Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 159 Debate

A private club in Yanjing.

The air inside the private room was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood incense and the tea was boiling.

Zhou Hongli introduced them, and Zhang Muye sat next to Ren Pingsheng.

Sitting opposite them was a middle-aged woman who was dressed smartly and had a shrewd look in her eyes.

Wang Caixia, owner of Dreamers Film Company.

In other words, they are the actual holders of the film and television adaptation rights for the first four books of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

"Director Ren, Teacher Zhang, President Zhou," Wang Caixia put down her teacup and broke the silence first.

She is sitting here today, and her heart has actually gone through a great deal of turmoil.

As one of the first to recognize the commercial value of the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" IP, she has always firmly believed that this novel could be made into a very profitable movie.

But when Zhou Hongli told her that someone had already amassed a massive 300 million yuan haul for the last four films, and that the investors included China Film Group, Wanda Group, Sohu, and Baidu iQiyi, she was both tempted and felt a strong sense of crisis.

What moved me was that I hadn't misjudged the value of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

The crisis is that if the other party forcibly bypasses the first four films and goes it alone, will the copyright of the half film in my hand still be able to attract investors of the same level?

"I strongly agree with Director Ren's concept of unified development and establishing a 'tomb raiding universe,' as it is indeed the best way to maximize profits."

Wang Caixia looked at Ren Pingsheng and put forward her request, "Since we want to unify, the order cannot be messed up. My idea is that we should first use the first four books, from 'The Lost City' to 'The Shrine of Kunlun,' as a blueprint to make a feature film to test the waters. As for the last four books in Director Ren's hands, they can be developed as sequels to the series over the next few years."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Zhang Muye frowned slightly.

Ren Pingsheng simply shook his head.

"Mr. Wang, this plan won't work," Ren Pingsheng said, leaving no room for negotiation. "Compressing the first four films into a two-hour movie would be a devastating blow to the IP."

"The Lost City, the Dragon Ridge Caves, the Yunnan Insect Valley, and the Kunlun Shrine form a complete origin storyline. Each of them has extremely complex geographical features and intricate mechanisms. If you cram them all into one movie, the plot will be bloated and unbearable. Cutting and rewriting will cause the pacing to completely collapse."

"What if we split it into four movies? One movie a year?" Wang Caixia immediately asked.

"That won't work either," Ren Pingsheng continued, shaking his head. "Not to mention that our current IP base and fan base are not enough to support a series of films with an investment of 300 million yuan every year, just considering the development cycle and capital consumption, extending the project to four or five years is too risky."

Ren Pingsheng picked up his teacup, concealing the urgency in his eyes.

What cannot be explicitly stated is that there simply isn't four or five years to gradually break down and release the films.

The policy window for tomb raiding-themed content is limited; censorship will be tightened across the board by the end of 2014. Therefore, we must extract the maximum value of the IP for film and television as quickly as possible within these few years.

"So, what does Director Ren mean?"

"The TV series plus movie linkage model," Ren Pingsheng put down his teacup, his eyes burning, "with a unified cast, art direction, and world view, strictly following the original storyline, we first filmed the first four parts as the blueprint to build an audience base on television and the Internet, and then used the original cast and crew to develop the subsequent theatrical movies."

"TV drama?"

Upon hearing these three words, Wang Caixia's brows furrowed instantly, and her voice involuntarily rose in pitch.

In her view, only movies are high-class, sophisticated, and profitable.

It would be a waste to have such a great IP in your hands and not make a movie but a TV series.

She looked at Ren Pingsheng, her anxiety turning into anger.

This guy raised 300 million yuan to build a syndicate and gathered a bunch of big shots, but now he wants me to make a TV series?

Isn't it obvious that they don't want to include her and want to use her as a stepping stone for the movie?

"Mr. Ren, you're spending 300 million to make a big movie, and you want me to work on a TV series?" Wang Caixia sneered. "If you think our Dreamers are too small to be worthy of your table, just say so. There's no need to humiliate me with a TV series."

The atmosphere in the private room instantly turned cold.

Zhou Hongli, somewhat embarrassed, tried to smooth things over, but Ren Pingsheng stopped him.

He looked at the emotional Wang Caixia, but he wasn't angry. The perspective of the times determines the upper limit of cognition.

"Mr. Wang, you've misunderstood."

Ren Pingsheng reassured him gently, "Let me be frank with you, I am the largest investor in that 300 million yuan project."

Wang Caixia was stunned. She only knew that it was a scheme orchestrated by a giant, but she never expected that Shengping Vision was the biggest player behind it all.

"I've invested over 100 million yuan. Do you think I would joke around with my own money?"

