Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 250 Super Body Preparation
"Lucy" will be shot using 3D technology.

While other companies were still not reacting, Tang De planned to take advantage of the 3D dividends brought by "Avatar" and released two versions of the movie.

Directly capture all the audiences in one fell swoop and use it to build your own super power universe.

This is what he has been planning. After all, no matter how high the box office of a single movie is, it will not contribute much to the company's subsequent profit growth. In the new era, only well-known IPs can take off and become the company's new profit growth point.

So he also acquired some shares of Warrior Comics and successfully entered the industry.

But that's a story for later. Tang De is still discussing the desired modeling with Salaman Ambrose in the digital field.

"Look at this." Sailman Ambrose pointed to the 3D model on the table. This was the mini-boss in the movie, temporarily named Chainsaw Man.

His arms are made up of entire mechanical arms that can pop out chainsaws, and his legs are also cybernetic prostheses. Both his jumping ability and ability to withstand blows are beyond that of ordinary people.

Before Lucy gains stronger super powers, this little boss is perfect for fighting.

Tang De picked up the model, which was about 30 centimeters tall. It felt solid and had bright colors. It could be sold as a peripheral product.

"That's great. I didn't expect you guys have this kind of skill."

“This model is good for modeling on the computer, and it also has preservation value,” explains Salman Ambrose.

"That's right." Tang De nodded: "Then do it according to this, and then make a batch of all the characters, and then use them for publicity."

"Ok."

"But there are still some issues that need to be discussed, Tang, such as the three-dimensional city you mentioned..."

Because this movie adopts the cyberpunk worldview, the economic center of the entire world is divided by Tang De into several different cities.

In order to embody high technology and low living, each city must have its own distinctive characteristics.

For example, New York is the capital of cybernetics. People here pursue all kinds of avant-garde and advanced prosthetics. Their bodies are fancy and even their vehicles have been modified to look very cool.

It’s just that the upper class people use high-tech products, mainly gold and silver.

The lower class people use store products, which are mainly in other messy colors.

Here, color represents class.

If you don't have a prosthetic body, you will look out of place.

In addition to New York, there is also a three-dimensional city. Although it will not be highlighted and only appears as an easter egg, Tang De requires that its sense of mystery and technology must be reflected.

For example, towering buildings, multi-story duplex structures, honeycomb-like residential buildings and various aircraft flying through the sky.

Of course, there is also rail transit that runs upside down in the sky.

Here, the lower class people live underground and never see the sun all year round.

Only the upper class people live in high places and can enjoy the natural scenery.

But Sailman Ambrose had never read any books related to cyberpunk before. He made up for it recently and read some of them, but he still felt that the picture was not clear enough.

"It's actually very simple." Tang De said to his confusion: "You can go and see the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong and Chongqing in China. The combination of these two places fits my idea of ​​a three-dimensional city very well."

“Understood.” Sailman Ambrose nodded and wrote it down.

In fact, in addition to cyberpunk, Tang De also plans to incorporate Cthulhu elements.

These are the elements that will be loved by young people in the future. After extracting the most essential parts, they will definitely get good market response.

It's just that the time is not ripe yet. Cthulhu elements have been mentioned in many horror novels, so they can be added to the movie in advance as a background supplement.

Tang De also purchased the copyrights of many Cthulhu novels for this purpose. It was at this time that he learned that some well-known Cthulhu novels had actually sold the rights to film and television adaptations.

It was even adapted into a movie.

This is indeed his blind spot in knowledge. It can only be said that Hollywood has a keen sense of smell and many smart people. When a new type of novel appears, it is always right to buy the copyright in advance, regardless of whether the adaptation of it can be a box office hit.

It’s just that the market is not yet able to accept such advanced subject matter, so the copyrights of a large number of Cthulhu novels are still hoarded in the hands of film companies or major producers, and no actual filming has been carried out.

This forced Tang De to set up a new copyright operation company to negotiate with the producers and purchase the copyright to the Cthulhu novels.

