Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 688 Warner Bros. undergoes a major overhaul
The offices of Netflix headquarters in the Scotts Valley of the South Bay, San Francisco.

Dawn spent $5000 million to acquire Netflix, the online DVD rental website co-founded by Mark Randolph and Reed Hastings;

Tom Rothman made a special trip to the Bay Area to meet with Netflix executives and asked them to continue innovating the personalized movie recommendation service system!

"Heh, looks like Netflix is ​​having a tough time. They signed the contract so quickly?"

In Dawn's office, Aaron smiled as he looked at Tom Rothman, who had just returned from the Bay Area.

Tom Rothman nodded. "We've been losing money all along, and it's not easy to find investors."

Aaron understood, "With only 30 subscribers, losses are inevitable."

"By the way, it must be tough for DreamWorks to do distribution these days, right?"

Paramount, Columbia, Universal, and Disney Animation are all targeting DreamWorks' release date, so theaters will definitely be making moves.

"Ha, it's getting harder and harder. Jeffrey Katzenberg is now going door-to-door, trying to get canvases for DreamWorks."

"However, Steven Spielberg is so famous that there is still a large market for his works!"

Aaron tapped the table. "It doesn't matter. What needs to be done has been done. Disney's incompetence is their own fault, and they can't blame anyone else."

"Michael Eisner is hosting a party at his Beverly Hills villa tomorrow night, and I expect he'll bring this up again."

Michael Eisner is power-hungry and overly arrogant. He suppresses dissent and practices nepotism. Now, even Roy Disney, who once supported him, no longer approves of his management style!

Tom Rothman nodded. "The three people at DreamWorks are all capable and have plenty of resources. If they really work together, they will be very difficult to deal with."

Aaron smiled without saying a word. "Unity? Let's deal with Disney's underhanded tactics first."

Sid Bass, a major shareholder of Disney, has always supported Michael Eisner, and almost all of Disney's board members are Michael Eisner's people.
Given the conflict between Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, how could they possibly let go?
Moreover, Jeffrey Katzenberg is even more important to DreamWorks than Steven Spielberg.

That evening, Aaron arrived at the Peninsula Resort in Beverly Hills to celebrate Catherine Zeta-Jones' birthday!

By the window, Aaron embraced the sexy Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Is Tomb Raider finished filming?"

“The location shooting is all finished, and now we just need to film in the Los Angeles studio,” said Catherine Zeta-Jones, looking alluring in a silk nightgown.

"There are quite a few action scenes in Tomb Raider, and I think they're well-made."

"Perhaps this female version of Indiana Jones will have some surprises!"

Aaron shrugged. "Paramount hasn't had many good films in recent years, and they've been trying to partner with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks." "Unfortunately, DreamWorks already has collaborations with Columbia, Universal, Warner Bros., and even MGM."

"Shellie Lansing has no intention of being tied to a single major Hollywood publisher for long. Her decision to focus on the most difficult-to-adapt game market is a last resort."

Universal only signed an overseas distribution agreement with DreamWorks Animation, but DreamWorks Animation has few works, how can they compare to the live-action films led by Steven Spielberg?
"Yeah, Aaron, you really don't think video game adaptations are any good!"

Catherine Zeta-Jones smiled. Who would have thought that Aaron Anderson would say that video games are the hardest to adapt into movies?

Aaron kissed the woman in his arms, then reached into her pajamas, feeling their softness. "What's wrong with that? The interactive narrative logic of games and the linear narrative logic of movies are fundamentally in conflict."

"Secondly, there's the difference in character development. Game protagonists are designed as vehicles for player identification, with ambiguous personalities to suit different players. However, movie protagonists are three-dimensional characters with clear personalities and motivations. Forcing a fixed character design onto a game protagonist not only alienates game fans but also makes it difficult for new viewers to empathize."

"Finally, the focus of the experience is different. Gamers' enjoyment largely comes from the gameplay, and they pursue interactive entertainment experiences. Movies, on the other hand, rely on plot, pacing, and audiovisual impact to entertain and attract audiences."

Catherine Zeta-Jones snuggled close to the man, squinting her eyes, "No wonder, Dawn has adapted all sorts of works over the years, but never a game section!"

"You never know," Aaron chuckled, then kissed the woman on the lips. Soon, the two were on the bed, enjoying a romantic night...

The following evening, Aaron brought Catherine Zeta-Jones to a private dinner hosted by Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner.
Executives from various Hollywood film studios, as well as some big-name directors and actors, were all in attendance.

Aaron ran into Robert Shaye, the president of New Line Cinema, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. When Aaron was still an agent at CAA, he helped arrange for Golden Harvest's comic book adaptation "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to be distributed by New Line, which was a great success.
This marked the beginning of New Line Cinema's rise, and later, New Line collaborated with Jim Carrey on the successful film "Dumb and Dumber".

However, Dawning Entertainment acquired the rights to The Lord of the Rings series of novels ahead of time, which meant that New Line Cinema missed out on this blockbuster series!
"Warner Bros. co-CEO Bob Daly left the company this year, and I heard that the other CEO, Terry Semel, is also not planning to renew his contract?"

Aaron and Robert Shayer smiled and clinked their glasses together as they inquired.

Robert Shaye nodded. "It's no secret; with the merger of AOL and Time Warner, there were bound to be management changes."

"However, as you know, New Line Cinema is on the same level as Warner Bros. under Time Warner, and we are not managed by Warner Bros."

New Line Cinema has its own independent distribution system in North America. Even its international distribution business is not handed over to Warner Bros., but is kept in its own hands.

All of this was secured when Time Warner acquired Turner Broadcasting Network, allowing New Line Cinema to maintain its complete independence!
"So, who will succeed Terry Semel as chairman of Warner Bros.?"

Aaron knew, of course, that Terry Semel would take the CEO position at Yahoo after the tech bubble burst.

"Ha, I don't know the specifics yet, but the people mentioned in the newspapers are all possibilities: Martin Fisher, head of Castle Rock Entertainment; Alan Horn; and I think the most likely candidate is Barry Mayer, COO of Warner Bros. He should just get a promotion!"

Castle Rock Entertainment was formerly a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting Network. After the merger, Castle Rock, as a production company, has close collaborations with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.

(End of this chapter)