[Chapter 746: Paranoid Steve Jobs]
A group of Hollywood bigwigs, including Paramount, were shocked by the moves made by White Films. If this thing gets popular, will we even need to rent out videotapes anymore?
Wow, we have the same problems that White Films faces. Hold on, you can't reveal the next generation of MPEG specifications. The improvement in picture quality is a big deal to me, but you better sort out the copyright issues first.
Well, it seems that White's system's format is a bit more reliable. At least they've considered the copyright issues. After all, this guy's movies should be the hardest hit in that regard.
Yeah, I get it, piracy isn't as good as what others are selling. It's a bit embarrassing. But we should sue! This damned digital video -- they can't be planning to leave us with no way to survive!
...
Caught in the whirlwind, MPEG was feeling pretty confused as well. William White was trying to slow them down. According to the information they had, White's digital video format would be released very soon.
"Toy Story, Steve, are you planning to whip up an IP out of nowhere here?"
"Of course! You're not giving me any movie merchandise. Besides, this is the first fully computer-animated film, and I definitely want to secure it for my Pixar."
"Michael, what do you think?" Looking at the bitter smile on Michael Eisner's face, William White still wanted to know his thoughts.
"Mr. White, the terms I've offered are already very generous. This guy is just greedy."
"Steve, how about this? Disney will distribute here, and we'll help push it. As for the merchandise, we want first dibs."
"You're so confident in this film? Your decision's a bit unexpected." Steve Jobs looked at him with a puzzled expression. He clearly remembered this seeming harmless guy had caused a lot of trouble for Apple in the past.
"I'm one of the shareholders. If your Pixar goes public, buddy, I'll make way more than I ever could from the film." When negotiating with this paranoid guy, it was best to speak plainly or he would hold grudges.
"This is ridiculous; you're totally out for the money. I have no choice; I need to keep investing in my computers..."
After listening to Steve Jobs's lengthy discourse, William White pretended to be very impressed. Inside, he couldn't help but think it was ridiculous. He would bet that the real reason Steve Jobs's wealth would balloon again was that Pixar.
An animation company without any films had already made a few rounds at the Oscars. If that failed, now that would be unjust.
McIntosh, despite having quality issues, wasn't questioned in its standing. It was the company that kicked off the personal PC movement.
"Steve, with all this trouble, you'd be better off returning to Apple. How about we team up and buy it back? Apple hasn't been doing well lately."
Jobs looked at William White with resentment. The guy opposite him certainly had the ability to acquire Apple. However, was this still the Apple he was familiar with?
"I wouldn't do a hostile takeover of Apple; that's my baby, and I don't want to hurt it. You'd better not have thoughts to do the same."
"Fine, fine, you win. Steve, if you don't go back, I'd be crazy to do a buyout."
Michael Eisner found it puzzling, thinking his boss was too accommodating to Steve. Try doing that with another company, and he might get fired on the spot.
...
After a long half-day, they finally convinced stubborn Steve Jobs. Though he wouldn't say anything, Steve Jobs knew that William White treated him fairly well.
In the realm of animation, no one could touch Disney. Claiming The Lion King was spectacular was nonsense; it was all about marketing.
Steve Jobs might have been confident, but he simply couldn't compare to William White in the marketing game.
"Ha ha, Steve, you managed to make it this far. What more could you want?"
Lucas was frustrated looking at Steve Jobs's long face. You should ask around Hollywood how cutthroat White Films truly was.
Yes, the films they were interested in usually performed well. But the price you paid was exorbitant. Otherwise, how could this new company hold onto so many copyrights?
"George, this guy is a shareholder. Doesn't he want my company to go public?"
When it came to IPOs, Lucas wore a long face. He really wasn't as good as Jobs at packaging a company for IPO. Back when Apple went public, Steve Jobs was quite the hotshot.
"I mean, how long do you need to finish filming? No, to finish this project?"
"Come on, you've got a special effects company. What's wrong with computer animation? It's just like filming a movie; think it's easy?"
Lucas realized he had a generational gap with William White and the same with Jobs. Those guys just bullied him, the old man.
Ugh, maybe he should go find Spielberg. He heard that movie had driven him to the brink.
...
"Darling, are you really not going to the screening?"
"Forget it, Universal's the main player. What good would I be there? I've already cleared my schedule; I wouldn't want it to seem like I'm discriminating."
"I still want to go. I'm curious about the movie that old man wouldn't dare to make."
"Nastassja, you shouldn't go either. And for heaven's sake, don't wear that red outfit; I'm serious, this is no joke."
"What, you like it?" she said, sitting right on his lap.
"Girl, you've got yourself into a dangerous situation."
"Come on, tell me why it's not suitable."
"This script has been around for years; I'm very familiar with the plot. The poor little girl in it is the only splash of color in the entire film -- red."
"But when they send the invitations, they must specify."
"Shit, don't, stop moving, don't provoke him, it will be bad if you make him exited."
Despite what he said out loud, his body didn't quite cooperate. Okay, maybe he was just being dramatic.
"Ha ha, your little buddy is quite unruly!"
"Damn it, you should have closed the door first."
Alright, William White's worries seemed a tad excessive. After Nastassja entered, the assistant was seriously eavesdropping. To avoid any surprises, the door closed automatically.
...
William White was in a good mood. He didn't really care much for Toy Story. As he said, if Pixar successfully went public, Steve Jobs would get massively rich, but so would he.
Most importantly, Steve Jobs would eventually return to Apple. Pixar was just a trinket in his pocket. Helping Steve Jobs was essentially helping himself -- what's hard to understand about that?
Well, at most it would be a couple of years; he would recover all his earlier investments.
Of course, that wasn't the best part. Though Sony's gaming console sold well, it didn't even come close to the PS3. That was what truly delighted him.
Yeah, he might have been a bit naive. Sony's competitor back then was small fry. It was nothing like the powerhouse that was Legendary World now.
Despite the historical inertia, some things just couldn't return. Sony developing its own system was inertia; its opponents had changed.
Don't even mention the American market turning a cold shoulder -- they weren't buying it either. Even the competitors from Japan were unimpressed. With products being nearly identical, they might as well continue mingling with America.
Being bullied by America?
Well, we had already gotten used to it. What's Sony in the grand scheme of things? Just a fake foreigner.
*****
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