Legendary Hollywood Director

Scott Ross's personal resume is very powerful, and the identity of the former head of the special effects department of Industrial Light and Magic is also the cornerstone of his business.

As for the reason why he came out to start a business, it is not all for selfishness.

In order to shoot Star Wars, George Lucas set up Industrial Light and Magic on a whim to be responsible for the special effects of the project. But he does not understand professional technical research and development.

It took five years for Scott Ross to lead the team to turn this unprofitable company into a slightly profitable company, from a start-up studio with no roots and technical reserves into a cutting-edge company. company of.

However, George, as the company's chairman, has basically never shown his face. It's okay to be an invisible landlord. After the company entered the formal stage, he rejected the management's decision to buy the company's shares, which is equivalent to so many years. It was because he was working for nothing, and the method of picking peaches was too domineering. In anger, Scott quit and decided to create his own special effects company.

Of course, what really made Ryman change his opinion about him was his thinking about the future of the special effects studio...

Scott, you don't mind if I call you that. Actually, I'm interested in VFX. Can we chat for a while, if possible.

Scott Ross suddenly took a serious look at Lyman, and he knew that this man had become another billionaire in Hollywood by virtue of his many blockbuster movies.

And now the situation in the digital field is not good, and it may be sold off by shareholders at any time. Maybe he can save the digital realm.

Thinking of this, Scott Ross became more eager to talk about sex...

…In 1994, I tried to create a special effects trade association, trying to bring together important people in the VFX industry to increase the voice and customization power of the industry. However, in the end it failed.

Because in this industry, the managers of companies are often not businessmen, and there is no capital behind them, and because there is no freedom of funds, everyone is scared to death and has no sense of security. Just like George Lucas retorted the sentence, if you Give them enough beer and pizza and they can do anything... We have no reason to choose not to, because if we don't, we can't survive, so the special effects industry looks prosperous, but it's mercenary, short-sighted, and only Seeking short-term profits is not long-term.

Why do you say that? Lyman clinked glasses with him, the mellow aroma of dark beer spread on the tip of his tongue, and he didn't seem to understand Scott's words.

Because now the managers of every VFX company are fired on the grounds that they can't make the company profitable, so why bother to do something with long-term plans? Everyone knows what their technical shortcomings are, but centralizing public relations is a huge challenge. If you want to spend money, there is no guarantee that it will work. In order to make a profit, you have to ignore it and not pay attention. This is a very painful thing.”

Then what do you think we should do? Lehmann asked thoughtfully.

In my opinion, the most powerful special effects studios currently include Industrial Light and Magic, Sony Graphics, Digital Domain, Weta Digital, Method, DoubleNegative, Comparable Mondo, and a few years ago, they could also add rhythmic colors. If one of these leaders can raise $2 billion and buy several other companies, then they can completely control the entire special effects industry, which means that the pricing power is in the hands of our special effects company, not the studio. Therefore, in order to improve the status quo of this industry, the future direction is only to merge and lock the last talents and the best technology. Those studios can only negotiate prices obediently, not as much as they say. Because, the most powerful special effects blockbuster Must rely on world-class VFX technology...

When Lehman heard it, isn't this an industry monopoly?

But it does sound like a good way out.

You are very reasonable... Lehman paused, but no one has the strength to lock up all the technology, the studio has mastered the right to speak. Even companies like Sony that started with technology, attach great importance to it. investment in this.”

Scott said with a wry smile: Yes, we missed the opportunity at the beginning, so I think the future of the special effects industry will be bought by the first-class studios, because the supply and demand relationship is impossible.

Lyman thought: This standard will be correct in the future. First-class special effects companies are all in the hands of first-class studios, but now, Warner, Paramount and other companies have not made their efforts, because visual effects have not grown as important.

Of course, they have enough funds, maybe they are deliberately letting the special effects industry grow wildly, and it is not impossible to pick out the best among them to implement the acquisition plan.

Lehman smiled and said: In this way, Firefly Pictures actually needs a suitable special effects studio to complete the industry layout.

Scott changed his face to a more serious look and watched Lehman, the big money lord, struggling for a few seconds for no reason, but he was still a technician, not a businessman, otherwise he wouldn't have been nearly assimilated by George. In the end, he still said euphemistically: I have seen the works produced by Firefly Pictures in the past few years. Maybe, Firefly Pictures does not need to raise a special effects company, because you Most of them are feature films, and they don’t seem to use special effects technology. If they can’t have complementary effects, the idea of ​​​​the industry layout will not be possible.”

Lehman knows why Cameron would say that Scott is not a qualified company manager, and his face is too thin. No wonder he can't beat someone like Lucas.

The team brought out by one hand cannot have enough chips to fight against the major shareholders. If you change to a qualified businessman, believe it or not, the company's assets will be directly hollowed out for you.

However, such people are not afraid of being stabbed when they cooperate. If they invest in funds, the technology patents developed as a result have nothing to do with Lehmann at all. That is just playing eggs.

Rest assured, Scott, Firefly Pictures will have considerable resources to focus on special effects movies in the future. This is the future of the times. All I can do is follow the trend. Also, is Cameron going to leave the digital field?

This matter is not a secret in the industry. Cameron even made an appointment with his old rival Industrial Light and Magic. As long as he has the heart, everyone knows that Cameron is going to sell shares in the digital field.

Scott replied with some embarrassment, Yes, but not many people are willing to take over his shares. Cameron doesn't want to sell it at a low price.

The reason for the embarrassment, of course, is the point of Cameron's standoff with the company, which is that the management denied that he wanted to change the company's CEO, the board of directors supported Scott, and Cameron was very opinionated. For this reason, Stan Wins Dayton also left the digital realm.