The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"I'll make the arrangements tonight."

Mr. Wang smiled and said, "I'm calling today to tell you some good news. CCTV contacted the company today to inquire whether the copyright of the short film is with Sohu."

Although it wasn't said explicitly, from what I gathered, it seemed like it was going to be broadcast on CCTV's movie channel.

"Really?" Gu Ning asked in surprise.

Broadcasting it on the movie channel might not get high viewership, but the significance would be completely different.

This represents official recognition of his short film and also signifies the attitude towards the matter.

"I told them that the copyright is in your hands, and they should contact you soon," Mr. Wang said.

"I understand, thank you for the reminder, Mr. Wang."

Gu Ning chatted with President Wang for a while before hanging up the phone.

"What's making you so happy?"

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang stopped chatting when Gu Ning answered the phone.

Seeing Gu Ning hang up the phone with a happy smile on her face, Liu Yifei asked curiously.

"CCTV contacted Sohu to inquire about the copyright of my short film. It seems they want to broadcast it on the movie channel," Gu Ning said with a smile.

"real?"

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang were both happy for Gu Ning upon hearing this.

The movies that the movie channel usually plays are movies whose broadcasting rights have been purchased in bulk for a long time.

Most people don't actually charge any copyright fees, or they only charge a symbolic amount.

Even if the two people don't fully understand each other, they know what this kind of proactive contact, especially with a short film, means.

"We can't confirm it yet, since CCTV hasn't contacted the company," Gu Ning said, shaking his head.

In fact, he already felt that the matter was almost certain.

If Lu Chuan's movie hadn't been involved, even if there were some negative comments online, the impact wouldn't have been too significant.

It won't reach the point of attracting official attention.

But things are different now; the online public opinion is already very strong.

The authorities definitely need to express their stance, but they can't simply ban Lu Chuan's movie.

After all, Lu Chuan's movie had passed censorship. If the movie was banned, it would mean there was a problem with it.

Then all those who participated in the review, including the supervisors, should be held accountable.

Playing his short film to express his stance can also calm public opinion to some extent.

As for other aspects, we just need to handle them calmly and wait for the storm to pass.

However, the intricacies involved were too complicated for Gu Ning to explain.

Before Liu Yifei and the others could ask anything else, the waiter brought the dishes over.

It must be said that the food at these private restaurants is indeed very delicious.

Gu Ning was already quite full.

After dinner, they rested for a while with tea. Liu Yifei and Shu Chang, fully dressed, went shopping.

Gu Ning then drove to the company.

Compared to a few months ago, the company has increased its staff significantly.

Following his instructions, Liu Yang established an artist management department and a television production department.

When Gu Ning entered the company, she found that many of the faces were unfamiliar.

Some of the older employees recognized Gu Ning and quickly stood up to greet her.

"President Gu!"

"Hello everyone."

Gu Ning smiled and nodded in response before heading to Liu Yang's office.

Hearing the knock, Liu Yang didn't even look up and said, "Come in!"

Gu Ning pushed open the door and walked in. Liu Yang heard the footsteps, looked up, and said, "What...Mr. Gu, what brings you here?"

Upon seeing that it was Gu Ning, he quickly got up to greet her.

"Didn't you say you'd come to the company tomorrow?"

Upon learning that Gu Ning had finished filming her movie, he asked her when she would return to the company.

Although he frequently reported the company's situation to Gu Ning by phone, many things could not be clearly communicated over the phone.

Gu Ning said she would go back to Beijing to rest for a day and come to the company tomorrow, but unexpectedly she came today.

"I'm here to check up on things and see if General Manager Liu has been slacking off," Gu Ning said with a smile.

"Mr. Gu, you must be joking."

Liu Yang gestured for Gu Ning to sit on the sofa nearby and asked, "Would you like tea or coffee, Ms. Gu?"

"Tea bar," Gu Ning said.

Liu Yang instructed his secretary to make tea. It's true that Gu Ning, the boss, is not as good as Liu Yang, the employee, because he doesn't even have a secretary.

After his secretary brought tea, Liu Yang dismissed her and said, "President Gu, Director Zheng Xiaolong refused to direct 'Empresses in the Palace' without even reading the script. Should we contact other directors?"

He had called Gu Ning to report this matter a couple of days ago, and Gu Ning said she would talk about it when he got back.

"A direct refusal without any other conditions?" Gu Ning asked.

"no."

Liu Yang said, "I think it's a matter of subject matter; Director Zheng probably doesn't like this kind of script."

When Gu Ning asked him to contact Zheng Xiaolong, he thought it was unlikely.

He won the Magnolia Award for Best Director in 07, so it's possible that he could be invited to direct a historical drama.

However, "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is a fictional historical novel that has nothing to do with official history.

Zheng Xiaolong has already achieved great success, how could he possibly film this kind of drama?

"Okay, try to contact Director Zheng's wife and ask her to help persuade him," Gu Ning said.

He originally thought that Zheng Xiaolong was filming the drama because he liked the script, but he didn't expect that the other party would refuse the invitation without even reading the script.

This reminded Gu Ning of something Zheng Xiaolong said in an interview after "Empresses in the Palace" aired.

He said that initially, his wife liked the original novel and persuaded him to adapt it into a TV series.

Zheng Xiaolong immediately refused, saying he wouldn't film palace dramas, let alone fictional historical dramas that have nothing to do with official history.

In the end, it was only after his wife repeatedly persuaded him that he finally read the original novel.

Upon reading it, I was also drawn to the novel, which led to the idea of ​​filming it.

When Gu Ning saw this interview, she thought it was Zheng Xiaolong's public statement.

After all, as a well-known director, he would indeed face a lot of criticism for making this kind of drama.

At the time, "Empresses in the Palace" had only been airing for a short time, and no one knew it would become a phenomenal TV series.

Even if Zheng Xiaolong is criticized for saying that, the public will only think that he loves his wife.

Now that Zheng Xiaolong has refused, Gu Ning thinks that what Zheng Xiaolong said might be true.

Therefore, he thought he would try to get closer to his wife.

Although Liu Yang felt it was unreliable, he was just an employee, so he didn't say much and agreed directly.

"There's another thing. Didn't I mention it to President Gu before? Sugar Man has contacted us, wanting to buy the copyright to 'Scarlet Heart'."

"What? You still don't want to give up on the sugar figurine?" Gu Ning asked.

"It's not Sugar Man's side, it's Yu Zheng's side that's also interested in the copyright of this novel," Liu Yang said.

"Yu Zheng?"

Gu Ning frowned slightly. This person actually wanted to buy the copyright of "Scarlet Heart". Could the rumors on the Internet be true?

Yu Zheng became famous because of the TV series "Palace", and when the series aired, Tangren sued Yu Zheng.

The reason is that this drama plagiarized "Scarlet Heart".

This dispute was a major event in the entertainment industry at the time. The two sides clashed multiple times in public, and Cai Yinong even published the famous article "Bitten by a Dog Today" in retaliation.