Ren Pingsheng stared at her. "I'm sitting here today giving you advice purely for the purpose of maximizing the commercial interests of the 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' IP. Because only the two of us have the film and television adaptation rights for 'Ghost Blows Out the Light.' You have the first four books, and I have the last four. We're in the same boat. If the first four books are poorly made and the IP's reputation is ruined, my movie four years later will also die. If I cheat you, I'm cheating myself."

These words were spoken with extreme candor.

Wang Caixia calmed down a bit, but her eyes still held doubt. "But Director Ren, TV dramas don't make money. How can they compare to movies?"

"Not making money?"

Ren Pingsheng laughed, "President Wang, you underestimate the current TV drama market. Let me do the math for you."

He picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip. "You should know that 'New Three Kingdoms' just finished airing last month, right?"

Wang Caixia nodded.

"Do you know how much money 'The New Three Kingdoms' made?" Ren Pingsheng held up one finger. "The total investment for this series was 1.5 billion yuan."

"One hundred million is an astronomical price for a TV series, but the first-run broadcast rights alone sold for 1.6 million to four satellite TV stations, recouping the cost before the series even aired."

"This is just the beginning. The subsequent second-run broadcasts, terrestrial channels, online rights, overseas distribution, and audio-visual products—all of these are potential profits. It'll easily earn at least a hundred million!"

In the current market environment, BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) have not yet fully entered the market, video platforms are in their initial stage, television programs still occupy the vast majority of people's entertainment time, and the policy dividends of "one drama, four channels" for television stations are still in effect.

(A drama can premiere simultaneously on four satellite TV channels during prime time.)

The earning power of a top-tier drama series is terrifying. In an interview, Gao Xixi revealed that the total revenue per episode of "New Three Kingdoms" on domestic television channels alone reached 267 million yuan, not including revenue from online, audio-visual, and overseas channels.

"Take another look at the movie," Ren Pingsheng continued, "Our movie, which cost 300 million to produce, would need to gross 1.1 to 1.2 billion to earn 100 million based on the production company's 36% revenue share! Not only is the risk high, but the process is also long. We'll have to wait at least a few more years for the number of movie screens to increase before we can achieve that."

"But TV dramas are bought out upfront. As long as the script is good and the cast is strong, they can make money once they are produced. All the risks are on the TV station and the platform, and there is no need to share the revenue with the theaters."

The calculations were crystal clear, and Wang Caixia wavered.

She buys copyrights to make money. Since TV dramas are less risky and more profitable, there's no reason for her to stick to movies.

Now, only one layer of "prestige" remains to be broken through, which also determines whether Dreamers is a film company or a television drama company.

"But it's a TV drama..."

"Who says TV series are necessarily inferior to movies?"

Ren Pingsheng shattered her last remaining concern, "Mr. Wang, have you ever watched American TV series? Like 'Band of Brothers' or 'The Pacific'?"

Wang Caixia was taken aback.

"We can refer to them and use film standards to shoot seasonal dramas."

"This not only fits the pace of the original story's segmented development, but also cultivates an audience, stabilizes the cast, and solidifies the art and special effects assets for the film four years later."

"Moreover, once the series becomes popular, the same storyline can still be made into a movie in the future. There's a TV series based on 'Three Kingdoms,' and John Woo still made 'Red Cliff,' didn't he?"

One fish, multiple ways to cook it.

Not only Wang Caixia, but also Zhang Muyi and Zhou Hongli next to her were deeply moved by the grand blueprint described by Ren Pingsheng.

Wang Caixia's breathing quickened, and the hesitation in her eyes completely disappeared.

"Director Ren, I'm convinced," she said, suddenly picking up her teacup and toasting Ren Pingsheng with tea instead of wine. "We'll do it your way!"

"You need to clearly outline how we'll cooperate and how we'll invest!"

The two sides began preliminary discussions on the specific details of the joint development, with Zhou Hongli acting as a witness. Zhang Muye only cared about how to revise the script and did not interfere in the business negotiations.

Ren Pingsheng listened to the conditions proposed by Wang Caixia and silently calculated in his mind.

At this pace, I wonder if it can compete with Game of Thrones, which will premiere next year...

Just as the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" team finally reached a consensus on the copyright issue and was preparing for a major push.

On the other hand, the development of the super fantasy IP, "Zhu Xian", suffered a devastating blow.

Tangren Media.

Cai Yinong browsed the documents on the screen.

That was the "Announcement of National TV Drama Filming and Production Records in June 2010" just released by the State Administration of Radio and Television.

As a seasoned producer in the industry, checking this list every month to keep track of competitors' activities is an unwavering habit of hers.

She was in a good mood and was even humming a little tune.

