Chapter 83: What Do You Need From Me?

[Chapter 83: What Do You Need From Me?]

"I'm not exactly gifted with public speaking, and I'm not one for those inspirational speeches. But I promise you this: within three years, as long as you all do your part, Pixar won't face any layoffs."

After Steve Jobs left, Eric addressed all the employees in the open office. This had been their biggest concern. Over the past year, due to financial constraints, Pixar had already laid off several batches of employees.

As soon as Eric made his promise, many breathed a sigh of relief. They all knew who Eric was; the young man in front of them was flush with cash, and once he made such a promise, it was unlikely he would go back on it.

"Alright, let's get back to work, and all management, please head to the conference room for a meeting."

After a brief commotion, the core team of Pixar, led by John Lasseter, gathered in the meeting room.

"Everyone knows me by now, and I got a good grasp of things about you in my earlier briefings, so we can skip the introductions for now."

Low chuckles echoed in the room as Eric smiled and paused for a moment, then continued, "Pixar was in bad shape before, but that's going to change. You might be curious why I bought Pixar. I mentioned it to John -- I have an interest in 3D animated films, and since I had the funds to invest, I jumped at the chance. You wouldn't doubt my eye for film, considering Pixar's previous short Tin Toy, which inspired me to think of a great long story idea...

A little boy had a room full of toys, and his favorite was a cowboy named Woody, who was clearly the leader among all the toys. But one day, the boy brought home a new toy, Buzz Lightyear. With his unique look and advanced features, the boy couldn't get enough of him. Woody felt threatened, as Buzz's presence put his leadership at risk. So Woody started devising ways to get rid of Buzz. In a twist of fate, the two toys ended up getting thrown out of the room and into the hands of a neighbor kid who treated toys a bit too roughly..."

After spending a few minutes sketching out the story of Toy Story, Eric added, "Last time I met with John, I mentioned I'd invest $30 million into this 3D animated film. Of course, the budget could be increased; I just need you all to make this animation the best it can be. For me, one failure wouldn't be the end of the world, but Pixar really could not afford another one."

A serious expression washed over the executives at Pixar's faces. Having been in the red for a while, if the 3D animation route didn't pan out, it would be tough for Pixar to stay afloat. Eric was pleased with their reactions. He knew 3D animation would become a mainstream format soon, but he understood that they wouldn't buy into his optimism immediately. Instead, he opted to apply a little pressure.

"I know that producing animated films takes a long time. I'm giving you three years to create this movie. Within these three years, there won't be any changes at Pixar, and you won't need to take on ad projects to keep operations going. You can focus all your energy on Toy Story. That's all I have to say. Now, what are your thoughts?"

The lingering pressure from Jobs still made Pixar's higher-ups cautious. After tentatively asking a few questions, they finally realized that Eric and Jobs were two entirely different people; they began to relax and share their thoughts openly.

Caught up in the discussion, they lost track of lunchtime until the sun set, and the less-than-ideal conference room dimmed. It took them a moment before they realized it was dark outside.

To ensure that Toy Story wouldn't diverge too much from his original vision, Eric remained in Richmond for three full days. During that time, he wrote the complete script for Toy Story by hand and sketched designs for Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the toy characters, handing them over to Pixar's production team.

It wasn't until Barry Diller, the president of Fox, personally called to remind Eric to attend the celebration for Pretty Woman after having disappeared for nearly a week that he was finally compelled to leave Richmond.

Eric had considered moving Pixar to Los Angeles. He casually mentioned it to John Lasseter, but received a response suggesting the idea wasn't practical.

Most of Pixar's technical staff settled in the San Francisco Bay Area; they were accustomed to their surroundings, and many had made homes there. Plus, the environment in Los Angeles wasn't suitable for an animation studio like Pixar. Richmond, on the other hand, was close to Silicon Valley, where many high-tech companies were clustered, making it a better fit for Pixar's survival.

After hearing John Lasseter's explanation, Eric dropped the idea. Anyway, San Francisco was only about 300 miles from L.A. -- a one-hour flight made travel easy, so he didn't push it further.

...

After a week in a hotel, he finally returned home, enjoyed a nice shower, and with still several hours until the evening party, he didn't feel like preparing much. He slipped into some loose, casual clothes, plopped onto the living room sofa, and lazily turned on the TV with the remote.

Just as he was dozing off, the doorbell rang.

He opened the door to find a sneaky-looking woman in a wig and sunglasses, dressed in nondescript clothes, anxiously waiting on the porch while glancing around.

"Why did it take you so long to answer? What if the paparazzi saw me?"

Eric appraised Julia's outfit, stepped aside, and let her in. "What's with the disguise? Oh... you kinda look like Allison?"

"I had Allison dress up like me to throw off the paparazzi. It worked like a charm," Julia replied, her tone a little smug.

"Want something to drink?" Eric asked as he walked toward the fridge.

"Coffee, no sugar, and not too hot."

"Oh," he replied, pouring her a glass of juice.

With a roll of her eyes, she accepted the juice. "You're always so infuriating."

Eric sank back into the sofa, amused, and looked at Julia. "You've really changed! The way you're sitting, that tone -- it screams top Hollywood star! I might just have to ask for your autograph."

"Sure, where should I sign?" Julia said, theatrically pulling a pen from her pocket.

Eric pretended to gaze thoughtfully at the ceiling as if contemplating something, then suddenly tugged at his pants waistband and peeked inside, shaking his head. "Nope, not feeling it. Can't sign this."

"Ugh--" Julia's cheeks flushed slightly as she shot him an annoyed glance and hastily lifted the juice to her lips, taking a sip.

A moment later, Julia set down her glass. "I heard you bought an animation studio?"

"Yeah, making live-action films is exhausting; I thought I'd switch gears and direct animated films."

Julia shot him a disapproving look. "You should be serious about this."

"We're this close now; who should I be serious for?" Eric retorted before straightening up. "Alright, what did you need from me?"

*****

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