Chapter 160: No Eternal Friends

[Chapter 160: No Eternal Friends]

Throughout the founding and development of the Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney himself had a profound influence. But since he had no son, after his death in '66, his son-in-law Ron Miller began to take control of the company.

Miller was originally a professional athlete, and after retiring in '57, with the help of his father-in-law Walt, he began participating in the production of a series of company films as a producer. Starting as an assistant, he eventually became company president and CEO in 1980.

However, the Disney family rivalry never ceased. Roy Disney, son of Walt's brother and co-founder Roy Oliver Disney, also long held executive positions in the company. Undoubtedly, the son-in-law was seen as an outsider in this nephew's eyes, at least when it came to fighting for family assets and power.

Under Miller's leadership, Disney kept expanding and exploring, creating Touchstone Pictures, Disney Channel, and more. But the company's chaotic finances and stock situation made Disney a target of hostile takeovers and financial manipulators.

Finally, in 1984, Roy Disney, along with Stanley Gold and shareholder Sid Bass, after a series of hostile takeover attempts involving Universal's parent company and others, ousted Miller.

Roy initially had good plans. He brought in Michael Eisner, Frank Wells, and Jeffrey Katzenberg to serve as president and executives, creating a balance of power. At that time, Eisner had been Paramount Pictures president; Wells Warner Bros. president; Katzenberg Paramount's chairman assistant and production head.

Under Eisner's leadership, Disney began conquering new heights. However, in '94, Wells died in a plane crash, and Katzenberg lost a power struggle and left.

Eisner became a tyrant, escalating his conflict with Roy. Roy tried many ways to curb Eisner's power, including undermining Eisner's relationships with Katzenberg and Michael Ovitz -- both handpicked by Eisner to strengthen his control.

Roy pushed out his own family members, supported Eisner, then ultimately suffered from the consequences himself. While he might not have developed the company better than Eisner, Roy was still a strong competitor with various tactics.

The departure of Katzenberg led to Disney paying a $60 million settlement. Michael Ovitz received a $38 million severance and roughly $100 million in stock options (about 3 million shares). These were blows directly targeted at Eisner.

Despite the ongoing fierce competition between Eisner and Roy, they maintained a tacit understanding, never fully tearing each other apart or resorting to open warfare. Roy knew he lacked the strength, and Eisner understood it would be nearly impossible to entirely eliminate Disney family influence in the company.

This executive rivalry intensified and spread across all aspects.

Among Disney's live-action production powerhouses, Miramax was essentially a victim. Now, Charlie Corleone's Lion Corleone was also considered one of the players.

Historically, Roy influenced more on Disney's animation side, while Eisner's impact was broader on live-action films, the TV network, and the new theme park ventures.

With Charlie's involvement, Roy found more reasons and means to intervene in Disney's theme park businesses and live-action production.

Currently, the horror theme park project, hyped widely by the media, was boosting Disney's stock sharply. Roy took this opportunity to increase his influence over the company.

Eisner was very unhappy about this. He hated that Harvey dared to act up and that Charlie unexpectedly strengthened Roy's bargaining chips.

The big players were scheming against each other, and even the smaller roles affected were not pushovers -- some were merely pawns, each with their own ideas and attention.

Eisner had no reason or incentive to personally sabotage the horror theme park, as it was a huge company asset.

Threatening Charlie with contracts would at most force Lion Corleone to pay Disney around $40 million in cash. A few months ago, such funds would crush Charlie, as he couldn't mobilize that amount in one go.

But now, if Eisner pushed hard, Roy would arrange for the payment period to be stretched over three to five years, minimizing the impact on Lion Corleone.

Eisner, Roy, Harvey, and Charlie were now mutually influencing and entangled in benefits. Among them, Harvey was in the weakest position due to contract disputes.

Eisner decided to cause some trouble for Roy, not letting him erode his power. He originally wanted to bring Harvey back, support him a bit, and use Corleone's production title to burden Charlie with more executive roles and trouble.

Ideally, this would affect the Wrong Turn 2 project and thus the horror theme park plan.

Harvey was unwilling to give up. He planned to unite with Charlie again, forming a coalition on the Disney ship. Unfortunately, the initiative wasn't his. The increasingly dominant Charlie was cunning enough to first gauge the winds.

After collecting detailed information on Charlie, Eisner surprisingly developed a great appreciation for this newcomer who suddenly entered Hollywood.

Whether it was the audacity to challenge Fox with Fifty Shades of Gray or leveraging the Wrong Turn project to quickly weave a network of benefits, even when Roy cheated him, Charlie still retained significant advantages.

Eisner admired Charlie's tactics and vision.

He pondered, "Maybe the Lord of the Rings project really is a promising film?"

He easily noticed Charlie's maneuvering to acquire all copyrights. A few months ago, Eisner would have scoffed; now, he took it seriously.

---

With phone in hand, Eisner calmly threatened Harvey, "I want you to help Disney regain the Lord of the Rings rights and to restrain Corleone's growth. I'll provide some support to back your actions. But that's not the end goal. If Charlie Corleone can't hold on, tell him Michael Eisner is waiting to meet him! Think carefully -- I think you understand Roy has chosen to fully protect Corleone. You can't withstand my pressure. Roy sent you out as cannon fodder, just to entertain me a bit. And I'm giving you one last chance. You'd better seize it!"

After hanging up, Eisner called another number: "Robert, secure that British writer's novel rights quickly!"

---

At the Berlin Film Festival venue, Harvey smashed his phone, cursing, "Damn it, you profit-driven bastards, are you treating me and Charlie like kids?" He turned sharply to his brother and said grimly, "Bob, I want you to get back to Los Angeles immediately...

*****

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