Of course, he couldn't buy it in the name of the Eye of Norton. After all, everyone knew that Tang De had a discerning eye for gems. If they knew that Tang De wanted to buy it, they would definitely raise the price.

So these things are done in secret.

After talking with Sailman Ambrose, Tang De went to the prop department again.

There are ready-made cybernetic bodies everywhere here. In order to achieve a realistic effect, Tang De still plans to use real shooting as the main method and special effects as the supplement.

Therefore, the props department is crucial, and their capabilities determine how the film looks.

Fortunately, the person in charge who was poached by Tang De some time ago has been working in the industry for more than 20 years and is very experienced. Even if some cyber prostheses have basically no prototype references, he can cooperate with the artist to produce them.

It’s true, the effect of the finished product is very deceptive. At first glance, you can’t tell the real thing from the fake, especially the feel of the material.

Tang De picked up a light "steel cybernetics" and thought about how it would feel with the addition of special effects lighting. He felt that the effect was comparable to "Avatar".

The most important thing about "Avatar" is the large-scale special effects, which also involve the skin texture of the characters, but "Lucy" does not need that.

"Lucy" only needs to focus on highlighting the prosthetics and super power special effects.

This approach not only saves money, but also has outstanding results, which can be said to be spending money wisely.

Of course, even so, the investment amount of this movie is still far more than that of "Inception".

Initial calculations show that it will cost about $1.5 million.

Of course, it was impossible for Tang De to fully swallow such a huge investment, so the first person he found was Paula Wagner of United Artists.

After learning that Tang De was making a 3D movie, he decided to invest without hesitation.

Now United Artists is doing much better than before it was acquired. It has begun to break even and is not far from making a profit.

Thanks to those films of Tang De, United Artists regained its reputation. So Paula Wagner no longer doubted his vision and ability and directly invested 50 million US dollars.

For the remaining 1 million US dollars, Tang De plans to ask advertisers to solve about million, and the remaining million will be fully funded by Norton Eye.

To be honest, an investment of 70 million is quite strenuous for Norton's Eye.

After all, he had spent a lot of money this year, recruiting people and setting up companies. Although his assets had expanded several times, he could not create working capital out of thin air.

Fortunately, the Tokyo company has achieved substantial profits. The idol alliance led by Yasushi Akimoto has successfully set off an idol craze in Japan. This second-generation idols, which are completely different from the first-generation idols, have become the darlings of the market.

They began to appear frequently on major TV stations and in movies, and even the Oricon music album charts were dominated by idols.

Many Japanese singers are dissatisfied with this, because idol single albums are often released in multiple versions, and except for the main song, the chorus is completely different.

There will also be performances by different groups and teams within the idol group, and various private photos and exclusive handshake coupons will also be given as gifts.

However, the sales of these different versions were all attributed to one song, which led to a surge in sales.

The AKB48 group was able to sweep the Oricon charts thanks to this clever sales method.

I can only say that Akimoto Yasushi is indeed a genius, and he really understands the idol economy.

Therefore, even if Norton's Eye made a huge investment, it could still suck blood from Japan and there was nothing to worry about.

After confirming the production of the props department, Tang De rushed to the Warriors Comics headquarters without stopping.

This comic company is the real basis for him to compete with Disney, Warner, and Sony in the next few years.

In America, comics are really the best source of IP, because young people like comics enough and have the habit of reading physical comics.

This is the same as in Japan, where physical comics have become an inseparable part of national entertainment.

Therefore, whoever succeeds in the comics market will often drive the sales of their movies, TV series and animations.

This is also the most critical reason why Tang De joined Warriors Comics.

Norton Eye needs a blood-generating pump to continuously supply IP to the company.

However, the current business situation of Warriors Comics is not very good, because this comic company was sold to Acclaim video game company by investors in 94. As a result of poor management, Acclaim closed all departments in 2004 and stopped selling comics.

