The production of The Avengers had entered the fast lane. Beyond the actors' performances, the most critical part was the creation of visual effects.
For superhero films, the heart of the matter is VFX—if the budget isn't enough, the effects will look terrible, just like some of Marvel's lower-quality post-production films.
Orange Studio, now one of Hollywood's top VFX companies, took on this daunting task.
It's worth mentioning that Orange Studio had received numerous projects from Chinese-language films over the past few years. For example, Red Cliff directed by Wu Bai-ge and Robot Man starring Wu Zhanlang.
Yet, in the eyes of industry veterans, the VFX in these films was still subpar. The reason was simple: insufficient funding.
Other VFX companies might not have cared, but Orange Studio didn't exhibit such discrimination. After all, the boss's own stance ensured things wouldn't go too far.
Still, labor costs in Hollywood are what they are—the world's top tier and even without discrimination, the prices cannot be low.
Meanwhile, investment in Chinese-language films was generally limited. Even in a large-scale production like Red Cliff, though actors' salaries were compressed, the money available for effects was still inadequate.
Consequently, Chinese filmmakers often looked not just to Hollywood, knowing it was expensive, but also to Japanese and Korean VFX companies.
Although not as top-tier as Hollywood studios, their prices were comparatively lower.
Amid this, some subtle changes occurred that Chinese filmmakers did not notice: many VFX companies started to emerge domestically.
In recent years, due to Hollywood's high labor and R&D costs, the operating costs of many VFX companies were extremely high.
Unlike directors, producers, or actors, VFX companies cannot enjoy revenue from box office or merchandise. Their profit margins are minimal.
Unless a VFX company is backed by a major corporation—like Industrial Light & Magic—independent studios struggle to operate.
Digital Domain, James Cameron's company, was among the top VFX studios. Yet, even after producing the astonishing effects of Terminator 2 and Avatar, Digital Domain reported losses in its 2009 financial statements.
Even James Cameron couldn't sustain it, so he considered selling it to 20th Century Fox or Universal Pictures.
Later, Gilbert invested in Digital Domain, becoming a shareholder, which prevented the studio from falling into other giants' hands.
As a result, Digital Domain handled part of The Avengers' VFX, especially the motion capture segments, which were almost entirely completed by them.
James Cameron later told Gilbert, "This industry burns money like nothing else. Only a billionaire like you can handle it."
Even a wealthy director like James Cameron couldn't endure it, illustrating just how costly the North American VFX industry was.
What happens when you can't handle it? Without investment, VFX companies had to find their own way, outsourcing work and reducing costs.
The many Chinese VFX companies that emerged like mushrooms after rain were founded in this context. They appeared modest but gradually handled less critical outsourced projects.
As Collison Elvin from Orange Studio's VFX department put it: "Although these Chinese artists lack experience, they are diligent and hardworking. Their work is high-quality and fast. This saves us a lot of effort, allowing us to focus on more critical tasks."
To ensure these Chinese colleagues performed better, Hollywood VFX companies provided technical guidance, helping them familiarize themselves with the work.
From the perspective of technical secrecy, this could be seen as criminal.
But for businesses and capitalists, only two things matter: cost and profit.
If a place can drastically reduce costs and increase profits, nothing can stop capital.
This issue also involved another person: Guo Fan.
Since returning to China after studying abroad, Guo Fan had not rushed into a major project. Instead, he calmly analyzed and summarized the current situation. He first stabilized his position by producing smaller films, then looked for opportunities to start a major project.
When he returned, Gilbert had emphasized this to him.
Film is always inseparable from the market. Movies are products—they need flowers, applause, and most importantly, an audience.
At present, the Chinese film market couldn't provide what Guo Fan wanted, so he needed to act cautiously.
Fortunately, he maintained this patience, which unknowingly saved his directing career. Some had even planned to block him.
After a year of seeing Guo Fan running around but not making films, they assumed he was finished and stopped paying attention.
After meeting Liu Cixin and having a long lunch—paid for by Liu Cixin—Guo Fan returned to Beijing and told Liu Ji, "Let's shoot a movie first!"
"You're finally taking action."
Liu Ji was overjoyed. "Then what should we make?"
"I've observed the market lately—comedies are very popular. Let's make a youth romantic comedy!" Guo Fan suggested.
Liu Ji was momentarily stunned. "Weren't you planning to make a sci-fi film?"
"The timing isn't right yet. The company still needs to survive, right? Let's do something else first, and when the time is right, we'll do the sci-fi film."
And so, Guo Fan launched his project with great momentum. Having studied in Hollywood and being known as Gilbert's student worked to his advantage.
Not only mainland stars, but even those from Hong Kong and Taiwan were willing to participate, and salary reductions weren't an issue.
Especially one called Da Mimi, who constantly looked for opportunities to approach Guo Fan. If it weren't for the fact that Guo Fan was married, there might have been a whole scenario of the beauty pursuing him.
Still, seeing the names Da Mimi and Guo Fan together, they didn't really seem like they belonged in the same circle.
Gilbert had no idea about the changes in his former student.
Amid his busy schedule, Gilbert took time to attend the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1).
The Harry Potter series had reached its final chapter. Although the next part would release the following year, countless fans had already gathered to bid farewell to the film series that had accompanied them for ten years.
The "Gryffindor Trio" appeared on the red carpet, tears falling, moving the audience deeply.
For many Harry Potter fans, especially those who grew up with the series, the films represented their youth.
With Harry Potter ending, their youth was ending too.
However, as the film's producer Gilbert and the original author J.K. Rowling appeared, they brought good news.
"Although Harry's story is ending, the magical world will continue to exist forever."
Gilbert said, looking at J.K. Rowling: "I discussed with Ms. Rowling, and we both agree there are still many stories in the magical world worth telling.
In the future, everyone can continue to look forward to our subsequent developments."
J.K. Rowling confirmed this, saying: "I've received many letters from readers curious about Hogwarts' history and Dumbledore's youth. I also feel it's time to expand the boundaries a bit. It just so happens that Director Gilbert approached me with many interesting ideas, which has greatly fueled my creative desire.
I believe everyone will soon see how these stories unfold."