It's not just the media.
With the huge hit of "Born to be a Craftsman", many viewers not only liked the movie itself, but also loved the director Xu An. For a while, posts discussing "Born to be a Craftsman" and director Xu An could be seen everywhere on various film forums.
There are serious compliments.
"I went there for Huaying's production, and I was not disappointed."
"It's a bit unexpected. I've always wanted to watch something about traditional culture, but it's too unpopular and few people make it. I didn't expect that I could actually get my wish in an animated film. The plot isn't childish either. Although it's an animated film, adults and children can actually watch it."
"The director's level is impeccable, highly recommended!"
"I have been watching gossips all the time, and I am really tired of watching the monsters and goblins in the film industry. Now I am really moved by seeing Director Xu and Xingxing. If you treat me like a great man, I will repay you like a great man. Xingxing gave Director Xu trust and support when he needed it the most, and Director Xu never let Xingxing down. It's great."
There are also gossips.
"By the way, didn't you notice that several characters in Born to be a Craftsman were voiced by Xingxing?"
"I found out! There was also a reporter who interviewed Director Xu after the movie premiere, asking him how he came up with the idea of asking Xing Xing to do the dubbing. Director Xu looked very serious and said confidently that the budget for the movie was limited, so he had to spend it sparingly. The most important thing was that it could be used as an Easter egg to take advantage of Xing Xing's popularity, such as asking the audience to guess how many Xing Xing had dubbed or something like that."
"Director Xu: You never expected that? I am still a business genius.jpg"
"You know what? When I watched the movie, I could tell that the main character was voiced by Xingxing, but I couldn't tell the other characters voiced by Xingxing. Now I really want to go to the cinema to watch it again and count how many characters Xingxing voiced..."
When Xu An first asked him to do the dubbing, Mu Suxing didn't actually think too much about it.
At that time, Huaying's situation was indeed not very good. Because of the rumor that Huaying had snatched subsidies from small companies, many animation studios that had originally accepted Huaying's investment switched to Yunsu, saying "Yunsu and Huaying are of the same kind anyway, so it's better to choose Yunsu". Therefore, when Xu An came to him, Mu Suxing thought that he was just like everyone else, coming to draw a clear line between them.
What I didn't expect was that they came to him specifically for the dubbing.
What was even more unexpected was that Xu An's so-called attempt to ride on his popularity actually paid off - as the content of the reporter's interview was made public, many fans even went to the cinema to watch the film again in order to count how many characters Mu Suxing had voiced, so that the box office of "Born to be a Craftsman" exploded again when it was about to be withdrawn.
The total box office of "Born to be a Craftsman" finally settled at 2.5 billion.
Compared with the 7 billion of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", this number is obviously not enough. But "Harry Potter" is a big IP and a big production after all. Considering the cost and cost performance, even if it is placed on the Blue Star Movie Box Office Ranking, "Born to be a Craftsman" can be ranked in the top 10.
"Don't say anything, Huaying is awesome!"
"To be honest, Huaying's vision has always been very good. Whether it was the choice of previous animation adaptations or the investment in Xu An's movies, they were basically a model of both critical and commercial success, and the production team was also very good. I really dislike the current trend in the film industry. There are really too few directors like Xingxing and Director Xu who are down-to-earth and focused on their works."
“I don’t know if Xingxing and Director Xu will have a chance to work together.”
"Of course there will be. I heard that Director Xu had signed a contract with Huaying long before "Born to be a Craftsman" was released. There are still many people who want to poach Director Xu, but it's a pity that Director Xu is determined to stay in Huaying and won't even look at anyone. He is already from Huaying, so how far is the cooperation?"
…
Some are happy, some are sad.
While everyone at Huaying was celebrating that their work had once again won the top spot in the schedule, the capital investors over there were filled with gloom and sorrow.
At the same time, in a conference room.
"I told you not to get involved in Yunsu's affairs, but you insisted on getting involved and taking the lead. First, in order to catch up with the Lunar New Year holiday, you urged the crew to speed up the production. Now, you are afraid of official punishment, so the release date has been postponed again and again. It's almost April this year. Tell me what to do now!"
silence.
Everyone looked at each other, with the same helpless look on their faces.
They really have no other choice.
Originally according to the deal between them and Yunsu, their movie would be released as the third batch of movies to suppress "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". However, no one expected that the officials, who had always turned a blind eye to the various open and secret struggles in the film industry, would suddenly step in and give Yunsu a severe punishment.
Faced with the official warnings that were clear as day, no matter how stubborn they were, they knew it was time to withdraw.
As a film and television company, they have a natural relationship of control and being controlled with the authorities. Yunsu Group also has other industries, but they have nothing but TV series and movies. For them, not to mention official punishment, even a little warning or hint is enough to scare them.
