Chapter 128: If You Want to Make an Animated Film, Then Just Make One

  April 25, 1999.

  After more than half a year of decoration, the current Dream Film Company has been completely renovated and is no longer in its original shabby state. Especially with tens of millions of yuan spent on renovation, the effect that came out is absolutely great!

  The first floor, which serves as the office area, is bright and clean. The marble floors in each office are spotless, Italian chandeliers are beautiful, and exquisite wallpaper, as well as complete office equipment, make you feel the earth-shaking changes here.

  The second floor serves as a conference area, designed to be even more unique and innovative. The fully automated large-screen conference room can accommodate nearly 100 people to discuss proposals together. The projector and audio equipment are all the most advanced in the United States. It's worth noting that this floor has not only meeting rooms but also leisure and entertainment areas, including a gym, coffee shop, and more.

  The third floor is the company's newly established copy factory, which mainly includes editing rooms and production workshops. As a sample-making editing room, it has the most advanced computer system. The production workshop is fully modernized mechanical operation, with high efficiency and fast action.

  Of course, the three-story building of DMG can have such a big change, basically it is "money" that plays a role, especially after Eileen Yeow received more than $200 million in film distribution from Paramount Pictures, and then invested $100 million, mainly used for computer special effects editing and computer animation creation.

  Many people, including Bunny Bill and Fat Jack, don't understand this and think it's a waste of money. To put it into perspective, $100 million can produce ten or more movies with budgets over $10 million each, or invite a superstar with a salary of tens of millions to star in a big production.

  As for the opposition from everyone, Yi Feiyang can understand it because he and they have the biggest difference. Yi Feiyang can see the future trend of Hollywood movie development, but they cannot.

  In the future Hollywood, various blockbuster movies are rampant, what "Iron Man", "Spider-Man". There's also "Transformers", "Battleship" and so on, which one doesn't follow the computer special effects route?

  The future Hollywood, various animated masterpieces are proud of their peers, what "Despicable Me", "How to Train Your Dragon". "Wreck-It Ralph", and "The Croods" etc., which one is not famous for computer animation? !

  So from the very beginning, Yi Feiyang had planned to establish his own film animation special effects aircraft carrier, and these two parts are the iron-clad foundation!

  Yi Feiyang is spending money like flowing water, for a high-priced treasure who has become the financial manager, it's really a waste of family property!

  You see, the original $54 million, $24 million was used to buy a film studio, $10 million was spent on developing computer special effects and animation, now only $10 million is left to barely make ends meet; if it were in the past, it would be fine. The entire company has only a dozen or so people, even if they didn't work for three years, they could still get by; but things didn't go as planned, suddenly there were 30 more people added, and Fatso roughly calculated that just the annual salary expenses alone would be over $4 million, not to mention other expenses, let alone lasting three years, it's estimated that they can't even last a year!

  It can be said that DreamWorks Pictures has expanded from a small, not-so-well-known company to a mid-sized film production and distribution company overnight, tripling in size. The speed of its development is astonishing. However, this brings both advantages and disadvantages.

  The benefits are self-evident, at least in terms of human resources, the downside is that the expenses are too high, and as the head of the household, Yi Feiyang still has no plans to start a new play.

  No play, no performance; no performance, no income. With such a large family to support, they can only wait for death...

  Bao of the Gao family is very worried about this!

  In fact, apart from Gao Jia Bao, the entire Dream Movie Company is also looking forward to Yifei Yang's new work, and the vast Hollywood audience is even more eagerly awaiting, guessing what this rising Chinese-American magician in the film industry will bring next?

  ……

  On weekends, on the park bench, Yifei Yang and Annie-Hathaway snuggle up together, not far away, several mothers play with their children on the lawn.

  "Look at them, feeling so happy." Heathervel gazed at the few children frolicking on the lawn, sunshine, green grass, and cool breeze, thinking that all of this was so beautiful.

  Yi Feiyang and Heather exchanged a glance, both smiling slightly.

  Heather smoothed her wind-blown hair, narrowed her eyes and sighed: "This place is really charming. A few months ago, it was still covered with ice and snow, but now it's already lush green grass. It's amazing how much change has taken place."

