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HWI 555
🕑 Added 2025-03-11 17:32:16 +0000 UTCHollywood What If Chapter 555
It was understandable why Bob Iger was in distress. He knew that every studio was progressing and so did Walt Disney. However, he was afraid that their progression would be slower compared to their rivals.
Particularly, he was afraid that their dominance over the animation market would weaken. Even though it was still a company secret and 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky Studio did its best to protect the information, the news about Blue Sky Studio's new project spread.
They haven't heard the title nor got a glimpse of the script. But they heard that Kazir was the scriptwriter and Christopher Nolan was the director!
That was a powerful combo! Of course Bob Iger was afraid.
Kazir was famous for his profitable scripts while Christopher Nolan's last movie grossed over $1 billion at the box office.
If this project turned out to be a massive success, it could shake Disney’s hold over the animation market. That was painful to acknowledge. Walt Disney has been the dominant force in the animation industry since its creation. After all, Walt Disney started as an animation studio.
Pixar was still dominant, but competition was heating up. DreamWorks was growing steadily, and if Blue Sky Studio delivered a billion-dollar animated film, it could change the landscape entirely.
Bob Iger needed more information. He clicked his tongue. He grabbed his telephone and contacted his assistant.
"Talk to our contacts at 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studio, I want to hear more about their current animation project," he instructed his assistant.
They had to find out what Blue Sky Studio was planning. If they couldn’t stop it, they had to counter it with something even bigger or sabotage it. Perhaps they could corrupt the data of their computers or something? Maybe snatch their key employees?
For the first time in years, Walk Disney’s animation empire felt threatened.
Bob Iger tapped his fingers against the table. He was deep in thought.
Sabotage was risky. If they got caught, it could turn into a disaster. They didn't want to risk their reputation and they could face a lawsuit. Well, Walt Disney was a rich company so they could probably pay the damage, but still.
On top of that, Disney had built a reputation as a family-friendly company, and corporate espionage didn’t exactly align with that image... Most of the time, they sabotage projects discreetly. But it would probably be hard to interfere with Blue Sky Studio's management and production.
Anyway, business was business.
If Blue Sky Studio's project was truly groundbreaking, Walt Disney needed a counterattack. There were ways to fight Blue Sky Studio. Perhaps they could release their blockbuster movies at the same time as Blue Sky Studio. In that way, they could prevent Blue Sky Studio from making money.
However, that method would also prevent them from making money as they couldn't maximize their profits. The best they could do was release a B-tier movie against Blue Sky Studio, but that would be useless then.
“Perhaps I'll contact the other studios, maybe they are interested in suppressing Blue Sky Studio... What am I even saying..."
They were talking about an animated film so not every studio would be interested in fighting Blue Sky Studio. Besides, the Big Five would probably be happy if Walt Disney lost against Blue Sky Studio. This means they have fewer enemies to face.
"Ah, what a life..."
Bob Iger sighed again. He realized that he couldn’t rely on the other studios. If anything, they would be happy to see Walt Disney struggle.
The only real option was to strengthen their own projects to keep up with the competition. Perhaps this was the best choice and also the right thing to do.
After all, this was just business not war. Only crazy people would hire a gunman to assassinate their rival... Ahem, Kazir Grey suffered badly.
Pixar was already working on Up, which had potential, but they were not sure if the movie was strong enough to defeat Blue Sky Studio's project. In fact, they were not sure if Blue Sky Studio's movie would be released in the next year or two.
“Maybe it’s time to greenlight the fairy tale revival,” he murmured.
He was talking about the live-action version of their fairy tale movies.
Disney had been hesitant about live-action movies with musicals. Most of their live-action movies had no musical segment, but fairy tales were a different thing.
Fortunately, Enchanted, which was released last year was a success. Enchanted was a live-action original fairy tale movie that Walt Disney produced. Of course, it had musical segments. With a budget of $85 million, the movie grossed $340 million and it was a success.
So yeah, fairy tale movies with musicals were still relevant.
Furthermore, with The Princess and the Frog in development, perhaps they could reignite interest in the genre.
Suddenly, Bob recalled something. He called his assistant again to ask about the matter regarding Grey Pictures' upcoming TV show.
"Contact our spies in Grey Pictures and ask them for more information about Modern Family. If possible, I want a copy of their scripts. I want to know if Grey Pictures is interested in working with ABC."
ABC(American Broadcasting Company), was the TV network that Walt Disney owned.
"Yes, sir." The assistant said on the telephone.
Having corporate spies in their rival companies was nothing new. In fact, Bob Iger also knew that the Big Five also planted spies in Walt Disney.
"I'm probably not the only one who's thinking about it. I'm sure the other studios also planted spies in Grey Pictures."
Grey Pictures was growing stronger, and Kazir Grey proved to be one of the most influential figures in Hollywood. That could be a threat or a blessing depending on perspectives.
If Modern Family turned out to be a massive hit, it could give Grey Pictures even more leverage in the television industry. And if that show was broadcast by ABC, then it would be amazing.
ABC and every TV network needed amazing shows, and if ABC had a chance to collaborate with Grey Pictures, they would be happy. It could also prevent a rival network from benefiting.
Disney had to act.
His assistant returned the call a moment later.
“We’ll have an update soon,” the assistant said.
Bob nodded. Whatever Grey Pictures was cooking, Walt Disney wanted a taste of it.
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[I'll probably make a poll about the TV Networks later.]
