Hollywood Immortal

[Chapter 348: Sky Digital, Teletubbies]

After eight weeks in theaters, The Man from Nowhere officially ended its run in North American cinemas, bringing in a final North American box office total of $256 million. The overseas market had already surpassed $310 million.

The overseas box office still had room to grow, and it was no problem for the film to eventually break $600 million worldwide.

However, it couldn't surpass Paramount's summer release Forrest Gump or Disney's animated masterpiece The Lion King, finishing third for the year's box office.

Forrest Gump, a film that embodied the American Dream, truly struck a chord with every American and became a national favorite.

Many mainstream North American audiences saw it again and again in theaters, repeatedly moved by it.

The film amazed everyone with a $329 million North American box office and over $678 million globally.

Forrest Gump was undoubtedly the hottest contender for the Oscars, with many seeing it as the only real Best Picture nominee, with all others as mere runners-up.

Tom Hanks truly entered the superstar ranks with his outstanding performance in the film, joining the $20 million paycheck club and becoming the front-runner for the Best Actor Oscar.

If he won Best Actor again, having won consecutively twice with strong box office appeal, his influence might even surpass Tom Cruise and Linton Anderson.

The Lion King wasn't far behind. Though it earned $328 million in North America, narrowly losing to Forrest Gump, its global box office was in a league of its own -- an astonishing $969 million, breaking Jurassic Park's worldwide record and becoming the new global box office champion.

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Mira and Goodman also brought good news from London -- J. K. Rowling had accepted the job as the ghostwriter for the Harry Potter novels.

As expected by Linton, she chose to write in London, visiting Los Angeles monthly to submit manuscripts and receive feedback from her boss.

She requested an advance of $100,000 to solve her current financial difficulties so she could focus on her writing.

These demands were minor; Linton agreed to them all. Rowling soon signed the ghostwriting contract.

Later, the acquisition of the stage musical Chicago's film adaptation rights was smoothly completed on Broadway in New York.

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February 8 was a good day. The 10th floor of the Linton Building finally welcomed new owners.

Sky Digital Studio was officially established.

From Speed, to Jurassic Park, to The Rock, Linton clearly felt that the digital effects era had arrived.

By the time of Independence Day, digital effects played an increasingly significant role, with their cost occupying a growing portion of the budget. For Independence Day alone, the studio had paid Industrial Light & Magic $30 million for effects.

Especially with the rapid evolution of computer technology, making TV animations was now feasible.

In the near future, creating animated feature films using computer effects wouldn't be far off, opening a bigger market for digital effects.

Starting a digital effects company now was definitely a safe and profitable bet.

But what ultimately pushed him to establish Sky Digital Studio was the successful acquisition of UPN TV Network.

His past experiences clearly showed that a great animated TV show could achieve global popularity. He grew up watching Teletubbies, SpongeBob SquarePants, Peppa Pig, and Transformers.

He remembered how not just himself but all the kids around him were captivated by these lovable TV animations.

Later, after entering the entertainment industry, he understood that these shows were sold to dozens of countries worldwide. Considering the copyright fees plus merchandise sales, the revenue was enormous.

Of course, Transformers was developed by toy companies primarily to sell toys, but Teletubbies, SpongeBob, and Peppa Pig were classic animated shows he couldn't miss.

Back in December last year, he recruited Ajax John, a technical vice president, and his small team from Industrial Light & Magic to form the core of Sky Digital Studio, appointing Ajax as the studio's general manager.

He had to apologize numerous times to George Lucas, but after purchasing $5 million worth of animation equipment from ILM, their relationship returned to normal.

After over a month of preparation, Ajax recruited several people from Pixar and ten more from the talent market. The new studio was finally officially launched.

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Linton positioned Sky Digital Studio with two goals: to catch up with top-tier digital effects technology and contribute to Hollywood's film industry.

Of course, once the technology met the standards, Linton's films would hand over all effects work to Sky Digital.

The orders from his own company's films alone were enough to support Sky Digital's healthy growth.

To grow, the studio would have to face competition head-on in the market and strive for orders from other film companies.

The second goal was to use computer technology to develop child-friendly animated TV shows, with plans to eventually move into digital 3D animated movies as technology advanced.

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On its first day, Linton handed Ajax a fully copyrighted Teletubbies project proposal, and had UPN TV Network's CEO Chris Smith sign a customized contract for the program with Sky Digital.

UPN was financially stable but urgently needed breakthroughs in its programming, and Linton's Teletubbies proposal was like a pie falling from sky.

Teletubbies was a preschool animation program suitable for children under eight.

It told the fun stories of four Teletubbies living in Teletubbyland with two focal points: the "Fantasy World" and "Reality Record."

The "Fantasy World" referred to the main set, Magic Island, filled with whimsical wonders fostering children's creativity and imagination.

The "Reality Record" documented the four Teletubbies playing together, maintaining good relationships without violence. Though they didn't understand many things, they loved learning.

Originally, when Teletubbies aired in the UK, it caused a sensation. Everywhere, children mimicked the Teletubbies' gestures, babbled their language, and sang their songs.

When introduced to the US, it created a similar wave, becoming PBS's flagship program for over 30 years.

Due to its incredible popularity, Teletubbies was produced continuously for four years with over 260 episodes.

The four Teletubbies -- Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po -- had their dolls and licensed merchandise flying off the shelves.

The show aired in over 170 countries on nearly 200 TV stations, translated into more than 40 languages, beloved by over a billion children globally.

Considering all these countries' licensing rights and merchandising, the market was huge, with immense profits.

Now, the program belonged to UPN -- and thus to Linton.

It was bound to become another cash cow for UPN TV Network.

*****

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