  Yi Feiyang beside him also said: "Yeah, it's true. Not only has this place changed, but we've also changed."

  Heather glanced at him, asking somewhat strangely: "Have we really changed? It seems like you're the one who's changed. You're now a popular new director in Hollywood! And me, I'm still the same!" She shrugged cutely.

  Yi Feiyang smiled and brushed her hair behind her ears, saying: "Who says you haven't changed? In the past, every weekend, you who were determined to become a nun would go to church to pray devoutly. But now, hehe, why are you sitting here with me watching the scenery?"

  "For Pete's sake, why are you teasing me like this?" Annie Hathaway couldn't help but blush, adding, "And it's all because of you..."

  "Oh, because of me?"

  "You've corrupted me, you wicked thing! Yes, that's what it is!" Heather said with a straight face. But inside she couldn't help but laugh, how did she change so fast? What happened to the old Heather who wanted to be a nun? The girl who had vowed to dedicate her youth and life to God? Although she lost her dream of becoming a nun, she got something even more precious instead, and felt very happy.

  "Oh, so I'm the bad guy, huh? Then why is someone still following the bad guy to stroll in the park?" Yi Feiyang joked.

  Hathaway's pretty face flushed again, and she looked at Yifeng with a helpless expression. She said, "Sometimes I wonder, if I hadn't met you, what would my life be like now?" She shrugged her shoulders and added, "But I like who I am now."

  "Really? Actually, I like you now too." Yi Feiyang gently stroked Hester's cheek with his finger. Hester bit her lip and gazed at him deeply, just as the two were lost in their own little world, a football flew over and interrupted their gaze.

  "Sorry about this. This little guy is too mischievous." A young mother came over and apologized.

  Heather's cheeks were flushed with red, and she didn't dare look at Yifeng, so she casually found something to say: "Cough, what plans do you have now? Everyone is waiting for you to start a new film."

  "A new movie? Hehe, I've been planning this for a long time." Yi Fei Yang said with confidence.

  "Oh, really? What movie?"

  "Here it is!" Yi Feiyang gently picked up a snail crawling on the long bench.

  This snail is also unlucky. After finally using all its strength to climb onto the bench, it was caught by someone.

  "This is... a lovely little snail." Heathervy exclaimed.

  "Yes, it's a snail." Yi Feiyang smiled slightly. "But it will be the male lead in my next play."

  "Ah, you're going to film a science documentary?" Heather's little mouth opened wide.

  Yi Feiyang smiled slightly, "Come on, use your imagination a bit. Are you saying that snails can only appear in science documentaries?"

  Heather shook her head, "I still can't guess. What are you going to shoot?"

  Yi Feiyang saw her like this and stopped teasing her, saying: "I want to shoot an animated film, the story is about this snail, the name I have already thought of, just called 'Turbo Snail'!"

  "Turbo Snail?" Heather looked at Yifeng with curiosity, snails are slow, everyone on earth knows that, it's not related to turbo at all.

  "Yes, this animated story is about a snail who dreams of becoming a racing driver and participating in competitions on the track, overcoming all sorts of difficulties to ultimately achieve his dream..."

  Yi Feiyang lightly told the story of "Turbo" from his previous life, and Anne Hathaway listened with relish, even forgetting where she was.

  In fact, after finishing filming "Saving Private Ryan", Yi Feiyang was considering what to shoot for the next work.

  Now, he is called the "most talented" young director in Hollywood. In fact, Yi Feiyang knows that many people are waiting to see him make a fool of himself, to see how this Chinese-American director will capsize and fall from his pedestal, landing on his backside.

  As a person, you must have self-awareness, otherwise you will be eliminated by the times. No matter how brilliant and bright you were in the past, it's just a fleeting moment.

  Nothing out of the ordinary, just look at those two guys Dennis and Ed from "The Blair Witch". According to Yifeng's past life memories, when they made "Blair Witch", it shocked the whole of America. Because they were "mainstream people", the media's pursuit of them was even more crazy than their own, they not only accepted interviews everywhere, but these two extremely lucky guys also appeared on the cover of Time Magazine together, and for a time became the darlings of all of America.

