Eric glanced at the female assistant, and after receiving a reply, he continued to talk: "The income forms of animation peripherals are mainly divided into toy production, image licensing, amusement park themes, original sound discs, stage plays, etc., because the inherent Whether it is the types of toy peripherals that can be developed or the popularity, 3D animation far exceeds 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 peripheral toys, and the peripheral image authorization has reached more than 300 items. And "Beauty and the Beast" There are only more than 60 kinds of toys in total with "Aladdin", and the sales volume is far from that of 3D animation, and the number of peripheral licenses is also lower than that of 3D animation."
"Other types of peripherals, according to this data, the peripheral income of 3d animation has basically surpassed that of 2d animation, and the only peripheral revenue of 2d animation that is ahead of 3d animation is the box office revenue of stage plays adapted from animation. The theme of the story is relatively easy to adapt. But this part of the income is insignificant among all peripherals."
In the end, Eric concluded: "So, I can't think of a reason to continue to maintain the 2D animation department when there will be no advantages in terms of cost, box office and peripherals."
Noticing the expressions of the three old guys nodding at the same time, Eric smiled slightly, but did not intend to stop, turned to a new page, and said: "Then, the next thing is the difference in the production cycle of the two animation films."
Ignoring the obvious wry smiles shown by the three of them, Eric said to himself: "In the Disney era, from Michael Eisner in charge of Disney in 1984 and the adjustment of the animation department. The Mermaid was released. It took 5 years in total. And the subsequent animated films such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" basically started in the years when Michael Eisner took office."
"I have made simple statistics. The average production cycle of hand-drawn animation films is 5 years, because hand-drawn animation has a very big disadvantage compared to computer animation. After the animation images of computer animation are modeled in 3D by computer, many materials are It can be used repeatedly, which saves a lot of manpower and time costs. Therefore, Pixar only took more than two years to produce "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life."
"And every frame of hand-drawn animation must be drawn by the animator himself. In addition, in order to ensure that there is not too much useless work in the production process, it takes a long time before a hand-drawn animation project starts. Incubation period, determining every detail of an animated film, these can seriously delay the production process of a hand-drawn animation."
Noticing that the corner of David West's mouth moved, Eric smiled and said, "David, you must want to ask, why don't you hire more people?"
"Okay," David West spread his hands helplessly. Imitating Eric's tone very 'cooperatively': "Why don't you hire more people?"
There were chuckles from several other people in the box, and Eric also smiled and explained: "This brings me back to the topic I just said. After 3D animation is modeled by computer, the image of the animation character is fixed, so The number of animators responsible for a project can be many, of course, this number is absolutely impossible to expand indefinitely."
"However, hand-drawn animation is different, because different animators have their own painting styles. The number of animators for a project is limited to a certain range, and the style of the entire animation can be maintained. However, if there are too many people in the project, unless Producers and directors have super coordinating ability, otherwise, the audience may find that the style and even the image of the characters before and after the film are different during the viewing process. I think no matter who encounters this situation during the viewing process , the mood will be very bad, right?"
After the three of Buffett were 'forced' to nod again, Eric said: "Actually, a long production cycle is not a big deal. As long as it can bring excellent works and huge profits, I don't think time is a problem. But Here is the problem, compared to 3D animation, the production cycle of 2D animation is not only long, but also has another very important disadvantage, do you know what it is?"
Buffett shook his head with a smile, but David West and Tom Murphy unceremoniously turned over another page of information.
Kelly Haines, who was sitting next to Eric, knew the answer very well, but she didn't mean to answer Eric's question. She just looked at the young boss beside her with a smile, and unknowingly raised her chin. There is an unknowing admiration in his eyes.
Eric and the other three opened up the following information before continuing: "Everyone knows that Hollywood sequels are often the most stable and profitable, but whether it's "The Little Mermaid", "Aladdin" or "Beauty and the Beast", these hand-drawn animation films did not release sequels publicly, but planned to release video tapes directly. The main reason for this is that the production cycle of 2D hand-drawn animation films is too long. entanglement, it may exceed the average five-year period, reaching six or seven years, or even longer."
"—As I just said, the young audience of 2D animation movies will be updated every seven years. Perhaps after the sequels of these movies are completed, the children who originally accounted for more than 40% of the audience have grown up to 2D animation. With a teenage age that is no longer interesting, the sequel has little basis for popularity with a whole new younger audience."
