The next day, Zane Blackwood arrived at Wald Pictures, and he was not in a good mood. He was really, really frustrated.
He just kept thinking about all the money his movie Static was making in other countries. It was a lot of money. But it was all going straight to Paramount, not to him.
It was a hard lesson to learn. It was all gone.
He walked right into Victor's office.
"Victor, good morning," Zane said, trying to be polite even though he was annoyed. "I need an update on our distribution network. How are we doing?"
Victor, who was used to his boss getting straight to the point, pulled out a file.
"We've made good progress, boss," Victor said. "We bought a small distribution company in Utah, and we've hired more people here in California. We can now release our movies in both states all by ourselves."
Zane nodded. That was a big step.
"Good," he said. "That's great, but we need to go bigger. I'm moving $10 million from the company account into your budget. I want you to take that money and get us set up in three more states before our movie Hard Candy comes out. Can you do it?"
Victor didn't even hesitate. "That's a fast timeline, boss, but yes. We can get it done."
The need for their own distribution was clearer than ever. Zane set a new, big goal for himself: in three years, he wanted to be able to release his movies all over North America, all by himself.
"One more thing," Zane added, turning back at the door. "I want you to tell HR to hire twenty new people. I want artists who are good at digital painting and computer animation. And if you can... try to hire some of the best people from Pixar. They have an amazing and talented team over there."
Zane's plan was clear: he was starting his own animation studio. He was good friends with John Lasseter at Pixar, but business was business.
Two days later, Zane and his lawyer, Martha, were on a plane to New York. They weren't there to play the stock market. They were on a secret mission to find one specific, special person: a man named Stephen Hillenburg.
Stephen was 35 years old. He used to be a scientist who studied the ocean. But he had just left his job to follow his dream of making cartoons. He was very surprised that a Hollywood boss wanted to meet him.
"Mr. Blackwood, Ms. Hopkins... let me get this straight," Stephen said, fixing his glasses. "You... you want me to be the boss of your new animation department?"
He laughed, but he was very nervous. "I'm sorry, this is just... wow. I've never even worked in a big studio before."
Zane gave him a big, friendly, and disarming smile.
"Stephen—is it okay if I call you Stephen?" Zane asked kindly. "A few years ago, my team and I were looking for new, creative voices. And we found this amazing animated short you made for the Ocean Institute. The Intertidal Zone."
Stephen looked shocked that he knew about it.
"It was brilliant, Stephen. Genuinely funny," Zane said, his voice full of real admiration. "It made science fun. I told my team right then, 'We have to find this guy someday.' I truly believe we can make something great together. That's why I'm here today."
He signaled to Martha, who handed Stephen a big, colorful folder. On the cover, it said:
"SpongeBob SquarePants - Series Bible"
Stephen opened it. As he read the pages, his confused look melted away and turned into pure, wide-eyed excitement.
"Oh!" he gasped, his eyes lighting up. "This... this is just like the ideas I've been dreaming about!"
He kept reading, his voice getting more excited. "A yellow sponge... a grumpy starfish... a crab who loves money... a tiny plankton villain... It's perfect! This is the exact show I've always wanted to make!"
He was totally hooked.
"Mr. Blackwood," Stephen said, his face glowing with new energy, "I'm so sorry for how I acted before. This is a huge opportunity. I would be honored to lead this project. I can't wait to get started."
They spent the rest of the day talking all about the new show. By the end, Zane had his guy. He gave the new animation studio a $2 million budget. He knew that for a show like SpongeBob, the humor and the characters were what mattered, not a bunch of expensive, fancy computer graphics.
Within a week, the animation department of Wald Pictures was officially open.
Zane set up their new office in Silicon Valley. He wanted to give them their own creative space, away from the movie studio, so they could build their own fun culture. In his mind, SpongeBob was just the beginning.
As he looked over the list of the 20 new artists he had just hired, one name suddenly jumped out at him.
"David Messer?" Zane whispered to himself. "Wait... the David Messer? From Pixar?"
A slow, happy smile spread across his face. David Messer wasn't just good. He was a genius. He had been a writer on Toy Story. And, as Zane knew from his old life, he would one day be the main architect of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe story.
Zane leaned back in his chair, feeling a huge rush of excitement. The pieces were all falling into place. His new studio wasn't just being built; it was being built with the best and smartest people of the future.
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