The next meeting and the day of the negotiation proved to be beyond David's expectations.
The negotiators of both sides wearing black suits were busy discussing with each other. David can only act as a side character, watching beside them, hearing the details, and waiting for the results.
The requirements for the negotiation can easily be understood. Luckily, he had been prepared for this exact moment.
At the Yahoo funding celebration, he had received many business cards, including several professional negotiators.
It didn't take long before he chose one with a good reputation, and after a brief call, he had already hired one to represent him in the meeting.
David explained the purpose of the negotiation, giving all the info he gathered about Pixar and Toy Story with his expected price, so everything became very simple.
He looked at the opposite negotiator who was arguing about the specifics of the investment.
David knows what he wants, and he has a clear goal to achieve in this investment. To be specific, he only wants to put in money for the investment.
Maybe they would accept hearing him out for some of his suggestions, but he has no suggestions for this film.
To be honest, he doesn't know what to suggest, and rather than pretending to know about the process of the movie, why doesn't he just show 'goodwill' by being hands-off and not interfering with anything?
If he is not wrong, then Steve Jobs would want more money from him, much more than the worth of the box office share given. As for the surrounding peripherals, he would surely not want to include them in the discussion.
Well, for David, this is fine. He only needs to invest money for a short period and receive his shares after calculating the global box office. In other words, just a short and quick in-and-out investment.
He is very familiar with most companies' tactics, withholding the small investor's share for as long as possible and only paying them last to get the most benefit, so David included it in the negotiation, the priority to get his own share.
...
After an hour of talks, the negotiation was finally concluded.
David happily shook hands with Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, and Steve Jobs. The contract was easily made, and soon they signed it, making it official.
"Mr. Frost, thank you for believing in us."
John Lasseter was polite and was very nice. David had already met him the day before and liked him for being an easygoing person, just like him.
"Mr. Frost, we have finally met. I have heard so many things about you-"
After speaking with Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs approached him to have a few words. David generously chatted with him about many things.
It turns out that Steve Jobs was hinting at him, trying to find out whether there is a possibility that he can invest in Yahoo. Still, David pretended not to understand, happily entertaining him with very nice words.
Truthfully, Steve Jobs wanted to tell David to stop pretending to be stupid but still held it back with a smile. Something like that, he just couldn't say upfront.
In the end, Steve Jobs could only change the topic and repeatedly echoed his overflowing confidence in their upcoming film Toy Story, assuring David about his great investment.
David pursed his lips while listening to Jobs. Let's be honest here, alright? If you are really confident, you would not have accepted my investment and take all the profits yourself.
And yes, I also know that Yahoo is great. You don't have to tell me over and over again. Do you want me to tell you how great Apple is too?
The general content of the contract can basically be summed up to: David will invest $4 million for 10% of Toy Story's global box office.
The $4 million has to be paid before the end of the year 1995, and David will receive his box office share as soon as they were done calculating.
Of course, $4 million for 10% of a $30 million movie might still be a generous bargain. After all, the marketing cost is not included in the $30 million budget.
However, David also has to contribute by advertising the movie on Yahoo's webpage for its global users. There's no exact amount for the total price for this, but he owns a chunk of the company, so it will be easy to get a fair price and save a lot of money.
Once everything was over, David had basically ended up with everything he had expected. Who knows, maybe if he didn't own Yahoo, they might not have accepted his conditions or investment.
"Success! Just $4 million for 10%. This is really profitable. The ten percent box office share will end up earning me around $30-35 million."
David went back home after separating from his negotiator, feeling very happy and satisfied.
Maybe Steve Jobs will end up regretting it once he hears about the global box office of Toy Story. But who cares about that?
...
"Uhh, why do I feel like he has taken advantage of us."
John Lasseter spoke about his thoughts with Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs. He wasn't the one who agreed to David's proposal. In fact, he didn't want to give others a share of Toy Story.
This is his movie. Obviously, he is confident about it. But he couldn't say the same for others, especially Steve Jobs.
Once Steve Jobs makes a decision, no one could convince him to change his mind, and since he has absolute control of the company, his words are final.
"Hmm? Definitely not. We only controlled the risk for the company. If Toy Story fails, we will go bankrupt, but now we at least have some assurance."
"And if we succeed, we will still earn a lot of money. Yes, that's right. We only lowered the risk."
Steve Jobs unhesitatingly replied, full of confidence. However, his real reasons were quickly buried in his mind. Why would he admit that he is not confident about Toy Story? No matter what, he will never admit it.
So, John Lasseter could only keep his thoughts to himself. Still, why does he feel weird seeing the looks David was giving them?
...
The next morning, David laid in the home theater with a set of cold beverages, watching a series of movies relaxingly. Sigh, life is peaceful once again.
A while ago, when he went jogging, the paparazzi who used to be around were finally gone. He is now back to his normal life.
"Knock knock"
At this moment, Charlize walked inside his home, making her way directly to his theater room like usual, holding a folder that David asked her to get the day before.
Now that she had time to stop by, she decided to drop the documents David told her to bring.
"Thanks."
Charlize still has something to do for her class for the night, and after finishing the task, David gave her, she only stayed for a few minutes chatting to him before leaving.
Inside these files were the companies that he had investigated. Thomas, his lawyer, and some other people he hired compiled these companies to choose the most suitable one that meets David's standards.
These days, aside from Yahoo that can now be left alone, David had no more responsibilities. He is now free to do whatever he wants.
So he decided to finally purchase one of the companies he had been eyeing on.
And now that he had also invested in the movie Toy Story, this next purchase will just be at the right time.
The profiles of the companies on the files were the background information of their current status and situations.
Phoenix Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Moonstone Entertainment Company
Golden Gate Films