Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 211 Pirate King

Wu Yuchen is no saint. Forget about putting yourself in someone else's shoes and trying to understand them!
They've already infringed on his interests, so why should he change positions?

This time, I was so close to winning the Best Director award. If it weren't for Eisner's capricious order and Disney's sudden betrayal, I would have already won the Oscar for Best Director!

Such a double nomination opportunity is extremely rare. Moreover, a film like "Amour," which can move a group of older men, can only be given this opportunity once at most. Trying the same approach again, how could it possibly have such a stunning effect?
Moreover, the Best Director award this time went to "Amour," a Chinese-language film starring Chinese actors, not a story about white people.

Before the major expansion of the Oscar voting committee, Asian films had no chance of winning Best Picture. The reason *Parasite* was able to win Best Picture in its previous form was because the Oscars had already implemented a diversity policy for many years, with nearly double the number of voters, and most of the new voters were people of color. Because of this, *Parasite* had a chance to win Best Picture.

The Best Director award is different. In his previous life, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" helped Li An win the Guild of America Directors Award, and he was very close to winning the Oscar for Best Director. If it weren't for Soderbergh's double nomination, he would have basically secured the golden statuette.

Therefore, the Best Director Oscar is the highest award Wu Yuchen can win for a Chinese-language film, a prize that takes anywhere from 10 to 15 years to achieve. And yet, this rare opportunity was wasted because of this ridiculous infighting!
He's so angry he wants to kill Eisner!

What kind of emperor are you, Disney? You only have this power because of Disney. Without this position, you're nothing but a bullshit emperor!

Wu Yuchen didn't hide his thoughts and asked directly, "Steven, how do we get Eisner out of office?"

Spielberg smiled upon hearing this:

“If it were someone else, I would advise them to let it go and forget about the unpleasant things that happened. But Wu, you keep creating miracles, and I don’t think that you’re just talking big or acting impulsively. You have the right to do so.”

Eisner is only accountable to the board of directors, so the simplest and most direct method is to damage Disney's profits and cause its stock price to plummet.

Because of his previous investments in US stocks, Wu Yuchen actually had some understanding of Disney's stock price. In recent years, Disney's operations have actually been declining compared to previous years, but because it caught a wave of tech stock growth, which led to a general rise in the US stock market, Disney's stock price also climbed steadily. Therefore, Eisner's position has remained quite stable.

Eisner has many enemies, and the board naturally supported him when the stock price was soaring. However, with the bursting of the dot-com bubble, US stock prices will plummet, and Disney's stock price cannot maintain its high level; it will continue to decline. At this point, his enemies will all step forward. Although Eisner can rely on his past seniority to hold on, over time, the board's trust will be exhausted.

What Wu Yuchen needs to do is accelerate this process.

Just as Wu Yuchen's thoughts were racing, Spielberg asked, "Wu, how about joining DreamWorks? I think you and Katzenberg would have a lot in common on the issue of getting Eisner out of office!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen snapped out of his thoughts, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Steven, is it 20% of the full copyright?"

"Of course, the conditions I promised you back then will not change."

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "I don't have much of a problem, but the estimated production cost of my new movie is a bit high."

"How many?"

"At least hundreds of millions."

Spielberg frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly, upon hearing this. Wu Yuchen's previous three films were all classic examples of high-return, low-budget films. The production costs of "Frequency" and "Phone Booth" were both less than 4000 million, and the global box office was ten times that amount. Even the highest-grossing film, "The Sixth Sense," only cost 6000 million, and the final return was also more than ten times, which was very lucrative.

Their DreamWorks isn't as powerful as the Big Seven, but the reason they were willing to give Wu Yuchen 20% of the full copyright was because they valued his ability to achieve big results with a small investment.

But now, Wu Yuchen says his next film will have an investment of over 100 million US dollars, which makes Spielberg cautious. He thought for a moment and asked, "Wu, is your new film going for a big-budget production? What kind of subject matter is it?"

Wu Yuchen nodded: "That's right. The previous three films weren't actually that complicated. I've seen some people say that I don't have the ability to handle big-budget productions, and I want to give it a try. As for the subject matter, how about pirates?"

Spielberg sighed inwardly upon hearing this. Pirates? It's not like he hasn't made them before.

In 1991, Spielberg directed the fantasy adventure film "Hook," so he was quite familiar with pirate movies. It cost $7000 million to make and grossed $3 million worldwide, which was a great success in terms of returns. It is considered the most successful pirate movie to date.

