In White Plains, New York, in the spacious offices of Blue Sky Animation Headquarters, all of them were decorated with festive ribbon balloons, and the employees in casual clothes were all smiling happily, and everyone gathered around and shouted with laughter: "3, 2, 1!"

"Wow!" Mike Ellingkiss, head of animation and technical director of animation from Los Angeles back to New York, shouted as he opened the champagne in his hand, and with a bang, sparkling wine burst into the sky, and he laughed and shook the champagne around, causing everyone around him to dodge, and the office was full of laughter, and the animators screamed, "Oh my God! "No, no, I really can't stand this!" ...... With over 60 million box office in its first week of screening, "Ice Age" was a big surprise to the market and deserves a good celebration of flames and blue skies, and a small party in the office is one of them.

"Guys, guys!" Mike Ellingkis shouted a few times, everyone slowly quieted down, Mike smiled excitedly, looked around at everyone, and said, "I have to announce a good news!" Hearing that it was good news, everyone immediately burst into joyful applause and whistles, Mike Elingkis dragged his voice and laughed: "As far as I know, this is actually settled! Our dear, lovely Magical Jan, and Flame Movie, have decided to make two CG movies next!"

"Wow, is this true!?" Animator Austin couldn't help but widen his eyes, and the other people who reacted also asked, full of surprise and disbelief, it was reasonable that there would be a new project, but the two films at once really surprised them. Marg, the female animator, was also so surprised that her breath became rapid, and asked, "Really, really? We're going to make two movies soon?"

Mike Ellingkis nodded solemnly and smiled happily: "I dare to say to my blog, it's true! One is Ice Age 2, and the other is not yet confirmed." He paused and said excitedly: "But we are not the only ones who do it, Blue Sky is going to recruit more partners!"

"yes! Wow, cool!" Austin, Margo, and the others all jumped and jumped out laughing and screaming, and some were so excited that they just used expletive: "That's fucking awesome!!", "We're going to kick the ass of the new guys!"

The project of the two CG movies and the company's expansion of employees, they all know what this means! First of all, Blue Sky will not lay off employees, and their lucrative job will continue, in fact, the position of animators is very dangerous, once the film is completed, they will be idle, and the company will naturally not spend money to support some idlers who have nothing to do, especially these idlers are not irreplaceable.

However, after the completion of "Ice Age" at the end of last year, Flame Films did not fire any animators, nor did they let them idle every day, but joined the special effects team of "District 9" and drew part of the footage; (Originally, Fox laid off more than 100 animators when "Ice Age" was about to be completed.) And now not only will they not lay off employees, but they will also expand, which means that they have a chance to be promoted, because they are all old guys with experience in making a CG movie, and if they are assigned to the team of that new animation, they are obviously more important than the new guys, unless those people are running from Pixar or DreamWorks. But so what? Blue Sky is no weaker than any animation company, they're just getting started!

"Jan has a word for me to tell you. Mike Ellingkis smiled and raised the champagne in his hand, looked at the many familiar faces, and said loudly, "Let's create a big scene together!"

"Wow, wow, wow!" The office burst into thunderous applause, and everyone clapped their palms frantically, cheering, and shouting: "Yes, we can do it!", "Blue sky, blue sky!"

At this time, Austin picked up a bottle of champagne from the dining table and shook it violently a few times, Bu opened it and squirted at everyone with a smile, and a cheerful exclamation immediately sounded, and everyone laughed and scolded while dodging: "Don't spray me, damn it, I really can't stand it!", "Oh my neck, you're going to die!"

In the face of the soaring situation in the North American and overseas markets of "Ice Age", the senior partners of Fire Films have unanimously agreed to the production of "Ice Age 2", and there are several reservations about whether to carry out two projects at the same time, but Wang Yang said, "If you are afraid, there will be no Fire Movies today! If you are afraid, I will bear this investment alone." "Even if you convince them, not to mention his magical investment vision, the major shareholders are not afraid, what are they afraid of?

