Hollywood Art: System of sunnys

Billy lived in an apartment in downtown San Jose… he was only about six minutes from his place, close enough to be there with just a phone call. He organized his clothes; for now, he was handling some quick sponsorship deals, waiting for his business to grow. He needed previous sponsorships, so he settled for Audi and Caneli, which had been in place for a year and a half, and he wanted a perfume brand.

-I didn’t expect you to lead such a quiet life here in San Jose, - Monica commented, wearing a light black nightgown with a round robe.

-Even though the paparazzi show up occasionally and I have some followers, they lose interest when they see my daily routine. Well, I guess they’ll have a dinner date to be curious about now, right Monica?-

-It’s a bit silly that you’re going to work today of all days, - Monica said from the kitchen area.

-Good luck at work, - Monica added as she finally left, not giving herself more time to sit on Billy’s lap, giving him a deep kiss with all the affection she could muster.

-If you need anything, call me. The card is on the entry table, you can use it for shopping, and also, the English tutor will arrive before noon. I’ll pick you up afterward, and we can go for a walk together, - Billy said, giving a farewell to the black-haired woman who nodded.

Monica sighed; it was all for her future. She was already thirty and couldn’t waste time. She needed to improve her fluency, enhance her runway skills, and of course, secure acting roles.

***

The atmosphere at Warner was oppressive; the recent work of Universal and Lux Animation was a clear sign that the companies were now forming a rapid-advancing alliance.

-It can't be that the guy now has the power to cut all ties with Disney,- Bob Baily, co-president of Warner, remarked. They were now in a head-to-head battle with Lux Animation, which was surging ahead. As much as he wanted to deny it, the reality was they couldn't ignore Disney's importance. The support from Disney was a counterbalance, but with their interest in moving away from animated series and focusing on live-action series, sitcoms, and minimal-budget productions, it left a bad taste. And that bitter taste was now the loss in market share; they didn't have enough ratings, justified by a not-so-good merchandising campaign.

-I think they've put us in a bad position,- Terry Semel commented. For now, Warner was growing. Warner, Universal, and Disney could be considered the companies of the moment, followed by Fox, Paramount, Sony, and lastly, MGM, which had been in trouble for a long time.

-If only we could acquire it, this problem wouldn't be giving us so many headaches. -

-I think for now, we should continue with our strategy of finding a great series that can compete with Disney. We need a children’s series that hasn’t been exploited yet, but for now, we need to address the issues with CNN… Time Warner. It's a bit disappointing that they’re talking about a lack of revenue when HBO is one of the most popular channels on television,- Bob Daily said.

Billy adjusted his suit as he entered the second floor of the animation offices. For now, it was just a unified group with a clear direction, many of them working on series. The latest release, a 12-episode miniseries called Hardman Slash, premiered a month ago and received good feedback. Jazz Stockton’s fear of releasing a series of such quality was countered by Billy, who supported taking on new things and styles. Many were in love with the Lux Animation fever, which led to the green light for another 12 episodes. Billy assured them that if they could do 15 or 18, it didn’t matter.

Similarly, Anna published her 6-episode series with colored details, a new facet, and she was also encouraged to create more series.

***

-Boss!- some animators murmured.

-Good morning, everyone. Some of you have the spirit to keep creating different things,- Billy said, addressing everyone.

Two months ago, he delivered the series The Angry Beavers, Franklin, and the beginning of the new Speed Racer adventure. The animators' production pace had improved a hundredfold, thanks to the multiple tools developed by Autodesk, Pixar, and id Software. The work was easier, allowing these teams of around 25 people each to handle their tasks. Now, there were 300 animators in the company, 7 groups in total, with two groups of 70 people each for movie production. This setup allowed for progress over the years, even though Billy handed most tasks to them.

-We have new projects,- Jazz Stockton mentioned.

-Great. By the way, you need to pick up your bonus. The statistical indexes should arrive, and if you don’t collect them, they’ll be charged to your next year’s salary bonus,- Billy said.

Greeting Jazz Stockton, many people approached to see all the work being done by the different groups. One by one, seven people left their manuscripts, all diverse, with their storyboards. Billy was impressed by the new scripts, which had improved significantly and had a certain power and vigor.

The first script was about a world of robots on Earth, where humans had gone extinct and robots created a great civilization, transcending common models and starting to play gods. Their goal, after tireless years, was to create life, but their code prevented them from having human-like emotions such as joy or sadness. They lived with a series of objectives. The nine-episode concept explored the loneliness of robots questioning their creation after a new robot with a faulty matrix challenged the logic and rationality of their existence. With rich Asimov content, the finale revealed that humans hadn’t died out but had left Earth, activating an AI to create a unique world.

The second script was about Rome, the story of Caesar, filled with conspiracies and battles. It narrated the tale of Cromo, a general who served Caesar but was betrayed by him and then incited his son to kill Caesar. This 24-episode series was high-quality, with intricate details requiring extensive work. Joy Brie, an enthusiastic woman, watched her boss nervously, having worked on the script for six months. The first episode had been rejected with numerous notes and inconsistencies regarding style.

-It’s amazing, the story is simply captivating. Approved. Talk to Mr. Gorman and hand him the manuscript approved by me. Tell him we need two historians. Then go up to the fifth floor and tell Jim that this series was approved by me. If he likes it, we might consider it for live-action,- Billy said. -But… for now, it’s better to make comics like David Jill.-

Joy was speechless.

Billy read the other two scripts and approved the fifth one, sending the rest for revision. The reading took six hours. The fifth script was about Narnia and proposed making seven animated movies. He considered live-action, but for now, he had an idea to create Narnia for girls. He needed the Lewis family for this, and the proposed style by the animator was like “Train Souls” to give a magical realism effect.

Three scripts were acceptable but needed work, along with the request to hire two historians, a space engineer, a philosopher, and a scriptwriter.

Billy crossed the room to check the data on Lilo & Stitch, created by the first team. The second team would release Mulan in June 1996, followed by the first team’s release of The Musician, a story about a violinist hiding from the USSR but continuing to play and teach despite the prohibition. The film would use different colors to create impact in scenes. Billy would pay $2 million for the music from various pianists and violinists.

There was a plan to expand to a third team, but it was very risky. If they failed, it would be a collapsing pyramid. Each film cost between $20 to $30 million with reduced budgets. A failure could damage the environment of the films, as the operation allowed for some failures but primarily relied on the animators and production expenses.

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