Huaying headquarters, located in the corridor of the west area of the office building.
"Bang-"
Along with the sudden noise, the tightly closed door opened, and at the same time, the man's irritable and helpless voice rang out: "I have said everything I need to say, you should think about it yourself. I will go make a cup of coffee and continue in ten minutes. I will try to pass it in one go."
Chang Guanghua looked up and his eyes happened to meet the man who came out.
The latter was slightly stunned, nodded at him politely, and went to the tea room without looking back.
As soon as the person walked away, Chang Guanghua's colleagues couldn't help but gossip in a low voice: "How many times this month has this happened?" The young cartoonist muttered: "I'm not saying anything, but Director Shen is acting like a firecracker recently. I've never heard of him having a bad temper before."
Chang Guanghua knew this person.
His surname is Shen, and he is the dubbing director of the neighboring "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". He is currently in charge of the dubbing work of the animation. Perhaps because the work is not going well, only three days have passed this week, but three voice actors have been scolded by him in a row.
"Maybe it's because the weather is too hot, so Director Shen can't help but be a little irritable." Chang Guanghua said.
In fact, there has been continuous heavy rain in Xingning City during this period, and the climate is by no means disturbing. His colleagues knew this, but they had no intention of exposing him.
Rather, it could be said that it was because both of them were both feeling a little bored at the moment that they just found a random topic to talk about.
It is impossible to say that while there was an uproar outside, there was no impact at all on Huaying Animation.
Mu Suxing did not inform Huaying's ordinary employees of the specific situation, but that does not mean that the grassroots employees are really ignorant of the changes in the industry they are in.
Whether it was Yunsu’s big move some time ago or the recent seemingly calm industry situation, Huaying employees couldn’t help but feel worried, and their hearts were also in turmoil.
Everyone has seen the visible changes in the animation industry.
It's just that at this stage of capital-to-capital game, even if ordinary employees like them worry, it's meaningless. For this reason, more employees choose to focus their energy on the work at hand. They just hope to finish the work at hand as soon as possible and take a breath.
But there are exceptions.
Compared to the various project teams that were under a dark cloud, Muxuxing's schedule was the same as before. In the morning, he went to the "Detective Conan" project team to check the progress, and in the afternoon, he went to the "Harry Potter" project team and the technical department to discuss the special effects. Sometimes, if he was not in the company, he would go to the "Old Man and the Sea" project team in another building.
Everything seemed to be the same as before.
But Chang Guanghua knew that something was still different.
For example, some employees who were originally just working honestly suddenly started discussing the salary level of Yunsu Animation in private.
For example, in the past, in addition to regular work, there should be no shortage of animation producers who have a good relationship with Huaying coming to visit, or people from similar industries who would make a special trip to visit Muxuxing to ask certain professional questions.
But in fact, these producers who are familiar with Huaying and Muxuxing have not visited for some time.
It seems as if the entire Huaying animation industry has been forgotten by its peers.
…
Time passed by in the midst of uneasy and busy work, and it came to the end of the year.
On the fifth floor of the "Detective Conan" project team, the assistant director has just announced a one-week vacation, which also means that the work on "Detective Conan" can finally come to a temporary end.
Under normal circumstances, the news about the holiday would have made the employees cheer with joy. However, at this slightly sensitive time, it is difficult for the employees to really relax and be happy. The most they can do is just take a breath during the rare break.
According to the animation plan, the number of episodes of "Detective Conan" is at least over a thousand. During this period of time, they worked overtime and only completed twenty-six episodes.
In other words, the current holiday is only short. As "Detective Conan" begins serialization, the entire animation team will begin to take on the workload of broadcasting at least one episode per week.
Of course, this also happened after the animation was broadcast.
Chang Guanghua did not leave the company immediately.
Huaying's headquarters was very well built. In addition to the daily office space, it also had special entertainment and rest areas. However, he was very tired at the moment and was too lazy to move, so he just lay down on the sofa in the tea room on the fifth floor, casually opened his mobile phone, and looked at the latest news.
