Life in the Light and Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Three days later, Wu Yang received two pieces of good news. First, the script for "Journey to the West: The Alluring Love" had been approved.

Secondly, through William, they contacted the Avatar set design team and took on the design work for the industrial park.

They promised to provide at least three design proposals within a month.

Wu Yang also provided some of the script settings, as well as a panoramic view of the industrial park and all the data.

As for using the monster designs from the 86 TV series "Journey to the West", domestic special effects companies can handle the modeling work.

However, the rendering work needs to be done in Hollywood.

After all, the domestic special effects industry is still in its infancy, and at most it can only produce animation effects like those in "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf".

They are still unable to create the realistic effects of "Avatar"; they lack more than just the relevant talent.

The most important issue is the lack of top-of-the-line equipment, and of course, the biggest obstacle is money.

It is a continuous investment, an investment without regard to return, and such an investment is likely to be a waste of money.

Avatar has become a global phenomenon, but Hollywood's special effects companies are about to face a wave of bankruptcies.

Digital Domain, in particular, will be the second-largest visual effects company in Hollywood next year, having produced post-production animations or special effects for more than 100 blockbuster films worldwide, yet still owing $3500 million in debt.

Because to achieve top-notch special effects, continuous investment and upgrades to software and hardware are necessary.

No matter how many film special effects jobs they take on, it's difficult to achieve profitability, and because the industry is transparent, it's hard to get the opportunity to go public.

This deters many profit-seeking investors, and those without capital will go bankrupt if they touch it.

Ultimately, all that's left is being acquired, sold off at a bargain price, or even simply closing down and going bankrupt.

This is an industry that may not show economic benefits in the short term, but can drive the development of a certain sector.

To be honest, only if the state takes over can the company survive; no private capital would take on this hot potato.

It can only be said that the road to improving special effects is long and arduous!

It just so happens that China Film Group and Qingdao Film Group will jointly build the Oriental Movie Metropolis next year, making the acquisition of Digital Domain the simplest and most practical thing to do.

At that time, just by virtue of the land and technology, they will be able to generate substantial annual income from rent and technology fees.

As for whether Digital Domain's employees are willing to work in China, Wu Yang is not worried at all.

Even if none of them came, Asians would make up 70% of Digital Domain's employees.

As long as some staff are sent to learn and master the special effects techniques, and the corresponding supporting equipment is available.

The rest is just a matter of taking your time and doing things meticulously. Besides, Wu Yang also knows about many universities in China.

We're already planning to open a special effects major. If all else fails, we can just recruit from these universities and train them gradually.

Without hesitation, Wu Yang went to see Master Han the next day, citing a rumor he had received from Xiao Li Zi as an excuse.

He revealed the news that Digital Domain was about to go bankrupt to Han Sanye.

Especially when the topic of the acquisition price came up, it certainly piqued Master Han's interest.

It was from Han Sanye's words that Wu Yang learned that collaborating with Paramount involved purchasing various special effects equipment.

It would cost around $4500 million, and that would only be for retired Hollywood equipment, not the most advanced equipment.

If you include the cost of sending directors to Paramount for further training over the three years, the total investment reached as high as $6000 million.

But today Wu Yang told him that for just $4000 million, he could buy the entire Digital Domain.

Wu Yang clearly remembers that Pony.com, a Chinese startup, spent $3000 million to acquire 70% of the shares.

An Indian firm spent $1000 million to buy a 30% stake.

Furthermore, Pony.com later transferred its shares to a Hong Kong company for $5000 million.

They allowed it to go public through a reverse merger, using the name Digital Domain, and survived thanks to the participation of shareholders.

So Wu Yang followed suit and announced his plan to acquire the company, list it on the A-share market, and then use funds from the secondary market to develop special effects.

This immediately earned him high praise from Master Han, who also began to postpone the cooperation with Paramount.

Previous discussions were only indicative of an intention, and did not lead to signing a contract or making payment.

Since the address of the Oriental Movie Metropolis has not yet been determined, its exact size is unknown.

Paramount couldn't say how much supporting equipment would be needed, even if the collaboration ultimately failed.

Zhao Xiaoguang was editing "Love is Not Blind," Bao Jingjing went on a trip with her boyfriend, and Tian Yusheng was still doing fieldwork for "Little Life."

Pei Le and the other two behind-the-scenes teams had nothing to do, so Wu Yang directly took over the pre-production work of "Journey to the West: The Love Story of a Fallen City".

The task was handed over to them for preparation. I had seen many versions of the 3D special effects blockbuster Wu Yang, but this was my first time filming it.

Therefore, all three behind-the-scenes teams were mobilized, and this job was also a test for them.

Of the original 103 people, Wu Yang only selected 20 of the best to keep; he couldn't afford to support any more.

Although they are called behind-the-scenes staff, they are all recruited as management positions, and their salaries and benefits are comparable to those of top-tier professionals.

Don't be fooled by the fact that each person's base salary is only 10,000 yuan. The 30-person behind-the-scenes team earns 300,000 yuan a month just in base salaries.

The income of behind-the-scenes teams in film and television is always settled according to their job functions when filming begins.

Furthermore, to facilitate their work, the company will also hire some clerks and support staff after the relocation.

Currently, there are three behind-the-scenes teams. Wang Hui leads one team, which mainly films Wu Yang's works.

Pei Le led one team, mainly filming works by their two screenwriters, while Zhang Qiang led another team, mainly filming scripts from outside sources.

However, neither of our two screenwriters has finished a script yet, and no scripts have been submitted to us from outside.

Therefore, Wu Yang requisitioned all three behind-the-scenes teams. Moreover, once filming begins, the total number of people in the behind-the-scenes team for this 3D special effects blockbuster, "Journey to the West: The Love of the Fallen City," will be at least several hundred to a thousand, which cannot be managed by a team of just 10 people.

We'll definitely be overwhelmed, so it's better to have 30 people on the job from the start to avoid chaos at the end.

Wu Yang is not like the future Director Guo who lacks investment and has to do everything himself. Since the budget is sufficient, he will ensure that everything is in place.

The reason for his transmigration was death from overwork, and Wu Yang didn't want to go through that again. After all, there was still plenty of time for Wu Yang to enjoy!

Preparing for a 3D special effects movie was a first for Pei Le and his team, so the initial stages were very slow.

Because of the ample budget, all the special effects companies in the country were brought together.

Then, following the steps for making a 3D special effects blockbuster, all the preparatory work was broken down into individual projects.

Character models should be based on the monster designs from the 86 TV series "Journey to the West," while building models should be designed in a cyberpunk style.

Give them half a month, then let their work speak for itself; whoever does the best will get a contract.

Wu Yang, on the other hand, had to take care of things here while also running around to the Guangxian editing studio, since it was almost the end of October.

Leaving aside the fact that "Love is Not Blind" will be released on Singles' Day this year, "Manchester by the Sea" is already scheduled to be released on October 31st.

As the director, Wu Yang can choose not to participate in publicity and promotion. However, no matter how busy he is, it would be a bit unreasonable for him not to show up on the day of the premiere.