Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 120 No More Salaries

Two days later.

Yin Le and Li Yang took the initiative to come to their door.

"Director Ren, we've thought it through," Yin Le said bluntly, much more subdued than in the coffee shop last time. "We'll shoot a short film."

Li Yang stood next to him and nodded, which was considered a statement of agreement.

"But we have one condition: we will not sell the copyright outright; we want to use it as equity to participate in the final profit distribution."

"no problem."

Yin Le visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He had probably prepared a lot of arguments before coming, but the other party agreed with just one sentence.

Ren Pingsheng poured a cup of tea for the two of them. "Since you've decided to make a short film, let's discuss the specifics of how to make it."

"I think the direction of your live-action film plan is correct, but we can take it a step further. The main body can be filmed with live actors, but key segments can be interspersed with animation. For example, the segments where Li Xianji plays games and completes levels, if you use live actors to film them, no matter how much money you spend, you can't achieve the same effect as in the animation. But if you use animation, it's different, and the audience has already accepted this way of expression."

He looked at Li Yang and said, "You're in charge of the animation segments."

Li Yang nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

This effectively leaves him with creative space; he doesn't have to struggle with live-action filming and can simply focus on what he's best at.

"Will the live-action portion be directed by Ren?" Yin Le asked.

"Yes, I'll take charge."

The three of them looked at each other, and the general direction was set. The next step was the most practical problem.

"Since it's a business partnership, the equity distribution will depend on each person's investment and contribution. What are your thoughts on the budget for this short film?"

Yin Le opened her mouth, then closed it again.

He was genuinely unsure. He had previously worked on budgets for theatrical films, starting at 1,500 yuan. Now that he was switching to a short film, the budget would definitely be much smaller, but he had no idea exactly how much smaller.

"Actually, it's not that complicated. Since you chose a short film, it means you've figured out that this story can't be padded out. So we'll keep the character structure of the animated version as much as possible, without adding new characters or expanding the subplots. The main storyline will remain as tight as possible."

Ren Pingsheng took out a piece of paper and drew a circle on it.

"Following this approach, it actually won't cost much. The scenes aren't complicated, and the amount of special effects is controllable. The biggest expense is the actors. Li Xianji alone accounts for 80% of the scenes, so we can spend some money to hire a heavyweight actor."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I personally think Xia Yu is good."

Yin Le was taken aback. "Xia Yu?"

"Yes, he's the Venice Film Festival Best Actor. His acting skills are definitely good enough. The key is that his salary isn't outrageous, unlike those popular actors who ask for two or three million every time."

Li Yang thought for a moment and nodded, "He acted in 'Waiting Alone,' and the character's temperament is indeed somewhat similar to Li Xianji."

"If you have no objections, contact him to see his schedule and willingness. If he's willing to take the job, then the deal is more than half done."

Yin Le took out her phone and made a note: "I know his agent, I'll ask him later."

"There's no need to specifically find someone for the female lead," Ren Pingsheng continued. "Wang Qian's character in the original version is already a symbolic figure. What the audience remembers is Li Xianji's obsession with her, not her as a person. Don't add any scenes to this character; just retain that symbolic quality. We can just find someone suitable. I have several artists under my studio; we can audition together and see who they are."

Yin Le had no objection; the female lead was indeed not the main point.

"There is one place I think is worth spending money on," Ren Pingsheng circled a mark on the paper with his pen, "Remember that parody of 'Kangxi Lai Le' in the animation?"

Li Yang certainly remembered; it was drawn by himself. "I remember, it was the part where Li Xianji was on the show."

"We could try inviting Dee Hsu and Kevin Tsai to make cameo appearances and recreate this scene in real life."

Yin Le gasped. "Can they even get them to come?"

"Give it a try. A short film doesn't take up too much of their time. They can fly over and shoot for half a day and it'll be done. If that doesn't work, we can go for appearance fees and increase the budget a little. It's worth the money. This scene was one of the most popular and funny moments in the original film. Recreating it with real people will definitely generate a lot of buzz."

Ren Pingsheng had another thought in mind: if he had the money, he would have wanted to invite Angelina Jolie to recreate the scene that paid homage to "Wanted".

Never mind, just think about it.

The three of them talked for another twenty minutes, from storyboarding to location selection, from soundtrack to post-production. The framework became clearer and clearer, and finally it came to the part about dividing the money.

Yin Le spoke first, "I'll contribute the film and television adaptation rights of 'Li Xianji' as my investment."

"Okay," Ren Pingsheng said, looking at Li Yang. "And you?"

Li Yang hesitated for a moment, "I still have some money left from selling the copyright... I'll put up 500,000 in cash, plus the technical investment for animation production."

Ren Pingsheng nodded, "Shengping will contribute two million to be responsible for the entire production of the live-action portion."

He wrote three numbers on the paper.

Yin Le: 20%

Li Yang: 20%

Biography viewpoint: 60%

"The cash investment will be returned proportionally first. My two million and Director Li's five hundred thousand will be recovered first. After all the cash costs are recovered, the remaining profits will be split 20/26."

Yin Le stared at the three numbers for a while, then nodded in agreement.

Twenty percent isn't a high percentage for him, but copyright prices are inherently inflated. They actually spent two million in real money, so 60% isn't unreasonable.

"There's one more thing," Ren Pingsheng added as a final touch, "If the film receives theatrical support from China Film Group in the Youth Image category, the development rights for subsequent feature films will be led by Ren Pingsheng, with President Yin and Director Li having priority co-production rights."

That's the key point.

"Okay," Yin Le said, extending her hand.

Ren Pingsheng shook hands. "Then let the lawyer draft the agreement and push it out as soon as possible."

Not long after the two left, Ren Pingsheng gathered everyone in the studio together.

The creative team is complete, including Dapeng, Bai Ke, Xiao Ai, Zhang Yibo, and Kong Nvshen.

"I have something to tell you," Ren Pingsheng said, leaning against the whiteboard. "We've taken on a new project, a live-action short film called 'The Adventures of Li Xianji.' The filming period is expected to be two months, and the goal is to participate in the Youth Image Project."

Bai Ke was the first to react, "Li Xianji? The one who hit the big watermelon?"

"It's dumplings that hit the big watermelon," Da Peng corrected him.

"Oh right, so Li Xianji is the one with jet lag?"

"Um."

Bai Ke's eyes widened. "Holy crap, a live-action version? That'll require tons of special effects!"

"The animated segments were handled by the original author, Li Yang; we were only responsible for the live-action parts."

The group whispered among themselves, their faces showing eagerness to try.

Ren Pingsheng raised his hand to press down, "But before we can work on 'Li Xianji,' we have to finish what we're doing first."

He looked at Dapeng and Baike.

"The revamp of 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 2' has been underway for half a month. Changyou hopes to complete it before the May Day holiday. It's a five-episode series, so time is tight and the task is heavy. We'll put 'The Deer and the Cauldron' on hold for now and focus our efforts on getting 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 2' out."

"It's the same as always, you two are the leads, the framework remains the same, and the main focus is on a smooth landing."

Dapeng nodded, "No problem."

"Oh, right," Ren Pingsheng smiled at them, "I won't be paying you salaries this time."

Da Peng's face fell. "What?"

"From this point on, your salaries will be based on market rates, no more than what we used to do, where we just scraped together a few bucks and sent you away."

Bai Ke paused for a moment, then grinned, "That's great!"

Da Peng also realized what was happening, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, "Good heavens, I knew it! You scared me!"

>