We finally got through February, but Xu An showed up in March.
"Actually... maybe, we are already lucky?" Someone tentatively said, "At least our movie hasn't been released yet, unlike Beiyuan Film and Television, which was directly hit by "Born to be a Craftsman" and couldn't avoid it. At least we can arrange a specific release time. There won't be any works by Huaying in April, right?"
The boss took a deep breath, slapped a form in front of him, and said coldly: "This is the schedule for next month, take a look at it yourself."
His eyelids twitched.
April has always been a slow season for the film industry, but any company with a bit of ambition and background will choose the busy summer or Lunar New Year season. In other words, the movies that choose to be released in April are usually not produced by small or medium-sized companies, or the movies themselves tend to be niche.
For those who just want the movie to be released as soon as possible and cut their losses, April is a good time to sell it.
However-
He looked at the familiar words on the list.
Movie title: Your Lie in April
Director: Muxuxing
Production company: Huaying Animation
The three words "Mu Suxing" in the director column on the form were too conspicuous and too shocking for them, so he couldn't pretend not to see them.
With the success of "Born to be a Craftsman", both the audience and the industry have no doubts about the vision of Huaying Animation. What's more, this unidentified animated film is not only produced by Huaying Animation, but also directed by Mu Suxing himself.
Thinking of this, the employees felt a bitter taste in their mouths.
It's funny to say that two months ago, they were still gloating over the situation of Huaying Animation, secretly looking forward to the day when Huaying would be encircled and suppressed. No one expected that the prey two months ago would suddenly turn into a hunter after escaping and encircle and suppress it on their own.
Is this what it feels like to be surrounded and targeted
There was silence in the conference room.
After a short and long silence, the man sitting at the top sighed and made a decision: "No change, let's stick to April."
"But if Huaying intends to retaliate against us—"
"Then let it come." The man said, his tone was firm: "Animated films and live-action films are two different types in the final analysis. They are fundamentally different in terms of their audiences. Not every animated film can be as popular as Harry Potter." If it really doesn't work...
It's not just a matter of losing to your competitors.
He didn't say the last word.
In fact, even he himself could not accept this speculation which was very likely to become a fact: if their movie really suffered a Waterloo, the meaning of this would be far more terrible to them than the failure itself - because this would mean that the Blue Star Film Market in the future would no longer be a paradise where capital could easily get high box office by just doing something perfunctory.
…
"No, I'm still upset."
With the completion of "Your Lie in April", everyone at Huaying Animation once again entered a rare state of leisure. At this moment, Wen Feihang was lazily leaning against a tree on the lawn of the headquarters, watching Fang Lian and Mu Xingxue playing tennis, while he couldn't help complaining:
"Are they allowed to attack us but we are not allowed to retaliate? If you ask me, since our schedules just happen to collide, we might as well give them a lesson and let other companies see the price of attacking us."
While he was talking, Fang Lian and Mu Xingxue, who had just finished a round, came over.
Before Mu Suxing spoke, Fang Lian, who had just heard his last words, raised his eyebrows and said, "It's just an animated film, and you want to snipe at the live-action film? Wen Feihang, you are a little too proud."
"Fang Lian is right."
This time it was Mu Xingxue who spoke up: "Harry Potter is an exception among exceptions. Normally, it is difficult for animated films and live-action films to interfere with each other. Moreover, the film released by the other party this time is a typical collaboration between a big IP and top stars. If we want to retaliate, it will be difficult to deal a substantial blow to them unless we further expand into the film and television industry."
"That's a good idea." Fang Lian's eyes lit up: "Anyway, we have a lot of popular IPs. Instead of selling them to others and ruining them, why don't we set up a film and television department to do it ourselves?"
"That's something for the future, right?" Wen Feihang said depressedly, "Are we just going to let it go this time?"
Muxuxing said, "No need."
"What do you mean no need?" Fang Lian asked doubtfully, "No need for revenge? Or do you want to just let it go?"
“You don’t have to do anything.”
In other words, they had already completed all the necessary preparations.
Facing the confused looks of the crowd, Mu Suxing chuckled and did not explain in detail. He just said, "In short, we don't have to do anything. Just wait and see the show."
If it were any other subject matter, Muxuxing would have no way to help it. But who can blame the other party for choosing the so-called big IP + traffic star, a seemingly impeccable and safe routine? Just like animation fans would be disgusted by Yunsu Animation, do ordinary audiences have no disgust for traffic stars who actually have no acting skills but dominate the hot searches every day
You will have to pay for what you have done.
Not just the animation industry.
From applauding for the vacant Eleanor Best Actor and Actress Awards a few years ago, to even audiences who don't watch animation being willing to support "Harry Potter".
The audience's tolerance for shitty movies has almost reached its limit.