In 1995, Caroco, a mid-sized Hollywood film company, produced Cutthroat Island. The budget of $6000 million was increased to nearly $1 million, but the film was a huge flop after its release, which bankrupted the company and led to its liquidation.

Since then, few people in Hollywood have been willing to touch the pirate theme in recent years, as it is said to be a box office poison.

Now Wu Yuchen says he wants to make a pirate film with a production cost of over 100 million yuan. How can this not make Spielberg frown?

However, since the purpose of the visit was to win over Wu Yuchen, Spielberg did not refuse outright. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Wu, is this just an idea, or do you already have a script?"

"The script is finished, Steven. Would you like to take a look?"

Spielberg adjusted his glasses: "I'm free these next couple of days. You can come see me anytime with your script, and we can have a proper talk about your project."

The two then clinked their glasses again before leaving the room. The outside world remained noisy, but Wu Yuchen's mood was now completely different.

Back on the set of "Love", Wu Yuchen met Richard, who had appeared out of nowhere.

Richard's expression was calm. When he saw Wu Yuchen walk back, he said directly, "Sorry, Wu."

Seeing Wu Yuchen and Spielberg leave together, he knew that Wu Yuchen would most likely find out the truth, and that such things couldn't be kept secret if someone wanted to investigate.

Wu Yuchen chuckled and said, "You're a good employee, I understand you, but I won't accept your apology."

After saying that, Wu Yuchen walked around him, leaving behind the words, "Eisner will be kicked off the stage."

Wu Yuchen didn't linger at the Vanity Fair party, even turning away Jennifer Connelly, who wanted to party with him. He was serious about dealing with Eisner; he couldn't think straight without a plan.

Wu Yuchen created a chart analyzing Disney's asset portfolio.

Disney’s largest asset is ABC television, which it acquired in 95 at the height of its success for $190 billion.

Wu Yuchen wrote down ABC and then crossed it out. On the one hand, he didn't have any good ways to target ABC, and on the other hand, he didn't need to. This was because ABC's performance after the acquisition hadn't been great; in the past two years, it had even suffered losses that required Disney to subsidize it.

Therefore, ABC television station does not need Wu Yuchen to pay attention to it.

Then he wrote down the second section: Disneyland. Actually, since the 90s, the few Disneyland parks built by Disney haven't been very successful. The most typical example is Disneyland Paris, which was meticulously built at great expense, but it wasn't popular with Europeans at all, and even faced the risk of bankruptcy, requiring annual injections of capital from its parent company to maintain operations. This section doesn't need Wu Yuchen's attention.

The third area is Disney animation. This is Disney's foundation and originally their greatest strength. However, since Eisner forced Katzenberg out, Disney's own animation has been on a downward trend since "The Lion King." In recent years, Disney's animation has relied entirely on its partner Pixar Studios, with two "Toy Story" films and "A Bug's Life" holding up the show for Disney's animation division.

Wu Yuchen drew a circle around Pixar. Steve Jobs and Eisner had a terrible relationship, making Jobs a potential collaborator. As for how to win him over, he remembered a crisis Jobs was facing later that year, which he could manipulate.

Then comes the fourth category: live-action movies. Actually, Disney's live-action movies have always ranked low among the Big Seven, only catching up a few years ago after acquiring Miramax, the company of the Harvey Weinstein brothers.

Wu Yuchen doesn't need to worry about the first two, ABC television and Disneyland, or rather, he wouldn't have the ability to manage them even if he wanted to. But he can handle the latter two!
Although he had registered quite a few scripts before, they were all ones he felt were suitable for his personal filmmaking. Now it's different. Wu Yuchen plans to work tirelessly, employing a "hijacking" strategy, to snatch up all the scripts for future Disney movies!
In the realm of animation, Disney only has one successful film, *Lilo & Stitch*, in the next few years, so they'll just copy the script first. As for Pixar, *Finding Nemo* is already in production, so they can't copy it. Instead, they'll copy *Finding Dory* and *The Incredibles* first. Regardless of their future relationship with Pixar, they'll keep the potential threat under their control.

In the realm of live-action films, he snatches away every script for profitable projects he can, including the Princess Diaries series, National Treasure, The Pitcher, The Hot Chicks, Single Diary, and A Time to Live. Even if he doesn't make the film himself, he won't let Disney do it!
And then there's Marvel, one of the future pillars of Disney. They should spend money to secure it now, because even if they sell it later, it will never go to Disney!
Then Wu Yuchen took out a script that he had already registered: "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl".

