"So you're an amateur," Manager Zhang sneered. "When you buy IP like this, you'll definitely have to make major changes to create a suitable plot."
As for the special effects, Manager Zhang won’t say more.
50-cent special effects, nothing to say.
They can't spend a lot of money on special effects, so it's okay.
"Book fans like the world constructed in the book and the protagonist portrayed by the plot. You have made major changes and it has basically nothing to do with the original work. Will book fans still buy it?" Tan Mo asked.
"Of course not! We're lucky enough that someone is filming it," Manager Zhang said disdainfully. "Those book fans have waited so many years, and finally we've made this book into a TV series. That's already great."
"Okay." Tan Mo nodded with a smile, "Then let's compare them. If they happen to be broadcast at the same time, we'll see which one the audience likes more. If not, the ratings and number of views are the same anyway."
Manager Zhang scoffed, "First you guys can film it, then we can talk about it."
What big talk!
He asked for 600 million to shoot 20 episodes.
It would be strange if there were any fools who would invest in them.
"Let's go." Tan Jinqi said to Tan Mo.
Tan Mo nodded, and left without saying anything to the people who were leaving.
After the two of them left, Manager Zhang disdainfully complained, "That Tan Jinqi is really clueless. He thinks that just because he studied with Director Hou for a few days and filmed with Director Liu, he's on their level. 'The History of Wei and Jin' was filmed by Director Liu, not him. He's just an assistant director, doing odd jobs. Filming has nothing to do with him."
"He's a newcomer with no credits, and he's asking for at least 600 million for his first film, and he's only shooting for 20 episodes." Another producer, Mr. Gu, was also there and curled his lips. "He's got quite a bit of appetite. But he doesn't think about it. He's just a newcomer. Even if he wants to do a good job, does he have the ability to do it? What director doesn't want to make a good film? If the film turns out to be unsatisfactory and the performance is poor, is it their intention?"
"If Director Hou or Director Liu came to discuss this with us and filmed it, we'd definitely consider it," said Yao. "Tan Jinqi is a newcomer with no previous work, so why would we consider him? Besides, this script is really bad."
"Besides, the Tan family is so rich, why wouldn't they invest? When they invested in 'The Story of Wei and Jin', weren't they quite happy about it? 'The Story of Wei and Jin' was only written by Tan Mo, and the real credits went to an outsider like Director Liu. And yet the Tan family was so happy to invest. Why wouldn't they invest in Tan Jinqi's own drama? Isn't it because they're afraid of losing money?"
"Since Tan Jinqi is so confident, let the Tan family invest! If the Tan family doesn't invest, it means that Tan Jinqi himself doesn't have confidence in the film and is afraid of losing money, so he's looking to us as the scapegoat." Mr. Yao sneered, "Does he think we're fools? It's not like his family is broke; they can just invest the money themselves!"
"That's right!" Manager Zhang took the opportunity to flatter him. "Boss Yao is absolutely right."
Others praised General Yao for his wisdom.
Mr. Yao was very happy.
"Alright, let's adjourn the meeting. If they're coming, it's hard not to see them, or I'll think I'm petty and holding a grudge against them because of the Wei and Jin Chronicles incident." Mr. Yao stood up. "Now that we've met, explain it clearly to them. If they don't want to hear it now, that's their problem. If the film actually does poorly, they'll know we weren't trying to make things difficult for them."
After everyone dispersed, Assistant Zhou followed General Manager Yao back to the office.
"Mr. Yao, they've also contacted Xifu Media and Zhulu Culture," Assistant Zhou said. "We're going to Xifu Media this afternoon and Zhulu Culture tomorrow morning."
Mr. Yao sneered, "No matter who they contact or when they go, it's useless. No one will invest in them."
"With such a huge investment, they've only filmed 20 episodes." CEO Yao curled his lips. "The actors don't even have enough screen time. The male and female leads have enough screen time, but what about the supporting roles? We, the investors, want to give these actors more scenes, but how much can we add in just 20 episodes?"
"For a 40-episode drama, the first 20 episodes could be dedicated to the male and female protagonists, and the last 20 episodes could be used to add supporting roles we want to promote. But he only filmed 20 episodes in total. It cost a lot, but the return on our investment was not enough."
"Aren't they saying I've been laughed at enough?" Mr. Yao got angry at the mention of it. "We initially pulled our investment from 'The Story of Wei and Jin,' and then it became a huge hit. How many people saw Qi Cheng as a joke? At the time, when online rumors were circulating that the screenwriter and consultant for 'The Story of Wei and Jin' were the same person, and that was completely unreliable, why didn't Tan Mo come out and explain?"
"Even if she doesn't explain publicly, as the largest investor in 'The History of Wei and Jin,' shouldn't Qicheng explain it to me privately? Regardless of whether I ultimately want to keep her, she should at least be sincere, right? She's actually forcing Director Liu to choose between her and Qicheng."
"Afterwards, 'The Biography of Wei and Jin' became a success, and she even appeared at the Tulip Awards ceremony. Everyone knew who she was. But even so, she didn't even take the initiative to come to me to express her gratitude." President Yao curled his lips and sneered, "She didn't even apologize, and now she's acting like nothing happened, coming to me to ask for investment? These brother and sister, I'm afraid it's because they grew up in the Tan family and have always been rich second-generations that they don't even understand the ways of the world."
Assistant Zhou didn't say anything.
However, he felt that there was nothing wrong with what Tan Mo and Tan Jinqi did.
There is no need to apologize to Mr. Yao.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Yao has always remembered this incident.
*
In the afternoon, Tan Jinqi and Tan Mo went to Xifu Media.
The other party actually listened to Tan Jinqi's report.
But I also feel that the investment is large, but the number of episodes is small.
"In this case, even advertising and investment will earn us much less than a 40-episode TV series." Mr. Gao from Xifu Media was much more polite than Mr. Yao, and his words were quite reasonable. "In this case, we can discuss the investment amount, but the number of episodes needs to be extended."
This means that the investment should be less and the number of episodes should be longer.
"This subject matter is not easy to get on satellite TV, so we need to cut costs and consider online broadcasting." Mr. Gao added, "Online broadcasting can also produce hit dramas. If the reputation is good, it can still be broadcast on satellite TV in the second round. There are examples of this."
"After all, this theme has been out of fashion for over a decade," Mr. Gao said. "A decade or so ago, Xianxia movies were indeed popular, and the Shushan series is a classic. But it's no longer popular. A few years ago, some people tried to make similar films, but they all failed. This type of subject matter is no longer popular."
"I've also read the Shushan series. But this time, the script is completely different from the Shushan series. It has its own complete worldview, as if it were a real world."
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