Raising Dragons in Hollywood

[[-]] They are connected

After drinking champagne and ending the filming of "The Adventures of Aaron" (the company management didn't like the word strong man, and finally removed the prefix of teenager), Sammy returned to the daily life of creating alone.

In his precious drawing book, he carefully drew sketches of many dragons with a pen, and wrote the names of these dragons beside him, such as the two-winged butterfly dragon, the colorful glazed dragon, the dark bomb dragon... …

"It's simply inexplicable and unreasonable!"

Mai Qilong muttered indignantly: "You have created so many fake dragons with strange shapes, why don't you take a good look at me."

But soon, he regretted thinking so.

Because after a certain dragon slaying warrior finished drawing dragons, he began to arrange various death methods for these dragons.

For example, he drew the electric shock scene of the two-winged butterfly dragon, which fell to the ground pitifully, with its wings drooping on both sides of its body...

Obviously the picture is only black and white, and the brushstrokes are also very sloppy, just a random drawing.

But Mikey was trembling and stuttering and asked, "Why is a large area of ​​the body blackened?"

"Because it was electrocuted! The dragon was electrocuted!" Sami didn't know how terrible he said.

He continued thinking: "I think, as the times progress, dragon slaying warriors should also keep pace with the times. Think about it, if the dragon slaying sword I hold can also be equipped with a high-voltage switch..."

"Too, too scary."

Mikey muttered to himself: "Return the high voltage switch? Are you a devil?"

"what?"

"Ugh, I mean, so creative."

"Haha, thank you for the compliment. By the way, I really plan to make a dragon-slaying sword in the near future. What do you think of the stainless steel material?" Sami said enthusiastically.

When he was talking about getting up, he grabbed a clothes hanger on the cabinet casually, excitedly swung a sword like a sword, swung it vigorously in the air a few times, and then assumed an attacking posture, holding the clothes hanger with both hands, Xiaoyuan's face was full of smiles. Serious expression: "Mike! Look at my dragon-slaying great sword! The ultimate move - lightning and thunder!"

Mai Qilong had to step back step by step with a black face, trying to dodge the "Warrior"'s "Dragon Slaying Sword" that almost poked the tip of his nose.

Then, he decided to meet up with Director Jones and the others tomorrow, and go out to promote together.

This home...

The dragon can't wait any longer!

As for the publicity, it was because of the good ratings of "The Adventures of Aaron" not long ago, and the company launched a new event.

For this reason, they also applied for a special fund to support the crew to go to various cities while the iron is hot, and carry out some publicity to expand the influence of the drama.

As a result, Director Jones, who finally recovered from the negative state recently, was ashamed of the previous decadence, and couldn't wait to do something for the crew. He immediately cheered up, took the initiative to lead the team, and actively promoted it. Set energy to a higher level.

But sadly, Sammy lacks interest in it: [Oh, it's nice to have publicity, but I don't like it. ]

He thought 'I'm not an actor, it feels so stupid to walk from behind the scenes to the front of the stage', so he refused the invitation with the excuse of 'I'm just an assistant'.

Mikey didn't want to go either.

This lazy dragon just wants to eat, drink and sleep at home.

But now!

He thought that it was necessary for him to leave the little pervert who tortured the dragon, and come back after the other party regained his composure.

Director Jones warmly welcomes Mikey.

Because, just the night before the publicity team was about to leave, Mikey's 'Teddy Bear' also appeared on the screen.

If……

Before that, if the popularity of the non-human characters in "The Adventures of Aaron" - the stone statue, the little goldfish and Mr. Ghost were three pillars, then when the teddy bear appeared, they would kill them all and become the biggest winner!

——Mr. Xiong, holding a tissue box and crying;

——The gluttonous Mr. Bear who hides all the stolen candies and honey jars in his stomach;

——The oversized plush Mr. Bear who will open his arms to hug Aaron;

——The clumsy Mr. Bear who dances with ghosts under the moonlight!

No child can resist such a cute existence, not to mention, he is honest, warm, loyal and full of security.

Even though they knew it was just a virtual character, they couldn't help but want to roll all over the floor, crying and begging for Mr. Xiong.

Still, playing a non-human, and faceless, character isn't kind to actors.

Even if Mai Qi stood at the very center of the publicity team, no one could connect him with the teddy bear in the TV series. At most, he asked curiously: "What does that handsome man do?"

So, when it comes to some of the official promotions, he has to re-tuck himself into a teddy bear stuffed animal costume, which is tiring and hot work.

Fortunately, even if the dragon is a minor, he is physically strong and has infinite physical strength. Moreover, he can roll happily in the magma without fear of any high temperature.

