Anyone who is familiar with Hollywood movies basically knows that the story of the first part of "Ice Age" is not original. It roughly adopts the structure of the Hollywood blockbuster film "Three Dads and a Baby" in the 1990s. Of course, "Three Dads and a Baby" The story is not original, but a remake of a French movie.
All right.
Therefore, when it comes to copying a large number of articles in the world, the difference is between copyrighted copying and non-copyrighted copying. Of course, the most advanced ones are those like Simon, who traveled back in time and copied it in advance.
Make money, not shabby.
For the new version of "Ice Age", Simon does not plan to make any changes. Apart from the unlucky squirrel throughout, it will still be the model of "Three Dads and a Baby". Of course, he will definitely not pay any royalties to Disney or French film producers. Yes, we only borrowed the structure a little bit, the story and lines are all original, not to mention it is an animated movie. If this was matched by plagiarism, many Hollywood buddy movies would not be able to continue.
This is the afternoon of August 12th.
The time is Thursday.
After settling the acquisition contract and relocation of the headquarters, Simon took time out to meet with the Blue Sky Studio team.
The location is a two-story office building in downtown Greenwich, Connecticut.
The team moved here from New York. On the one hand, it was to improve the office environment and facilitate recruitment. On the other hand, it was also due to tax considerations.
Here in Greenwich, both personal and corporate taxes are much lower than those in New York next door. This is actually why many wealthy people will deliberately settle here, register as their permanent address, and then go all the way to travel every day. Go to work in Manhattan.
Because the tax is low.
Simon only stayed for half of the planned two hours, and had to leave in a hurry after roughly communicating with the team about the film's story line and character settings.
Janet called herself and the baby was due.
Nancy's children.
Nancy also lived here recently, in a mansion on the seaside in the northwest part of Greenwich city.
Simon arrived by car, Janet had already arrived by helicopter, and Sophia Fessey, who was here recently, happened to be here to visit Nancy, who was about to give birth. The two had always been good friends in private.
In addition, Nancy's parents and brothers also came here.
It should have been an embarrassing situation, but due to Simon's status, Nancy's parents didn't say anything about their daughter's condition. The younger brother, a small female executive, was even more flattering in front of Simon, so the atmosphere became... Very harmonious.
Nancy was afraid of pain, and she was considered an advanced maternal age, so she decided to have a caesarean section in advance.
Everyone waited for more than an hour outside the operating room set up in the mansion, and a certain little guy came into the world smoothly.
This is Simon's 15th child, and the name has been chosen in advance.
Alex Westeros.
Nancy had chosen the name herself, leaving no room for Simon to object. When asked why, the small female executive said jokingly, Alex, the beginning is 'A', someone has too many children, and if they are sorted alphabetically in the future, the little one will definitely be ranked higher. , so that it is easy to be remembered by the father.
All right.
This pitiable little thing weighed only five pounds and seemed a little weak even when he cried. When the nurse brought him over to show Simon and Jenny, listening to the little guy's weak voice, Janet couldn't help but tease him, like Just a little mouse.
The incubator was quickly delivered.
The little guy is underweight and may have to spend some time in a crate.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Of course, Nancy could not have been malnourished during her pregnancy. Maybe it was because of the small woman's size, or maybe it was just a difference in body constitution. In short, the child was very small.
Good to be healthy again.
The early stages of pregnancy were carefully examined, including some tests at a genetic level. I just don’t know if this little guy will be equally smart in the future.
Nancy took anesthesia during the operation, and after confirming that the little one was healthy and safe, she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up again late at night, a group of people were still waiting here. Everyone said a few words before they went to rest. Simon continued to stay. accompany.
In the delivery room.
There were only two people left. After asking the doctor, Simon personally fed Nancy some sugar water, put the empty bowl aside, wiped the little woman's mouth, looked at the still pale little face, and said with concern: " Does it still hurt?”
Nancy nodded: "Yeah."
Simon could only comfort: "It will be fine tomorrow, why don't you continue to sleep?"
"Can't sleep," Nancy shook her head and said, "I want to see the baby."
"Didn't you just see it?"
The little woman pouted slightly: "Look again."
"All right."
