Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 160 Recruiting People

Huanrui Century Conference Room.

Zhong Junyan hung up the phone, her face grim.

"Tangren has withdrawn."

She placed her phone face down on the table and looked at Chen Yuan across from her.

Chen Yuan's expression also turned serious. "So fast? She realized what was happening?"

"It's not just a matter of realizing it; she's completely breaking ties with us."

Silence fell over the meeting room.

Tangren's withdrawal is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Huanrui.

The perfect setup for this project was based on Tangren's top-notch production capabilities in fantasy dramas.

Now that Tangren has left, Perfect World will inevitably doubt whether Huanrui can independently support this project.

If Perfect World decides to quit, the Jade Dynasty project will have to be put on hold again.

But it's also an opportunity.

"Cai Yinong seems to be very angry," Chen Yuan was the first to calm down. "In other words, she will definitely devote all her energy to 'Scarlet Heart' from now on, which means that Tangren will not have any plans to start filming fantasy dramas for a long time to come."

Zhong Junyan instantly understood his meaning, and a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.

"You mean... poach people?"

"Yes, poach talent," Chen Yuan said decisively. "Perfect World's biggest concern is our production capabilities, so we'll poach Tangren's production team. If Huanrui can seize this opportunity to monopolize 'Zhu Xian,' then we—"

This tactic of cutting off the enemy's supply lines is undeniably vicious.

In recent years, Tangren Media has almost monopolized the ancient costume fantasy market with a series of hit shows such as "Chinese Paladin", "The Little Fairy", and "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", and has also cultivated a mature production team in the industry.

The core of this team is director Li Guoli.

But Li Guoli is a co-founder of Tangren Media, so they can't poach him.

However, the assistant director, art director, costume and prop team, who followed him on his campaigns and were familiar with the entire production process, were not a monolithic group.

"Liang Shengquan," a name immediately popped into Zhong Junyan's mind.

This is one of Li Guoli's most trusted executive directors, who has participated in almost all of Tangren's important projects and has a thorough understanding of the filming process and style of fantasy films.

In its previous life, Huanrui made up for its shortcomings in production capabilities by absorbing a large number of behind-the-scenes core members, including Liang Shengquan, who had left Tangren Media. It then surpassed others and produced "Swords of Legends," which established its industry position in one fell swoop.

Now, thanks to Ren Pingsheng's actions, the conflict between Yu Zheng and Cai Yinong has been escalated ahead of schedule, and Huanrui's poaching plan has started three years earlier than usual.

"Not just Liang Shengquan," Chen Yuan added, "art direction, costume design, and action choreography—we've poached them all! Cai Yinong is busy rushing to meet deadlines and can't manage it all. By the time she realizes what's happening, she'll already be here with us."

Inside a private room at the club.

The negotiations between the two sides have entered a substantive stage where every inch of land is at stake.

"Mr. Wang, if we're going to benchmark against American TV series, then we need to have the guts to do so."

Ren Pingsheng didn't beat around the bush and directly presented a staggering figure: "We'll start by developing the first season based on 'The Lost City,' with a total of 20 episodes, a budget of eight million per episode, and a total investment of 1.6 million."

He had calculated in his mind that the cost per episode of Pan Yueming's version of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" in his previous life was around five million, but what he wanted to do was to be a seasonal series comparable to HBO's, with full-scale art direction, special effects, and a high proportion of location shooting, so the budget per episode had to be increased.

Moreover, actors' salaries are very low now, and there is no situation like the exorbitant salaries of later generations that squeeze out production costs. Every penny can be spent wisely.

"How much?" Wang Caixia thought she had misheard, and her voice changed.

"20 episodes, 1.6 million," Ren Pingsheng repeated.

Wang Caixia's eyes widened.

The 95-episode "New Three Kingdoms" only cost 150 million yuan, but this 20-episode series will burn through even more money.

"Isn't it too high?"

"Not high," Ren Pingsheng said confidently. "President Wang, let me do the math for you. 'Candle in the Tomb' has glaciers, deserts, and underground ancient cities. Just building a set for these scenes would cost millions. Not to mention we need to use movie-grade cameras, hire a Hollywood-level special effects team, and cover actor salaries and the food, drink, and accommodation for a crew of hundreds. 1.6 million is the result of my careful calculations. If the money isn't in place, the special effects will be worthless. That would be a real loss."

Zhang Muye nodded in agreement, "Yes, the things in the tomb have to be believable. You can't fool the audience with just green screens and a few special effects."

.

Wang Caixia was rendered speechless by the two's coordinated attack.

Eight million views per episode? That's insane.

But behind the madness was a tremendous temptation that made her heart race.

If such a large investment yields a terrifying return, how incredible would that be?

only...

"How much can my copyright be valued for?" Wang Caixia asked the question that concerned her the most.

"The fair value of the copyright needs to be assessed by a third party, but I personally predict it should be between five and ten million."

Her expression turned sour.

Even if we take the highest estimate of ten million, it would only account for slightly over 6%, which is a far cry from her ideal scenario of "I publish the copyright, you put in the effort, and I take the lion's share."

Ren Pingsheng noticed her dissatisfaction and handed her the option before she could even begin to bargain.