In this way, Mai Qilong, who always dresses up as a teddy bear and never shows a little tiredness (because he is not tired), has magically become a representative of 'dedication'!

He also received a lot of kind invitations from many people [there will be a chance to work together next time] and a large stack of business cards.

Not to mention the other actors.

Even Director Jones is a little jealous of him.

Others may not be able to make suitable connections if they work so hard to gather people.

But even if this silly boy doesn't do anything, someone will take the initiative to hand over his business card while standing there?

This world is too unfair!

But once, they accidentally helped Mikey take the teddy bear's headgear, and they were shocked to find that the teddy bear's head alone weighed about ten catties...

All jealousy is gone!

——Holy shit, is he still human?

——With such a heavy thing, you can wear it for more than ten hours, how can you still jump around with the children?

(Mike: Hey hey! Not human.)

at the same time……

After Mai Qilong left, Sami's plan to build the stainless steel dragon-slaying sword still failed to proceed smoothly.

Because Mr. Ed from the marketing department enthusiastically helped him make a new plan for "Who Killed the Dragon".

"What? There is still a follow-up to that short film?" Sammy was astonished.

"Yes, why not? Isn't it the job of our department to find ways to promote products!" Ed said with a friendly smile.

— But you didn’t say that before, did you?

——Didn't you say that worthless things are not worth promoting?

Sammy looked at Ed, who seemed to be a different person suddenly, in bewilderment, a little at a loss.

After all, it is very uncomfortable for a person who used to turn a blind eye to you and occasionally sneered at you, but suddenly becomes very enthusiastic and smiling.

But Ed acted like he didn't care.

In his eyes, there are only two types of people—useful if they can generate income, and useless if they cannot generate income.

The previous Sami belonged to the second type, so naturally he didn't need to pay attention.

But now, since he has successfully jumped into the first category, it is only natural for him to give the corresponding courtesy.

"I haven't congratulated you yet... The Adventures of Aaron is an amazing show."

Although he hadn't seen it at all, Ed had the ability to speak as if he had actually seen it.

"No, it's the hard work of all the crew and the guidance of Director Jones..." Sammy waved his hands and explained.

I say this because, on the one hand, I don't want to be too public; on the other hand, although the power grab was successful, it was actually with the tolerant acquiescence of Director Jones. After all, he is the real director in name of the crew.

Moreover, it was indeed Director Jones who created this series at the beginning, and he devoted a lot to the crew.

Even though he had really fallen to the bottom due to psychological problems and negative emotions a while ago, Sami still didn't want to arrogantly call himself the savior, or make people think that success was all due to himself, that would be too arrogant and self-righteous.

But Ed didn't want to understand that.

He thought he knew everything that happened in the crew of "The Adventures of Aaron" clearly, and even used this incident to ridicule Norris of the Film and Television Entertainment Department as "not clear about people".

However, that is all in the past.

Benefits can make all grievances disappear, if not, it can only be because the benefits are not big enough.

--What?Did I mention that Norris doesn't know people well?

—No such thing!I don't remember this happening.

Obviously, for the brazen, there is no such thing as a slap in the face, because there is no face at all.

Sammy had become somewhat useful in his eyes.Therefore, he can pretend not to see the embarrassment and inexplicable doubts of the other party, happily follow the train of thought, and say something, "It sounds very pleasant at first, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that these compliments can be changed by name and surname, and then applied to any person." Only after talking about the framework of the "human body" did we start to mention some specific measures for the animation "Who Killed the Dragon".

When Sammy didn't have any grades, Ed didn't want to care about this short animation at all, but Sammy proved his ability.

Even realistic businessmen still don't understand why people like the non-human characters in "The Adventures of Aaron" so much.

But this does not prevent him from shrewdly using those popular non-human characters, indirectly reminding him of the previous short animation "Who Killed the Dragon", and came up with "Since some people really like this tone, then, yes Can't you also try pushing this? ' thought.

Hence, the present conversation.

It's just that Sammy couldn't understand the twists and turns.

He was very bad at dealing with such people, and he was clumsy at anything other than writing.

As Ed talked more and more, he couldn't understand more and more, so he could only sit there with a dull face, watching the other party perform there in confusion.

In fact... I really didn't understand a word: [You seem to say everything very well, but I don't like it. ]

Wait for the conversation between the two to end.

Sammy walked out of the office slowly, his mind blank.

Rossi, who has always been utilitarian, leaned over and asked, "Hey, what did he talk to you about?"

"Talk...let's settle the matter like this, please continue to work hard in the future?" Sami replied subconsciously.

