Chapter 228
After the big premiere party for A Bug's Life, Zane didn't leave. Instead, he went to a quiet coffee shop to meet with Jeffrey Katzenberg, the head of DreamWorks Animation.
"Zane, just say what you have to say," Jeffrey said, sipping his coffee. He was a very proud man. Normally, he wouldn't even meet with a younger guy like Zane. But because Zane's company was so successful now, he had to give him a little respect.
"Okay," Zane said with a friendly smile. "I'll get straight to the point. I want to be the one who shows your DreamWorks movies to the rest of the world."
Jeffrey was shocked. "Young man, are you kidding me?!"
"Jeffrey," Zane explained calmly, "my company is building a huge network. We can already show movies in Mexico and Canada really well. And my prices are much lower than Paramount's."
"But what about Europe? Or Asia?" Jeffrey asked, teasing him a little.
"Don't worry!" Zane said, waving his hand. "I know your contract with Universal Pictures ends in two years. I am confident that within one year, I will have networks in Europe and Asia, too. It doesn't hurt to have another option, right?"
Jeffrey nodded. Zane was right about one thing: his prices were lower. And saving money was always good.
"Well," Jeffrey said with a smile, "I'll give you two years. We'll talk then."
He didn't really believe Zane could do it. He thought Zane was just a dreamer. He was just being polite.
But Zane didn't care. He knew actions speak louder than words.
He knew that in two years, DreamWorks would release a movie called Shrek. It would be a giant hit, making $270 million in America alone!
Zane had been playing a clever game. He had acted a little silly and "blunt" at the party earlier just so Jeffrey would lower his guard. Otherwise, a proud man like Jeffrey would never have even talked to him!
Zane also knew a secret: DreamWorks didn't even likeShrek right now! They thought it was a weird, silly movie. They were focusing on other films.
"This is perfect," Zane thought. "If I get to distribute Shrek, I'll make a fortune when it explodes overseas! And if it fails? Well, DreamWorks doesn't care about it anyway, so no harm done!"
It was a very smart plan.
...
A few days later, A Bug's Life was released!
The box office exploded! On its first day (Thanksgiving), it made $33.2 million! That was even more than Toy Story had made on its first day.
In just one week, it made over $100 million. Pixar was the king of Hollywood again!
But... then something strange happened.
After the holiday was over, the movie stopped making money. The ticket sales dropped fast.
"What?" Steve Jobs asked his team at Pixar, surprised. "You're saying A Bug's Life is going to make less money than Toy Story?"
"Yes, sir," the analyst said. "It looks like it will make less than $170 million in America. And overseas isn't looking great either."
Jobs was upset. Toy Story had cost $30 million to make. A Bug's Life had cost $70 million! Plus, they spent way more on ads. This was not good.
"Boss, don't worry too much," the analyst said. "We already made a ton of money selling the toy rights a few months ago."
Jobs's face brightened.
"That's right!" someone said. "We made $117.5 million just from selling the rights in America!" "And another $200 million from overseas!"
Everyone did the math. Even if the movie tickets didn't sell well, Pixar and Disney had already made a huge profit from the store owners.
John Lasseter shook his head with a sad smile. "But those poor store owners who bought the rights... they are probably going to lose a lot of money."
He was right. All across America, toy store owners were furious.
In Utah, Monel (the young man who had bid $3 million for the rights) was almost crying.
"Darn Pixar! Darn Disney!" he yelled. "It's been nine days, and no one is buying these bug toys! Toy Story toys sold like hotcakes, but this... this is a disaster!"
Monel did the math. He was going to lose $1.5 million. He felt like dying!
"Hehe," laughed his rival, Francis. "Now you know how it feels to lose!" Francis was so glad he hadn't won the auction.
And Old Billy, Zane's friend? He was breathing a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness I listened to Zane!" Old Billy thought. "He told me A Bug's Life was just 'okay' and not to buy it. If I hadn't listened, I would be ruined!"
All over the country, store owners were cursing Steve Jobs and Disney. Monel even had to file for bankruptcy. The "Bug Crisis" had become a real crisis for them!
When Zane heard the news, he couldn't help but laugh a little. But he didn't dwell on it.
He was too busy. He had a very important job to do: he had to pick the director for Spider-Man.
