After a passionate speech at Waterworld Animation Studios, Kyle walked into an office.
The accompaniment included Stephen, the head of the animation studio, and David Meisel, the chief screenwriter. As the head of the animation studio, Stephen needed to give Kyle a detailed report on the current situation of the studio.
"Boss, as of now, Waterworld Animation Studio has a total of 90 computer artists, 15 traditional hand-drawn animators, 15 screenwriters, and 38 employees from other departments. This means that the total number of employees in our animation studio has reached 158."
Stephen was a little excited as he spoke.
Once upon a time, Waterworld Animation Studio had more than 20 people.
I wouldn't say it was that miserable at the time, but it wasn't much better either.
At the end, he added: "Of course, we have also reached talent training agreements with well-known universities such as Stanford and the Los Angeles Academy of Art. If there are new work tasks, we can quickly recruit 50 to 80 talents to join the company within a week."
Kyle nodded.
Kyle also learned about the talent training agreement with universities that Stephen mentioned from Victor.
Of course, Victor approved of it.
He said, "Boss, instead of blindly recruiting people from the market, it would be better for us to cooperate with universities. Although this method is a little more expensive and takes a little longer, it avoids conflicts with other animation companies. Especially poaching from other companies is always disgusting."
Cooperative projects with universities are common in the United States.
This type of agreement will make the company's talent transition smoother.
"Stephen, how is the progress of the second season of SpongeBob SquarePants and Finding Nemo, which you are responsible for?" Kyle asked again.
Hearing this, Stephen immediately took out some information.
"Boss, there are currently 30 people working on the production of SpongeBob SquarePants. The rough drawings for the second season have been completed, and we expect the film to be finished in three months."
"Finding Nemo" is currently the studio's top priority, with a staff of 80 people. Additional staff can be added at any time if necessary. It is estimated that the film will take no less than three years to complete, and there is considerable financial pressure."
Financial pressure?
Kyle thought about it and realised it was true!
Originally, the animation studio was just an animation department under Page Pictures. Although it did not become an independent subsidiary, it could apply to the film company when it was short of money.
But now it's different!
When it becomes an independent subsidiary, its finances are calculated independently. In a sense, it is no longer so easy for it to apply for funds from the parent company.
Boom~!
Boom boom boom~!
Kyle tapped his fingers on the table, thought for a few seconds, and then said solemnly, "Within a week, I'll have Martha deposit $10 million into your account in three instalments as start-up capital for the Finding Nemo project. As for the remaining amount, you'll need to figure it out. Of course, I estimate that once SpongeBob SquarePants Season 2 is released, the funding problem will be solved."
Stephen and Messer both nodded.
Man, that's SpongeBob SquarePants!
Once launched, it dominated the American television animation field for 8 years. The profits were so huge that they were enough to support the production of "Finding Nemo"!
The animated film "Finding Nemo" was produced by Pixar, a group of hackers, in the original timeline.
The film cost a lot of money, a full 63 million US dollars.
Of course, this number seems high, but compared to the production costs of Pixar's future films such as "Cars" and "The Incredibles", it is completely insignificant.
150 million US dollars!
Yes, the guys at Pixar are very powerful, but their ability to spend money is exactly equal to their abilities.
Without a production budget of $150 million, they don't know how to make it?
Therefore, the $63 million production cost of "Finding Nemo" is not very high.
"David, how is the progress of the Peppa Pig project you are responsible for?" asked Kyle.
Hearing this, David Messer smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Boss, you're a little too impatient. You have to know that we've only just started this project, less than three months ago, and the special painting team hasn't even been established for a month. How can I answer you?"
Well, Kyle choked.
Kyle was indeed a little anxious.
But that is Peppa Pig after all, the most profitable pig in the world!
At her peak, Peppa Pig could bring the production company more than $1 billion in profits a year. Not to mention Kyle, even any other time traveller would not be able to remain indifferent to it.
....
The last stop of the inspection is, of course, the SpongeBob SquarePants main store.
Kyle is full of memories and emotions about it.
It was the first company Kyle opened after travelling through time, using the first pot of gold he earned from Netscape's stock market. To be more precise, it was the place where Kyle's dream began after travelling through time!
However....
When Kyle came to the SpongeBob SquarePants store alone, he did not see the manager John.
"Where's your store manager?"
Kyle asked one of the shop assistants, Viasim, who was also a long-time employee of the store.
Viasim glanced at Kyle in surprise. "Boss, aren't you and John old friends and neighbours? How could you not know that her mother was recently hospitalised again?"
"Huh? You mean Aunt Alice is in the hospital?!"
Kyle was puzzled at the same time, and his voice tone became much higher.
Kyle was full of gratitude towards Aunt Alice, an old neighbour who had been paralysed for many years. After Kyle travelled through time, she often encouraged him.
Aside from his mother, John, and her sister Lily are the closest people to Kyle in America.
After asking for the address, Kyle rushed to the hospital in a hurry.
....
Hospital.
"John, you bastard!"
"Aunt Alice is your mother, yes, but she's also my family. Now that something so serious has happened to her, you didn't even tell me. Are you still my friend? Tell me!"
"Fortunately, Aunt Alice is fine, otherwise I won't forgive you!"
"Uh, by the way, do you have enough money? If not, I'll pay for it."
"Come on, you bastard, my money isn't for you, you don't have to refuse. Hey, I told you not to refuse, damn, you weren't like this before, you never showed mercy when it comes to cheating me, why are you so hypocritical now?"
After arriving at the hospital, Kyle asked around and learned that Aunt Alice didn't have any serious problems. It was just osteoporosis caused by years of paralysis, an old problem. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Kyle still scolded John harshly.
That afternoon.
Kyle and John took Aunt Alice home from the hospital and stayed for dinner.
After Aunt Alice and John's sister Lily went to bed, Kyle and the other chatted.
Mainly work!
"Kyle, I think you should find someone else to be the general manager of the SpongeBob SquarePants chain. To be honest, my abilities are simply not enough for such a position, you know."
Suddenly, John brought up the issue.
For a moment, Kyle was silent.
John has mentioned to Kyle more than once the issue of the general manager of the SpongeBob SquarePants chain, saying that he is not capable enough and is willing to step down and let someone else take over.
That's right, letting John be the head of the peripheral chain stores was naturally due to Kyle's consideration.
However, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish!
John is a high school graduate with a low level of education. All his skills were acquired through experience in society. Being the head of a store is already his current limit.
Of course, he did a pretty good job.
However, taking on the position of general manager was a bit too much. Instead of allowing him to grow quickly, it made him feel more stressed. He also needed time to take care of his mother and sister.
"Okay, I agree to your request. After a while, you can hand over the position of general manager to someone else."
In the end, Kyle was persuaded by John.
At this point, Kyle's inspection work will come to a complete end shortly.
However, Kyle will be busy again the next day. To promote the company's projects, Kyle will accept an interview invitation to be broadcast on a TV platform on UPN TV Network.
That's right, on TV!
There is no doubt that this is the first time that Kyle has stepped out from behind the scenes!