Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

I stayed in Hengdian for three days.

Zhuang Huai'an returned to the Beijing Film Academy, where he remained loyal.

There was no way to stay; Liu Yifei had even started shoving people away.

In the teaching building,

Wang Hongwei looked at his "bad student" with a helpless expression and said irritably, "It's not easy, Director Zhuang. You still know to go back to the school to visit."

"My dear teacher, what makes you say that?"

Zhuang Huai'an, in a very obsequious manner, handed his mentor a cigarette, lit it up, and said with a grin, "Beijing Film Academy is my home, you are my parents, my roots are here, how can I abandon it?"

Old Wang glanced at him sideways and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Speaking like a broken record, are you preparing for graduate school?"

"I don't want to take the postgraduate entrance exam, I just want you to help me graduate smoothly, my dear teacher."

After a few teasing remarks, Zhuang Huai'an started making tea on his own initiative.

"Professor, do you know any professors in the Fine Arts and Animation department?"

"Yes, it is. So what?"

"We'd like to recruit a few senior students from the animation department."

"Okay, wait a moment."

Old Wang never refused his good apprentice's requests, and without even asking too many questions, he would simply make a phone call.

As Zhuang Huai'an's gang... cough, the team grew larger and larger, he also wove his own network of relationships. Now, the only thing the Beijing Film Academy can do for him is to provide a continuous stream of reserve talents.

In Zhuang Huai'an's heart, the Beijing Film Academy still holds the highest position!

Having not seen each other for some time, the master and apprentice chatted about their recent lives. Before long, a tall and imposing man walked in from outside.

"Old Wang, what's up?"

With that imposing physique and that booming voice, Zhuang Huai'an instinctively looked at Wang Hongwei.

Is this someone who works in animation?

Old Wang gave him a reassuring look, then smiled and stood up to greet the visitor, "Then there must be something good happening for you."

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Xu Meng, the deputy director of the Fine Arts and Animation Department. He's in the same year as me, and this is..."

"Hey, do you really need to introduce him?" Xu Meng interrupted Old Wang, teasingly saying, "Your student's reputation is much better than yours."

"Hello, Teacher Xu." Zhuang Huai'an took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with him.

Xu Meng laughed heartily, quite unpretentious, "Just call me Lao Xu."

"That won't do. No matter what, you're my senior uncle," Zhuang Huai'an joked. "Besides, my teacher is here. If he sees me being unruly, he'll beat me up."

"Okay, then call out when your teacher isn't around."

The two exchanged a smile, seemingly finding common ground.

Wang Hongwei felt a little smug, but he subtly invited the two of them to sit down.

"Huai'an said he wanted to meet the best teacher in the animation department, and I recommended you right away," Old Wang said, giving him a hand.

"Something's up?" Xu Meng's eyes widened in surprise. "Huai'an, you finally remembered our animation department."

"Huh?" Zhuang Huai'an asked, puzzled. "What do you mean, Teacher Xu?"

"It's all because of your internship plan."

Wang Hongwei chimed in, "The internship program you worked on with the school before covered almost all majors. The art department even selected a few students, but the animation department had no opportunity to use their skills."

"So that's how it is," Zhuang Huai'an suddenly realized.

At the Beijing Film Academy, fine arts and animation are considered niche majors, so they are placed in the same department and called the Fine Arts and Animation Department.

Company 91 had no prior animation projects, so it naturally didn't need the relevant personnel.

"Professor Xu," Zhuang Huai'an said with a smile, "I came here this time with the idea of ​​catching up with all the senior students in the animation department."

Upon hearing this, Li Meng's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Really?"

No wonder he was excited; being in the animation department is really tough.

In China, there is only one animation studio, the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, but the Shanghai Theatre Academy also has an animation major. Even their own students don't get a chance to participate, so why should they use students from the Beijing Film Academy?

As a result, almost all graduates of the animation department at Beijing Film Academy switched to art.

"How could this be fake?"

