Chapter 263: Time to Go Back Home

Many media outlets wanted to interview Disney and Eisner, but Eisner declined all interviews, and the Disney company spokesperson also refused to comment on this.

Online, many Disney investors shouted slogans:

"No Eisner! We want Wu Yuchen!

No Eisner! We want Pixar!

No Eisner! We want Shrek!"

Looking at these comments, Eisner was furious: "What do they know?! They don't know anything! It was I who led Disney to take over ABC TV! It was I who expanded Disney's channels to the whole world! Without me, where would Disney be today?!"

The current Eisner no longer had the appearance of sitting high on the president's chair; instead, he was walking back and forth in the office with some anxiety.

Although Luo Yi Disney had been driven out of the company by him, he was still Disney's largest individual shareholder. In fact, the shares he held were less than 1%, but now he had connected with some shareholders and had already initiated a proposal to dismiss him as CEO.

But now Wu Yuchen, Jobs, Katzenberg, Ovitz, and others were attacking him together at this critical juncture. Even if he refuted them one by one, it wouldn't have any effect.

The outside world didn't know, but Wu Yuchen knew that their so-called anti-Eisner alliance wasn't that tight; it was just because everyone hated Eisner that they had cooperated a few times.

Wu Yuchen, Katzenberg, Jobs—none of them were easy to deal with.

"Only incompetent people look for excuses for themselves. Eisner, I don't want to hear so many explanations. In just two years, my investment in Disney has shrunk by more than half. I have already given you a high degree of tolerance! Now it seems that your management level and philosophy for Disney are very worrying!"

"Not just outside, right? Your Disney animation department has quite a few complaints about you!"

As for who would be chosen as Disney's new leader, Wu Yuchen didn't know. You must know that because of his influence, Eisner was dismissed several years earlier than in his past life, so he didn't know if they would choose Robert Iger like in his past life.

Last year, due to 9/11, Bush held high the banner of anti-terrorism and launched a "just" war against Afghanistan. Although Afghanistan was defeated, they gained nothing regarding the so-called organization and Bin Laden, which couldn't be explained to the citizens, and domestic opposition began to rise, with dissatisfaction toward Bush constantly increasing.

As soon as the call was connected, Eisner took the initiative to greet politely: "Mr. Bass, hello, I am Eisner. Regarding this shareholders' meeting..."

"No, Mr. Bass, please don't believe the nonsense of those people outside. You should know that in the process of managing a company, it is inevitable to form grudges with some guys who are fighting for power..."

"Do you want to talk about your proposal?"

Overall, he was quite satisfied with the quality of the film, at least it was a film of Oscar-contending level.

Although it couldn't be said that Eisner fell because of him, Wu Yuchen had participated in every important rhythm of this step.

But at this time, the anti-war wave in the country also rose. Afghanistan hadn't been settled yet, and they wanted to fight Iraq?

But in the past few years, with the rise of Pixar, Disney's entire animation department had been scolded. Conservatives scolded Eisner for not being able to stick to Disney's traditions, while the new generation thought Eisner didn't give enough support and even cultivated Pixar, an external enemy. Both sides were dissatisfied with Eisner.

But no matter how ugly the scolding was, it couldn't hide the panic in his heart at this moment. Eisner lay on the chair with a pale face. He knew that without the support of major shareholders, he was destined to be finished this time!

On the other side, Wu Yuchen laughed and said: "Katzenberg, you really have a way, you turned the entire Disney animation department against them!"

The outside reaction to Eisner's stepping down wasn't that big; after all, ordinary citizens and movie fans didn't really pay that much attention to him. But in the Hollywood industry, it still caused quite a big reaction.

The current situation made Eisner feel very tricky. Before, it was just Luo Yi Disney, so he only needed to deal with one person, and public opinion could still be controlled.

Katzenberg said to Wu Yuchen with a smile: "As far as I know, many major shareholders have expressed dissatisfaction with Eisner this time. This shareholders' meeting might be his last one!"

However, in this process, he had also formed friendships with Katzenberg and Jobs.

"What?" Eisner asked with a puzzled face.