After it was confirmed, for the promotion of "Ice Age", Flame Films couldn't wait to announce the news to the media, Blue Sky Future will start the production of two CG films, "Ice Age 2" was originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 04;

"Crazy!" Although the flames and blue sky are not what they used to be, this move has still been sighed by many film companies and media, and now the second week of "Ice Age" has not ended, even if it is a super hit, the question is what are the people in a hurry? Aren't they afraid of happiness and sorrow? But everyone knows that this kind of thing will not happen in "Ice Age...... And the two directors of "Ice Age" Chris Wech and Carlos Shaldanha have also become recent celebrities in the film industry, and the two said in an exclusive interview with "Variety" magazine: "It turns out that our original decision was correct, the flame movie is full of vitality and vitality, I am really grateful to it, it has given Blue Sky a stable, generous, and free creative environment, allowing us to grow." ”

"The technique of Ice Age is really focused on simplicity, and maybe it doesn't look so refined. Chris Witch smiled happily and said confidently: "But we're always developing new technologies, whether it's a 3D engine or a rendering system, we've made a lot of breakthroughs now, and you can see it in Ice Age 2, and I'm sure it will scare you, 'Is this still a rough blue sky?' haha!"

When it came to the topic of Wang Yang, both of them were full of praise to reporters, and Chris Weiqi praised: "He's amazing! This young man is incredible." You know it's weird to work with a guy who is 23 years younger than you, and he's only 22 years old, and before that, 19 years old, but he just has the ability to break all your prejudices and prejudices. ”

Carlos Sardanha agrees, jokingly and seriously: "If I had a daughter of this age, I would have to introduce them to him, he is one of the best people in his 20-year-old age group." ”

"He helped Ice Age a lot, and it can be said that everything changed. The idea was to make the story a drama. Chris Witch shook his head with a smile and recalled, "And he said, 'Don't you think this story can be humorous? When we heard that, we panicked, oh my God!" Carlos took over, frowning and laughing, "This little guy is going to backtrack?

Knowing that Ice Age is now a family comedy, Fernando laughed and asked, "So what made you change your mind?"

Chris Waige shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Because it does make sense." Our initial idea was just to 'make a story about prehistoric glacial animals,' and then we added human babies for the sake of substitution, but nothing was set in stone, so we asked, 'How?'" Carlos continued: "He said, 'Make the characters' personalities interesting, especially their dialogue, like the mammoth's style of speech sarcastic?, man, our technology is crude, but humor doesn't require computer technology. ’”

"And then discuss, discuss......" Welch gestured for a long time, finally nodded and smiled, "We were all convinced, and we were also interested in family comedy-style stories." Carlos laughed, "And we said, okay, that's it! Now I think if Ice Age were to be a serious adventure drama, it would be a disaster." ”

The creators of "Ice Age" are busy with publicity interviews during the release period, and "Sweetheart", which is very popular and only has a bright light overshadowed by blockbusters, also has a media page, because it has a positive encounter with "The New Ding Arrives" starring Eliza Dushku, Jessica was asked about the casting of "Idle Hands" a few years ago when she was doing an interview with "People" magazine, and the female reporter Claudie asked: "Have you ever wondered what would happen if Eliza Dushku went to play "Youth Musical"?" Jessica replied: " If this doesn't mean anything, Eliza and I are good friends, and we're all doing well. ”

"How's the relationship with Magical Young? A lot of people used to say that you would play in a year, but now it's almost three years. Claudie asked another gossip question. Jessica couldn't help but smile sweetly and said generously: "Every time I see him, I have a heart-pounding feeling." And what do you say?"

After attending the premiere of "Ice Age", Wang Yang still spends every day in the editing room as usual, dealing with the thousands of meters of film piles. I came home at 9 o'clock one night, sat on the fabric sofa in the living room, closed my eyes slightly, and suddenly the whole person was relieved, but it was not dark in front of me, but the image of "The Ninth District".

"Hey, little one. Sensing Danny spinning around at his feet, he reached out and stroked its short hair, and after a while he opened his eyes, picked up the vibrating phone on the coffee table and looked at it, it was a text message from Will Smith "Man, call me if you're free!" He called a little confused, and said, "Hey, Will, what's the matter with me?"

Will Smith over there laughed, "Good evening, man!" He had already called to congratulate the results of "Ice Age", and this time it had nothing to do with the movie. He organized his words and said, "Actually, it's like this, since the last time Jaden saw your awesome kung fu, he has been saying that he wants to learn kung fu, you know that he is not yet 4 years old, and children always like this today and that tomorrow, so Jada and I don't care much about it." ”

Wang Yang hummed and took a bottle of beer handed over by Jessica: "Yang, here you go." While opening the lid of the can, he listened to Will Smith laugh and say: "He watches kung fu movies every day these days, Jada bought it for him, Bruce Lee, Jet Li...... He's been drinking and beating all day long, haha!"

