Chapter 12: You have to pay for the right to use your image

Sine-Sara interrupted the greetings with a dry cough and said, "Mr. Peng, can I call you that?"

"Just call me Xiao like everyone else." Xiao Peng said, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Sinne said, "Just now on the seabed, we saw you and that nurse shark so close. How did you do that?"

"Oh, this." Xiao Peng said calmly, "It's very simple. All we need is love and peace."

Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Are you kidding us?

Xiao Peng also knew that this joke was inappropriate. He rolled his eyes and came up with an idea. He replied, "The fact is, I saved that shark, so we have a good relationship."

Life is like a play, it all depends on your acting skills, just make it up!

Sinnet winked at photographer Armand, signaling him to start filming. Xiao Peng was stunned and put his hand up to block the camera lens: "Why are you still filming?"

Sinne nodded. "We're filming a TV program for Channel 5 about Mediterranean marine ecology and tourism. The footage of you swimming with the nurse sharks on the seabed just now was absolutely stunning. Please allow us to use this beautiful footage."

Xiao Peng frowned slightly and was about to refuse when Xine continued, "Of course, this footage isn't free. We're willing to pay... 30,000 euros for your appearance! And after the show airs, you'll definitely gain attention and become famous! If you agree, we'll sign a letter of authorization."

In the West, people attach great importance to privacy. If you use someone's appearance without their permission when filming a TV program, you will lose money. All people who appear in the camera must be authorized before they can appear.

After filming a film here, the film is first submitted to the insurance company for review. The insurance company's job is to check whether each character in the film has a release. If they still find any issues after the review, the insurance company will pay the compensation in the event of a lawsuit.

According to previous cases, the compensation for each lawsuit started from several million and even reached tens of millions. Therefore, they attach great importance to this when recording various TV programs.

If it were yesterday, Xiao Peng would have agreed without hesitation for 30,000 euros. However, he had just fished up a gold coin and a silver coin from the seabed. As the saying goes, "If you have food in your pocket, you won't be in trouble." Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "Xinnai, you may not understand us Chinese. We don't like to be in the spotlight."

"Isn't it good to be famous?" Xinnei expressed his confusion.

Xiao Peng nodded. "We Chinese have a saying: 'People are afraid of being famous, just as pigs are afraid of being fat.' So I don't want to be famous. It's a pity, but I don't think I'll get the 30,000 yuan appearance fee."

When he said this, he even emphasized the number "30,000." If a Chinese person were here, they would definitely understand what Xiao Peng meant. He was complaining that the money was too little!

But Xine wasn't Chinese, and didn't know the Chinese's euphemistic way of speaking. She frowned and said, "Xiao, we are truly sincere. 30,000 euros is the highest we can offer."

Xiao Peng shook his head. How could we not raise the price?

She wanted to continue persuading Xiao Peng, but Fabian interrupted her: "Xiao, since you know we are from the Cousteau family, you should know what our family is best at, right?"

Xiao Peng answered without hesitation, "Of course it's your diving equipment. My underwater camera is also a product of your company."

But Fabian shook his head. "That's not true. In fact, our family is best at making films and TV shows. The first documentary to receive the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival was "The Quiet World," directed by my grandfather. "Ocean Explorers 3D," which was very successful a few years ago, was produced by my uncle Jean Cousteau. My other uncle, Pierre-Yves Cousteau, is the president of the Cousteau Diving Association. My father, Jean-Michel Cousteau, also made the "Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Expeditions" series of documentaries. My sister Céline and I also participated in the filming of "Return to the Amazon," but we were very young at the time."

Xiao Peng scratched his head. He hadn't seen any of these documentaries. He didn't understand why Fabian was talking about this.

Fabian said, "Bearing the Cousteau name means we have wealth and fame, but it also brings pressure. Now that our parents are old, it's our turn to shoulder the family responsibility. I don't want to spend my whole life guarding those damn databases and enjoying the glory brought by my ancestors."

"Database?" Xiao Peng's mind was stirred after hearing this: "Information about the ocean?"

Fabian nodded. "I'm not exaggerating, but no one in France knows more about the ocean than my family! My grandfather, my father, my uncle, my aunt... they've all dedicated their lives to the ocean. We have a huge database with all sorts of information. Even people who work on ocean research at major French research institutions have to come to my house to look up information. And I've always been the one who looks after that database. I don't want to be guarding it for the rest of my life, so my cousin Pascal and I contacted France 5 to produce a program like this. We also want to prove to our elders that we're capable of standing on our own."

Xiao Peng looked into Fabian's eyes. What he said was so sincere that it was hard not to believe.

Fabian continued, "The production fee from Channel 5 isn't that much. After all, this is a TV show. You can tell by our cast."

Xiao Peng nodded: "Yes, I can see it."

This is obviously a low-budget TV program, and it cannot be compared with BBC documentaries. Their films often take hundreds of people several years to shoot and cost hundreds of millions!

Fabian said, "Sinne didn't lie to you just now. The TV station won't pay too much for an appearance. Thirty thousand is indeed the maximum. But the footage of you swimming harmoniously with the sharks on the seabed just now is what we really need... So, I'll personally contribute another twenty thousand euros, bringing the total to fifty thousand euros for the appearance. Is that okay with you?"

Before Xiao Peng could say anything, Xin Nei became anxious: "Fabian, this is against the rules."

Fabian said, "This is my own money and has nothing to do with the TV station. Don't forget, I'm also the producer of this show. This is it! Xiao, what do you think of this?"

After hearing this, Xiao Peng thought about it and felt that 50,000 euros was a little too little. People are greedy after all!

However, Fabian said that Xiao Peng was really interested in their family's database - if he really wanted to work in marine salvage in the future, this information would be helpful to him!