Of course Simon agreed, summoned the nurse, carefully took the child over and put it in Nancy's arms.
The child had fallen asleep, but at such a movement, he woke up again and cried unceremoniously.
Having taken parenting classes in advance, Nancy tried to coax her, but it didn't work. She looked at the man next to her with help. Simon took it and took some parenting classes over the years. He checked it skillfully and found that it was not peed or peed, so he also coaxed it, but unfortunately it still didn't work.
The little one cried louder and louder.
Finally, the nurse next to me couldn't stand it anymore and reminded: "The baby may be hungry."
Nancy: “…”
Seeing the little woman looking at him, Simon nodded to express his understanding: She's Fired!
Nancy rolled her eyes. What do you know? Then she stretched out her hand and said, "Give me the child."
The nurse reminded again: "Ma'am, it's not suitable for you to breastfeed the baby yourself now. Do you need me to call the wet nurse?"
After a while, the inconspicuous pair of parents looked at the little guy throwing themselves in the arms of the young nanny with a Slavic face and stopped crying. This time it was right.
A newborn child should not eat too much. After a while, the nurse carefully reminded her again. The child returned to Nancy's arms. This time he stopped crying. He looked around with a pair of beautiful blue eyes, and soon fell asleep again.
After everyone else left, Nancy lay down again, still not sleepy. Looking at the man standing guard next to him, he suddenly asked: "That nanny just now, I mean, why do you like to use foreigners?"
Simon took the drawing board that was brought in and put it on his knees and started to draw, while casually saying: "Cheap, obedient."
Nancy paused, then added a little teasingly: "It's still pretty."
"Of course, I am a diamond-level senior member of the Appearance Association. If someone too ugly appears in front of me, I will suffocate, so I will definitely not use African or Mexican maids."
Nancy raised the corners of her mouth: "Discrimination."
"Did you record it?"
"No."
Simon suddenly felt confident: "Then you still dare to say that I discriminate. This is slander. Be careful, I will sue you."
Nancy pouted again: "Big capitalist!"
Simon smiled and said: "Looking at the tone, you are still a French leftist. You read Das Kapital and believe in Marxism?"
Nancy raised her chin slightly with a threatening look: "Are you afraid?"
Simon shrugged: "Just don't teach it to my son."
"My son!" Nancy emphasized with a little quarrel, and then her tone softened and she looked at the man beside her: "Hey, Simon, tell me, what will happen to Alex in the future?"
"Want to listen to music?"
"Um?"
Simon sings a cappella: "When I was a little girl, I asked my mother what the future would be like, would I be beautiful, would I be rich..."
Nancy rolled her eyes at someone again. Of course she knew this song. Thinking of the lyrics behind it, she became even more dissatisfied and emphasized: "I won't let my Alex take its course."
"Of course," Simon agreed immediately and firmly: "Our little guy has been the most noble person in the world since he was born, and he is destined to be anything but ordinary in the future."
Nancy looked askance at someone: "The problem is, Alex has so many brothers and sisters, and a father who is biased, what should he do?"
Simon raised the pencil in his hand: "How about I make a signature now?"
Nancy was not polite: "Okay, you write, Alex is the first heir to the Westeros family."
"The question is, aren't you afraid that Jenny will silence both of us tomorrow morning?"
Nancy snorted a little: "Anyway, you can't miss a penny of the alimony that should be paid."
Simon sighed: "So, you are not a good mother."
Nancy widened her eyes slightly in dissatisfaction and raised her voice: "Huh?"
Simon thought of a classic story in his memory: "I read a story about a hacker who hacked the federal newborn registration system and created a false identity for his child in order to obtain American citizenship. You were discovered right away, do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because in the child's assets column, all other parents filled in time, because for children, time is the most valuable asset they have, but the hacker wrote $2 million."
Nancy blinked her eyes with a look of contempt on her face: "Is this the excuse you made to pay less alimony?"
"No," Simon said, "Don't you think this story is very philosophical?"
"I think I should have my lawyer sign a formal support agreement with you."
Simon smiled, stretched out his hand to hold Nancy's little hand and squeezed: "Okay, don't think about it, be careful of getting depressed, why don't you go to bed early?"
