Hollywood Domination Chapter 471: Second best result W
"So, if you lean here, you can really feel this tingle, because in virtual reality, here is—"
Surrounded by several staff members, Robert tried to lean against a smooth wall, adjusted his glasses, and exclaimed in surprise, "—because in the virtual reality, here is a thorn Cong - yes, this is really interesting."
His applauding reaction caused the crowd around him to laugh excitedly, and Robert himself applauded, "This will be a very interesting project. Of course, we may not see it in a few years." Its application, but it can be imagined that when the technology is more mature, it will save a lot of cost - I think it can be used in live cs, what do you think, James?"
Little James, who was specially brought by him for a visit, squatted down curiously, stroking the empty air--if he looked through the virtual glasses, there was a bush blooming here, he sniffed it a few times, feeling a little disappointed Said, "It would be nice if we could smell flowers—can we smell flowers, Grandpa?"
Robert touched the head of little James lovingly, "Maybe we will smell it in a few years, but I think the current achievements are quite good."
His words brought joy to the faces of the surrounding staff: this means that not only will their project team not be abolished in the coming year, but they may even get more funds, which is of course very gratifying.
"So, what's our next project?" Robert took off his glasses, returned them to the researchers, and walked to the next working area, followed by members of another team.
"Here's some of the innovations we've done incorporating Marvel content - the Jetboard, aka the Goblin Skateboard, which we think will be a star item in the Marvel area of the park in the future - maybe even one day It can also go to thousands of households, of course, it must find a way to control costs..."
Among the six existing Hollywood companies, if there is any difference between Disney, it is that their business focus is somewhat different from that of the other five and their parent companies. For example, the development department in front of them is completely Disney. Unique feature: This branch in Tennessee is mainly composed of R&D personnel, just like Microsoft Research and Google X, these basic research institutions usually do not have much performance pressure, they can study everything and Disney Regarding the project, there is no need to consider cost and implementation issues-of course, whether they can continue to enjoy such a happy life depends on whether they can convince the boss that this is an interesting idea.
One day every year, Robert will come here and be overwhelmed by all kinds of fresh and interesting ideas, some of which will gradually be transformed into real products in the next few years, such as the animation "Frozen" that Disney is currently doing. "Fate", the software used to represent snowflakes is derived from the weather system in the research institute. There are also some that have been approved by him, but are still shelved due to cost issues. For example, the "real illusion" that has made significant progress for two consecutive years and attracted Robert's great interest is because the cost is too high and the technology It has not yet fully passed the certification, and it has been unable to be transformed into a real product for a long time. However, this does not prevent it from continuing to obtain funds to move forward. One day, it will appear in Disneyland and become another sign of the park. products, earning hundreds of millions of profits for them.
"I like coming to Tennessee very much. I always feel that one day a year is not enough." The yelling little James, he said to the young man who had been silently following him all the time, "Every time I come here, I feel like living in a future city, as if you are changing the world—your Deciding to make these products appear on the market and then change the world, this is the moment where I feel the last power, it feels like I can decide a small piece of the future of mankind.”
"Is this a new type of seduction?" The blond youth asked, with a smile on his face that made people feel refreshed, which showed his good upbringing, but it could also be easily seen that this Smiling is purely out of politeness.
"Have you been tempted?" Robert asked, laughing. "If you have, I'll count it as a success, Cesare."
The smile on Cesare's lips deepened, but he didn't answer Robert's words, which made the old brown-haired man helplessly spread his hands, and he gestured to the life secretary who was closely following him, to go first Going to the rest area, he poured himself a glass of soda water, as if it was a small chat in the workplace, and he and Cesare had a homely conversation. "How is Jennifer's recovery? Has she been discharged from the hospital yet?"
"Basically, she has almost recovered, and her intracranial pressure has returned to normal, but the shadow can still be seen on CT, and she will suffer from dizziness, so I'm afraid she will have to stay in the hospital for observation for a while." Chesa Ray replied, his attitude was still so calm, as if he didn't care about Robert's wealth and status, and his vague sense of urging.
And, of course, Robert could only smile helplessly at this, he sighed, and simply lifted the fig leaf directly, and stopped making detours. "Do you really have to get Jennifer's forgiveness, Chesa? I can assure you that what I'm offering you is one of the most attractive jobs in Hollywood—maybe some people find it more attractive than the President of the United States, at least for the pay Much richer than that. And you're acting like a - IMHO - camaraderie fool, honey, and you're asking your ex-boss for permission to jump ship, my respect to Jenny Eph has no opinion, but based on human nature, what kind of answer do you want her to give you?"
