Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 262 Saving Disney

Early in the morning, Wu Yuchen, disregarding the sweet fragrance in his arms, abandoned Anne Hathaway and rushed out. Upon arriving at DreamWorks, he immediately asked Katzenberg, "Jeffrey, what exactly happened?"

Katzenberg handed Wu Yuchen a cup of coffee, then smiled broadly and said, "The opportunity we've been waiting for has arrived!"

Katzenberg then elaborated: "Just yesterday, Roy Disney was dismissed from all his positions by Eisner on the grounds of age, and forced into retirement. I have received information that Roy Disney is uniting with disgruntled people within Disney to rebel against Eisner!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen perked up and couldn't help but laugh. Then he pressed on, "Has Roy Disney contacted you?"

Katzenberg shook his head and said with a smile, "This old man is very stubborn. He only contacts current Disney staff and the thousands of employees who were laid off by Disney in the past year. He won't proactively contact outsiders to resolve Disney's internal affairs."

Wu Yuchen laughed too. He really was a stubborn old man. He meant that he didn't want to team up with foreign enemies to deal with Disney!
Then Wu Yuchen asked, "Since even you know, Eisner couldn't possibly not know, right? Has Eisner taken any measures?"

Katzenberg nodded: "Disney's shareholders' meeting is coming up soon. Eisner will definitely try to stop him, but it won't be very effective. His years in power have accumulated too much discontent, but no one has ever dared to defy him like this before. Now that Roy has stepped forward, there will definitely be a group of people following Roy. And there are those thousands of laid-off employees. Eisner can't do anything about them, and they will definitely stand firmly on Roy's side."

Wu Yuchen's face lit up with delight. Roy Disney represented the Disney family and was also the embodiment of Disney's spirit. His determination to fight Eisner to the bitter end was sure to give Eisner a run for his money. Moreover, Disney's stock price had been low for a long time, and shareholders were already dissatisfied with Eisner's management. If he delivered a strong blow this time, he might just be able to oust Eisner at the shareholders' meeting!
Wu Yuchen hadn't forgotten Eisner's betrayal. If he had won Best Director back then, he wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble this year. The time and effort weren't the main issue; the real problem was the feeling of being betrayed after all that hard work—it was truly unbearable. This time, with such a great opportunity, he was determined to get involved!
Wu Yuchen immediately said, "Although Roy doesn't want to contact us, we can still offer him help. We can provide him with media resources and support him whenever the opportunity arises."

"And I have another suggestion: we can help them create a website called 'Save Disney,' where employees laid off by Eisner and those dissatisfied with him from different parts of the world can gather and voice their opinions."

Katzenberg immediately clapped his hands and cheered: "Aha! I love this idea! We must work together to oust Eisner and save Disney!"

……

A week later, several prominent American newspapers simultaneously focused their attention on the same issue:
"Recently, a movement called 'Save Disney' has attracted a lot of attention in Hollywood. The initiator of this movement is Roy Disney, a second-generation member of the Disney family, an employee who has worked at Disney for nearly 50 years, a representative of the Disney family, and a figure who carries on the Disney spirit. However, he has now been ousted from Disney by CEO Eisner!"
Roy Disney wrote a seven-page, strongly worded letter, harshly criticizing Eisner's leadership of the company over the past eight years.

Roy stated that Eisner's actions over the past eight years have been a complete failure: the disastrous management of ABC Family Channel, the continuous losses and low attendance at theme parks, the focus on quick profits rather than long-term value, the loss of a large number of creative talents due to over-management, the destruction of Disney's animation division, and the deteriorating relationship with Pixar, among others. All of these have been gradually destroying Disney's credibility and the very foundation upon which it survives!
In an interview, Roy said: "The company's performance has been unsatisfactory, and I, along with other employees and shareholders, are deeply worried. Eisner caused the company to lose a lot of money. Ovitz, who was brought in by Eisner with great fanfare, only worked for Disney for one year, but was then forcibly fired by Eisner and received $120 million. At that time, the board of directors did nothing! It's really hard to imagine!"

Because of Eisner's arrogance, our relationship with some of Hollywood's most creative people has deteriorated. John Wu, Pixar, Katzenberg—these were all close partners of Disney, and look at the dazzling works they created! But because of Eisner, all of these will be out of reach of Disney!

Over the past few years, Disney has been getting worse, but Eisner has been earning over $100 million a week in salary and huge bonuses, which is simply unbelievable! He's a vampire clinging to Disney!
Disney must change. They must remove Eisner, this autocratic and incompetent dictator, from power, or Disney will have no future!

It is understood that Roy posted his open letter on the 'Save Disney' website he created, and so far thousands of Disney employees have signed it and voiced their support for Roy Disney.

Over the past two years, Disney's stock price has plummeted from $40 to $10.5. One wonders what Disney shareholders think of this "Save Disney" operation?

The news reports immediately drew considerable public attention to Disney. Such internal company matters are usually difficult for outsiders to understand, but media involvement changes everything.

Moreover, the reports appeared not only in the entertainment section but also in the financial sections of many newspapers. This is because the situation is likely to have a significant impact on Disney's operations and development, thus attracting the attention of investors. Naturally, analysts from various financial sectors have also begun to analyze the "Save Disney" event.

"Disney has been poorly managed in recent years, with its business in all aspects in a slump and its stock price falling continuously. The incompetence of the management team led by Eisner has been exposed. However, 18 years of rule have made them deeply entrenched in Disney. What Disney will do next is a mystery."

