John Lasseter explained: "Mr. Williams, the girl's movements do appear slightly stiff, and I have warned Mr. Hansen of this before making the zuò, and it was Mr. Hansen who insisted that we do it to see the effect. ”

Eric looked over to Jeffrey, who nodded.

"Can't you do it a little more smoothly? Mr. Lasseter, money is not an issue. This opening logo may be used for many years, but of course it needs to be refined. ”

John Lasseter shook his head and said, "Mr. Williams, I promise, this is the highest level of 3D animation at the moment, Pixar only started experimenting with human movement modeling last year, and compared to the baby in the previous short film, the little girl in red in this opening film has moved much smoother." Other studios can't even do it at this level. ”

When Eric heard the name, a thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't catch it, and his main attention was still on the title of the firefly.

Since there was no way to improve it, Eric and Jeffrey discussed it in a low voice.

In the 30-second intro, except for the slight flaws in the action of the girl opening the cap and releasing the fireflies, everything else is perfect. Moreover, after editing, the opening logo is generally about 15 seconds, and shorter, such as the trailer to be played at the Super Bowl, may only insert the firefly to scratch out the word firefly-film for just five seconds. Therefore, 30 seconds of short footage is enough to cut out a more perfect logo.

In this case, Eric did not ask Pixar to rework, and then the matter was much simpler, signed the paper, paid the balance to John Lasseter, and completed this qiē, John Lasseter refused Eric's dinner invitation and was about to leave, Eric suddenly stopped John again.

"Mr. Lasseter, I remember you just mentioned?"

John Lasseter nodded, "Yes, Mr. Williams, we started making this short film in February last year. In about five minutes, the best short film at this year's Oscars has already been declared. ”

Hearing the other party mention Oscar, Eric was completely sure.

"John, don't mind if I call you that, you can call me Eric. If you don't have anything to do next, can you stay and talk for a while, I'm very interested in 3D animation. ”

John Lasseter took a serious look at Eric's expression, and he suddenly remembered that Eric was about to become the youngest billionaire in Hollywood with the box office of this movie. And Pixar has now reached the point where it is at the end of its rope and could collapse at any time. Perhaps, the young man in front of him may be able to save Pixar.

Thinking of this, John Lasseter's heart became eager: "Of course it's fine, Eric. ”

In Firefly's conference room, John Lasseter explains: "The idea came from my little nephew, who I saw crawling around in a pile of toys last Christmas, making a mess of the toys. And then came the idea for this animated short, Eric, if you're interested, I can call my assistant and send the tape. ”

Eric also noticed the eagerness in John Lasseter's eyes and confirmed that now was the best chance to take Pixar. If memory is not wrong, the reason why Pixar was able to attract the attention of animation giant Disney and finally signed a contract with Disney for three 3D animated films was because it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Originally, Eric thought that he would have five or six years to win Pixar, but now that he thinks about it, if Pixar signs a contract with Disney again as he did in his previous life, there will be huge variables for him to win Pixar again.

In order to let John Lasseter know that he was really interested in 3D animation, Eric agreed with John's suggestion: "If it's convenient, then bother your assistant to take a trip." ”

John Lasseter made a phone call, and half an hour later, Eric and the others returned to the screening room.

……

The new toy soldier looked curiously at the room as a small baby crawled in. The creep is full of anticipation for his new master. However, the baby's roughness towards toys forces the creep to try to escape the baby's clutches, but the tinkling of the musical instrument it carries attracts the baby's attention, and a chase begins......

John Lasseter sat on Eric's right, and as the animation played, John whispered to Eric in simple sentences to explain some of the technical difficulties in the seemingly simple picture.

Eric listened intently, nodding his head in understanding. The animation was finished quickly, and although I wanted to complain about the shape of the baby in the animation, Eric still praised the animation on the surface.

No way, whether it's animation, or games, Westerners strive to be real when they make zuò, and Eric, who is an Oriental in his bones, looks like one word: ugly. In comparison, the animation and games made by the Oriental people are quite beautiful, regardless of the internal quality. This is even more prominent in 3D games, where you can determine the approximate origin of a game by looking at whether the characters are beautiful or not.

