stjorthotic Chapter 275 The Dragon Emblem Lands, the Final Battle is Previewed!
Chapter 275 The Dragon Emblem Lands, the Final Battle is Previewed!
Rewind to when the filming of the Ultraman Gaia TV series was only halfway complete.
By this time, Gu Nan had already leveraged the enormous profits from the early stages to thoroughly streamline all project management processes within the company.
Sitting opposite him were representatives from the other two major investors: an executive from Bilibili and a special envoy from the board of directors representing his father, Gu Zhenhai's "Gu Group".
On the big screen, the budget approval process for "The Great Battle in Time and Space," the first theatrical film derived from the Ultraman IP, was undergoing final checks. Faced with Gu Nan's almost insane demands for theatrical-level investment, the two investor representatives, after carefully evaluating the script outline and projected returns, decisively signed the consent form.
Budget approved unanimously!
With funding secured, "The Great Battle of Time and Space" is ready to officially begin filming.
But in Xia Country, money and a good script are far from enough for a movie to actually make it to theaters.
Before the official filming begins, the preliminary project approval must be submitted to the Film Bureau, a subordinate department of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The film censorship system in Xia Kingdom has always been known for its strictness.
The most crucial and supreme pass among them is the so-called "Dragon Mark".
The dragon seal, approved and issued by the State Film Administration, is the lifeblood of the film industry.
Without those few seconds of footage featuring a green background and a golden dragon, no movie could possibly be released in theaters.
To save time, Gu Nan used the speed of someone who had been single for over twenty years to quickly produce the first draft of the script.
This version of the script emphasizes brevity and speed, and does not pursue perfect dialogue. After all, it is not intended to guide the filming process, but rather a "special version" specifically designed to pass the initial review.
Gu Nan skillfully simplified the action scenes in the script, such as monster battles and city destruction, using only a single sentence to describe them, and strictly guarded against any possibility of being censored by the reviewers for fabricated "violent destruction factors."
The initial review of project approval is directly under the jurisdiction of the Jinghai Municipal Bureau.
As a municipality directly under the central government, Jinghai City's municipal bureau is equivalent to a provincial-level unit and has direct authority to conduct preliminary reviews and approve applications.
With the formidable reputation that Chasing Light Pictures had built up over the years, coupled with his already established close relationship with the leaders of the Municipal Bureau, Gu Nan's approval process went exceptionally smoothly.
A few days later, a "Project Establishment and Filing Permit" stamped with a red seal was issued to Gu Nan.
This feature film has officially received its "birth certificate" for legal filming.
Time flies, and six months have passed in the blink of an eye.
At this point, the crew of "The Great Battle of Time and Space" had completed the vast majority of filming. Except for a few minor shots that needed reshooting due to actors' scheduling conflicts or lighting issues,
In addition to some large-scale CG effects still being rendered day and night and not yet fully composited, some minor sound effects have not yet been polished to perfection.
However, the main plot, visual tone, and narrative logic of the entire film are already largely complete.
At this point, the initial cut was officially submitted to the relevant review department, entering the most thrilling stage of "initial review and content review of the final cut".
At this stage, the provincial film bureaus no longer had the authority to make decisions, and the heavy hard drive was sent directly to the review office of the State Film Administration.
However, the fictional XIG defense force and Geo base in Gaia share similarities with certain core functional departments in real countries in terms of their functions, weaponry, and even operational modes.
Furthermore, the plot also subtly mentions the concept of global defense cooperation among different countries to defend against the Destruction Summoning Entity.
The presence of these sensitive elements necessitates a special review process for the film, requiring joint review by multiple relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Fortunately, the Ultraman IP has already accumulated an excellent reputation among the Chinese people, and its core mission is to spread positive energy and protect the earth.
In addition, Bilibili's senior management utilized its media relations network, and the Gu Group's extensive connections in both political and business circles assisted in the operation.
After much mediation, the joint review finally approved the release.
Content review officially approved!
