King of Hollywood-Chapter 216 - Dilemma

Chapter 216: Chapter 216 Dilemma

Chapter 216 -216 Dilemma

“Welcome to Pixar Studio, Ed,” Adrian had just arrived at the entrance of Pixar Studio when Jobs came out to meet him, along with two other people. Interestingly, all three of them wore glasses, and they were similar in height, which made them look quite entertaining as a group—one looking portly and wealthy, and the other slender with a goatee.

Through Jobs’ introduction, Adrian found out that the wealthy-looking man in a plaid shirt and baggy shorts was John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Pixar, while the middle-aged man with a casual appearance in a monochrome shirt and long pants, who wore sandals on his feet, was Ed Catmull, the chief technical officer of Pixar.

“It’s great to meet you both,” Adrian said with a smile as he shook hands with each of them. These two, who would be known in the future as “the heart and soul of Pixar,” still appeared relatively young.

“Let’s talk as we walk,” Jobs suggested with a gesture of invitation, and the group of four men and one woman proceeded inside.

Pixar Studio at this time was quite rudimentary. Its scale seemed decent, but in some respects, it might not even match some small studios. Every workspace was a mess, with personal and communal items scattered all over the place. The only thing praiseworthy was that it at least maintained a basic level of cleanliness.

The staff were always discussing issues noisily, with endless debates where no one could convince the other. And sometimes, they had two people using one computer—good heavens, Jobs was making personal computers. Besides these, there were things you couldn’t see in other companies or studios. For example—

“Hey, move aside, please!” A voice shouted from behind, prompting Adrian to turn and pull Charlize to the side of the wall, while Jobs and the two others did the same.

“Thanks,” the skateboard-riding youngster said with a grin as he whizzed past in front of them.

“Here, everyone is more casual; we don’t want too many rules constraining everyone,” Catmull explained.

“I can see that,” Adrian replied noncommittally with a nod.

At that moment, another employee with a round face ran up to Lasseter, waving a sketch: “John, what is this?!”

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“What’s wrong, Andrew?” Lasseter asked in bewilderment as he took the sketch from him.

“This is not what I told you initially. Here, here, and here, they don’t follow the original concept,” Andrew seemed annoyed, “What are you doing, John? At this rate, you might as well hand all the original art over to me for setting up!”

“Okay okay, I apologize, alright?” Lasseter said in a good-natured tone, acknowledging the problem.

“This is Andrew Stanton, an exceptional animator and programmer,” Catmull took the opportunity to introduce him.

The young man named Andrew only then noticed the guests, and he quickly shook hands with Adrian during Catmull’s introduction. However, his attention was clearly fixed on the animation; he offered a brief welcome before turning his focus back to Lasseter.

“Regarding this issue, Andrew, let’s talk about it later, shall we?” Lasseter finally said, “Of course, if there are errors like these, you’re completely free to modify them according to your view.”

“Thanks, let’s do that then,” Andrew said, leaving without looking back.

“There’s no hierarchy among our employees here; this actually improves work efficiency,” Catmull continued to explain.

“I can see that,” Adrian said, still noncommittally.

After touring the studio, the group made its way to the conference room where Catmull and Lasseter took turns giving an overview of Pixar’s history and the developments over the past few years. They also screened a couple of earlier animated shorts, such as “Tin Toy” and “Luxo Jr.” Adrian took this chance to crack a few jokes to break the ice.

For instance, after “Luxo Jr.” finished playing, he deliberately put on a pensive expression, pointed to the screen, and seriously asked Lasseter, “John, could you tell me, is the desk lamp in the film the dad or the mom?”

Lasseter was stunned for a moment before laughing and replying, “Neither, it’s just a child.”

Then Steve Jobs and Ed Catmull both burst into laughter. There was a story here. After Pixar’s first short film “Luxo Jr.” was released, right after the film finished playing, a well-known professor in the field of computer graphics knew that John Lasseter wanted to ask him a question. At the time, although Lasseter had already accumulated a lot of production experience, it was still his first time directing an animated movie, and it was indeed animation. So, he was incredibly nervous because, in his view, the short had too many technical mishaps and shortcomings. If the other party asked him about technical issues, like which data was calculated incorrectly, he really didn’t know how to respond. But to his utter surprise, the computer expert asked with utter seriousness, “Is the lamp in your film the daddy or the mommy?”

