Spielberg smiled happily and said enthusiastically;
"Boss King is now a man of the hour in Silicon Valley. We in the entertainment industry have long heard that you are an unparalleled business genius, comparable to Bill Gates of Microsoft. We hope to have the opportunity to work together."
"At your command at any time."
As soon as Wang Yaocheng said this, the atmosphere became more harmonious.
Hollywood movies also require investment from big investors to share box office risks.
Otherwise, a major production can easily cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Once it is ruined and all the money is lost, it is not uncommon for the company to go bankrupt. Even the major Hollywood companies cannot afford such huge losses.
In the 1960s, Fox Film Company's epic blockbuster "Cleopatra" had a sky-high budget, but it failed miserably at the box office, losing more than 30 million U.S. dollars, and almost bankrupting the film company.
In the 1970s, director Michael Cimino won the Oscar for Best Director with the movie "The Deer Hunter" and also made Robert De Niro and young actress Meryl Streep popular.
The honors that followed made Michael Cimino inflated beyond measure.
The next film "Heaven's Gate" was a commercial failure, sending him and United Artists directly into hell. The company went bankrupt and liquidated, and also ruined Michael Cimino's directorial career.
Now Mr. Steve Jobs is the boss of Pixar Animation Company. He has more than 60 talented animators with great ideas under his command. Naturally, he is closer to Hollywood.
Animation production was Steve Jobs' interest. Here he could test his ideas and use computers to create 3D animations.
This attracted director Spielberg, who also had a wild mind, and the two became very good friends.
"Catherine, come and greet Miss Guan Zhilin. We gentlemen need to smoke a cigar. I don't think you beautiful ladies will be interested in our topic."
"Okay, Steve."
The elegant hostess Catherine took away the beautiful vase Miss Guan Zhilin. She would talk to the ladies about Paris clothing brands, French wineries, and Italian bags. They should have a common language.
Elegant rooftop environment
The melodious violin music was gentle and sweet, and the young waiter served French red wine and ice cubes, then poured them for each big shot, and left quietly.
Marvel Animation CEO Stan Lee breaks his silence, saying;
"Last week, I met with the pop music superstar Michael. We all had a great time chatting together. He told me that he wanted to acquire Marvel Animation."
His words touched a sensitive nerve of Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone Fund;
"This is a very good idea. The popular music of Black Boy is combined with animation. If we buy a pizza shop, it will be perfect. Michael can eat pizza at home and watch the animation. He can also sing a few lines when he is happy.
The kid also started working in investment banking."
"What you said is a bit harsh. Michael's skin is not dark. I heard he has been rinsed."
"Michael just likes the role of Spider-Man and hopes to make a movie and play Spider-Man himself." Stan Lee smiled reluctantly.
"Hahaha... The dark-skinned version of Spider-Man has had a plastic surgery on his nose. The photo will surely shock the world. I think we can spray spider silk from the inside of the nose. That would be even cooler."
Everyone laughed and took this matter as a joke. Wang Yaocheng's eyes flashed and he chuckled twice.
Since the popularity of TV movies, the comic industry has become increasingly difficult to operate. In 1984, the famous DC Comics wanted to sell to Marvel Animation, but was rejected.
If everyone's life is difficult, who would want to bring a gas bottle?
"Mr. Steve Jobs, I am very interested in the computer-aided production system (caps) developed by Pixar Animation. If I have the opportunity, I would like to visit it."
Director Spielberg has many genius ideas, but they cannot be fully displayed due to existing shooting methods, so he has always been keenly interested in new achievements in the technology industry.
"Of course, Wang, are you interested in taking a look together? You will like it." Mr. Steve Jobs sincerely extended the invitation.
"Oh! I will make time in these two days. Can we make a specific appointment?"
Wang Yaocheng responded positively;
"I have great admiration for Steve's outstanding abilities, and I am willing to strengthen cooperation if there is an opportunity. After all, animation is everyone's childhood dream. We have grown up together with good memories."
"Thank you for your compliment."
Steve Jobs raised his glass happily and took a big sip of red wine.
Pixar Animation is still a small workshop now, and Wang Yaocheng will not let it pass if he has the opportunity to invest in advance. As for producing excellent animation products, that is what Pixar Animation is best at, and there is no need for guidance from an outsider like himself.
As long as you take advantage of it and make some money, why not pick up the money you have?
