Four Hundred and Thirty-Five - I Am Optimistic About the Future of Computer Animation

"Hey, you didn't miss work and came here just to tease me, right?"

After Wayne went downstairs, he didn't stop in the living room. He pointed to the lawn in front of the garden outside the floor-to-ceiling window and took the lead towards his favorite awning.

"I'm here to share good things with you." The two people walked out side by side, Jeff Robinov said and looked at the beautiful woman following behind.

Hearing this, Naomi Watts's face changed immediately. Even Wayne was startled, muttering in his heart, is this old guy playing so crazy in private?

"Damn, don't think too much."

Noticing the strange expressions on their faces, the CEO of Warner Bros. raised his hand, slapped his forehead with a "pop" sound, and quickly explained. "Amanda graduated from Habanos College in Cuba and is very knowledgeable about everything related to cigars. You will understand after a while."

When the other party said this, Wayne probably knew what he meant. He had heard of a similar profession in his previous life, and it was called a tomato sommelier across the Pacific Ocean.

When they came under the awning, the two of them were half-reclining on the lounge chairs. He looked at the Cuban beauty curiously, opened the small wooden box that he always carried with him, and took out the two thick cigars that he had prepared.

"I am definitely a professional on how to better enjoy the beauty of cigars and enhance the pleasure of smoking cigars." While watching a beautiful woman named Amanda trimming cigars, Jeff Robinoff pointed to the quiet surroundings. environment, said:

"A comfortable and undisturbed time and space. Choose two well-maintained cigars. Amanda has already chosen them for us from my collection. By the way, you should have good black tea here, right? The combination will be better. It makes people comfortable. Trust me, it will definitely give you an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.”

After saying that, he glanced at the cigarettes on the table with disdain. It could be seen that he had always wanted to share his cigar hobby with Wayne.

The pleasing Cuban beauty, the lingering aftertaste of black tea, the two men holding thick cigars in their mouths, half lying on the chair together and puffing away smoke.

Both of them knew in their hearts that as the leader of Warner Bros., Jeff Robinov would never be so idle and bring a beautiful woman to enjoy a cigar, or to enjoy a vacation.

In fact, Wayne has never been very cold about this kind of high-end enjoyment full of formalism. He was not used to smoking it at the beginning. Although he can now appreciate the beauty of cigars, he feels from the bottom of his heart that this thing is far inferior to Cigarettes come as a pleasure.

Perhaps when he gets older, he may like this kind of leisurely enjoyment.

"Wayne, I heard." Jeff Robinov turned his head and looked at the young man next to him who imitated him and closed his eyes to enjoy. "I heard you took over an animation studio?"

When he came here this time, there was indeed an element of communication of feelings, but there were some other matters for which he had to find a way to get accurate answers from the other party. This was related to some of Warner Brothers' strategies in the next few years, so he simply used the news he had obtained not long ago to test it out. .

"That's right."

Wayne opened his eyes, looked at the other person sincerely, and nodded without any hesitation. "Jeff, there's nothing to hide here. I'm very optimistic about the future of computer-animated feature films."

The CEO of Warner Bros. was silent for a few seconds and frowned slightly. He originally wanted to give some advice, but now it seems that the other person is like those young people who succeeded earlier. They are extremely conceited and may not be able to listen to others. Opinion.

He, as a media boss, knows how much money an animation studio will burn if it wants to develop. Not to mention, even traditional animation giants like Disney have been looking for ways to cut off their hand-drawn animation departments. Very soon Simple, an animation department without successful works would be difficult for even a giant to support.

He thought for a while and decided to change direction. "Are you optimistic about the computer animation market now, just like you were optimistic about comic book movies a few years ago?"

"That's right."

Wayne nodded and exhaled a large cloud of fog. "Jeff, the development of special effects in movies is changing with each passing day. You should have noticed that while special effects are constantly being improved, the cost is decreasing year by year.

As early as a few years ago, I felt that it might not be too long before the scenes that have always existed in people's imagination and the special abilities that only exist in comics can be perfectly displayed on the big screen using special effects. "

His meaning is very clear. As the cost of special effects becomes lower and lower, those large-investment scenes that are difficult for production companies to afford have gradually become acceptable. Although special effects are still the most expensive aspect of movies, the trend is already very obvious.

After a pause, he continued: "The same is true for computer animation. The decline of Disney's hand-drawn animation means the rise of computer animation. Computers and the Internet are developing too fast. I am very optimistic about this market in the future."

There were some words he didn't say, otherwise it would be like predicting the future. In fact, in Hollywood, as long as there are technicians like Pixar who use plug-ins, future computer-animated feature films will not only completely replace the glory of hand-drawn animation, but will also The already huge market share has been expanded even wider.

