tkworld #364 - Paramount Pictures invites Mr. Lu to make a bad movie, and Liu Mengyuan personally volunteers
#364 - Paramount Pictures invites Mr. Lu to make a bad movie, and Liu Mengyuan personally volunteers
"What shame? There's no shame at all!"
Lu Yu said without batting an eye.
"For players who love card battles, isn't this just a perfect sense of ritual?"
Seeing CEO Lu's insistence, everyone had no choice but to stop arguing.
Just as everyone was heavy-hearted and preparing to start their work, Lu Yu continued to add:
"Also, I'd like to talk to you about the distribution method and business model of this TCG card game.
Actually, the duel disk from just now has two uses.
Players can use the duel disk as a game controller, connect to a VR game console, and battle with players across the entire network in a virtual online space.
They can also use physical cards offline to battle face-to-face with friends, with the duel disk acting as a referee and scorekeeper."
Meng Yue asked:
"CEO Lu, do you mean that we're actually focusing on the game console version, and the offline cards are actually just a bonus?"
After hearing this, the others breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking:
So that's how it is... You scared me. If we're mainly selling game software, then it's not unacceptable.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yu suddenly raised a finger and shook it:
"No, no, no, that's what I wanted to talk to you about.
Actually, my idea is this: our game software will be completely free!
And the duel disk will only be sold at cost price, or even at a loss. We'll include an initial pre-built deck with the duel disk, so players can start a game as soon as they buy it.
If they want to play with more variety, players will need to purchase 'expansion packs'."
Ma Yanyu slapped his forehead: "The game software is completely free, but the expansion packs need to be purchased in the game store?"
Lu Yu smiled and shook his head:
"No, we won't have an in-app purchase store. Players can only buy expansion packs offline!
Each of our battle cards will have a built-in NFC sensor chip. Players can directly place the physical card on the duel disk to conduct online VR duels!"
As soon as these words came out, the conference room was in an uproar!
Everyone was completely shocked!
Each physical card has a built-in NFC chip?
Even the three giants of card games haven't gone this far. This... this is too whimsical, isn't it?
Ye Kun: "CEO Lu, the built-in NFC chip means that we can't use ordinary printing plant production lines. We have to open a separate production line. I'm afraid the cost per card won't come down."
Meng Yue: "Cost is only one aspect. Considering that existing card games on the market don't use similar technology, I'm worried that we'll be pioneering something where we can't overcome the technical difficulties... Especially since we have to insert the chip while keeping the card as thin as possible, it's even harder."
Ding Wenping: "Existing TCGs on the market are all about reducing the burden, focusing on being easy to pick up, while our players have to swipe cards on the duel disk, and use battle poses and chuunibyou lines. I feel that this may increase the complexity of the operation and reduce the user experience."
Lu Yu listened to the employees' explanations with satisfaction.
They were absolutely right!
Originally, he was worried that such a blind mess might accidentally create a hit.
Now, after listening to the employees' explanations, he was relieved!
The cost is high, the technology is difficult, and he actively gave up the online recharge model, throwing away half of the potential profits. Isn't this the potential of a flop product?
Recently, Peach Garden Village has been producing hits one after another, and the employees are becoming more and more competitive.
In this round of the cycle, he can finally interrupt the positive feedback of this group of little try-hards and let them be completely disheartened by the strength of the three card game giants, hahaha!
Suppressing the ecstasy in his heart, Lu Yu said sternly:
"This business model is a blue ocean. No one else has done it before. How can you say it won't work?
The project will be promoted as decided. Wan Xiaotong and the planning department, please come up with a detailed plan as soon as possible.
The production of the duel disk will be handed over to Useless Technology.
The production of the cards will be handed over to Little Confused Immortal Company."
Looking at the crouching dragons and phoenixes in the room, Lu Yu was very satisfied. As long as they performed normally, wouldn't a flop be a certainty?
This time it's stable, hahaha!
After Lu Yu left the conference room, some of the employees stayed behind to discuss.
