The literary era since 1979

The conference room suddenly became quiet, and all eyes were staring at the secretary.

Yan Dingxian frowned, "What's the matter?"

The secretary said bluntly: "Director Xie Xian from Shanghai Film Studio just called."

Wu Long was puzzled. "Why did Shanghai Film Studio suddenly call us?"

"Did Director Xie say anything on the phone?" Yan Dingxian asked.

The secretary replied: "Director Xie said he was also entrusted by someone."

Yu Dajin asked anxiously, "Who?"

"dialect!"

The secretary said that Fang Yan originally wanted to visit the Shangmei Factory, but he didn't want to disturb them, so he asked his acquaintance Xie Xian to introduce him.

"hiss!"

When everyone heard the name, they gasped, with expressions of shock, surprise, ecstasy, or confusion on their faces...

But out of curiosity, Yan Dingxian asked, "Did Director Xie tell you on the phone what Teacher Fang's purpose was in coming to the Shanghai Mei Factory?"

"It seems that they want to reach a cooperation with our Shangmei factory, but we won't know the details until we have a face-to-face meeting."

The secretary told him everything he knew exactly as it was.

Wu Long pondered for a moment and speculated: "Could this collaboration be Spirited Away?"

Not everyone present had heard of or read Spirited Away. After some whispering, they learned that the Fairy Tale World magazine, which had published Shuke and Beta, had been serializing Fangyan's first children's literature novel in recent issues, and it had received rave reviews.

"I have also been reading this novel recently. I originally planned to wait until the novel was completely finished before asking Zheng Yuanjie to contact Teacher Fang."

Yu Dajin said seriously, "Let's see if we can license Spirited Away to the Shanghai Animation Studio and make it into a 10 to 15 episode cartoon."

"That's perfect. Regardless of whether Mr. Fang came to the American studio for Spirited Away or not, I might as well take this opportunity to talk to him about cooperation on Spirited Away." Yan Dingxian's eyes were as firm as iron, and he was obviously determined to get Fang Yan's children's literature.

They have to fight for it. Just look at the current state of American factories. A movie like "Spirited Away" can really solve their urgent problems.

"Ahem, Director, how should we respond?"

The secretary pretended to cough a few times. Director Patrick Tse and writer Fang were still waiting for the letter!
"Of course we welcome you, and we welcome you warmly. The factory will hold a grand welcoming ceremony."

After Yan Dingxian delivered a series of instructions, he said firmly: "The time is set for tomorrow afternoon!"

………………

The next day, we went to the Mei factory.

Yan Dingxian, Yu Dajin, Wu Long and others were waiting at the gate early to welcome Fangyan's arrival with great respect.

Not long after, a taxi appeared in everyone's sight, and Fangyan walked over with an approachable smile on his face.

Yan Dingxian extended his hand and shook it. "Welcome, Mr. Fang. Your arrival makes our Shangmei Factory shine!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Director Yan."

Fangyan shook hands with the leaders of Shangmei Factory in the front row one by one, and was welcomed by the employees from top to bottom and then was escorted into the reception room.

Although it can be seen that it was arranged as carefully as possible, the desolation and decline of Shangmei Factory can also be vaguely seen.

Yan Dingxian raised his hand and said, "Teacher Fang, please sit down!"

As soon as Fangyan sat down, he did not rush to talk about things, but exchanged pleasantries with Wu Long, Yu Dajin and others, and spoke some polite words.

Yan Dingxian and Wu Long looked at each other, and the latter immediately understood and got straight to the point:

"Director Xie said on the phone yesterday that Teacher Fang wanted to talk to us about cooperation at the American factory. I wonder what kind of cooperation it is?"

"I wonder if you have ever read Spirited Away, which is serialized in the "Fairy Tale World"?"

Fangyan glanced around calmly.

Everyone present nodded in agreement. Just as Yan Dingxian received the news that Fang Yan was coming to Shangmei Factory, he ordered the middle and senior management of Shangmei Factory to go back and study the novel of "Spirited Away". As a result, many people tried every means to get the "Fairy Tale World" magazine through various channels.

Yan Dingxian praised, "This novel written by Teacher Fang seems to be different from the common children's literature in the past."

Fangyan said, "I'd like to hear more details."

"Although general children's literature also uses fantasy stories to convey simple truths in an easy-to-understand way, it is not as skillful as Mr. Fang in applying magical realism to children's novels, and also incorporating so many Chinese elements of gods, ghosts and strange stories."