All of a sudden, a news alert titled "Senior producer of Luofeng Animation resigns, new work forced to suspend" suddenly appeared in the message bar of his mobile phone.
Chang Guanghua paused as he was about to clear the message.
When others see this news, they will probably just regard it as a common unexpected incident caused by employee job-hopping. However, Chang Guanghua, who is familiar with the industry, knows that there is much more to it than that.
Luofeng Animation itself is considered a first-class production company in the industry, but it cannot be compared with the wealthy and powerful Yunsu Group. In the animation industry, the general salary level is average, and Yunsu Group is determined to poach people. It is almost impossible to resist such an offensive.
For Yunsu Group, even if it cannot acquire Luofeng Animation, directly poaching Luofeng Animation's top producers is also a good option.
As for Luofeng animation...
If they are lucky, maybe they can find a replacement for the producer who left in just two weeks and continue the project. But if they are unlucky and still can't recruit a producer who can coordinate the entire project team, this so-called new work will probably go bankrupt.
He thought of Huaying again.
If Yunsu Group is really determined to poach talent, I wonder if Huaying can withstand it
As he thought about it, he felt that the uneasiness in his heart seemed to solidify into something. But soon, he could no longer care about these things that had not happened yet.
"What did you say?!" Chang Guanghua stood up in shock, not even noticing that his phone had fallen. "Detective Conan was rejected by Xingning TV? How is this possible? Haven't we always been cooperating well with Xingning TV?"
The colleague who delivered the message also looked incredulous.
Facing the surprised looks of the people in the room, she shook her head and said, "I also heard this from my colleague who just came back from the TV station. Now Manager Ruan has gone to report to Director Mu. I'm afraid only Manager Ruan, who has talked to the TV station, knows the specific situation."
At the same time.
Mu Xuxing was lying on the sofa with his back to the office door, taking a nap. At the right moment, the sound of high heels stepping on the floor came from the corridor outside the door. The sound finally stopped outside the door just a few feet away. Accompanied by a series of hurried knocks on the door, Mu Xuxing opened his eyes.
Here it comes.
Ruan Wei thought she should be very anxious.
In fact, when she left Xingning TV Station and rushed back, the anxiety in her heart had never disappeared. But for some reason, when she walked in the empty corridor and stood in front of Mu Suxing's office, her heart, which was still a little unsettled, suddenly settled down.
She took a deep breath, and after hearing the other party's clear and calm "Come in", she pushed the door and walked in.
There was more than just Muxuxing in the room.
Ruan Wei was slightly startled, and unexpectedly glanced at the young man who was standing in front of the bookcase with his back to her. She had a good memory and could tell at a glance that this was the helmsman of Tengkong Entertainment next door. This made her hesitate for a moment, and she didn't know whether she should speak or not.
As if seeing her hesitation, Mu Suxing asked, "What's the matter?" and did not mean to let Qin Sheng avoid her.
Seeing her boss's acquiescence, Ruan Wei no longer hesitated and immediately told about her experience at Xingning TV Station: "… The TV station said that the higher-ups are investigating the TV animation subsidy issue. From what I heard, it seems that this investigation is a bit deeper and the situation is a bit special. Not only Xingning TV Station, but all TV stations on Blue Star that have broadcast animations will be inspected for a period of time. During this period, all TV animation series will be suspended."
"The TV station probably won't use this as an excuse. When I was at the TV station, the staff there also looked very nervous. In my opinion, this is probably true."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Sheng put down the book in his hand and turned around to look over. However, he was not looking at Ruan Wei, but at Mu Suxing, who was sitting behind his desk, listening calmly to his subordinates' reports.
"I understand. Thank you for your hard work." Mu Suxing said, "I will take care of this matter. You can leave first."
This is my order to expel you.
Ruan Wei breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that her boss probably had something important to discuss. As she had just finished reporting on her work, she had no intention of staying any longer and turned around to leave, not forgetting to close the office door afterward.
Ruan Wei had just closed the door when Mu Suxing's work phone rang.
It was the director of Xingning TV Station.
