I’m in Hollywood Chapter 490: Re-negotiation
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The day after the overnight meeting, Europe Disneyland, which had just opened for less than ten days, suddenly announced its temporary closure. As soon as the news came out, it shocked the entire Europe and quickly spread throughout the world.
Europe Disneyland has been built for seven years, with an investment of up to 5.5 billion USD. This figure is even worth several years of financial income in some small countries of Europe. In the 1980s when USD was strong, it was definitely a world-class large project.
On the day of the incident, Disney published a clarification and apology statement on the front page headlines of well-known newspaper such as Le Monde, Europe Times, Figaro, etc. , Said that because of the discovery of a series of problems after the opening of Europe Disneyland, out of the concept of being responsible for tourists, the management decided to close Disneyland temporarily and rectify related issues after careful consideration.
However, this statement that completely follows the truth is not much believed. Most media and people are more inclined to Europe Disneyland major changes. Some irresponsible tabloid newspaper published such as Europe Disneyland caused by accidents. The news of 10 casualties, and this completely fabricated news has also been recognized by many people. Some unknown newspaper even reproduced this.
In just one day after the news came out, after repeated confirmation that it was not a prank, reporters from countless television media and newspapers magazine around the world boarded the flight to Paris in an attempt to seek the truth.
French Government also expressed strong concern about the matter through the press conference on the day it happened. Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris, met with Firefly Pictures Chairman Eric Williams and DisneyCEOJeffrey Katzenberg for the first time, and personally asked why the Disneyland was closed. .
From the mayor ’s office, Eric and Katzenberg got into a black car together. After two days of busy work, even the Katzenberg, which has always been known for its vigour, can clearly see the feeling of a strong crossbow, and the Eric narrowed his eyes against the seat.
Suddenly there was a sound of a can being pulled open. Eric barely opened his eyes and glanced at it, saw Katzenberg just opened a jar of refreshing canned coffee, remembering a joke about Katzenberg. The corner of the mouth couldn't help but woke up slightly.
"Eric, do you want it?" Katzenberg asked in a low voice.
Eric shook his head, and now he was given a jar of stimulant, and he could n’t keep up his spirits. From the night before yesterday to now. The two basically did not take a good rest. Eric felt that his biological clock had completely collapsed. He even envied the full energy of Katzenberg. When he felt tired, he took a refreshing drink. Basically, it can be "resurrected with full blood", which is more effective than the red and blue medicines in the game.
The decision to temporarily close Europe Disneyland was also the result of careful discussions between the two. The problem of Europe Disneyland is already very serious. The effect of conservative operation while rectification is difficult to predict, and the cycle will be extended accordingly. In this case, it is not as good as a big act of cooking oil. Even if the problem cannot be solved completely, the attention caused by this series of actions can be a world-class publicity and marketing without spending money. After a while, the Europe Disney's will open again, and it will definitely attract more attention than it did when it first opened.
Katzenberg quickly drank the coffee. Said: "Eric, if you can't hold on, I'll just wait for the negotiation with the French investors. You can go back to rest first."
Eric nodded confusedly and agreed.
Through questionnaire surveys and the first week's revenue statistics, even if Europe Disneyland is rectified, it is very difficult to achieve the original profit in the short term. Most of the 5.5 billion USD construction funds are bank loans. These The money must be paid off by operating through Europe Disney's. The average annual principal and interest repayment amount is as high as 200 million USD.
At the same time, the initial serious budget runaway and a large number of redundant projects were built, which also made the operation and maintenance costs of Europe Disneyland much higher than Disneyland Tokyo. Judging from the scale of the two parks alone, it is not difficult to find this. The total area of Europe Disneyland is nearly 2000 hectares, while Disneyland Tokyo is only 204 hectares, which is only one tenth of Europe Disneyland.
In this case, Disney can only renegotiate with French investors to discuss issues such as the redistribution of profits. Judging from the current situation, Eric basically does not expect Europe Disneyland to bring benefits to Headquarters moistened, he only hopes that this overseas park can achieve breakeven, and will not become a drag on the head office.
He assured the matter to Katzenberg and Eric to return to the hotel. They did n’t even bother to take a shower. They fell directly on the bed, waking up in endless dark dreams, and fell into darkness again outside the window.
After washing, he picked up the phone in the room and dialed it. Eric came to the restaurant downstairs and gave the waiter a few words. He found a deck and ordered dinner for himself.
A dinner has not been finished yet. Katzenberg has come under the guidance of the wait staff.
"According to my dinner, give Jeffrey a copy, too." When Katzenberg sat down opposite him, Eric casually ordered the waiter. Katzenberg apparently did not eat dinner, and did not object, just let the waitress add a glass of milk to himself.
"How is it?" Eric asked a paper towel wiped his mouth.
Katzenberg took out the folder from the briefcase that he carried with him and handed it over: "After reading the information, Louise Barthello did not object to the temporary closure of Europe Disneyland for rectification, but they hoped to take back the right to operate the park Rejected. "
If you give up control of Europe Disneyland, the project is completely out of control, and Eric has no confidence in the French ’s ability to operate.
Eric nodded and agreed with the decision of Katzenberg, then opened the folder and read a draft contract. The content of this contract is not much different from the bottom line of the negotiation between him and Katzenberg. Disney waived Europe Disneyland's patent licensing fees for the first five years and halved the patent licensing fees after five years. In exchange, French investors need to invest 300 million USD for this project as Europe Disney's operating funds.
