July 21, Thursday.
Michael Eisner woke up early in his suite at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York. He had arrived on the East Coast the previous day to personally persuade Sid Bass, the current head of the Bass family, to abandon the idea of selling Disney.
Although the Bass family made their fortune in Texas, many members had taken to living in New York over the years.
Having arranged to have breakfast with Sid Bass today, Michael Eisner got himself ready to leave the hotel suite when the doorbell suddenly rang.
The urgent ringing gave Michael Eisner a bad feeling.
Opening the door, he found Disney Vice President and Head of Legal Affairs Sandy Litvack and President of the Home Entertainment Division Bill Mechanic standing outside.
These were the two executives Eisner had urgently selected to replace the positions of Disney's next president and studio president, respectively, following Jeffrey Katzenberg's sudden departure and Michael Ovitz's cautious stance.
Eisner knew that convincing the Bass family to reject Vivendi's acquisition required stabilizing Disney internally as quickly as possible.
Although he couldn't get Ovitz to join, Litvack and Mechanic weren't just random choices.
The Legal Affairs Department had always been a core part of Disney, which focused heavily on copyright operations. Disney's reputation as a "copyright troll" and jokes like a stranded person drawing Mickey Mouse to summon a Disney rescue plane were born from the Legal Affairs Department's relentless lawsuits.
Sandy Litvack, as the head of Legal Affairs with the title of Disney Vice President, had always reported directly to Eisner himself.
Moreover, the current president, Frank Wells, was also a lawyer by training and had worked well with Eisner over the years. Having Litvack succeed Wells would be easily accepted by Disney's board and major shareholders.
Bill Mechanic, on the other hand, was considered one of Eisner's "inner circle." He had followed Eisner from Paramount to Disney and had been in charge of Disney's Home Entertainment Division for years.
When Disney's management team first joined, they had estimated Disney's film library to be worth only $200 million. However, under Mechanic's operation, the re-released classic Disney animated films sold millions of copies on VHS, generating significant revenue. For example, the "Cinderella" VHS alone sold six million copies, bringing in $180 million.
The rapid recovery of Disney in the late 1980s owed much to the cash generated from VHS sales.
Therefore, Mechanic also had enough qualifications to succeed Katzenberg as the president of the studio.
Seeing his two subordinates' serious faces outside his door, Eisner wanted to invite them in, but before he could, Litvack handed him a newspaper. "Michael, you might want to see this."
Eisner took the newspaper.
It was a copy of The Hollywood Reporter, one of the most popular industry film publications, which was also sold in New York, the East Coast's film hub.
Without needing Litvack to point it out, Eisner immediately noticed the bold headline on the front page: "Daenerys Entertainment to Launch European Universal Studios Plan."
Just reading the headline made Eisner's heart tighten.
The struggling Euro Disney, which had shown no signs of improvement in over two years, was Disney's biggest weak spot.
Encouraged by the success of Tokyo Disneyland, the initial $1 billion Euro Disney project ballooned to $5 billion. Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, where Disney only took licensing fees and did not invest, Disney held a 50% stake in Euro Disney, with most of the funds coming from loans.
Disney's current total debt of $5.3 billion included $2.5 billion from Euro Disney.
If Disney had maintained the growth momentum it had in the late 1980s, this debt might not have been an issue. However, with its film business in decline and its theme parks lacking fresh IPs, the interest on this massive debt had become a significant burden.
With shares in multiple Disney parks, Disney's net assets reached $12.8 billion, but its market value was only half that, largely due to the struggling Euro Disney.
The poor performance of Euro Disney, coupled with the potential establishment of a European Universal Studios by Daenerys Entertainment, would inevitably siphon off Euro Disney's visitors, worsening its situation.
Initially intending to invite his subordinates into the room, Eisner stood at the door, reading the article in The Hollywood Reporter.
The article featured a prominent photo of Daenerys Theme Park President Bruce Peck leading a team on a tour near the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.
Given the extensive connections the Westeros system had built in Italy over the years, considering Italy as the first choice for the European Universal Studios location was expected.
The article began by introducing Peck's recent visit to several major European cities for site inspections for the European Universal Studios.
Moreover, when The Hollywood Reporter contacted Daenerys Entertainment's media relations department, they confirmed the European Universal Studios project, although they didn't provide many details.
The article included a brief phone interview with Daenerys Entertainment's Global Operations Vice President, Mark Belford, who discussed the European Universal Studios.
Belford stated that the European film market far exceeded that of Japan. Considering various aspects of brand marketing, Daenerys Entertainment was determined to build its movie theme park in Europe.
The journalist naturally mentioned Euro Disney.
Belford didn't criticize the failing Euro Disney but pointed out that its yearly visitor numbers exceeding ten million showed Europeans' interest in movie theme parks. He attributed Euro Disney's failure to Disney's poor planning and management.
