The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 633 The Great Sage
"Sir, if you need anything, feel free to call me."

"Okay, thank you."

Tian Xiaopeng smiled at the waiter to show that he understood.

This is a teahouse, right next to the residential area where the filming of "My Love from the Star" took place.

The teahouse covers an area of ​​about 70 square meters. Near the window, a tea table is quietly placed with tea sets scattered around. Outside the window is the Huangpu River, sparkling with waves, and the beautiful scenery is in full view.

The air is filled with the elegant fragrance of tea.

Tian Xiaopeng picked up the teacup, blew away the floating tea leaves, took a sip, and savored it carefully.

During his university years, he came into contact with 3D production software by chance. After graduation, he joined a foreign animation design company and worked in the animation industry for many years.

Later, he left the company to work on his own and founded October Digital, focusing on animation processing business.

One day in 07, he was making a promotional video for the American Spider-Man game and saw his two-year-old son watching Ultraman and Batman with great interest.

At that moment, as a Chinese animator, he felt deeply hurt.

He longed to create something, so that at least his son or grandson, when they were old enough to watch cartoons, could see the works of their father or grandfather, and see Chinese-style works.

Chinese animation is not inferior to others!

Thus, a bold idea sprouted in his mind, to make a 3D animation of "Journey to the West".

It’s named “The Return of the Great Sage”!
But this subject matter was not favored in the market at that time.

He couldn't remember how many investors he had negotiated with, and experienced countless rejections and setbacks, but still failed to obtain investment.

In 2007, the domestic market was flooded with Japanese and American animation works, while domestic animation was criticized for its childish content and crude production.

Not only did investors lose hope in it, but even the audiences made fun of China's original animation.

It wasn't until 2011 that the output value of the animation film market showed significant growth, far exceeding that of live-action films.

He felt the time had come and decided to officially launch the project.

However, it still cannot attract investment. Investors are unwilling to take risks and prefer to invest in IPs that already have a fan base.

The Monkey King does have a huge fan base, but this IP has been over-exploited and the audience is tired of it.

What's more, the image of the Great Sage in his mind is very different from the traditional Monkey King.

During this period, employees were replaced in batches. At the end of last year, 20 people resigned at the same time.

The team almost fell apart and the company fell into an unprecedented crisis.

Just when he was about to give up, the woman came to him on her own!

There was a "crash" sound.

The door was opened, and two figures walked into the room one after the other.

Tian Xiaopeng stood up quickly, extended his right hand to the man who stepped into the threshold first, and greeted him a little stiffly: "Hello, Mr. Lu."

Then, he turned his gaze to another person, with a smile on his face: "Boss Lu!"

Lu Jing coughed lightly, gave Tian Xiaopeng a subtle look, and pointed at his cousin's back.

Lu Yuan politely extended his hand, shook hands with Tian Xiaopeng, and said politely: "Director Tian, ​​hello, it's our first meeting."

This girl Lu Jing is sometimes a headache, like a dog-skin plaster. After being rubbed to no avail, he finally agreed to come and take a look.

He looked at Tian Xiaopeng carefully.

He wears black-framed glasses, has a square face, is fair-skinned, and wears a black cotton jacket and blue jeans. He looks simple and plain, which completely fits the typical look of an IT guy.

The three of them sat down at the tea table by the window one after another.

Lu Yuan didn't have a good impression of Tian Xiaopeng. Asking for an investment of 5000 million for an animated film sounded more like a trick to defraud money.

Many people in the entertainment industry are stupid and have a lot of money, and become targets of pig-killing scams.

For example, in the case of Jin Qiaoqiao, someone cheated her out of 05 million yuan through her father in 700. There are countless similar examples.

Despite his doubts, Lu Yuan remained calm on the surface and waited for Tian Xiaopeng to pour tea for them.

"Director Tian, ​​I heard from Xiao Jing that you have been working in the animation film industry for many years. If you don't mind, can you let us appreciate your masterpiece?"

"Mr. Lu, you are too kind. This is just a short animation produced by our company. It is not a masterpiece."