Katzenberg clinked his glass with Wu Yuchen's and happily accepted the other party's praise: "No matter what, I was the head of Disney's animation department before, so it's not surprising that I know a few old friends~"

'Pirates of the Caribbean' defeated 'Pearl Harbor' head-on, causing its box office to suffer a huge loss, and then 'A Beautiful Mind' won a big victory at the Oscars, personally sniping Harvey's 'Chicago'. Disney's live-action film achievements were all defeated by him and declared a failure.

"Yes. Mr. Bass, you know, I have been at Disney for 18 years. It was I who led Disney from the verge of bankruptcy to a multi-billion dollar company..."

"... The unique tradition created by Disney of telling stories with pictures, humor, and humanization has been subverted, replaced by politically correct empty slogans, clichéd linear plots, and stale tropes. Disney's foundation has been destroyed!

Expel Eisner, save Disney!"

Therefore, the team led by Bush took another step. Since Afghanistan couldn't open up the situation, they would start from Iraq, using the Iraq War to divert the attention and contradictions of the American people.

What was Eisner's expression? Throughout the entire shareholders' meeting, he had a "Sima face" (a long, gloomy face). Facing the direct accusations from many shareholders, he said nothing. He knew that no matter what he said or did, it was meaningless; the outcome was already doomed.

This incident of Eisner stepping down also made Wu Yuchen deeply feel what it means to have many helpers for those who follow the right path, and few for those who lose it.

Many celebrities began to stand up against the war, and Hollywood, as the vanguard, expressed its clear stance against war and in pursuit of peace.

Almost all former and current employees of the animation department signed this letter.

Having personally avenged the backstabbing from back then, Wu Yuchen was naturally happy. Thinking that the once-arrogant Eisner had now been pulled down from his high position, Wu Yuchen also felt emotional, with a sense of emptiness after a great revenge.

However, this didn't mean he had really lost. More than half of Disney's shares were held by those funds, consortiums, and other institutions. As long as they still supported him, he, Eisner, could still sit firmly in this position!

Thinking of this, Eisner walked back to his desk, picked up the phone, and started dialing.

In the process of toppling Eisner this time, several people stood on a unified front, with great tacit understanding. Although they didn't know if they would still be so close after Eisner fell, no one wanted to test it.

In terms of public opinion, he had completely fallen into a disadvantage. His reputation and image in the hearts of small and medium shareholders were probably finished.

It was obvious that the collective rebellion of Disney's animation department this time was facilitated by Katzenberg.

Eisner had relied on his power for so many years, full of arrogance and prejudice, constantly offending people, which also led to today's situation. Therefore, Wu Yuchen wanted to use him as a counter-example to warn himself. He was now developing in the direction of a person who follows the right path in Hollywood, establishing interests with many forces, making these forces unable to leave him, so that his path would become smoother and smoother.

After Eisner finished reading, he gripped the letter in his hand tightly, his face ferocious and ugly, constantly repeating in his mouth: "A bunch of traitors, a bunch of traitors!"

Two months later, he pointed out again that according to reliable information, Iraq possessed terrible weapons of mass destruction.

"Finally finished production!" Wu Yuchen exhaled. It took him two months from preparation to completion of the film 'The Hours', which was actually quite fast.

"Hahaha, I really want to see what Eisner's expression is like now!"

Wu Yuchen picked up a newspaper on the table:

"President Bush mentions Middle East anti-terrorism strategy again at West Point!"

After speaking, he hung up the phone. And Eisner couldn't help but feel awe in his heart, hurriedly inquiring everywhere about what had happened that he didn't know about.

Of course, it wasn't to say that he, an outsider, had such great energy to turn the entire Disney animation department against them, but rather that Disney's animation department itself had quite a few complaints about Eisner.

In early 2002, Bush emphasized the threat of Iraq in his State of the Union address and listed it as an "Axis of Evil" country.

And a few days ago, he ran to West Point to give a long speech, stating that "preemptive" strikes should be carried out against terrorists and hostile countries possessing biochemical and nuclear weapons.