Belford also mentioned that Daenerys Entertainment's European Universal Studios would avoid Euro Disney's mistakes by selecting a Mediterranean climate location, ensuring year-round operation, unlike Euro Disney, which could only open for half the year due to its climate.
While the claim that Euro Disney could only open for half the year was exaggerated, the sharply reduced visitor numbers in winter due to the seasonal climate was indeed a significant planning error.
During the initial site selection phase, Disney had considered this issue.
However, instead of conducting detailed research, Disney's planning team rigidly applied Tokyo Disneyland's successful model to Euro Disney.
Tokyo also had distinct seasons, but the Japanese were willing to queue in the cold to visit Disneyland.
So, Disney's planners assumed Europeans would also visit Euro Disney in winter.
The drastic drop in winter visitors at Euro Disney proved them wrong.
Due to France's strict labor laws, Disney couldn't lay off a large number of excess employees during the off-season, leading to severe overstaffing and contributing to Euro Disney's continuous losses.
Eisner had regretted more than once in the past two years not locating Euro Disney on the Mediterranean coast.
The Mediterranean coast, with its mild climate, was ideal for tourism year-round.
Regret was useless now.
The headline article didn't heavily criticize Euro Disney, but Eisner knew that the news of Daenerys Entertainment building a movie theme park in Europe would severely impact Euro Disney.
Even without other media jumping in, the news would shake the already fragile confidence of Disney's shareholders.
Furthermore, if Disney were acquired, Vivendi would not keep him, the man deemed responsible for Disney's decline and turmoil, in charge.
Having led Disney for ten years, Eisner's career was entirely tied to the company. Leaving Disney at its lowest point would end his career unless he started his own venture like Katzenberg.
At 47, Eisner was in his prime and didn't want to retire.
Thinking about his bleak prospects, Eisner felt increasing pressure in his chest, pain radiating through his body, his vision blurring, and his subordinates' voices fading into a ringing in his ears.
Sandy Litvack and Bill Mechanic, realizing something was wrong, rushed to support him, but Eisner had already collapsed, unconscious.
Simon received news of Eisner's heart attack and collapse first.
He was at his Woodside hillside villa in the Bay Area.
Robert Iger called from New York. It was just before 5 a.m. on the West Coast, with the first light of dawn.
Standing by the bedroom window after finishing the call, Simon didn't know what to say.
He knew about Eisner's hereditary heart condition. In his memory, around 1994, Eisner had undergone a critical heart surgery, having even prepared his will due to the high risk.
History repeating itself?
With Katzenberg's departure, Wells retiring, and now Eisner's sudden collapse, coupled with Daenerys Entertainment's recent move, Simon doubted Disney's shareholders would retain faith in the company.
If they didn't sell now, Disney's value might only continue to decline.
A petite figure silently approached from behind, hugging his waist and rubbing her face against his back, sleepily asking, "Simon, what's wrong?"
It was little Jenny.
Simon had promised a week of abstinence, and he was sticking to it.
Last night, even his more active housemates in San Francisco were sent to guest rooms. Jenny, however, claimed she was still a child and too scared to sleep alone, ultimately managing to stay by Simon's side.
Given her innocence, Simon hadn't insisted.
Scooping her up and returning her to the bed, Simon said, "Go back to sleep. It's still early."
Dressed in a pink nightgown like a doll, Jenny watched Simon go to the bathroom to wash up. When he came out and started dressing, she got up to help, asking eagerly, "Simon, can we go running together?"
Simon lightly tapped her head. "I'll go alone. If we're seen together, it'll be trouble."
Jenny, with a fake innocent look, said, "It's okay, I'm just a little girl."
Simon pinched her cheek, laughing, "That would make it worse."
Finished dressing, he enjoyed Jenny's exaggerated Japanese-style kneeling service as she helped him put on his sneakers. Simon left the villa with two bodyguards for his morning run.
For safety, security heads Neil Bennett and Ken
Dixon had previously advised Simon against such runs, but Simon insisted. Life wouldn't be worth living without such freedom.
Worried about safety, he had the environment made more secure.
The Westeros family employed many people for this purpose.
Thus, besides the two eight-person security teams permanently stationed at his Woodside villa, five additional teams were spread across other properties in the hills, three in the open, two in secret. Cameras and other surveillance devices were discreetly installed along Simon's running route to ensure no one could approach the area undetected.
Simon didn't see this as wasteful.
The Westeros family indeed employed many people, both openly and covertly.
Simon assigned tasks like monitoring the Grallaf mother and daughters 24/7, seemingly unnecessary, to keep these people engaged and prevent complacency. He believed that only a constantly operating team could avoid losing its edge.
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