Chapter 740 of the text acquires Pixar

Next chapter

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said to Lucas: "George, I have an idea, I plan to buy your computer animation department!" ”

Lucas had heard the news from Kamel, and was looking for an opportunity to bring it up, so he asked, "Lin, are you interested in computer special effects and animation?" ”

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said: "Although I am not a filmmaker, I predict that with the advancement of IT technology, computer special effects will become more and more realistic in the future, and can bring a better visual experience to moviegoers!" ”

Lucas agreed: "Yes, yes, I've always felt that computers are getting more and more useful in movies!" ”

He stretched out his hand and shook hands with Lin Qiangsheng and said, "So, Lin, how much money are you going to pay to buy my computer animation department?" ”

Lucas was quite direct, and Michelle, Lin's secretary, asked a little about Lucasfilm and himself.

The current "Pixar" has been stored separately in Lucasfilm as a computer graphics department, and it is independently accounted for.

Lin Qiangsheng got the news that George Lucas paid a large breakup fee to his wife for the divorce this year, and Lucasfilm's works after the "Star Wars" series were not satisfactory, the box office was not good, and the investment in several films did not recover their costs, and they lost a lot of money.

Lucas's company is facing serious cash flow problems, with multiple divisions within the company facing mergers or divestitures, and the computer graphics division is part of the cutback plan. However, the heads of the department at this time, who would later be the founders of Pixar, Edwin Kamel and Elvey Smith, were not reconciled. Lucas even told them that they could find a home for Pixar themselves, and if they couldn't find a buyer before the end of the year, Pixar would close down and lay off their staff. People will lose their jobs.

So when he learned that Lin Johnson was interested in "Pixar", Camel was quite happy and informed George Lucas as soon as possible.

Pixar currently employs 44 people. Calculating the valuation, Lin Qiangsheng knows that the value of this department is only about $5 million.

But. He still wanted to hear about Lucas's psychological price, so he asked, "George, can you make a price?" ”

Lucas looked at Lin Qiangsheng, he weighed the strength of the other party, and thought that Lin Qiangsheng had full capital to acquire "Pixar", and he could make a sum of money from it.

Originally, Lucas's heart price was $15 million, but he felt that if Lin Johnson bought "Pixar", he would definitely not be able to make such a small amount of money. The other party owns 3 large computer companies. There is also a semiconductor company, two car factories, financiers and investors.

This young Chinese man has a lot of halos on his head, which makes him dumbfounded, but it's a pity that it's not white, otherwise Lin Qiangsheng would be the illegitimate son of Goddess Luck!

Lucas hesitated for a moment and said to Lin Qiangsheng: "You know, I put a lot of energy and money into computer animation, and I have high expectations for 'Pixar'!" ”

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Although I don't want to stimulate you. But right now your studio is really going through the toughest times, and I'd like to see some sincerity! ”

Lucas nodded and said simply, "$20 million." I can sell you 'Pixar'! ”

"$20 million is too expensive, if you even sell ILM, I will consider $40 million, and I appreciate your special effects company too!" Lin Qiangsheng shook his head again and again and said.

Lucas has had a bad year this year, although he has the brilliant achievements of "Star Wars" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", he can't stop the low point of his life. He himself was now bearded, his thick hair was already a little gray, and his messy beard was covered with white stubble, and he was wearing a denim shirt and jeans. The whole person is a little depressed.

$40 million? Lucas was moved almost instantly, but he quickly shook his head. said: "Industrial Light & Magic has my life's work here, I will never sell it!" ”

He solemnly said to Lin Qiangsheng: "'Pixar'." I sold it to you for $15 million, and I was going to sell it for that price! ”

Lin Qiangsheng looked at him, maybe the current George Lucas is not a pure businessman, and he still insists on movies.

He thought about it, Kamuel had already approached Jobs, but the other party was only willing to bid $5 million, not only because of the big gap between Lucas's price, but even Camel felt insulted.

But Jobs, no matter how he said it, was white, a leading figure in the American tech world, and although he was now squeezed out of Apple's board of directors, he was more appealing than himself. Moreover, Siemens and Herman, the greeting card company, are both interested in "Pixar", Siemens hopes to apply "Pixar" image technology to the medical field, and the latter hopes to use "Pixar" technology to improve the quality of its greeting card system. So, there is no shortage of buyers for "Pixar".

