This celebrity is overly enthusiastic!

Chapter 36 Panda IP Development

After securing overseas distribution, Chen Yuan immediately took the contract with Columbia Pictures and met with leaders of the Sichuan Panda Breeding Base and the Chengdu Cultural Tourism Group to explore potential collaborations.

Chen Yuan visited once last year, but unfortunately, the Sichuan Panda Park is still mainly a research base and has not yet started to develop into a tourism IP like it did in later years.

Although it still receives tourists, the current number of tourists is less than one-twentieth of that in later years.

At the time, Chen Yuan was only somewhat famous for shooting commercials, and his voice carried little weight. The Kung Fu Panda movie was not yet finished, and his proposed IP development concept was considered a pipe dream and was not taken seriously.

Moreover, the number of giant pandas in the reserve is relatively small at present, unlike more than 20 years later when giant pandas have been protected to the point that they can be removed from the list of endangered animals.

However, the past is the past, and the present is the present. This time, he received a warm welcome from the leaders.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon just won four Academy Awards with the help of Columbia Pictures.

Miramax Films is also investing in Zhang Yimou's upcoming film "Hero".

Chen Yuan's animated film, which he and Li An exchanged compliments about last year, is also set to be released overseas.

Some media outlets in southern China have boasted that the internationalization of Chinese films has already arrived even before China has officially joined the WTO.

They have no idea just how much pressure the Optics and Light Bureau is under from Hollywood blockbusters!

Looking at the stagnant domestic film market, I'm afraid the entire film industry might be directly killed by Hollywood blockbusters.

Getting back to the point, Chen Yuan is no longer refuting the praise he receives, and is even using this opportunity to discuss cooperation with the Sichuan authorities.

After the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" became a hit, the Shunan Bamboo Sea did indeed see many foreign faces with high noses and deep-set eyes.

With this example as a foundation, after watching some clips of "Kung Fu Panda," leaders from all sides showed considerable importance to Chen Yuan's proposal for cooperation.

Shudu Cultural Tourism Group originally envisioned turning the panda base into the world's largest panda bionic park, but the number of pandas in the base is still relatively small.

Even if the cultural tourism group puts its ideas into action, the result will be quite different from the bustling panda park in Chen Yuan's memory of later generations.

Chen Yuan proposed to pool the scattered panda resources within the province to create a synergistic effect, allowing tourists to see pandas to their heart's content in one go, and to make Chengdu the "Panda Capital".

[Develop and create a popular film and television IP cultural tourism project] This is an achievement task.

He wants to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented by the overseas release of "Kung Fu Panda" before Sichuan's panda resources are fully developed, cleverly complete this challenging task, and obtain the ultimate reward!

Chen Yuan directly shared some memorable experiences he had during his previous life when he visited the Panda Valley in Dujiangyan.

PPT templates have found a new purpose.

For example, the Moon Nursery allows visitors to observe newborn panda cubs up close; the Panda Villa provides a range of play facilities for the pandas, allowing visitors to better observe the adorable pandas playing and frolicking.
The viewing platform allows for multi-angle observation of pandas' activities in the biomimetic environment;
The volunteer activity involved volunteers who had received some basic training cutting bamboo, feeding pandas, and cleaning their enclosures.

There are also panda-themed restaurants, panda science classrooms, and other trendy attractions that have been overdeveloped in later generations, such as swings, bungee jumping, and boardwalks, all combined with the local environment.

The leaders were somewhat tempted, but they weren't swayed by Chen Yuan's empty promises.
According to Chen Yuan's plan, such a renovation and upgrade would cost a considerable sum of money.

Moreover, coordinating panda resources is not so easy. Do you think other cities and counties would let you take away their pandas so easily?

The key issue is that people are genuinely unsure whether Chen Yuan's film can achieve the desired promotional effect, and whether the renovation and upgrade can attract more tourists also requires further, more detailed, and scientific verification.

However, some projects that do not require major construction or renovation, such as panda knowledge popularization classes and volunteer activities, are worth trying.

To demonstrate his stance, Chen Yuan used the copyright of "Kung Fu Panda" and its expected box office revenue as collateral to borrow 1500 million yuan from the bank to cooperate with Shudu Cultural Tourism Group and participate in the construction of the future panda park.

Of course, facilities like the Panda Garden must be mainly state-owned. Yuan Universe invests in the Panda Garden and is responsible for cultural tourism promotion. After some bargaining, it can hold up to 18% of the shares.

Chen Yuan was very satisfied with the outcome.

Even without "Kung Fu Panda," this investment would have been a sure thing, and the panda park in Sichuan would have developed into a shining example for the province in a few years.

Chen Yuan boasted to his superiors that "Kung Fu Panda" was the best promotional material for internationally promoting the national treasure panda, and that the film and local panda parks could form a perfect synergy.

But in reality, Chen Yuan was just trying to capitalize on the popularity of the national treasure panda and exaggerating its role. Even without this movie, the panda is still one of China's iconic symbols.

The movie only provides the panda park with a temporary boost in traffic and popularity.
However, by seizing this opportunity to promote the story and have the Metaverse tell a compelling story similar to Disney, they can deceive the world and claim the credit for Chen Yuan's achievement, thus accomplishing this difficult task by taking advantage of the situation.

Disney's model of creating dreams through movies and bringing those dreams to life through theme parks has created a commercial miracle.
Other Hollywood studios followed suit, creating their own theme parks, but none were as successful as Disney.

Chen Yuan's metaverse may not have the deep foundation of Disney, but it can use the influence of his works to empower other industries, give the Chengdu Panda Park a big advertisement, and pretend that it has the potential of Disney!
The more industries and businesses he interacts with, the more people he helps make money, and the more friends he makes, the more solid the foundation of his metaverse becomes.

Moreover, by linking "Kung Fu Panda" with the giant panda IP of Sichuan, Chen Yuan has secured a powerful backer and a guarantee, making those who might covet the lucrative "Kung Fu Panda" franchise think twice.

That's killing multiple birds with one stone!
Chen Yuan discovered that he had a deep connection with Sichuan.

With the airing of "The Legend of Seven Swords," which features Changhong, Wuliangye, Panda Garden, and Shunan Bamboo Sea, the local scenery and customs will be promoted even more. Wow, the province might even award him a medal!

The Wang brothers of Huayi are very good at cultivating relationships with government officials, and they often manage to secure advertising contracts and policy support.

But can their methods of cultivating relationships be compared to the kind of "relationship cultivation" that helps local businesses improve their performance, promotes tourism, and creates hundreds or thousands of jobs?

(End of this chapter)