"Just this past weekend, the new North Arican sumr movie season kicked off, and ’Iron Man’, directed by renowned director Duke Rosenberg and jointly produced with massive investnt from Marvel Studios and Warner Bros., dazzled brilliantly within just three days. While Iron Man received an unprecedented wave of critical acclaim, its box office erupted like a volcano, blasting out an outstanding $113.35 million!"
"As other superheroes from Marvel Comics have successively leaped onto the big screen, the well-known veteran hero Iron Man has finally ushered in his own ’sumr’. This character, who first appeared in Marvel Comics in April 1963, now joins his siblings Spider-Man, X-n, and Fantastic Four in making a box office splash and generating trendous profits for major studios, finally stepping up to the plate to kick off the sumr movie season of 2006."
"Of course, North Arican moviegoers have been eagerly anticipating this film. A generation who grew up with Marvel comics—who isn’t familiar with this superhero who can fly at lightning speed, soar through the skies and dive underwater, punishing evil and upholding justice? And this unconventional superhero, modeled after Arican entertainnt legend Howard Hughes—not one with superpowers, but with a superhuman mind; able to create his own hard yet refined armor, making him invulnerable when he wears it—is undoubtedly the most hotly anticipated superhero of the year."
"Naturally, Warner Bros., working with Marvel, did not dare be careless in preparing Iron Man’s debut. Not only did they bring in Hollywood’s most capable and marketable director, Duke Rosenberg, to helm the project, but they also spared no expense, investing $150 million to craft the hero’s luxurious lifestyle and dazzling suit of iron."
"In terms of promotion, Warner Bros. went to painstaking lengths, spending $100 million on marketing that plastered posters, online ads, and TV spots everywhere. Major sponsors like Audi, 7-11, Burger King, and LG vigorously waved their flags in support. Even the renowned costics brand Estée Lauder joined this overwhelming promotional campaign after all, Scarlett Johansson not only stars in Iron Man but is also a spokesperson for Estée Lauder..."
"In North Arica, Iron Man opened in 3,900 theaters, earning $12.6 million in Thursday 8 PM previews alone. Then on its Friday premiere day, the box office soared to $37.41 million! Most excitingly, Saturday’s revenue climbed even higher, reaching $39.01 million! And even though Sunday saw a slight dip, it still pulled in $36.88 million."
"In the end, Iron Man easily topped the North Arican box office chart with an opening weekend total of $113.35 million!"
Putting down the newspaper, Michael Eisner’s eyes moved away from the weekly box office report and he silently did the math in his head. Adding the $12.6 million from the previews, Iron Man raked in a total of $125.95 million from North Arica in its first week!
Such a first-week box office figure can definitely be described as a major success.
Although no one had openly said anything to him, Michael Eisner knew full well that the troubles Iron Man encountered in its early stages had everything to do with Cook Dick.
Of course, the other party was simply following the subtle hints he had given.
However, Michael Eisner still felt a vague dissatisfaction. Not because of Cook Dick’s thods, but because despite all the effort, the results were practically negligible. If he hadn’t pulled so strings behind the scenes, it was hard to say whether the final blaze would’ve engulfed Walt Disney itself.
Though he successfully dodged the FBI’s fire, Disney failed to avoid the counterstrike from Warner Bros. and Duke Rosenberg. Even without any concrete evidence, Michael Eisner was certain that Disney’s troubles on the other side of the Pacific and with customs had sothing to do with them.
Thinking of this, Michael Eisner couldn’t help but rub his brow. Disney really was going through a stormy ti right now.
With a light sigh, his eyes once again scanned the weekly box office report in Premiere, and a thought unconsciously jumped into Michael Eisner’s mind: the series of events that took place before Iron Man’s release was practically a textbook case in marketing. Reportedly, this whole campaign was originally conceived by Duke Rosenberg.
Though they stood on opposing sides, that didn’t stop Michael Eisner from acknowledging the brilliance of the strategy, and he planned to have Disney’s marketing team study it carefully.
After all, there’s no sha in learning from one of Hollywood’s most successful directors.
With his status and access to information, Michael Eisner naturally knew that many Hollywood companies had already begun researching Iron Man.
What they were studying, of course, wasn’t the content or structure of the film, but the promotional campaign devised by Duke Rosenberg.
It was definitely a dia hype operation on par with The Blair Witch Project.
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed, and his assistant’s voice ca through. "Chairman, the eting is about to start."
"I know."
