King of Hollywood

Chapter 76 This is the Counterattack

"This is the first animation in history that is completely made by computer. Pixar has shown us a feature-length animation that is different from traditional hand-drawn animation. I believe this will be another milestone in the history of animation!"--"Los Angeles Times"

"This is a story about your toy actually having life. It may sound ordinary, but this will be another revolution in the animation industry since the birth of "Snow White" 40 years ago!"----" The New Yorker

"A heartwarming comedy for the common man, clear for those with a discerning nose, and the biggest leap forward in animation since Disney released 'Snow White!'" - Variety

The media is almost overwhelmingly full of praise for "Toy Story", whether it is the story, art or technology, they all give full affirmation, such things are almost one of the few. Although "Mission: Impossible" has also received a lot of praise, it basically tells a good story. Everyone knows that the target of this movie is the market, so no one will explore the connotation. Even in Forrest Gump, the story and art are top-notch, but technically nobody says anything.

It seems inappropriate to compare live-action movies with animated movies, but this also shows how shocking the digital 3D animation of "Toy Story", which is completely made by computers, has brought to people.

"Everyone has played with toys as children, dolls, dolls, green GIs, etc. If one day they have a life and will get up and play when you are away, and they make it their mission to please you and keep you company, then it will What kind of story happens? Pixar's "Toy Story" tells such a story.

Cowboy Woody is the little master's favorite toy, and he is also the leader of all the toys. Whenever the little master is away, they will play happily. But what scares all toys the most is the addition of new toys, because it means that other toys will fall out of favor or even be abandoned. Even the little master's favorite cowboy, Woody, began to face this crisis after the arrival of the space toy Buzz Lightyear, so Woody tried every means to drive Buzz away. Into the neighbor's yard, and the neighbor's kid is a toy sadist, all the toys fall into his hands will be dismantled, Woody and Buzz want to avoid the bad luck and go home, so they have to work together .

This is just a simple introduction, and more exciting things can only be realized after watching the movie. Pixar has created a large number of lifelike characters, timid dinosaurs, fun spring dogs, and nagging Mr. Gacha, who don’t want to lose their status Woody, who can understand where the mistakes are, and Buzz Lightyear, who always thought he was a space fighter until the end, and so on, are all impressive, and many plots that have been flooded in live-action movies , put in this animated movie without the slightest old-fashioned feeling, if you want to watch movies with the whole family, "Toy Story" is definitely the first choice.

Congratulations to Pixar, they opened an era. "

—Scott Hoffman, Empire

That's right, Pixar has ushered in an era, and the praise of "the biggest leap in the field of animation" is not enough. Many film critics also declared that "I can't imagine a movie that is more interesting than "Toy Story"" and " "Toy Story" is the most inventive comedy movie of the year" or "Pixar's creativity is simply amazing" and so on.

God knows that just a few years ago, they still had no hope for computer animation. Even though Pixar's short film received a lot of praise, some people still ridiculed them as the ugly ducklings of Silicon Valley. When Jobs sold it to Adrian, many people I also think this is the smartest thing Jobs did after leaving Apple. Even just a few weeks ago, when the people who attended the test screenings were unanimous in their praise of the film, some still thought it was overblown.

Now that "Toy Story" hits 6 North American theaters and swept the movie box office, it's no less than slapping them in the face. But how can the critics take this slap to heart? Many times in this business, you have to be thick-skinned. If you make a wrong judgment, you will make a judgment. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Who doesn't make mistakes? What's more, the vast majority of people are still wrong.

So they selectively forgot what they had said before, and began to put all the beautiful words and sentences on "Toy Story" and Pixar. It was also taken out to chatter, but it couldn't hide the light of this animated movie.

In short, Pixar, the ugly duckling of Silicon Valley, has completely turned around this time.

"I guess I don't have to say any more, congratulations, congratulations to... all of us!" said John Last, holding a mug in the Pixar conference room that had been emptied and refurbished In the end, the voice became a little choked up, and the eyes behind the disc glasses began to sparkle. Fortunately, he quickly raised the cup, and then the applause rang out enthusiastically, and everyone in Pixar was shocked. The glow of excitement.

"John seems a little too excited." Adrian, who was standing with Ed Kamol, said while clapping his hands.

"It's not surprising, considering our efforts," Kamal shrugged, "Me too."

"Then why did you refuse to give a speech before?" Adrian asked immediately.