The Film Bureau issued an official document to Light Chaser Animation, clearly stating in black and white that their content was fully compliant and there were no issues.
Having overcome the hurdle of content review, the next step is relatively simple and mechanical—the technical review process.
In other words, check the hard indicators: whether the screen brightness meets the standard, whether the audio track loudness is overflowing, whether the color space meets the national standard, and whether there are any typos in the subtitles.
With Light Chaser Animation's industrial-grade production standards that spare no expense, there is naturally no fault to be found, and it passes the test perfectly.
A week later, when the weighty "Film Public Screening License" documents, along with an encrypted USB drive containing the opening dragon logo, were mailed to the headquarters of Light Chaser Animation Studios, the entire company erupted in cheers that nearly lifted the roof off.
Obtaining the dragon emblem means that this money-devouring behemoth has finally obtained the key to unleash its power.
Everyone knows that this means the biggest risk of censorship has been completely eliminated, and the film finally has the qualifications to become a commercial product and rake in huge profits in the market.
With a month and a half until the official launch, the real business war has begun.
Holding the newly issued film license, the cooperating distributor immediately applied to China Film Digital Production Base for the production and distribution of DCP copies and screening keys (KDM).
Of course, as Light Chaser Animation was entering the theatrical market for the first time, Gu Nan was very clear that he could not possibly distribute the film all over the country on his own.
In the film distribution industry in Xia Guo, everything is about "paying homage to the big shots." If you don't pay homage to those big shots who control theater resources, even if your film is brilliant, it will definitely face difficulties in getting anywhere.
With the full support and assistance of Bilibili Pictures, Gu Nan set up the negotiating table.
Sitting opposite are absolute giants in the distribution industry, such as China Film Group, Enlight Media, Bona Film Group, Maoyan, and Alibaba Pictures.
Light Chaser Animation, as the main producer, contributed the largest share of the investment.
However, Gu Nan decisively handed over the film's "distribution rights" entirely to these professional distribution companies.
At the same time, he promised that if the film became a big hit, he would be willing to pay an extremely large distribution agency fee—directly giving up 10% of the box office revenue!
In return, these well-connected distribution giants all made a written promise in their contracts: they must jointly guarantee a national screening rate of no less than 25% in the week before the premiere!
This is an absolutely terrifying number.
This means that in Wanda Cinemas (part of the Wanda Group), China Film Cinemas (part of the China Film Group), China Film South New Line Cinemas, Hengdian Film and Television Cinemas, Dadi Cinemas, and other leading cinemas across the country, if viewers look up, one out of every four movies shown will be Ultraman!
In addition, in order to achieve better overall development, Gu Nan showed the courage to make tough decisions and sold off an additional 10% to 30% of the investment shares at cost price, allowing these major publishers to participate in the investment with real money.
This is commonly known in the industry as "everyone sharing the cake".
Only when major studios invest their own money and become a community of shared interests will they truly treat your film as their own child, and only then will they go to great lengths to secure more screenings and promotional resources for you.
In short, everything is ready except for the final push.
The screening keys for major cinemas across the country have been distributed, and the distributors have given a two-month validity period.
Although as a tokusatsu film, it cannot yet secure the most prestigious and fiercely competitive release window like the Spring Festival, it has still successfully captured the prime time slot of the May Day holiday, which has relatively good viewership.
Light Chaser Animation's first theatrical film is about to hit theaters.
Before the movie was even released, major apps, subway stations, and bus stops across the internet were already bombarded with a massive amount of "GG" (Goblin) messages.
……
At 8 PM on Friday, a cover photo of a male character suddenly appeared on the homepage of the official Bilibili account of Chasing Light Pictures.
Title: First teaser trailer for "The Great Battle of Time and Space" - Coming May Day holiday, witness a miracle!
The moment you click on the video, the first promotional trailer is officially presented to all Olympic fans.
The trailer, though only thirty seconds long, is packed with an astonishing amount of information.