  But what happened to them later? Did they have a bright future? No, on the contrary, they were complete failures.

  After the success of The Blair Witch, for the first two years, all their energy was spent litigating with the distributors of Blair. Blair Witch 2, released in 2000, had nothing to do with them; the sequel rights had been sold off from the beginning. After winning the lawsuit, the two directors wanted to make a comedy but investors insisted they stick with horror; they refused and were unwilling to fund it themselves, so the project was stillborn.

  Years went by and the two directors started making new films, but both ended in box office failures. In the end, no one remembered the two young men who had once been on the cover of Time Magazine, no one remembered the media's praise for them back then, their names faded away with time.

  When you succeed, you emerge from your cocoon and show the world your beauty. Everyone is in awe of you, and you think you own the whole world. But if you don't recognize your own situation, you'll get lost, fly further and further away, and eventually lose your way home, only to fall to the ground exhausted, be picked up by someone, and become a specimen in a book. Occasionally, the book will be opened, and the reader will say, "Wow, what a beautiful butterfly! It must have been stunning when it was flying!" Then the book is closed, and you are nothing.

  That's the cruel reality, there are too many beautiful butterflies in this world, they come and go hastily. He is just one of them flying a bit higher than others. If he didn't have self-awareness, Yi Feiyang believed that he wouldn't be much better off than those two unlucky ones.

  According to the general thinking, Yi Feiyang's first film is a low-cost horror movie, and the second film is also a low-cost horror movie. The third film, although with an investment of over 300,000 yuan, was not invested by him. Now that Meng Huan Film has expanded significantly compared to before, will it continue to take the low-cost route and choose some low-cost, low-technical-difficulty films for filming?

  For example, continue to shoot horror movies or erotic films. After all, he has already succeeded in two and both have won a complete victory, so it is completely possible to continue to "eat the old capital" and continue to play this aspect of "specialty". However, Yi Feiyang immediately eliminated this kind of "unspirited" temptation.

  If a director is too comfortable with the status quo or nostalgic for the past, he can only be bound by this field and find it difficult to break through himself.

  For example, the Hong Kong director Wong Jing from the previous life always liked to shoot some crappy movies. As a result, the vast audience only recognized and accepted this type of movie. If he changed his route and went for art films like "The Grand Shanghai" or "Black and White Forest", then the box office would have no chance but to flop!

  For example, a well-known director from the mainland is good at making New Year's films in the north, using some Beijing dialect to please the audience. Occasionally, he prepares to take a serious route and comes up with a big production like "1942", which has a great story and cinematography. As a result, the box office was so poor that it almost starved him to death!

  So, as a director, it's easy to be stereotyped by the subject matter of movies, just like high-end club girls. Some are good at ice and fire, some are good at massage, and others are good at seduction... In short, everyone has different skills, but the goal is the same, which is to satisfy customers, make them praise, and reach a wonderful state; The director is a prostitute, needs to use his own shooting skills to let the audience enter, when watching, it's direct and exciting, only with excitement points, no urine points, directly rushing to the climax!

  Yi Feiyang did not want to be that kind of person, did not want to be a stereotyped director. In his view, as a director, one must have a broad vision. Whether you can become a great director depends on whether you have the grandeur and magnanimity to shoot and master any subject matter!

  Why are there so few great directors?

  The reason is simple, the director is just a storyteller, and whether he can tell the story completely, beautifully, and make people relish it endlessly, that's how you determine if your skills have reached the level of being extraordinary. Let me make another very superficial analogy, many people can write, but some are good at writing romance, some are good at writing martial arts, and some are good at writing science fiction. So, is there anyone who excels in all these areas? The answer is yes! However, such people are extremely rare, because they are geniuses, masters among masters!

  Yi Feiyang wants to become a great director, a master of the film industry, so he will not be bound by any subject matter. In his view, for now, it's best to continue on the low-cost route, filming erotic or horror movies. However, if he does that, it will be very difficult for him to shake off the "erotic" and "horror" labels later on. On the other hand, if he takes a different path and films other types of movies, regardless of success or failure, others will see him as absolutely not simple, at least as a director who has created across genres and domains!