"What the hell? What's the deal? What did you decide with him?"

Rossi asked anxiously.

"Uh, sorry, I don't know."

Sammy told a friend very ashamed: "But what he said, I, I remember this line... er, the last line."

——So, after talking face-to-face with the boss of the marketing department for more than half an hour in the office, why did you memorize the last sentence?

——[Let’s settle the matter like this, please continue to work hard in the future? ]

——Damn it, what nonsense!

——How could I, who is so shrewd, know such a stupid you?

The smile on Rosie's face faded away.

He turned around and left, he really didn't want to talk to his dumb friend anymore, he could really annoy the living to death all the time, and then revive the dead.

Fortunately, the company has always had its own operating model, and professional personnel are responsible for professional matters.

Even if Sami didn't remember what he and Ed had talked about at all, the marketing department could still incorporate "Who Killed the Dragon" into the daily publicity plan in an orderly and orderly manner.

The specific measures are -

They took "Who Killed the Dragon" as the opening animation for a movie called "A Happy Life".

That is to say, when the audience has just entered the venue and has not yet entered the movie-watching state, we will give away a free one-"Who Killed the Dragon" first, so that everyone can have a good time.

After everyone calmed down and got into the mood, the main meal - "Happy Life" began.

It was only at this time that Sami realized that he had been stunned by Ed's praise in a different way, and he almost thought that this short animation would get a chance to play alone.

How can it be?

The company does not have, and it is impossible to promote a short animation that is less than ten kinds of film length.

Therefore, the animation "Who Killed the Dragon" is probably just a handy job for the marketing department.

The real main product is still the "Happy Life".

A plot is probably a film about 'how a few rebellious high school students in adolescence face life, love and friendship'.

But there is still a problem here:

Although it is said to be the opening animation of the giveaway, it would be strange if it has nothing to do with the upcoming movie, right?

But Sammy couldn't figure out how "Who Slay the Dragon" could have any connection with this "Happy Life".

However, the employees in the marketing department are super powerful, but they can give an explanation far-fetched: ""Who Killed the Dragon" is the killing of innocence by adults; "Happy Life" is the rebellion of adolescence, and rebellion The reasons are varied, but there is certainly discontent and protest against adult society as well, so they are connected."

Makes sense!

Sammy would probably have believed it too, had it not been for the creator himself.

But that being the case, what else can be said?

Okay, if you think there is a connection, it's good!

To be honest, if this matter is changed to some creators who are arrogant by nature, they may feel cheated and insulted.

After all, a moment ago, Ed, the boss of the marketing department, praised you so much that you were dizzy, and then you nodded blindly at what he said; but the next moment, you were shocked to find that you His work was actually regarded as an addition to other works, and was given away for nothing!What kind of thrill was that?

However, after Sami thought about all this, he didn't respond at all.

He is not so indifferent to fame and wealth, but he knows clearly that it is already very good for a short animation to have such a result.

Moreover, as long as I think that the short animation that I worked so hard to finally enter the cinema, it will no longer be shelved, but will be seen by more audiences!

...Even if it's just an addition to other films, it's something to be happy about.

"Will anyone find my fun?"

He slowly recalled the scene of "the little skull jumping out of the grave suddenly, waving his bone arm", and thinking that the audience in the theater might be caught off guard and might be startled, so he couldn't help but frown, like a Like a child who succeeded in pranking, he covered his mouth and laughed secretly.

[[-]] Turning defeat into victory with gifts

Out of the creator's mentality of 'wanting to see the audience's reaction'.

When "A Happy Life" was released, Sammy went to the cinema alone to watch a movie.

But unfortunately...

He failed to see the frightened look of the audience.

Perhaps for some children, seeing black and white skeletons and cemetery things will be scary.

But for older people, such a picture is still relatively childish.

"That's fine! It's just to understand the audience's tolerance."

Sami cheered himself up silently in his heart: "It can be seen that the audience's tolerance is very high. In fact, there is no need to care for them like baby birds."

only……

When the short animation finished, countless people in the theater had red eyes.Some people with relatively low tear points even choked up and cried directly.

With popcorn in one hand and a juice glass in the other, Sammy was happy again.

Proudly like a king, he held his head high, looked around happily, and then closed his eyes with enjoyment: "Cry, louder, let me hear your voices!"

Although I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see everyone being frightened.

But he can make everyone cry like he bullied Rosie's girlfriend Ellie back then...

It is a very fulfilling thing!

Thinking about it this way, he was satisfied, thinking that the movie theater was not in vain, and he had no objection to the company's arrangement of "using his own work as an extra".