The original plan was that if this collaboration went well, we could make Disney's most successful and profitable live-action film series within the next two years. Now, forget about it!
Wu Yuchen picked up a pen, crossed out a few words on the title, and changed it to "Pirate King: The Curse of the Black Pearl".

Disneyland has a ride called "Pirates of the Caribbean," but Wu Yuchen didn't want the movie to promote it and drive traffic to their ride. So, he dropped the "Pirates of the Caribbean" name and changed it to "Pirate King" series instead!
The next day at DreamWorks, Spielberg was engrossed in reading *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*, while in the next room, Wu Yuchen and Katzenberg were having a pleasant conversation, reaching a friendly consensus on overturning Eisner's legacy. Katzenberg, also bald, handed Wu Yuchen a newspaper, smiling and saying, "Look, Wu, Disney is still promoting you!"

"Oscar Injustice! Wu Yuchen Loses Best Director for 'The Sixth Sense'! The Academy Owes Him an Oscar!"

Wu Yuchen glanced at the headline in the newspaper and couldn't help but smile sarcastically: "Then I should thank them!"

Clearly, Disney is still using every topic to maximize the profits from "The Sixth Sense" and squeeze every last drop of value out of it.

Katzenberg comforted him, saying, "Wu, consider this year's Oscars as a way to accumulate points. The fact that you didn't win either the double nominations or the Directors Guild Award this year will make you remembered by the public and the judges."

Wu Yuchen nodded in agreement. He also planned to capitalize on the situation, portraying himself as a tragic loser to garner sympathy and leave a lasting impression on the judges. He couldn't afford to lose everything now; he needed to at least build up some capital for future competitions.

Then Katzenberg smiled and said to Wu Yuchen:
“Wu, if there’s a chance, I’ll introduce you to Roy Disney. He’s a descendant of Walt Disney, the founder of Disney, and he has considerable influence within Disney. He shares our views and has always wanted to oust Eisner.”

Wu Yuchen's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "That would be wonderful! I really hope to get to know such a highly respected senior!"

At that moment, Spielberg leaned over, waved the script in his hand, and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt your pleasant conversation, but I think I need to talk to Wu."

Wu Yuchen nodded to Katzenberger, then followed Spielberg away.

They're called the DreamWorks Big Three because each of them is a top figure in their respective fields. David Geffen is in charge of music and records, Katzenberg is in charge of the animation studio, and Spielberg is in charge of film production; each has a clear division of labor.

While this approach has its advantages—having professionals handle professional tasks—Wu Yuchen felt it also had significant drawbacks, the simplest being the conflict of interest. He had just been betrayed and kept this lesson firmly in mind.

The three of them seem to be working together with the same goal: to make DreamWorks a rival to the Big Seven. However, over time, the benefits they bring to the company in their respective fields may differ. For example, the record industry is currently at the tail end of its golden age, but with the rise of the internet, physical records will definitely be greatly impacted. Will the other two still be satisfied with David Geffen a few years from now?
Wu Yuchen shook his head. He didn't care about DreamWorks' future, but cooperation was possible in the short term, within the next few years.

Once inside the room, Spielberg pointed to the script in his hand and asked Wu Yuchen:
"Wu, are you sure you want to make that pirate the protagonist of the movie? And a sissy pirate at that?"

Pirate movies are not popular in the market, but Wu Yuchen's "The Pirate King" created a character that is very different from traditional pirates, which made Spielberg a little uneasy after reading the script.

Wu Yuchen smiled and then asked, "Steven, what do you think of this story?"

Spielberg paused for a moment, then said, "It's interesting."

Having read countless scripts, Spielberg is practically immune to all sorts of clichés. He can only imagine whether he, as an audience member, would find it interesting. It must be admitted that the script for "The Pirate King" is indeed refreshing.

"So, traditional pirate themes are destined to be outdated, so I have to come up with something different. Captain Sparrow is just that. He's a bit effeminate and a bit cheeky, but he'll make the audience laugh, and kids will love him too."

"Wu, can we reduce the investment even further?"

Spielberg still chose to believe in Wu Yuchen's abilities, after all, three consecutive films had already proven his keen grasp of commercial films and the market.

The production cost was a bit too high. Spielberg felt that if it could be reduced to $8000 million, he would grit his teeth and invest.

Wu Yuchen immediately shook his head:
"Um, Steven, not only will it not be low, but I actually went back and did a careful calculation, and it will likely be much higher than 1 million, with an estimated cost of 1.4 million."

"What? 1.4 million!" Spielberg's body trembled, and his glasses almost fell off.