So Lin Johnson said: "$8 million, buy your computer animation department!" On top of that, I'm paying another $100 million to buy a 40% stake in Lucasfilm! ”

Lucas glared at Lin Qiangsheng and said in surprise: "100 million US dollars and 40% shares, are you kidding?" The value of "Star Wars" is more than $2 billion! ”

Lin Qiangsheng shrugged his shoulders and said, "But you don't have the money to shoot "Star Wars" now, do you!" Besides, "Star Wars" has already filmed one, two, and three films, and the box office is gradually decreasing, which shows that the audience is tired of it, and God knows when the fourth part will be filmed! ”

Lucas was silent for a moment, shook his head and said: "I will sell you the animation department for $8 million, and you will invest another $100 million in the fourth part of "Star Wars", and we will **** share!" Although the audience has lost a bit, it will take two or three years for the film to prepare for filming, and I think the box office will definitely be able to recover by then! ”

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and said, "No, no, no, this is not possible, and Disney you haven't counted yet, they will definitely join in!" I insist on 40% of the company's shares, and I still invest in "Star Wars", I will be six and you will be four! ”

Jamie Curtis was stunned to watch the bargaining between two people, one is a well-known American director, and the other is a young Chinese investor.

Originally, she came to thank Lin Qiangsheng, her short film salary was 20,000 US dollars, although it was not much, but it was not small, and Jamie's previous thrillers were not much money. Although in the process of filming, Lin Qiangsheng did not eat her tofu less, but this man is not annoying, and she still has a good impression of him.

Lucas didn't agree to $100 million to buy 40% of the company's shares, and he was very angry at Lin Johnson's robbery, saying: "Lin, $100 million is too low, my film company has been working with Disney, and I believe they will invest in the next Star Wars!" ”

Lin Qiangsheng shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay, I'll insist on 8 million to buy the computer animation department." Although Siemens and Herman, the greeting card company, are interested in Pixar at the moment, they are clearly not good candidates for Pixar. And the other buyer, Steve Jobs, as far as I know, is actually more interested in your graphics technology, and he didn't buy 'Pixar' to make animations, but to build graphics computers!

Actually, I don't think Jobs knew much about the computer industry, he was an artistic genius, imaginative and able to make products that people love the senses, but he didn't know much about business and computers, and his 'Lisa' at Apple failed miserably in the market. And if Steve Jobs wants to build a graphics computer now, I don't think he will succeed, because the current personal computer can't keep up with the capabilities of the graphics workstation, and there are no decisive applications on the market, and the software and hardware technology can't reach it. ”

(Historically, after Jobs bought Pixar, he came out with two graphics machines, referred to as PI, the first generation cost 125,000 dollars, and like Lisa, he felt too good about himself, the price was too expensive, and there were no applications, and failed; The second generation, which cost $30,000, was also a failure. Later, Steve Jobs declared that "rendering technology" was a key core of Pixar, rather than hardware manufacturing, and optimistically estimated that by the end of the 80s, rendering technology would become standard in all computers within a year or two. He was too ahead of his time, and if at the end of the 90s, in the United States, Jobs would have said something like that. As a result, Elvie Smith, one of the founders of Pixar, known as the "craftsman white light", fell out with Steve Jobs, had a big quarrel and disappeared from the Pixar stage. Jobs was so jealous that Elvi couldn't even leave his name, and Pixar simply erased his contributions. ”

In fact, Lin Johnson believes that the success of Pixar and Jobs in the 90s is completely due to the development and technological progress of the times. Jobs was so lucky, he and some people founded Apple in the 70s when the technology was at its most refreshed, and after the technology slowed down in the 80s, he failed and was forced to leave Apple, and came to Pixar with a stomach full of grievances.

In the 90s, during the great development of IT technology, Jobs was lucky to participate in the film industry, in fact, he is not a filmmaker himself, and he doesn't know anything about movies, he said this to Pixar's employees, at the end of the 80s, Pixar's most difficult period, 30 employees were laid off, and the company only had more than 70 people in total, and even the president he chose was fired.

At one point, Jobs wanted to shut down Pixar, knowing that if he failed again, people would abandon him as a person, which made him persist. He was lucky again, in the 90s, IT technology developed greatly, various applications continued to be produced, 3D technology really matured, Toy Story was a great success, so Jobs ushered in the peak of his career again!

Lin Qiangsheng feels that Jobs has one of the most significant advantages, he is a person who is very obsessed with technology and is very persistent. Many people can only keep the enthusiasm for new things for three minutes, but Jobs no, he can mobilize himself again and again, and he is also a design genius, a great master of craft design! (To be continued.) )