Chapter 547: Premiere Invitation

Robert Iger didn't stay long. After a brief chat with Duke, he said his goodbyes and left the Waldorf Grand Hotel. Their conversation hadn't touched much on the disputes among Walt Disney, Duke, and Warner Brothers. Everyone in Hollywood knew perfectly well by now that Pixar Studio was truly breaking away from the Disney system.

Although negotiations with Warner Brothers and Duke Studio were still bogged down in haggling, Steve Jobs's stance was steadily becoming clear. Barring any major surprises, the talks were bound to succeed.

"Did he really just come to visit you?" From across the suite, Tina Fey slowly turned the cup in her hands, asking with considerable curiosity. "Or does he have another motive?"

"We've collaborated with Walt Disney in the past, but now..." Leaning back in his high-backed chair, Duke slowly shook his head. "The Pixar Studio pie is simply too big. It's big enough to turn any partners against each other, and our history of working with Disney is too far in the past."

How had the enemies he targeted in the past come to be? They were all people who had reached onto his plate to steal a piece of his pie.

By the same logic, regarding the Pixar Studio matter, Duke had used his position as a major Apple shareholder to exert a certain amount of influence over Steve Jobs, which had already created sharp friction with Disney.

For Disney's emperor, Michael Eisner, in particular, losing Pixar Studio would have a massive impact on his future.

At the Disney shareholder meeting earlier this year, a considerable number of shareholders had already voiced their dissatisfaction. If Michael Eisner's past track record hadn't been so brilliant, he might have even faced a vote of no confidence from a large faction.

According to Disney's bylaws, if forty percent of the voting shares cast a vote of no confidence, Michael Eisner would be forced to resign.

Even though today's Walt Disney was no longer the Disney family's Disney, and Michael Eisner was wildly ambitious, the company hadn't yet been rebranded with the surname Eisner.

"Iger is a talented man." With Tina Fey, Duke was always direct. "He's also an ambitious one."

In Duke's previous life, Robert Iger had been the very man to become CEO of Walt Disney after Michael Eisner stepped down, leading the entire group to successively acquire Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm. He had ushered in a new era of fairy-tale films, eventually elevating Walt Disney to the position of the world's number one media conglomerate.

How could a man like that willingly endure being sidelined by Michael Eisner forever?

The fact that he hadn't left Walt Disney yet meant he was definitely plotting something. By the same logic, his visit to Duke to close the distance between them wasn't merely for the sake of their old friendship.

Duke would have to be an idiot to believe Robert Iger had just casually dropped by to see him.

A Walt Disney as powerful as the one from his past undoubtedly conflicted with Duke's interests. Today's Disney, under Michael Eisner's years of tyrannical pressure, still had a management team that remained fairly unified.

If Michael Eisner stepped down and Robert Iger—a layman in film production but with a milder temperament and a sharper mind for marketing—took the reins, it would likely be a massive boon for Disney...

Duke had interacted with Robert Iger quite a bit. He knew full well that the man was extremely capable.

"Are you going to help him?" Tina Fey was the only one who could ask such a blunt question in front of Duke. "Help him push out Michael Eisner?"

"How could we help?" Glancing back at his female assistant, Duke picked up his water glass, took an unhurried sip, and thought for a moment before answering. "If it were the CEO of Warner Brothers, I'd have the power to help him, but our hands don't reach that far into Disney."

His status in Hollywood was indeed high enough, and he wielded immense power, but he wasn't the center of the world.

Tina Fey suddenly switched to a joking tone. "If he can snatch Pixar Studio back, pushing out Michael Eisner shouldn't be too hard."

Duke slowly shook his head. "I don't want Robert Iger to succeed."

"Hmm..." Tina Fey thought for a moment and understood what Duke meant. "A rapidly expanding Disney doesn't do us any good..." Pausing, she seemed to remember something else and abruptly changed the subject. "By the way, Duke, I heard a rumor."

"What rumor?" Duke asked.

"Walt Disney wants to invest heavily in China to build the largest Disneyland in Asia." After saying this, Tina Fey elaborated, "According to Hollywood's estimates, China's economic development is extremely fast. Within about ten years, it could become the world's second-largest film market. But due to their unique national conditions, it isn't easy for any company's films to enter."

Tapping his fingers lightly against the armrest of his chair, Duke slowly furrowed his brows. If he were just a simple director, he naturally wouldn't need to consider such matters. But he was a major shareholder of Warner Brothers and held a massive stake in Marvel Comics; there were some things he couldn't afford to ignore.