"—Therefore, after a popular hand-drawn animation, Disney's consistent strategy is to directly produce sequels for videotape release. This also has the advantages of rapid production and low cost. The cost of the film version of "Aladdin" is more than 20 million U.S. dollars, and the production period is four and a half years, while the production cost of the sequel directly to the video tape is only 5 million U.S. dollars, and the production The process only took two years. Although huge profits were made, this kind of shoddy videotape work that only pursues profit maximization is actually a kind of excessive consumption of the Disney brand. In this regard. Whether it is 3D animation films In terms of the age distribution of the audience and the production cycle, they all have absolute advantages. As long as the 3D animation works are popular enough, not only can a sequel work be produced in two to three years, but even after seven years or even longer, Because of the popularity base of all age groups, the sequel can still be launched."
Speaking of which, the three old men had no intention of continuing to read the following materials. Buffett took the lead in saying: "Eric, if you want, I can publicly support your decision in the newspaper tomorrow. I think Tom and David doesn't mind doing that. However, I have one last question, and you can choose not to answer it, and I won't change my decision."
Eric nodded.
Buffett asked: "With the current strength of Firefly, it is not a big problem to continue to maintain Disney's hand-drawn animation department for a few years to undergo a more gentle transformation, and I think this department will still bring enough profits to Disney in the short term. .With "The Lion King" box office booming. Why are you insisting on such drastic measures?"
Eric replied, "This reminds me of a little story in an article about your life experience."
Buffett smiled and motioned Eric to continue, and the three of Tom Murphy also showed curious expressions.
Eric said: "I remember that article introduced the Berkshire Hathaway textile factory. In 1985, the Hathaway textile factory was completely closed, and all the equipment in the factory was auctioned at almost the price of scrap iron. It was only 160,000 U.S. dollars. The article specifically suggested that in 1981, Hathaway Textile Factory replaced 200 sets of some kind of textile equipment at a unit price of 5,000 U.S. dollars, but only four years later, the average price of this batch of equipment was With only $16 left, if you had chosen to close the profitable textile business in 1981, not only would you have avoided the loss of millions of dollars in equipment expenses, but you would have brought in millions more for Hathaway by selling the textile business Dollars of extra income, but only four years later, the value of all that has slipped to $160,000."
Buffett did not refute, but nodded frankly, and said: "This is indeed a personal business mistake of mine. At that time, Ken Zeiss, the manager of the Hathaway Textile Factory, had been persuading me to sell the textile business as a package, but I did not do so. "
Eric brought the topic back to Buffett's question just now, and said: "Actually, the measures I have taken are not drastic. Two years ago, I already revealed the meaning of turning the animation department to 3D production, but most people seem to be They didn’t take it too seriously. They might think that hand-drawn animation is indispensable to Disney. Half a year ago, I officially notified the detailed reform plan to Disney’s animation department, but it still didn’t attract enough attention, and now…”Ai Rui Ke Tantanshou: "Perhaps 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 other support department staff add up to more than 1,000 people. Social impact or labor law constraints, I never thought of letting these people lose their jobs directly. I gave them enough time to change, but they didn't cherish it. This time happened to be a good opportunity, with "The Lion King" bringing Even if they leave Disney, I think there will be absolutely no risk of unemployment, so this is the best time to let go of the burden, and maybe Firefly can also get an extra income from it. In the future, 2D animation movies will decline, so Those who need to worry about the livelihood of these people will no longer be fireflies."
Buffett listened carefully to Eric's words and asked, "You mean, you plan to sell Disney's hand-drawn animation department as a whole?"
"The first choice in my mind is still to let the hand-drawn animation department carry out digital transformation. Disney's hand-drawn animation department has excellent producers and directors. If it can successfully transform into 3D animation production, Disney will not need to re-train it," said Ai Rui. Ke said, shaking his head with some regret, and said: "However, it seems that this possibility is already very low. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement in the end, I will package and sell the entire hand-drawn animation department."
"This kind of plan doesn't seem to work," Tom Murphy said: "The most important thing in the animation department is the hand-drawn animators, not valuable assets such as real estate, patents, or copyrights. I think they're even less likely to allow themselves to be sold as leverage."
"It's nothing more than benefits," Eric said, "as long as they agree. Firefly can use part of the funds from the sale of the animation department as compensation. Return it to them. And. I think the buyer must also want to get a complete animation production department. , Firefly can also transfer part of the 2D animation movie copyright to increase the success rate of the transaction. At the same time, the employees of the animation department can also group together to obtain higher remuneration from the buyer. Then, the interests of the three aspects are exactly the same, I can't think of any reason why they would say no."
David West couldn't help but said: "Eric, I really want to know. Is there anything else you haven't considered."