"Haha, that's funny. Wang Yang immediately laughed, guessed Will's intention, and asked, "Jaden really wants to learn kung fu?" Will Smith responded with a smile and said, "Now he is obsessed with kung fu, crying and making trouble to learn, and he wants to learn from you." So man, can you teach him a little bit?"

"Oh! learn kung fu with me?" Wang Yang was a little stunned when he heard this request, and he thought that Will was here to ask for some opinions, such as whether a four-year-old child should start practicing martial arts, and what kind of kung fu is better to learn. Will's laughter came from the phone, and he said, "Yes, he said that your kung fu is the coolest, and it's the best!" Wang Yang smiled, thought for a while, and said: "Will, it's very hard to learn kung fu, especially to learn my kind of bajiquan." ”

He looked at Jessica, who was reading a magazine next to him, thinking about the hardships he had endured since he was a child, and said seriously: "It's very hard, it's hard, if Jaden just wants to learn some superficial postures, I can also teach him, to ensure that he plays very cool, and he can make movies, but I won't admit that I am his master." Will, please understand, this is the door rule. Will Smith replied, "I understand it very well. ”

"But if you want to learn real kung fu and bajiquan, I have to say that for a four-year-old child...... Wang Yang couldn't help laughing...... He always felt that he could have grown to more than 190cm, and the standard PG body was made like this because he hit too much.

Of course, four-year-old children will not immediately practice killing moves such as sticking to the mountain and relying on the mountain, but will only practice moderate basic skills at the beginning, and take care of the ligaments, muscles and bones, otherwise it will really affect the development. However, Bajiquan is a fierce close-quarters boxing method, and even the basic skills are more difficult than other boxing techniques. Thinking of this, Wang Yang laughed self-deprecatingly: "The court can sue me for child abuse, and I will go to jail again." ”

Will Smith felt that Wang Yang was a bit exaggerated, and besides, he was tall and handsome now, wouldn't it be good? Will smiled: "Young, Jada and I are not the kind of parents who pamper their children, the most important thing is their own wishes. But if you ask Jaden, he's sure to say you want to learn real kung fu, man, I don't think you're really going to abuse him, haha! Hmm, I'll ask now, he's coming, Jaden ......"

Soon, Wang Yang heard Jaden's excited shouting: "I want to learn real kung fu, I want to learn real kung fu!" Wang Yang took a sip of beer and said with a smile: "OK, OK, I know! Little guy, let your father listen first." Then he heard Will's hey, Wang Yang frowned and thought about it, and after a while, he said, "Will, I think Jaden is still a little too small." ”

"He's less than four years old, and if he were to start practicing real kung fu now, he probably wouldn't last more than two days, crying and saying, 'I'm not going to learn anymore.'" He shook his head and continued to say to his phone: "And you will lose interest in kung fu, and maybe you will become annoying, which is not fair to Jaden." Jessica, who heard the reason for the incident, couldn't help but nod approvingly.

"Man, you're right. Will Smithton over there also agreed, and asked, "Then you mean to wait until he grows up?" Wang Yang thought for a while, and then said: "Well, I'll teach him some movements and postures first, so that he can be happy and get over kung fu, and when he is 6 or 7 years old, if he still wants to learn real kung fu at that time, and he is suitable in all aspects, I will take him as an apprentice." ”

Will Smith said happily, "Wow, that's good! When are you going to teach him?" Ouch, ouch!" came the faint sound of Jaden hitting and punching on his phone, as if he was beating his dad.