As he spoke, Tian Xiaopeng took out a notebook from the backpack beside him, tapped his fingers several times, turned the computer over so that the screen was facing Lu Yuan and the other person, and pushed it over.

Lu Jing reached out and tilted the screen towards her cousin. She had seen the animation clip before and was shocked, otherwise she would not have rashly dragged her cousin over.

Lu Yuan glanced at the image of the Monkey King on the screen nonchalantly and frowned subconsciously.

Jie Hou, with his long horse face, straight and slender figure, and fiery red straight hair, doesn't look like a monkey at all.

On the contrary, his expression is haggard and deep, just like a cool and decadent middle-aged man.

While he was thinking, the monkey standing on the edge of the cliff suddenly moved.

He stepped into empty air, looked up to the sky and roared, as if some shackles in his body were forcibly broken.

It stood in the air, unmoved by the attacks of huge rocks. As the rocks shattered, it melted the rocks into armor. With a slight wave of its hand, the blazing flames instantly turned into a scarlet battle robe, slowly floating behind it.

With his feet on the sky and golden light flashing in his eyes, he looks unruly and unruly!
When Lu Yuan saw this scene, he was shocked. He thought that the person in front of him was probably the real deal.

No wonder that girl Lu Jing was so persistent.

Tian Xiaopeng noticed the subtle change in Lu Yuan's expression and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the first step had been successfully taken.

He made a lot of money in the early stage by using a few animation clips.

He begged for 500 million yuan from his relative who was the chairman of the board, but it was just a drop in the bucket and was all spent soon.

Then he used the millions of dollars he had saved from his days of "taking jobs" outside, and later began to live off his wife, his parents, and his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Even so, the funding gap remains huge.

This animation clip is really exciting, and everyone who has seen it says it is good, but capital is profit-seeking and is not willing to take risks.

The industrial system of China's animation film market is not yet mature. Although the total box office revenue has increased significantly, the success rate is relatively low, and capital is quite cautious when investing in animation films.

In particular, the 2011 domestic animation series "Kuiba" failed at the box office, with the first film only earning 350 million.

This makes many investors who are eager to try hesitate.

Lu Yuan stroked his chin with his fingertips, thinking: "Director Tian, ​​why is the image of the Monkey King designed like this?"

"Because in the story, the Monkey King is not the Monkey King who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace back then, but the Monkey King who has experienced many vicissitudes of life five hundred years later. He has some fear in his heart."

"Why should you be afraid?" Lu Jing was puzzled.

"It is because of fear that we learn to think and show the courage to do something even though we know it is impossible. This is the Great Sage in my heart!" Tian Xiaopeng's answer was sonorous and powerful.

Lu Jing frowned at his cousin, as if to show off his taste.

Lu Yuan looked at Sun Wukong on the screen again: "I'm also a little curious, where is the Monkey King's tail?"

He noticed that the Monkey King in the clip had no tail, but Sun Wukong originally had a tail.

In the episode where Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong were fighting, Sun Wukong wanted to turn into a temple to escape Erlang Shen's pursuit, but his tail was difficult to hide, so it turned into a flagpole, which became the key for Erlang Shen to see through Sun Wukong's transformation.

"Well," Tian Xiaopeng said humorously, "It's probably because he was pressed under the Five Elements Mountain for too long, and his blood circulation was blocked, so he died."

Lu Yuan laughed: "Isn't it a stone monkey? How can there be blood vessels?"

“Uh…” Tian Xiaopeng was speechless for a moment.

Lu Jing smiled and changed the subject to help him out: "Director Tian, ​​I heard that this animation took five years to make. Have you ever thought of giving up?"

Tian Xiaopeng tapped his forehead and sighed, "In fact, I wanted to give up on it every day. Sometimes I had to polish a two-second shot for a week. It was too tiring. Fortunately, I have a procrastination problem and never got around to doing it."

"Hahaha!"

All three laughed.

