[Chapter 934: Acquiring IMAX]
In just over a month, the managent of Firefly Group had drafted detailed tilines for the RealD and 4200 plans. The start date for Iron Man was confird for March of the following year, with a filming period of three months.
The plan was to complete the filming of Iron Man in the first half of the year while also finalizing the pre-production of Gravity, allowing Eric to dive into the production of Gravity in the second half. From the start of filming to the completion of the final 3D and IMAX versions, a year and a half would be more than enough ti.
Thus, the completion date for both plans was set for the end of 1999. Additionally, not only Gravity but also the casting for the Lord of the Rings trilogy was completed, and filming was set to begin early the following year. Since it was a trilogy being shot back-to-back, the filming period stretched to a year, followed by another year of post-production. The first installnt, The Fellowship of the Ring, also determined its release for the end of 1999. An epic fantasy series like The Lord of the Rings was clearly suited for the visually stunning 3D and IMAX format, and Eric wouldn't let that opportunity slip by.
With Gravity and the first film of The Lord of the Rings in the pipeline, 4000 3D screens and 200 IMAX theaters would have access to two heavyweight blockbuster sources. As for the Spider-Man project led by Jas Caron, it was slated for completion by the end of 1999 as well. However, Firefly Group held little hope that Caron would stick to the tiline, so Eric chose not to include the film in the plans, allowing Caron to work at his own pace.
According to the established schedule, the first Marvel superhero film, Iron Man, which was set for the sumr of 1999, would have to be excluded from the initial 3D-IMAX lineup. The first installnt of the Star Wars prequel, distributed by Fox, along with MGM's following three spy universe films, would similarly miss the first wave of the 3D-IMAX craze. For this, Eric could only express regret; after all, not everything could co to fruition imdiately.
...
When Eric returned to Los Angeles, Jeffrey Katzenberg had completed the first strategic move of the two plans -- the full acquisition of the Canadian IMAX Corporation. In 1994, Wall Street investor Richard Gelfond made a significant bet on IMAX's future and gained a controlling interest in the company, dedicating all his resources to promoting the comrcialization of IMAX technology in theaters.
Unfortunately, the lack of support from Hollywood studios and major North Arican chains ant Gelfond's plans progressed very little. IMAX technology remained confined to museums for educational films. Eric had previously allocated so funds to IMAX for developing DMR technology to convert regular films for IMAX format, which had shed so light on the company, but it did not lead to any substantial improvents in IMAX's performance.
Before Firefly initiated the acquisition, IMAX was deeply in debt, with a market value of less than $200 million on the NASDAQ while carrying a hefty debt of $150 million, which included the $30 million loaned initially by Firefly. Since Eric intended to bet on IMAX, Firefly wasn't about to let the future profits of IMAX technology slip away, and the managent unanimously believed that acquiring the company was the right move. Eric had no objection to the acquisition, which was under $500 million.
After years of struggling without success, IMAX found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. Although Gelfond sensed that the Firefly acquisition would bring revolutionary changes to the company, he had lost control over it.
After several weeks of negotiations, Firefly acquired IMAX for $230 million in cash and took on the company's $150 million debt. With $30 million already owed to Firefly, the actual total cost of the transaction was $350 million.
...
Playa Vista.
Although the expansion plan for Firefly Studios had not yet officially begun, many workers were already doing so initial clearing work on the plots west of Lincoln Avenue. After multiple revisions, the team of visionary engineers responsible for constructing the the park finally produced a satisfactory design for the sky walkway.
The walkway was set to stretch four kiloters and rise to a height of 20 ters, roughly equivalent to a seven-story building. To prevent onlookers from associating the sky walkway with concrete overpasses, the entire structure would be constructed entirely of steel and glass. While its height might be outdone by many buildings in other major cities, in the area around Playa Vista where housing typically didn't exceed three stories, this walkway would undoubtedly beco the most prominent landmark for miles around once completed.
"The conservative estimate is $50 million; this will definitely be the most expensive building in the entire complex. However, I believe anyone who has seen the renderings will think that $50 million is well worth it. From this sky walkway, you can see the ocean to the west, Fox Mountain to the east, LAX to the south, and Santa Monica to the north -- all in clear view," Katzenberg said.
On a still sowhat uneven plot of land, Katzenberg and Eric walked side by side, excitedly discussing the the park expansion plan.
Eric gazed at the open land awaiting developnt, imagining what it would look like transford into the Firefly Studios the park. Suddenly, he understood why Michael Eisner had escalated the budget for Disneyland Paris from $1 billion to $5 billion. Though Eric was never one to reach for the stars too quickly, listening to Katzenberg describe the expansion made him want to bring that vision to life.
This plot was less than a tenth the size of Disneyland Paris's 2000 hectares. Yet, with just a sky walkway costing $50 million, the total cost for the studio's construction would undoubtedly exceed $1 billion.
The Firefly the park, the RealD and 4200 plans, the recent acquisition of IMAX, and the intent to thoroughly secure Hasbro... Eric had been thinking of slowing the expansion pace of Firefly Group, but unconsciously, the company continued to grow rapidly.