Eric was about to answer, but Buffett had already said: "There are also long-term bonds being issued. Eric, I checked the bond issuance situation before I came. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank have sold a total of 4.9 billion US dollars. Firefly’s long-term bonds have a remaining share of US$3.1 billion. If you insist on closing the hand-drawn animation department, it will definitely affect Firefly’s current bond issuance, have you considered it?”
"Of course," Eric nodded, "At present, Firefly has divested the paper media assets for sale and the hand-painted animation department that is likely to be sold, which can bring at least two billion US dollars of free cash flow to Firefly. This money It is enough to make up for any possible impact of unfavorable bond issuance. Moreover, I believe that after Firefly released its financial report for the first half of the year in July, the possibility of bond sales being blocked is almost zero. As long as investors are not stupid, they can see a hand-painted The animation department does not have much impact on the profitability of the Firefly Group."
"Then, I don't have any problems here," Buffett finally said: "Eric, if you need our help on this matter, just ask?"
Eric tapped on several documents on the desktop, and said: "I hope everyone can keep the contents of this document secret. Once it is leaked, those potential buyers will definitely change their minds."
Buffett has already recorded the entire document in his mind with his extraordinary memory. He originally hoped to keep this document and savor it, but Eric said so, and Buffett picked up the document and handed it over to show his sincerity. , smiled: "In this case, maybe it's safer for you to bring this document back."
Tom Murphy and David West then handed the documents back to Eric.
Eric did not refuse. He collected several documents and said: "In addition, regarding this matter, as long as everyone can cooperate and help persuade other shareholders to remain silent, and then wait for the final result."
Buffett said: "No problem, I will make a few calls after dinner."
Tom Murphy and David West made the same promise. Behind the three of them, they all represent the interests of some of the original ABC shareholders. As long as they come forward to lobby, there will never be any troubles within Firefly.
After the differences were resolved, the dinner that followed seemed very pleasant. The three of Buffett were all elites who had been in the business world for decades. Although Eric seemed too young in the eyes of several people, the complete memory bank of his previous life also made him face three people. This old man did not lose any topic, which also made the three of Buffett look at each other again.
It was already eleven o'clock at midnight when the dinner ended, and since it was a civilian-level restaurant, the total consumption of five people was only 220 US dollars. This invitation was sent by Buffett, but there was no scene of scrambling to pay the bill that Eric remembered.
However, when Buffett solemnly calculated a tip of $33 and gave it to the waiter who had been waiting for the night, except for Tom Murphy, an old friend who has been with Buffett for many years, he turned a blind eye Besides, Eric, David West and even Kelly Hines all had the urge to pretend to be passers-by.
Until sending the three of Buffett away in the car, Eric could still feel the sullen face of the female assistant beside him forcibly suppressing some impulsive emotions.
Eric no longer concealed the smile he had been enduring just now, and said to Kelly: "Are you calculating the psychological shadow area of that waiter?"
Kelly Haines was stunned when she heard the completely unfamiliar phrase 'psychological shadow area', but soon realized the humor and ridicule in it, and her suppressed smile burst into bloom instantly, saying: "I think this time After that, the waiter will never expect anything from a billionaire."
Chatting casually, the two walked towards the parking lot next to them, where the driver had already waited for the car.
The Italian restaurant where we dined happened to share the parking lot with a nearby movie theater, which happened to be the end of a movie. The audience crowded out of the cinema. They rushed towards Eric and Kelly. It's already late at night. There are very few adults and children, and most of the people who come out are teenagers with rich nightlife, and of course there are couples of couples among them.
In order to avoid being recognized, Eric took out his sunglasses and put them on, noticing that the eyes of the female assistant beside him happened to fall on a couple who were almost stuck together, and joked: "I also have spare arms for rent here. ,free."
Kelly Haines felt her heart beating violently, but forced her to look at Eric calmly: "Boss, you are really harassing me."
Eric thought that Kelly Hines was angry, and was about to apologize when the two of them met the rushing crowd. During the collision, Kelly Haines subconsciously reached out and grabbed the arm of the man beside him, Immediately, both of them stopped involuntarily.
Eric looked suspiciously at the female assistant with downcast eyes. Although the sunglasses affected his eyesight, he still found that the woman's pale face was stained with a blush.
After the flow of people merged with Eric, they quickly turned to the parking lot next to them. Seeing that the woman didn't let go of his intentions, Eric tentatively reached out and put his arms around her waist. Follow the flow of people towards the parking lot together.
When Carter Moen saw the two people approaching, he quietly opened the car door, as if turning a blind eye, and he was indeed not surprised.