His faint agitation did not move Cesare in the slightest - this was also expected by him, the other party's smile was still so impeccable, Robert seldom saw Cesare lose control.
"The more you say that, the more I need to ask for her permission-with all due respect, Bob." Cesare said with a smile, "j.j made me, of course I also made her, But you have to admit, without her, you wouldn’t have promised me this position, would you? Without her, I wouldn’t be able to secure that position—after all, I’m still an outsider, and I don’t have enough qualifications. , There are too many people who can compete with me. As far as I know, there are only 3 to 4 successors in the system who are optimistic about the board of directors. They have all gone through the observation period of more than five years. If I cannot get her support Just enter the company, I think I will disappoint you."
He also raised his water glass and took a sip, looking at Robert with his blue eyes exploring, "Or, this is in your favor instead?"
"You are doubting my sincerity, Cesare." Robert made a face on purpose, but soon smiled happily: He did not deny that Cesare had partly told the truth, yes, The most difficult part of the whole thing is that although getting Jennifer to nod in this matter is a difficult task, it is also the key to everything. If Cesare enters at the cost of falling out with Jennifer Dameng finally let this miracle girl leave Dameng and devote herself to any of Disney's competitors - Warner, GE, Universal, Fox... This is an unbearable failure for Disney, and it will make Robert extremely embarrassing.
Of course, Robert can make Jennifer pay for this, but he himself will suffer heavy losses, so this is also the first threshold for Cesare to enter Disney. He must prove that he is worthy of this position: persuade For the future helm of Disney, it is not a rare and abnormal task for the former partner to support him willingly. Follow-up is followed by the daily life of 'tie Jennifer firmly', as Cesare said, in the case of several strong competitors within the company, if he can't get the title of #Disney Department Important Member# Even with Robert's support, he may not be able to sit firmly in this position. If all departments of the company do not cooperate, even Robert can't afford the price of a big change, let alone whether he will do it for Cesare.
——Of course, if Cesare can't even see this clearly, and directly breaks with Jennifer and joins the company, then under the right conditions, Robert will not hesitate to sacrifice him in exchange for Jennifer To be loyal to her, or not—it depends on Jennifer's attitude. In any case, then Cesare's fate will no longer be in his own hands, but will be decided by a woman who has a deep hatred against him and seems to have a strong vengeance.
"You've got some time to work on," he said, moving away from empty talk of sincerity: it was already clear that both sides were well aware of the situation. "What is Jennifer thinking now-don't blame me for gossip, I think she is somewhat angry with you?"
"Of course loss is inevitable," Cesare said, he glanced at Robert, "but she is not the kind of person who will vent anger, I think she is more regretful about losing the opportunity to cooperate with ge, you I know that creating a media group has always been her ideal."
"It's not too bad to be in charge of a group, is it?" Robert said eagerly, "Of course, I don't think she intends to give up her acting career, otherwise I would rather hand over the department directly to her , let you go to the TV department--you won't be upset about it, Chesa--"
Seeing that Cesare shook his head without hesitation, he continued, "This is the most suitable position for you. Of course, in the future, in terms of group management, you can continue to use the current model of the two of you—— Letting you into the headquarters is more of a compromise, I think you should explain this to her. With your close relationship—"
Cesare covered his forehead and laughed moaningly. Robert also realized that he was a little too forgetful, so he couldn't help laughing, "What?"
"J.J told me about her guess, she said that if we agreed to your invitation, you will definitely work hard to match us next—" Cesare said, he shook his head with a smile. And Robert couldn't help laughing along with Lang.
"Then what do you think about it?" he asked slyly.
"Of course, it would be a lie to say that the previous accident did not affect us." Cesare did not evade this question, he looked at Robert calmly, "The reason why I want to leave the dream Going into Disney is sort of a fig leaf, an excuse for what might have happened -- if that's what you want to know, Robert -- but at the end of the day, it's just one side of the story, and I think it's important to us The influence is very limited."
"Whether it's j.j or you." Robert confirmed.
"Yes," Cesare said, shrugging, "For both of us, whether to accept this proposal depends on the planning of our own careers. Be consistent—"
"Of course, of course..." Robert murmured, he felt a little embarrassed: in order to maintain their relationship, he did not explicitly say any threatening words, but Jennifer and Cesare should be aware of the consequences of refusal Ming, but what made him uneasy was that Cesare's tone seemed to be well-thought-out, and he didn't seem to be worried about this.