Kicking a loose stone, Eric said, "Jeffrey, I have no issues with the designs for the attractions based on Jurassic Park and A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, you've seen the sets Peter Jackson designed for The Lord of the Rings, right? I'm very optimistic about this project, so I want to make sure we reserve enough space for the thed areas for The Lord of the Rings."
"Of course, I find that bag end design quite interesting too," Katzenberg nodded. "Speaking of which, didn't you plan for Nicole to play the Elf Queen Galadriel? While you've been away, we weren't sure how to approach her about that."
"Oh, I sorted it out with Nicole a while back. Just have soone go and finalize her contract; we can set her fee at $3 million."
Katzenberg hesitated, asking, "Three films for $3 million each?"
"Yes," Eric nodded.
For Nicole's current status, $3 million for The Lord of the Rings trilogy did seem a bit ager. Yet, her role was practically a cao, and the $3 million fee was already the highest for all the actors.
While Eric was chatting with Katzenberg, one of Katzenberg's assistants hurried over, saying, "Mr. Williams, Mr. Katzenberg, the representatives from Texas Instrunts have arrived. I've shown them to set up the equipnt."
...
During this ti, the managent had been considering how to reasonably reduce the budget for executing the two plans. A significant portion of the $1.6 billion budget would go toward updating the RealD movie projection systems. Fortunately, Texas Instrunts was seeking comrcial viability for their newly developed digital projectors, so Katzenberg arranged this demonstration.
The two n headed east toward the studio after hearing Katzenberg's assistant.
"I've reviewed the materials; despite the fact that Texas Instrunts' digital projector prototype currently only reaches a resolution of 1280x1024, if we give them two years, I believe they can develop devices that match the 1920x1080 resolution of film projectors," Katzenberg stated as they walked.
As they made their way back, Katzenberg started sharing his thoughts.
"Jeffrey, have you thought about this? If we switch to digital projectors, we might face industry-wide backlash."
Hollywood predominantly represented North Arica, and the yearly industry around film copies reached several billion dollars -- worldwide, that number would be even larger.
Katzenberg chuckled at Eric's question, teasing, "I still rember what you said earlier this year at the Fireflyer player launch."
Eric shrugged, smiling, "Well, I just think now isn't the right ti for digital projectors to take off."
Having reviewed the information about Texas Instrunts' digital projects, Eric believed that, strictly speaking, Texas Instrunts had only developed the core DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology to convert digital signals into light signals for projectors. Many of the digital projectors or office projectors that ca later utilized Texas Instrunts' DLP chips.
However, much like today's digital caras, Eric wasn't too optimistic about digital projectors.
Both technologies were still in their early stages, aning that even if digital projectors or caras achieved the corresponding resolution, their film image color reproduction would undoubtedly fall short compared to traditional film. Film recorded colors through a chemical process, which while not perfect, far surpassed the still-maturing digital technology.
For instance, in dimly lit environnts, film could adeptly capture various scenes, while today's digital caras struggled with color recognition. If they couldn't perfectly reproduce a specific color, they would automatically compensate with nearby colors, leaving dark areas captured on digital caras often appearing murky, while film footage remained much clearer.
For that reason, Eric felt that promoting digital film and projector technology would be more suitable at least ten years down the road. In fact, from what he rembered, digital cinema only began to flourish a decade later.
Katzenberg had clearly prepared well; upon hearing Eric's comnts, he nodded slightly. "I feel the sa, but we need to see things for ourselves. If we really can use digital projection equipnt, we could save millions on copy costs for our films in the future, especially with dual-projection 3D copies and IMAX copies where the savings would be even greater."
"But so areas just can't be economized," Eric sighed wistfully.
After implenting the two plans, for at least the next decade, the reliance on film would an that copying costs remained a significant barrier to converting many films to 3D and IMAX. After all, the dual-projector 3D systems that Eric planned to employ would effectively double the film copy costs.
Nevertheless, this actually had an upside; the high conversion costs could help avoid an influx of subpar 3D films, which was a significant concern for Eric amid the 3D transition. Eric never thought he could monopolize the 3D market for too long, and once 3D films beca mainstream, there wouldn't be many companies willing to maintain their integrity for profit.
...
Texas Instrunts clearly placed great emphasis on this demonstration, with the VP responsible for DLP technology developnt personally attending.
Both Eric and Katzenberg knew that it was unlikely for the two plans to adopt digital projection soon, but they were still attentively following the entire demonstration. As Eric had imagined, although a resolution of 1280x1024 was comndable, the color quality of the digital projection prototypes from TI left much to be desired for improvent.
After watching the demonstration and discussing so technical details with the TI VP, the ti quickly drew near for the end of the workday.
...
November 20 had arrived, nearing Thanksgiving. Instead of heading back to Liberty City Manor after work, Eric went with Katzenberg to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The first film produced by Disney Animation Studios after their digital transformation, Monsters, Inc., was set to have its premiere there today, with the official release scheduled for tomorrow.
Though it was just an animated film, Eric and Katzenberg found the premiere venue bustling with people as they arrived.
Katzenberg was personally overseeing Disney Animation Studios, and after the successes of the sumr hits The Lion King 2 and Finding Nemo, he felt both excited and anxious about this film. Many people shared complex feelings, waiting eagerly to see what the newly revamped Disney Animation Studios could offer.
*****
/Sayonara816.
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