Chapter 875: Shuke and Beta: Fierce and Powerful
When the book "The Nanjing Massacre: The Forgotten Catastrophe of World War II" was published, it caused quite a stir in the United States and was on the New York Times bestseller list for several months.
But compared with the slow fermentation and spread in later generations, the response to "Kim" in the United States this time was much faster and more sensational, which of course had something to do with Lin Weimin's intervention.
From the initial publicity in various media, to writing a preface for "King", and then writing a letter to the "New York Times" and publishing "Humanity Should Not Forget" to support "King", the operation went smoothly and made "King" famous throughout the United States in a short period of time.
On this point, Zhang Chunru and Lin Weimin have the same vision, and both hope to allow more people to see that history.
In late December, the translation work of "Jin" in China was completed and entered the editing and review stage.
The 24th is Christmas Eve, and it is also the day when Feng Xiaogang’s new movie "Never Ending" is officially released in major theaters across the country.
For three consecutive years, at the same time, Feng Xiaogang once again appeared in the eyes of the majority of moviegoers with his new movie, and the audience seemed to have gradually become accustomed to watching a light-hearted and humorous comedy movie on such days.
But what is different from previous years is that there are several more films released in domestic cinemas this year than before.
The concept of the Lunar New Year period has gradually gained popularity in the past few years, and audiences have developed a habit of watching movies. Other film companies and studios are not stupid either, and naturally want to get a piece of the pie during this period.
The emergence of competitors did not disrupt the pace of Wenhua Films and "Never Ending" because they were very clear that this phenomenon was bound to happen and they could not stop the actions of their competitors. The only thing they could do was to do their own thing well.
Starting with "Party A and Party B", Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo jointly created a unique Beijing-style comedy. Last year, Feng Xiaogang left Good Dreams and signed a contract with Wenhua Films, which caused a lot of unpleasantness with Wang Shuo.
Without Wang Shuo's participation in "Never Ending", Feng Xiaogang, at the suggestion of Wenhua Film and Television, boldly hired two new screenwriters, Bai Tiejun and Wang Xiaozhu. Both of them are young screenwriters of Wenhua Film and Television and have rich experience in comedy creation.
Now that the movie is released, it would be a lie to say that Feng Xiaogang is not worried.
Feng Xiaogang has always been the one who follows Wang Shuo around in his circle of friends. Over time, even Feng Xiaogang himself sometimes feels that his current achievements are inseparable from Wang Shuo's help.
But Feng Xiaogang also knows that he has come this far with more than just Wang Shuo’s help.
A series of Beijing-style comedies made him famous in the Chinese film industry, but they also made him feel bored, and he wanted to make something different.
Leaving Wang Shuo and choosing to join Wenhua Film and Television was a decision made with this mentality.
But as smart as Feng Xiaogang is, he did not make a transformation immediately after joining Wenhua Film and Television. Instead, he chose to play it safe and his first work after joining Wenhua Film and Television was still a comedy theme that he was good at.
After leaving Wang Shuo, Feng Xiaogang was like a patient without crutches, and finally began to try to walk on his own.
Just after New Year’s Day, the box office statistics for the first week of “Never Ending” were released.
18.5 million!
Seeing this number, Feng Xiaogang felt relaxed.
From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, his uneasy heart finally calmed down, replaced by a sense of pride.
A man can succeed without relying on others!
"Xiaogang, good job!" Yu Dong patted Feng Xiaogang on the shoulder and praised him.
Feng Xiaogang suppressed his inner joy and said, "It's all thanks to everyone. It's only the first week, and I don't think the media's comments are very high."
Yu Dong smiled and said, "The audience's reputation is the most important. Let the media say whatever they want. Didn't the media also criticize Hero when it was released?"
"You're flattering me. How can Endless compare to Hero? If others hear it, they'll probably scold me."
"What do they know? Movies are not only art, but also business. Commercial films can also be good movies. Don't underestimate yourself. China is in need of good directors like you who understand the audience."
During the three years that Yu Dong has been in charge of Wenhua Films, he has become more and more capable and sophisticated as a leader. Feng Xiaogang felt as sweet as if he had eaten honey when he received the compliments.