  Don't underestimate the word "great". Countless Hollywood directors have spent their entire lives trying to achieve it, but truly great directors can be counted on one hand. There are only a few, such as Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg...

  Secondly, from another perspective, Yi Feiyang is not only a director but also the boss of Dream Film and Television Production Co., Ltd. With a big family to support, he has 30 or 40 mouths to feed, waiting for him to bring home the bacon. If he still just does small things, then he can only stay at the stage of having enough food and clothing, and will never be able to drive a Mercedes-Benz and live a well-off life. Therefore, he must make a big move once.

  Furthermore, the newly established Dream Illusion Computer Animation Design Studio needs to accumulate experience, and the best way to accumulate experience is through "practice". Therefore, Yi Feiyang decided to start filming an animated film to motivate and hone the company's animation talents.

  Finally, Yi Feiyang once shouted a slogan that moved countless people, which is "No matter how big the dream is, it's not too big. No matter how small the dreamer is, it's not too small!"

  This sentence plagiarized the classic lines of "Turbo Snail" in his previous life, and has become Yì Fēi Yáng's most handy personal symbol, or a symbol of fighting spirit. Yì Fēi Yáng hopes to transfer this symbol from himself to Mèng Huàn Company, making the company the "representative" of this golden phrase, so that when people mention this sentence, they will say, "Oh, isn't this Mèng Huàn Film Company? Originally a small company, now it has struggled to become an aircraft carrier."

  Yi Feiyang really hopes that the company can have such development, and hopes to be recognized by Hollywood mainstream media with the company, so it must start shooting this "golden sentence" containing "Turbo Snail".

  For these four reasons, making the animated film "Turbo" was a must.

  Yi Feiyang's thoughts and ideas, Anne Hathaway would never know, she only knew that Yi Feiyang had never been in contact with animation design, nor the production process of animated films. Hollywood animated films were notorious for being a technical stream, a money-burning stream, and if not done well, it would be a waste of effort. Otherwise, why among so many big movie companies in Hollywood, only Disney made the most outstanding animated films? The reason was that this field was too difficult to master, without funding, without technology, even with good stories, it would be futile.

  But now, Yi Feiyang has a solemn and determined look on his face, preparing to rush in like this, the result can be imagined, not to mention losing miserably, being able to retreat unscathed is already a miracle!

  Yi Feiyang saw that Anne Hathaway hadn't spoken for a long time, seemingly still lost in thought. He nudged her elbow, which was resting on the chair, and furrowed his brow to ask: "Anne, what's wrong?"

  Anne Hathaway reacted with an "oh" and shook her head to end the thought, looking at him smiling: "Nothing, I was just thinking of some things..."

  Then Heatherv looked at Yifeng Yang, took a deep breath, and seriously gave her own advice, saying: "Yi, you know that your next movie is very important, it affects your future, so I hope you don't make rash decisions, let alone animation, which you seem to be not good at..."

  "I understand what you mean, animation is tough, it's a well-known fact in the entire film industry... but don't forget, my nickname is Magic Master, Miracle Yang, there's nothing I can't do in this world!" Yi Feiyang said with great confidence.

  "You'll be bragging, what are you going to do when you fail?" Annie gave him a sidelong glance.

  Yi Feiyang smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, saying: "What's there to be afraid of? Even if we really fail, with you by my side, I'll just move in with you and let you support me!"

  "What?" Annie was taken aback for a moment, then "heh" laughed, thinking that Yifeng Yang was joking.

  But Yifei Yang's serious expression made Hester a bit unsure, and she exclaimed in surprise: "Oh, you're serious? Move into my house and let me support you?"

  Yi Feiyang nodded and said, "Yes, how about it? Don't you want to? Actually, I'm easy to take care of. Just make sure I have three meals a day, and it's best if you can give me a bath every week, occasionally take me out for a walk, and let me stretch my legs..."

  Anne Hathaway "pffft" laughed again, "How am I sounding like I'm raising a little dog?"

  "Is that so, don't you like it?" Yi Feiyang raised an eyebrow and made a face, which made Hathaway laugh so hard she was doubled over, her earlier worries and concerns forgotten.