Chapter 591： kungfu Panda

John Rust looked at the young boss thoughtfully.

He first said that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero" set off the martial arts fever, and then quickly changed the topic, saying that he would focus on developing the amusement park business in Asia, especially in China...

John Last is only the creative officer for the Vacation and Consumer Products division, as he previously worked at Disneyland and was involved in the design of Disneyland in California.

However, his job... is Pixar, it's an animated film!

Thinking of this, John Rust suddenly understood, and looked at Dunn with wide eyes, "Boss, you mean... to make a kung fu-themed cartoon?"

Tang En clapped his hands and smiled: "That's right! Taking advantage of the current martial arts fever, launching a kung fu cartoon can at least guarantee the box office. More importantly, kung fu has a mysterious oriental color, which can increase the attraction of amusement parks. It can also pave the way for Universal Studios to enter China.”

John Rust groaned slightly.

"Difficulties?"

"It's not in Pixar's plan."

Tang En waved his hand and said disapprovingly: "Pixar has the ability to make excellent cartoons, but it has only released one film in two years, and the output is too low. In the past, it was because of funding problems that we couldn't expand production, but now we are relying on New Universal. , the most important thing is project investment!”

In the previous life, when Pixar operated independently, its efficiency was very low, and it was limited by the capital chain and investment risks, and only one movie could be released every two years.

After being acquired by Disney, it immediately changed its business philosophy and launched an animation every year, with an efficiency comparable to that of DreamWorks Animation.

John Rust thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Pixar has a group of excellent creative talents. We have no shortage of excellent projects. As long as the funds are sufficient, it is not a problem to produce one cartoon every year."

Tang En said with a smile: "That's right, "Finding Nemo" will be released at the end of May this year, and "The Incredibles" will be released next year. Now, I can just start the kung fu animation I said, and it will be released in 2005. "

"2005?" John Last heard it, and immediately shook his head, "It's impossible! Pixar's cartoons have a production cycle of two years, but the preparatory period is very long. "Finding Nemo" started shooting in 2001, but in reality In 1998, we were already conceiving and discussing this project.”

Dunn laughed.

John Rust felt a shiver in his heart.

Tang En laughed for half a minute before pointing to his chest, "John, have you forgotten my identity?"

John Rust was stunned for a moment, and his face suddenly showed a bit of ecstasy, "Boss, you mean... Are you going to be the director yourself?"

"Director? No, I want to star in a movie, how can I have time?" Tang En curled his lips.

"This……"

John Rust was disappointed.

Tang En's words changed, "However, don't worry, I have already conceived the script of the story. The name of this cartoon is "Kung Fu Panda". With my script and outline settings, you only need to polish the details. That’s good, it naturally saves a lot of time for early discussions.”

Pixar is in charge of the director system, that is to say, Pixar's animations are gathered around the director's core ideas.

Discussions, revisions, and inspirational collisions take a long time.

DreamWorks Animation belongs to Hollywood's traditional producer responsibility system. When a producer has an idea, he finds an investment, a director, and a screenwriter. After the script and crew are settled, the filming starts directly.

It's neat and swift, a bit like industrialized production. The advantage is high efficiency and quick return on investment; the disadvantage is that this type of cartoon is full of routines and lacks surprises.

Dunn knows too much about the overall plot of "Kung Fu Panda". He can provide a relatively complete and rich plot blueprint. It only needs Pixar's animators to adjust the details.

Without the time for brainstorming discussions, the efficiency will naturally improve a lot.

"Will you provide the script?"

"That's right."

"Can it be modified?"

Dunn looked at John Last's tentative eyes and laughed dumbly, "Of course! What I want is a Pixar-style cartoon. Otherwise, I'll just hand over the script to Sriwood Animation and let them follow it. My request is made."

John Last breathed a sigh of relief. "If that's the case, I think Pixar... can take over the Kung Fu Panda project."

Dunn said with a smile: "No problem, I am in charge of the story line, I can also provide ideas for model design, and you can adjust the details. I only hope that Pixar can improve its efficiency and launch at least one animated film every year. That is to say, in In 2005, I hope to see Kung Fu Panda in the cinema."

"no problem!"

John Rust is more calm.

In fact, the most difficult part of making an animated film is the story line and model design. If Dunn can be responsible, Pixar's work efficiency will be greatly improved.

For another person, John Rust would certainly not accept such a plan.

What if the model design is ugly and the storyline is messed up? Didn't it ruin Pixar's reputation?

But Dunn will not, he has the qualifications to decide.

"By the way, you can release the news now and tell the public that Pixar's next movie will be the martial arts-themed "Kung Fu Panda"!" Tang En thought of something and suddenly said.

