I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 502 Assassin's Creed Planning

Two million copies?

It seems that "The Shadow of the Wind" has sold over two million copies in Spain.

In the entire Spanish-speaking region, nearly four million copies were sold.

The printing of two million copies of Carmen Balces doesn't seem particularly outrageous.

The old lady was determined to promote Spanish culture, which is the second most spoken language in Europe and Latin America after English.

Don't underestimate her power.

According to the contract, the 410,000-word novel is divided into two volumes and is priced at 21.9 euros.

There is also a deluxe edition, with 100,000 copies available, priced at 29.9 euros.

Liu Jin privately calculated that the Spanish version of "The Shadow of the Wind" alone could bring him 11600000 euros in revenue.

But this is only a small part.

The German version of this book has also sold over a million copies.

After all, it received high praise from the German Minister of Culture.

Sales in France have exceeded two million copies, plus those in North America...

In the original timeline, this was a legendary book that sold over 1500 copies in a single year.

Therefore, this book will bring Liu Jin over 100 million yuan in revenue!
Thanks, Zafon!

Go ahead and be a good screenwriter; it's a very promising and lucrative job.

Let me handle this mentally and physically exhausting work of writing all by myself...

Liu Jin silently muttered to himself.

After "Kaze no Kage" ended, "Angel Game" was not in a hurry and was given a break.

I'll write it down next year.

As for the later works, "Prisoners of Heaven" and "The Labyrinth of Souls," they should be completed 10 years from now; there's no rush.

In what year did Carmen Balces die?

15 years!
This project needs to be managed by her to maximize profits.

Liu Jin had already made a decision in his heart.

……

With the end of "The Shadow of the Wind," Liu Jin finally relaxed completely.

Liu Jin doesn't need to worry about publishing, translation, promotion, or operation.

Meira will cooperate with Barces, which is also a very rare opportunity for Meira.

Classes resumed in April.

At the same time, the creation of Assassin's Creed was planned.

To be honest, the timeline of Assassin's Creed is a bit messy.

In particular, Oliver Bourdain's series of novels consists of nine books.

If we follow the order of his publications, the first book is "The Renaissance", the second is "The Brotherhood", and the third is "The Secret Holy War".

However, if we follow the timeline of the plot, the first book is *The Secret Holy War*, which tells the story of the master assassin Altaïr; the second is *The Renaissance*, followed by *The Brotherhood* and *Apocalypse*. To be precise, *The Renaissance*, *The Brotherhood*, and *Apocalypse* can be considered part of the *Ezio Trilogy*, all stories of the same protagonist.

The subsequent Black Flag tells the story of Edward Kenway's life.

His grandson is Connor, the protagonist of the game Assassin's Creed III.

Then, Assassin's Creed Forsaken is a prequel to the game Assassin's Creed III, telling the story of Connor's father, Haytham.

The later "DGM" is set in France during the DGM era.

But numbers eight and nine have actually deviated from the main plot...

Liu Jin decided to write Borden’s nine works first, and then slowly organize the remaining five.

In Liu Jin's memory, the fourteen Assassin's Creed novels that are considered official are the only ones.

"Chang'an Wang" is an official work of China. In addition, there are other works such as "Valhalla" and "Odyssey", which also have a great influence and have been incorporated into the entire "Assassin's Creed" system, forming a huge world view background.

Of course, the game is important.

This is also why Liu Jin wanted to acquire Ubisoft Software and Ubisoft Montreal.

Only by controlling the game can he create (plagiarize), and drastically modify it without restraint within its system...

It's worth noting that Bourdain's nine books alone have sold 7800 million copies.

This is an IP that can sell over 100 million books, and Liu Jin can also use this IP to create many other articles.

He can get at least a billion dollars in profit from this IP.

He's not good at business.

I have little interest in finance.

After being reborn, his greatest advantage is writing.

Since that's the case, we need to make the most of this advantage...

After sorting out the storyline, Liu Jin finally decided to start writing from the Ezio trilogy.

Altaïr's story can serve as a prequel.

So his first story is "The Renaissance"...

He needs more material to create this story.

Fortunately, there is a lot of research on the Spanish Renaissance, so he could freely consult the library materials and ask professors in the history department for advice.

This will take time, and Liu Jin is not in a hurry.

However, while absorbing this information, he didn't forget that he still owed Scarlett a movie.

He has three choices.

The V for Vendetta comic has sold two million copies on America, and several film companies have already approached them to purchase the adaptation rights.

"Midnight in Barcelona" was one of Scarlett Johansson's representative works in the original timeline.

It felt a bit perfunctory.

The remaining one is "Black Swan".

Original Timeline, this is one of Natalie Portman's representative works.

However, Liu Jin did not know Natalie Portman.

He just liked the little girl in "Léon: The Professional," but as for the actress herself... he didn't have much of a feeling for her.

V for Vendetta is also a work by Portman.

