Heads Up Hollywood

John Last looked at the young boss thoughtfully.

He first said that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Heroes" set off a craze for martial arts, and then quickly changed the subject, saying that he wanted to focus on developing amusement park business in Asia, especially in China...

John Last is only the creative officer of the Travel and Consumer Products Department, because he previously worked in Disneyland and participated in the design of Disneyland in California.

However, his job...is Pixar, an animated film!

Thinking of this, John Last suddenly understood, and looked at Tang En with wide eyes, "Boss, you mean... want to make a kung fu-themed cartoon?"

Tang En clapped his hands and laughed: "That's right! Taking advantage of the current martial arts craze, launching a kung fu cartoon can at least guarantee the box office. More importantly, kung fu has a mysterious oriental color, which can increase the attraction of amusement parks. It can also pave the way for Universal Studios to enter China."

John Last pondered slightly.

"Difficulties?"

"That wasn't part of Pixar's plans."

Tang En waved his hand and said disapprovingly: "Pixar has the ability to produce excellent cartoons, but it only releases one film in two years, and the output is too low. In the past, it was unable to expand production due to funding problems. Now it is backed by New Universal , the most indispensable thing is project investment!"

In the previous life, when Pixar operated independently, the efficiency was very low, subject to the capital chain and investment risks, it could only release one movie every two years.

After being acquired by Disney, it immediately changed its business philosophy and launched a cartoon every year, which is as efficient as DreamWorks Animation.

John Last thought for a while, nodded, and said: "Pixar has a group of outstanding creative talents, and we have no shortage of excellent projects. As long as the funds are sufficient, it is not a problem to produce an animation every year."

Tang En smiled and said: "That's right. "Finding Nemo" will be released at the end of May this year, and "The Incredibles" will be released next year. Now, it's just right to start the Kung Fu animation I'm talking about, and it will be released in 2005."

"2005?" John Last heard this and shook his head immediately, "This is impossible! The production cycle of Pixar's animation is two years, but the preliminary preparation is very long. "Finding Nemo" started filming in 2001, but the actual In fact, in 1998, we were already conceiving and discussing this project."

Tang En burst out laughing.

John Last's heart trembled for a while.

Tang En laughed for half a minute before pointing to his chest, "John, have you forgotten my identity?"

John Last was taken aback for a moment, and a bit of ecstasy suddenly appeared on his face, "Boss, you mean... are you going to be the director yourself?"

"Director? No, I want to star in a movie, how can I have time?" Tang En curled his lips.

"this……"

John Last was disappointed.

Tang En changed the topic, "However, you don't have to worry. I have already conceived the script of the story. The name of this cartoon is "Kung Fu Panda". With my script and outline, you only need to polish the details." That’s all right, it will naturally save a lot of time for discussions in the early stage.”

Pixar is a director-responsibility system, that is to say, Pixar's cartoons are based on the director's core ideas and brainstorming.

The time for discussions, revisions, and inspiration collisions is long.

DreamWorks Animation belongs to the traditional producer-responsibility system in Hollywood. When a producer has an idea, he finds investment, a director, and a screenwriter. After finishing the script and crew, he starts shooting directly.

It's crisp and quick, and it's a bit like industrial production. The advantage is high efficiency and quick return on investment; the disadvantage is that this type of cartoon is full of routines and lacks surprises.

Tang En knew the overall plot of "Kung Fu Panda" too well, and he could provide a relatively complete and rich plot blueprint, all that was needed was for Pixar's animators to adjust the details.

Without that kind of brainstorming and discussion time, the efficiency will naturally improve a lot.

"Will you provide the script?"

"That's right."

"Can it be modified?"

Tang En looked at John Last's tentative eyes and laughed dumbfoundedly, "Of course! What I want is a Pixar-style animation. Otherwise, I will directly hand over the script to Sillywood Animation and let them follow My request is made."

John Last breathed a sigh of relief, "If that's the case, I think Pixar...can take over the Kung Fu Panda project."

Tang En smiled and said: "No problem, I'm in charge of the story line, I can also provide ideas for model design, and you can adjust the details. I only hope that Pixar can improve efficiency and release at least one animated film every year. That is to say, in In 2005, I hope to see Kung Fu Panda in theaters."

"no problem!"

John Last was more calm.

In fact, the most difficult part of making an animated film is the story line and model design. If Tang En can take charge, Pixar's work efficiency will be greatly improved.

For another person, John Last would definitely not accept such a plan.

What if the model design is ugly and the storyline is a mess? Didn't it ruin Pixar's reputation?

But Tang En won't, he has the qualifications to make a decision.

