Wang is speeding up his next project: The Chinese version of the Pixar

Abstract: Tudou founder Wang (microblogging) to create Chinese version of Pixar according to foreign media reports, after the operation of China's largest online video site, Tudou founder Wang is speeding up his next project: The Chinese version of Pixar (animation studio).

Tudou founder Wang (Weibo) wants to create a Chinese version of Pixar

According to foreign media reports, after running China's largest online video site, Tudou founder Wang is speeding up his next project: The Chinese version of Pixar (animation studio).

As a well-known Internet entrepreneur in China, Wang is planning to create an animated film studio in Beijing next month. The studio will first make films for domestic audiences. Wang, 39, says he has raised tens of millions of of billions of dollars from international investors. But Wang did not disclose the names of the investors.

"I couldn't have done that five years ago, but it was the right time," Wang said, referring to improvements in the distribution channels, promotion and copyright environment of Chinese films. He said that with the increasing number of cinemas in China and the rise in urban income, the potential return on investment proved that the investment was correct.

According to the government's statistics, China has now become the world's second-largest film market after the United States, with a total box-office volume of 17.07 billion yuan (about 2.74 billion US dollars) last year.

Although the growing market is huge, China's animation industry is still in its infancy, and Wang's studio will challenge Hollywood and its rich financial resources. Many American family movies, such as DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" series, have received praise from Chinese audiences, but domestic alternative products have not appeared. Last year, DreamWorks and the Shanghai Oriental Media Group (full-circle) and two other domestic film companies set up a cartoon joint venture company.

Before dabbling in the animation industry, Wang resigned last August to the position of Tudou's chief executive. At the time, his Tudou, founded in early 2005, merged with rival Youku through nearly 1 billion dollars in stock trading. Although Wang Wein has been praised for leading Tudou into the growing Chinese online video market, Tudou has never made a profit because of the lack of cash for the company over the years due to copyright issues and purchases of authorized content.

After the establishment of the new animation studio April 1, Wang's leadership will be tested again. "Given that every film takes years to make, we have to look long," he said. "Investors who have agreed to provide financial support to the animation studios understand that the nature of the business is long-term," he said.

Wang was born in a doctor's family in southern China's Fujian province. He hated homework and went through the college entrance exams. In 1993, Wang went to New York State University Staten Island College (Eton of Staten Island) to study. Two years later, Wang made a degree in international trade, and got his first full-time job--the clothing button salesman. Wang said that even when he was wearing a 90-dollar suit that didn't fit, he didn't know how to pronounce Kristin Christian Dior, but his clients already included fashion designer Anna Su (Anna Sui), Issac Mazellassie (Isaac Mizrahi).

"Going to the United States has opened my eyes," Wang said. I realized that people have completely different ways of thinking. For example, an English professor at Staten College thinks his ideas can be rewarded. Although his first English essay was replaced with a red pen by the professor-which could mean failing in China-this still gave him a B-score because of the "idea" he put in his homework.

Later, Wang studied computer science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and obtained a master's degree in business administration from the French European Business School (MBA). He worked for the German media giant Bertelsmann before he founded Tudou.

Wang, who has written a Chinese play for the San Francisco Ballet, says he believes he understands art and technology, plus the experience of working with local content creators at Tudou, to make him a better place in the new animation company.

Speaking to reporters in fluent English, Wang said that apart from recruiting talent in China, the company will also recruit directors, storyboard designers and senior animators in the United States. In January this year, he visited Los Angeles and San Francisco and interviewed the recruits. "I was impressed by everyone's excitement about the Chinese market," he said. ”

But the same interest in the Chinese market means that Wang's new company will face stiff competition from Western rivals eager to expand in the Chinese market. Dan Mintz, chief executive of DMG Entertainment, says that Chinese action movies may depend on local actors and languages, but that animation is a completely different market. "Animated films must be directly against Hollywood," he said. ”