Chapter 326: Jobs' Refusal

[Chapter 326: Jobs' Refusal]

After two weeks of negotiations, Guess Pictures officially acquired Pixar Animation Studios for $300 million and a 10% stake in Guess Pictures.

Link and Steve Jobs signed the agreement for both companies in a conference room at the Guess Pictures headquarters. Following Jobs and his team joining Guess Pictures, the board underwent significant changes.

Link's shares decreased to 33.3%, while shares held by Glimmer Capital fell to 15.2%, giving him a combined voting power of 74%. J.P. Morgan was in third place. J.P. Morgan participated in two rounds of financing, buying 10% in the first round and another 5% in the second round. After both financing rounds and the acquisition, they now held 11.7%.

Jobs's Pixar Animation placed fourth with a 10% stake. Vanguard Capital initially held 12% but did not participate in the second round, leaving them with 8.3%. The remaining shareholders -- Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, BlackRock, Carl Icahn Investments, and Sil-Metropole Organisation -- owned less than 5% each and held voting rights as board members.

Executives like Danny DeVito, Mark Amin, James Schamus, and Lily maintained a 5% profit-sharing and voting rights, though their total share plummeted to around 2%, and they were eligible to participate in board meetings.

...

The company's management grew to include many new faces, primarily representatives and directors appointed by shareholders who were not responsible for operational duties. Throughout the financing and acquisition of Pixar, the company faced disruptions from the Big Seven, including management departures and rumor attacks.

Yet, under Link's firm leadership, the company gradually stabilized and resumed normal operations. The immediate focus was on preparing for the upcoming summer blockbuster season, hoping to secure strong box office results amidst fierce competition.

By this week, the North American summer blockbuster season officially began. The first major commercial film was Crimson Tide, produced and distributed by Disney, with a budget of $45 million and starring Denzel Washington and veteran Gene Hackman.

The film explored the tension and conflict between the captain of a nuclear submarine and his officers during the Cold War, making it a quintessential man's movie. In its opening week, it earned $18.61 million from 2,382 theaters, clinching the number one box office spot, which was a solid performance.

As a result, the earnings for While You Were Sleeping dropped to $8.36 million this week, bringing its total North American earnings to $66.18 million, placing it at number three for the week. The second spot was claimed by the romantic comedy French Kiss, produced by 20th Century Fox and starring Meg Ryan, with a debut weekend earning of $9.01 million.

The competition during the first week of summer blockbusters seemed relatively mild, akin to a series of appetizers. The real competition was set to begin with the release of The Butterfly Effect next week.

...

"Ha ha, Link, summer blockbusters are here! Are you ready?"

Link was processing documents in his office when Michael Ovitz suddenly called, amusement evident in his voice.

"Ready for what?"

Link leaned back in his office chair, asking Lewinsky to pour him a cup of coffee.

"Ready to accept defeat! Ready to surrender to me! Ready to exit the Hollywood stage!"

Michael's voice dripped with mockery.

Link shook his head, not understanding Michael's perspective. It seemed childish for Michael, with all his status, to shout such taunts during a corporate showdown.

"Michael, there's one thing I don't get: we don't seem to have any issues between us. Why are you always targeting me? Does it even make sense to do that?"

"No issues?"

Michael's teeth clenched in frustration upon hearing Link's words.

"Damn it! You won over $20 million from me on a bet back in '93, and you cost CAA several major clients, causing a significant drop in the company's performance. And you dare say we have no issues?

Plus, you're just a rookie in the industry, yet because of a lucky break with a few decent films, you snatched what was supposed to be my Hollywood crown. You think that's no issue?"

He slammed his hand on the table, causing a loud thud.

Link chuckled lightly. "Losing a bet was your own fault; you took the gamble and should accept the outcome. As for your claim about Hollywood's crown? That title was imposed on me by the media, and it never truly mattered to me."

"Doesn't matter? Hmph, do you expect me to believe that?"

"You don't need to believe it. I'm ranked 102nd on the Forbes list, and I'll climb higher next year. In ten years, I might break into the top fifty, maybe even the top ten, one of the wealthiest people on earth. That title has much more weight than 'Hollywood's King.'"

