Chapter 202 A Heavy Punch

But surprisingly, Yao Zhuangxian was straightforward and came straight to the point:

"Mr. Du, thank you for your interest in the Xianjian game.

You have contacted us many times before, expressing your intention to purchase the film and television adaptation rights of the Legend of Sword and Fairy game.

We take this very seriously and have conducted some investigations, but the details are still unclear.

Could you please introduce the situation of Miracle Studios and the specific shooting plans and arrangements after obtaining the film and television adaptation rights? "

Miracle Studio was only established this year and its scale is relatively limited, which is why he has not agreed yet.

Du Sheng knew this very well, but his expression remained unchanged:
“Boss Yao came to Guangzhou to negotiate this time, and he should have inquired about the Ye family’s deeds.

In fact, my agent Ye Jingzhi is a member of the Ye family, and she is also an important partner of Miracle Studio.

Our studio was established not long ago, but its advantages are very obvious.

First of all, we have the connections and channels of Guangzhou Television, which is something you are unable to obtain when seeking cooperation.

Secondly, you should be aware of the influence of the Ye family in Guangzhou. Whether it is "Tian Long" or "Goddess Dragon", the broadcasting resources in Guangzhou are unique.

Again, our studio has rich experience and outstanding achievements in film and television production, and each work has received good response.

If The Legend of Sword and Fairy were to be adapted into a TV series by us, I believe the ratings would not be inferior to those of Goddess Dragon and Tian Long.

Finally, besides our studio, who else do you think is interested in game adaptation? "

When it comes to bragging and talking nonsense, he is never behind others.

Although there are some exaggerations in it, it is basically true.

Yao Zhuangxian was also aware of this and fell silent.

Although the "Legend of Sword and Fairy" game is popular, the stand-alone game has little influence overall.

This year marks its eighth year on the market, and no copyright-related development has been found so far.

Although Tang Ren Company approached them some time ago, when the other party heard that the game involved a large number of special effects and virtual scenes, and the investment in production would conservatively be 5000 million, nothing happened.

As for Du Sheng, apart from the slightly smaller size of his studio, he does have many other advantages.

Not long ago, Yao Zhuangxian sent people to investigate this studio that had come to him seeking adaptation cooperation.

It is basically consistent with what the other party just said, which is also something that Tang Ren Company completely lacks.

In addition, Du Sheng's popularity is there, and if he performs in person, the advantage will be even more obvious.

Seeing Yao Zhuangxian remained silent, Du Sheng smiled inwardly and further elaborated:
“If I’m not mistaken, the reason why you and Southern Television couldn’t reach an agreement is probably related to the production funds.

This amount of money is estimated to be tens of millions, and it is not something that can be taken out easily.

The reason why you, Ruanxing Technology, have been wanting to develop TV copyrights is probably to make the influence of the Chinese Paladin series even greater."

Zhang Xiaoquan, who was a skilled worker, did not hide anything and nodded silently:
"The investment in special effects and virtual scenes alone is conservatively estimated to be more than 1500 million."

As for more, he did not elaborate so as not to scare the other party away.

The person in front of me should be willing to cooperate, not a scammer like most people who come to take advantage of you.

Du Sheng knew this very well. The investment in this drama in the previous life was at least several times higher than that of other TV dramas of the same period.

The claims that broke out online were: one is 6000 million, one is 8000 million, and another is 1.3 million.

No matter which number it is, it is an astronomical figure.

In addition, the shooting period of this drama was very long, taking no less than 16 months, which invisibly increased the production cost.

Since Du Sheng dared to take over, he must have the confidence:

“We have already reached a preliminary cooperation intention with Zhongyao Pictures and a TV station in Guangzhou.

If you take your company's funds into account, investment will not be a problem.

In addition, our studio has another major advantage, which is the fast project launch speed.

I can assure you two that as long as the copyright is authorized to us, we can start filming before October this year.

If everything goes well, the drama will be available to everyone around the middle of next year.

By then, your new game, Chinese Paladin 3, which is about to be released, will also be able to take advantage of the popularity of the TV series to further increase sales.”

After hearing this, Yao Zhuangxian's heart was shaken.

But the other party just talked and didn't take much concrete action, so he still had some doubts.

Sensing Yao Zhuangxian's hesitation, Du Sheng decisively revealed his last card.

"How about this, to further implement it, we can sign a conditional contract."

“For example, setting a bottom line for the investment amount, me playing the leading male role, and the broadcast ratings.

If Miracle Studios fails to meet the conditions stipulated in the contract, the copyright sales contract will automatically become invalid.”

Yao Zhuangxian and Zhang Xiaoquan looked at each other and could see surprise in each other's eyes.

This person is so confident about the adaptation?

The investment and production costs of the entire drama are not small, not to mention the time spent on it.

To be honest, there is currently no precedent for game adaptation.

If this drama fails, the blow to Du Sheng's popularity will be unprecedented.

I can only say that this courage is truly commendable!
"For Miracle Studios, the worst outcome would be a delay of two or three months."

Seeing that they were finally moved, Du Sheng struck while the iron was hot:

"As for Ruanxing Technology, the copyright is just sitting there anyway. Do they really have to wait a few more years?"

This proposal was extremely beneficial to Ruanxing Technology, and Yao Zhuangxian finally couldn't sit still anymore.

He also discussed several key issues with Du Sheng in detail.

For example, shooting date, co-investment, director and casting, etc.

He was quite satisfied with Du Sheng's answer, so he initially implemented the copyright transaction.

The negotiations are over, and the next thing is naturally eating and drinking.

Du Sheng knew that Yao Zhuangxian and Zhang Xiaoquan were not good at socializing, so he did not urge them to drink too much.

What's more, a contract has to be signed next.

