Xie Bin, who had been silent all along, suddenly interjected, "I know about this movie. I was even wondering if they could do the special effects, but it was rejected because of confidentiality. I heard that the special effects alone cost 100,000 yuan per second, and the overall production cost was astronomical!"
Fang Yang was drawn in by their conversation. "100,000 per second must mean that the special effects in this movie are pretty cool. If the special effects are like that from beginning to end, no amount of money would be enough for a movie."
"Mr. Fang, you're right, but the production cost of this movie is not low. I heard it cost nearly 200 million."
Xie Bin had heard about this from his friends in the United States. The film took nearly three years to produce and more than a year to create the special effects. The amount of money spent was rare even in the United States in recent years. Fortunately, the box office was good, and the cost was recovered in just a few days, which is also extremely rare in the United States.
"That's quite a lot. If converted to Chinese yuan, it's nearly 1.5 billion."
Fang Yang clicked his tongue in amazement. A 1.5 billion yuan animated film was indeed a huge investment. Previously, "Ne Zha" only cost a little over 50 million yuan, and it also had a lot of special effects. Fang Yang didn't quite agree with the 1.5 billion yuan figure for "Transformers." He believed that at least 500 million yuan of that was due to the excessively high wages of American workers, who worked 32 hours a week. Their work efficiency was questionable.
Xie Bin was actually aware of the situation in the United States. Most of his subordinates, including himself, came from the United States. While their salaries were indeed higher than those in China, the higher costs were intangible expenses such as rent and business taxes, plus the time cost of leaving get off work on time. This naturally led to high production costs.
Many large companies there now maintain several of their own professional special effects teams, but many small and medium-sized film and television companies do not have such resources. Therefore, many highly skilled special effects companies are not lacking in resources, but are unwilling to accept some small projects. Most of the special effects tasks Xie Bin accepted in the United States came from these small companies, and their efficient and low-cost quotes were more popular with these small companies. This has allowed Xie Bin and his team to continuously accumulate their reputation in the United States, and they are now quite well-known.
"Mr. Fang, I wish our company could produce such a grand special effects movie someday. If we could get involved, I estimate we could make it for a few hundred million, and the effects would definitely be no worse than those from the United States."
Fang Yang smiled and nodded, "After 'Operation Red Sea' is finished, I also plan to shoot a science fiction movie like this. It's still in the planning stages, and it will be launched by the end of this year at the latest. You should also strengthen your learning in this area. This time I'm planning to shoot a movie about interstellar war, involving alien planets, so there will be a lot of special effects on interstellar warships. You can do more technical preparation."
Xie Bin clapped his hands and laughed, "President Fang is really helpful. I feel relieved to hear you say that. To be honest, no matter how many special effects we do for them, if we don't have a representative work, no matter how well we do it, we won't have any say in this industry. Take this 'Transformers' movie, for example. They say it's because of some secrecy reasons, but actually it's because we don't have any major projects on hand, so we're being looked down upon. If we produced two internationally representative science fiction movies, and we just threw out our conditions, how could we not win this project?"
Fang Yang laughed and said, "It's all my fault, but you can start collecting relevant technology from the United States now. After we finish filming this movie, I will get the project approved as soon as possible. Don't worry, you will be inundated with offers for science fiction movies like this in the future. Of course, it depends on your technology. Don't end up having to ask others for help when things come to a head."
Xie Bin waved his hand, "President Fang, you don't know, our company's technology is now almost on par with that of the United States. The only difference is in the scripts. Their scripts are really imaginative, describing monsters you can't even imagine. We, on the other hand, are focused on ancient myths and legends. That's where we differ from them. If your script has any information about that, we can also perfectly portray alien creatures based on your description."
Fang Yang pondered, "You mean, as long as I give you a sample, you can create even the most difficult special effects?"
Xie Bin nodded. "The main thing is that you can draw a sample. We can handle the rest. Even if it's difficult, it just takes a little more time. But 5D images can't be used in movies yet, but 3D is no problem at all."
"Alright, I understand what you mean. Work hard, and I'll arrange a Star Wars movie for you in the second half of the year to satisfy your desire for special effects blockbusters."
Fang Yang smiled and painted a rosy picture for Xie Bin. It's a good thing that his employees want to improve, and as the boss, he should naturally support them and not dampen their good mood.
The happiest person among them was Zhao Liang. The poor box office performance of "Ne Zha" in the international market made Zhao Liang a little dejected. You see, Zhao Liang was in charge of all the film distribution of Yuewen Entertainment Media, especially in the international market. If a few films did not perform well at the box office, the initiative in future cooperation would be held by foreign distributors. They can't be allowed to complain if they don't make money. Only by continuously distributing films with strong box office appeal can they maintain the initiative in future cooperation. Just like the films that the United States distributes to China now, they are all treated like old men. If the service is not provided in a way, they will turn their backs and not treat people like children. There is no way around it. In the cultural field, if you fall behind, you will be beaten. This is an indisputable fact.
"Minister Xie, I'll be waiting for your good news. Right now, our country's science fiction films are a mixed bag abroad. We film distributors can't even stand up straight in front of those foreigners. There's nothing we can do; without good films, we have no right to speak."
Xie Bin laughed and said, "We all have to rely on President Fang. I'm like a skilled cook without rice to make a meal."
Seeing that everyone was looking at him expectantly, Fang Yang waved his hand and said, "No rush. You can't rush things. You have to do things one step at a time. Actually, I also wanted to make a movie overnight, but if I know it's impossible and still do it, then I can only wash up and go to bed early."
Mo Zhen asked blankly, "Why do we need to wash up and go to bed so early?"
Fang Yang stared at Mo Zhen, "Child, go to sleep, you can dream about anything!"
Everyone burst into laughter. Fang Yang hadn't expected Mo Zhen to ask such a question. This unexpected twist was perfect. It was just a pity that Mo Zhen was attending such a meeting for the first time, and ended up providing everyone with a year's worth of laughs. What bad luck! He really needs to have a better eye for things. Fang Yang was also worried about the child's intelligence.
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