"I only know how to make commercial films, but Director Zhang is good at both art and business. What the Chinese film industry really lacks is someone like Director Zhang."
Yu Dong was very pleased that Feng Xiaogang did not get carried away despite his success.
"The concept of the 'New Year Trilogy' is complete this time, and it shouldn't be a problem for Neverending to take in 60 million at the box office.
I still say the same thing, when you come to Wenhua, there will definitely be plenty of room for creativity.
Do you want to work on "A Sigh" next? Or switch to another subject? "
Yu Dong's question made Feng Xiaogang hesitate.
When Feng Xiaogang first joined Wenhua, he had a chat with Yu Dong and he actually wanted to shoot Wang Shuo's "The Untold Story".
But at that time he had just broken up with Wang Shuo and was a little embarrassed, so he made "Never Ending".
Looking at it now, "Never Ending" can be considered a success. Feng Xiaogang doesn't mind going back to Wang Shuo to discuss cooperation. Even if the friendship is gone, business can still be done.
I just don't know if Wang Shuo will give him this face. Feng Xiaogang is no longer willing to put his face in the cold shoulder.
Yu Dong looked at Feng Xiaogang's expression and immediately realized his dilemma.
"If you still want to shoot 'Unforgivable', I'll talk to Master Shuo. We'll pay every penny of the copyright fee, and there will be dividends. He can't get along with anyone except money!"
Feng Xiaogang shook his head after listening to Yu Dong's words. "Forget it, I'll go and talk to him. If I let you do it, he'll scold me to death later."
Yu Dong also understood Wang Shuo's temper. He smiled and said, "He is just like that. Just treat it as coaxing his girlfriend!"
Yu Dong's metaphor was so vivid that Feng Xiaogang couldn't help but laugh.
Not long after Feng Xiaogang left, the phone on Yu Dong's desk rang. It was Yan Dingxian calling from Shanghai.
At the end of last year, Wenhua Film and Television reached a cooperation with Shanghai Animation Film Studio, and the two parties jointly invested in the production of an animated film, the content of which was adapted from "The Adventures of Shuke and Beta".
This is not accurate. The title of the movie is "Shuke and Beta: Mighty as Tigers", and the plot is not taken from the novel. Instead, it was created by the author Zheng Yuanjie based on the theme of "Year of the Tiger", following the routine of later domestic New Year animation films.
Yan Dingxian called Yu Dong today to inform him that the post-production of "Shuke and Beta: The Might of the Tigers" has been successfully completed.
It took nearly 10 months to complete an 85-minute animated film, which was a very efficient process for Wenhua Films and Shanghai Animation Studio, which were collaborating for the first time.
Especially for a state-owned unit like Shanghai Mei Factory, the efficiency is ridiculously high.
If we want to find out the fundamental reason for the high efficiency of "Shuke and Beta: The Power of Tigers", we can't do without the sugar-coated bullets of Wenhua Film and Television.
The main production force of "Shuke and Beta: The Might of Tigers" is still Shanghai Film Studio. Although the people are all from Shanghai Film Studio, the policies implemented are those of Wenhua Film and Television.
All staff involved in the film production, in addition to the salary from Shanghai Film Studio, also receive subsidies from Wenhua Films, and overtime pay is calculated separately.
Over the past few months, the subsidies and overtime pay these workers received alone were equivalent to what they would have earned working at the Shanghai Mei factory for three years.
In addition, the crew will have extra meals every night when they work overtime, and they will have dinner together every one or two weeks. The crew will also provide benefits during holidays, which are much better than those at the Shanghai Art Studio.
The cost of winning people's hearts in this way is naturally high, but compared with the value that can be created by this group of highly qualified talents in Shanghai Mei Factory, these costs are not worth mentioning.
With less than 10 months to complete an 85-minute animated film, these guys have proven their worth.
Yan Dingxian reported the news of "Shuke and Beta: The Might of the Tigers", and Yu Dong was very happy.
