studiobondurri Chapter 331 Gauss: Does anyone still remember me?
Chapter 331 Gauss: Does anyone still remember me?
Chasing Light Studio.
Gu Nan sat in his office chair.
With the final episode of Gaia just around the corner, we also need to plan the filming of Gauss.
After several days of intense work, even this workaholic felt a bit tired.
But looking at the increasingly complete script in the "Ultraman Cosmos" folder on his computer screen, he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
That's right, while the outside world was still worried and discussing the tragic plot of "Ultraman Gaia" nearing its finale.
Gu Nan didn't think it was a big deal at all.
Starting from episode 40, he proactively began working on "Ultraman Cosmos".
Gu Nan made numerous changes, deletions, and adjustments to the script for "Ultraman Cosmos".
The incredible length of 65 episodes and the core concept that is completely different from previous Ultraman series were both refined through Gu Nan's bold adaptation.
In the past, whether it was Tiga, who represented divine brilliance, Dyna, who symbolized pioneering courage, or Gaia, who demonstrated Earth's determination, the core appeal of Ultraman, besides the plot, was "fighting monsters".
But Gauss was different. Gauss's main focus was "compassion," on influencing and saving people.
For most of the time in the series, the protagonist Musashi tries to soothe the monsters' emotions. Gauss is even called a "high-level fusion material" and a "gentle warrior." The fight scenes are greatly reduced, and instead, there are delicate and soothing dialogue scenes.
Even when there are fight scenes, the use of special effects and gunpowder is greatly reduced due to Gauss's gentle fighting style.
In Gu Nan's memory of Gauss, there weren't many scenes of urban battles.
More than 80% of the fight scenes in the entire series take place on small hills or plains and grasslands.
This led to a change in the original meaning of the term "fantasy tokusatsu".
How can science fiction that only involves "fantasy" be enough?
Special effects photography is almost obsolete!
Perhaps it was precisely because of budget constraints that the original version was stretched to sixty-five episodes!
The point is, if you're going to save money, at least give me some decent footage! (Grinning face)
What? Did Tsuburaya Productions spend all its money on public relations and hiring actors?
If Gu Nan really does that, wouldn't he be just like the Chinese entertainment industry?
Furthermore, the excessive padding in the plot was even more unacceptable to Gu Nan.
Gu Nan couldn't help but shake his head when he recalled the formulaic episodes in the original series.
The plot of "Mountain Boy Returns" and "Fishing Returns" is not only extremely slow-paced, but also suffers from severely reduced special effects sets due to the meager budget allocation.
Often, the scenes of Gauss fighting monsters are just a small, desolate hill in the middle of nowhere, without even a decent model of a city building. They look as shabby as early Toei tokusatsu shows, purely torturing the audience.
In this world, Gu Nan has surpassed the original version in terms of special effects, and even the plot has been polished to a level that surpasses the original version based on the feedback from the audience in the original world over the past few decades, thus raising the audience's tastes to a higher level.
Therefore, Gu Nan made an extremely bold decision with a stroke of his pen—to completely overhaul "Ultraman Cosmos"!
He directly abandoned the traditional long-running weekly TV drama model and adapted "Ultraman Cosmos" into a series of high-quality "online movies" and theatrical films.
In this brand-new project, the length of each Gauss film is strictly controlled to be around one to one and a half hours.
This hour-plus of content involves a deep purification and reorganization of the plot of two or three, or even four or five, episodes of the original version. All the dragging, boring, and cheap "filler" plots have been removed, leaving only the truly breathtaking "masterpieces" and excellent works!
For example, the second film following "The First Strike" combines the first two films into one.
The film opens with a massive city explosion scene that seems to burn through budget, as Chaos is infected by the benevolent monster Lidorius, which wreaks havoc in the city center.
This leads to Musashi's first encounter with Cosmos, Musashi joining the defense force EYES, and the intense ideological conflict between her and the Fubuki members, who are from the defense force and advocate for the elimination of monsters.
Finally, Cosmos transforms into Corona Mode, showcasing his powerful and visceral fighting style, and will engage in a thrilling battle with Golmud, demonstrating the physical prowess of Corona Mode!
Finally, the episode concludes with a climax.
The pace is tight and there's no dragging on.
Then the fourth episode, "The Robot That Fell From the Sky," and the fifth episode, "The Fireflies' Revenge," can be combined together.
The giant toy robot Igomas, abandoned by an alien civilization, and the firefly monster, mutated from inorganic waste attached to the Chaos virus, are connected in terms of plot logic.
Gu Nan cut out the boring daily routines and focused on retaining the stunning special effects sets—such as the amazing reflection effect when the robot was attacked by the lake, and the idyllic firefly village.