Right, it was the same question Adrian had just asked, so everyone laughed, making the atmosphere even more harmonious. Adrian took this opportunity to subtly let the others know that he was already familiar with Pixar.

“Thank you for your warm hospitality, I must admit I’ve gained a lot from this visit,” Adrian said to the three key figures as he was leaving. Then he gave a meaningful glance to Jobs, who understood and escorted him to the car alone.

“I’ve got some ideas and will get back to you soon,” Adrian said to him. His face was calm, with no other expression, and after Jobs indicated he understood, they shook hands, said their goodbyes and Adrian got into the car.

It wasn’t perfect, but this was indeed the Pixar he wanted. However, while Lasseter and Catmull seemed enthusiastic, they did not appear keen on changing bosses. They hid their feelings well, but Adrian still noticed.

Understandable, considering Jobs supported them during their most difficult times and continued to do so up until now. He understood computers, technology, and their dreams. If someone else came in, who knows what Pixar would become. Of course, Adrian’s consistently non-committal attitude was also a reason. He couldn’t help it; he didn’t want Jobs to read something in his expression and then jack up the price.

No matter, he’d find a chance to have a good talk with them later. After all, he wasn’t going to interfere with their work. As long as Lasseter and Catmull were there… oh, and Andrew Stanton too. Adrian thought to himself and glanced at Charlize quietly sitting next to him before suddenly asking, “Charli, what do you think of Pixar?”

“Me?” Charlize, slightly surprised, raised her eyebrows. She had been keeping a low profile ever since they arrived at Pixar Studio, just like any assistant would when their boss is discussing business.

“Yes, let’s hear your thoughts. I believe you must have observed carefully,” Adrian said with a slight smile.

Charlize didn’t hold back, and after a few seconds to collect her thoughts, she began, “Since I don’t understand many things and you didn’t give me much time to gather information, I can only share my surface-level feelings. Their technological strength must be quite good, or they wouldn’t be praised by many and receive so many awards. What they need now is a feature-length animation that can fully showcase their capability.”

“Excellent,” Adrian clapped his hands lightly twice, he had to admit Charlize was indeed smart, or else she wouldn’t have achieved such success in his memory. This thought led him to consider perhaps organizing a distinctive life for her?

“Have you ever thought about acting in movies, Charli?” Adrian asked out of the blue.

“Acting in movies?” Charlize looked at Adrian with confusion, not understanding why the subject had suddenly shifted from Pixar to acting in films.

“Yes,” Adrian continued, smiling and tempting, “You’re so beautiful and smart. With me around, you can definitely become a big star—winning the best actress Oscar wouldn’t be out of reach.”

Charlize was initially a bit intrigued, but as Adrian finished his sentence, her expression turned wary, and she leaned back a bit as if to ask what his angle was.

“I’m serious, Charli. You have all it takes to be a great star,” Adrian said as he casually stroked her cheek, not caring that Glover was still driving up front.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Charlize said with a forced smile, politely refusing. Her grey-green eyes shone, clearly telling Adrian: Don’t think you can control me!

Adrian then put on a “sorrowful” expression, “Oh, you should know, Charli…”

“About Steve Jobs, I have a question,” Charlize interjected before he could continue, “Although the data shows he invested quite a bit in Pixar, compared to what he put into NeXT Computer, it’s not nearly enough. Could this imply he doesn’t place much importance on Pixar? Perhaps this could be leveraged if you’re considering an acquisition.”

“You’re outstanding, Charli,” Adrian said after a silence of a few seconds. He already knew this, but it was because he had the advantage of “foreknowledge,” while Charlize had made such a deduction entirely based on the information at hand. Although there might be other factors, her intelligence was evident from this alone.

Then, Adrian fell deep in thought, not about how to drive down the price, but due to Charlize’s remark, which reminded him of a challenging decision he’d been considering before: how to purchase Pixar?

It should be a simple matter, spend tens of millions to buy it from Jobs, who had said it was feasible if the price was right. But Adrian had another plan in mind—to invest $10 million and share the Pixar stakes with Jobs.

Of course, to many, if they set their sights on something particularly important to their own development, they would want to have full control of it. Adrian felt this way too, but there was one thing he wasn’t sure about—how much did Pixar’s success contribute to Jobs’ return to Apple?

(To be continued. For future developments, please visit www.qidian.com where chapters are updated more frequently. Support the author, support genuine reading!)