Duke sat at the coffe table in his Orlando hotel with a cup of black coffee beside a stack of reports.
The pages showed the box office returns for Beauty and the Beast.
Which was holding strong across the country. The usual drop after opening weekend didn't happened.
Good reviews and word-of-mouth had kept people coming back.
The animation industry had been starving for a hit for years now, and it was clear that the market was there for anyone to take.
He picked up the hotel phone and dialed Barry Diller's office in Los Angeles.
The line crackled, then Diller's voice came through.
"The East Coast tallies came in," Diller said. "Jimmy Carter secured the electoral votes last night. He's going to be the next President."
Duke nodded, sipping his coffee, he didnt truly care that much, whether Carter or Ford won, it wouldn change much for him.
But the election results matched his ideas, the country right now was tired was tired of Watergate and the pardon. They wanted an outsider.
"I'll call Mr. Carter this afternoon," Duke said. "to offer my congratulations."
He'd built a good relationship with Carter during his time as Georgia's governor. It helped when shooting on location in the South.
"He'll appreciate the call," Diller said. "We have tax incentives on the table. Keeping a friend in the White House protects us from hurdles too."
Duke set his coffee down, he also wanted Hauser University to get more of a close relation with DARPA, and all advanced tech that the goverment could offer, but he didnt know how.
He expected Carter could maybe help with that.
"I need you to arrange a private meeting when I get back," Duke said. "and contact Ronald Reagan's camp. I want to sit down with him before the end of the month."
Silence filled the line as Diller processed his words.
Reagan had just lost the Republican primary to Gerald Ford, most people thought his political career was over.
"Reagan?" Diller asked, surprised. "He's licking his wounds. He's seems to be interested in going for another run, but right now he holds no office."
"He's the future of the Republican party," Duke said. "The conservative base is organizing and Reagan knows how to speak to them. I plan to support him for the 1980 cycle."
The entertainment industry leaned liberal.
Backing a conservative carried risk in Hollywood's circles, but would people really attack him?
Rupert Murdoch owned Fox in his past life, and even then nobody in the industry cared.
Once a person has enough power and status, his beliefs are not as important.
"There might be pushback from the guilds," Diller warned. "Writers and actors won't like it."
"Money has no politics, Barry," Duke said. "Paramount needs allies in Washington, regardless of party. We work with Carter for today and invest in Reagan for tomorrow."
Not to mention, Reagan was powerful on his own in Hollywood as the past leader of the SAG
In short, they needed to be pragmatic.
The studio was expanding still, and navigating Corporate America required friends in every corner.
Diller understood. "I'll make the calls today for a quiet dinner at your estate, off the press schedule."
Duke ended the call. He gathered his reports, tucked them into his briefcase, and headed downstairs.
A black limousine idled near the valet.
Robert Evans and Michael Eisner were already inside, surrounded by construction schedules.
The mood was celebratory. The animation's success had injected energy into the company.
"We did it," Evans said, his sunglasses sat on his forehead.
"We brought the Golden Age of animation back. Several theater owners have called me, begging for more prints."
Duke settled into his seat. "Merchandise orders are also exceeding projections. Mattel is rearraging things just to keep up with plush toy demand."
Eisner unrolled a map across his lap.
"The animation numbers are great," Eisner said, tapping his pen on the blueprints. "But we have a theme park to worry about. Orlando is in the final phase and we're on schedule."
Building a theme park in central Florida was a logistical nightmare cause of the swampy terrain and environmental regulations.
That was not even mentioning the economic crisis and Oil crisis that ocurred in the middle of the project.
"Luckily, the governor's office expedited the zoning permits," Eisner said, pointing to a section of the map. "Since the state economy is hurting. They need the jobs and tourism."
Duke looked out the window as the limo merged onto the highway.
Economic distress often provided the best opportunities for growth.
Local governments were willing to negotiate when their citizens were unemployed.
"When the economy contracts, people need escapism," Duke said. "They can't afford European vacations, but they may drive to Florida for a weekend of entertainment."
Eisner nodded.
The park's pricing models were designed for middle-class families.
Package deals bundled hotels, admission, and meals.
"We're locked for a grand opening on June 2, 1977," Eisner said. "Just days after Star Wars premieres."
