Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 133: How Much Sincerity?

"Who bought it?"

Deng Ye frowned even more deeply. "Since the first four parts are so crucial, is it possible to buy them from them?"

"I don't know," Ren Pingsheng shook his head. "Shanda only said it was sold, and a confidentiality agreement was signed, so they can't disclose the specific buyer."

He genuinely didn't know where the copyrights were now; he only knew that the copyrights for the first four films were bought by a little-known small company.

Years later, this same company, in collaboration with China Film Group, produced the film "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe," which was then sued by the original author, Tianxia Bachang, for seriously distorting the original work.

In the end, they actually won the case. The production company not only had to pay compensation, but also almost faced a ruling to stop the distribution and broadcast of the film.

It was precisely because of this verdict that the development of the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" super IP became extremely outrageous in the later stages.

How outrageous is it?

Just look at how many versions of Hu Bayi have appeared on the market since then, and you'll know.

Chen Kun, Mark Chao, Jin Dong, Ethan Juan, Pan Yueming...

In less than ten years, the number of actors who have played Hu Bayi has even exceeded the number of Batman, who has been around for more than fifty years!

Even though it was ruined like this, it still gave birth to the box office legend "Mojin: The Lost Legend" with nearly 17 billion yuan, as well as many other hit web series such as "Candle in the Tomb" and "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost Caverns".

The terrifying value of P is evident.

if..

Ren Pingsheng tapped his fingers lightly on the table, already harboring the idea of ​​acquiring the copyrights to the first four books.

If we could hold the copyright to "Ghost Blows Out the Light" in our own hands, and then use the same creative team and cast to build a coherent and stylistically unified "Ghost Blows Out the Light" universe...

That size is unimaginable.

But that's a story for another time. The immediate priority is to dispel the concerns of these executives.

"Without the first four films as a foundation, if the movie starts filming from the middle, will the audience be able to understand it?" Chen Dewen also raised a question, "After all, not everyone has read the novel."

This was a very insightful question, and several executives nodded in agreement.

"Everyone, you've got one thing mixed up."

Ren Pingsheng leaned forward and placed his hands crossed on the table.

"Movies are not like TV series with dozens of episodes. They don't need to go through the whole story from the beginning. Movies are only two hours long. As long as they tell a complete story in those two hours, that's enough."

He looked at Deng Hua and Zhang Chaoyang and said, "Look at Nolan's 'The Dark Knight.' At the beginning of the movie, Batman is already a fully-powered Dark Knight. Even if the audience hasn't seen the prequel, it doesn't affect their enjoyment of him fighting the Joker. That's the logic of commercial blockbusters: skip the origin story and go straight into the crisis."

"It's the same when we filmed 'Ghost Blows Out the Light.' We don't need to film how the protagonists became tomb raiders. The story starts with them having already achieved fame and success, and even preparing to retire from the tomb raiding business. Then, due to some reason they can't refuse, they are forced to return to the world. This sense of destiny of retiring and then returning can draw the audience into the story in a second."

No one spoke again in the meeting room.

An hour later, Ren Pingsheng walked out of the Souhu Building.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling, but his mind was unusually clear.

The behemoth project, "Ghost Blows Out the Light," has now been established.

The total budget for the project is set at 3 million yuan, of which the production cost is estimated at 2.5 million yuan and the publicity and marketing budget is 5000 million yuan.

Sohu invested 7500 million yuan, accounting for 25%.

According to industry standards, the money will be paid in four installments, with the first installment of 20% as project start-up funding to be deposited into the designated account before July 1st.

Ren Pingsheng deliberately suppressed Sohu's 25% share.

Because he must reserve a sufficient share for resource providers like Wanda and even China Film Group, who have absolute say in the market.

In order to maintain absolute control over the primary production company and the project, Ren Pingsheng allocated a 35% share to Shengping Vision.

In other words, he also needs to spend 21 million in start-up capital before July 1st, and more importantly, he also needs to...

Before the official launch in Q3 of the year, ensure that the company can pay at least 3700 million RMB in launch guarantee funds.

"Money comes in slower than it goes out."

Ren Pingsheng stood by the roadside and sighed helplessly. In the past few days, he had truly experienced what it meant to spend money like water.

The copyright fee of 400 million has already been paid out, the production cost of "Li Xianji" is 200 million, plus the upfront costs of Changyou's customized drama, and the company's daily expenses.