To be honest, if it weren't for Eisner's actions back then, Wu Yuchen might not have chosen to film 'Pirates of the Caribbean', and the subsequent cooperation with DreamWorks could be said to have been triggered by that.

To put it bluntly, if Wu Yuchen had his current influence two or three years ago, Eisner wouldn't have chosen to backstab Wu Yuchen at that time, but would only have tried to befriend him.

His intention was completely a posture of warming up for war; it could truly be said that "Sima Zhao's heart is known to everyone."

Bass on the other side sneered:

"Even your own company is out of control. It seems you are no longer suitable to sit in this position."

However, he also knew that if he relied solely on this film 'The Hours' to compete for Best Director this year, the hope wasn't that great. So he also planned to film another Oscar-contending movie.

Disney's animation department had always had conservatives and the new generation. The conservatives insisted on the hand-drawn 2D animation of Disney's peak period, while the new generation advocated for 3D animation, which also led to constant disputes in Disney's animation department. Neither side could convince the other, and they were in a state of internal friction, making it difficult to achieve results.

After a while, he received a joint letter, a joint letter that had already been sent to Disney's major shareholders. The initiator this time was Disney's animation department.

After Luo Yi Disney launched the vigorous 'Save Disney' movement, the animation department was also stirred up by Katzenberg. A group of retired old employees from the animation department stood up together to support Luo Yi Disney, so the animation department jointly signed an anti-Eisner letter and submitted it directly to the major shareholders.

Bass interrupted him directly: "Eisner, I don't want to hear you talk about history. I only know that Disney's stock price is very ugly now! My friends and I are very, very unhappy!"

However, to be honest, who would be chosen as Disney's new leader didn't have much impact on him anymore. Wu Yuchen had reached this point and didn't even need to look at the faces of these major studio presidents. Instead, they were the ones who wanted to win over Wu Yuchen for cooperation.

After all, that was the president who had ruled Disney for 18 years and was previously hailed as one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood, yet now he had been driven out of office in such a dejected manner, which made many people paying attention to this matter feel shocked and sigh.

He believed that these institutional major shareholders wouldn't be as brainless as retail investors, having no judgment of their own, and just following Wu Yuchen and the others' lead.

Then Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head. So many schedules were waiting for him to be busy with, and the Oscar for Best Director was waiting for him to conquer. What emptiness!

Although the direct cause this time was the 'Save Disney' movement launched by Luo Yi Disney, those with a heart could find out that several key figures also played a significant role in promoting it, such as the anti-Eisner alliance formed by Wu Yuchen, Katzenberg, and others.

The process of Wu Yuchen's confrontation with Eisner over the past two years was also the process of his gradual rise to the top in Hollywood.

He was now cooperating with DreamWorks, and his relationship with Katzenberg had become closer because of it. And as for Jobs, he supported Jobs as an Apple shareholder. This trust and support made Jobs quite grateful to him. Although the two hadn't reached the relationship of best friends, they were definitely not just casual acquaintances.

If Afghanistan was anti-terrorism and revenge for 9/11, the support of the American people was quite high, then this time it was really a bit far-fetched.

Eisner immediately explained: "Mr. Bass, the general environment in the past two years has been very bad. First, the internet bubble burst, and then 9/11. These were all significant blows to Disney, seriously affecting the company's business..."

After 78% of the shareholders cast their votes against Eisner, it meant that the former Disney Emperor had been pulled down from his high position.

As soon as the shareholders' meeting ended, the Disney board of directors held an internal meeting. They knew they had to take action on the voting results and decided to remove Michael from his position as chairman, but temporarily retain his position as CEO.

After Wu Yuchen hung up the phone, he showed a faint smile. He knew that this move wasn't because there was still hope for Eisner, but because Disney had to choose a new leader within six months, and these six months were a transition period left for the old and new leaders.

But Wu Yuchen knew that these current voices couldn't stop Bush. He was determined to launch this war, and the time would be early next year.

The Oscar awards were closely related to social trends. During the Oscars next year, the biggest theme would be anti-war.

So Wu Yuchen had also made up his mind: the next movie would be about this.

It's time to go back home! ===== CHAPTER 264 =====