Chapter 226
On November 20, 1998, Pixar released its new movie, A Bug's Life. It was their first movie since Toy Story, which had come out three years ago.
To celebrate, Pixar and Disney threw a huge, fancy premiere party.
Almost all the big bosses from Hollywood were there. Even Rupert Murdoch, the super-rich boss of Fox, showed up personally.
"Jobs and Disney really know how to throw a party," Murdoch said, looking around. "One day, when Fox makes a cartoon, our party will be just as big."
Sumner Redstone, the boss of Paramount, said, "Once this movie comes out, it's going to win the Oscar for Best Animation, no question."
George Lucas, the king of special effects, joked, "Haha, I'm glad Pixar makes cartoons! Since they don't do special effects for real-life movies, my company makes a lot more money!"
The three bosses of DreamWorks—Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen—were also there.
After walking the red carpet, Katzenberg glared at a Disney boss standing nearby. "Hmph," he snorted. "What's so great? This movie was made by Pixar, not Disney!"
Katzenberg was the head of DreamWorks Animation. He was a genius who would later make huge hits like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon.
But he used to work for Disney! He had been one of their top guys, but they had forced him out. He was still very angry about it.
"I want to beat Disney!" he always thought. "I want those fools to regret firing me for the rest of their lives!"
That was his main goal in life.
...
"Hi, Zane!"
Just as Zane was walking into the party, someone called his name. He turned around and saw Robert Shaye, the boss of New Line Cinema.
"Zane, my young friend!" Robert said. "Just call me Robert. Calling me 'Mr. Shaye' makes me feel old."
Robert was a funny older man. Right now, he was making a dramatic, "heartbroken" face that made Zane laugh.
"Robert, what's the matter?" Zane asked with a smile.
"There is something," Robert said, "but no hurry. Let's go over to that corner and talk."
Zane nodded to his CEO, Victor, and walked over to a quiet corner with Robert.
They chatted for a while. Robert was an "old fox" (very smart and tricky), but Zane was a "young fox." They both knew how to play the game of polite conversation without getting to the point.
Finally, Robert sighed. "Zane, you really deserve the name 'young fox.' We've been talking for so long, and you still haven't asked me what I want!"
Zane laughed, throwing up his hands. "Okay, okay! My dearest Robert Shaye, my rare and precious friend... what do you want me to do?"
"Well," Robert said, getting serious, "you know our movie Blade was a big success. We are very good at making comic book movies. And I know that you own the rights to Spider-Man, plus Venom, Doctor Octopus, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America... basically everyone."
"Yes, that's right," Zane said honestly. Everyone in Hollywood knew Zane owned all the superheroes. Some people even called him "the greediest guy" behind his back!
"What I mean is," Robert said, "you could sell me the rights to those heroes. Of course, I'll pay a very high price."
Zane started to shake his head.
"Hey, hey, young man!" Robert said quickly. "Don't be in such a hurry to say no!"
Chapter 227
A Bug's Life was amazing! That's what everyone at the premiere thought. The movie was warm, funny, and beautiful. The artists at Pixar had turned computer graphics into art.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, the head of DreamWorks Animation, was the most shocked. He knew animation better than anyone, and he could see that Pixar was way ahead of everyone else. Their technology for making water, hair, and light looked incredible.
"Jeffrey," asked Steven Spielberg, his partner, "can our animation studio make something as good as this?"
Jeffrey shook his head. "There's a bit of a gap."
It wasn't just the technology. It was also the style.
Pixar had been around for a long time. They didn't just have great computers; they had a special feeling. Their movies were always warm and touching. From Toy Story to A Bug's Life (and future movies like Cars), they all felt like Pixar movies.
DreamWorks Animation was still confused. They had just released Antz in October. It made $130 million, which was good! But everyone compared it to Toy Story, and Pixar always won. DreamWorks hadn't found its own style yet.
It would take four more movies—The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, and Chicken Run—before they finally figured it out. In 2001, they would release Shrek. That movie was funny, made fun of fairy tales, and was totally different. That became their style, and it made them just as big as Pixar!
Other studios struggled, too. Blue Sky Studios (owned by Fox) would make the great Ice Age movies, but nothing else they made was special. They would eventually fade away.
But in the future, new studios would rise!
Illumination Entertainment would make the Despicable Me movies. Their "silly and cute" Minions would take over the world!
Disney would make a huge comeback with Frozen, creating a "new era" of princesses.
But right now, everyone was worried about "style."
"Bullshit!" Zane said loudly.
He had been listening to Spielberg and Katzenberg talk. He couldn't help himself!
"Jeffrey," Zane said with a friendly, teasing smile, "what the heck is 'style'? In my opinion, a good movie is a good movie! As long as it's good, the audience will love it. They don't care about 'style'!"
Katzenberg: "..."
Spielberg: "..."
They stared at him.
"What?" Zane laughed. "Are you speechless because I'm making too much sense? 'Unique style'? Isn't that just something you big-shot experts say to trick regular people?"
"In my opinion," Zane said, "if a cartoon makes money and kids love it, it's a good cartoon. Can you eat 'style'? No! So talking about it is useless!"
Katzenberg and Spielberg didn't know what to say. Everyone around them was shocked.
Mr. Redstone from Paramount sighed. "Zane 'Big Mouth' really lives up to his name!"
Mr. Murdoch from Fox nodded. "That's right! We say those things to look smart to the media. Young man, you don't have to say the quiet part out loud!"
Everyone knew Zane was right. Every industry has secrets they use to make themselves look special.
Musicians say piano is the hardest instrument.
Dancers talk about how much they suffer for their art.
It's all just a way to say, "My job is hard and I'm special!" But really, all jobs are hard if you want to be good at them.
The Hollywood animation bosses used the "style" idea to make themselves look better than everyone else. And Zane had just ruthlessly popped their balloon.
"Hypocritical!" Zane teased them. "Come on, you old foxes. We're all insiders here. Do we really need to trick each other? What are you going to do, bite me?"
Was Zane crazy? Why would he say something so blunt at a fancy party? It made him look... well, not very smart!
But this was exactly what Zane wanted!
He wanted all the Hollywood big shots to think: "Oh, that Zane. He's just a loudmouth kid. He's lucky, but he's not that smart."
It was a trick! By acting a little foolish, he made them lower their guard. They wouldn't see him as a threat, which would give him time to grow his company in secret.
For a moment, many people looked at Zane with a little bit of contempt. They laughed at him! Everyone laughed!
Just wait, Zane thought to himself with a hidden smile. Wait until Wald Pictures releases our giant blockbuster movies next year. Let's see if you'll still be laughing then!
Did anyone see through his trick? Of course! There are lots of smart people in the world. But they were too polite to say anything.
And some people, like Jeffrey Katzenberg, really did think Zane was just a tactless fool.
(Of course, in the future, Jeffrey would pay a very heavy price for thinking that!)
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