Turning off the intercom, Michael Eisner left his office and walked into the conference room on the sa floor. This was a routine Disney board eting, attended not only by board mbers but also many senior executives of the group.
The eting’s tone was sowhat heavy, as it concerned the recent troubles Disney had encountered troubles that certain people had deliberately pinned on Michael Eisner’s faction.
Roy Disney, who had once been instruntal in bringing Michael Eisner into Walt Disney, was now very old and in poor health, yet he still sat in the conference room. His gaze was sharp and fixed on Michael Eisner. Though Walt Disney was no longer the Disney family’s Disney, he would never allow it to beco Eisner’s Disney either.
For that reason, he was willing to support Robert Iger and collaborate with outside forces to completely purge Michael Eisner and his close associates from Disney.
Though he said nothing in the eting, no one could ignore this last remaining mber of the Disney family within the corporation.
With Roy Disney present, Robert Iger’s voice rang even louder.
"According to reports from the Far East branch, the Disney Resort project may be terminated at any mont..."
Standing by the conference table, Robert Iger didn’t even glance at the chairman’s seat, simply reporting the latest situation. "The other party has already ended negotiations with Disney and could sign a contract with Ti Warner and News Corporation at any mont."
There was a low murmur of discussion in the eting room. Anyone with a brain could tell this already signified failure for Disney.
The failure of the Disneyland project would inevitably bring a series of negative impacts on the company’s efforts to expand into new markets.
Robert Iger’s eyes swept slowly over each board mber and executive, then he slowed his tone and said, "In the early stages, the Disneyland project held an overwhelming advantage. For it to co to this point, I believe soone must be held accountable."
"Soone should indeed be held accountable..."
"The person in charge should resign..."
Voices of agreent rang out across the eting room, and so people’s eyes turned toward Cook Dick, who had just been promoted to president of the group.
Previously, the executive responsible for this project at headquarters was none other than Cook Dick.
"The head of Disney’s Far East branch has already submitted his resignation to ."
Although unfamiliar with the phrase "sacrifice the cart to save the horse," that was exactly what Michael Eisner’s words implied after all, Cook Dick was his right-hand man.
Michael Eisner still held considerable authority at Disney, and once he spoke, the eting room gradually quieted down.
But Robert Iger wasn’t going to give up so easily. "There’s another matter. Since the Customs seizure of Disney products and the opening of a formal case, sales of all figurines and plush toy-related products have plumted. The Federal Customs and Border Protection Bureau has now launched a targeted investigation."
His eyes turned toward Cook Dick. "If I’m not mistaken, this batch of imported products ca from the agency processing contract you finalized in India last year, Mr. President."
"The contract was reviewed by both the company’s legal departnt and the overseas developnt division..." Cook Dick retorted, "This was a contract approved by the group. If there’s a problem with the product, that’s the Indians’ fault!"
"At the ti, the agency processing partners weren’t limited to India. There were also China and Malaysia," Robert Iger pressed further. "The credibility and product quality of those two suppliers far exceeded that of the Indian company. Why did you choose the Indian one?"
"I..."
Just as Cook Dick was about to respond, Robert Iger interrupted him and said, "I suggest the company launch an internal investigation regarding this incident."
"That’s unnecessary." Michael Eisner said blandly, "The company’s resources shouldn’t be wasted on sothing like this. Figuring out how to cope with intense external competition and ensure Disney’s product market share—that’s what we should focus on."
"I’d like to remind the Chairman," Robert Iger continued, "The Customs and Border Protection Bureau is watching Disney. Our stock price has been falling steadily due to this incident. Many shareholders have called to express serious dissatisfaction. The board should provide an explanation to them."
Michael Eisner looked at Cook Dick with a sowhat unpleasant expression. In the end, the shares he held were limited. If shareholders with voting rights cast more than forty percent no-confidence votes at the general eting, then according to Disney’s rules, he would have to step down and relinquish his authority.
This was the very outco Michael Eisner had been trying to avoid. Even as Disney’s autocrat, he still needed shareholder support.
There was no doubt that a chairman causing the stock price to continually fall could not win the support of most shareholders.
Roy Disney suddenly spoke up. "At this year’s shareholders’ eting, I will submit a proposal concerning the failure of the Disneyland project and the customs incident."
Robert Iger took one last look at Cook Dick before sitting back in his seat. Thinking back on last Saturday’s eting with Duke Rosenberg, what the other man had said now made a lot of sense: if you want to topple Michael Eisner and take his place, the first thing to do is cut off the hand he uses to control Disney.
That hand was called Cook Dick.
.....
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