My Animation Era

Everyone knows Go.

In terms of popularity, Go is quite famous in China. Regardless of whether you can play it or not, at least everyone has heard of it.

This is also one of the main reasons why Gu Miao decided to produce the "Go Boy" animation.

Go has a very famous name and everyone has heard of it, but it is an unpopular game because there are very few people playing it.

Quite contradictory, right?

In fact, Gu Miao also felt conflicted.

But then he thought about it, and the reason for this situation was probably related to the fact that the threshold for entry and mastery of Go was too high.

Getting started with Go is relatively easy.

Even worse, Go is less difficult to learn than Xiangqi because the core rules are so simple and crude. Unlike Xiangqi, you have to remember the moves of different pieces.

But it is easy to get started, which does not mean that the threshold for entry and mastery of Go is very low.

Quite the opposite.

As a traditional skill, the difficulty of mastering Go is one of the highest among all chess games in the world.

Because of this, Go is not as popular as chess and backgammon, and can be seen everywhere in the streets.

Most people may have only heard of the name Go, but have never played Go and don’t know how to play Go.

"I think there's another reason, the time it takes to play a game of chess!"

Lao Zhang put forward a relatively novel idea, that is, game time.

In the game of Go, assuming that the two sides are of similar level and their chess skills are indistinguishable, it is common to play a game of chess for several hours.

From ancient times to the present, ordinary people have been hard-working people who have been struggling for life. They have eaten one meal without finishing a meal. If they spend all their precious time playing chess, will they be able to cultivate the land?

Only the high-ranking officials and nobles in ancient times, those who lived a carefree life, had the leisure and ample time to improve their chess skills.

"That's why Go is not as popular as backgammon and chess, and not many people can play it."

Lao Zhang explained with a smile: "Because playing a game of backgammon or chess doesn't take too much time. Even if you have to run around for life, you can still find time to play a few games."

"That's an interesting statement."

"If you say so, wouldn't it mean that in today's fast-paced era, no one would be willing to learn and play Go?" Gu Miao asked rhetorically.

"Sure!"

"The problem now is not only that people's pace of life has become faster and it is difficult to find time for entertainment. Another problem is that entertainment methods have become more diversified."

Lao Zhang said with a smile: "Have you not noticed that there are fewer old men playing chess in the park?"

It really is!

When Lao Zhang said this, Gu Miao suddenly remembered.

In the past few years, the park was full of old men playing chess, but in recent years, these old men playing chess have gradually become fewer and fewer.

What did they do?

Tai Chi, square dancing, fishing, mahjong...

These are still elderly people, and even their entertainment methods are so diverse, let alone young people.

I'm afraid young people would rather play Dead Man's Pesticide and watch short videos for a day than find someone to play chess and Go.

The faster pace of life and the diversification of entertainment methods have contributed to the decline of board games. Even the kings of chess and backgammon can't escape misfortune, let alone the unpopular game of Go.

"So I don't recommend you to make a Go animation, and I'm not optimistic about the future of this work."

Lao Zhang shook his head: "The current audience for board games is no longer what it was back then. In my opinion, Mahjong and Poker are more reliable than Go."

"Mahjong..."

Gu Miao thought of a neon anime called "Genius Mahjong Girl" and suddenly smiled.

Mahjong is not impossible either.

It's a pity that mahjong is not in his plan. He can consider it in the future. As for now, Go is more in line with his needs.

Although Lao Zhang is not optimistic about "Go Boy" and believes that it is difficult for Go animation to succeed in today's era, Gu Miao remains unmoved.

Is Go’s audience too narrow?

This is the truth!

But Go Boy is not a serious Go animation. Even people who don’t understand Go can still watch it with gusto.

"Huh? Not serious?"

"That's right! Go is just a carrier of the story. Putting aside the Go part, "Go Boy" can be regarded as an overhead martial arts animation." Gu Miao explained.

It’s just a story told through Go.

The same effect can be achieved by switching to chess and backgammon. To put it bluntly, as a vehicle for telling stories, the audience does not need to understand the Go part, they only need to understand the plot development.

and……

Is the Go game part of the animation "Go Boy" really difficult to understand?

There are special effects!

The audience can't understand the trend of the chess game. Isn't it enough to just watch who plays chess with more momentum and who plays chess with better special effects?