"Didn't you also decline, Ed?" The person in charge of Pixar immediately asked him with a smile:

"I'm different. I just provided funding and business. Without your persistence, there would be no Pixar today." Adrian waved his hand, "I'm not as qualified as Steve to give a speech."

"You are too modest. Everyone knows that without your funds, our studio might have closed down; without your marketing and publicity, "Toy Story" would not have such an enthusiastic response." Kamal shook his head.

"But you also have to admit that if it weren't for Steve's support for seven consecutive years without counting losses, Pixar wouldn't be where it is today, right?" Adrian said with a smile.

"It is true-John is the chief director, and I am more in charge of the overall planning. I have credit for the success of the studio, but with the success of this movie, his credit is the biggest." Kamal immediately Changing the subject, "So it would be a good idea to let him up and give a speech to boost morale."

"Forget it, you just want to be lazy, Ed." Last's voice came from the side with a tease, but it immediately turned depressed: "Sorry, I didn't mean you, Ed."

Adrian and Cameron both burst into laughter.

"Do you have any arrangements for work recently, John?" Adrian suddenly asked after chatting with John Last and Andrew Stanton who came later.

"Not yet, do you have any good ideas?" Ruster's heart moved slightly. How could they not know Adrian's name in the entertainment industry, but what disappointed him was that the other party didn't express anything in particular.

"Then take a break," Adrian said with a smile, "Pixar has achieved unprecedented success, so you might as well go on a trip with your family or bring some limited-edition toys to your children-you know, these toys are not good now. .”

Hearing the latter sentence, the people around who laughed again felt elated at the same time. The popularity of "Toy Story" is difficult to describe in words, not to mention the box office and word-of-mouth. Originally, Adrian had already contacted the toy manufacturer. After the movie was released, it began to produce and put it on the market, but in the end it was still in short supply. . Although this is also due to Claude's reservations and the fact that there are not many orders, it also shows the popularity of the movie.

"You don't have to worry, Ed. Before the toys came out, they each got a set. They have already calculated it." Kamal pointed to Ruster and Stanton and smiled.

"It's a pity, I also prepared a few sets to see if anyone doesn't have them and give them to him." Adrian said nonchalantly.

"I didn't, Ed!" Stanton immediately raised his hand and shouted, which immediately attracted another burst of laughter.

"In short, in a few weeks, after everyone has adjusted, we will discuss the next development. I believe you should have a blueprint for the future in your heart." Adrian then said so.

"Yes." Lust's eyes lit up again.

"By the way, Ed, several magazines such as "Fortune" and "Hollywood Reporter" want to invite us to do an exclusive interview about this movie and the technology of computer animation, etc. I think you may be interested in participating." Kamol said Shi said again.

"Forget it," Adrian refused after thinking for a while, "I only understand computer animation technology, and those of you who develop and use it know best. Similarly, I may have some opinions on movies, but Who knows better than John and Andrew? So just let you do the interview."

He wasn't Jobs, and Jobs needed to take those credits to himself to build a reputation for his return to Apple, but he didn't have to. Therefore, it is not a bad thing to sell favors to Kamal and the others. Anyway, except for the most basic attention since taking over, Kamal has handled most of the affairs, so it is not bad to keep it like this.

Compared with Pixar's elation and elation, Dinis's side has a feeling of asking questions.

"To put it simply, you think that when you gave up Pixar—and gave it up without reservation—I must take responsibility for it, is that right, Mr. Craven?" Michael? Eisner looked expressionlessly at Jeffrey Craven, who was in the third position on the right, and said in a slow tone.

Although he looks very calm, no different from his usual appearance, those who are familiar with him know that this strong man is probably already furious, so even Ke Ke who talked freely and criticized him at the meeting before Raven couldn't help swallowing after listening to Eisner's words.

But this state only lasted a few seconds, and he immediately continued to speak loudly: "There is no doubt about it, look at how far Disney's animation department has fallen!"

"We only produced the best 2D animation "The Lion King" last year." Someone reminded me.

"Yes, but so what? The animation department is almost the most idle department now," Craven retorted immediately, "It's not that Cowles and the others think so. There have been several project proposals before but they were all rejected. And Mike himself vetoed it."

Speaking of this, he turned his head and looked at Eisner: "I know you have your considerations, Mike, and I also know that the company's development today is not dependent on the animation department alone, but don't you think you seem to have forgotten something?"

"That's right," another director also said following Craven's words, "Disney started with animation. For a long time, we were at the top of the animation industry in the United States. No matter what Warner they launched No amount of good animated characters can replace us, but now the things we are most proud of are dying, even though they made the best 2D animation."

