[Chapter 673: Sony's Difficult Position]
Eric was chatting with everyone when a few people appeared at the backstage entrance and walked straight toward him.
At the forefront was a Japanese man in his fifties -- Nobuyuki Idei, who was about to take over as CEO of Sony Corporation. Following him were Columbia's CEO Peter Guber and President John Peters, along with other senior executives from the company. However, Eric noticed that the white middle-aged man walking beside Idei was not Peter Guber or John Peters, but someone he didn't quite recognize.
Eric knew that Sony had begun to get involved in Columbia's affairs a few months ago, but he hadn't expected Idei to show up here suddenly. Before he had time to think about it, Idei approached him with a beaming smile, extending his hand and speaking in fluent English, "Mr. Williams, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Nobuyuki Idei."
Eric shook Idei's hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Idei. Welcome to the premiere of Mission: Impossible."
"It should be my honor, since it's a film handpicked by you, Mr. Williams. It's bound to be outstanding," Idei complimented, and without waiting for Eric to thank him, he gestured to the middle-aged man beside him, saying, "This is Mr. Howard Stringer. He has accepted Sony's invitation and is soon to become the CEO of Sony's U.S. division, overseeing all Sony operations in America."
Upon hearing Idei mention the name, Eric finally recognized the bespectacled middle-aged man. In the original timeline, after Idei stepped down, Stringer would become the first non-Japanese CEO of Sony Corporation. "Hello, Mr. Stringer."
After introducing Howard Stringer, Idei showed no intention of introducing Peter Guber or John Peters. Instead, he was somewhat half-heartedly expressing interest in the other guests present.
Eric had to introduce everyone, and when it came to Amy Pascal, Idei openly expressed his regret, saying, "Ms. Pascal, losing you has been Columbia's biggest loss. I hope you'll seriously consider returning to Columbia."
Amy Pascal was taken aback by Idei's direct invitation but simply responded politely.
After a brief conversation, the premiere time quickly arrived, and the staff began guiding the guests from backstage to the screening room. Eric intentionally lagged behind, waiting for the guests to leave before the assistant standing beside him explained his confusion: "Idei arrived in Los Angeles about a week ago. The news we received is that he personally brought an audit team here to review Columbia's financial records. Additionally, another purpose for Idei's visit to Los Angeles is to find Columbia's next leader."
Eric nodded, recalling the middle-aged man with glasses that Idei had introduced. He asked, "Do you know anything about Howard Stringer?"
Kelley replied, "Stringer has been the president of CBS for several years and recently stepped down a few months ago. He started as a very capable journalist, and during his time as head of CBS News, CBS Evening News was the highest-rated among the three major networks. However, in recent years, due to internal instability at CBS, he wasn't able to achieve any standout results during his tenure as president."
Eric considered this and asked, "How does he compare to Robert Iger?"
Kelley shook her head. "I only have his basic information. If you need a detailed assessment, I can have someone prepare it for you tomorrow."
Eric didn't have a particularly strong interest in Howard Stringer, but he didn't refuse his assistant's offer to gather more detailed information. He instructed, "Also, gather some information on Idei."
Compared to the future CEOs after Sony's decline, Eric found Idei -- the person who had brought Sony from its peak into decline -- much more intriguing.
Since Idei had suddenly appeared, it was only natural for him and Eric to be seated together. Eric had already seen the new Mission: Impossible several times, so he didn't pay much attention to the screen. Idei's thoughts were clearly not focused on the movie either, as the two exchanged cautious remarks during the screening. Eric began to understand Idei's intentions, and it was evident that Idei grasped Eric's attitude as well.
...
After the premiere, as Idei was leaving, he proactively invited Eric, saying, "Eric, I will be in Los Angeles for a while longer. Would it be possible for us to have a discussion?"
Eric knew that since Nobuyuki Idei showed up in Los Angeles, the two sides would inevitably have a formal meeting, so he agreed, "Of course, Idei. Just have someone contact my assistant to determine a time."
Idei smiled in agreement, then departed after bidding farewell to Eric.
Once in the car, however, Idei's expression turned grim.
In the recent days of reviewing detailed information about Columbia, Idei discovered that the issues were much more serious than headquarters had expected. Peter Guber and John Peters had made no beneficial decisions for Columbia during their time running the company; instead, they had recklessly mismanaged finances. The two had not only pocketed large salaries and bonuses but had also squandered funds meant for company growth on personal luxuries. Over the years, expenses for office decoration, private jets, and luxury yachts had totaled an astounding $170 million -- uncountable needless expenses piled on top of that.
If Guber and Peters had put effort into managing Columbia, such spending might not have jeopardized the company to the core. Yet they had consistently overlooked the business. In five years, Columbia's only noteworthy achievement was some film cooperation with Firefly Group, which also had complexities involved. Sony had discovered that due to the 'cooperation' with Firefly, Columbia's overseas distribution network was nearly paralyzed.