Little James finally got tired of playing the Green Goblin skateboard. He happily ran to his grandfather and showed off his achievements to Cesare. Cesare patted his head and walked to the next area with Robert. "I know, you're starting to get a little impatient, Bob, and I can totally understand that—I was wondering if you could make a detour to San Francisco on the way back now that we're out of Los Angeles and explain it to Jennifer yourself. What do you think? After all, I let me convey everything, which will inevitably make her think..."
His tactful request failed to confuse Robert. There is no doubt that what Cesare conveyed was Jennifer's intention. The little girl obviously wanted to start a counter-negotiation with him-this made him raise his eyebrows, but , Robert does not dislike this request, at least it is better than endless waiting and guessing.
"No problem." He said briskly, "We're leaving Tennessee tonight—I'll be visiting Jennifer at the hospital tomorrow morning, what do you think of the timing?"
"I think she will be very happy to meet you." Cesare said, he showed a subtle smile to Robert, but this smile was as formulaic as ever, and people couldn't get any useful information from it, but Robert couldn't help but shake his head secretly because of this. Suddenly, he began to doubt how much the position of Disney president was to Cesare's temptation: Cesare Vijri is only 35 years old this year, which is far from the age line generally considered to be the minimum age for group presidents. 50 years old and 15 years to go, it doesn't seem like a great gift to him to be promoted 5 years in advance. If there are not so many other factors, just this invitation, would he nod?
Robert is cautiously skeptical.
#
Stepping into the San Francisco General Hospital again was not a very pleasant experience for Robert. Of course, he would not admit it to anyone, but thinking that the one he was 'bullying' was a young girl lying on the hospital bed. It made him feel a little demeanor damaged. In Robert's imagination, Jennifer should now be lying pale on the bed, frowning deeply, suffering one blow after another-interestingly, although he was the one who manipulated the entire "Save St. Jennifer" operation, but Robert still couldn't help being influenced by the reports, and the picture he imagined came from the sensational reports made by the media that he directed. It also made Robert's imagination and the hospital bed firmly close together, and made him feel slightly guilty.
Unexpectedly, Jennifer does not look 'pale', 'thin', and there is a long distance from haggard - when Robert walked into the suite, she was sitting on the sofa by the window of the reception room Waiting for him, although she is still wearing a hospital gown, judging from her smooth hair and cheerful smile, she has completely got rid of the haze of the past-of course, the hospital gown still brought her a little The feeling of weakness may be due to the lack of makeup, and her complexion can't be said to be very healthy.
"Morning, Bob," she said, her eyes sparkling, as if there were a lot of meanings expressed through them: the last time we met, did you make up your mind? Or before that, when I was dying and receiving rescue, you were already planning for me and making plans for the future? "I saw you again."
"Yes, I see you again." Robert said, feeling more useless guilt, which made him more embarrassed than usual-he couldn't help touching his nose, "I think I I should say sorry to you, dear, I should have said it to you in person, not to Cesare—but I really can't do that."
He tried to convey the mixed emotions in his heart: a person is always doing what he has to do, even if he doesn't like it at all, it doesn't mean he is a bad person, at least he doesn't want Jenny to think so. There is some real affection between them. In the past ten years of cooperation, they have supported each other in difficult moments, even from the time when Jennifer first attended his party and expressed her good attitude to him clearly. At the beginning, their mutual appreciation has already begun. Robert really likes Jennifer, not just the miracles she created, he likes the way this genius girl talks about the future, likes her sense of certainty that everything is under control, although she has been jumping forward, but She is always like this, determined and leisurely, this calm and tough personality makes him admire and admire, and he hopes she can understand this, all of this is not personal, it is just business. ——He hoped that they would still be able to get through this difficulty, and that they could work together as seamlessly as before.
"No," Jennifer said, as Robert expected, of course she didn't lower her face and complain to him, but what he did not expect was her eyes and tone, "I understand, Bob , I should also say sorry to you, you see—"
She paused and smiled sheepishly, "About the ge investment - I should apologize on that too, Bob, I should know what it means to you, but I'll go did."
It's so straightforward to reveal ge's investment...
Robert shook his head. The trend of the negotiation made him feel a little bad. He seemed to have lost control of the rhythm from the very beginning—but the mutual understanding with Jennifer made him feel a little relieved. Felt Jennifer's sincerity, like he knew she understood his sincerity. "Don't apologize, you don't need to do this-although, based on my profession, I must tell you that Disney can give you everything that ge can give you, but I know-"
In Jennifer's knowing smile, he also laughed, "It's useless to say that."