In the blink of an eye, the 4000 million that had just been deposited was almost entirely spent.

The company has about 20 million yuan in readily available funds.

He needs to keep this money to invest in Gewara, and he's also determined to get his hands on Teng Huatao's big-budget film, "Love is Not Blind."

"We still need to make money quickly."

Ren Pingsheng took out his phone, flagged down a car, and dialed Wang Li's number.

"Sister Wang, please hurry up and coordinate with the service provider regarding the ringback tone collaboration. We can be a little more accommodating in terms of revenue sharing, but the advance payment and settlement cycle must be shortened. Also, regarding the commercial performance invitations for Dapeng and Baike, as long as they don't involve illegal or irregular endorsements, fill their schedules."

After hanging up the phone, Ren Pingsheng hailed a taxi.

"Driver, to Fenglian Plaza."

He had to go see Teng Huatao.

At this time, Teng Huatao was still affiliated with Huayi Brothers as a director's studio.

If his past life's trajectory hadn't changed, Teng Huatao would have leveraged the collaboration on "Love is Not Blind" to establish Huamei Time & Space Film & Television Company in partnership with Perfect World, thus reaching the pinnacle of his life.

But now, Perfect World's funds and energy are all tied up in "Zhu Xian" and Xinbaoyuan's acquisition of Zhao Baogang.

It seems that Teng Huatao accidentally cut off his own thigh.

Since that's the case, Ren Pingsheng didn't mind stretching out his leg so that he could hug her.

The taxi stopped at Fenglian Plaza, and Ren Pingsheng got out and walked into the building.

As the elevator went up, he mentally reviewed the key points of today's negotiations.

First, confirm the investment share and product series, how much money is invested, and how much profit share is received.

Secondly, he has control over the publicity and distribution. He is very clear about the marketing strategy for this film: Singles' Day release, viral spread on social media, and nationwide discussion on the topic of heartbreak. This combination of tactics has been proven in the past, but it can be improved.

Third, how many slots can be secured in the supporting cast?

The elevator arrived, and the doors opened.

At the end of the corridor, the door to Teng Huatao's studio was ajar, and voices could be heard coming from inside; there was more than one person inside.

Ren Pingsheng walked over and knocked on the door frame twice.

The conversation inside the room stopped.

Teng Huatao stood up from the sofa and waved to him, "Director Ren, hurry up."

A young woman in her early twenties was sitting opposite Ren Pingsheng on the sofa. When she saw Ren Pingsheng come in, she hurriedly tidied up the documents on the table.

"This is Bao Jingjing," Teng Huatao introduced, "the original author of the script, and also our screenwriter."

Bao Jingjing stood up and shook hands with Ren Pingsheng somewhat awkwardly.

"Director Ren, I've heard so much about you."

"Teacher Bao, you're too kind. Just call me Pingsheng."

Ren Pingsheng responded with a smile, glancing at the documents on the table. The top document was worn and covered with dense annotations.

"I've read the script; it's a good one," Ren Pingsheng said, sitting down on the sofa and getting straight to the point. "Director Teng mentioned before that the total investment for this project is around nine million?"

"Yes," Teng Huatao said, regaining his directorial expertise when the project was mentioned. "It's an urban romantic comedy, with most scenes set indoors or in the streets and alleys. It doesn't need big special effects, and the production cycle can be kept very short."

He paused for a moment, then offered a substantial incentive: "Moreover, Wen Zhang really liked the script after reading it, and he has agreed to let me act in it for free. We'll only get a share of the box office profits once the movie makes money, so we can spend most of our money on production and post-production marketing."

Ren Pingsheng nodded.

The article's decision to act without receiving any payment stemmed from his friendship with Teng Huatao, which he forged during the filming of "Dwelling Narrowness," and also from his urgent need for a leading role in a movie to prove his box office appeal.

This explains why a theatrical film can have a budget as low as nine million.

He looked at Teng Huatao and said, "Director Teng, you can invest all nine million in this lifetime project."

One sentence caused Bao Jingjing to drop the pen from his hand onto the table with a loud thud.

Teng Huatao's eyes widened as well. Nine million all invested?

"but..."

Ren Pingsheng didn't give them time to be surprised, "But that depends on how sincere Director Teng is."

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