But if you want to eat this piece of cake, the technical barriers are very high, and it is far from as simple as popcorn production on the Hollywood assembly line. Therefore, you can either take advantage of the last opportunity to enter the market, or simply don't even look at it and wait for a few years. Witness the highlights of Pixar and DreamWorks Animation together.

Jeff Robinov nodded and did not continue talking about this topic. He still knew Wayne's true net worth and knew that the other party had a large amount of cash flow in his hands. Not to mention some Internet shares that can be liquidated at any time, the money earned from movie projects alone can withstand the other party's free will.

And he has already received news that accountant Colin Howard, with Wayne's authorization, successfully purchased Blue Sky Studio in New York. It's too late to say anything now. When he brought up the topic of the animation studio, it was just some testing of Wayne. Seeing that the other party had no intention of hiding anything, he slowly organized his words and asked: "I heard that you have several project plans in your hands. There are still some copyrights, when are you going to start production?"

This should be the main purpose of coming here. The corners of Wayne's mouth slowly raised, and he shook his head with a smile. "When the time is right, Jeff, I am the majority shareholder of Warner Bros., no matter when these projects are produced, the distributor will only be Warner Bros., this is my promise!"

Hearing his assurance, Jeff Robinov was half relieved. "Of course, of course I believe you. Who in the circle doesn't know that Wayne Greenberg's promise is more secure than the contract written on paper."

While saying free compliments, he suddenly remembered something. "You mean distribution? What about the production side? Are you going to invest in production yourself? Or will you cooperate with others..."

This is equally important. The best outcome, of course, is for Warner Bros. to invest in the production and then have its own distribution department distribute the film.

But this is obviously impossible. Wayne is by no means a big fool. He worked hard to acquire the copyright at a high price, adapted the script, launched the project, and then only received a small part of the profit from the film. According to Hollywood rules, the copyright of the film belongs to the distributor.

The current model of joint investment and production between Greenberg Studio and Warner Bros. is the most suitable method at this stage. "The Matrix" and the currently being released "The Departed" are both products of this model. Already have quite a bit of experience.

Jeff Robinoff doesn't resent Wayne's own investment in production. As long as the film is distributed by Warner Bros., the company's revenue will not be small. After all, in Hollywood, the distribution company is the top of the food chain.

What he is worried about is that the other party will once again reach a deal similar to that of Twentieth Century Fox with other giants due to certain things. Who can guarantee that there will be any surprises in the process? You can also think clearly with your feet. Now the other five giants are trying every means to disrupt the cooperation between Wayne and Warner Brothers.

"Jeff, as long as it's a project initiated by me." Wayne thought for a while and said happily: "Unless Warner Brothers doesn't pass the review, it's impossible for me to choose other investors."

As early as a few years ago, he had actually been completely locked in with Warner Brothers. Not only did he think so, but other companies in the industry also recognized this.

Unless the board of directors of Warner Bros. and the top management become cerebral palsy and offend Wayne to death, he will never be able to sell his shares, give up the position he has worked so hard to build, and the DC universe that has begun to take shape.

It's easy to choose another production company to cooperate with. With his current status, those five companies and DreamWorks will be willing to pay no matter the price, but then he will lose the career he has worked so hard to plan.

Another important point is that Marvel Comics has been kicked into the well by him personally. If he wants to turn around in this time and space like he did in his previous life, the difficulty has increased countless times. This is still under the condition that he will not secretly make trouble. Down.

So even if it is just for DC, he will not easily destroy everything he has at Warner Brothers. Hollywood has always been a commercial society. It is normal for Jeff Robinoff and the top management to be worried. After all, in their eyes, Wayne has always been a Jewish capitalist who looks calm and calm, but in fact has an unpredictable personality and is full of greed. .

The racial characteristics of the Jews are well known. When greater interests appear in front of them, they will not hesitate to sell everything.

After getting the promise he wanted, Jeff Robinoff completely relaxed, as if he had really come to Greenberg Manor to visit friends and go on vacation. Not only did he enthusiastically introduce the knowledge of cigars, but he also occasionally said some things that were criticized by the outside world. Hearing the insider secrets will definitely cause an earthquake.

"By the way, the filming of the second and third parts of "The Matrix" will probably pass the review soon. If you prepare the funds, you'd better take some time to talk to Zach."

Wayne shook his head. "In the last two parts of this series, apart from being the producer and screenwriter, I am not going to have any more involvement. We must give Zach enough trust, Jeff. This is very important for a creator like the director."

Although he said he would not be involved in the latter two films, the necessary insurance measures would definitely be taken. He felt that the producer Ector Henry had done a good job, and was planning to propose him to be the first producer later, as his own eyes, always watching all the work in the crew.