Abandoned patent licensing fees. Although the funds invested in the early stage of Disney will not be recovered for a long time in the future, in fact, Disney has not suffered. Because if the loss of Europe Disneyland is just the repayment pressure of the 1 billion USD loan, it may cause the bankruptcy of Euroland. At that time, Disney voluntarily gave up the patent licensing fee. There is simply no second way. Because Disney was too strong in the previous negotiations, it took less than 15% of the total investment to get 49% of the joint venture company, and most of this money came from the loan approved by French Government. This means that once Europe Disneyland does not achieve the expected profit, the strong position of Disney's will be directly reversed. At that time, the French investors will not only make any more money, but even need the Disney headquarters to provide financial backing. Now, by giving up the seemingly generous condition of patent licensing fees, 300 million USD operating funds are obtained from the French investors again, Disney It can be said that it is a big profit.
Looking at the new contract in a hurry, Eric continued to eat his own dinner, and the waitress also brought Katzenberg's dinner.
After the dinner, the two did not leave. The waiter took the initiative to remove the tableware. After serving coffee, Eric said to Katzenberg: "Although the management rights of the park cannot be handed over to them, but this time the management adjustment should let them participate as much as possible. You can see from the report that Manager gave me. Out, many problems were obvious, but our team obviously ignored them. "
"I know this," Katzenberg watched as the waitress poured himself a cup of coffee, but just pushed the coffee aside, without the intention of drinking it again. Apparently some of the two days were hurt: "Eric. I Will stay here at the helm until the park reopens and is on the right track. The United States film at the end of the year has been fully determined. Although Frank is somewhat conservative. But there will be no mistakes. He temporarily takes charge of the business of Disney headquarters. There is no major problem. "
"Well, I wanted to tell you this thing yesterday, but I was so dizzy and forgotten that you just stayed here. But. I have been thinking about a problem for the past two days, changing the park. The problem with the name. "
Katzenberg looked at Eric doubtfully and made a rare joke: "You would n’t really imagine what the newspaper said, change Disneyland to Firefly Paradise?"
"Of course not," Eric shook his head and smiled: "Disney is already a very mature cultural symbol. I will not do such a stupid thing to change Disneyland to Firefly Paradise. What I want to say is to rename Europe Disneyland Disneyland Paris. "
Katzenberg shook his head slightly: "I don't understand, Eric, is this necessary?"
"I think it is very necessary. From the questionnaire, it can be seen that the French who come to Disney still account for a very large part. Moreover, the so-called 300 million potential tourists of the so-called two-hour aircraft flight range now look It ’s also not very realistic. The 300 million people obviously do n’t have the enthusiasm for the Disneyland in our imagination. In the first week, apart from the French, most of them are only tourists from several countries near France. Since that is the case, we are not as good Let ’s focus on the management of the French tourists who have the most consumption potential. Since the French are so proud, then we will take care of them. The name change is only a little, and we have negotiated to determine the French. Other languages: French is the first language of the paradise, and English is the alternative. In addition, the projects and activities of the paradise should also focus on the integration with French culture, just like the Mickey Mouse photo I showed you the day before yesterday. "
Katzenberg was somewhat persuaded by Eric, but still asked: "If the name is changed abruptly, will it seem too awkward and the purpose is too obvious?"
Eric smiled and said: "It depends on the media PR methods of the operation department."
"Then I let them come up with a plan as soon as possible," Katzenberg nodded: "How about you, Eric, when are you going to go back," Jurassic Park "is still in the final stages of development, can't you leave for too long?"
"I will stay for a few more days, and Stan is in charge of the post-production work. He is involved in most of the production process of the film. I want to know what effect he wants. If I can let go of the management work in the digital field, I even plan to hand him the sequel to Director. "
Katzenberg knows that Firefly is expected to release three shoots "Jurassic Park". After hearing this sentence, I was a little surprised: "Aren't you going to personally Director sequel?"
Eric shrugged: "Depending on the situation, I am not sure myself."
The two were chatting casually, and a short footstep sounded from near to far. Eric had just turned his head, and Alan had already come to him.
Alan hurriedly nodded to Katzenberg before saying to Eric: "Mr. Williams, phone, New York phone, urgent."
"Jeffrey, wait a moment, let's continue talking after I answer the phone," Eric said to Katzenberg, got up and left with Alan.
Although Katzenberg was curious about the urgency of finding Eric over New York, he did n’t bother to ask, but just nodded in understanding.
After more than ten minutes, Eric did not appear, but only Alan walked in a hurry: "Sorry, Mr. Katzenberg, Mr. Williams has already gone to the airport. He will fly New York tonight, let me tell you. "
"What happened?" Katzenberg stood up with a solemn expression.
Alan shook his head and thought for a while before saying, "I don't know very well, but it has nothing to do with the company, it's ... it's a private matter of Mr. Williams."
Katzenberg can see that Alan ’s desire is over, but since it ’s Eric ’s private affair, he relaxes a little and does n’t keep asking: “Are n’t you going back with Eric?”
Alan replied: "Mr. Williams let me stay here for the time being, and communicate with him on the rectification work at any time."
Katzenberg nodded: "Since this, then you have followed me recently, by the way, what else does Eric leave?"
"No," Alan opened his mouth and didn't say anything. After Eric received the phone call just now, he walked in a hurry and didn't have time to explain anything. (To be continued.)