Disney's Year-End Cocktail Party

"An invitation?"

"And it's an invitation to Disney's year-end cocktail party?"

Sitting in his office, Zucker looked at the gold-gilded invitation in his hand and couldn't help but question Victor.

"Boss, we received this invitation this morning. Since it's from Disney, one of the Big Six in Hollywood, I contacted you immediately," Victor said.

Zucker nodded and said, "Disney and we don't seem to have any connection, do we? Why would they contact us? And as far as I know, even those invited to their year-end party are usually prominent figures in Hollywood, including people who have long-term partnerships with them. Why would they invite us?"

An invitation from Disney was something Zucker couldn't take lightly.

That was one of the Big Six in Hollywood!

"Boss, actually, this is an accident," Victor said.

An accident?

How could there be an accident like this?

Victor continued, "Boss, at first I was quite surprised too, but after I received a phone call, I understood. The person who called me was my former boss from back when I was working in Hollywood, William Barnett. He is currently working in the animation department at Disney. He found out that I am serving as the CEO of Wald Pictures, which is why he sent the invitation."

As the words fell, Zucker understood everything.

So he had been overthinking it!

It wasn't that Disney had taken a liking to Zucker's Wald Pictures.

The only reason they sent the invitation was because of William Barnett. He was Victor's old superior, and the two had a very good relationship. The gesture of the invitation was meant to help Victor and expand his network.

Victor asked, "Boss, shall we attend?"

"Go, of course we're going!"

Zucker said without hesitation, "We certainly can't miss such a good opportunity to expand our network."

Attending Disney's year-end party would inevitably allow them to meet many Hollywood bigwigs, including famous directors, producers, actors, and other industry insiders.

Wald Pictures was currently small in strength, but Zucker was confident he could develop the company well.

To achieve this goal, Zucker would inevitably have to attend similar cocktail parties in the future. Wald Pictures could only produce low-budget films for now, but as Zucker's capital continued to grow, he would definitely need to produce high-budget blockbusters. At that point, he would inevitably need to cooperate with famous Hollywood actors, directors, and other figures to maximize his earnings in dollars.

Right now, the Disney party was a great opportunity for contact!

Three days later.

6:00 PM.

There was less than an hour left before the party officially started.

However, Zucker and Victor had arrived at the scene early. The venue was a five-star hotel in Burbank.

Zucker and Victor had come with the goal of expanding their network, and many others were there with the same purpose.

Therefore, even though it was still early, there were already many people in the venue—a good hundred or so.

"Hi, Victor, my old friend!"

Just as they entered the venue, a man in his fifties stepped forward and gave Victor an excited and warm hug.

The man was none other than Victor's old superior from his time in Hollywood!

He was now a manager in Disney's animation department—William Barnett.

William Barnett said excitedly, "Victor, I've always said you belong in Hollywood. Seeing you return now, I'm truly happy for you."

"Same here, sir."

Victor also said happily, "In the few days since I received your call, I have been looking forward to meeting you again."

After a pause, Victor added, "Oh, right, sir. Let me introduce you. This is my boss at Wald Pictures, Mr. Zucker Wald."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Barnett."

Zucker didn't put on any airs and greeted the elderly William very humbly.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see the friendship between William and Victor, and regarding the invitation, William had truly helped Wald Pictures. How could Zucker not show respect to such an elder?

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. By the way, I've heard of you. Your company's recent release, Wrong Turn, has really made a name for itself."

In the time that followed, the elderly William enthusiastically introduced Zucker and Victor to some of the Hollywood insiders he knew.

Somero Downs;

Cruise Enbit Wise;

J. Jort Lacister;

Class James;

These names might not sound familiar to most, but in the field of Hollywood animation, these people were absolute legends. The animated films they created, such as The Lion King, Snow White, and Mulan—which one of them wasn't world-famous?

After some socializing, Zucker and Victor found a corner to sit down for a moment.

"Boss, have you noticed? These veteran figures of Disney animation don't seem to be doing very well at Disney right now!"

The perceptive Victor had noticed the sorrow between their brows during their conversation.

"You are absolutely right."

Zucker nodded and said, "As far as I know, ever since the glory of The Lion King produced in '94-'95, Disney animation has had a rough time. Especially with the recent release of Aladdin and the King of Thieves in September, the box office failure has made life miserable for these veteran Disney stalwarts."

The film Aladdin and the King of Thieves cost Disney 65 million dollars to produce, plus 15 million dollars in marketing expenses, bringing the total cost to a staggering 80 million dollars.

However, the box office on its opening day only brought in 6 million dollars.

After being in theaters for over a month, the cumulative North American box office has barely crossed 20 million dollars, which can only be described as a major box office disaster!

The most critical part is that its reputation has also tanked!

Victor sighed, "Animations produced by Disney were once the favorites of children worldwide, but times have changed. The hand-drawn animation that Disney represents is no longer popular, while the 3D computer animation technology represented by Pixar is gradually becoming the mainstream."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Moreover, Pixar's animations are also distributed by Disney. When a child picked up from the outside defeats their own biological son, how could these Disney animation veterans possibly sit still?"

Zucker expressed his agreement!

In fact, that is exactly the case.

The future belongs to the 3D computer animation represented by Pixar!

In the future, Disney princess animations remained stagnant and hit rock bottom, until 2014, when they relied on Frozen to finally return to the pinnacle of the Hollywood animation industry!

"Huh?"

"Zucker, my old friend, and Victor, what are you doing here?"

Just at this moment, a voice filled with surprise reached Zucker's ears.

Looking up, it really was an acquaintance.

John Lasseter, the leader of the Pixar Five Tigers;

And the cocky old man—Jobs.

<>First update delivered.