It is now early January. This year's Lunar New Year is on January 27, which is also the day when "Shuke and Beta: The Power of Tigers" was released.
As early as the beginning of the year when the film project was launched, Mandarin Films had already decided on the film's release date and publicity strategy.
Now that the post-production of the film is complete, the publicity campaign can be launched.
"Shuke and Beta: Back to the Future" is an animated film. Cartoons are for children. This concept is deeply rooted in the minds of ordinary Chinese people, and it is impossible for Wenhua Films to change this concept.
But there is another way. The movie is scheduled to be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Children can't go to the cinema alone to watch a movie, right? How dangerous it is, so the family of three must go.
Originally I could only sell one ticket, but now I can sell three tickets at once, right?
Of course, no matter how good the publicity strategy is, we still have to see the publicity effect at that time.
After talking about the movie, Yan Dingxian mentioned to Yu Dong another task he was carrying.
If Wenhua Films wants to enter the animation field, it cannot always rely on Shanghai Animation Studio and must have its own production team.
Domestic animation talents are very scarce these days, and Shanghai Animation Film Studio is the base camp for animation talents. Naturally, taking advantage of them became the best choice for Wenhua Film and Television.
Yan Dingxian is the former director of the Humei Factory. Given the relationship between him and the Humei Factory, it stands to reason that he should not kill his former employer for his own selfish interests.
However, in recent years, the development of the Shanghai-Mei factory has suffered setbacks and staff has been constantly leaving. Yan Dingxian has seen it and is very anxious.
Those who left were talents cultivated by Shanghai Animation Studio over more than ten years or even decades. After leaving Shanghai Animation Studio, they basically became outsourced to animation companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and other regions and countries. Although their income was much higher than before, they were doing the work of contract laborers. Yan Dingxian was deeply saddened by this.
Instead of this, it would be better to just give it to Wenhua Film and Television at a lower price.
Wenhua Film and Television is a subsidiary of Guowen Publishing House, and they are sincere in entering the animation field. The salary and benefits are also higher than those of Shanghai Art Studio. No matter how you look at it, it is better than doing odd jobs for those animation companies outside.
As long as their mindset changes, the older generation's execution ability is very terrifying. During this period, almost all the employees of the Shanghai-America Film Factory who participated in "Shuke and Beta: The Might of Tigers" were poached by him, and most of them have agreed to switch to Wenhua Film and Television.
But there is a problem that these families have settled in Shanghai, and even if they switch to Wenhua Film and Television, they cannot come to Yanjing.
Yu Dong had discussed this matter with Lin Weimin a long time ago. Since there was the Shanghai Animation Studio, the cradle of Chinese animation, in Shanghai, he might as well set up a branch specializing in animation in Shanghai.
With these talents, Wenhua Film and Television has a talent pool to enter the animation field, and Yu Dong is naturally very happy.
But at the same time, he also felt a little sympathy for Jin Guoping, the director of Shanghai Mei Factory. The crew of "Shuke and Beta: The Might of Tigers" was almost hollowed out by Yan Dingxian, but Jin Guoping had not received any news so far.
"I need to have a good talk with Lao Jin about this matter later. It's better not to make our relationship too awkward." Yu Dong said.
"Yes, I understand. The main reason I asked them to keep it secret at the beginning was because I was afraid that it would delay their work. Now that the movie is finished, I will talk to Guoping in a few days."
Yu Dong thought for a while and said, "Let's not wait for a few days. Let's wait until the movie is released. Then I will go to Shanghai and apologize to him."
The Shanghai Art Film Studio cooperated with Wenhua Film and Television, but as soon as the film was finished, all the employees were poached by Wenhua Film and Television. No one could accept this.
The showdown was put off until after the movie was released. If the box office was good, Shanghai Animation Studio would get a nod, and it would be hard for them to turn against Wenhua Films. If the box office was not good, Wenhua Films would continue to invest in the animation field, and Shanghai Animation Studio would also benefit from it, so it would be hard for them to turn against each other.
Yan Dingxian immediately understood why Yu Dong chose this time point, and he felt more admiration for this young general manager.
(End of this chapter)
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