Chapter 449: Dare to Be the Pioneer

"Gravity" is still in intense production, having already filmed Liu Tianxian entering the International Space Station and surviving her return to Earth.

She simply entered one of the modules at random.

The International Space Station does not belong to any single country; it was jointly built by sixteen nations.

It is primarily operated by NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency.

Each country has its own space laboratory, differing only in scale.

Of course, the Russians and Americans have the most—rumor has it the core technology is primarily Russian.

Regardless, to avoid conflict and ideological issues, the script chose the French module—no one gets offended.

That means the female lead just needs to enter the French module; she happens to see a screen full of French buttons and sighs in frustration.

The character is set to understand Chinese and English but not French.

Of course, the computer-rendered International Space Station was based on publicly available blueprints—only the general visual style needed rendering, and that's no secret.

This film has been shooting for nearly two months; under these conditions—no location changes, staying in one place—the time is extremely long.

But there's no choice: the filming techniques, movement, and special effects in space require endless refinement.

Still, location changes are necessary, because the female lead returns to Earth by falling into the ocean, requiring real ocean shooting.

The north is still cold in April; they must shoot in the south, where it has already warmed up.

This film is mostly shot by Guo Fan; Fang Hong merely reviews the footage, compares it with movies he's seen, and points out what doesn't fit.

For instance, Fang Hong now says: "The International Space Station is falling toward Earth—it's not intact, not stationary, but has been struck by space debris."

"So when you film this, use the Light Box to convey the visceral sensation of the characters plummeting with the station toward Earth, with the planet looming massive and immediate."

"If the station is falling, how does the female lead, wearing an Astronaut Suit and holding a jet pack, catch up to it?" Guo Fan asks curiously.

This plot point is somewhat illogical—the female lead has no spacecraft, yet somehow uses a device like a fire extinguisher to jet toward the falling station.

Listening to it, it feels unreasonable.

There was also a previous flaw: the character played by Guo Jingfei, to get the female lead to the station, deliberately let go of the tether and drifted away himself.

Logically, in outer space there is no gravity; without other forces, he should remain motionless.

"Don't overthink the logic—if you insist on strict logic, you won't make a good film," Fang Hong waves off.

This film has many bugs that can't be logically explained—even the original creative team admitted many scenes can't be justified scientifically.

It's all for the sake of the plot.

It became a masterpiece because it's a "technical wonder"—its dynamic long takes not only let audiences understand astronauts' working conditions.

They also revealed the vastness of outer space to viewers.

"Alright, I understand!" Guo Fan gets it.

If plot and logic conflict, prioritize the plot—only the plot creates audience immersion.

You explain the logic, but the audience might not understand it.

If you insist on logic, just make a documentary instead.

Understanding Fang Hong's point, filming continues methodically—just grinding.

There's no choice; sometimes it's not Liu Tianxian's acting that's lacking, but the movement and camera sense of outer space are hard to capture.

It's not enough to just strap people to a rig—you sometimes need specific motions.

For example, how to move when there's an object to push off against in space requires research.

"Moonlight" screened for another ten days after the Oscars, then left theaters—global box office: $65.3 million; after half a year, that's all.

Still, it's fine—the film's rights sold well; streaming, DVD, TV, and other rights brought substantial income.

After "Moonlight" left theaters, "Don't Breathe" reached $107 million globally and is still screening.

But Phase Two of the Yutu Film and Television Base has fallen behind on payments; Zhong Family has paid over $40 million, totaling $300 million.

Yutu paid $400 million; together, $700 million—just enough to cover the $100 million Phase Two construction cost.

Payment is still installment-based—not lump-sum!

The film base has been under construction for a year, started last April; after breaking ground, progress accelerated, nearly complete by late last year.

Equipment and gear were ordered and continuously delivered; construction never paused except during the New Year.

But many payments remain outstanding, unpaid.

This has drained Zhong Family's box office revenue—but no matter, the rights sales revenue remains untouched.

Part of this revenue goes to Yu Xian; the rest is reinvested—overseas rights are expensive and the system is mature.

It's once again May Day holiday season, but this May Day has no major films—only obscure, unknown small productions.

Like "Let Go of Love," "The Great Hypnotist," "Ikkyu-san," and several animated films.

None of these films stirred any market buzz.

For a time, domestic blockbusters all avoided the May Day slot, simply because Hollywood blockbusters flooded it.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"—all Hollywood blockbusters, surrounding and squeezing the slot.

These films rarely face direct competition—their visuals and effects are truly overwhelming. And audiences haven't reached aesthetic fatigue yet.