Nancy struggled symbolically, and her voice softened again: "It still hurts, and I can't sleep."
"How about we talk about your work?"
"No, big capitalist."
"Okay, you pick the topic, what do you want to talk about?"
Nancy tilted her little head and thought for a moment, then said: "What if the 3G plan is really successful? I mean, regarding the research on human lifespan, if you can live for a long, long time, what will you do in the future?"
Simon smiled: "Are you thinking about my legacy for the little guy?"
Nancy nodded directly: "Yes."
Simon became serious, thought for a moment, and said: "Human society has been pursuing eternal life for thousands of years, and of course I am the same. However, I occasionally wonder, is it a good thing to really have eternity?"
"Um?"
“Remember that movie from a few years ago, The Man from Earth?”
"certainly."
Simon said: "Why does John move every ten years? In fact, what he fears is the changes in the people and things around him that correspond to his own eternity. Human beings are creatures full of sensibility and can truly cope with it peacefully. There may be people who are subject to all the changes in the world, but I feel that I am probably not this kind of person, and you around me should not be this kind of person either. Therefore, one day in the future, if we suddenly feel that there is nothing left to miss in this world Yes, maybe we can choose to leave voluntarily, or die, or build a spaceship, put ourselves into a long sleep, and fly to the universe."
Nancy listened quietly, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Then our children can inherit the inheritance?"
Simon: “…”
Nancy suddenly laughed again, and in turn held Simon's big hand: "I'm kidding you, I suddenly found that you are more depressive than me."
Simon also laughed: "I'm just talking. You have to know that in the future, it is more likely that the old king who holds the scepter tightly will never let anyone get involved in his kingdom, even if he falls out with everyone. Close children."
Nancy and Simon looked at each other, shook their heads and said, "You are not such a person."
Simon asked: "I'm not sure myself, why can you be sure?"
Nancy turned on the little woman's unreasonable mode: "I'm just sure."
Then the atmosphere fell into a brief silence again.
Warm silence.
After a while, Nancy looked at the man who was drawing on the drawing board again: "What are you drawing?"
Simon showed the drawing to the little woman on the bed: "New animated movie idea."
Nancy took the manuscript and only looked at the big eyes and pleated skirt. She judged that it was a princess at a glance: "It's another fairy tale animated film. Ha, I feel like we are going to inherit Disney's film culture."
"Fairy tales were not invented by Disney, so how can they be regarded as inheritance," Simon said: "Also, this story is called "Frozen", and I don't intend to make it a Disney-style story where the prince and princess live happily ever after. Not only that, the prince will be a villain in this story, but the real protagonists are two sisters and, well, a groom."
Nancy laughed: "If there was a groom, it would still be a fairy tale."
"Okay, but the core is definitely not love, but family affection."
Nancy nodded: "I know this."
Do know.
Simon discussed one of his theories about animated movies with these senior executives, that is, love is actually not that popular in animated movies, and family and friendship are king.
Calculating it this way, it’s no wonder that “Frozen” has become Disney’s most successful fairy tale movie ever.
It's not about the rise of feminism, nor about female independence. It just so happens that it still touches the mentality of most viewers. After all, they later went crazy and bought "Frozen" peripherals, so much so that even a single movie entered the top of the peripheral sales list. Children of ten don't like love. Before they reach that age, they can understand that the sisters can even sacrifice their sincere affection for each other for each other.
After chatting like this for a while, as the night got darker, Nancy finally felt a little sleepy. She looked at the man next to her and suddenly said: "Sing me a song."
Simon put down his pen and opened his mouth: "When I was a kid..."
Nancy was squeamish: "Don't want this."
"Then what do you want to listen to?"
"It's okay if it's not this."
"All right."
Simon thought for a while and remembered another movie that was also related to the eternal topic we just talked about, "We Are the Night", one of the French children's songs.
Charlotte was still listening for the last time as she faced the sun and let herself disappear into ashes.
*…
*Under the moonlight,
*My friend Piero,
*Lend me your pen,
*Write a few words.
*My candle is extinguished,
*And I have no fire,
*open your door,
*For God's sake.
*…