Ma Yanyu: "CEO Lu hasn't asked about project development for a long time. He always acts as a hands-off shopkeeper, letting us develop freely. What's going on this time?"
The others racked their brains, but couldn't figure it out.
Meng Yue said: "I think we still have to ask CEO Liu about this. After all, they're a couple, and they must share some pillow talk. Maybe CEO Liu can interpret some different information?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
……
Lu Yu had just returned to his seat and hadn't even warmed it up when he received a strange phone call from across the ocean:
"Mr. Lu Yu, hello, I apologize for bothering you. I am Stephen, the chief commissioner of the International Cooperation Department of Paramount Pictures.
After appreciating your company's game 'Final Frontline,' we believe that this game has a very good chance of being adapted into a commercial film.
I am writing to you specifically, hoping to be able to discuss the business of co-producing a film.
Please rest assured that we will provide a very attractive box office split contract.
We look forward to your reply..."
Lu Yu was a little surprised to see this email.
Paramount, this old Hollywood film giant, has noticed their game?
However, considering the extent to which 'Final Frontline' has broken through on Twitter and YouTube, it is not surprising that these film companies are paying attention.
If it were in the past, Lu Yu would have decisively rejected these cooperation invitations.
What a joke, co-producing a movie would help him expand the IP's influence? That would be adding fuel to the fire!
But now, Lu Yu decided to change his thinking!
First of all, in the current international film market, the rate of bad movies adapted from games is extremely high!
Mario, Contra, Tomb Raider, and Pokemon have all been adapted into live-action movies, but the box office and word-of-mouth are not very good.
Even Square almost bankrupted its company in order to make the big movie 'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within,' and was eventually forced to merge with its old rival in the RPG field, Enix.
Although Peach Garden Village's current financial reserves are not enough to go bankrupt, if a big bad movie is made, it will definitely have a backlash effect on the game IP itself.
In this way, the goal he did not achieve in the previous cycle may be miraculously completed in this cycle!
Lu Yu quickly replied to the other party's email, expressing his sincerity in cooperation, and asked Li Hongmei to form a special team to follow up on the subsequent communication.
Afterwards, Lu Yu called the members of the 'Final Frontline' project team to the conference room and announced the cooperation decision with Paramount to everyone.
"Yay!!!"
The members of the Leisure Studio group cheered excitedly!
Paramount has left many classic works in Hollywood history, such as 'The Godfather,' 'Forrest Gump,' and 'The Truman Show'...
Maybe they can also cooperate with international directors!
Lu Yu smiled and raised his hand to appease everyone's emotions:
"Although I will form a special film team for the filming of the film, you will definitely have to provide some IP and technical support."
Everyone nodded excitedly: "Don't worry, CEO Lu, we will definitely not embarrass the Chinese film industry!"
Lu Yu continued to give everyone a vaccination:
"Everyone, do your best, do your best! It doesn't matter at all if you make a bad movie, hahaha."
It should be said that he can't wait to make a bad movie!
……
The next day, Lu Yu called the headhunting director Xia Shangyu to the office.
Seeing this sister who had stabbed him twice in a row, Lu Yu rubbed his eyebrows:
"Sister Xia, actually... I still trust you very much, you understand?"
Xia Shangyu felt uneasy when she heard this.
What does CEO Lu mean?
Could it be that he finally saw through her laziness and slacking off when acquiring Little Confused Immortal Company?
That's right, she mainly focused on eating, drinking, and having fun when she went to Xingjia City. She only spent a little over a day on inspections.
She spent the remaining month or so visiting various Jiangnan scenic spots.
Estimating that she had played enough, she reluctantly returned.
The first time she acquired Useless Technology, she relied on a casual complaint from someone in her circle of friends.
The second time she acquired Little Confused Immortal, she only inspected it for one day before making a decision for the group.
Although, as a result, she didn't know why these two companies succeeded inexplicably,
But CEO Lu must be dissatisfied with her such a lazy work attitude!
She nodded silently: "CEO Lu, I have actually been reflecting on it seriously recently. I know where I went wrong in the previous two acquisitions..."
Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said in a milder tone: "Sister Xia, it's good that you understand."
Due to the system's warning, Lu Yu could only mutter silently in his heart:
Sister Xia, you stabbed me so hard. I would rather you take your salary and do nothing. It's okay to be lazy or even slack off.
Why are you working so hard? Why do you only choose black horse-level companies to acquire!
He decided to remind the other party indirectly:
"Cough, well, this is no longer Liu's Group. Our working model is completely different from that of big companies. I hope Sister Xia you can adapt."
Lu Yu's subtext was obvious. Peach Garden Village doesn't engage in wolf culture, and there are no KPIs. What are you trying to achieve by working so hard!
Xia Shangyu's heart pounded when she heard Lu Yu's words.
What does CEO Lu mean by suddenly mentioning her former employer?
She thought for a moment, and a jolt went through her mind!
CEO Lu must be knocking on her by using her former employer!
First of all, why did CEO Lu say that Peach Garden Village is not comparable to big companies? That must be to say that although Peach Garden Village is a bit loose in terms of system, it doesn't mean that CEO Lu doesn't know anything!
Xia Shangyu's previous laziness was truly seen by CEO Lu!
Secondly, CEO Lu may want to say that Xia Shangyu and Liu Lan were close friends in the past, so Liu Lan would turn a blind eye to her in many things, but there is no back door to go through with CEO Lu!
So, in the final analysis, CEO Lu's words are a definite warning!
Xia Shangyu did not dare to neglect any more and quickly nodded: "CEO Lu, rest assured, I fully understand what you mean!"
"Very good!"
Lu Yu began to issue formal tasks:
"That's right, I want to immediately establish a film company called 'Peach Garden Village Pictures,' mainly to cooperate with domestic and foreign producers to shoot movies,
The most recent novel was first published in the sixth 9 books bar!
Now, the new company is still an empty shell, and I need a large number of producers, directors, screenwriters, and so on.
Therefore, I want to use Sister Xia's connections in the film industry to find a group of people to form a team. Especially the head of the company..."
Hearing this, Xia Shangyu had already guessed what Lu Yu wanted to say later.
She was about to say that with Peach Garden Village's current size and financial strength, it would not be easy to poach a star production team.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yu said:
"The head of the company should preferably have experience in making bad movies. The worse the better. It would be best if they are on the list of Rotten Tomatoes and Golden Raspberry..."
"Huh?"
Xia Shangyu was completely dumbfounded.
No, CEO Lu, you just knocked on me and said that work should be taken seriously, but now you are specifically asking for bad movie producers?
Does this mean that I have to slack off seriously?
Aren't you making things difficult for me, Fatty Tiger?
Seeing Xia Shangyu's confused face, Lu Yu thought she didn't understand the concept of bad movies and said earnestly:
"At the very least, you have to dig up a team like 'Sea Fortress.' It would be even better if you can dig up a god-level bad movie team like 'Dream Chasing Entertainment Circle'!"
"Ah this..."
Lu Yu smiled: "It doesn't matter, you can take your time to digest my words later."
……
After sending Xia Shangyu away, Li Hongmei walked over again:
"CEO Lu, the cooperation with Paramount has been finalized, and the contract will be signed soon.
What do you think, should we do some public opinion preheating on our side?"
If it were according to the previous thinking, as long as there was a risk of the project becoming a hit, Lu Yu would resolutely disagree with public opinion promotion,
But this round of the cycle is different. With his personal micro-operations, the possibility of each business line becoming a hit is not high.
In this way, it is better to raise the expectations of players and movie fans, and then use the huge psychological gap to make the movie a complete flop!
Plan through!
Lu Yu nodded: "Of course, we have to create momentum, create momentum fiercely! Sister Li, please use all the media and public relations resources you have to preheat this movie!"
In the next few days, on Weibo, Douban, Tieba, and various movie forums, a message topped the hot search list:
"Peach Garden Village will cooperate with Paramount Pictures to shoot a live-action movie of 'Final Frontline'!"