Lu Yuan muttered in his heart, this guy looks like a serious science and engineering guy, but he is actually very introverted.

He picked up the teapot, added water to the other party, and chatted: "The animation film industry is in a downturn, and Pleasant Goat is a special case. Why do you want to do this?" Tian Xiaopeng did not answer directly, but threw out a question: "Teacher Lu, have you seen the animated version of Journey to the West?"

"Which version?"

"1999 years."

"Hmm," Lu Yuan recalled, "I've seen it, and I have some impression of it."

"how do you feel?"

Lu Yuan looked at him puzzledly, not understanding what he meant.

Tian Xiaopeng explained: "In fact, I was responsible for the production supervision of 4 episodes."

"Really? That's amazing." Lu Yuan was surprised.

Tian Xiaopeng smiled shyly: "But I felt that the animation was too childish at the time. If I were the one leading it, it would definitely not be like this."

He expressed his own opinion.

“In my opinion, animation, including animated films, should not be synonymous with childishness. Many Chinese animated films are advertised as family-friendly. It is undeniable that animated films need to have the entertainment attributes of the film products themselves, but they must also have the attitudes and values ​​of Eastern culture.

In particular, the core of our story comes from the most essential story of Journey to the West in Chinese traditional culture. It can be joyful, but not a joke. My original intention of creating it was to pass on the Monkey King, a superhero shared by generations of Chinese people."

"I want to be a Monkey King who is different from what everyone thinks."

"Clap."

Lu Yuan put down the teacup and looked at him silently.

This person is somewhat similar to the new director Guo Fan, whom Ning Hao has been focusing on. Both of them are creators with ideals and beliefs.

Tian Xiaopeng was always observing his expression. He couldn't even remember how many times he had been rejected in his attempts to attract investment over the years.

It’s no use trying to attract investment by playing tricks, you have to open your heart and speak your true feelings.

"Besides that, I have a little selfish motive."

"What?" Lu Yuan motioned for him to continue.

Tian Xiaopeng said with great emotion: "I hope that Chinese people can watch our own animated films, instead of thinking of Japan and the United States first when they mention animation.

I have dealt with Westerners before. Their impression of the Monkey King comes from Dragon Ball. The highest-grossing animated film in China, Kung Fu Panda, was also made by foreigners. Whenever I think of this, I feel heartbroken and a little humiliated. "

The other party's attitude of fighting for the rise of Chinese animated films made Lu Yuan dazed.

"After working in the industry for many years, many animation practitioners now admire the Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, but the one person that Miyazaki cannot surpass or regard as an idol is Osamu Tezuka.

The first animation shot by Tezuka was "The Legend of White Snake", yes, it borrowed characters from Chinese mythology.

The reason why Tezuka made such an animation was because he had watched our country's "Princess Iron Fan" and was deeply impressed by it.

The director of "Princess Iron Fan" was Wan Laiming. At that time, it was no exaggeration to say that the only animated film in the world that could reach the same technical level was Disney in the United States. "

Lu Yuan had an impression of Wan Laiming because the pinnacle of Chinese animation, "Havoc in Heaven", was created by him.

Tian Xiaopeng sighed: "Teacher Lu, although the West has an advantage in technology now, which is difficult for us to surpass in a short period of time, but in the field of animation art, our country has prospered and flourished, and Chinese animation is not inferior to others..."

He lowered his head again and said regretfully: "It's a pity that the economic base determines the superstructure. Around 88, many outstanding talents chose to go abroad, and some of them worked for Disney on The Lion King. But we can't blame them. After all, the monthly salary in China was 800 yuan at that time, and Disney paid 5000 yuan."

"."

Lu Yuan picked up the teacup, took a sip and remained silent.

Because of the different industries, he didn’t quite understand much of what Tian Xiaopeng said.

But he could deeply feel the other party's indignation and their passionate desire to bring domestic animation back to its peak.

He hates dealing with this kind of people the most because he might be infected and make irrational investments and behaviors.

Lu Yuan has grown a lot over the years.

