Chapter 905： Disney Animation Team

In the large conference room of Relativity Entertainment, as Ronan and Ryan Kavanaugh representing Maple Leaf Pictures formally signed the contract, nearly twenty people in the conference room burst into applause.

There was a wave of applause and a warm atmosphere.

In the conference room, in addition to the necessary professionals and notaries, there are representatives from Wall Street.

After Relativity Entertainment, representatives of various investment institutions subsequently signed equity transfer agreements with Maple Leaf Pictures.

"Happy cooperation."

"Happy cooperation!"

Ronan shook hands with Ryan Kavanaugh and David Ellison.

David Ellison said excitedly, "I propose to have a drink for our cooperation!"

This got a lot of people's response.

Ronan whispered to Connie, and Connie sent someone champagne and glasses.

Everyone present was very satisfied with this transaction. Ryan Kavanaugh and David Ellison got the coveted shares of Hollywood companies and became Walt Disney's largest shareholder.

This temporary alliance, including Ronan, succeeded in getting rid of Disney's pot and got a high return.

"Cheers!"

Ronan took the lead in holding a wine glass.

Then, there was a response "Cheers!"

Everyone toasted and drank together, the atmosphere in the conference room was harmonious and warm, and all parties achieved their goals.

Others have left the market one after another. Everyone on Wall Street will quickly return to New York after completing the necessary procedures. After all, these companies, led by Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, have plans for Disney in the stock market.

Ronan and Relativity Entertainment have completed the transaction and will no longer participate in follow-up actions.

But Wall Street's plan requires the cooperation of Relativity Entertainment, and Robert Iger is also ready to talk to them again.

After drinking another glass of wine, Ronan personally sent Ryan Kavanaugh and David Ellison out of the Theory of Relativity Building.

In the words of the other side of the Pacific, these two are simply money-giving boys.

Relativity Entertainment has previously acquired Disney equity, except for a small part of the stock that has been sold on the stock market because of the recent rise in Disney’s share price. The equity in this transaction with Maple Leaf reached 2.9%.

Maple Leaf Pictures was eventually acquired at a premium of 11.5%, with a total transaction volume of US$1.2 billion.

Counting part of the previous sell-off in the stock market and excluding various taxes and fees, Relativity Entertainment made a profit of nearly $220 million between one entry and one exit.

After several years of planning and preparation, Ronan not only obtained the live-action film rights of Disney's classic cartoons, gained Pixar Studios, is poaching Disney Animation Studios, and made huge profits.

Relativity entertainment has not only gained, but also won a broader space for development.

Disney Animation Studios may sink for a long time, and the animation of Relativity Entertainment will effectively fill this market.

As we all know, once an animated film is successful, its income is often far higher than that of a live-action film.

In the past, Walt Disney, in order to sell peripherals, many movies can be described as frantic.

For example, Aisha’s drag show is simply emptying girls’ wallets.

Ronan dug up Robert Iger and grabbed a large amount of Disney's resources. In the future, he will be more frantic than Walt Disney.

Back in the office, Ronan handled the film project approval for a while, and Connie knocked on the door and walked in.

"Maple Leaf Pictures' first $500 million fund has arrived." Connie said quickly "The remaining part will be paid in three days."

Ronan nodded slightly, "Counting the $200 million deposit that has been paid, only $500 million is left."

I have to say that Ryan Kavanaugh and David Ellison have outstanding ability to raise funds.

One more thing that cannot be ignored is that Maple Leaf Pictures has received a high amount of investment, but there is no corresponding project, and the funds are all in hand.

Companies like Relativity Entertainment, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures have maintained a large distribution team all year round, and to pay for expensive announcements, the company must retain a huge amount of liquidity.

In some ways, this is one reason why large companies must focus on commercial films.

Because only high-return blockbusters can be produced for a long period of time, the efficiency of salary expenditure can be guaranteed. Although the cost of a big-selling literary film may be only one tenth of that of the top commercial blockbusters, the profit margin is often lower.

The investment scale of film companies is slightly larger. If they continue to focus on literary and artistic projects, the results are often more miserable.

Having said that, once the top commercial production projects hit the streets one after another, the huge team expenses may drag down a film company.

Connie said at this time, "Scott has news that David Ellison has already contacted him, and it is very likely that he will invest in the Pacific Foundation in the future."

Ronan asked, "He still has money?"

Connie replied, "According to the analysis of our investigation and analysis team, David Ellison’s investment in Disney is most likely to come from Larry Ellison. David Ellison is an adult and his mother helped him A trust fund with a lot of investment has been established, and Larry Ellison has been continuously injecting capital into the trust fund in recent years..."

