Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 163 Exporting Animated Films? (Fifth update, please subscribe and vote)
Lucas brought four people with him this time. Lucas gave Li Song a high-five as soon as he got in, and then got into Li Song's car, while the other four got into Tian Jiahui's car and the car from the Wonderful Magazine.

“These two are my bodyguards,” Li Song introduced Lucas after he got into the car.

"Is the security here bad?" Lucas asked, quite surprised.

"No, I have other businesses, and some competitors have other ideas."

"Oh, what a joke! They dare to do this to a writer like you?"

"It's a small notebook."

"Oh, it's those cunning dwarves. Those dwarves love to launch sneak attacks. They attacked our Pearl Harbor."

"Yes, that's just how these guys are."

"Li, I have a lot of ideas, but now I don't know what I want to film."

"I also like the Jurassic Park theme."

"I like big floods too."

"I also like alien civilization wars."

“I also like Death Race, oh my god, I don’t know which one to film,” Lucas said.

"You need to think about this carefully." Li Song knew that Lucas also had a special effects company.

"Yes."

We arrived at the hotel quickly, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, one of the best hotels on Hong Kong Island.

“Li, these are my people: Kate, Fidel, Carson, and Yadis. Leave the negotiations and the comics to them; they’re professionals.” Lucas introduced his entourage after they arrived at the hotel.

"This is my good friend, Li, a genius writer."

Then Li Song introduced Liu Jiale, then treated these people to a meal, and then had them adjust to the time difference.

Lucas arrived in Hong Kong Island, but the news didn't get out because the Mandarin Oriental Hotel was high-class enough.

After Liu Jiale returned to the company, Boss Zou had called several times. After learning that Lucas had arrived and confirming the itinerary, Boss Zou breathed a sigh of relief.

On Wednesday, Li Song arrived at the Wonderful Magazine office, and Lucas and the others soon followed.

Li Song and Lucas were chatting in Li Song's office, while Lucas's men were evaluating interstellar mercenaries.

Around noon, the people from the mainland arrived and were first taken to the hotel.

"Lucas, would you like to watch an animated film?" Li Song decided to invite Lucas to watch the animated film "Star Mercenaries" together.

"My God, you're already making animated films!" Lucas asked in great surprise.

"Of course!"

Then we arrived at the company's small screening room.

Animated films are made from a roll of film.

At the start of the animated film, Lucas saw a huge blue planet, followed by a very futuristic space elevator, and then the name of the planet and the time displayed.

The perspective travels through a massive space elevator to a secondhand mech trading station on a planet.

Rows of enormous warehouses stretched out before a young boy who walked around, looking at them and muttering to himself. His wristwatch projected data about the mechs and their prices. Through his monologue, the audience learned why the protagonist was there and who he was.

All sorts of steel behemoths, some humanoid, some tigers, leopards, and even spiders.

But they were all too expensive, as the protagonist could tell by shaking his head, and then the virtual projection showed red numbers, indicating that there wasn't enough money.

Because it was in Chinese, Lucas couldn't understand it, but he could still understand it from the characters' movements. Li Song was translating quietly.

In the end, the protagonist stopped in front of a dilapidated mech covered in patches, talked to the owner, and bought the mech.

Just as the protagonist was controlling the mecha to perform various actions, his field of vision appeared in a virtual projection, revealing that someone was remotely monitoring him.

The two began to talk; one was the young master of a large corporation, and the other was his butler.

The dialogue tells the audience that the protagonist failed the exam because this young master caused trouble. The protagonist's girlfriend has a special recessive gene that can make the next generation a super gene evolver.

The young master instructed the butler to eliminate the protagonist. The butler replied that it had already been arranged, and the protagonist would die unexpectedly during a mission with the mercenary group he had joined.

Ten minutes passed quickly, and Lucas asked with some doubt, "Li, you made this yourselves. The effect is so exquisite, and you used a 2D painting method, which makes it look more three-dimensional."

"Yes, we commissioned it. Lucas, what do you think?" Li Song thought it was great. The visuals were exquisite, the storyline was handled very well, and the various actions the protagonist performed while controlling the mecha were very appealing. Of course, the plot was also excellent.

First, it immediately piqued the audience's interest, making them want to see what would happen between the protagonist and his girlfriend. Then, it revealed what would happen if the rich young master framed them. The friend the protagonist thought was actually taking money from the rich young master and seemingly kindly accepting his mercenary team, but was actually sending the protagonist to his death...

"Great, the plot is tight, and in just ten minutes, there are several suspenseful moments: girlfriend, rich second generation, mercenary group."

"Besides, it's so well made that I want my team to see it; I think they'll like it."

"it is good!"

Then Lucas's team was also invited. After watching the film, they all said that the animation was valuable. Of course, they didn't say much more because negotiations hadn't started yet, and saying too much would make things difficult.

As for Ghost Blows Out the Light, Lucas couldn't understand it at all, but Li Song took a look and thought it was fine. The animation's lighting and plot were very good, and the character designs were also quite good. In particular, the various feng shui actions and the tone of voice were simply perfect. Li Song guessed that some experts in Shanghai had interpreted the novel.

After having dinner with Lucas and his team that evening, Lucas discussed with his team what price to offer to acquire the animated film.

Li Song also discussed with Liu Jiale: "The price of the animation can be negotiated, but other licensing, toys, merchandise, adaptations, etc. must be firmly blocked."

"Okay, boss."

"But there seems to be no precedent for this. Is the price calculated based on the duration?"

"Yes, it can be based on duration or per episode, and we need to decide on the number of minutes per episode," Li Song said.

“Okay, I’ll talk to them tomorrow.” Liu Jiale nodded.

Then Mr. Zou called to confirm Lucas's schedule for tomorrow, and Li Song said that he would take Lucas to the photography studio in Kwun Tong tomorrow.

“Boss Zou will definitely notify the reporters,” Liu Jiale said.

"Let them announce it then. I'll just wear sunglasses." Li Song wasn't afraid of becoming famous. What was the point of writing the book anyway?
Money and fame!

"Haha, those people in Hong Kong are probably going to be dumbfounded. The Third Uncle of Northern School is friends with a sci-fi director!" Liu Jiale couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

“This is good for our magazine too.” Li Song chuckled when he heard this, because in the minds of people in Hong Kong, Uncle Three was supposed to be a fortune teller, with a beard, a compass, and a long gown…

(End of this chapter)