In this movie, Musashi and Kazefuki's "Spring Breeze Duo" enter an important period of adjustment, which also lays the groundwork for their transformation from being at odds to working together seamlessly later on. The drama is full of emotion and packed with exciting moments.
This segment from "Daughter of Time" is brilliant, but it needs to be properly arranged.
Gu Nan planned to ruthlessly cut out the excessively padded parts, such as "The Sleeping Girl" and "Fishing for Monsters."
It directly connects the original version's classic dinosaur fossil episode (episode 11), the Ifimera episode (episode 12), and the two parts of the timeless daughter episodes (episodes 13 and 14).
Of course, these are all initial versions, and Gu Nan still needs to further consider the specifics.
In short, Gu Nan is confident that he can turn Gauss's work into a masterpiece that explores the "meaning of life"!
The heartwarming story of dinosaur fossils being reunited with their families across time and space through "Light 3D Printing Technology".
The mayfly monster Iphimera descends only once every five hundred years, and its life lasts only a single day.
Through the efforts of the wind and Musashi's group, and with Gauss's desperate protection, a spark of life was preserved.
And then there's Renee, the tragic young woman controlled by an alien biochip who perished in a space station accident four years ago, and now longs to see her beloved space station one last time...
With proper arrangement, Gauss's divinity of "reverence for life and compassion" can be fully displayed.
Gu Nan has absolute confidence that this condensed film format will not only avoid boring the audience, but will also elevate Gauss's reputation to an unprecedented level due to its fast pace and intense emotional bombardment.
Moreover, due to the significant reduction in the number of episodes, the previously scattered budget can now be concentrated and poured into special effects and costumes.
Once Gu Nan had thought things through, he immediately convened a preparatory meeting with all the heads of the filming teams involved.
After Gu Nan finished explaining these ideas to everyone,
As soon as Gu Nan finished speaking, enthusiastic applause erupted in the conference room.
The crowd's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm, as if they could already see the birth of the next masterpiece.
The meeting, which was about to end smoothly, was interrupted by Chen Bo:
"Brother Nan, our public relations team here... things haven't been going well these past couple of days."
The meeting room fell silent instantly, and everyone turned to look at him.
Chen Bo scratched his head and projected his tablet screen onto the big screen. "It's PR! Our company's PR team has completely messed up!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Nan's heart skipped a beat, and he looked down at the tablet screen.
Upon inspection, Gu Nan's CPU was rendered unusable on the spot.
The tablet displayed the current Weibo trending topics list and the top headlines from various platforms.
Tags related to "Ultraman Gaia" trended on the hot search list, but the content of the entries was shocking:
#Commander of the Stone Chamber Sacrificed# (Breaking News)
#Airbase Crashes# (New)
A whole host of similar terms have also appeared on various platforms.
The last time this happened was on the day the final episodes of Dyna and Gaia's Sad Swamp aired.
He certainly knew that after the airing of episode 47 of "Ultraman Gaia," the tragic scene where Commander Ishimuro sends everyone away and pilots the aerial base alone to crash into the cosmic behemoth Mochian would definitely cause a sensation online and earn plenty of tears from the audience.
But he didn't expect the audience's response to be so enthusiastic!
Isn't this the finale yet? Why has it already triggered so many emotions?
"Brother Nan, look at the comments section... things aren't looking good with the netizens." Chen Bo trembled as he clicked on one of the topics.
The screen immediately displayed a barrage of criticism, causing everyone in the conference room to gasp in shock.
[I'm just a casual viewer, and I was introduced to Gaia by a friend yesterday. The first thing I saw was a tough guy, like a father, piloting a spaceship and crashing into monsters... Is this director even human? How could he be so ruthless?!]
[The image of Commander Ishimura pulling down the control stick and shouting "Full speed attack!" kept me awake! It was so frustrating! He was XIG's pillar of strength, why did he have to die so tragically!]
[I hereby declare the Anti-Gu Nan Alliance officially established today! I've already bought fifty pounds of scrap metal and razor blades; the address I've filled in is Chasing Light Studio. Gu, you old bastard, you just wait to receive your package!]
Rationally, I can accept that spirit of sacrifice in dire straits; it elevates the entire theme of the drama. But... emotionally, I really can't accept it! Give our father back to us!
[My youth is over! Commander Ishimuro is gone, how can we fight the next battle? Can Wamu and Fujimiya hold on? Protest! Strong protest!]
[Damn it! Refund! Gu Nan, you won't get the house! If you don't change the script and revive the commander, we'll immediately organize a massive online campaign of one-star reviews, plus a formal complaint about the maliciously depressing plot!]