Is there really a stupid kid who can judge Jiang Liuer's chess playing level by observing the chess game? No way?

We smart people judge whether Jiang Liuer will win based on special effects, the opponent's expression, and whether the chessboard glows or not.

As long as any of the chess pieces on the chessboard shines and the opponent shows one of the expressions of surprise, astonishment, confusion, fear, etc., it can be determined that Jiang Liuer is going to win.

did you see it?

Who said you have to understand the game in Go animation? Who said that if you don't understand the rules of Go, you can't understand "Go Boy"?

"This...is this okay?"

"Of course!"

Gu Miao raised her eyebrows: "If this is not enough, don't worry, you can also add commentators from passers-by to the animation, and use them to introduce the changes in the chess game to the audience."

As everyone knows.

Passers-by are the strongest!

In fantasy novels, whenever the protagonist is fighting against someone, there will always be a knowledgeable passer-by who gasps and points out the skills of the protagonist and his opponent, and the origins of the magical weapons...

How could a passerby know so many secrets?

Fuck you, do you really think those passers-by are ordinary passers-by? Those nameless passers-by are all the incarnations of screenwriters and authors, terrifying beings that even God dare not offend.

Gu Miao, who has read so many fantasy fairy tales online, naturally knows the role of "passerby's explanation".

If similar passerby characters are added to the animation "Go Boy", even viewers who do not understand the rules of Go can roughly understand the key changes in the chess game, which can be said to have many benefits.

certainly!

This is not Gu Miao's first initiative. In fact, in the original "Go Boy" animation, there was a similar passerby commentator role.

In the entire animation circle, similar plots are not new designs. In animations such as "The Prince of Tennis", don't there be a large number of passers-by's commentary clips?

The Net King's god-level skills are basically described through the perspectives and lines of teammates, spectators, and opponents, allowing the audience to feel their awesomeness.

"Go Boy" just changed from explaining the skills to explaining the changes in the chess game.

…

While Gu Miao was still discussing the feasibility of the so-called "Go Boy" project with Lao Zhang and others, the movie "The Treasure Hunt" had already become a hit throughout the summer vacation.

It will only be released for ten days.

After being sluggish for the first three days, starting from the fourth day, the movie attendance rate increased significantly. On the eighth day, it even created an astonishing box office performance of 280 million in a single day.

As of July 7, the 11th day of the movie's release and the second week of its nationwide release, the cumulative box office of the movie "Bear Bears" has reached 817 million yuan.

The reason why it didn't exceed one billion is mainly because the performance in the first week of release was really not good, and the box office was mainly accumulated over the weekend.

But that's not important.

What's important is that with the arrival of summer vacation, more and more children are entering theaters accompanied by their parents, and movie attendance has returned to normal.

With the blessing of an over-subscribed film schedule, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion: "Treasure Bear Soldier" may be the biggest winner of this summer vacation!

"No, no, no!"

"Don't promote it like this. We can't afford this title. During the summer vacation, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, who knows if a dark horse will emerge from behind?"

Gu Miao resisted the idea of ​​being the biggest winner in the summer vacation and would not admit it at all.

Not only that, he also stated that "Bear Raiders" is only the first big movie in the Bear series, and their expectations for the box office are not high. If it can exceed one billion, it will be considered a success!

Regarding his modest statement, many media reporters were speechless.

Is breaking one billion considered a success?

Treasure Hunt is almost on track to hit 1.5 billion. If it performs better in the third and fourth weeks, it might be able to predict a box office of 2 billion. Isn’t this successful enough?

Mr. Gu is so humble!

If the achievements of "Second Treasure Bear Soldier" were placed in other companies, I'm afraid they wouldn't have been blown up to the sky long ago.

If this is not the biggest winner of the summer vacation, then who else deserves it? Among the movies released this summer, it’s hard to see a second “Bear Raiders” film, right?

Reporters murmured.

Some people speculate that Gu Miao said this probably because the box office performance of "The Golden Rooster" in the first half of this year was so good.

After all, compared with the glorious record of the Pleasant Goat Zodiac series, although the first big movie of Infested Bears performed well, it was indeed a bit less interesting.

Some people also think that the reason why Gu Miao said this was actually to show off to everyone in a subtle way.

Is "Raiders of the Lost Ark" considered a success if it has a box office of over 1 billion? Why one billion?

Because so far, except for Wanbao Animation, no domestic animated film has exceeded the one billion mark at the box office.