It was not until 2005 that Warriors was revived by two entrepreneurs who injected funds into it, but the sales of comics have not been very good. By this year, the two entrepreneurs could no longer bear it and agreed to Tang De's entry.

Tang De knew that this company would become the third largest comic book company in the United States besides DC and Marvel in the future. Although this title did not last long, it at least showed that its hard power was sufficient.

The company’s main problem is that its IP is not valuable enough and it has not truly created its own superhero.

The only few well-known characters are: Pioneer, Zero Armor, Night Shadow, and Bloodshot.

To be honest, Tang De has hardly heard of it.

Compared with the popularity of Marvel heroes, the gap is so huge that it is not even on the same level.

So after Tang De joined the company, his first request was to set up an exclusive studio, recruit the best cartoonists, and create a new series of comics.

"This world will be temporarily named Super Saiyan," said Logan Usher, chief cartoonist of Tang De and Warriors Comics.

"Super Saiyan?" Logan Usher frowned, pondering the meaning of the name.

"It's actually very simple. Superpowers, cyberpunk, and Cthulhu." Tang De smiled and said, "It's just a word extracted from these elements."

"I see. But can these elements really be integrated together?" Logan Usher still didn't understand what Tang De wanted. He always felt it was a bit complicated.

"Yes, of course." Tang De took out the worldview he had written in the past year and explained it to Logan Usher: "First of all, this is a super-powered universe. There is a mysterious force in the universe, which is called 'chaos'."

"Chaos gave birth to some creatures. These creatures are ancient, wise, and indescribable. They are active on the other side of the world and are the origin and creator of all things."

"But among these creatures there are also those who specialize in destruction and ruin. They are even more terrifying and creepy. The purpose of their existence is to transcend, and for this they are willing to devour the universe."

"In order to fight against it, the Creators spread their own seeds, which gave birth to various species in the galaxy, and humans are one of them."

"But because human beings develop very slowly, the Creator has to protect them."

"As for what to use to protect... the sun, the moon, and the Milky Way beyond. These are all fake, like props on a stage that can be taken away by the creators at any time."

"Humans entertain themselves on this stage. Only a small number of people have acquired superpowers and extremely strong perceptions and have learned part of the truth. For this reason, they travel around the world, set up various organizations, and have produced many research results."

"Of course, there are also some people who, after acquiring superpowers, only care about their own enjoyment. They set up large enterprises and companies, monopolize everything, and keep society firmly in their hands."

"And CPH4..." Tang De tapped the table. "It is a plant that evolved from the wisdom factor sown by the Creator. It is a precious thing extracted by scientific means. It is not a drug at all. The reason why it is addictive is because of people's obsession with wisdom. When people take it, they will have the illusion that they have insight into the entire universe."

"But it is not suitable for everyone, so people who take it often bleed to death."

"Only Lucy. She is the best match for CPH4."

Logan Usher nodded in understanding: "So Lucy gained super powers after taking it? Then why did her body age?"

"Because this substance is essentially used to give birth to gods. Lucy is not a god, she is just an ordinary person. The more developed her brain is, the more her weak body cannot keep up. Her brain is constantly absorbing nutrients from her body. This is the truth behind Lucy's near-death experience after gaining superpowers."

"So the real solution... is actually to stop taking CPH4?" Logan Usher has now completely entered the plot.

"That's right, but the doctor and everyone else made the wrong judgment. Because they don't understand this kind of thing at all."

Tang De smiled and said, "You could also say that this is fate playing tricks on us, a combination of circumstances that led to this mistake."

"That's right." After figuring out this key point, Logan Usher suddenly became interested in the entire plot and felt that there were many things that could be described in it.

For example, the relationship between super-powered people and ordinary people, the impact of cybernetics on humans, and when humans will be able to learn the truth about the universe.

These suspense are enough to support a comic universe. He can imagine the shock that many super heroes feel when they find out that they are actually living in a cage.

That’s the feeling of subverting the world and overturning all three perspectives!

(End of this chapter)