Ronan understood what was going on, "It really is the second generation of super rich."

Strictly speaking, he who inherited Shahai Entertainment can be considered a rich second generation, but compared to David Ellison, he is really far behind.

Connie finally said, "There is news from Robert that the contact with the Disney Animation Studio Chris Barker team is currently at a critical stage. Chris Barker wants to meet you and hear your promise in person."

"When?" Ronan asked.

Connie replied, "Robert said it's best this afternoon."

Ronan nodded, "Yes." He thought for a while and said, "Have you made an appointment?"

Connie said, "Robert's appointment is a yacht club in Santa Monica, which has already been jointly acquired by Will Smith and Tom Cruise."

Ronan has no opinion "Yes."

After finishing the work at hand and going to the restaurant for lunch, Ronan left Century City by car.

The black Rolls-Royce Phantom drove not far along Santa Monica Boulevard, and encountered a big traffic jam near the crossroads on the edge of West Hollywood.

Several police cars rushed forward from the side road with their siren whizzing.

Vinci yelled into the intercom, "Stop! No. 2 and No. 3, come over, stay alert!"

Ronan sat in the car steadily. Although he was curious, he didn't have any idea of ​​getting off the car. His own safety was more important than anything else.

The two cars moved around, and the guard was in front of the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

At the same time, there is a bodyguard to understand the situation.

Ronan glanced at his watch and called Robert Lee. When he hung up, Finch said, "I understand, there are two robbers who robbed a convenience store less than 300 meters ahead. Encountered a police officer who took the convenience store owner as a hostage and was facing off with the police. The robber only had a pistol. It is estimated that this will be done soon. Let's wait a moment."

Such a thing is not uncommon in Los Angeles. It is also far away from the car, and with many bodyguards, it is not a threat at all.

Ronan just nodded, before he could say anything, there was a burst of intensive gunfire in front of him.

Vinci was a little surprised, "Fighting so soon?"

Including him, all the bodyguards looked forward vigilantly.

After waiting for a while, the long queue of crowded cars gradually began to move. The police had a dedicated person to clear the traffic. The black Rolls-Royce Phantom was sandwiched between two bodyguard cars and drove through the congested area.

Through the car window, Ronan saw a convenience store with a broken glass door, and there were faint blood stains...

When approaching Santa Monica, Finch said, "There is definite news. The police killed two robbers just now. The black hostages who were taken hostage and two passersby were unfortunately killed."

Ronan was speechless, "It really is the style of the Los Angeles police."

Vinci said directly, "They work, they are always rough."

Ronan didn't know what to say, maybe he had to use another way to describe it?

In order to prevent the robbers from using the hostages as a threat, the Los Angeles police did not shoot the hostages. In order to prevent the robbers from taking the passers-by and continue to act as hostages, they did not shoot them...

This incident directly caused Ronan to be late.

"Sorry, I ran into the Los Angeles police handling the case on the way, and I was late."

Inside the yacht club, Ronan shook hands with a middle-aged man wearing glasses. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Barker."

Chris Buck said, "It's a great honor to meet you, a Hollywood legend."

Ronan glanced at Robert Lee and said, "When Robert said you want to see me, I rushed over immediately."

Chris Barker said, "My team and I have worked at Disney Animation Studios for more than ten years, and the decision to leave was not easy."

Ronan said, "I understand."

He attaches great importance to Chris Buck. This seemingly ordinary Disney employee represents a very large animation production team at Disney Animation Studios.

This team first produced "The Lion King" with Jeff Kasenberg, and then led the production of animated feature films such as "Pocahontas", "Mulan" and "Tarzan".

Although it is inevitable that people will come in and out during the period, the core team headed by Chris Barker has not changed significantly It is no exaggeration to say that Chris Barker and his team represent The legacy of the traditional Disney animation studio.

But now, they are no longer taken seriously. After the decline of hand-drawn animation, Michael Eisner turned his attention to live-action movies and wanted to abolish the hand-drawn animation department.

Chris Buck and his team had to make a transition and switched to computer animation production.

However, the two computer animation feature films "Star Silver Island" and "The Legend of the Bear" they produced were far from reaching expectations, leading to further marginalization of Disney Animation Studios.

In the past two years, too much energy of Disney has been consumed in infighting, and the original animation studio, which was second to none, has gradually been ignored.

Chris Barker and his team have to think about the future.

Continue to stay at Disney and wait for Disney to stabilize, or leave Disney in search of a new creative environment?

This is the choice they must face.