Gu Sanshui is showing off!

Gu Miao was speechless as her modest statement was speculated by various unscrupulous media as showing off and boasting.

Be reasonable...

Every word he said was true. Is he the biggest winner in the summer vacation? Is it a big deal to have a box office of one billion? Who dares to say such things in front of "Wolf Warrior 2"!

"Soon!"

Gu Miao glanced at the calendar, then shook her head and said, "In about ten days, these people will know what a miracle is."

"pity……"

The "Wolf Warrior 2" project has nothing to do with Wanbao. The billions in box office revenue are certainly eye-catching, but Gu Miao has no idea at all.

He is engaged in animation, not film and television dramas. Even if he receives the news in advance and rushes to provide investment to others, they probably will not accept it.

Let’s take a step back.

Even if someone is really short of money and is willing to accept Wanbao's investment, considering Wanbao's current business territory, Gu Miao will not take it too seriously.

After all, the box office is the box office, and the money received is the money received.

"Wolf Warrior 2" is a good opportunity to make money, but if you really want to make more money, I'm afraid it's not necessarily possible. After all, in Gu Miao's eyes, this IP's ability to make money is probably not even one-tenth as good as "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Pokémon".

It's just that during this summer vacation, Wanbao really has nothing to do with this movie blessed with a special aura.

Treasure Hunt has been released ahead of schedule.

But even if it is released in advance, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" will still bump into this movie by the fourth week. There is no way around it.

“Intensify publicity efforts!”

Gu Miao called Du Hao and told him to increase the promotion of the movie "Treasure Bear Soldier" this week and the next to squeeze the box office potential as much as possible.

Totally gave up on the fourth week.

The screening cycle of "Treasure Bear Soldier" will be completely over next week. After all, it is really impossible to fight Wolf Warrior 2 in the fourth week.

Try to completely squeeze out the box office potential of "Raiders of the Bear" in the first three weeks, and then just mess around in the fourth week and release it as soon as possible.

Extended key?

Stop making trouble!

In normal times, Gu Miao might still fight for this thing. After all, if it is released for a longer period of time, it can earn more box office.

Can this summer vacation be postponed?

He didn't think that Treasure Hunt would have any outstanding performance under the aura of that movie. The so-called delay was unnecessary.

In fact, Wanbao is pretty good.

At least Raiders of the Lost Ark is an animated film, and the audience overlap with that film is very low. Relatively speaking, the impact is not as big as that of other films.

It's also a movie released during the summer vacation, so that's really miserable!

At least Raiders of the Lost Ark can win over the children's support so that they won't be crushed to the point of being unable to fight back, but there's nothing that can be done about other films. They're all cannon fodder in front of that film.

"Ok, I see."

After receiving Mr. Gu's instructions, Du Hao nodded first, and then asked: "The cumulative box office of Treasure Hunt tonight will probably exceed one billion. Do you need to celebrate?"

"Just look at the arrangements!"

"Ask the finance department to approve a note. You can take Dimension Studio out to celebrate in the evening. Remember to keep a low profile..."

This is not the first time Wanbao has held a celebration banquet and cocktail reception.

Gu Miao didn't even bother to attend the celebration banquet for a mere one billion box office, let alone spread the news. After all, it was only one billion box office, why did it have such a big show?

Two billion can be a big deal. After all, it is indeed an outstanding achievement for an animated movie to reach such a high box office.

Four billion? five billion?

If an animated film could really achieve such a high box office, Gu Miao would not only hold a high-profile celebration banquet, but also live broadcast the entire event, invite friends and businessmen to participate, and slap her face in front of them.

Unfortunately……

Judging from the current situation, it is not very difficult for animated movies to reach a box office of 4 billion or 5 billion in China.

The devil boy of Nezha comes to the world?

Thinking of this, Gu Miao couldn't help but sigh.

In the past two years, it's not like he hasn't inquired whether there is a team in China working on this project? After all, according to the original timeline, Nezha had already started the project at this point.

Unfortunately, after asking around, I found out that the demon boy of Nezha was supposed to appear as scheduled, but it seemed that he did not appear, and no news came out in the circle.

This made Gu Miao very worried.

Without Nezha at the forefront, when will domestic animated films break the curse and equal or even surpass live-action films in box office performance? Arouse the attention of the entire capital circle?