Zhuang Huai'an handed the two of them some cigarettes and teased, "Old Xu, do you want a job? Just say the word, and fifty or a hundred won't be a problem."

"Of course I want it!" Xu Meng exclaimed with delight.

Is this a job posting? This is the ladder that led him from deputy director to department head!

"Your words are enough. You can arrange the people as you see fit. More or less is fine, as long as their abilities aren't too bad. As long as they're willing to learn, 91 Company will give them a platform."

"Okay, I'll go back and think about it."

As Xu Meng was about to get up, Wang Hongwei pressed him back into his seat before he could.

"Look at you, in such a hurry again?"

Old Wang said irritably, "Huai'an wouldn't lie to you, would he? Those jobs aren't going anywhere. He's been doing them for decades, and he's still so impatient."

It was clear that the two had a good relationship, and Xu Meng remained silent in the face of Wang Hongwei's blame.

"Teacher Xu also cares deeply about her students."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled and defused the situation, then took out a stack of manuscripts from his bag and handed them to Xu Meng, "Teacher Xu, you're a professional, please take a look at these character sketches."

"become."

Xu Meng took the manuscript and flipped through it page by page.

"Hmm, pandas, mantises, golden monkeys, these images are quite interesting."

After watching for a while, Xu Meng looked up, stretched his neck, and asked, "Comrade Huai'an, do you want to make animated films?"

"To be precise, it's a 3D animated film."

"Hiss... 3D animation?"

Xu Meng clicked his tongue. He originally thought Zhuang Huai'an wanted to make something like "Lotus Lantern," but he didn't expect him to go straight for the top and make something like "Toy Story."

"Yes, that's why I said that no matter how many people Teacher Xu brings to me, I'll accept them all."

The film that Zhuang Huai'an was going to make was none other than "Kung Fu Panda," which was later lamented by countless Chinese people.

Some people say that this animated film was in preparation for fifteen years, but that's pure nonsense.

DreamWorks really had this idea after we won the bid to host the Olympics in 01. It's possible they wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the 08 Olympics. In fact, the project was officially launched in 04. They may have released a first draft of the design by now, but that doesn't really matter.

If I'm the one who first came up with the Kung Fu Panda IP, can you honestly say it's not authentically Chinese?

Moreover, just to be on the safe side, he registered the idea for this script when he first joined the Writers Guild of Hollywood last year, albeit in the form of a live-action film.

In addition, he had already drawn sketches of Po, Master Oogway, Master Shifu, and other main characters from the first movie, and registered the copyrights in the United States through MGM.

In short, Zhuang Huai'an had made thorough preparations for every possible approach.

"Comrade Huai'an, I must say, your painting skills are comparable to those of professional artists." Xu Meng couldn't help but exclaim in admiration after reading through all the manuscripts.

Wang Hongwei smiled and chimed in, "His storyboarding is always top-notch."

"Otherwise, how could Huai'an have become a great director?" Xu Meng laughed.

In the present day, especially among academic institutions like the Beijing Film Academy, people generally believe that the quality of storyboarding can determine a director's foundation.

Of course, we can't rule out the possibility of unorthodox stick figures like Jiang Wen.

"Alright," Xu Meng handed the manuscript back to Zhuang Huai'an and said seriously, "I'll go back and gather the students now. With your reputation, it won't be a problem to call fifty or sixty people."

"Then I'll wait for Teacher Xu's good news."

Zhuang Huai'an stood up and shook hands with him, adding, "You just need to finalize the list first. I will send someone over to coordinate with the senior students. After all, we will be working together in the future, and we need to clarify some benefits and treatments."

Beijing is a big city, and living here is not easy. You can't expect people to generate electricity for love, can you?

"it is good."

After Xu Meng left, Wang Hongwei, seeing that it was still early, took Zhuang Huai'an to Zhang Huijun's office to sit for a while.

After all, we need to keep in touch so that our feelings don't fade.