John Last was slightly startled, somewhat incomprehensible.

Tang En said profoundly: "As I said, it's a martial arts craze now. I just want to tell everyone about the news. Pixar has already started this kind of animated film, so they don't have to follow the trend."

In the previous life, DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" started shooting in September 2005, but in fact, in September 2003, DreamWorks already had the idea of ​​this project.

Dunn doesn't want to crash, it is necessary to strike first!

...

Back at the company, Tang En began to create the script for "Kung Fu Panda".

The "Kung Fu Panda" series is a series of animated films in DreamWorks Animation Studios, second only to "Shrek".

What's more, "Shrek" is an adapted cartoon and needs to pay dividends to the original author, while "Kung Fu Panda" is an original theme.

Last month, he just got a list of Hollywood licensees in 2002, which is quite shocking.

With a retail scale of $12.7 billion in authorized merchandise, Disney is not only the champion of Hollywood, but also the number one in the world!

It is mainly Disney's cartoon image authorization, including "Mickey Mouse", "Donald Duck", "Snow White", "Dumbo" and other classic images.

$12.7 billion in retail merchandise sales, if Disney only charges 5% of royalties, that's more than $600 million in revenue!

Second in Hollywood and fifth in the world is Warner Bros., which licensed the rights to trademarks such as "Batman," "Superman," "Tom and Jerry," and "The Lord of the Rings" to retail merchandise worth $5.4 billion.

This operation will also bring at least $300 million in revenue to Warner Bros.

New Universal ranked third in Hollywood and 14th in the world with $3.8 billion in authorized retail merchandise.

Mainly the animated images of "Spider-Man" and Pixar.

With the release of the two films "Pirates League: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" last year, as well as the integration and expansion of the new Universal Consumer Products business unit, it has brought together many of the original Universal Pictures. After the trademark, this income will increase significantly this year.

However, in the short term, it is unlikely to surpass Disney.

In addition, Viacom's Nickelodeon Children's Channel has an authorization scale of US$3.5 billion; Cartoon Network has an authorization scale of US$2.1 billion; DreamWorks Animation has an authorization scale of US$1.2 billion; 20th Century Fox has an authorization scale of 600 million US dollars. Dollar……

This royalty income is almost all net income!

Moreover, for popular trademarks such as "Star Wars", "Spider-Man", "Tom and Jerry", "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck", "Harry Potter", the copyright cut is far more than 5%, usually will be above 10%.

If it is a product like a toy, the copyright fee can even be as high as 30%-40%!

As the global economy becomes more common, copyright fees will get higher and higher.

The trademarks of Hollywood film and television works, and the licensing income of retail goods will also be higher and higher.

Dunn will not waste his foresighted talent.

We must grab some hot trademarks!

Although the box office of the "Kung Fu Panda" series is not too high, it is definitely a popular trademark. It has a strong long-term operation ability, especially with the rise of China's economy, its value is too great.

Dunn was quietly in the office, writing his script, and business assistant Tosca Musk walked over gently.

"What's up?"

"Fax from Disney."

"Um?"

"The first viewing data of the second season of "American Idol" has come out."

"Oh?" Dunn's eyes lit up, "How much?"

Tosca Musk laughed: "28.6 million home users on average, and at its peak, the viewership rate reached 35%!"

"it is good!"

Dunn patted the table excitedly.

It turned out great!

Although it failed to exceed 30 million, such a result is already dazzling enough.

This is only the first installment of the second season after all.

It seems that the change of platform of "American Idol" did not bring too many negative effects.

Disney is happy, Viacom is sad.

Dunn is also comfortable.

"One more thing." Tosca Musk hesitated and lowered his voice, "Mr. Barry Diller has just signed and issued a document, and I'm afraid ... it will cause controversy."

"what document?"

"He demanded that all of Universal Television's management above the middle level must sign an engagement agreement."

Tang En pondered for a while and nodded lightly, "I see."

Tosca Musk was a little anxious, "In case of trouble..."

"Taking advantage of the popularity of "American Idol", I think this time is just right." Dunn smiled, "Besides, he is the CEO, and he is responsible for the management of the company."

Tosca Musk stomped his feet, a little angry.

Tang En waved his hand, "Okay, you'd better worry about your animation movies."

"The Adventures of Bone Treasure? Hmph, definitely not worse than Pixar's Finding Nemo!" Tosca Musk snorted.

Tang En was very funny, "Compared with "Finding Nemo"? It's not that I despise you. The box office of "Bone Treasure Adventure" can be half of that of "Finding Nemo", thank God."

"Wait and see!"

(Sanqi Chinese)