Huayu Entertainment: Starting with Exorcising Evil from a Film Queen

Chapter 66: Collaboration Again, Creating a Star

The next morning, Zhang Ze was awakened by a series of urgent cell phone rings.

He carefully pulled his hand out of Li Xiaoran's sleeping arms and picked up the phone.

It's Sister Sun.

"Are you awake?"

Sister Sun's voice sounded both tired and excited.

"Just woke up, what's wrong?" Zhang Ze sat up.

"The matter you asked me to handle has yielded results."

Sister Sun said on the other end, "I've negotiated with someone to buy half of the books on the list you gave me."

"Only half?" Zhang Ze was not surprised.

"Yes, those most popular books you specifically requested, like 'Empresses in the Palace,' 'Ghost Blows Out the Light,' and 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles,' have all been snapped up by others. They acted very quickly and bought out the entire copyright regardless of cost; my people simply couldn't compete with them." Sister Sun's tone carried a hint of regret.

"I know who it is," Zhang Ze replied calmly.

There will be no one else but Cai Yinong.

Back when he was on the set of "Chinese Paladin 3", he mentioned the future of internet literature to her in order to get the role of Xu Changqing.

It now seems that Cai Yinong really listened and her actions were remarkably effective.

"You know?"

Sister Sun was somewhat surprised, but she didn't ask any further questions. After all, she had only joined the studio after "Chinese Paladin 3" and was unaware of the inside story.

"But thankfully, I've taken another very important book from your reading list."

"Scarlet Heart?" Zhang Ze asked.

"Yes! This is the one!"

Sister Sun raised her voice slightly, "We've successfully secured the film and television rights to this book. What are your plans now? Are you really going to invest in and produce it yourself?"

Zhang Ze already had a clear plan in mind.

He has no intention of going it alone; he's not qualified yet.

The director panel only gave him the basics of the job, but managing the crew, networking, and dealing with various parties are not things that can be achieved simply by gaining reputation points.

He needs a platform to learn and practice.

The Tang people are undoubtedly the best choice.

It just so happens that this drama was originally produced by Tangren Media, so it's like it's been returned to its rightful owner. However, Zhang Ze is also a beneficiary.

"Sister Sun, don't worry about this for now, I'll handle it," Zhang Ze said and hung up the phone.

He found Cai Yinong's number and dialed it directly.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hello, who is this?" Cai Yinong's voice carried the capable air typical of a strong woman.

"President Cai, it's me, Zhang Ze."

"Zhang Ze?" Cai Yinong on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "What a rare guest! What made you think of calling me? By the way, I heard you were selected by the 'The Message' production team. Congratulations!"

Zhang Ze smiled and said, "President Cai is indeed well-informed."

"But if I had to congratulate you, it would be Mr. Cai. You've been very successful in the copyright market lately."

He said it so casually, yet it was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

After a few seconds, Cai Yinong spoke again. She neither admitted nor denied it, but changed the subject, "You didn't call just to congratulate me, did you?"

"Of course not." Zhang Ze went straight to the point. "I'm here to discuss cooperation with President Cai."

"cooperate?"

"I have the film and television adaptation rights to 'Scarlet Heart'."

Zhang Ze slowly said, "I think that although Tangren has bought a lot of copyrights, they are still hesitant about adapting it, right? This 'Scarlet Heart' can serve as a stepping stone."

Cai Yinong fell silent again.

Zhang Ze's words struck a chord with her. Even though she had bought a lot of copyrights, Tangren didn't really know the specific value of these copyrights; they had just bought them with a "cast a wide net" attitude.

Cai Yinong was also familiar with the book "Scarlet Heart" that Zhang Ze mentioned. The book was very popular and would be very suitable for adaptation into a period drama, a genre that Tangren Media excels at. It should have ended up in her hands, but she never expected that Zhang Ze would beat her to it.

"How do you want to cooperate?" Cai Yinong asked, her voice becoming serious.

"It's very simple. We'll invest and produce together," Zhang Ze proposed. "Tangren will handle the production and distribution; you're professionals in that area. On my side, besides contributing some funding, I'll also bring a female lead to the production."

"Bring the female lead to the set?" Cai Yinong's tone rose a little. "Zhang Ze, you know that Tangren always uses their own people for the lead roles."

"Rules are rules, but people are flexible." Zhang Ze's tone remained calm. "President Cai, this is a win-win collaboration. You get the project you want to film, it helps you verify the value of the copyrights you hold, and someone helps you share the investment risk. All I want is a lead role and a learning opportunity."

"A learning opportunity?" Cai Yinong grasped another key point in his words.

"That's right," Zhang Ze readily admitted, "I want to join the directing team and learn from them. I don't need to be credited; I just want to know how a drama works from beginning to end."

That was his real purpose.

Making Zhao Liying famous is one thing, but more importantly, he wants to take this opportunity to truly transform the skills on the director's panel into his own abilities.

On the other end of the phone, Cai Yinong fell into deep thought.

Zhang Ze's conditions were both demanding and easy to meet.

The position of the female lead is crucial for a big-budget production.

However, the popularity and buzz that Zhang Ze himself is generating now also represent enormous commercial value.

Moreover, his willingness to invest greatly reduces the risk for Tangren.

"Who is the female lead you're talking about?" Cai Yinong asked.

"Zhao Liying is an artist in my studio."

"Never heard of it," Cai Yinong replied directly.

"You'll hear about it soon enough," Zhang Ze said. "She's the most suitable person to play the role of Ruoxi."

Cai Yinong then asked, "Why do you insist on becoming a director? Isn't it better to be a good actor and earn money peacefully?"

"Mr. Cai, do you think actors earn more or the company earns more?" Zhang Ze asked rhetorically.

Cai Yinong was speechless with emotion.

She pondered for a long time before finally speaking, "I can consider your conditions in principle. However, I need to meet this Zhao Liying you mentioned first. Being a leading lady at Tangren Media isn't easy."

"no problem!"

Zhang Ze readily agreed.

As for Cai Yinong's words, he scoffed at them. In his opinion, Zhao Liying's acting skills were far superior to Liu Shishi's.

After hanging up the phone, seeing that Big White was still asleep beside him, Zhang Ze took a deep breath and opened the panel.

Name: Zhang Ze

Age: 20

[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation (287/1000)]

[Acting Skills: Excellent (21/400)]

[Director: Beginner (12/100)]

[Reputation: 121]

The fame he had gained online was almost entirely used to improve his cultivation.

Since discovering that his cultivation level hadn't improved as expected, Zhang Ze prioritized improving his cultivation whenever he gained fame.