"Hah! Top ten? You're dreaming!"

Michael laughed coldly.

Link shook his head again. "Whether a dream or not, just wait and see. Besides, this Hollywood crown never belonged to you; it originally belonged to Louis B. Mayer, then to Spyros Skouras in the '50s and '60s, to Lew Wasserman in the '70s and '80s, and to you in recent years. Now it's back in my hands.

Crowns change owners; that's just how the entertainment industry works. Power belongs to the strong. Do you think I would just hand it over to you and you'd magically reclaim your title?"

"No need for you to hand it. That crown is mine, and no matter what underhanded means you used to steal it, I'll get it back. The thief will face the harshest consequences; no one can stop me."

Michael's voice turned menacing.

"Get it back? How? Through seduction? Oh, dear Michael, I must thank you. Cameron Diaz and Nicole are both wonderful women: beautiful, gentle, and sweet, with stunning figures. Thanks for bringing them to my side. If you know any other great girls, please send them my way. I'd really appreciate it."

Link spoke earnestly.

A grinding sound came through the phone, filled with Michael's gritted teeth. "Link, don't get too cocky! This isn't over!"

With a slam, Michael ended the call.

...

Link rubbed his ear, hung up, and then dialed Lily and Jon Gordon to remind them to pay attention to the recent media narratives.

The Butterfly Effect was set to premiere on Friday.

Big Seven studios would surely seize this opportunity to undermine the film. The company needed to closely monitor all related narratives to prevent being ambushed by media associated with Big Seven studios.

To ensure that Guess Pictures' films had a promotional edge, Link proposed allocating $5 million for a special fund -- one, to bolster the company's resource reserves in promotion, and two, to handle emergency public relations.

...

Once he finished arranging the work, Link considered and then called four shareholders: Vanguard Capital, J.P. Morgans, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank.

These four investment firms also held stakes in Big Seven studios or their media groups.

Regardless of the outcome between Guess Pictures and Big Seven, all four investment firms stood to suffer losses.

Link urged them to pressure Big Seven through their investment companies to deter them from colluding against Guess Pictures.

However, Greg Davis declined the proposal.

Their internal divisions had formed into two camps regarding increasing stakes in Guess Pictures: one supported Big Seven, while the other backed Guess Pictures.

Investors supporting Big Seven aimed to suppress Guess Pictures to reclaim Big Seven studios' dominance in Hollywood. Meanwhile, those supporting Guess Pictures favored peaceful coexistence, wanting to compete only through film rather than unorthodox tactics.

After board discussions, the two factions remained adversarial, and the victorious faction would gain more resources and power. Essentially, Guess Pictures' rise had split the capital side into two camps.

Greg Davis hoped Link would focus on promoting films to secure solid performance for Guess Pictures amidst the summer box office, thus defeating Big Seven. He and those in favor of Guess Pictures would gain more power as well.

...

"Another case of internal strife."

Link shook his head, picking up the phone to call Jobs again, trying to persuade him to take on the role of chairman at Guess Pictures.

Jobs was a highly capable entrepreneur; if he could oversee Guess Pictures, Link would have more time to dedicate to filmmaking.

Unfortunately, after several attempts at persuasion, Jobs still refused.

The reason was that Link's performance as chairman had been commendable. Jobs expressed that he didn't have the confidence to do better than Link, so he declined.

Moreover, he was focused on his own NeXT computer company and simply didn't have the time or energy to manage such a large company like Guess Pictures.

However, Jobs agreed to take the position of vice chairman and continue managing Pixar Animation Studios.

His response was the same: he wouldn't budge.

Seeing that Jobs was unwilling, Link didn't push further, and they shifted the conversation toward Apple's situation.

With Microsoft launching Windows 95, Apple's condition was becoming increasingly dire, and they faced a financial crisis. In just two weeks, Apple's stock had plummeted 3.2%. If changes didn't come soon, they risked bankruptcy.

Link inquired if Jobs had considered returning to Apple. If so, he'd be willing to help.

Jobs admitted he hadn't made up his mind yet, but he hoped that if he did, Link would assist him.

After hanging up, Link returned to his other work.

*****

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