Take Spielberg for example. He's been in the industry for so long and is definitely a world-renowned director. But his most expensive film to date, "Saving Private Ryan," only cost $7000 million, and "Jurassic Park" cost less than $7000 million. Now, Wu Yuchen has doubled that amount!
Even the Big Seven studios hesitate for a long time before investing in a big-budget production costing over 100 million yuan. DreamWorks, whose strength is not as great as the Big Seven, would hesitate even more, let alone 140 million yuan, which is far more than 100 million yuan!

Spielberg took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, and gave a wry smile: "Wu, you've really given me a tough time!"

If they were to invest 1.4 million, DreamWorks could forget about making any other movies this year, but that's impossible. Moreover, investing 1.4 million in a single project would be too risky for DreamWorks. If something like "Cutthroat Island" happened again, bankruptcy wouldn't be the worst outcome, but it would be crippling!

Their DreamWorks doesn't have the channels of the Big Seven to slowly recoup its losses; it can't afford to go through this kind of turmoil!
Spielberg sighed, then said to Wu Yuchen, "Wu, our DreamWorks can only offer a maximum of 8000 million."

Wu Yuchen had actually anticipated this. It was easy to figure out that DreamWorks, with its frail resources, wouldn't dare to gamble so much. Spielberg's offer of 8000 million was already a testament to his boldness.

"Steven, may I ask, are DreamWorks' current distribution channels reliable?"

Spielberg smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about that. We have partnerships with Universal Pictures, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox."

In fact, Universal Pictures and Spielberg have a very deep connection. From the age of 12, he gained experience working in various departments of Universal through his father's connections. Films like *Jaws*, *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*, *Back to the Future*, and *Jurassic Park* were all collaborations between Spielberg and Universal. The Big Seven studios both suppressed DreamWorks and simultaneously profited from it.

Upon hearing that there were no issues with the distribution channels, Wu Yuchen felt relieved and said with a smile:

"Steven, since DreamWorks doesn't have enough money, how about my own Miracle Pictures fills the gap? We each contribute 7000 million, how about that?"

Spielberg was a little surprised to hear this, because it was 7000 million, not 700 million. Although he knew that Wu Yuchen had made a lot of money, it was rare for him to be willing to invest so much money in his own movie, because movies are very risky.

"Wu, are you sure?"

Wu Yuchen nodded: "I have confidence in my movie!"

Spielberg stared at Wu Yuchen for several seconds, perhaps impressed by his confidence: "DreamWorks will contribute 8000 million, and Miracle Pictures will invest the remaining 6000 million."

Wu Yuchen gave an OK sign. However, Spielberg then said:

"Wu, I think we need to renegotiate your director's fee."

Wu Yuchen frowned: "Wasn't it agreed that it would be 20% full copyright?"

Spielberg shrugged: "Wu, if you can reduce the cost to below $7000 million, I can give you 20% of the full rights. But this is a big production with a budget of $1.4 million, and no studio will offer such a high price."

Subsequently, the two discussed Wu Yuchen's compensation for a long time and finally settled on 12% of the full copyright, plus $800 million in cash.

Of course, Wu Yuchen also has additional conditions: if a sequel is to be filmed, his director's fee will increase to 20% of the full copyright, and Miracle Pictures will enjoy at least 40% of the investment amount and copyright for the sequel to "The Pirate King".

Don't think this condition is unreasonable. With the first film still unreleased, Spielberg wouldn't care. If a sequel were to be made, it would definitely mean DreamWorks made money off *Pirates of the Caribbean*. Therefore, he'd love to see a sequel!
Wu Yuchen was satisfied with the terms; currently, partnering with DreamWorks was the best he could get. Partnering with larger companies might not have resulted in them giving him a significant share of the profits. Furthermore, having just experienced Disney's betrayal, he didn't want to collaborate with major companies for the time being.

Spielberg sighed, then said to Wu Yuchen with emotion, "If I didn't have my own movie to shoot, I really would have to be the producer of this 'Pirate King' myself. It's $1.4 million!"

Wu Yuchen laughed and said, "Steven, don't worry, I'm going to use this movie to teach Disney a lesson next year. How could I let myself be slapped in the face?"

Spielberg gently shook his head: "I really don't know whether I should advise you not to act impulsively, or encourage you to forge ahead..."

A big-budget production of 1.4 million is too risky. Spielberg even wanted Wu Yuchen to put aside his feud with Disney first, but perhaps the desire for revenge can motivate young people to work harder.

(End of this chapter)