At first, he simply thought about the problem from the perspective of an actor, such as asking Cai Yinong to change the Qing Dynasty background of "Startling by Each Step".

Later, he learned to analyze and examine the market from a businessman's perspective, and realized that major trends cannot be changed, but minor trends can be reversed.

In the world of fame and fortune, he has met all kinds of people along the way.

Because of his identity as an actor, he is used to observing everyone and drawing wisdom and experience from different people.

Yong Ping, the manipulator behind BBK, is a hidden investment tycoon.

Lu Yuan talked to him when looking for shareholders for PPS.

Duan Yongping once said something that left a deep impression on him: investing is investing in people, and you should invest in people who don’t love money.

With this thought in mind, Lu Yuan no longer hesitated: "So how much do you still need?"

He is willing to pay for those who have dreams and dare to pursue them.

In a sense, he is similar to Tian Xiaopeng. He also intends to use PPS as the foundation to build a platform where content is king rather than profit.

Tian Xiaopeng swallowed his saliva, feeling extremely excited. He had never expected that things would go so smoothly.

He prepared a lot before coming. The scene of the Monkey King's transformation was produced by the team working overtime and staying up all night for several days.

He got a positive response from the other party before he even had the chance to present his plan, which seemed a little unreal.

"Fifty million!" Tian Xiaopeng mustered up his courage and reported a number with a slightly trembling voice.

Lu Yuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay!"

At the same time, he already had a plan in mind to get a few more people to share the risk. It was true that he would pay for the dream chasers, but 50 million was not a small amount, and his funds did not come from the wind.

“When is the production expected to be completed?”

"We started preparations in 07, and many details have been discussed. What we mainly lack now is funding. If everything goes well, it can be completed by the end of the year. If it is a little slower, it may have to be until next year." As Tian Xiaopeng spoke, he took out a plan from his backpack.

Lu Yuan nodded and opened it to look.

"Teacher Lu, once the production is completed, would it be convenient for you to dub the Monkey King?" Tian Xiaopeng asked expectantly.

Lu Yuan agreed with a smile: "Of course no problem, I couldn't ask for more."

The cooperation was finalized, and the three chatted for a while. Tian Xiaopeng continued to introduce his production plan, this time focusing more on the technical aspect.

After about half an hour, the three left the teahouse.

Tian Xiaopeng took a taxi and left on his own. Lu Jing wanted to follow him back to the crew to play with Liu Xinyuo, but was rejected by Lu Yuan.

On the way back to the crew's car, Lu Yuan remembered something and called his brother-in-law.

The call took a long time to get through. There was a lot of chattering, and Zhou Mingyuan's voice rang out: "Hello, Xiaoyuan, what's up?"

Lu Yuan asked: "Who is yelling over there?"

"Zhou Qi, Xiao Jing came home a few days ago and I insisted on taking him to watch the animated film The Lotus Lantern, the one voiced by Jiang Wen. As a result, this brat wanted to challenge you."

"Challenge me, why?" Lu Yuan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Hey, it's your sister's fault. She made up a story and made herself look extremely miserable. She made you look like a complete villain. Anyway, in the eyes of this kid, you are now the number one villain."

"Bad uncle, I want to challenge you!!" Zhou Qi's voice came.

Lu Yuan rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, wait until I finish filming and come back, then I'll spar with you."

"Don't worry, I'll help you clean up now. You've made a scene, Yaoyao, you better stand still and don't move! Don't lower your head, touch your butt, or play with your fingers. Did you play with your mother's phone and come up with stupid ideas to make your brother get a haircut on the first day of the first lunar month? I'll beat you up later!"

Lu Yuan: "."

"Tell me, what's the matter with the call?" Zhou Mingyuan said after teaching the two naughty kids a lesson.

Lu Yuan replied: "Brother-in-law, I invested in an animated film with Sun Wukong as the protagonist. The Sun Wukong hero in the mobile game will be removed from the shelves first and will be released again before the movie is released to promote it."

"Okay, you're the boss, I'll change to another hero."

"."

(End of this chapter)