"Haha!" Wang Yang smiled and waved his fist and said, "You know that I have been busy editing "District 9" every day recently, and I just went home today. So either I wait a while, or I get up at about 6 o'clock every day and go for a morning jog...... It seems a little too early. Will hurriedly said, "Oh no, no, he can't wait for a minute, let's go over tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, no problem. Wang Yang couldn't help but sigh in his heart, although Will doesn't pamper the child, but he is definitely pampered, and said with a smile: "You don't have to be so early, you just come at 7 o'clock tomorrow." ”

The morning air is refreshing and fresh, the green grass on the lawn is stained with dew, wearing a white T-shirt with a mammoth Manny pattern and a pair of pants in "Ice Age", Wang Yang, who has no master style, is playing Baji boxing, the fist style is Huohuo, the tiger is vigorous, the speed is as fast as a leopard, but the strength is as big as a rhinoceros, with the punch rushing between the feet, the air keeps sounding "Huo", "pop", "huh" and so on.

Will Smith, Jada Pinkett, and the little guy Jaden all saw it again and again, and Jaden's eyes were even brighter, his immature face was full of excitement, and he also waved his little fists, he felt that he was about to become such a kung fu master!

"Whew!" After a set of small fights, Wang Yang pressed down with his legs together and his palms, and retracted his qi into the dantian. The Smiths and Jessica both laughed and applauded, and Jaden shouted excitedly, "Cool, Kung Fu, Kung Fu!" He waved his fists indiscriminately while imitating the sound of breaking the wind: "Hohoho!

Wang Yang took a clean towel handed by Jessica, wiped the fine sweat from his palms, looked at the excited Jaden, and smiled steadily: "How is it?

"Uh-huh!" Jaden nodded his head violently, "I want to learn!" He suddenly seemed to remember something, and asked again, "Can you break a plank?" Will, Jada, and Jessica all laughed at once, Wang Yang was also amused, children just want to be cool when they practice martial arts, didn't he used to do the same? He shrugged his shoulders and smiled: "Look at how thick that plank is, if it's that ordinary model of performance wood, yes, I can interrupt." ”

"Teach me, teach me, Jan, teach me!" Jaden's face was full of excitement and pleading, Wang Yang smiled and said OK, gave the towel back to Jessica, and stepped on the green grass under his feet hard, made a bent arm posture with his right fist forward, and said with a smile: "Teach you a few punches today, follow me." ”

Jaden quickly straightened up, bent his arms in a decent manner according to his posture, and looked meticulous. Will and Jada both looked at their son with a smile in their eyes.

"Then look at it, I'm going to punch!" Wang Yang slowly swung his fists, while looking down to pay attention to Jaden's study, seeing the child's serious appearance, he couldn't help but smile, remembering the picture of his childhood learning boxing. It's good for children to like kung fu, to strengthen their bodies, to exercise their will, and to play cool...... Let more children like kung fu?

This thought suddenly occurred to him, and then he thought of another undecided film project of Blue Sky Studios, and muttered: "Kung Fu, Kung Fu......"

When the week of May 17-23 came to an end, "Ice Age" also became "a milestone CG animated film this year" in the mouth of the media. "The reason is simple, the North American box office of this cartoon exceeded 100 million US dollars!

On the weekly box office list, standing in the top position is the officially large-scale release and unstoppable "Star Wars Prequel 2: Attack of the Clones", which frantically collected 110 million US dollars in 3161 theaters, and the second place "Spider-Man" collected another 51.28 million in a single week, which is about to enter the 300 million box office club in North America; "Ice Age" in the second week of release ranked third, with 3056 theaters earning 45.49 million US dollars, and the total box office figure reached 108 million!

Why is this a milestone in film history? Look at the CG animated movies that now have more than 100 million North American box office, 267 million, "Shrek", DreamWorks, 255 million, "Monsters, Inc.", Pixar, 245 million, "Toy Story 2", Pixar, 191 million, "Toy Story", Pixar, 162 million, "Bugs", Pixar, 137 million, "Dinosaurs", Disney.

Then the seventh place is DreamWorks' 90.75 million "Little Ant Soldier", and the eighth place is Paramount &dna's "Genius Boy Jimmy" with 80.93 million.

Except for Pixar and DreamWorks, there is no company that can make self-made CG cartoons that can be applauded and blockbuster, but now it is different, everything is different! Because "Ice Age" has become the seventh CG cartoon to have a box office of over 100 million in North America! And it only took two weeks! Blue Sky Studio has also become the fourth company to have this achievement after Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks, breaking the market monopoly of Pixar & DreamWorks, and it was hot for a while.

"Blue Sky Studios Rise!" -- from the headline of a feature story in The New York Times.

(To be continued)