Since he's already copied it, he might as well take "Black Swan" as well.

So after some deliberation, he decided to write "Black Swan." With a month to go before the Cannes Film Festival, he could finish the work before going to Cannes.

Moreover, this story is somewhat similar to "Chicago".

Yes, Chicago has been on the North American book charts for 49 consecutive weeks since its release last year, with sales exceeding one million copies.

In that case, let's consider "Black Swan" as a sister film to "Chicago"!

Liu Jin made up his mind.

The story of the Black Swan is very similar to that of "Chicago".

Nina, a ballet dancer from New York, lives with her mother.

Her life consisted only of dance and ambitious career goals.

When casting began for the new season of Swan Lake, Nina became the top candidate.

But she had a competitor, Lily.

The director required the dancers not only to portray the innocence and elegance of the white swan, but also to depict the cunning and licentiousness of the black swan.

Nina is the perfect white swan.

Lily is the embodiment of the Black Swan...

Gradually, the competition and rivalry between the two dancers entered a distorted state.

Nina began to act recklessly, exploring her darker side without any regard for consequences.

This will destroy Lily, and it will destroy her in the process...

In the original timeline, "Black Swan" was also a musical, which suited the tastes of older white men who reminisced about the golden age of musicals.

Singing and dancing?

Liu doesn't need to worry about it.

He only needs to write about the distortion and complexity of human nature in this story.

Natalie Portman is Jewish, Scarlett Johansson is Jewish...

Natalie Portman could win an Oscar for Best Actress for this film, and so can Scarlett Johansson.

Moreover, Scarlett Johansson has far more influence than Natalie Portman.

Although she is three years younger than Natalie Portman, but...

Liu Jin felt that this story was very suitable for Scarlett.

……

On April 3rd, Liu Jin called his mother to wish her a happy birthday.

My mom mentioned on the phone that she wants to come to Toulouse during the summer vacation.

But Liu Jin refused!

"This summer may not be very quiet."

With "Life Is Beautiful" about to be released, the Japanese will definitely find a way to cause me trouble.

You're safe in China... but if you come here, I'll have to worry about your safety... Next year, next Spring Festival, you and your older sister can come together. This year, forget it. Not only will you not come, I'm also planning to have Qianqian go back to China first.”

"Xiao Jin, what are you going to do?"

Isn't it dangerous for you to be alone?
"Why don't you come back too, and we can stop making movies..."

Mom's starting to panic!

In fact, after the Cannes Film Festival announced that "Life Is Beautiful" had been nominated, a voice emerged in China calling for the censorship decision to be revoked. Some even began to report the film, hoping to prevent its release in China.

At the same time, there are increasing voices criticizing the various responsibilities of "Life Is Beautiful".

Fictional history!
It incites ethnic hatred.

Bloodshed, violence...

Ren Zhonglun forwarded all these messages to Liu Jin.

Liu Jin, however, disagreed.

Consider the fate of Unit 731 in later generations.

In an effort to uncover that period of history, four directors went to great lengths to film it, but three of them died mysteriously.

As a result, after the work was released, a group of people went on a rampage of reporting it, trying to prevent the film from being shown.

Before his rebirth, Liu Jin watched a video.

A couple was actually laughing inside the 731 venue...

Liu Jin's comment at the time was: "It is a disgrace to the entire Heilongjiang province to let this couple come out of the stadium unharmed."

Of course, he, a keyboard warrior, just wanted to vent his frustration by typing a few times on the keyboard.

but……

Stop talking!
The pressure that "Life Is Beautiful" is facing now is nothing compared to the pressure that "731" will face in the future.

He didn't care about any of that.

He simply asked Ren Dong over the phone, "Can this movie be released on August 15th?"

After a moment of silence on the phone, Chairman Ren said to Liu Jin, "Don't worry, anyone who dares to stop me, I'll fight them to the death!"

That's enough!

Ren Dong asked, "Brother, tell me honestly, is it likely that this movie will be a success at Cannes this year?"

Liu Jin squatted on the beach, watching Julie and Adrian run happily, a strange smile on his face.

"I really don't know Kusturica, the chairman, well. He's Serbian."

However, his political leanings were generally aligned with America's. And for America, the persecution of Jews was politically correct.

I've contacted five of the seven judges.

Three of them have already clearly stated that they will support "Life Is Beautiful," while the remaining two are still in communication.

To this end, I allocated an additional five million dollars for public relations and chose Harvey Weinstein's company for distribution. My condition was that Weinstein's company would provide ten million dollars to help me secure an Oscar.

Chairman Ren, I can't guarantee anything, but I will do my utmost!

On the phone, Chairman Ren fell silent again!
After a long while, he laughed.

"Zuo Shandiao is absolutely right, you're a fucking madman... But I like it! I'll cooperate with you in the best of my ability."

"Then let's agree on that, see you at the film festival!"

Liu Jin smiled and hung up the phone.

……

(End of this chapter)