After Zuoshandiao stepped back, market trends shifted; in past years, several domestic films claimed this slot—this year, none.

Actually, it has nothing to do with him—the market is open now, no longer as protected as before.

The more you protect, the worse the films become.

Of course, summer vacation still needs protection—otherwise, domestic films truly can't compete.

That day, Fang Hong returned to the company because Chen Zhixi said someone had come seeking investment—he should see whether to invest.

It's an animated film; she's unsure if it will make money.

In an office, Chen Zhixi introduced a middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses and a slightly chubby face.

Fang Hong found him unfamiliar—he'd never met him before—but out of politeness, he greeted: "Hello!"

"Hello, Principal, my name is Tian Xiaopeng." Tian Xiaopeng spoke with a humble posture.

The name sounded familiar, but Fang Hong couldn't recall it right away.

"It's like this—he has an animation film called 'Big Hero 6' in production, funded by Guangxian, but now Guangxian has withdrawn its investment, leaving them cash-strapped, so they've come seeking our help."

"I've watched their film—it's quite good."

Chen Zhixi explained the situation: such an animation film cost only tens of millions, far below Fang Hong's approval threshold, but she wasn't sure.

Because Fang Hong had been making animation films on his own for years, investing hundreds of millions with no results, she feared this might be another bottomless pit.

In truth, she worried unnecessarily—Fang Hong's film targeted the European and American market, not the domestic one.

European and American audiences already watched far more animation films and demanded higher quality, making them fundamentally different from domestic productions.

Fang Hong said nothing, appearing thoughtful; in truth, he already understood the situation roughly.

"'Big Hero 6' can be called the first successful domestic animation film; calling it a milestone isn't an exaggeration."

Chen Zhixi added: "There's still no proven case of a successful domestic animation film, so we're unsure of its market potential—but I've seen the film, and it really is excellent."

She reiterated that the animation film was excellent and she had high hopes for it.

"Our animation film's story was refined for eight years and produced for two; it's nearly complete, just lacking a bit of funding," Tian Xiaopeng added.

His words implied: if you invest a little now, you'll reap the fruits—they've already walked the entire path.

In truth, he felt uneasy; the Principal remained silent, and he didn't know whether he'd invest or what he was thinking.

With Yutu's support, his animation film would essentially be guaranteed.

"I'd like to ask—why did Guangxian withdraw its investment?" Fang Hong wanted to know the gossip.

"Let me answer that," Chen Zhixi said. "Guangxian simply lacked confidence; as a publicly listed company, investing in an animation film carries great risk—they must answer to their shareholders."

"I see," Fang Hong understood roughly.

Wang Zhangtian placed great weight on Guangxian's stock value, unlike Huayi, which was a family company.

That's why Guangxian's stock had always remained stable.

But in this life, Guangxian had been fundamentally crippled by Fang Hong—many new-generation directors and dark-horse film projects had been snatched away by Yutu.

Now, having misjudged 'Big Hero 6' and pushed the project to him, Guangxian had fallen even further.

In his past life, Guangxian's animation films were quite impressive.

Just as Tian Xiaopeng was nervously waiting, Fang Hong decided: "Fine, we'll invest."

This surprised Tian Xiaopeng—so quickly?

"Our company has always aimed to enter the animation field and has always held high hopes for it. Since Director Chen says your animation is good and you have confidence, we have no reason not to invest."

Fang Hong paused, then said to Chen Zhixi: "Let the market decide. We won't make any guarantees—but we can offer animation films more tolerance; we must dare to be pioneers."

His words sounded wonderful; Tian Xiaopeng thought the Principal was no ordinary man, with lofty vision.

"Understood," Chen Zhixi nodded.

It meant she could develop other animation films beyond just 'Big Hero 6'.

She had also held high hopes for this film.

Animation films still had a future—there were many successful examples abroad; it was just that the domestic market wasn't mature yet.

Audiences still preferred live-action films.

After finalizing terms with Tian Xiaopeng, Chen Zhixi could handle the details—the investment wouldn't be much, just twenty to thirty million.

Fang Hong went to watch his own animation film, 'Big Hero 6'.

After all, he'd just invested another hundred million; the film base had drained several hundred million more, and he still needed to fund other film projects—funds were tight again.

"This animation is nearly complete; we're now doing final editing and voice dubbing," reported Shi Zhi Mao, the animation lead.

As the two watched the nearly finished animation, Fang Hong asked: "I just want to know when it will be released?"

"Absolutely by October!" Shi Zhi Mao said.

(End of Chapter)