Chapter 229
The movie Spider-Man had a budget of $140 million. That was a huge amount of money! In Hollywood, a movie this big was called a "Class A" film. It was a top-tier project.
Because it was so expensive, picking the director was a very important decision. They had to be careful.
"Boss," said Old Bill, the president of Wald Pictures, "I think James Cameron would be perfect. Everyone knows he's a huge Spider-Man fan."
It was true. Way back in 1990, James Cameron had planned to make a Spider-Man movie himself. He even wrote a script for it! But because of legal arguments over who owned the rights, he never got the chance.
But Kevin Feige, the vice president, shook his head. "I disagree."
"I know Cameron is amazing," Kevin said. "Look at Titanic! The whole world loves it. But, Bill... do you really think our $140 million is enough for him?"
Old Bill frowned. "He's the best choice! There isn't anyone better at making sci-fi movies than Cameron. Don't forget The Terminator!"
But Zane shook his head immediately.
"No," Zane said.
James Cameron was a genius, yes. But he spent money like water! And worst of all, he took forever.
Titanic took 4 years to make. In the future, Avatar would take 6 years!
"Where would I find that kind of time?" Zane thought. "Even if I wanted to wait, my investors—Mountain Capital and the Carlos Foundation—would never agree to wait that long."
"Everyone," Zane said seriously, "let's forget about whether he's the best choice. Let's talk about the price."
Old Bill and the others stopped.
"That's right!" Kevin said, realizing the problem. "Cameron is too expensive. He would demand a huge share of the profits. For Titanic, he took 15% of the profits, which was $115 million! If he does that to us, we'll barely make any money."
"No to Cameron," Zane said firmly. "He's too expensive!"
Zane was a careful businessman. He wasn't going to give away all his profits, even for a genius. Plus, Wald Pictures wasn't rich enough to afford that kind of cost yet.
"Kevin," Old Bill asked, "who do you recommend?"
Everyone turned to look at Kevin Feige. He was young, but he was brilliant. Everyone respected him. He was the second-in-command at the studio and had a lot of power.
"I recommend two people," Kevin said. "First, our old friend Zack Snyder. He did an amazing job with 300. We can trust him."
"Second," Kevin continued, "is Stephen Sommers. You might not know him, but he's an excellent director with a lot of experience."
Stephen Sommers? Most people in the room looked confused. Who was that?
"Ah!" Zane thought. "So it's him!"
Zane knew exactly who Stephen Sommers was. He was the director who would make the famous The Mummy movies! And later, G.I. Joe. He was definitely good.
"Zack Snyder is great," one executive said. "He's very skilled with colors."
"I agree!" said another.
Everyone liked Zack because they had worked with him before.
"I disagree!" Old Bill argued. "Everyone, don't forget: Spider-Man is a superhero movie with sci-fi elements. Neither of those directors has done that before. With $140 million on the line, we can't take that risk!"
The room went quiet. Everyone hesitated.
A $140 million movie was a huge gamble. If they picked the wrong director, the movie could fail, and the company could go bankrupt. Zane knew this had happened before. The movie Windtalkers almost destroyed the MGM studio. And Ang Lee's Hulk movie failed because it was too serious and philosophical.
Zane knew he had to be very careful.
Old Bill, Kevin, and the other bosses all had different ideas. No one could agree. It was up to Zane to make the final decision.
"Sam Raimi!" Zane announced loudly and clearly. "I recommend Sam Raimi as the director of Spider-Man!"
Everyone was surprised.
"Wait," Old Bill said, "isn't he the guy who made those horror movies, The Evil Dead?"
"Boss," Kevin asked, "can he handle a superhero movie?"
It was natural for them to doubt. Was a horror director the right choice for Spider-Man?
But they didn't know what Zane knew. In his old life, Sam Raimi was the director of the original Spider-Man movies. And he did a fantastic job!
Zane had actually thought about letting his friend Zack Snyder direct it. But Zack's style was very dark and serious (like Man of Steel). Peter Parker, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, shouldn't be dark! He should be fun and hopeful. So, Zane had to say no to his favorite director.
Choosing Sam Raimi was the safest bet. He was the "original" director, so Zane knew he would succeed.
And the most important thing?
He was cheap!
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