He slowly asked, "Tina, how many Disneylands are actually turning a profit?"

"Except for the ones in California and Florida, they're basically all operating at a loss." Recalling the relevant data, Tina Fey said, "If we're just talking about theme park revenue, the overseas Disneylands aren't performing very well. Disney has been trying to sell off some of its shares in the Paris and Tokyo Disneylands to ease their financial pressure."

In truth, Duke knew very well that the cost of maintaining a Disneyland was simply astronomical. The purpose behind building a Disneyland had never been just about a simple theme park.

Rather, it was more like a massive platform. The Disney shopping town located right in front of the park was Disney's true focal point for generating revenue.

And whenever shares in a Disneyland were transferred, the Disney town was always excluded from the deal.

"It's a stepping stone." Standing up and pacing around the living room, Duke quickly made the connection to other areas. "Building a Disneyland requires a massive investment, and it's not just the park itself. Combined with the surrounding hotels and other supporting facilities, the economic ripple effect driven by a Disneyland could easily exceed thirty billion dollars."

"For any country..." Tina Fey looked at Duke and said, "that's an investment they wouldn't be able to refuse." A hint of confusion appeared on her face. "But Hong Kong already has a Disneyland."

"But the significance of this new Disneyland is far greater." Duke stopped pacing. Standing in front of the hotel window and gazing west, he said, "If such a massive investment goes through, Disney will inevitably receive preferential treatment from the government there. Their products might even gain full access to the market—for example, movies and movie merchandise..."

Just the perk of not having release dates lag too far behind North America could bring enormous revenue for a film.

In the future, had any Hollywood film ever truly achieved blockbuster status in that market if its release was delayed by a month?

"That puts us at a disadvantage." Tina Fey immediately grasped the crux of the issue. "They have a fixed quota for the number of films imported each year. If Disney takes up too much of that quota, our films..."

She instantly thought of the cinematic universe plans for Marvel and DC. Those were massive investments that easily cost one to two hundred million dollars. If that market was truly as enticing as estimated, Disney would absolutely damage their interests over there.

Walking back to his seat, Duke slowly sat down, frowning as he pondered the future. In his previous life, after Disney unleashed the ultimate trump card of a new Disneyland, they undoubtedly achieved massive success—and the actual investment wasn't as high as people imagined.

The prime example of this was the funding. Even the Walt Disney Group couldn't possibly shell out that much capital to construct a Disneyland on their own.

If he remembered correctly, the funds the Disney Group used to build that Disneyland came from loans from several of that country's state-owned banks. Disney merely used future revenue as collateral; in reality, the amount of their own capital they used was practically negligible.

All of this could be said to tie back to Robert Iger. In his past life, it had all occurred during Iger's tenure.

"Tina, have someone keep an eye on Iger." Duke looked at his female assistant. "A chaotic Disney is what suits our needs."

The best-case scenario would be for Robert Iger and Michael Eisner to fight to the death. That would inevitably impact Disney's performance and operations.

He quickly added, "Make a trip back to Los Angeles and go see Doug Walter. Tell him it's my idea—ask if Warner can consider building a Warner Grand World on the other shore. If possible, have them make initial contact and leak a bit of relevant information."

Tina Fey immediately understood Duke's intention. "Squeeze out Disney by offering more favorable terms?"

"It would be best if we could squeeze them out..." Duke sighed softly. Although Warner Grand World was also famous, its brand recognition overseas was nowhere near comparable to Disneyland.

The two discussed a few more details. Tina Fey had just called the captain of Duke's private jet and was preparing to return to her room to pack her luggage when a crisp knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Tina Fey went over and opened the door, speaking briefly with a crew member. She then closed the door and walked back, holding an exquisite invitation in her hand.

Looking at the gilded design, Duke asked with mild curiosity, "Who sent this?"

"Someone is inviting you to a Premiere." Walking over, Tina Fey handed the invitation to Duke. "David Ellison specifically had someone deliver this. It's an invitation for you to attend the Premiere of Flyboys in New York."

"He really put some thought into this." Duke opened it, took a glance, and set it aside. "It seems David Ellison has plenty of confidence in his new film."

"I heard he even played a role in the movie," Tina Fey said. "Are you going to go?"

"Of course I'm going." Duke stood up. "Why wouldn't I?"