After the animation, Eric did not leave the screening room again, but continued to talk about the topic of 3D animation, compared to John Lasseter, who did not have much confidence in 3D technology, Eric knew the development prospects of 3D animation well, and after chatting, Eric couldn't help but reveal a little idea.

"Eric, you must have seen this idea. I actually had the idea of making a 3D animated feature film, but you know, with the current situation at Pixar, it's impossible to make that happen. ”

Finally, when it came to the main topic, Eric changed his more solemn look and asked in a low voice, "John, is Jobs almost unable to hold on?"

This matter is not a secret in the industry, as long as you have the heart, you can find out. John Lasseter doesn't hide it: "Jobs just sold Pixar's hardware division, and now only the software animation department remains. If nothing happens," John said, glancing at Eric expectantly, "Pixar Studios will either be dissolved or sold, but not many people will take over. ”

"Why is no one willing to take over, Pixar's technology should be the most advanced in the industry, right?"

John Lasseter hesitated on this question for a few seconds, looking at Eric, the potential financier, for a few seconds, but in the end he was still just a fanatical technician in his bones, not a businessman who was used to deceit, and finally decided to tell the truth: "Because 3D animation technology is too expensive and does not produce much." Unless the animation studio is bought and can have a complementary effect on other parts of the company, such as giants like Microsoft, or film special effects companies, no one will take over this purely money-burning studio. ”

Eric was very satisfied with John Lasseter's honesty, pretended to think for a minute, whetted John Lasseter's appetite, and then said: "John, I'm very interested in 3D animation, just right, and after that, I have a lot of money to invest, so, if I can, I'm willing to buy Pixar, and invest in making 3D feature-length animation, hmm...... The idea we talked about about toys was good. ”

John Lasseter thought that Eric would lose interest when he heard his explanation, but he didn't expect to hear such a statement, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

The two of them just had a good conversation, and he still had a good impression of this young man, so instinctively, John didn't want Eric to be like Jobs, and fall into the 'quagmire' of Pixar again, the reason why Jobs, a billionaire, is now at the end of the mountain is because Pixar keeps drawing money from him, but has not created the corresponding economic benefits.

But on the other hand, he is really very passionate about 3D animation technology, otherwise he would not have repeatedly rejected the olive branch of his old club Disney and stayed in this Pixar studio that no one is optimistic about.

After much thought, John Lasseter offered a compromise: "Eric, I don't think you need to buy Pixar. If you are interested in 3D animation, you can invest in a 3D cartoon from Pixar, which will not cost too much money, and if you ...... If you fail, you can also calmly pull out. ”

Eric was a little surprised that John himself could come up with such a pertinent proposal, instead of trying to fool himself into the game.

But if he really did what John had built, it would be equivalent to being a living Lei Feng and making a wedding dress for Jobs. After the success of his previous life, Pixar's stock price skyrocketed, and Jobs went straight from the brink of bankruptcy to the ranks of billionaires.

Eric put on a rich and willful young man's tone: "No, John, you can bring a message to Mr. Jobs for me, I am willing to buy Pixar Studios for 20 million dollars." If the deal goes through, I'll invest $30 million to make an animated film. ”

"Eric, I don't think 20 million dollars, Jobs will not agree, he has invested no less than 20 million in Pixar before and after in the past few years. ”

Eric said: "John, there are profits and losses in business, and if you invest a lot, you have to get back more, then it's not a business." You can just send my message directly to Mr. Jobs, 20 million, not a penny more, I'm busy, I don't have time to climb on the price, if Mr. Jobs is not satisfied with the price, then there is no need to contact me, I am sure he will make a wise choice. ”

"In that case, well, I'll bring your message to Jobs truthfully. ”

After sending John Lasseter away, Eric said to Jeffrey, who had been holding back for a long time, "Jeffrey, why didn't you persuade me this time?"

Jeffrey spread his hands: "I know it's useless, why do you say so much." But since you asked, I'm still going to say that buying Pixar is certainly not a wise choice. ”

Eric smiled and teased, "I wanted to make a bet with you, but unfortunately you don't have anything on you that interests me, so forget it." ”