Don't look at the fact that Pixar animation is now available everywhere, shooting 3D animation advertisements for commercial companies, starting up animations for IBM computers, and doing small jobs such as corporate logos. It's like a motley crew fighting guerrillas everywhere.
But with Joe at the helm, Pixar Animation will produce the hit animated feature film "Toy Story" in 1995. The animation production takes a long time, and it should have started by now, right?
Calculate roughly the worth of each person sitting here;
Pixar Animation’s Steve Jobs earned around $120 million,
Director Spielberg received $80 million,
Blackstone invests $200 million in Steve Schwarzman
Marvel Animation CEO Stan Lee $10 million
Where is Wang Yaocheng?
After the first round of IPO, he received at least US$200 million in cash and owned 78% of Netscape's stock, worth US$780 million. He is the richest among everyone here.
The United States is a business society where money is paramount, especially businessmen. Even the high-tech elites in Silicon Valley are businessmen, and money represents their status.
You can be jealous, but you can't ignore it.
It is precisely because of this that Wang Yaocheng can sit here and talk to all the big guys, because he is full of confidence.
Bill Gates and the famous investor Buffett have been friends for many years. Although there is a big age gap, they have the same status, so they interact as equals, just like old friends who have been together for decades.
Every big shot here wants to talk more with Wang Yaocheng, the newly minted billionaire, preferably in private and in depth.
After chatting for a while
"Boss King, can I talk to you alone?" Stan Lee, CEO of Marvel Animation, took the lead.
"Oh...Okay! Gentlemen, please excuse me."
Wang Yaocheng said goodbye to everyone politely, and the two of them left the rooftop one after another.
rooftop
"Jobs, can't I talk to the boss? This is a big business involving billions of dollars. It's not easy for me to have this opportunity to meet alone."
Blackstone Investment Steve Schwarzman couldn't help complaining and jealously watched the two people leaving.
"Please understand, I don't want the boss to leave a bad impression. He is here to have fun. Let's call it a day, okay? Don't talk about business anymore." Steve Jobs was firm.
"Oh... Shet! This damn boring party." Steve Schwarzman finally cursed.
Steve Jobs shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Thank you for the compliment."
In a secluded study room
"I chatted with Steve Jobs for a while beforehand, and used old favors to get the opportunity to talk to you alone this time. To be honest, I have no choice now."
Stan Lee, who is 72 years old this year, has white beard and hair, but he looks energetic, even more energetic than middle-aged people.
"I have spent almost all my life in Marvel Animation. It has been 43 years now. I know every animated character very well. I regard these animated characters as my own children and have deep feelings. I don't want to watch them.
Marvel Animation is in complete decline.”
Wang Yaocheng listened attentively to the emotional speech. There seemed to be sparkling tears in his eyes. He looked extremely moved.
"Marvel animation has been with us since childhood, including Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Hulk! And Avengers. Every animated character is familiar to me, and I can understand it.
your mood.
Stan Lee, but this is the harsh reality, business is business, feelings cannot represent business.
With the development of the film and television industry, coupled with the subsequent wave of personal computers, animation books have become unpopular, and hundreds of animation publishing houses have closed down. It is really heartbreaking!"
Wang Yaocheng Weiran sighed deeply.
In 1992, the animation industry ushered in its darkest moment.
As a leader in the industry, Marvel Animation is also having an extremely difficult life. As for DC Animation, talking about it is full of sadness, and I don’t even want to give it away to others.
Ronald Perelman, the boss of Marvel Animation, has no feelings for the company and just wants to run it and make a lot of money.
In 1991, Perelman took the Marvel Animation operation public and successively promoted mergers and acquisitions, hoping to increase the value of his shares and cash out.
However, God did not fulfill his wish.
The stock price of Marvel Animation has dropped from more than 30 US dollars at the beginning of the listing to 13 US dollars. The company is heavily in debt and the market sales are bleak. Marvel Animation's upcoming semi-annual report will not surprisingly record a large loss, and the stock price has fallen.
Trends are inevitable.
Now, Parmut, the second largest shareholder, and Karl, another director, are at odds with each other and have gone to court. The relationship between them is very bad, making the company's operations even worse.
Now that this difficult situation is before us, Marvel Animation CEO Stan Lee feels like he has grasped a life-saving straw when he sees Wang Yaocheng.
Wang Yaocheng spread his hands with a look of embarrassment;
"I really sympathize with your situation, but Red Hat has no plans to run the animation business, and it doesn't have the relevant talents. I know nothing about it, so how can I help you?"