"Lack of funds, lack of support, more and more marginalized, this is the current situation of the animation department." Craven then said, without giving Eisner and others a chance to refute, "I know you are very good, Mike , Disney would not be where it is today without you, but you are too arbitrary in some aspects. We would have had a chance to continue to maintain our advantages. At the time, Cox suggested more than once to maintain cooperation with Pixar, but it was Wan’s investment. , at best, was an investment in a low-budget movie, but you gave it up because of a few words from Adrian Cowell."

Speaking of this, Craven raised his hands and didn't speak again, but the meaning couldn't be more obvious.

"No one really thought that Pixar could be so successful. I think anyone who faced that situation at that time would make the same decision." One of the directors who stood by Eisner immediately said.

"At least our current opponent, Adrian Kewell, has that vision." Craven said bluntly.

"It means that his vision is unparalleled?" A neutral director said playfully.

Craven was stunned for a moment and immediately realized that this sentence is equivalent to saying that Michael Eisner is not even as good as a young man. Normally, Eisner might just laugh at it, but it is hard to say how he will react now. , The guy who spoke was obviously provoking. But Craven quickly put it behind him. Anyway, Eisner has been completely offended, and it doesn't matter if he adds more.

"In any case, I think the board of directors should be given a representative." He spread his hands and made a gesture of "you can figure it out", then closed his mouth and stopped talking.

The meeting room fell silent, and everyone turned their eyes to the chairman sitting on the table. Eisner, who was still expressionless, finally spoke again: "I remember that the theme of the meeting was to discuss how to further comprehensively Why did the question of launching an acquisition turn into a question about this little thing?"

Without waiting for Craven to speak, he immediately continued: "Indeed, everyone knows that Adrian Kewell has a unique vision, so we are here to discuss how to complete this acquisition as soon as possible, why is it inexplicable?" moved on to other issues."

"I'm just exercising my rights," Craven said right away, but with almost a decade of Eisner's prestige, it didn't sound all that confident.

"Really? So, I should resign as chairman immediately?" Eisner finally showed a sneer.

Craven's complexion suddenly became ugly. Of course he had this idea, otherwise why would he deliberately single out the problem at this time, but how can he say such things now? In an instant, the meeting room became quiet, and the temperature also dropped several degrees. Eisner is worthy of being an old fox, and a simple sentence made everyone unable to speak again.

After a while, he stood up as if nothing had happened: "Well, it seems that there is nothing to do today, so let's end the meeting."

After saying that, he walked out without looking back, and everyone in the meeting room breathed a sigh of relief. Those who were familiar with each other talked a few words, and then walked out of the meeting room with different expressions. Craven was last, and although he had a bad feeling, he still tightened his tie and tried to look calm.

"Hey, Mike, I'm planning to find you." When Eisner was about to return to his office, a familiar voice stopped him, and then Michael Ovitz appeared in front of him with a smile on his face. .

"What's wrong? The meeting didn't go well?" He immediately noticed his strangeness.

"If you have anything to say, just tell the throne of God Seal." Eisner asked stiffly.

Ovitz frowned immediately, but seeing that he was not in a good mood, he didn't ask any questions, and then he talked about his work: "I have an idea that needs your support about the acquisition and TV station, maybe we can... "

"Just do what I say!" Eisner interrupted him rudely.

"..." A look of astonishment flashed across Ovitz's face, and his brows frowned even deeper: "You haven't listened to my detailed description, Mike, even if you have other opinions, you should at least..."

"I don't need to listen to your description, Mike!" Eisner suddenly turned his head and looked at him with cold eyes, "You just need to do what I say, understand?!"

Ovitz stared at him blankly, not understanding what was going on at all. Although both of them were named Michael, it seemed a bit funny when they called each other "Mike" like this, but no one around them dared to laugh. , In fact, they have long been hiding away. It is better to ignore this kind of conflict between the chairman and the chairman.

"Okay, you are the chairman, you have the final say." After staring at each other for a long while, Ovitz finally chose to compromise, raised his hands and waved twice, and said in a disinterested manner.

Eisner didn't speak any more, turned around and strode towards the end of the corridor, and quickly disappeared before Ovitz's eyes. Only then did Ovitz raise his hands, looked around the empty surroundings again, and then snorted half self-mocking and half annoyed.

"If you just do what you say, what the hell do you want me to do?!"