Yan Dingxian casually said, "If Spirited Away could be adapted into an animation, it would definitely be a success."

"What a coincidence! I'm here today for the adaptation of Spirited Away."

The dialect was so joyful that he couldn't help talking.

"Teacher Fang is really planning to adapt Spirited Away?"

Yu Dajin was delighted to hear this, "But I wonder if it will be adapted into a cartoon or an animated film?"

Fangyan was very surprised. "Is there any difference between the two?"

Wu Long snorted coldly and explained in a concise manner the difference between the animation and animated film businesses of Shanghai Animation Studio.

Fangyan vaguely smelled a hint of gunpowder from the words, and felt that Wu Long and Yu Dajin were standing on opposite sides, confronting each other.

"How about adapting it into an animated film?"

"Teacher Fang wants to make Spirited Away into an animated movie!"

Wu Long's eyes lit up instantly, and his originally solemn expression changed.

"This this……"

Yu Dajin said angrily, "Teacher Fang, would you please reconsider this?"

"Why do you say that?" Fang Yan was puzzled. "Could it be that Shangmei Factory has some unspeakable secrets?"

Seeing that everyone seemed to be hesitant to speak, Yan Dingxian knew that he, as the factory director, was the only one who could say these words.

So they didn't hide it and said tactfully that the Shanghai Animation Studio was in financial crisis. The risk of making a short animated film of "Spirited Away" was lower than that of an animated film. The cost in all aspects was also lower than that of an animated film. The income from selling it to TV stations was no less than that from selling copies in cinemas. So why should they give up low-investment and high-return animated films and choose high-investment and high-risk animated films?

"Is that so? Actually, my plan is to find an American company to co-invest and distribute Spirited Away."

Fangyan's face darkened.

Everyone was shocked and looked at each other. Investment? Distribution? Wait a minute, what about production?

Yu Dajin asked the question that everyone present wanted to ask: if they didn't ask them to go to the American factory to produce "Spirited Away", then who would produce it?

"I have already reached an agreement with Hayao Miyazaki on the film adaptation."

Fang Yan said that "Spirited Away" was produced mainly by Studio Ghibli, with investments from Tokuma Shoten and Kamibichi Film Co., Ltd.

Yan Dingxian asked, "Is it like the movie Farewell My Concubine which won the Oscar for Best Picture?"

"Almost the same. One is a joint venture between the mainland and Hong Kong, and the other is a joint venture between China and Japan."

Fang Yan nodded, "If nothing goes wrong, Spirited Away will become the first Chinese-foreign joint venture animated film in China!"

When they heard this name, Yu Dajin, Wu Long and others felt a surge of excitement in their hearts, as if they had found a life-saving straw on the edge of a cliff, no, a rope!

Yan Dingxian was not completely overwhelmed by joy, but asked calmly:
“If the Shanghai Mei Factory participates in Spirited Away, how much money will it need to invest?”

"I have asked Hayao Miyazaki and others about this question. According to preliminary estimates, the production cost of the entire film is around 18 billion yen, which is equivalent to about 1500 million US dollars based on the current exchange rate." Fangyan smacked his lips.

"1500 million? And it's US dollars!"

Even Wu Long from the animation film camp couldn't help but gasp. With so much money, it was enough for American studios to make countless movies!
Fangyan explained that the high production cost was entirely due to the fact that Studio Ghibli used hand-painted elements, which means it was truly "handmade". Of course, this was also related to the atmosphere in the Japanese animation industry at the time, because it was in the era of the bubble economy, and no one was willing to spend money on either animated films or animation. It can almost be said that every frame of the picture was burning money, and it was truly the "conscience of the industry."

There was a glimmer of envy in everyone's eyes. It would be great to have inexhaustible funds!

Although Yan Dingxian was envious, he felt increasingly heavy-hearted. Given the current situation of the American factories, they might not even be able to pay a fraction of their costs.

Fangyan seemed to have anticipated this and claimed that due to the Plaza Accord, the Japanese yen had been appreciating in recent years, but it would most likely start to depreciate in the second half of the year, so they could take advantage of the negotiations to observe the changes in the yen exchange rate, or simply postpone payment.

"But even if it depreciates, how much can it depreciate?"

Yu Dajin sighed: "That's a full 18 billion yen!"

"You're thinking the wrong thing."

Fang Yan said that the money was not paid by Shangmei Factory alone, but was jointly invested by Ming Tianxia, ​​Tokuma Shoten and Shangmei Factory. Then, the box office profits after the release of "Spirited Away" were divided according to the investment ratio. The more investors, the more they got, and the fewer investors, the less they got.