“Eisner has been at Disney for 18 years. In the first ten years, he led Disney to its golden age, but in the last eight years, his rule has been criticized by many. The recent ‘Save Disney’ movement has exposed many of Disney’s problems to the public. Disney is now in a critical and sensitive phase, and whether Eisner can weather this ‘Save Disney’ movement is also a question.”

"The Save Disney movement reflects a serious management mess within Disney. Regardless of who is right or wrong, this infighting will plunge Disney into turmoil!"

"Damn it!" Eisner slammed the newspaper on the table in anger, cursing the old man Roy Disney incessantly.

To be honest, he didn't expect Roy Disney to make things turn out this way. From what he knew of Roy Disney, although the old man opposed him, he always considered himself part of the Disney family and would prioritize the greater good of Disney, often defending Disney in public.

Therefore, Eisner believed that judging from Roy Disney's past behavior, he was probably just swallowing his anger for the sake of the old Disney guy when he was forced to retire.

But I never expected that he would launch a campaign to save Disney and make such a big fuss about it. Doesn't he know that this will put Disney in an even more unfavorable situation?
Just look at Disney's stock price now; it's fallen below the $10 mark and is now in single digits. Eisner knew that if he let them continue like this, he would face an extremely bad situation at the upcoming shareholders' meeting, and he had to salvage the situation.

Eisner summoned his subordinates: "Issue a public statement that Roy has reached retirement age, and the company is arranging his retirement out of humanitarian concern. Find some issues in his past medical reports and release them to prove that he has health problems. Also, find some media outlets to muddy the waters!"

His subordinates immediately agreed, and soon several media outlets stood up to defend Disney, pointing out that Roy Disney's health was worrying and he could no longer hold an important position. They also portrayed Roy Disney as an old man who had reached retirement age but was unwilling to leave because he craved power.

Just as public opinion was beginning to stabilize, several influential celebrities stepped forward to speak out.

First, there's Wu Yuchen, who recently won the Oscar for Best Picture and brought us the blockbuster "Spider-Man," and has never left the center of public attention.

Wu Yuchen said in an interview:
"It is undoubtedly ironic that the Disney family has been kicked out of Disney! In any case, it is too cold-blooded to forcibly dismiss a long-time employee who has dedicated 50 years to the company."

To the best of my knowledge, Roy Disney remains Disney's largest individual shareholder.

This is like a robber disguised as a good person taking over your home, making a mess of it, and then kicking you out. And yet, he brazenly enjoys your wealth—it's truly absurd!

"Wu, so do you support Roy Disney?"

"Yes, I sympathize with Roy and I support his argument. I think he's right about one thing: I know all too well how Eisner's management led to a significant loss of creative talent."

I need to be honest. Several years ago, when I wrote the script for *Pirates of the Caribbean*, I originally intended to collaborate with Disney. However, during my collaboration with Disney on *The Sixth Sense*, some of Eisner's actions left me with a very negative impression of Disney. From that point on, I decided never to work with Disney again.

Wu Yuchen's interview immediately attracted considerable attention. Many people are indifferent to whether Disney is alive or dead; they don't care about Roy Disney or Eisner, and they don't even know their names.

However, the involvement of celebrity Wu Yuchen attracted considerable attention. It turns out there's a story hidden behind "The Pirate King"!

When these words reached the ears of Disney's investors, their hearts were truly bleeding!
They looked at Disney's continuously declining stock price over the past two years, and then thought about the $9 million global box office and various profits of "Pirates of the Caribbean." This series, which should have been a huge money-making opportunity for Disney, ended up in DreamWorks' hands...

Eisner, you're dead!

Not only Wu Yuchen, but others followed suit, with Steve Jobs also making a public statement shortly after:

"Pixar will not consider renewing its contract with Disney! Yes, as long as Eisner is still with Disney, Pixar will not work with Disney!"

He has never shown any respect for Pixar, and he even privately said that Pixar's animated characters are ugly. He doesn't like Pixar's animation; he only likes the money Pixar makes for him! I hate this arrogant and conceited guy, and Pixar wouldn't welcome him!

This is another heavy blow to Disney, as Pixar is a major pillar of Disney's animation business. If Pixar doesn't renew its contract with Disney, it will be extremely bad news for the company. Many minority shareholders felt a chill upon hearing this news.

Almost simultaneously with Jobs, Katzenberg also spoke out:
"Eisner is a jealous and ruthless guy who eliminates dissidents! His decisions are only for his own benefit, not for Disney's! Look at what Disney's animation business has become now? I'm so glad I left Disney, otherwise there might never have been Shrek!"

Seeing this, Disney's investors felt their hearts bleed again. Katzenberg was originally a Disney employee! If he hadn't been ousted by Eisner, then the $5 million box office hit *Shrek*, and the entire DreamWorks Animation division, should have been Disney's!
At this point, even Michael Ovitz, who had previously been criticized by Roy Disney for leaving Disney after only one year with a $120 million severance package, came out to criticize Eisner:
"Did I go to Disney for the salary? That $1.2 million is an insult to me! I went to Disney to realize my ambitions and showcase my talents and abilities! I have the ability and confidence to take Disney to new heights!"
Unfortunately, Eisner saw me as a threat to him, and was willing to pay a $1.2 million penalty to get rid of me! He couldn't tolerate better people working with him at Disney, as that would only highlight his incompetence and folly!

It turns out I'm the most suitable person to lead Disney!

This has really blown things up, and even people who don't usually follow Disney are now paying attention. After all, there are just too many people who have seen "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Shrek," and Pixar animations.

The Save Disney campaign and Eisner have both been thrust into the spotlight.

(End of this chapter)