These are still relatively rational viewers.
As for irrational behavior...
There's a reason why the internet is called the "cyber demon-locking tower"...
Even a group of Cybertronians were speaking, and over time, this created a less than positive atmosphere.
At this moment, the forums related to "Chasing the Light" were filled with hostility, demonstrating the sheer aggression of netizens...
Gu Nan looked at these comments filled with resentment and anger, but did not express any opinion.
The atmosphere in the meeting room had plummeted to freezing point. The core members who had been excitedly discussing Gauss just moments before were now looking at each other in bewilderment, not daring to breathe.
"Brother Nan..."
Chen Bo swallowed hard. "The PR department's phones have been ringing off the hook, all from fans who've been angered. Our studio's official Weibo account got nearly 100,000 comments in half an hour. Some people are even threatening to come down to the store and put up banners."
Gu Nan rubbed his temples helplessly.
In China, a mere entertainment work wouldn't necessarily provoke such a public outcry.
However, looking at the current public relations situation...
He really underestimated the domestic audience's attachment to the character, and also underestimated the destructive power of his own words.
"Brother Nan, what do we do now? Should we issue a statement? Or explain the logic of the plot?" Chen Bo asked anxiously.
"No."
Gu Nan slowly shook his head.
"Not sending anything."
"Not send anything?" Chen Bo was stunned. "But Brother Nan, there's already an uproar outside. If we don't do anything..."
"Yes, that means doing absolutely nothing."
Gu Nan said decisively.
"So, is Commander Ishimura really dead?"
Chen Bo was taken aback: "This... I haven't read the entire script, the ending..."
"That's right, only the scriptwriters you brought and I know the full story of the finale."
Gu Nan interrupted him, "All the audience's anger right now is based on the perception that 'Shi Shi is dead.' But we know that he still has a role to play later."
He tapped the table and continued his analysis: "If you issue an apology now, it's tantamount to admitting that this plot point was a 'mistake.' If you issue an explanation, it will only give angry fans a target to retaliate against. Releasing a trailer to imply that he didn't die might appease them, but that's leaking the ending prematurely and diminishing its impact."
"That……"
"Give it the cold shoulder."
Gu Nan uttered three words: "No response, no explanation, no spoilers. The angrier they are now, the more surprised they will be when they see Shi Shi return alive. Anger and tears are both part of the viewing experience. If I jump in to put out the fire now, I will truly ruin this work."
Gu Nan knew better than anyone else that the opening of episode 48 was when Ultraman Gaia, at the last moment of the explosion, forcibly broke through Mochian's restraints, used his light to protect the command center of the air base, and brought the seriously injured and unconscious Commander Ishimura back to Earth.
As soon as this scene airs, all the raging anger, insults, and protests online will instantly transform into tears of ecstasy and wild praise for Light Chaser Studio.
If, at this critical juncture, we were to reveal our hand prematurely and tell everyone, "Don't panic, Shi Shi is not dead," then the sense of despair, tragedy, and epic sacrifice built up in episode 47 would be significantly diminished.
The emotional impact of facing death head-on and seeing the dawn from the depths of despair must be unleashed at the moment the film is broadcast to achieve the most perfect effect.
So, we have to endure it for now.
"But Brother Nan, didn't we release that blurry trailer before?"
Chen Bo pointed to the tablet. "The caption said 'The light has never been extinguished,' but the fans aren't buying it at all! They all think it's a deathbed flashback, or a spirit appearing! Instead, they're criticizing it even more fiercely!"
"That's because they were scared by the special ending of episode 47 and the finale of the previous work, Dyna."
Gu Nan smiled and said, "It's alright, let the dust settle a bit more. Go ahead and do your work, keep a close eye on post-production, the final chapter absolutely cannot have any mishaps."
There was silence in the conference room.
Chen Bo opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately closed it.
"But...those who send razor blades, hang banners..."
Someone muttered to themselves.
Gu Nan rubbed his temples and sighed, "Security will be upgraded for three days, and the courier department will set up a separate blade recycling area. As for those hanging banners—" He paused, a helpless bitter smile appearing on his face, "Let them be. Consider it a warm-up for the finale of our 'Gaia' series."
He stood up, picked up the laser pointer again, and opened the proposal for "Ultraman Cosmos".
"Alright, the PR department will follow Chen Bo's orders. There's only one principle—play dead. Everyone else, continue the meeting."
Gu Nan turned his gaze back to the folder on the screen, his lips twitching slightly.
Blindly idolizing celebrities is truly terrifying.
Whether it's male idols, female idols, underground idols, anime characters, or Ultraman... when they get really into it, they can cause quite a stir!