This celebrity is overly enthusiastic!

Chapter 180 Durex is looking to buy your ideas!

The Metaverse and Columbia Pictures engaged in a heated dispute over various aspects, including box office revenue sharing, subsequent copyright revenue sharing, sharing of honors and award applications, priority of subsequent projects, and creative control.

Columbia Pictures holds more than half of the copyrights, and only Hollywood could support Chen Yuan in making this project, so their attitude is naturally very tough.

Chen Yuan felt strongly associated with the film "The Edge Walker," and during the discussions, he also noticed that Columbia Pictures was quite serious about the development rights for subsequent projects and independent works within the same universe.

This analysis suggests that Columbia Pictures has a very high level of interest in developing the cinematic universe of Night City.

The prerequisite for the development of subsequent projects is that the film "The Edge Walker" can successfully create a charming and vibrant "Night City" world.

Therefore, Chen Yuan was quite fearless.

The two sides argued fiercely, slamming their fists on the table several times. If Alvin and Shinichi Hirano hadn't held them back, Chen Yuan would have almost gotten into a fight with the person in charge from Columbia Pictures who had come to discuss cooperation.

Ultimately, neither side could gain the upper hand, and Chen Yuan conceded on the copyright issue, no longer insisting on regaining the film's copyright to the Metaverse.

Columbia Pictures also relinquished creative control, allowing Chen Yuan greater creative autonomy in sequels and spin-offs.

Chen Yuan made this decision primarily because he knew that Columbia Pictures had huge ambitions for this IP and would never relinquish even a fraction of the rights they had already acquired.
His battle with Columbia Pictures for copyrights was just a facade; what he really wanted was creative rights.

Two more films are needed to fully tell this tragic story, and only tragedy can make the story complete and memorable for the audience.

Chen Yuan's concern that Columbia Pictures would interfere with his creative process was not unfounded.
Several Columbia Pictures executives previously praised the vivid characters he created in Mann's Squad, believing that with such a squad as the protagonist, the film's potential for expansion would be considerable.

When he adapted and refined the story of Mann's team, he referenced many scenes from the Fast & Furious movies he remembered, depicting the deep bond within Mann's team that transcended blood ties.

Hollywood's shrewd minds have discovered the benefits of using team stories as the core driving force of the narrative.
It can be the source of conflict in a story, or it can be the key to resolving a crisis and uniting forces.

Chen Yuan was afraid that Columbia Pictures would make him keep making films about Mann's team, turning it into another Fast & Furious series.

In Chen Yuan's story, the vast majority of Mann's squad members are going to die.

More than a successful popcorn movie series, Chen Yuan wanted to present the world with a poignant love story.

Isn't it more meaningful to make them sigh and shed tears when they hear "The Little Song of the Widow"?
Therefore, Chen Yuan will absolutely not relinquish creative control.

The resolution of disputes in principle, box office revenue sharing, and subsequent copyright revenue sharing are all distributed and executed in accordance with Hollywood's usual practices.

Ultimately, Chen Yuan received 26.5% of the project's net profit without investing any money in subsequent works, and the revenue from subsequent copyright and merchandise sales was also at this rate.

China Film Group is responsible for 30% of the production costs of the project and for filming in China, but it can only take 10.5% of the profits.

Chen Yuan also secured a $400 million salary for Binbin. Salary is the most direct measure of an actor's value in Hollywood, so it's something that can't be ignored.

None of the parties were satisfied, but they could all barely accept it.

Chen Yuan had already written the script outline for "The Edge Walker 2", and the early preparations for the project could begin.

In addition, Chen Yuan also urged the return of the box office revenue sharing from "Kung Fu Panda".

His mother's *Kung Fu Panda* still hasn't paid him nearly a third of its overseas box office revenue. Although Chen Yuan knew that for any film, domestic or international, the entire payback period is typically two to three years, and can easily take five to six years...
After all, movie box office revenue comes from cinemas around the world, but one can't help but curse Columbia Pictures in their heart.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after the final detailed contract was signed.

Producer Alvin, caught in the middle, felt relieved. He was the producer of "The Edge Walker," employed by Columbia Pictures but not an employee of the company.
The producer is the intermediary who communicates between the production company and the production team.

He is very optimistic about the potential of "The Edge Walker" and believes that Virgil is a rare cinematic genius, both in China and Hollywood.

He saw "The Edge Walker" as a stepping stone for his career, and the success of his first film made him famous overnight, leading to offers for medium-sized projects from several studios.

If the sequel is successful, he will be qualified to independently lead truly large-scale projects.

If anyone truly hopes the film will be successful and continue to be successful, Alvin is definitely among them.

In Chen Yuan's office at the Metaverse headquarters, Alvin asked Chen Yuan, "Virgil, when can you start the sequel project?"

Negotiations with Columbia Pictures took more than a week, and Chen Yuan even had to delay the filming of "The World's Finest".

Chen Yuan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on at the thought of having to keep spinning like a top again.

Although he enjoys acting and finds it very satisfying to be on top of the action when making movies, which is essentially working for himself, people naturally resist getting busy again once they become lazy.

Why does the vacation he gave himself feel like it's about to end before it even started?
"I'll start working on it two months from now, once I've finished my current work. I'll try to get the sequel released at the end of 05 or the beginning of 06."

"Okay, then I'll go talk to the actors about renewing their contracts and arrange their schedules."

"Yes, thank you for your help, Alvin."

"Oh, by the way, a company wants to buy the character concept license from 'The Edge Walker,' and they've offered quite a bit of money."

"What company, and what kind of license do they want to buy?"

Durex offered $300 million to buy the Chinese name "超梦" (Chao Meng) and the English trademark "Braindance" (Brain and Dance).

And there's also the image of you in the movie, when you were experiencing Mewtwo on the moon with Miss Lucy, in the plastic packaging of the 'moon landing poster' containing the Mewtwo memory card.

As for what exactly the trademark is, I don't need to elaborate, right?

"Walter, you're not kidding me?"

Seeing Chen Yuan's unusually embarrassed state, Alvin burst into laughter.
"I'm not kidding, it's true. I never imagined that your quirky idea would have such high value!"

Pshaw, it's just selling a concept. Why would Chen Yuan be afraid of this level of gossip? Besides, it's clearly a good story. What's shameful about it?

“I’ll sell it for $400 million, no, $500 million! Tell Durex, or I’ll sell the concept to Okamoto and direct them to make an ad!”

(End of this chapter)