The other party exchanged a few pleasantries on the phone and quickly turned to the main topic: "… This incident really happened too suddenly. The arrangement from above is like this, and we have no choice. This is not directed at Huaying. After this period of time is over, we are still very happy to cooperate with Huaying, and we hope that Director Mu can understand."
To put it bluntly, the reason why Xingning TV rejected Huaying's new work was purely because the TV station itself was in a sensitive period. Because they were worried that Mu Suxing would misunderstand and then affect the future cooperation with Huaying, the other party made a special call just to explain to Mu Suxing.
The other party called specially to explain, so Mu Suxing certainly wouldn't still be bothered by it.
Huaying's works do not necessarily have to be broadcast on television. Given the quality of "Detective Conan", even if it is serialized on video websites, the final effect will not be worse than being serialized on television. At most, it will lose some younger viewers in the initial stage due to the audience.
not to mention-
Just because a show cannot be serialized on TV right now doesn't mean it can't be serialized on TV in the future. As long as the ratings are high enough, TV stations don't mind broadcasting episodes that are already available online, but the price will be slightly higher.
Considering that Huaying does not make profits from broadcasting copyrights, this loss can be completely ignored.
"Is this the opportunity you were talking about?" Qin Sheng asked.
Putting the hung up phone back on the table, Mu Suxing raised his eyes and looked at the other person without blinking or avoiding: "Yes."
He knew about this incident.
Since the government began to consciously support the animation industry and issued a series of policies, the animation industry has gradually prospered and attracted countless speculators. Some, like Yunsu Group, are blatantly expanding their monopoly to make quick money, and of course, there are also those who have no intention of animation production and are purely for subsidies and cheat under the name of animation producers.
Take grants, for example.
According to relevant regulations, what is currently directly linked to animation subsidies is whether the animation can be broadcast on TV stations and the length of the animation itself.
In other words, as long as the animation can be broadcast on any TV station on Blue Star, the longer each episode is, the more subsidies the producer of the animation can get, and all these standards have nothing to do with the quality of the animation itself.
After all, TV animation is mainly aimed at children. Even if the animation itself is not good, children have no way to protest. In the case that the animation does not involve any sensitive factors such as blood and violence, parents have no reason to protest and report. For this reason, when making such animations, speculators do not need to worry about whether the animation itself is good-looking or what the picture looks like. As long as they piece together and accumulate enough time, the subsidy will come naturally.
As for whether the poor quality animation can pass the TV station's review...
As long as we negotiate the division of the subsidy with the TV station, everything can be solved.
There are only a few animation companies that can help TV stations recover their costs or even double their profits through advertising fees during the broadcast period, like Huaying Animation. On the other hand, the revenue share of children's animation itself has nothing to do with TV stations. In comparison, it is better to cooperate with speculators and share subsidies together.
I'm afraid the person who proposed this policy would never have thought that this policy, which was created to support television animation, has nurtured a large number of parasites disguised as animation producers, and has become a habitat and paradise for industry parasites.
However, just because you didn’t think about it at the time doesn’t mean you won’t deal with it after you notice it.
During this period in the previous life, all TV stations on Blue Star that had broadcast animations also experienced a major purge, and many high-level TV station executives and speculators who were known as animation producers were arrested. Although it did not cause a particularly large response on the Internet at the time, it was uniformly reported by all official newspapers on Blue Star.
Mu Suxing did not quite understand this overly low-key handling at the time. It was not until later that he realized that for the authorities, the more silent and vigorous the handling was, the less room there was for maneuver.
This is actually a bit strange.
Logically speaking, those who can work in a TV station and abuse their power for personal gain for several years without being reported are mostly those with some background. The twists and turns are like the intricate roots in the soil. It is actually very difficult to uproot them.
But it just happened.
As an ordinary animation producer, Mu Suxing didn't know what kind of game was behind this incident, but what was certain was that the higher-ups did not sit idly by and remain indifferent to these situations, otherwise they would not have deliberately used such an incident to clean out the parasites.