After that, "Who Killed the Dragon" quickly became famous with its fantastic and weird pictures and twists and turns of the storyline.

In the beginning, some people wrote this on the Internet after watching the movie: [I have nothing to do on weekends, go to the theater to buy tickets, and watch a boring youth movie that is said to be boring, full of rebellious adolescent boys and girls, puppy love, abortion.My friends laughed at me and wondered if I sold my soul to the devil to watch that kind of movie.But I never expected, but I encountered a surprise. ]

[No lie!The short animation that plays at the beginning of that boring teen movie is awesome!The boy fought side by side with the little skull and defeated the dragon, but in the end, he was forced by the adults to admit that 'there are no dragons in the world'.I'm not afraid of everyone's jokes, I cried watching it, especially when the little skull disappeared, you must all watch it, it's really beautiful...]

At the end, this fan also left a sentence: [Oh, what do you want to ask about that happy life?Sorry, I don't know, anyway, after I got out of the cinema, I only remember the short animation in my mind. ]

The longer the film is released, the more comments like this will increase.

Probably because of this aspect...

The director of "Happy Life" went to the marketing department and made a fuss.

He also made a strong protest to Ed: "What do you mean by putting such an inexplicable and weird animation in front of my movie?"

"Don't you understand, dear? I'm doing this for your own good."

Ed showed a surprised expression: "The actors in your film are all newcomers this time. There are no big stars or big productions, so it is difficult to become a sensation. I just came up with such a way to increase the competition of your film. force."

Then, he explained in detail why he did this: "Did you know that the director of that short animation participated in the creation of "The Adventures of Aaron" before, and recently, the non-human characters that are popular are all from him Design, the company has also carried out a special publicity for this point, so the popularity is booming."

"That is to say, the short animation is not short of popularity, it only lacks an opportunity to be screened; and "Happy Life" is just the opposite, there is an opportunity to be screened, but lacks popularity. If this is the case, let's join forces, wouldn't it be good?"

"What's so good about it? A bloody strong alliance! After watching that cartoon, all the audience burst into tears, and they were not in the mood to watch our film seriously again! This seriously affected their next movie-watching experience."

"You've got to get that shit out of it!" the director yelled, almost in exasperation.

But Ed wasn't in the least intimidated by him.

He immediately asked with a sober mind: "But, no matter whether the audience is watching animation or watching movies, don't they all need to buy tickets to enter the venue? From a sales point of view, don't consumers who shop for gifts? Is it a consumer?"

The director was momentarily at a loss for what he said, and he didn't know how to refute.

But Ed continued to analyze: "Who Killed the Dragon must not have held you back? It's only a few minutes, how much can it steal the limelight of your movie? And, if it is as you said There was such a strong reaction..."

Speaking of this, he showed a smiley expression: "Instead, I have to congratulate you. If some audiences go to the movie theater for short animations to watch "Happy Life", then you are earning money." Here it is! Think about it, this is one plus one is greater than two, how much does this increase your box office?"

It sounds very reasonable at first glance, but in fact it is a very shameless fallacy!

The director of "Happy Life" didn't know how to refute, he was going to explode in anger: "Do I need other people's works to help me gain popularity?"High box office?Bah, I would rather die! '

But his opinion was not taken into account at all.

Of course, Ed is not maintaining the short animation and Sammy.

In fact, everything he said above is true.

In his opinion, whether it is short animations or movies, it is money!

As for the fragile self-esteem of the creator?

In his opinion: "Hehe, it's none of my business!"

Next, things get tricky.

When people buy tickets to enter the movie theater, what they want to watch is not the movie that is being shown, but an opening animation before the movie.

Probably the cartoon "Who Killed the Dragon" is really touching!

When Sami continued to stay at home and was busy building his own stainless steel dragon-slaying sword, he actually had a few movie fans sporadically.

Once, a supernatural movie fan even approached Sammy.

He excitedly tugged at the sleeve of the little director with a round face, and stammered: "You, are you the director of "Who Killed the Dragon"? Please do your best in the future! I, I like it so much." Yes, and, for, in order to watch that animation, I bought tickets to "Happy Life" five times! Just to watch your opening animation, and I'll come out after watching it."

"But that's less than ten species."

Sami was very puzzled and said: "You spent the ticket money that should have been able to watch more than an hour, just to watch ten kinds of free animations? Moreover, you even ran to me and told me. Such things, You did it five times, uh (are you stupid)..."

"Are you so rich? Do you never consider value when buying things?"

The devil-like director uttered such soul-questioning questions to the fans in a very puzzled (beaten-up) manner.

The fan: ...

Off the spot powder, goodbye (not).