Chapter 206: Negotiations

A new week began, and since most of the autumn TV series were scheduled to premiere in October, Daenerys Entertainment's reality shows continued to dominate the ratings.

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," airing three times a week, was a hit across all age groups, from the elderly to children.

The second episode of "Survivor," airing on Monday at 8 PM, reached a peak viewership of 25.65 million, almost securing the autumn season's ratings championship. The only regret about this TV show was that it only had 13 episodes.

"Big Brother" and "The Beverly Hills Wives," scheduled on Wednesdays, also saw steady increases in viewership due to the lack of competitors.

Furthermore, a game show produced independently by CBS, which had decided to part ways with Daenerys Entertainment, premiered this week, achieving an average viewership of 13.6 million. Although not outstanding, this made the other three networks, which had been conservative about reality shows, even more regretful.

It was clear that in the coming years, major networks would invest heavily in creating their own reality shows. If any of them became a hit, Daenerys Entertainment could not maintain its current dominance and profits.

However, Simon wasn't too worried about this. Having observed the development of reality shows for over twenty years, only a few had reached a phenomenal level. The ratings of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Survivor" far outstripped "Big Brother" and "The Beverly Hills Wives," proving that creating a hit show was not an easy task.

After careful consideration and adjustments over the weekend and the following weekdays, Daenerys Entertainment resubmitted the revised version of "Scream" to the MPAA's rating committee.

With September ending, the company had hoped to release the movie by October 28, Halloween season, and had already invested significantly in early promotions. However, the delay caused by the re-rating process meant that Daenerys Entertainment had yet to sign official screening contracts with North American theaters. Seeing this situation, Simon also began making other preparations.

In Santa Monica, at Daenerys Effects' office building, Simon personally introduced the scripts for "Toy Story" and "The Lion King" during a meeting on September 28, Wednesday.

Besides Mark Silvers and other senior executives from Daenerys Effects, the meeting also included Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, who had just joined the company from Pixar.

After the conversation with Steve Jobs on the flight to Australia, James Rebhorn, Amy Pascal, and others had been working on acquiring Pixar, which was now finalized.

Daenerys Entertainment paid $20 million to acquire all of Pixar's hardware and software departments, with Jobs and the original Pixar shareholders relinquishing their shares. Daenerys Entertainment obtained the rights to the RenderMan software series, thus filling a gap in CG rendering capabilities.

After the acquisition, Simon's first request was to relocate Pixar entirely to Los Angeles.

Most of Pixar's executives and staff, including Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, agreed to the move, but inevitably, some refused.

Alvy Ray Smith, another technical pillar of Pixar, left the company. Unable to retain him, Simon let him go. 3D animated movies were a crucial part of Daenerys Entertainment's future plans, and Simon did not intend to leave Pixar in San Francisco like in the original timeline.

Simon had considered renaming Pixar to Daenerys Animation, but Catmull, Lasseter, and others wished to keep the Pixar name, which Simon agreed to as it was not a significant issue.

The meeting's main goal was to discuss the technical details of porting Pixar's software to Silicon Graphics workstations and the plans for the two 3D animated films.

Pixar's original focus was also on producing professional graphics workstations, but they couldn't compare technologically to Silicon Graphics, except for owning software like RenderMan. To integrate Pixar's software with Daenerys Effects' own for efficiency, Simon decided to abandon the development of Pixar computers, allowing Pixar to focus on software and animation.

Pixar computers had never launched a finished product nor made a profit, which is why they were a burden to Jobs. Therefore, Catmull and others did not oppose Simon's suggestion to cancel hardware development.

However, after Simon introduced the scripts for "Toy Story" and "The Lion King," Ed Catmull said, "Simon, with our current technology, 'Toy Story' is feasible, but 'The Lion King,' if we want to vividly portray animal movements and details like fur, our technology isn't there yet."

"This is your task," Simon looked at Catmull and the others, "I may not know much about the technical side, but I understand that current hardware technology is sufficient to support you. The hardware platform is like a canvas, and what you need to do is develop software that can create the desired effects, like paintbrushes. We also don't lack animators, so I'm only expecting to see the results I want."

Mark Silvers then said, "Simon, this will take a long time."

Simon turned to Mark, "Don't describe it as 'a long time.' Tell me exactly how long?"

After a brief discussion with Catmull, Mark replied, "To develop the technology needed for 'The Lion King' and complete effect tests, given the current R&D team size of Daenerys Effects and Pixar, it will take at least two years, assuming sufficient funding."