Of course, if Shangmei Studio is willing to "transfer" its share of the Japanese box office revenue to Tokuma Shoten, Tokuma Shoten would surely be happy to accept it.

"Teacher Fang, can you tell us a little bit, do you think Spirited Away can make money..."

Wu Long said hesitantly.

"The profits of Spirited Away can be divided into box office revenue, peripheral derivative income, as well as product licensing and brand collaboration..."

Fangyan analyzed: "The box office revenue can be divided into domestic and overseas markets, and the majority of it is in Japan. If we refer to the recently released "Kiki's Delivery Service", it is expected to get more than 20 billion in Japan and tens of millions of US dollars in North America. This is just the box office revenue of the two countries, and the production and promotion costs of "Kiki's Delivery Service" are far less than "Spirited Away."

Every word struck everyone's heart, and shock was written on everyone's face.

But this was not the most shocking thing. What surprised them even more was that Fangyan predicted that the box office of "Spirited Away" in Japan would reach at least 50 billion.

50 million yen!
Even Yan Dingxian, who was used to such scenes, had his heart pounding, not to mention the other people present, who were so excited that they were breathing heavily through their noses.

Wu Long half-believed and half-doubted: "Teacher Fang, can it really reach 50 billion?"

Fangyan smacked his lips. If he wasn't afraid of scaring them and making them think he was talking nonsense, he would actually like to report 100 billion yen.

In fact, the box office of "Spirited Away" in the Japanese market alone exceeded 300 billion yen in its previous life, which is more than ten times more!
But seeing their doubtful expressions, I could only be more confident and promise solemnly:
"And this is just the box office in Japan. There are also Hong Kong, Formosa, Malaysia, Thailand, other Southeast Asian countries, and even Europe and the United States!"

As soon as these words were spoken, most people present were stunned by the pie in the sky, and rationality was gradually replaced by impulse.

"If there is no overseas box office, I will not get the American studio to cooperate."

Fang Yan said, "Because just like what some people said, relying only on the mainland market, it is very difficult to make Spirited Away, or more precisely, the animated film, recoup its investment or even make a profit, especially when the film industry is going downhill right now."

Yan Dingxian took a deep breath and said, "According to Teacher Fang, Spirited Away is an opportunity for us to be accepted by the American Film Studio."

"That's right. It's not only an opportunity, but also a chance. With the first Sino-foreign joint venture, there will be the second and third cooperation in the future."

Fang Yan continued to paint a rosy picture, "After accumulating enough experience, Shanghai Animation Studio may have the opportunity to promote domestic animated films to the world."

Yan Dingxian sighed: "I'm afraid the current painting level of the above American studios has fallen behind the international advanced level."

"I also discussed this topic with Hayao Miyazaki when we were discussing cooperation."

Fangyan smiled and said that Miyazaki was willing to provide the painters from the Shanghai Animation Studio with the opportunity to study and communicate at Studio Ghibli.

"Really?!"

Wu Long, Yu Dajin and others have lost count of how many surprises Fangyan has brought them.

“This is really wonderful.”

Yan Dingxian's eyes were burning with enthusiasm. This was definitely a great opportunity for Shanghai Animation Studio to catch up with the world-class animation standards.

Even Yu Dajin, who had always been opposed to investing in animated films, did not have any objection at this time, especially when Fang Yan mentioned that cooperating with Studio Ghibli on "Spirited Away" could make up for the shortcomings of the American studio, and using this as a springboard might not necessarily allow domestic animated films to go abroad.

"Because I think children's literature and animated films are the things that are least restricted by language, national boundaries, culture and other factors."

Fangyan looked left and right and asked, "What do you think?"

Yan Dingxian said with expectation in his eyes: "Teacher Fang, if there is such an opportunity in the future, I hope you can lend us a helping hand."

"It's natural."

In Fangyan's conception, mainland animation studios headed by Shanghai Animation Studio are a great resource of their own and can completely fill the missing link in Hong Kong's animation industry. In the future, if they want to adapt comics such as "Xuan-Yuan Sword" and "Feng Yun" into animation, they don't have to spend a lot of money to ask Japan to do it.

Instead, it can be directly outsourced to Shangmei Factory, which is cheap and affordable, and can also help promote the development of domestic animation.

Comic World will now have a stable and high-quality animation production team, which is really killing many birds with one stone! (End of this chapter)