My singer girlfriend is super fierce

Chapter 1569 A Billion Planned for Next Year (Part 2)

Hearing Ye Zhiqi say that, Huang Shiguang didn't pay much attention.

In his impression, Ye Zhi Qiu was not the kind of person who would suffer a loss, but as a friend, he was still quite worried.

"No matter what, isn't it a bit too risky for you to say that you have 100 billion?"

"This movie is too risky. No matter how many of the previous ones were hits, no one can guarantee that the next one will be a hit as well."

"Even if your film 'The Dead End' grosses 20 billion yuan, there's still a shortfall of 80 billion yuan."

“I know,” Ye Zhi Qiu nodded, “that’s why we need to use some serious stuff.”

Ye Zhi Qiu was well aware that relying on a realistic crime film like "The Dead End" would only yield limited box office returns.

It's not that the work is bad, but the style and genre are wrong. Everyone in the industry knows that family-friendly and comedy films with a wide audience reach and strong penetration into lower-tier markets are the mainstream choice for boosting box office revenue.

Animated films are included, of course.

"Shiguang Zhiqiu" is his studio, and the animated films produced by it should naturally be included in his box office revenue.

Ye Zhi Qiu had made preparations for this long ago.

"What juicy news?" Huang Shiguang asked. "Is it about an animated film?"

He naturally guessed that Ye Zhi Qiu would set his sights on animation.

A good animated film is indeed a box office hit; the studio's previous films, "Monkey King: Hero Is Back" and "Ne Zha," both grossed over 30 billion yuan.

Ye Zhi Qiu did not deny it. He took out a script from his briefcase and handed it to Huang Shi Guang.

"This is the most important project of this year's 'Autumn of Light' event."

"Ne Zha Part 2".

"You've written it down?" Huang Shiguang's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he quickly took it.

The success of the first "Ne Zha" film is undeniable, and it still holds the record for the highest-grossing domestic animated film.

A sequel to a popular IP with a fan base, a track record, and a proven reputation is indeed the safest way to rake in box office revenue.

Back when the first "Ne Zha" movie was being filmed, it was made as a series of IPs, and now they've finally got Ye Zhi Qiu's script.

Clearly, Huang Shih-kuang prefers creating his own works to working for America's "Animation Dream Factory," even if it involves major projects that can be shown in Hollywood.

He eagerly turned his gaze to the title on the script cover.

— *Ne Zha*

He was already very familiar with the plot of the first "Ne Zha" movie, and seeing the name immediately brought to mind a lot of things.

First of all, the title "Ne Zha" retains the logo of the previous work and is also the core label of this IP, allowing the audience to recognize it as a "sequel" as soon as they see the name.

As for the phrase "闹海" (nao hai, meaning "to stir up trouble in the sea"), there is much to say about it.

"Havoc in the Sea" is the most classic and iconic episode in the Nezha myth, and it is also a childhood memory for many viewers.

The story varies slightly depending on the source, but the general outline is that seven-year-old Nezha went to bathe in the East Sea. His Hun Tian Ling stirred up the seawater, causing the East Sea Dragon Palace to shake violently.

The Dragon King of the East Sea was furious and sent his third son, Ao Bing, to capture him. However, Ao Bing was killed on the spot by Nezha, who also pulled out his dragon tendons, which further fueled the hatred of the dragon clan.

What follows is the more familiar storyline.

The Four Dragon Kings besieged Chentang Pass with a massive flood, forcing Li Jing to hand over Nezha.

To avoid implicating his family and the entire city, Nezha, under the guidance of the immortal Taiyi Zhenren, resolutely cut off his flesh to return to his mother, removed his bones to return to his father, and committed suicide to atone for his sins.

Of course, Huang Shiguang knew that this was the traditional version of "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" storyline, so the animation would not simply follow the original story, otherwise it would be too unoriginal.

"Ne Zha" features groundbreaking innovations in character design, narrative logic, and thematic expression.

In the ending of the first book, Ao Bing and Nezha together resisted the heavenly lightning but lost their physical bodies, and Shen Gongbao released the four imprisoned Dragon Kings...

It's not hard to guess that the story of the new script will unfold along this line.

While pondering, Huang Shiguang's hands kept moving, and he had already opened the script.

While he was watching, Ye Zhi Qiu slowly poured himself a cup of hot tea, enjoying his leisure time.

On the other side, as time passed, Huang Shiguang's expression visibly changed from initial excitement to confusion, then to a slight frown, and finally to a deep furrow...

As is well known, Ye Zhi Qiu's script is very detailed.

In the script, in addition to explaining the scenes, characters, and plot, Ye Zhi Qiu would also describe the visual effects in great detail, often even doing the storyboard work.

Huang Shiguang, on the other hand, has a technical background and is very familiar with the entire animation production process.

Based on Ye Zhi Qiu's written descriptions, he could quickly form a picture in his mind and estimate the approximate production cycle and cost.

Then, Huang Shiguang's expression turned into a "pain mask"...

Nearly an hour later, Huang Shiguang put down the script with difficulty, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp.

He raised his gaze to look at Ye Zhi Qiu in front of him, his voice somewhat hoarse: "This... are you serious?"

Ye Zhi Qiu, puzzled, replied, "What?"

Huang Shiguang pointed to the script and said, "This script describes a scene."

"I've written it all out, how could it be fake?" Ye Zhi Qiu grinned and said matter-of-factly.

"I told you I was going to bring out the bombshell, is it bombshell enough?"

"Enough!" Huang Shiguang gave a thumbs up, but the next moment his face fell, and he said with a wry smile, "But you've gone too far."

"The opening scene, with the flooding of Chentang Pass and the siege of the city by the Four Dragon Kings, was an amazing shot. Then I counted... there were more than 40 amazing shots in the whole series!"

At this point, Huang Shiguang's expression was still full of disbelief.

In the industrial production of animation, animation shots are graded into "S, A, B, C" according to factors such as the difficulty of special effects production, resource consumption, and cost.

"Super S" represents the highest level of difficulty, usually referring to the core visual effects shot with the highest cost and longest production cycle.

The cost of a single shot in this multi-element (fluid/particle/fragmentation/group animation, etc.) superimposed solution can be tens or even hundreds of times that of a regular shot.

In a typical two-hour animated film, the climax of the ending, the highlights of the characters, and other key scenes will use S-level shots.

But Ye Zhi Qiu's approach, treating super-S-shaped shots like scattering beans, making the entire film feel the same way from beginning to end...

All I can say is that even Huang Shiguang, who has been in the industry for so many years, felt a chill run down his spine after seeing this.

One reason is the budget.

On the other hand, it's liver pain...

The greatest characteristic of animation is that it allows imagination to break free from the constraints of reality, grow freely and unrestrained, and then bring its visuals to life through technology.

For the first time, Huang Shiguang felt that Ye Zhiqiu's imagination and appetite seemed a bit too "wild".