"Mr. Wang, the choice is yours."

"In addition to the copyright price, you can also make additional cash investments. You can take as much as you invest, with no upper limit. If you are willing to put in another 50 million, you can take one-third of the profits, and the profits will be distributed according to that ratio."

"But there's one condition," Ren Pingsheng's tone became serious, "regardless of the share, the execution rights of the project belong to Shengping Vision. We will be responsible for everything, including production coordination, screenwriting team, director formation, actor coordination, post-production visual effects, and platform sales. This is the premise of the cooperation."

Wang Caixia didn't care about the right to enforce the judgment.

She knew she was just a copyright dealer; aside from the few books she owned, she had no connections or people to rely on.

If you really let her do it, she wouldn't even know where to find a reliable art director.

Ren Pingsheng was willing to take on all the dirty and tiring work, and she was happy to have some free time.

But additional cash...

Fifty million? Where is she going to find so much money?

The Dreamer is a small company; all her assets combined don't even amount to that much.

But if we don't add more, we'll only get a pitiful 6%. It's so frustrating to only get this much from such a huge pie.

"So, Director Ren, what percentage do you own?"

"I would first ask the investors in the film project if they want to retain the same share in the TV series. They have already invested money in the 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' film, and as a pre-production project, they are likely willing to continue investing in the TV series."

Wang Caixia understood; this was a ready-made card table.

China Film Group, Wanda Group, Sohu, and iQiyi were all originally there for the movies.

Now that Ren Pingsheng has turned the first four TV series into pre-production films, it's like giving these investors an extra layer of insurance.

This is also the kind of insurance she wanted; with these giants involved, the show has no trouble selling.

Wang Caixia fell silent, weighing the gains and losses in her mind.

Ren Pingsheng didn't rush her. He picked up his teacup and sipped slowly. He understood the mentality of this kind of small business owner all too well.

She's afraid to gamble if you ask her to spend a lot of money, but she feels bad if you ask her to take a smaller share.

The final result will definitely be a symbolic addition of a few million to bring the share to a psychologically comfortable integer.

really.

"Director Ren," Wang Caixia said, "could we wait for the third-party evaluation of the copyright to come out before deciding how much to add?"

We'll round it up then.

"Sure," Ren Pingsheng readily agreed. "You can add the rest later, make it 10%."

""

"Okay!" Wang Caixia didn't hesitate this time.

She felt she had won. With the copyright and a little cash, she had secured a 10% share in a 160 million yuan mega-project, without having to worry about anything. She could just sit back and collect the money once the show was sold.

Ren Pingsheng clinked teacups with her, a smile on his face.

Zhou Hongli, who sat quietly to the side without saying a word, noticed something else entirely.

On the surface, Ren Pingsheng showed Wang Caixia a great deal of respect, did not unilaterally determine the copyright valuation, openly discussed the investment ratio, even provided a channel for additional cash, and assumed all the risks.

In reality, he has already placed the dreamer in a real-world problem.

Dreamers had no production team, no actor resources, no platform connections, no distribution channels, and no experience in managing projects.

The copyrights to the first four works held by Wang Caixia were indeed her entry ticket.

But once they're on set, how to film, who will film, who to sell to, and how to link it with subsequent films—all of that depends on the execution of the film production team.

If she invests less, she can only receive a share of the profits from copyright shares.

If she invests more, she will be even more tied to the project's cash flow pressure and become even more dependent on Ren Pingsheng.

More importantly, once this drama is finished filming, all the production experience, industry connections, and audience perception will be transferred to Shengping Vision.

Not only did they cultivate a top-notch team for the film four years later, but they also nurtured the market and even made several of their own company's actors famous.

Dreamers Film Company gets nothing but a share of revenue on its financial statements.

It will be completely sidelined, becoming nothing more than a copyright shell that can only wait to be distributed.

By the time the fifth season aired, and Wang Caixia's copyright license expired, she wouldn't even be entitled to a share of the profits.

Wang Caixia thought she was now at the table, able to eat meat with the tycoons.

Little did she know that from the moment she agreed to the cooperation plan, Ren Pingsheng had already swallowed the meat in her hand, bones and all, in an extremely dignified manner.

Zhang Muye, who was standing to the side, didn't say a word from beginning to end. He didn't understand or care about business matters; he only cared about whether his work could become a hit.

That means the copyrights to other categories of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" that he holds will be more valuable.

"Director Ren, when will we start working on the script?"

"immediately."

Ren Pingsheng knew that with the original author involved, at least the bottom line of the story could be guaranteed.

But he knew in his heart that this was far from enough.

Zhang Muye is a novelist whose writing is vast and unrestrained, full of imagination, but this imagination needs to be translated into the language of scripts that are suitable for film and television production.

Scene segmentation, pacing, audiovisual design, and refined dialogue...

These are all highly specialized technical tasks. Asking a novelist to independently complete a screenplay would be disastrous.

"Ghost Blows Out the Light" needs a professional screenwriting team.

A screenwriting team that is skilled in film and television scriptwriting, understands the core of the customs and culture of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", and can bring Zhang Muye's boundless imagination to life.

Where can you find someone like that?

Or, where to dig?

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