A widower's entertainment

Chapter 436 [Father's Love is as Solid as a Mountain] (Please Subscribe)
Lin Youcheng sold the film adaptation rights to the scripts "Interstellar" and "Coherence" to Warner Bros. for an astonishingly high price of four million US dollars, which was much higher than Lin Youcheng's previous royalties. However, in Lin Youcheng's view, these two scripts were definitely worth it.

If Warner Bros. doesn't agree, Lin Youcheng can contact Universal Pictures or Paramount Pictures.

Besides these, there are other Hollywood film companies he can contact. Lin Youcheng is not worried at all that Warner Bros. will not agree to the copyright fees he is asking for.

Four million US dollars—this number truly shocked Xie Shuhua, leaving her speechless.

That four million US dollars, at the current exchange rate, is equivalent to nearly thirty million RMB!

This is truly an incredible science fiction number.

That's so sci-fi!

It should be said that this is truly a different dimension, or even a different plane of existence, of copyright royalties!

You should know that Zhang Guoshi only paid Yu Hua a little over 30,000 yuan for the copyright of his novel "To Live"!
To Xie Shuhua, it was a number she couldn't even imagine, a truly terrifying number. Looking at Lin Youcheng, who was holding his daughter Lin Zhaoyuan, she didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth, but it seemed that saying anything would be meaningless.

"Youcheng, this script you wrote—"

Xie Shuhua knew very well that Lin Youcheng's script was brilliant, but she really couldn't imagine that Lin Youcheng's script copyright fee could reach such an outrageous level. Although the copyright fee was already very outrageous and frightening in the past, this time it was really like a comet hitting Jupiter with a violent impact, leaving Xie Shuhua not knowing how to describe her feelings.

Seeing Xie Shuhua's shocked expression, Lin Youcheng knew that telling Xie Shuhua about this would be quite frightening, after all, it was 1994, and such an exorbitant copyright fee was truly unimaginable in China.

However, Lin Youcheng didn't see it that way. After all, his status as a screenwriter was different. His previous scripts had earned him nearly a million in copyright fees, and this time, both "Interstellar" and "The Night of the Comet" were scripts with considerable potential. In particular, "The Night of the Comet" was a brilliant script with an extremely low budget. It was safe to say that even if Lin Youcheng offered a higher price, Warner Bros. would consider it. Now, he was selling both the big-budget and small-budget scripts together, so how could Warner Bros. possibly refuse?

This is why George agreed to Lin Youcheng's offer without hesitation. It can be said that George was not worried about the low budget of "Coherence". Even if the production lost money, it would not be a problem. Not to mention that the script was quite solid and Lin Youcheng was an Oscar screenwriter. How could he miss it?

"We don't have to worry about Yuanyuan's milk powder money."

Lin Youcheng chuckled as he played with his little daughter, Lin Zhaoyuan, in his arms. Lin Zhaoyuan waved her little hands with a smile, seemingly happy for Lin Youcheng as well.

Xie Shuhua chuckled when she heard Lin Youcheng's words. It wasn't that she didn't need to worry about the cost of baby formula; in fact, she hadn't needed to consider it from the beginning. After all, Lin Youcheng's family fortune was already quite extravagant, and the copyright fees for these two scripts were truly astounding.

Looking at his little daughter in his arms, Lin Youcheng said with a smile, "Yuanyuan, Daddy has bought you a lot more houses."

Xie Shuhua had no objection when she heard that Lin Youcheng was buying a house, because she knew very well that Lin Youcheng was not short of money at all. Four million US dollars was a terrifying amount of copyright fees.

The key point is that this is only one part of the story!

Even if Lin Youcheng sells more houses, it won't be a problem. After all, the houses he rented out earlier were very profitable. This was what Lin Youcheng had planned before: even if his children didn't have any other careers, they could rely on rent to make a living and wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"Shuhua, I'm planning to buy a car."