That afternoon, both parties reunited with their lawyers and formally signed a copyright transaction contract.

The contract clearly stipulates that Miracle Studios purchased the film and television adaptation rights of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" for 60 yuan. The contract also adds conditions for both parties:

First, the total investment amount of the TV series "Chinese Paladin 1" is no less than 4000 million, Ruan Xing invested 1500 million, and the rest was made up by Miracle Studio and the joint venture partner;

Second, the TV series "Chinese Paladin 1" must start filming this year;
Third, Ye Jingzhi must be the producer of "Legend of Sword and Fairy 1", and Du Sheng must be the leading actor.

Fourth, Ruan Xing and Miracle Studio are listed as nominal producers and have the right to provide guidance and suggestions on filming.

It is worth mentioning that this conditional contract will take effect immediately after Miracle Studio pays the deposit.

Yao Zhuangxian did not care too much about the 60 yuan adaptation fee.

After all, they have already spent 1500 million, so what they care about is how to further expand the popularity of "Chinese Paladin".

The key point is to pave the way for the subsequent launch and promotion of online games.

After signing the contract, both parties felt at home and left happily.

After going out, Du Sheng felt happy.

It all depends on the negotiations with Pearl River Television tonight.

If everything goes well, it will start filming in July.

With the detailed storyboard script and his own abilities, what he said about releasing the film in the middle of next year is not just bragging.

As for the revision fee...

Du Sheng reported it casually, and Yao Zhuangxian didn't care, so let's just take it as it comes.

After getting in the car, Wang Yaoyang looked through the contract and still felt it was a little unreal:
"Brother Sheng, it is indeed a cause for celebration that you have won the Chinese Paladin with such a low revision fee.

But the production cost agreed here requires us to invest at least 2500 million, where can we get it?"

In this day and age, the production cost of a single episode of a TV series basically fluctuates around 20.

Even if it is well-produced, the investment in the entire TV series is only around tens of millions.

After all, there are only a few people who make money by spending tens of millions to build a film and television base like Zhang Zhizong who invested in "Tian Long".

What's more, there are only a few million in the Miracle Studio account, and it is impossible to create 2500 million.

"Don't worry, I won't joke about my reputation."

Du Sheng smiled calmly.

Although he didn't elaborate, Wang Yaoyang could hear the confidence in the voice.

What he didn't understand was where the confidence came from.

In fact, 2500 million sounds like a lot, but it is not much when it is spread out.

The last time Zhong Zhen came to the crew of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", Du Sheng took out the script and discussed it with the rich woman.

The other party said that they had recently received another payment and reserved a portion for the post-production and promotion of "Against the Cold", so they could indeed invest in a drama in the second half of the year.

After learning about the subsequent intentions of Du Sheng, her wealthy partner, she did have some ideas.

After all, the several dramas that the two sides have collaborated on have all made money, and "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" is also a big hit that can be seen with the naked eye. It would be strange to say that they are not tempted.

Especially after hearing that Miracle Studios planned to invest tens of millions in this project, Zhong Zhen had already carefully collected information related to "The Legend of Sword and Fairy".

Finally, an answer was given, estimating that they could come up with funds similar to those invested in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".

It’s easy to make friends with rich women. You already have 700 million.

In addition, Ye Jingzhi saw that "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" was showing signs of becoming a big hit, and having tasted the sweetness, she also intended to continue.

Investing two or three million is not a difficult task for her.

Moreover, with this golden signboard, Zhujiang Television, which reaped the benefits of "Dragon Goddess" last time, is also interested in joining the game.

In the 1980s and 1990s, TV stations have always followed the model of investing, producing and broadcasting their own programs.

Nowadays, with the emergence of advertising sponsorship and financial backers, the model of self-investment, self-filming and self-broadcasting has changed, but TV stations, as the main investors, are still the mainstream.

As long as Zhujiang TV Station is optimistic about this drama and invests seven or eight million to broadcast it for the first time, the integrated funding channels will basically be in place.

Ye Jingzhi is on the way, so there is a high probability that this will succeed.

Even if it doesn't work, thirty or forty million would be enough.

The reason why the previous version of "Legend of Sword and Fairy 1" cost so much money was not only because of the long shooting period, but also because of the extravagant spending of big names.

If Du Sheng were to take charge personally, a lot of expenses could definitely be saved.

At the very least, it is not a problem to shorten the 16-month shooting period by several times.

As for whether it will lose money?
There is not even a 10% chance of this happening.

After all, the two leading actors, who had no acting experience in their previous lives and didn't even know much about cameras and positions, were able to create a classic.

What’s more, the lineup is now fully upgraded?

If Du Sheng directed it himself, he could also reproduce some of the classics in his memory.

The reason why there is still a 10% chance of failure...

Then we have to mention the power of the river crab beast.

The previous game "Legend of Sword and Fairy 1" encountered this problem.

The film was banned by Guangdian before it was even aired!

According to the time calculation, it should be the middle of next year that Guangdian will issue a notice prohibiting the broadcast of computer network game programs.

This piece of news was like a heavy blow, leaving the crew of "Legend of Sword and Fairy 1" stunned for a moment.

In order to pass the review, they had to make revisions overnight, resulting in many mismatches.

But even so, the drama still did not pass the satellite broadcast rights and could not be broadcast on satellite channels, so it could only be broadcast on local stations.

Miraculously, it achieved an average viewership rating of 11.3% on local TV stations.

What is this concept?
How much popularity and reputation can it bring?
Just compare it with Zhang Zhizong's "Tian Long" which had an average viewership of 5%.

This is also the reason why Du Sheng was willing to pay a huge price to obtain the adaptation rights.

And in order to avoid risks, they agreed to produce it as soon as possible and broadcast it on satellite TV before the arrival of the river crab beast.

.........

(End of this chapter)