This news was a blockbuster of heavyweight, and it soon completely detonated in the film and player circles!
Originally, 'Final Frontline' has been very popular recently, and it is also cooperating with an old Hollywood manufacturer, a true Sino-US co-production, and the topic has directly exploded!
Players and movie fans have left messages and imagined under this message:
"Paramount has something to do with shooting zombie movies. Have you seen 'World War Z' starring Brad Pitt? It was produced by Paramount."
"Their Resident Evil is also okay. It is considered a relatively successful game adaptation movie."
"I am more concerned about the location and actors. Are you going to shoot in Japan?"
"Oh oh oh, then I specifically request that the little fresh meat from Johnny Turtle Office appear!"
"The female characters should be selected from Nogizaka46!"
"Based on my immersive gaming experience, I have high expectations for this movie!"
In the [Game News Events] section of the NGA forum, more employees from game companies began to reveal information:
Employee of Teng Hui:
"Damn, Peach Garden suddenly pulled off this game-to-movie stunt, catching us off guard. The big shots in the studio are holding meetings to discuss what movies we can adapt."
Employee of You Yi:
"Indeed, the domestic adapted movie market is a blue ocean for major game developers, and Peach Garden is taking the lead again."
Employee of Long Teng:
"Not long after Peach Garden announced the movie adaptation, I passed by CEO Pei's office and heard the sound of him slamming the table again, hehe..."
Employee of Mi Le You:
"Our 'Collapse 3' project team hasn't been doing well lately either. Peach Garden is in the limelight, and the company's new project was disbanded. Producer Tian Wu's eyes are bloodshot every day. The last time CEO Lu humiliated him at his girlfriend's birthday party was all over the company. He hasn't gotten his revenge yet, and now he's being overshadowed by Peach Garden, tsk tsk tsk."
......
At this moment, in the Peach Garden villa.
Liu Mengyuan browsed the online discussions about the movie adaptation, but she wasn't feeling so relaxed at the moment!
This was precisely because,
Her heart was filled with surprise and excitement!
You must know! Liu Mengyuan had been a资深movie fan since she was a child. The reason she decided to have her family's teachers teach her art was largely influenced by the art of film.
Not long ago, she had just re-watched the "Godfather" trilogy filmed by Paramount,
And recently, she had also gone to the IMAX theater with Lu Yu to see Paramount's "Mission: Impossible," "Transformers," "Star Trek," and other movies, marveling at the magic of movie special effects.
Now that the other party was taking the initiative to seek cooperation with Peach Garden, it showed that they recognized Peach Garden's IP production capabilities!
Moreover, it was said that Peach Garden was the first domestic game company that a Hollywood film company had approached for cooperation.
If Peach Garden's movie could become a hit, then Peach Garden's voice in the film and television industry would become higher and higher in the future!
Of course, that wasn't the main point.
The main point was!
Cooperation with a Hollywood company would allow Peach Garden to master more commercial blockbuster production processes and the industrialization of visual effects technology.
In short, this cooperation could be said to be beneficial and harmless!
She glanced at Lu Yu, who had secured this cooperation, and her heart was filled with sweetness.
Since her man was so competitive, how could she, as the company's vice president, be willing to lag behind?!
She asked Lu Yu:
"I heard that the movie for 'Finality Frontline' is already in the preparatory stages?"
"Yes, it is."
"Then... I want to recommend myself! To serve as the art director for this movie."
Lu Yu was stunned, turned his head to look at Liu Mengyuan, and seemed to be deep in thought.
Seeing Lu Yu's contemplation, she thought he had some concerns, and quickly said:
"Ahem, although I don't have any experience in the film industry, I can learn, and I also want to do it for the company..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Yu raised his hand to interrupt her.
Lu Yu excitedly grasped the girl's small hand:
"Yuanyuan, that's great! You are truly my virtuous wife!"
"Eh?" This time, it was Liu Mengyuan's turn to be confused.
Lu Yu continued, "To tell you the truth, this movie is prepared to showcase your talent! Just go wild... oh no, just go film it, and I will support you with money and people!"