The first three seconds show neither monsters nor a base. What comes into view is an utterly ordinary city in the Xia Kingdom.
The timeline is marked "2030".
On an ordinary street, amidst a bustling crowd, Xiao Mian, an ordinary elementary school student carrying a schoolbag, is happily running home from school with a plastic Gaia Ultraman toy in his hand.
Everything seemed too normal, so normal that it looked like a surveillance video from real life.
But at the fifth second, the screen suddenly flickered and became distorted, accompanied by a piercing sound effect.
The scene abruptly shifts. It's a premonition dream filled with oppression and despair.
All around was an endless sea of fire, the raging flames seemingly about to burn through the screen.
In the center of the sea of fire, a glass sphere emitting an eerie red light floats.
In the firelight, a little girl stood there silently, her expressionless face and unsettling gaze.
Her voice, cold and crisp, echoes in the trailer: "The ending of destruction cannot be changed."
The dream shattered.
In the real world, elementary school student Xiao Mian stands in the secret base of an abandoned warehouse, holding the eerie red ball tightly in his hands, closing his eyes and making a wish loudly.
The progress bar is halfway through.
A deafening sound like shattering glass echoed from the sky in the real world—a wormhole had appeared!
To Xiao Mian's astonishment, a familiar red and gray fighter jet—Goga's EX—burst through the dimensional barrier amidst billowing smoke and landed in the plaza of the real world!
Then, the trailer reached its most breathtaking climax.
Three enormous, terrifying monsters crashed to the ground! One roared in the sky with huge bone wings, another stirred up a tsunami on the sea with its huge jaws, and the third, a massive monster that looked like a demon god, crushed a landmark building in the city center with one stomp.
The scene flashes rapidly. Accompanied by a despairing background music, Ultraman Gaia V2 form is pinned down in the ruins and brutally attacked by three monsters. His Photon Ice Blade is deflected by the shield, and Gaia crashes heavily to the ground, the red light on his chest flashing rapidly.
At the twenty-eighth second, flames shot into the sky. Xiao Mian, his face covered in mud, clung tightly to the red ball amidst the raging fire of the monster.
Tears welled up in his eyes, and with all his remaining strength, he let out a heart-wrenching roar towards the sky:
"O light—!!!"
At the thirtieth second, the screen suddenly burst into a dazzling white light. The trailer abruptly ended at its climax.
The screen went black and then displayed the words: See you at the cinema during the May Day holiday!
One minute after the trailer was released, its views surged past 500,000 in an incredibly unreasonable manner!
The entire Oscar fandom was completely blown away by this high-quality trailer.
The video was flooded with comments, densely covering the entire screen:
[Homepage Notification!]
[A Big Movie!!!]
[Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Chasing Light, are you serious?!]
The value of tracking light is still increasing.
[Am I seeing things? Koga's fighter jet has traveled to another world? Which world is this? Is it Ultraman Tiga?]
[Judging from the situation, this seems to be a normal world?]
What is that red ball?
That little girl in the fire looks so eerie, like a villain.
The texture of these three monsters is absolutely amazing!
【Wait, is Gaia really that powerless? My V2 form got completely humiliated on my second appearance!】
[The new player protection period has expired.]
[Where's Agul?! Where's the arrogant Fujimiya?! Gaia's been beaten to a pulp, come quick and save the day!]
What did the little boy mean by shouting "light" at the end?
【Aaaaaah! Why am I stuck here?! What happened after I shouted "Light!"?!】
Could it be that...?
Children, I've thought of a giant of light!
Don't say a word! If you mention him again, he'll ruin your future!
……
While the outside world was making a huge fuss over a mere 30-second trailer.
In the underground parking garage of Light Chaser Animation Studios' headquarters, rows of black armored vehicles equipped with sophisticated security systems are ready to depart.
The carriage was loaded with encrypted physical hard drives that were about to be shipped to the terminal servers of major cinemas across the country.
All the debates and speculations will be fully revealed when the giant screen lights up during the May Day holiday.