"I'll choose Qicheng Pictures first, and I've discussed this with Director Liu and Director Hou. They both believe that Qicheng Pictures' withdrawal from 'The Story of Wei and Jin' was a major mistake, as everyone knows. Qicheng Pictures is desperately trying to find a way to make up for it. If I approach them this time, even if they don't agree outright, they'll probably give it serious consideration and won't refuse so easily. Besides, I've shown the script to Director Hou and Director Liu."

"They were both very interested, saying that if this series could be done well, it could become a milestone in domestic television drama," Tan Jinqi said. "Director Liu said that no matter what, he had to be there to watch me film. Even if he couldn't be there every day, he would check in from time to time. Director Hou did the same. With them both around, Qicheng Pictures should definitely consider it seriously."

Tan Mo nodded, this made sense.

So, the next day, Tan Mo took a special leave.

Tan Jinqi came to Jingda to pick up Tan Mo, and they went to Qicheng Film together.

Tan Mo was only indirectly related to Qicheng Pictures.

Previously, during the filming of "The Story of Wei and Jin", it was rumored that the screenwriter and consultant of "The Story of Wei and Jin" were the same person and were very unprofessional.

This led to Qicheng Pictures asking Director Liu to fire Tan Mo, otherwise they would withdraw their investment.

This can be considered as a small unpleasantness between me and Tan Mo from a distance.

Even after "The Story of Wei and Jin" achieved huge success, Tan Mo appeared at the Tulip Award ceremony to let everyone know that she was the screenwriter and consultant of "The Story of Wei and Jin".

Qicheng Pictures has never said anything more about this matter.

This was the first time that Tan Mo had formally and directly contacted people from Qicheng Pictures.

She was somewhat curious about the attitude of Qicheng Pictures.

Mr. Yao from Qicheng Pictures also attended the meeting in person.

Tan Jinqi had only told half of the story, so it was naturally impossible for him to tell them the entire outline of the story.

I only picked up the key points and the stories from the first two episodes, and then talked about my return on investment for this drama.

"Wait a minute." Mr. Yao interrupted Tan Jinqi.

"Director Tan, you're asking for at least 600 million right now. That's a bit excessive, isn't it?" President Yao said with a half-smile. "Actors' salaries are now clearly capped, and the bulk of the pay goes to the lead actors. Let's say it's a 40-episode TV series, 500,000 per episode. Let's assume the lead actors each make 500,000 per episode, for a total of one million. Forty episodes of a TV series, that's 40 million. Add in the rest of the cast's pay, and I'll give you a total of 70 million. Are you going to use the remaining 500 million to make the TV series?"

"This is a fantasy theme, and it requires a lot of special effects." Tan Jinqi said.

Mr. Yao waved his hand. "I know that. We've shot similar themes before. The market is very mature now, and the price of special effects production is not as high as it was in the beginning. It's still very cheap now."

"While the price you mentioned isn't quite as high as a 50-cent special effects production, the results are still not very good." Tan Jinqi was fully prepared, pulling out the materials he had compiled and displaying them on the projector. "So far, the special effects used in TV series that have required them are still quite superficial. It's obvious at a glance that they're too fake and lack any visual experience. Netizens have been complaining about them non-stop."

"It's not that we don't have the ability to produce good special effects. As you said, the market and technology are already very mature. What we lack is the funds to invest in special effects production. If we could reduce some of the actor's pay and put it into special effects production, those TV series and movies in the past wouldn't be so criticized by netizens."

"The 500,000 per episode you mentioned is the salary for a top-tier actor. I don't plan to look for top-tier actors. It's not difficult to find actors who are relatively well-known but not so expensive. Moreover, even if I do look for top-tier actors, with Directors Hou and Liu around, I think they'll be willing to give me a discount on the salary."

"Besides, forty episodes is too many," Tan Jinqi continued. "I didn't finish what I said earlier. My plan for this drama is to broadcast it in seasons. Each season is tentatively 20 episodes."

"This isn't a serious historical drama like 'The Story of Wei and Jin'. If there are too few episodes, it won't be possible to clearly explain those historical events. Xianxia dramas rely on plot and special effects. If there are too many episodes, they will just rely on bloating. The audience doesn't have that much patience. It's better to reduce the number of episodes, tell the story well, and make the drama well-made. Also, we can see how the first season is received. If it's good, we can continue with the second season."

"Also, the entire world is so vast, and the first season only tells a portion of the story of one continent. How can 40 episodes be enough to tell the stories of all three continents?"

"Eighty episodes isn't enough," Tan Jinqi said. "Asking the audience to watch over a hundred episodes at once is really putting them in a difficult position."

"So, it's only 20 episodes, and you're planning to spend 600 million. And we don't even know how the first season will be received well?" Manager Zhang, standing next to CEO Yao, had a playful look on his face, thinking Tan Jinqi was just being naive. "Are you trying to go the American TV model?"

How could one not see their attitudes after talking about chess?

But he still nodded, "I know, I'm a new director, and you all think my proposal is ridiculous."

Sure enough, the people from Qicheng Pictures who were present at the scene also laughed openly, which was considered as an affirmation of Tan Jinqi's words.

"Since I'm learning from the American TV series model, I can also learn from their pilot episode model. I'll shoot one episode first and you guys can watch it. If it's good, you can continue to invest. If it's not good, I'll compensate Qicheng with the money I earned from shooting that episode." Tan Jinqi said in a deep voice.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. No matter how they looked at it, they wouldn't suffer any loss by setting off.

"As expected of the eldest son of Tan Yue Furniture, he speaks with such confidence." Mr. Yao said sarcastically, "I do have a question. Since he is the eldest son of Tan Yue Furniture, when he initially withdrew his investment from Wei and Jin Chronicles, Tan Yue took over directly. So this time, why not just go directly to Tan Yue for investment? We are all family, so you can invest as much as you want. Why come to us?"

Tan Jinqi said solemnly, "Of course Tan Yue will invest, and he might even take the lion's share. What I need is a professional company that can handle the subsequent professional processing, starting with submitting the drama for review."

"Then you can find any small film and television company and they can get it for you." Manager Zhang curled his lips, "You might as well just say that you're afraid of losing money and don't want to involve Tan Yue."

"You might as well just say it straight. You didn't want to invest from the beginning." Tan Mo pursed his lips.

You can tell from the initial attitude of Mr. Yao and others.