Idei recalled that their old rival, Panasonic Group and the Canadian Seagram Group were in the final negotiations for the deal with Universal Pictures, and he couldn't help but entertain thoughts of retreating. However, given Columbia's current condition, Sony had no way to step back. Columbia's situation was not much better than MGM, and Sony had initially paid a whopping $5.5 billion to acquire Columbia. Selling Columbia now, even at half the purchase price, would be unlikely to attract any takers. Even if there were some interested parties, Sony faced immense pressure from various fronts and could not afford to sell Columbia at a loss.
Thus, Sony had no choice but to grit its teeth and persist in managing Columbia. Although they had been burned significantly by Firefly during their earlier cooperation, the current projects like Men in Black, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Jumanji -- the rights to which were crucial -- were perhaps the most valuable resources in Columbia's hands.
While Idei harbored extreme resentment toward the Hollywood sharks, he knew maintaining Columbia required fully utilizing these resources. Notably, the sequels for Men in Black and Mr. & Mrs. Smith were under serious consideration; both films had grossed over $500 million worldwide, and with the first film's reputation, launching the sequels would undoubtedly bring substantial profits to Columbia.
Idei had attended the Mission: Impossible premiere to gauge Eric's stance on the sequels. Without cooperation from Firefly, starting those sequels would prove difficult unless they resorted to legal measures. But Columbia was already entangled in issues, and Idei didn't want to instigate further legal disputes.
However, recalling Eric Williams' ambiguous stance during the premiere made Idei rub his temples in frustration.
This problem couldn't be resolved immediately, so Idei also thought about the next leader for Columbia. He turned to his assistant sitting in the front passenger seat and asked, "Fujita, have we heard back on the invitation to Michael Ovitz?"
"Yes, Mr. Idei. Mr. Ovitz has agreed to meet with you next Monday."
...
With an engaging plot and excellent marketing strategies, Mission: Impossible grossed a cool $38.5 million over its opening weekend across more than 2,900 theaters. Numerous media outlets provided very positive reviews for Kevin Costner's comeback film after the flop of Wyatt Earp.
The Los Angeles Times even praised, "Mission: Impossible completely breaks free from the constraints of its television version; the plot is gripping, the scenes are stunning and grand, and Kevin Costner portrayed a resilient agent facing dire circumstances perfectly."
Thanks to the stellar word-of-mouth and box office success over its opening weekend, industry analysts forecasted North American earnings for Mission: Impossible to be between $160 million and $180 million. Given that another spy film starring Costner, The Bodyguard, had grossed $410 million globally, and with Mission: Impossible boasting superior quality and marketing power, forecasts for its global earnings seemed optimistic, with most institutions predicting totals not to be less than $500 million.
The production and marketing costs for Mission: Impossible were kept under $110 million, with $40 million of the marketing costs shared between Flower Films and Columbia. While Flower Films initially invested a massive $90 million into Mission: Impossible, according to the global average box office prediction of $500 million, they would recover approximately $130 million from ticket shares. With full cost recovery, they stood to gain an additional $40 million profit, while future revenues from home video and television rights could be even more lucrative.
...
As the new week began, at Universal Studios Burbank, Michael Eisner arrived early at his office. He was reading the weekend box office report sent by his assistant with a hint of envy on his face.
After finishing the report's section on Mission: Impossible, Eisner's gaze continued down the box office ranking, landing on another film that Universal was simultaneously distributing, Junior. This was a project personally handled by Michael Ovitz after joining Universal as president. The family comedy, centered around a man's pregnancy, only managed a total box office of $7.68 million over its opening weekend. Though it made it into the top five, it didn't even come close to Mission: Impossible's numbers.
Eisner wasn't expecting a comedy with a $30 million budget to match Mission: Impossible's box office success. He recalled how Ovitz had initially proposed inviting Arnold Schwarzenegger to star in the film. Given Schwarzenegger's demand after True Lies, inviting him would significantly inflate the production and marketing budget -- potentially reaching $60 million in production costs. At the project's conception, despite Eisner still recuperating from heart surgery and needing Ovitz to help manage Universal, he remained steadfast in rejecting Ovitz's suggestion. The two even had private disputes, causing a rift in their decades-long friendship.
However, now, looking at the box office data in hand, Eisner felt no regret about that decision; rather, he felt a sense of relief.
With Junior's opening weekend box office at $7.68 million, forecasts for its total box office revenue only estimated around $30 million. While this number paled in comparison to Mission: Impossible's weekend earnings, through overseas distribution and ancillary channels like home video, Junior would still bring in some decent revenue for Universal.
Yet had Eisner gone with Ovitz's proposal for a big star and big production, the project would undoubtedly have led to immense losses for Universal.
Thoughts of these matters swirled through Eisner's mind, leading him to mentally tally up the series of 'big but misguided' ideas Ovitz had proposed since he joined, making him shake his head slightly.
Currently, negotiations between Panasonic and the Seagram Group for Universal were approaching their final stages.
Eisner resolved once more that he needed to kick Ovitz out of Universal during these negotiations. Although the golden parachute agreement he had signed with Ovitz made him feel trapped, considering the recent covert meetings he suspected between Sony and Ovitz, as well as Panasonic's eagerness to offload Universal, his confidence about removing Ovitz was steadily increasing.
A knock at the door pulled Eisner from his thoughts. "Mr. Eisner, Mr. Bronfman from Seagram has arrived."
*****
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