Although the involvement of Yu Zheng, that troublemaker, made the "Zhu Xian" project somewhat unpleasant, at least it tied Perfect World and Huanrui to the chariot. The three parties united, and by all accounts, it looked like a giant ship.

As for Tangren's own project, "Scarlet Heart," it is also progressing steadily. The script has been polished to near completion, and it is just waiting for the actors' schedules to be finalized.

Everything was in good order.

Her gaze swept across the list, which consisted mostly of insignificant urban and period dramas that failed to pique her interest.

Until a name jumped into her field of vision.

"palace".

The filing entity is Hunan Economic Television.

Her heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up inside her.

She continued reading.

When her gaze fell on the registration information section, she felt all the blood rush to her head in an instant.

"Traveling back to the Qing Dynasty"

"Romantic entanglements with several princes"

hum!

Cai Yinong's mind went completely blank for a moment.

Traveling back to the Qing Dynasty?

Emotional entanglements with several princes?

Isn't this just like "Scarlet Heart"?

Her hand holding the mouse trembled uncontrollably, and the words on the screen blurred before her eyes, then became clear again.

She read it again, word by word.

That's right!

The events of the past month flashed through her mind.

Yu Zheng solemnly promised that he would devote himself wholeheartedly to the scriptwriting of "Zhu Xian".

Yu Zheng subtly inquired about the progress of Tangren's next work.

Yu Zheng casually complained that the audience for palace dramas is still not as large as that for fantasy dramas.

At the time, she thought that although Yu Zheng was annoying, at least he had some business sense.

Now it seems that it was clearly a premeditated scheme!

While using the promise of "Zhu Xian" to reassure himself and slow down the development of "Scarlet Heart", he was secretly pushing his own project forward at an alarming pace!

He stole her idea!

He's making a fool of the Tang people!

"Liar! Shameless!"

A roar exploded in the quiet office.

Cai Yinong swept everything off the table and onto the floor!

With a loud crash, papers flew everywhere, and the glass shattered.

What, a three-party joint development of "Zhu Xian"?

Why did the Tang people undertake this production?

It's all a cover-up!

Yu Zheng never intended to make a good "Zhu Xian". From beginning to end, he was just paving the way for his "Palace" and trying to dominate the Qing Dynasty time-travel genre before Tangren could!

"Palace" has already been registered and is about to start filming, while Tangren's "Scarlet Heart" hasn't even finalized its cast yet!

Once "Palace" airs first, what will Tangren's "Scarlet Heart" be?

Following the trend?

Plagiarism?

The thought of her hard-earned project being stigmatized like this made Cai Yinong tremble with anger, almost unable to breathe.

The seemingly perfect film and television alliance of Perfect World, Huanrui, and Tangren was shattered at this moment by a filing announcement from the State Administration of Radio and Television.

Cai Yinong picked up the phone from the ground and found a number.

The call was answered quickly, and Chi Yufeng's cheerful voice came from the other end, sounding like he was in a good mood.

"Hey, K-sister?"

Cai Yinong gritted her teeth, "President Chi, I'm officially informing you."

Chi Yufeng seemed oblivious to the odd tone in her voice and even joked, "What announcement? Teacher Yu has finished writing the script for 'Zhu Xian'? So fast?"

"We at Tangren Media have withdrawn from the 'Zhu Xian' project."

"Withdraw? Why? Weren't we having a good discussion?"

"Why?" Cai Yinong sneered. "You should ask your other partner that question."

Chi Yufeng was completely dumbfounded. He felt he couldn't keep up with Cai Yinong's train of thought at all. "Partner? What happened to Huanrui?"

"Go ask President Zhong what earth-shattering things she's been busy with lately. We Tang people are too small to play this game of trying to have our cake and eat it too. We're not getting on this boat."

After saying that, Cai Yinong hung up the phone directly, not giving Chi Yufeng a chance to ask any further questions.

Perfect Time and Space.

Chi Yufeng stood there, holding his phone, completely dumbfounded.

They were fine yesterday, how come they turned on each other so quickly?

Is Huanrui playing both sides?

What does this mean?

A huge question mark swirled in his mind, making him so irritable that he wanted to smash things.

The "Zhu Xian" project is of great significance to Perfect World.

This is not only a super IP that combines film and games, but also a flagship clarion call for a perfect crossover into the film and television industry and expansion into the upstream content production field!

To this end, he personally orchestrated a scheme, bringing together Tangren, the industry's most skilled producer of fantasy dramas, and Huanrui, which held the copyrights, in an attempt to create an unshakeable trio.

But now, this iron triangle that he had placed so much hope in has lost a leg before it even set sail!