Restart life

Chapter 390 0380 [The Animation Industry Can Be Planned Forward Early]

Dumpling was led to the reception room. He thought only Chen Guiliang was inside, but when he pushed the door open, he found a whole bunch of people.

Moreover, those people were watching him.

This made the dumpling a little uneasy, like a three-way interrogation.

"Please have a seat," Chen Guiliang said with a smile. "These are all artists from my company, as well as members from my animation company. They are very curious about you."

"Hello Mr. Chen, hello everyone." Dumpling greeted them and then sat down.

Wang Chenyu, CEO of Breakthrough Animation, asked, "Dude, did you really make 'Hit a Big Watermelon' all by yourself?"

Dumpling felt quite proud and nodded, saying, "Yes, I made it all by myself."

"That's fucking awesome!" Wang Chenyu exclaimed.

Xu Fengyin asked, "What software are you using?"

The dumpling replied, "MAYA."

"Only MAYA was used?" Cai Wei, the lead artist of "Oracle Era," exclaimed in shock.

Dumpling nodded again: "Mmm."

"Did you do this all by yourself at home?"

"Correct."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Three years and eight months."

"..."

The group of onlookers kept asking questions, one after another.

The more I asked, the more surprised and confused I became.

When asked, they all stared at the dumplings as if they were looking at a monster.

There's no way around it, "Hit a Big Watermelon" has become a hit these past few days.

Dumplings certainly didn't have money for promotion, so he casually uploaded it to a few anime and video websites, and it quickly swept the entire internet purely through word-of-mouth from netizens.

It will sweep major film festivals next year, winning more than 30 awards at home and abroad.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "Alright, you can all go now. We'll create a group chat later and chat slowly."

Xu Fengyin asked, "What's your QQ number? I'll create a group and add you. You can also add me to an interest group if you have a domestic or international account."

Dumpling quickly wrote down her QQ number and HaiNei.com ID.

The crowd quickly dispersed, leaving only the two people inside.

Chen Guiliang asked, "I've read your email. I'd be happy to help you open a studio. I'll invest 500 million yuan, taking 70% of the shares. The remaining 30% is yours."

"Give me so much?" Dumpling asked in surprise.

He felt that the investment was too large, and that Chen Guiliang had given him too many shares.

Chen Guiliang said, "Just based on 'Hit a Big Watermelon,' you're worth this price. But what about your business management skills?"

Dumpling said, "I don't know. I haven't been involved in any of these matters."

Chen Guiliang asked, "If you're not coming to me, who are you planning to collaborate with?"

Dumpling thought for a moment: "There's an art teacher in Chengdu named Liu Wenzhang. He used to teach at Xihua University and Chengdu University. He's currently the executive general manager of an animation company and is quite famous in Chengdu's animation circle. I chatted with his company's employees online, and they said he seems to be very capable."

“You can go find him and bring him in,” Chen Guiliang said. “Forget about setting up a studio, just start a company. I’ll give him some shares. He’ll be in charge of the company’s operations and management, and you’ll be in charge of the company’s creative work.”

“Okay, I’ll go find him,” Dumpling said.

Chen Guiliang said, "If he thinks that 500 million is too little investment, I can invest more."

Dumpling has two benefactors in her life.

One of them was Liu Wenzhang, who helped him set up a studio and brought in a bunch of outsourcing projects, helping him smoothly navigate the most difficult years for Chinese animation. Later, he also served as the producer of the "Ne Zha" series.

Another one is Yi Qiao, the founder and CEO of Coloroom Pictures.

Yi Qiao was still in college at the time, and became a fan of dumplings because of "Hit a Big Watermelon".

Later, Yi Qiao obtained funding and wanted to do a big project. He immediately went to Jiaozi and said, "Stop all the outsourcing you're doing, return the money, and let's do something big in three to five years." That's how "Ne Zha" came about.

The problems that even Jiaozi and Liu Wenzhang couldn't handle were all solved by Yi Qiao. Especially when the production cycle of "Nezha" was too long and all the investors were clamoring to withdraw their investment, it would have been all over long ago if Yi Qiao hadn't stepped in to persuade and mediate.

……

Having received Chen Guiliang's promise, the dumplings immediately flew back to Chengdu.

After staking out the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind animation company for several days, they finally managed to catch Liu Wenzhang.

"You're the director of 'Hit a Big Watermelon'? The entire animation circle in Chengdu has been talking about your short film for the past two weeks!" Liu Wenzhang was very excited to see Jiaozi.

Dumpling said, "President Chen Guiliang promised to invest in me to start a company. If Teacher Liu is willing to come, President Chen said he would make you the general manager and give you some company shares."

Liu Wenzhang was completely dumbfounded.

Chen Guiliang is investing? And he's going to be the general manager himself?
He is currently the executive general manager of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Animation, and the company produced a series called "Spicy Superman" which made quite a bit of money. However, he only owns a tiny fraction of the company's shares, so he doesn't receive much of the profits; his income mainly comes from his salary.

Dumpling took out her phone: "Mr. Chen said that if you have any questions, you can call him directly to discuss them."

“Okay.” The two found a teahouse, and Liu Wenzhang couldn’t wait to make a phone call as soon as he sat down.

"Hello Mr. Chen, I am Liu Wenzhang."

"Hello, Teacher Liu."

"Are you really planning to invest in and start an animation company?"