But Kelly Hines was already ashamed and almost wanted to run away, a series of thoughts quickly floated through her mind: What happened to me, I definitely didn't do it on purpose just now... I am ten years older than him, what would he do? Thinking... It seems that he has always liked mature people... Bah, what am I thinking, it's too shameless... This is my own boss... Will he think I'm casual... No, I have to let him go... But , he hugged me, how can I let go... It's over, this job will definitely be lost...
Eric gently let the woman into the car, and then sat in. Carter Moen got into the car and waited quietly for the boss's order. According to his experience, he should not be returning to Sharp Point Manor.
After a few minutes of silence, Eric glanced at the distraught female assistant, recalled the movie theater just now, and tentatively asked, "How about going to a midnight movie together?"
Kelly Hines finally woke up, shook her head quickly, and said, "It's already very late, and I have to go to work tomorrow."
Eric tried to make a joke to ease the atmosphere, and said, "Don't forget, your boss is by your side."
"But Mr. Katzenberg is not so easy to talk to. If I'm late for the regular meeting tomorrow morning, he... he will definitely throw a tantrum."
Eric would not interfere with the management's authority because of these trivial matters, and said: "Then, let me send you back, where is your home?"
Kelly Haines became flustered again when she heard this question, but she still gave out her address.
Eric gestured to Carter Moen, and the car started quickly.
Forty minutes later, the limousine pulled up outside a villa in the wealthy north of Santa Monica.
Because of the awkward contact just now, the two of them didn't exchange a few words along the way. After Kelly Haines got out of the car, Eric also got out of the car out of courtesy.
"Well, see you tomorrow," Eric said, feeling that the atmosphere was still a bit strange, and subconsciously wanted to put his hands in his pockets, but he was wearing a suit instead of casual clothes, so it would look very weird to do so. There is no action.
Kelly Haines hummed in a low voice, still not daring to meet Eric's eyes: "Good night, old... boss."
Eric could feel the woman carefully using this more formal name to draw a line from himself, and echoed: "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 equally alienated title, she felt uneasy, and said for a moment, "Why don't you? Why don't you come in for a cup of coffee."
Eric has always felt that he is a sympathetic person, and felt the woman in front of him worrying about gains and losses, a burst of irritability hit him, and he suddenly lost his patience. Turning around, he knocked on the window next to him, and when Carter Moen lowered the window, he said, "I'm going to Kelly's house for a cup of coffee, and you can pick me up tomorrow morning.
Mr. Bodyguard simply nodded, then started the car and drove away.
Kelly Hines stared dumbfounded at what happened suddenly before her, her face turned red again, and said, "I, I don't mean anything else, I really just want, I want to buy you a cup of coffee..."
In the end, the female assistant's voice was inaudible, and she also realized that it was almost twelve o'clock now, what the hell coffee.
Eric hugged the charming body in front of him domineeringly, under the weak resistance of the woman, 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 myself and then run back Malibu, we'll be home by daylight for sure."
Kelly Haines burst out laughing, and the last trace of entanglement disappeared inexplicably, and said softly: "You are really a rascal."
Having said that, the woman didn't resist any more, walked into the villa together, before turning on the lights, the two figures in the dark were already stuck together, kissing for a long time, feeling Eric's more and more presumptuous movements, The female assistant was about to say something, but a suspicious voice sounded ahead of time: "Ms. Haynes, is that you?"
Kelly Hines bounced off Eric like an electric shock, and replied with a trembling voice: "Jane, it's me, you...you continue to sleep."
The voice paused, but quickly replied: "Okay, Ms. Haines."
After listening intently for a while, and making sure that the other party didn't intend to leave the room, Kelly finally felt relieved. Feeling Eric entangled him again, she quickly pushed the man away and whispered, "I'll go and see Nina."
Eric hummed, and felt the woman walking towards the next room in the dim light, and subconsciously followed.
When she came to the door, Kelly Hines realized Eric was behind her. Thinking of what would happen next, the woman couldn't help but shyly said, "You, don't follow me in."
Eric thought that Kelly was going to her daughter's bedroom, and stopped tactfully.
After staying for a few minutes, the female assistant came out timidly again. Eric couldn't bear it any longer. He picked the woman up in a rough voice, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Where is the bedroom?"
The woman trembled slightly and pointed in one 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 with a gap, her eyes widened, her mouth covered with one hand, and she stood there for a few minutes in a daze. Keep her up all night.
Thinking of the big Hollywood figure whom I recognized because of my curious spying, messy thoughts swirled in my mind all night. (To be continued.)