What he has to do is to add fuel to the fire, and use this seemingly silent but actually earth-shaking fire to ignite the entire animation circle.
"This is really..."
Although this was not the first time he had heard of Muxuxing's idea, when the beginning of this plan really came as expected, Qin Sheng still felt absurd: "But what if this fire can't be ignited and can't burn Yunsu?"
Mu Xiuxing did not answer this question directly.
He just said: "If nothing unexpected happens, The Old Man and the Sea will be completed in early December, just in time to participate in the Muse Art Festival at the end of the year."
This is a very special arts festival.
Unlike most events that are called art festivals but are actually music, film and television award ceremonies, the Muse Art Festival is a comprehensive art event that truly symbolizes the highest artistic level of Blue Star. Its performances include but are not limited to singing and dancing, folk art, puppetry, sculpture, embroidery, etc. It usually lasts for four years and is jointly organized by Blue Star and the local provincial/municipal government.
It is worth mentioning that the honorary chairman and chairman of the Muse Art Festival are basically leaders of Blue Star countries.
Logically, an art festival like this should be the center of attention and crowded with people - in fact, it is just the opposite. It is precisely because the Muse Art Festival is too pure and too official that the Muse Art Festival is not popular among ordinary people at all, and even those who know about such an event are very few.
Corresponding to this is its unique position in the art world.
Anyone who is invited to participate in the Muse Art Festival is a recognized master in the Blue Star art world. There are no celebrities and no fraud here.
This is a ceremony truly born for art.
Qin Sheng's heart moved slightly.
He just felt that he seemed to have grasped Mu Xuxing's ideas, but also seemed not to have.
Generally speaking, the Muse Art Festival will last at least fifteen days. In order to express the theme of the festival, which is that it needs to reach the masses, the fine art works at the festival will even go directly into factories, rural areas, campuses and even military camps. Finally, seven winning works will be announced at the closing ceremony on the last day.
but…
"Even if The Old Man and the Sea wins an award at the art festival, it probably won't have any impact on Yunsu, right? What does this have to do with the fire you mentioned?"
Then he saw Muxuxing curl his lips, with a hint of ambiguous smile in his eyes: "Don't worry," he chuckled, "Yunsu will take the initiative to add firewood to the fire."
All he had to do was provide Yunsu with a grand enough stage.
**
At the same time, in a conference room in the Yunsu Group office building.
"Without a doubt, this will be our best chance to acquire Huaying—perhaps our only chance."
When the second meeting arrived as scheduled, Gareth stood up from his seat again. He swept his eyes over everyone present with a firm and serious expression:
"Now Huaying's business has spread across the three industries of comics, animation and games. With Tengkong Entertainment, it is no exaggeration to say that in terms of the quality of its works, Huaying has basically no rivals in these three fields. If Huaying is left alone, the Huaying theme park will be completed and put into operation by the second half of next year at the latest."
"I don't need to say much about the profitability of theme parks, right?"
"Once Huaying completes the layout of the theme park, coupled with their unrivaled profitability in the animation industry," he paused, his expression becoming more serious. "By that time, even if we want to deal with Huaying, I'm afraid we won't be able to do anything."
The existence of a theme park is like a huge and stable money-making machine. Once Huaying Park is successfully built and put into operation, Huaying's funds will be completely free from its current life-threatening state and become an equally independent and powerful group. It is simply a pipe dream to want to deal with Huaying in this state.
There was silence in the conference room.
Gareth made it very clear, and the others present understood what he meant, but...
"I still have the same question," someone said, "You said you want to break the funding chain of Huaying Animation. I can understand that. The problem is that Huaying's next big production is the sequel to Harry Potter. Do you think it's possible for us to make it unable to recover the cost of such a phenomenal animated film?"
Indeed, judging from the box office performance of the first Harry Potter film and the hopelessly stable level of Animation Studios, anyone should know how difficult it is to rival Harry Potter.
but-
"Judging from the average level of the company's works, it is indeed difficult to directly attack Harry Potter simply by colliding with the release date," Gareth said word by word, "So... what about encirclement and suppression?"