Chapter 226: The Funding Gap

No one expected Johnny Depp to respond in such a manner, leaving Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney, completely embarrassed. Despite his experience in handling unexpected situations, he was momentarily stunned.

Johnny Depp, with his captivating catwalk, turned back and left a remark, "Let's leave it at that for today."

He wouldn't be participating in the remaining activities. Johnny Depp passed by Matthew and Keira Knightley and left the tent directly. Keira Knightley gave Michael Eisner a glance before following Johnny Depp, and Matthew, shaking his head slightly without saying much, also left.

This situation wasn't really Johnny Depp's fault; Michael Eisner, as the chairman of Disney, was quite irresponsible with his words.

It took a while for Michael Eisner to recover from his embarrassment. He looked at Jerry Bruckheimer and asked, "What was that all about?"

Jerry Bruckheimer, unyielding, replied, "Michael, you misspoke."

Different from the actors like Matthew, Jerry Bruckheimer had enough confidence to face Michael Eisner. Disney would lose a significant portion of its live-action business without him, and without Disney, other major studios in Hollywood would line up to collaborate with him and his production company.

"Let it be," Michael Eisner dismissed with a wave of his hand, "This film..."

"I have confidence in my film," Jerry Bruckheimer interjected, "Michael, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is already in post-production, and changes are impossible at this point. What we need to focus on now is coming up with more strategies for promotion."

Michael Eisner wasn't interested in the specifics of execution, "Don't you already have a plan to hype up a scandal?"

"That's one of many plans."

At this, Jerry Bruckheimer looked at Michael Ovitz, "This incident just gave me another excellent promotional idea."

Eisner wasn't a fool; he quickly grasped the implication, "Jerry, are you planning to use my disagreement with Depp for publicity?"

Jerry Bruckheimer nodded, "A public dispute between Disney's chairman and Johnny Depp over his role would definitely be widely reported by the media, and fans would be immensely interested. This news alone could boost the film's box office by tens of millions of dollars."

"Oh…" Eisner only took two seconds to respond in a businessman's true nature, "Okay, you can spin this incident."

As the head of a media conglomerate, how could he not understand the importance of marketing?

With everyone busy, the three main actors had left the scene in dissatisfaction, leaving a series of tasks to be handled. However, Jerry Bruckheimer didn't leave; he stood by Michael Eisner without going to find Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keira Knightley. He wasn't about to clean up the mess Eisner had made.

Moreover, he had other matters to discuss with Michael Eisner.

"Michael…" Jerry Bruckheimer changed the subject, "Have you been specifically following up on my two new projects?"

"I've always had someone on it," Eisner knew the significance of Jerry Bruckheimer to Disney's live-action film sector, "Disney's resources have always been prioritized for you, and that has never changed."

Jerry Bruckheimer frowned slightly, reminding, "The initial budgets for the two projects are severely insufficient."

Eisner had his own complaints, thinking before saying, "Jerry, have you considered Disney's situation?"

"Hm?" Jerry Bruckheimer looked puzzled at Eisner.

"The $140 million budget for 'Pirates of the Caribbean' has been fully allocated, and Disney also has to advance a significant amount for marketing. Such a huge sum of money has not been recovered..." Eisner's attitude towards Jerry Bruckheimer wasn't as strong as it was internally, "Following are two major projects with production budgets over $100 million each. Even for Disney, that's challenging."

He looked at Jerry Bruckheimer, "If your Bruckheimer Films could increase its investment, the project's progress would definitely be much smoother."

Jerry Bruckheimer was silent for a moment before saying, "A significant portion of my company's funds is tied up in 'Pirates of the Caribbean.'"

As if his Jerry Bruckheimer Films was just a small company with not much funding.

Eisner then said, "So, Jerry, let's not rush for now. If possible, we'll try to solve the funding gap through external financing."

"But…" Jerry Bruckheimer's frown deepened, "That would take too long."

After 2001, the overall U.S. economy could only be described as mediocre, affecting Hollywood. Many film companies faced financial difficulties.

Eisner shook his head, "There's nothing I can do then."

Disney wasn't out of money, but the conglomerate's liquidity and the finances of its subsidiary, Disney Studios, were managed separately. It couldn't simply throw tens or hundreds of millions of dollars around; any large corporation has rules to follow.

Besides, Disney's funds had bigger uses; Eisner was working on acquiring Pixar Studios. Without significant cash, how would he persuade Steve Jobs, the old fox?

After further discussion with Eisner, Jerry Bruckheimer made no progress. The two projects were moving forward smoothly, but without sufficient funds, even he couldn't push them further.

Movies, especially commercial ones, required significant investments for high returns.

Jerry Bruckheimer left the tent, calling a number on his phone. He sighed after a few words; his agent had just contacted several movie investment funds, but the talks went poorly. Those people had confidence in his reputation and were interested in the commercial films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, but they lacked sufficient cash flow and couldn't raise tens of millions of dollars in the short term.

"Funding..." Jerry Bruckheimer looked at the crowd nearby, "We're facing a financial challenge again."

He had encountered this before; planning a blockbuster with a budget over $100 million in Hollywood meant that raising funds was a primary issue.

'Pirates of the Caribbean,' because it was tied to a Disney theme park attraction, received robust support from Disney and didn't face financial issues. However, Disney wouldn't be able to support the two new films to the same extent.

And he had heard that after Disney absorbed ABC Television Network, Eisner was planning to continue on the acquisition path, tightening Disney Group's overall finances.

Jerry Bruckheimer knew the projects could either be delayed until the investment in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was fully recovered to push one of the two projects forward, but that would take too long. While North American revenue was manageable, overseas profits often took a long time to settle, meaning most of the revenue from international regions might not be accounted for by the end of the year.

He had planned for one of the projects, 'King Arthur,' to be released during next year's summer season, and the other during the holiday season. Delays in funding would necessitate changing the release dates, a situation Jerry Bruckheimer didn't want to face.

Leaving Disneyland Plaza, his mind was preoccupied with resolving the funding issue as quickly as possible.

Inside the makeup trailer, after Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keira Knightley had removed their makeup, Keira Knightley went to her designated changing room to change clothes. When she came out, Matthew and Johnny Depp had already changed back to their regular clothes.

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