bills as usual in Eric's memory.

It's just that when Warren Buffett seriously calculated that there was a whole $33 tip and handed it to the waiter who had been looking forward to it all night, except for Tom. Murphy, an old friend who has been friends with Warren Buffett for many years, looks like he is familiar with it. West and even Kylie. All three of them have an urge to pretend to be passers-by.

Until sending the three of Buffett away in the car, Eric could still feel the female assistant next to him forcibly suppressing some impulsive emotions with a tense face.

Eric no longer concealed the smile he had been holding back just now, and said to Kelly, "Are you calculating the psychological shadow area of that waiter?" ”

Kelly. Haynes was stunned when he heard the completely unfamiliar phrase 'psychological shadow area', but he quickly realized the humor and ridicule in it, and his suppressed smile instantly bloomed, and said: "I think after this time, that waiter will definitely not have any expectations for billionaires." ”

Chatting casually, the two walked towards the parking lot next to it, where the driver was already waiting for the car.

The Italian restaurant shared the parking lot with a nearby movie theater, which happened to be the end of a movie screening. Spectators crowded out of the cinema. Towards Eric and Kelly. It's late at night. There are very few adults and children, and most of them are teenagers with a rich nightlife, and of course there are couples among them.

In order to avoid being recognized, Eric took out his sunglasses and put them on, noticing that the female assistant next to him happened to have his eyes on a couple who were almost glued together, and joked: "I also have a free arm for rent here, it's free." ”

Kelly. Haynes felt his heart pound, but he forced a calm glance at Eric: "Boss." You're really harassing. ”

Eric thought Kelly. Haynes got angry and was about to apologize, when the two met the rush of people. Haynes subconsciously reached out and grabbed the arm of the man next to him, and then, both of them couldn't help but pause.

Eric looked at the female assistant with a lowered gaze in confusion, although the sunglasses affected his vision, he still noticed that the woman's originally white face was stained with a layer of red.

After the crowd met with Eric, he quickly turned to the parking lot next to him. Seeing that the woman didn't let go of herself, Eric tentatively reached out and put her arm around the other person's waist. Follow the flow of people towards the parking lot.

Carter. Moen was not surprised to see the two of them approaching and quietly pulling the car door open, looking like he was oblivious.

But Kelly. Haynes was so ashamed that he almost wanted to run away, and a series of thoughts quickly crossed his mind: what happened to me, I certainly didn't mean to...... I'm ten years older than him, what would he think...... It seems that he has always liked mature neodymium people...... Phew, what am I thinking, it's so shameless...... This is your own boss...... Does he think I'm casual...... No, I have to let him go...... However, he put his arms around me, how can I let go...... It's over, this job is definitely going to be lost......

Eric gently let the woman into the carriage and sat down. Carter. Moen got into the car and waited quietly for the boss's orders, and based on experience, it shouldn't be to return to Sharp Corner Manor.

After a few minutes of silence, Eric glanced at the somewhat unrelenting female assistant, remembered the movie theater just now, and tentatively said, "Why don't you go to a midnight movie together?" ”

Kelly. Haynes finally came to his senses, quickly shook his head, and said, "It's late, I have to go to work tomorrow." ”

Eric tried to lighten the mood with a joke, saying, "Don't forget, your boss is around." ”

"But Mr. Katzenberg is not so talkative, and if I am late for tomorrow morning's meeting, he ...... He's going to be absolutely furious. ”

Eric would not interfere with the authority of the management because of such trivial matters, and said, "So, I'll send you back, where is your home?" ”

Kelly. Haynes was flustered again when he heard this, but he still gave his address.

Eric towards Carter. Moen motioned, and the car quickly started.

Forty minutes later, the limousine pulled up outside a villa in a wealthy neighborhood north of Santa Monica.

Because of the awkward contact just now, the two didn't communicate a few words along the way. Kelly. After Haynes got out of the car, Eric followed him out of politeness.

"See you tomorrow, then," Eric said, feeling that the atmosphere was still a little strange, and he subconsciously wanted to put his hands in his pockets, but he was now wearing a suit instead of casual clothes, which would look very weird, so he didn't move.

Kelly. Haynes hummed lowly, still not daring to make eye contact with Eric: "Good night, old ...... Boss. ”

Eric could sense the woman's deliberate intention to dissociate herself with this more formal title, and chimed in, "Good night, Miss Haynes." ”

The female assistant just subconsciously wanted to use the title 'boss' to remind herself and Eric, but when she heard Eric's also somewhat alienated title, she became apprehensive in her heart, and after a moment's pause, she said, "Otherwise, why don't you come in and have a cup of coffee." ”

Eric, who had always felt that he was a man of pity, felt the gains and losses of the woman in front of him, and a wave of irritability hit him, and he suddenly lost his patience. Turned around and knocked on the window next to the car, and waited for Carter. Moen lowered the window and said, "I'll go to Kelly's house for a cup of coffee, and you can pick me up tomorrow morning."

Mr. Bodyguard simply nodded in response, and then started the car and walked away.

Kelly. Haines stared at everything that suddenly happened in front of him dumbfounded, his face turned red again, and said, "I, I don't mean anything else, I really just want to, I want to invite you to a cup of coffee......"

At the end, the female assistant's voice was already inaudible, and she also realized that it was almost twelve o'clock now, what the hell was the coffee?

Eric savagely hugged the familiar body in front of him into his arms, and under the woman's weak resistance, he said: "I don't mean anything else, I haven't run a marathon for a long time, just drink a cup of coffee to refresh yourself and run back to Malibu, I will definitely be home before dawn." ”

Kelly. Haynes burst out laughing, and the last trace of tangle disappeared inexplicably, and said softly, "You're really a scoundrel." ”

Saying this, the woman didn't resist anything, walked into the villa together, didn't have time to turn on the light, the two figures in the dim were already pasted together, the maid kissed for a long time, felt Eric's more and more presumptuous movements, the female assistant was about to say something, but a somewhat puzzled voice had already sounded in advance: "Ms. Haines, is it you?" ”

Kelly. Haynes bounced off Eric like an electric shock, and replied in a trembling voice, "Janie, it's me, you...... You go back to sleep. ”

The voice paused, but quickly replied, "Yes, Miss Haynes." ”

After listening intently for a while, to make sure that the other party did not mean to go out of the room, Kelly relieved her heart, and felt Eric entangled again, she quickly pushed the man away, and whispered, "I'll go see Nina." ”

Eric snorted, feeling the woman in the glimmer walking towards a nearby room, and subconsciously followed.

Come to the door, Kelly. Haynes realized Eric behind him, and thinking of what would happen next, the woman couldn't help but feel shy, and said angrily, "You, don't follow up." ”

Eric thought that Kelly was going to his daughter's bedroom, and stopped in his tracks.

After a few minutes, the female assistant came out squirming again, and Eric no longer continued to endure it, and picked up the woman with a rough grunt, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Where's the bedroom?" ”

The woman's body trembled slightly and pointed in a direction, and the two figures quickly disappeared into a room.

What they didn't know was that in the nanny's room, another girl named Jennifer stood behind the door that had opened a crack, her eyes wide open, and she stood there with one hand in her mouth for a few minutes, and then she couldn't sleep all night.

Thinking of the Hollywood bigwig he recognized because he was curious to snoop, the mess of thoughts in his mind turned all night. (To be continued.) )