“I already have one in Beijing. I didn’t originally plan to open a second one, but ‘Hit a Big Watermelon’ was so amazing. I felt that if I didn’t invest, it would be a loss for myself and for the Chinese animation industry.”

"President Chen is indeed a man of strong character."

"A 600 million yuan investment. 30% of the shares in Yangyu (dumplings), and you get 15%. I'll also give you the phone number of Director Zhang of the High-tech Zone. You can contact him and set up your company in the High-tech Zone. There are a lot of game companies in the High-tech Zone now, and they urgently need animation companies to move in. You can enjoy a series of preferential policies."

"Okay, I agree."

"For now, you should focus on outsourcing. If you want to make animated short films, you'll have to earn the funding yourself. If you ever want to make a feature film and have finalized the script, but you lack funds, you can come to me. I will no longer inject capital to dilute your shares; instead, I will provide funding in the form of film investment."

"President Chen is generous and open-minded; he truly lives up to his reputation as a big boss!"

"You should fly to Beijing sometime to sign the contract."

"I still have unfinished business at my current company, and I need to see things through to the end. I estimate I'll be working until before the Spring Festival before I can leave. After the Spring Festival, I'll fly to Beijing to sign a new contract."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

After ending the call, Liu Wenzhang breathed a long sigh of relief.

Dumpling couldn't wait to ask, "Did you reach an agreement?"

"You heard it all, why are you still asking?" Liu Wenzhang laughed.

Liu Wenzhang felt his luck had turned around. With Chen Guiliang, the big boss, as his backer, and Jiaozi, the animation genius, in charge, wouldn't the company soar to new heights in the future?

Moreover, he could rely on Chen Guiliang's connections to get acquainted with Director Zhang of the High-tech Zone and settle his company there to enjoy preferential policies.

After getting to know Director Zhang, and with my company's strength, I was able to continuously receive government outsourcing projects!
Liu Wenzhang was also very confident in himself. As long as he could get to know Director Zhang, he wouldn't let those government outsourcing projects slip away.

Liu Wenzhang shared his thoughts: "Right now, we're all working alone. Our first priority should be building a team. For the next two to three years, we'll focus on outsourced animation to build a cohesive team. Then we'll make one or two short films to hone the team's ability to produce animated feature films. After that, we can aim for feature films and create animations that can actually be shown in theaters!"

"Good, good, good, this plan is very well-organized." Dumpling nodded repeatedly.

Wang Chenyu and his group from Breaking Boundaries Animation all came from prestigious universities. They were all too ambitious and always wanted to achieve instant success.

Liu Wenzhang and dumplings are different.

He had been around for many years and had long been beaten down by society.

Someone who can endure loneliness can make animations alone at home for several years.

When the two of them started their company, they weren't in a rush to make theatrical animation; instead, they chose to develop steadily and gradually. They planned to spend at least five years just accumulating capital, building up technical expertise, and integrating the team.

Extremely reliable!

……

The particularly unreliable Wang Chenyu approached Chen Guiliang and said, "We plan to turn 'The Summer of Little Monsters' into a theatrical animated film of the same name and strive to release it next summer."

Chen Guiliang didn't stop him: "Is there enough funding?"

Wang Chenyu said, "It's barely enough, it's not like we're making 3D. Besides, for the past two years, we've been honestly doing outsourcing, and we've already reached agreements with some TV stations for 'Larva,' so we've made quite a bit of money."

"Are you still making a second season of 'Larva'?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Wang Chenyu said, "Of course we have to do it."

The first season of "Larva" had just finished production and was sold to various television stations for broadcast on children's programming.

Compared to the original Korean version, Chen Guiliang only provided the general framework and comedic ideas for Breaking Boundaries Animation's "Larva." As for the specific details, they were all conceived by Wang Chenyu and his team themselves.

The story is completely localized, taking place in the capital city, and includes plot elements such as a sandstorm.

Chen Guiliang thought for a moment and said, "We still lack industry resources, and since it's an animated film, even if we make it, the screening rate will be very low. How about this, I'll see if we can get CCTV and China Film Group to invest. With their investment and participation, it will be much easier to get screenings."

"That's a great idea, boss is awesome!" Wang Chenyu immediately flattered.

Chen Guiliang said, "It's still far from certain. Especially CCTV, because of Professor Yang's matter, I had some unpleasantness with CCTV."

Wang Chenyu said, "If all else fails, we'll just leave CCTV out and cooperate with China Film Group."

"Let's give it a try first." Chen Guiliang had no expectations for the box office.

Even with outrageous marketing tactics that alienate potential audiences, adapting "Summer of Little Monsters" into a theatrical animated film could still be a box office hit in 2025. But the same thing might not have worked out in 2009.

At that time, the film market did not have a high acceptance of animated films.

Especially cinemas, which are highly discriminatory towards animated films.

Hmm... no, that's not right either. Kung Fu Panda sold quite well in China.

If the animation quality is good, it's worth a try.

This is where the value of connections comes in.

Chen Guiliang took out his phone and called Feng Kuzi: "Director Feng, do you have time to grab a bite to eat?"

Feng Kuzi probably guessed that Chen Guiliang had something to do, but he readily agreed: "If President Chen invites me to dinner, I'll be there whenever he calls."

Chen Guiliang wanted to get to know the leaders of China Film Group through Feng Xiaogang to discuss investment.

(End of this chapter)