"Yes, it's my dream," Jennifer said, "and it's what we have to do—but I still, I want you to know, Bob, as I walk into the conference room for the final presentation My heart is heavy at this time, and I know what it means to you to win the investment-not Disney, but you, especially at this point in time..."
The contract between Robert and Disney is limited to five years, and 2013 will be the end of his second term. According to the contract, the board of directors will notify him six months in advance whether to renew the contract. Of course, this time the board of directors is very likely to renew the contract with Robert for ten years instead of the basic five-year contract, but this is also based on the premise that everything is progressing as usual. Said——For Robert, who has given resources many times in the past ten years, even sacrificed the interests of the headquarters, and brought the big dream of questionable ownership to the present stage——
"Okay, now, we really understand each other." Robert said, trying to make a joke to cover up the traces of thinking: Jennifer divided his interests from Disney, why? Is she thinking about bribery? Benefit exchange? But this is unlikely, she has fully understood the stakes in this, and she should know that Robert will never accept Dameng's independence during his term of office-and what will she use as a bargaining chip in exchange for his concession? It's impossible for Jennifer to be so naive as to think that he would give in, after all, in business, this is the basic rule of the game in this circle——
He glanced at Jennifer and asked tentatively, "Well, since this is the case, I assume you should also understand, j.j, of course, I admire your dream...but under the current circumstances, let Che From Saray to Disney, it’s the best choice for him and you—maybe you can’t have the best, but for you, it’s not bad to have the second best, isn’t it?”
"Sounds very reasonable. If you can't have the first, then it's not bad to have the second best." Jennifer repeated his words, a beautiful smile curled up on her lips, she was still a little pale and tired, But this actually made her appear a strange strength. Robert stared at her, and he suddenly had an ominous premonition, as if the initiative was flowing to the other party for no reason, but he didn't know the reason at all. "It's true for most people, Bob, and I don't deny it...but I'm afraid it's not good enough for me—second best is never good enough for me."
This is very self-willed, but it is so natural, of course she is qualified to say this, this **** genius girl, her "The Hunger Games" midnight show has sold 10 million at the box office——
Robert was determined to wrestle some of the initiative back, saying, "I'm going to be a little bit sad if we're going to talk all this out, you see, j.j, after all that's going to spoil the vibe—"
"You really don't have to, Bob," Jennifer said, and she suddenly smiled again, "Oh, let's cut it short, Bob, after all, I have limited time with visitors—I know, you There are also difficulties, for your contract renewal, and of course your stable position, you cannot accept Dameng to stand on its own. And of course you have the general trend in your hands, just imagine, if the news that ge is going to support Dameng wantonly, you The 'Saviors' will instantly become 'The Avengers', I totally get that, and I get it, you want me to accept the next best thing - a loss is nothing compared to nothing Then it's not acceptable, is it?"
She suddenly abandoned the language games that Robert liked, and she spoke everything so clearly, which made him a little uncomfortable——he pondered over Jennifer's words, and after making sure there were no traps in them, he spoke slowly He nodded and said tentatively, "ok, if you really understand—indeed, I hope you understand this too, so that we can all be happy—it’s better to lose a little than to gain nothing. It's really not that unacceptable, Jennifer."
"I understand this," said Jennifer, leaning forward, lowering her voice, her eyes sparkling, and her tone becoming more mysterious, "Really, Bob, I hope you can really understand this too ——"
Just when Robert's heart was ringing, but he was even more confused, Jennifer suddenly stepped back. She cleared her throat, and slightly brushed back her blond hair—although she was still a little pale, a little Tired, but the coquettishness revealed in this round also distracted Robert, who was thinking, for a short time, and then he raised his vigilance, and was ready for the big move that Jennifer would make next-although he still had some At a loss, what bargaining chips did she have yet to show——
"So, you want to kick Rich Ross." Jennifer said, without delay, "I don't think it's an easy thing to do—Rich must have supporters on the board .”
It was old Ritchie—Robert, relieved, resisted the urge to laugh, "Oh, j.j, if you're talking about an alliance with Ritchie—"
"Of course not," Jennifer gave him a surprised look instead, as if she wanted to blame him for making such a stupid guess, and then she laughed again, "I know, Rich must leave That's right, "The Martian Saves My Mother" is his project, and "John Carter on Mars", Mars doesn't seem to favor Rich, does it? It's hard for him to stay in the department, this I know one thing well—"
She gazed at Robert with pleasure, blinking slightly at his slowly rising foreboding. "And you really shouldn't have let him do John Carter on Mars, Bob, and 'you' shouldn't have let him go ahead with this big project."