"By the way, you can release the news now and tell the public that Pixar's next movie will be the martial arts-themed "Kung Fu Panda"!" Tang En thought of something, and suddenly said.

John Last was slightly taken aback, somewhat incomprehensible.

Tang En said deeply: "I told you, martial arts is hot now. I just want to tell everyone in the industry that Pixar has already launched this kind of animated film, so they don't have to follow suit."

In the previous life, DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" started filming in September 2005, but in fact, in September 2003, DreamWorks had already had the idea of ​​this project.

Tang En didn't want to crash the car, so he had to act first!

...

Back at the company, Tang En began to write the script of "Kung Fu Panda".

The "Kung Fu Panda" series is a series of animated films in DreamWorks Animation Studios, second only to "Shrek".

More importantly, "Shrek" is an adaptation of a cartoon, which needs to pay dividends to the original author, while "Kung Fu Panda" is an original theme.

Last month, he just got a list of Hollywood licensees in 2002, which was quite shocking.

With a retail scale of US$12.7 billion authorized products, Disney is not only the champion of Hollywood, but also the number one in the world!

The main thing is Disney's cartoon image authorization, including "Mickey Mouse", "Donald Duck", "Snow White", "Dumbo" and other classic images.

12.7 billion US dollars in retail sales, if Disney only charges 5% of the copyright fee, that is more than 600 million US dollars in revenue!

Hollywood ranks second and the world ranks fifth is Warner Bros., who have authorized the use of trademarks such as "Batman", "Superman", "Tom and Jerry" and "Lord of the Rings" to retail goods worth US$5.4 billion.

This operation will bring at least US$300 million in revenue to Warner Bros.

New Universal is ranked No. 3 in Hollywood and No. 14 in the world with US$3.8 billion in authorized retail products.

Mainly "Spider-Man" and Pixar's animated images.

With the hits of last year's "Pirate Alliance: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", as well as the integration and expansion of the new Universal Consumer Products Business Department, many companies under the original Universal Pictures have been brought together. After the trademark, this income will increase significantly this year.

However, in a short period of time, it is unlikely to surpass Disney.

In addition, Viacom's Nickelodeon Children's Channel has an authorized scale of US$3.5 billion; Cartoon Network, an authorized scale of US$2.1 billion; DreamWorks Animation, an authorized scale of US$1.2 billion; Twentieth Century Fox, an authorized scale of US$600 million Dollar……

This copyright fee income is almost all net income!

Moreover, for popular trademarks such as "Star Wars", "Spiderman", "Tom and Jerry", "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck", and "Harry Potter", the copyright commission is far more than 5%. will be above 10%.

If it is a product like a toy, the copyright commission can even be as high as 30%-40%!

With the commonality of the global economy, copyright fees will become higher and higher.

The trademarks of Hollywood film and television works, and the licensing income of retail products will also increase.

Tang En will not waste his talent of foresight.

We must grab some hot trademarks!

Although the box office of the "Kung Fu Panda" series is not too high, it is definitely a popular brand with strong long-term operation ability, especially with the rise of China's economy, the value is too great.

Tang En was quietly in the office, writing his script, and the business assistant Tosca Musk walked over gently.

"What's up?"

"A facsimile of Disney."

"Um?"

"The ratings data for the first episode of the second season of "American Idol" has come out."

"Oh?" Tang En's eyes lit up, "How much?"

Tosca Musk said with a smile: "The average number of household users is 28.6 million. At the highest point, the ratings reached 35%!"

"good!"

Tang En slapped the table excitedly.

It turned out great!

Although it failed to exceed 30 million, such a result is already impressive enough.

This is only the first installment of season two, after all.

It seems that the change of platform of "American Idol" did not bring too many negative effects.

Disney is happy, Viacom is sad.

Tang En also felt comfortable.

"One more thing." Tosca Musk hesitated and lowered his voice, "Mr. Barry Diller has just signed and issued a document. I am worried that... it will cause controversy."

"what document?"

"He demanded that all managers above the middle level of Universal Television Company must sign a professional agreement."

Tang En pondered for a while, then nodded lightly, "I see."

Tosca Musk was a little anxious, "In case something happens..."

"With "American Idol" on the air, I think the timing is just right." Tang En smiled, "Besides, he is the CEO, and he is in charge of the company's management."

Tosca Musk stomped his feet, a little annoyed.

Tang En waved his hand, "Okay, you'd better worry about your animation movie."

""The Adventures of Bone Treasure"? Huh, it must be no worse than Pixar's "Finding Nemo"!" Tosca Musk snorted softly.

Tang En was very funny, "Compared to "Finding Nemo"? It's not that I look down on you. The box office of "Bone Treasure" is half of that of "Finding Nemo", thank God."

"Just wait and see!"