Chapter 238: Sky-high Price Copyright Sale
The crew stayed in Cannes for a few days, and Chen An had to sell the copyright before leaving.

Except for Zhang Jiashuai who returned home overnight and had to go back to school, no one else was in a hurry.

After the film festival, the crowds gradually decreased and we were able to have a good look around.

This time there was no hype about the 20-year-old best director. Even though the film won the Palme d'Or and the best actress, the European distribution rights of "Shoplifters" were still bought by MK2 for US$1300 million.

To be honest, it is still a bit high. After all, "Shoplifters" is not a commercial movie like "Run Lola Run". But MK2 is willing to pay this price, so Chen An has nothing to say.

As for the remaining distribution rights, Sony took them over for US$1700 million, acquiring the distribution rights except for China and Europe.

Of course, this money was not spent in vain. When the film is released in the local market, Chen An himself will participate in the promotion.

Moreover, Sony thinks that there is still some potential in combining it with the upcoming "Batman Begins", and it can also be released in the North American market.

At this point, all the overseas distribution rights for the Palme d'Or film "Shoplifters" have been sold for 30 million US dollars!
"Chen, now that the distribution rights have been negotiated, why don't we talk about the audio and video copyright?" Sony's Fok said with a smile again after signing the contract.

"Oh, Sony is interested in this too?"

"Films that won the Palme d'Or still have great potential in the disc market, so Sony naturally has no reason to give up."

As Falk said, films that win the Palme d'Or still do well in the video or disc market.

Maybe you don't like to spend a lot of money to watch an art film that won the Cannes Palme d'Or in the cinema, but you are still willing to spend a little money to buy a copy or rent a disc.

"How about 10 million US dollars for ten years as full agency?" Chen An tapped the table with his index finger and said.

"Ten years? Oh no, Chen, we want perpetual copyright."

"Only ten years, ten million US dollars, and the copyright of all audio and video tapes and discs is exclusively distributed worldwide except in China."

Chen An did not give in either. He calculated that ten years was about enough time and the next era would be the streaming media era, so he could sell it again.

Fok still wanted to argue, but Chen An refused to give in. He said ten years at most, nothing more.

"Okay, you win, Chen. Sony will be the sole agent for the overseas audio-visual copyright of Shoplifters except for China for ten years and ten million US dollars. However, the payment amount is also one million US dollars per year for ten years."

"It's been a pleasure working with you, Fok."

Chen An smiled and nodded, but he did not agree even when the other party raised the offer to 15 million US dollars.

"Now that we have finished discussing this, Chen, how are the cooperation plans that we discussed earlier going? Sony can offer the highest salary of a Hollywood director, $5 million, plus a % commission. If you write the screenplay yourself, you can increase the commission."

"Maybe there's a chance, but Sony's Spider-Man series is doing very well at the box office right now, so there's no need to get me involved, right?"

"Unlike Chen, the company will never give up on cooperating with outstanding directors."

"Thank you for your interest. I will contact you if I have any ideas."

"It's settled, Chen."

After they discussed the contract, they chatted for a while.

After the other party left, Chen An leaned back on the sofa, smoked a cigarette and began to think: "Can Sony cooperate?"

The script I registered is pretty good, and I plan to shoot it in advance, which will surely do better at the box office.

But Chen An definitely didn't want to just shoot the film for pay, but wanted to participate in the investment himself.

His own Lightspeed Pictures in Hollywood now has sufficient funds to cover half of the investment.

Chen An’s original target was Warner, but now can he get more benefits from Sony?
"We'll see when the time comes." After thinking for a long time, he couldn't figure it out and decided not to think about it anymore.

All copyrights have been sold and there is no need to stay in Cannes anymore.

In the evening, we called the crew members who were traveling around to have a dinner.

After signing the contract the next day, he chartered a plane back to China with the crew.

Uncle Ge continued to take the train.

After returning to China and being interviewed by reporters, Chen An rushed to the company. He was in a hurry.

I didn't expect that when I arrived at the company, I found a lot of people I had never seen before, and they all swarmed over when they saw me.

"Mr. Chen, this is my business card. I am here to discuss cooperation on behalf of xxxx company."

"Hello, Mr. Chen."

Chen An was confused. Didn't he know that Lightyear Media generally did not accept investment for productions?

Where do so many people come from?

But fortunately, the security team was found, and Chen An just waved his hand and someone moved them away.

After returning to the office, Chen An was planning to look for Li Xiaoping, but who knew that the other party also came over in a hurry.

"Sister Xiaoping, why are there so many people in the company? I don't know."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Li Xiaoping: "These people all came here after hearing the news and wanted to cooperate. I asked them to leave their contact information before sending them away, but they kept coming in batches, and it just so happened that you came back."

"Looks like we have to change places. What kind of people are coming here?"

"Some coal bosses have money but nowhere to spend it and want to get into the circle. With your reputation, they all come to you. By the way, one of them, Xu, asked me to tell him that he wants to meet you."

"What?"

Chen An was a little curious. Li Xiaoping did not refuse the other party and brought the news to him.

Li Xiaoping said calmly, "A full investment of less than 50 million yuan is required. As long as his mistress is cast as the lead, and only % of the profit is required, it's simply a lot of money. It is said that it was introduced by a boss named Lin in Shanghai."

Chen An: “.”

As expected, I come from a poor family and don’t quite understand the thoughts of these rich people.

"Is coal mining profitable?" Chen An asked in disbelief.

It’s obvious that there’s no money to be made, so it’s fine to invest a few million, but they just took out 30 million!
"Yeah, I don't know either, so I sent him a message to you to ask what you think." Li Xiaoping said that she felt the same way as Chen An.

Chen An stood on the table with his hands crossed, not knowing how to start.

I've only heard of the legends about the coal bosses, but it was a bit scary when I faced them head-on.

"Let me think about it first and let you know when the time comes."

"Okay, the movie's distribution is already underway, can it be released soon?"

"I'll have it re-edited and some clips deleted. You can host it then. I'm leaving for Hollywood."

Batman is about to be released, and Chen An will definitely have to go to promote it.

As for the coal boss's matter, there's no need to rush.

Since the other party is so willing to spend money, they probably don't mind spending a little time. To be honest, Chen An really doesn't have the time to take care of this matter recently.

Besides, I wouldn't be able to shoot the film myself even if I had the time. At most, I would write the script and ask a few directors in the company to shoot it. They would definitely be willing to do so. I would give them 30 million yuan to invest and just choose a female lead.

"Wasn't it introduced by Boss Lin?" After Li Xiaoping left, Chen An said softly while putting the two Cannes trophies into the glass cabinet.

I still remember that boss Lin from Shanghai. The movie "Run Lola Run" made a lot of money for him.

However, this also earned me my first start-up capital.

However, I didn't expect that a clothing business and coal mining would get involved.

It turns out that rich people are attracted to each other.

Chen An sat back in his chair and rested for a while, then calmed down: "30 million, such a big sum of money, it's hard for me to refuse."

(End of this chapter)