The studio would use the movie's TV budget to promote the park too to create as much impact for every dollar.
"What are the attendance projections?" Evans asked, pouring sparkling water from the car bar.
"Conservative estimates say 3 to 4 million visitors in the first year," Eisner said, consulting a spreadsheet. "If the campaign hits, we could reach 6 to 7 million."
The limo turned off the highway onto a freshly paved road.
Construction fences lined the perimeter, painted with the Paramount logo, they passed through a guarded gate into a dusty area.
The three men stepped out, the site was a hive of activity.
Sparks rained from steel structures where welders assembled roller coaster tracks.
A foreman hurried over with hard hats and safety glasses.
Duke put the helmet on without a problem.
He had once seen a video in Twitter of a man that had a construction tool in the head, and ever since then he had never minded wearing helmets as long as the situation called for it.
They began their walking tour, stepping over cables and trenches.
"The zoning layout is efficient," Eisner said, raising his voice over a cement mixer. "We force crowds through a central hub. They'll pass the retail stores before entering the immersive zones."
Further down, the frame of the Star Wars area was visible.
Beyond that, Amity Island featured a man-made lake where a mechanical shark would terrorize guests on boats.
The remaining sectors held Flash Gordon, Transformers, and Ben 10.
The theme park industry lead by Disney had been dominated by gentle fairy-tale aesthetics.
But Paramount aimed for something different, targeting demographics the legacy parks ignored.
Of course they had separated themselves from other Theme parks in some ways.
Paramount Park, was built around storytelling and blockbuster IPs that catered to men.
Meanwhile a significant portion of Disney's core consumer base were women, that loved the animated movies.
Something like Six Flags were frankly, not a threat, whether it was now or in the future.
Six Flags operates as a regional, heavy on discounts day-trip model that depends on locals repeatedly buying season passes.
They also tried to appeal to men but without IP's by relying only on Action roller coasters and big atractions.
So basically they needed to spend a lot on machienary with new atractions, and manteinance at a higher rate than an IP Theme Park like what Disney and Parmaount did.
Eisner pulled a clipboard from his briefcase. "The Star Wars area feels like it will pull teenage boys and young men. It feels like stepping into a lived-in sci-fi universe."
He flipped to the next page. "The DC sectors test well with boys and the Jaws attraction pulls thrill-seekers of all ages."
Eisner continued. "Ben 10 and Transformers capture the youngest boys."
Evans stopped walking. He adjusted his hard hat, wiped sweat from his forehead.
He looked at the Gargoyles and signs saying shark-infested waters.
"It's incredible," Evans said. "But looking at this, we built a park for boys."
He gestured toward a distant roller coaster.
"Its fine, since we're competing with Disney by capturing the demographic they ignore. But we need to consider the princess element. Girls drive merchandise sales."
The consumer products division relied on the female demographic.
Dresses, jewelry, dolls and they often had higher profit margins than action figures.
Alienating young girls and their mothers meant leaving money on the table.
Duke nodded. "We have a counterweight now at least," he said. "Beauty and the Beast anchors our animation."
Since right now, Disney was flopping, he needed to use animation to take over the market and attract women.
Of course, Disney would not become big once again until the 90s in animation.
"We'll add more female-driven properties as we expand," Duke promised. "But right now, establishing this male focus as our differentiator."
They continued the tour, moving away from the industrial part to a quieter corner.
They stopped before a quaint European-style courtyard, very small compared to the sci-fi and superhero lands.
This was the Beauty and the Beast presence in the park.
"It's modest," Eisner admitted. "The timeline was tight so we couldn't build a castle. Right now, it's just a retail store and a themed cafe."
The cafe exterior featured wrought-iron detailing and custom stained glass.
"The cafe will serve French pastries and host character meet-and-greets," Eisner said.
"Guests can take photos with actors in Beast suits and ballgowns. Simple execution, and the margins on food and beverages will be big."
Evans peeked through the scaffolding. "It's beautiful. But it feels like a missed opportunity, given the box office returns, this deserves a ride at least."
The theme park industry struggled to keep pace with trends.
Designing and building a ride took years. By the time it opened, the property's relevance sometimes faded.
Duke stepped closer to the stone wall. "Patience, Bob. The park is designed to evolve still."