It was as if some spring flicked in Robert's mind, softly and ominously, causing all his thoughts to pause for a moment, and then turned crazily again, all the same as "John Carter on Mars" ’ was retrieved and flipped through in his mind: yes, he knew the movie was going to hit the market because Jennifer predicted it, and yes, he scheduled the project for Rich, foreshadowing his departure at any moment, certainly didn't anticipate that "The Martian" itself would be a disastrous failure. Yes, Jennifer will know he meant it, but she shouldn't have any proof, so it's a dead end—
"We first talked about this project in 2007," Jennifer said, looking at Robert sympathetically and condescendingly, as if he had lost everything, "Of course, you must remember very well, Bob, I'm sure you were impressed by my review...I'm telling you unequivocally that I thought it was a project that would fail - and that you, as much as you loved the novel, were eventually convinced by me. I think This is why you use it to test Dick later, whether it is Dick or his successor Rich, they all come from the local faction who checks and balances you at the shareholder level and monitors you... This novel allows you to test Dick's rebelliousness Tame, Rich's obedience has also become a tool for you to kick Rich... Of course, you are not me after all, Bob, your intuition didn't tell you that you could have saved the 400 million dollars of wronged money, no I watched Rich's own "The Martian Save My Mother" and sang his funeral song."
She looked at Robert sympathetically, handed the ipad in her hand to him, and said softly, "Bob, you are not me after all-no disrespect, but you are old and you can't remember clearly We're flooded with emails, aren't we?"
Robert was still stunned after being shocked. He took the tablet from Jennifer's hand and stared at the familiar mailbox on it, the familiar title and the familiar continuous CC, quick reply content——and deep That little, inconspicuous line hidden in all of this, 'By the way, about John Carter on Mars, have to double check with you, you're not going to buy it, are you? Because I heard yesterday that Disney is still very interested in it. Just like what I told you three months ago, it would be a complete failure...'
This is the letter from Jennifer quoted in the content of the quick reply, and in Robert's own reply, he made a clear reply to this, 'Of course I remember what you said-it will be a loser. Lost work - thanks for the reminder, I will let someone follow up on this matter'...
After that, they started discussing the profit target of Dameng next year, and the preview of the Oscars for that year - a very common and friendly daily chat letter. Contact, at least Robert and her have sent tens of thousands of emails in ten years-*, when did they say that? He really doesn't remember at all-it really shouldn't be, but-this feeling of stepping on the ground-
"And I remember." Jennifer said, she took back the ipad and put it aside, looked at Robert and said slowly, "And I remember--Bob, now, it's your turn to accept this second-best result : Compared to getting nothing, losing a little bit is not so unacceptable, is it?"
Robert opened his mouth to argue - it's certainly not the end of the world, it's just an email, he has a lot of excuses, it's hard to even say how it affects the board, let alone a $400 million malfeasance issue ——
But in front of Jennifer's pleasant and sympathetic smile, he finally sighed and chose to keep a little final demeanor. After all, Jennifer never argued with him whether the "Savior Alliance" Robert's arrangements to act.
"That's the bad thing about aging, isn't it?" he said, folding his hands and glancing at the ipad again—really, it shouldn't be, how could he forget this email, it would be completely Change the entire layout --
But, no matter what, the game is not over. Now, both of them have a deadly bargaining chip, and the real equal negotiation has just begun—Robert stared at Jennifer, forcing himself to show a happy smile, He said slowly, "Anyway, Jennifer, let's hear the so-called 'second-best result' first, shall we?"
"Of course." Jennifer smiled warmly at him——
She stood up suddenly, walked to the door of the apartment, and pushed open the concealed door leading to the inner room.
"Let me be honored to introduce you, Bob." She said, making a gesture of "please come in", "Sharon Tucker from GE Investment——"
A middle-aged woman came out, and she raised her hand to greet Robert calmly, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Iger."
"Sharon is closely related to our next negotiation, so I decided to ask her to wait behind the door," Jennifer said, and she smiled affectionately at Sharon, "Of course, this is not without final investigation It means—then, is my performance satisfactory to you, Sharon?"
"Very satisfied, Jennifer." Sharon said, making Robert's worst premonition come true, she glanced at him, patted Jennifer on the shoulder meaningfully, and made the whole thing worse, "Actually, beyond satisfaction, Jennifer, completely, absolutely, beyond satisfaction—"