"No problem," Simon nodded, "You can hire more staff if needed, but keep it moderate. A company's rapid expansion in its early stages isn't good. I can guarantee your funding, then give me the results I want." Turning to John Lasseter, Simon asked, "John, any issues on your end?"

"The story script for 'Toy Story' resulted from discussions with Lasseter over the past month. Hearing Simon's question, Lasseter confidently said, "I need three years."

The lengthy production cycle of 3D animation was well-known. Pixar's ability to release one animated film every two years was actually the result of several teams working simultaneously.

An animated film's journey from script to completion typically requires three to four years or even longer. This timeline cannot be shortened by simply adding more animators, as the diversity in individual skills and styles among a large team can impact the quality of the animated film.

"Then, let's end the meeting here," Simon declared the meeting over and turned to Mark Silvers, "How's the progress on Batman's cape effects?"

Initially, when designing the concept art for "Batman," Simon identified the cape as a challenging aspect. If they used a real cape for Bruce Wayne's action scenes, the result would be unsatisfactory. Thus, Simon considered the possibility of a CG cape and assigned Daenerys Effects to tackle this technical challenge.

Mark Silvers smiled, "We just completed a 3-second CG shot of Batman's cape unfolding as he falls from a height. The effect is stunning, and we were planning to show it to you today."

As they prepared to view the sample, Simon's assistant Jennifer received a call and whispered to him, "Ms. Pascal called. The R-rating for 'Scream' was rejected again."

Simon paused, gesturing for Mark and others to go ahead, "Are those documents ready?"

Jennifer nodded.

"Then, arrange a meeting with Jack Valenti, the chairman of the MPAA, for tonight or tomorrow noon. I need to talk to him."

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), established in 1922, is a trade association representing Hollywood's major film companies in lobbying for film-related legislation, promoting copyright protection, and setting content guidelines.

MPAA's membership has evolved over time.

Initially, the MPAA consisted of the eight major Hollywood studios. In recent years, with the rise of second-tier studios like Orion Pictures and De Laurentiis Entertainment, these companies joined the MPAA. However, after some bankruptcies, they left, leaving the traditional "Big Seven" and Orion as the main members.

In 1966, MPAA hired Jack Valenti, a former assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, as its chairman. Valenti, known for his strong leadership style, held the position for 22 years and was set to continue. His major contribution was abolishing the notorious Hays Code and introducing a voluntary film rating system. However, films that do not undergo this rating process struggle to enter North American theaters and the video market.

Simon met with the 67-year-old Jack Valenti in Burbank the next day. MPAA's office was located near the intersection of the 101 freeway and Ventura Boulevard, close to the major studios.

Arriving fifteen minutes early for their noon meeting, Simon was greeted by Valenti, "Simon, I've been looking forward to meeting you. The miracles you've created in the past two years are astonishing."

After exchanging pleasantries and ordering lunch, Valenti noticed a folder in front of Simon and asked, "What were you looking at?"

Simon handed over the folder containing recent box office data reports, "These are the box office reports from the past few weeks. Since the summer season ended on September 9, the weekly total box office fell to $29.88 million. The following week, it dropped to $25.67 million, and based on last weekend's data, this week's total is likely around $27 million. Compared to last year, there was only one week when the box office fell below $30 million."

Valenti, acknowledging the strike's impact on the industry, listened as Simon continued, "Looking at October's release schedule, if 'Scream' can't premiere on October 28, there will only be five films opening in more than 500 screens, compared to nine last year—a nearly 50% reduction."

Knowing Simon's purpose, Valenti cautiously replied, "The rating committee is very strict and fair. Your film probably does need further modifications."

"Is that so?" Simon questioned, pointing to the documents, "Below the box office reports are memos from the rating committee to 'Basic Instinct,' detailing cuts down to 2 seconds for specific scenes. However, the feedback for 'Scream' was vague, asking for modifications to lengthy segments. Is that fair?"

Valenti, seeing the additional documents Simon provided, showed a wry smile, "Simon, you must understand, talking to me won't help. I don't control this matter."

As MPAA's chairman for 22 years, Valenti had high prestige in the industry but ultimately served the interests of the major Hollywood studios. Without their support, he couldn't change their intention to suppress Daenerys Entertainment.

"I understand," Simon nodded empathetically, "Jack, I just need you to relay a message for me."

Valenti gestured for Simon to proceed.

Simon revisited the box office data, "North American box office has fallen below $30 million for three consecutive weeks. I believe this trend will continue, leading to a contraction in year-end box office revenues, all due to the Hollywood writers' strike. Jack, why do you think the writers went on strike?"

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