In fact, Lin Youcheng could have bought a car a long time ago, but he doesn't usually need one and can take a taxi whenever he goes out, so there's no need for him to buy one. However, Lin Youcheng is now planning to buy a car.

Xie Shuhua naturally had no objection to Lin Youcheng's words, because in Xie Shuhua's view, even though a car is very expensive now, costing more than 100,000 yuan, she knew very well that this amount of money was nothing to her family.

"You can decide that! But you'll have to learn to drive yourself."

Lin Youcheng smiled and nodded when he heard Xie Shuhua's words. He knew very well that buying a car would make him stand out in Xinghua Hutong, but that was nothing compared to the fact that it was just a car.

As for driving, it's even less of a concern for him.

Undoubtedly, Lin Youcheng's purchase of a very ordinary Xiali car caused a huge stir in Xinghua Hutong. The appearance of a car in this alley was definitely a rare sight.

This wasn't a refrigerator or a television, but a four-wheeled car, which truly opened the eyes of many people on the street.

This is really big news!
This is far more impactful than Lin Youcheng starting a company or publishing a novel; there's no way around it, the presence of a four-wheeled car there truly has a significant impact.

However, everyone knew that Lin Youcheng was a famous writer and screenwriter, whose movie scripts had even won awards in the United States. His status and position were quite extraordinary, so it was not surprising that his family could afford a car.

The children were undoubtedly very excited.

Lin Youcheng, of course, knows how to drive. He didn't spend much time learning to drive and getting his driver's license. The children were all excited to ride in the car.

Lin Zhaoxi and Lin Zhaomei were fine, but Lin Zhaoqing was quite excited even though he was going to take the college entrance exam later, and he was also very happy about the car.

The two boys, Lin Zhaoman and Lin Zhaohuan, were naturally very excited. Although they had ridden in taxis before, they were still quite happy to have a car at home, which was not a bicycle.

"Dad, I want to learn to drive when I grow up!"

Lin Zhaohuan looked at Lin Youcheng excitedly and said, "I want to drive too!"

Lin Youcheng smiled and nodded, saying, "You can learn it when you grow up."

Lin Zhaoxi had long known that her family was well-off, and that their situation was only getting better. So she wasn't particularly surprised to see this car, since they had seen quite a few in Beijing. However, she was still happy.

“Xi’er, you can learn if you want.” Lin Zhaoxi will be a junior in college next semester, and Lin Youcheng naturally thought that Lin Zhaoxi could learn to drive. However, Lin Zhaoxi obviously had no interest in it. She shook her head and said, “I don’t need to. I’m still in school. I can just ride a bicycle.”

Lin Youcheng was just saying that. He knew that if Lin Zhaoxi drove to school, it would be too high-profile, and he, as his father, would not agree. However, learning to drive was a different matter, and it was certainly possible for him to learn to drive.

Although the family now has a car, it doesn't seem to have changed much in the eyes of the children. It should be said that their father, Lin Youcheng, has always provided them with a good life.

After the initial excitement, things gradually calmed down. In particular, the children in the family were not unsophisticated and could not possibly sit around the car for twenty hours a day. They all had to go to school, and Lin Youcheng did not drive them to school. Life continued as usual.

However, after things calmed down at the courtyard, a storm was brewing within the circle.

It's fair to say that there are no secrets in the industry, especially since Lin Youcheng has bought a car. Naturally, people will discuss how Lin Youcheng, the screenwriter, has written another movie script for a Hollywood company.

Even if Lin Youcheng wanted to keep it a secret, Warner Bros. wouldn't hide anything, and news would naturally spread in the United States. Warner Bros. had partnered with Lin Youcheng and acquired two of his scripts, both of which were science fiction films, which naturally attracted widespread media coverage from abroad.

After all, Lin Youcheng, this screenwriter from the East, is a science fiction writer who has won the Hugo Award. The imagination in his previous scripts was quite amazing. Now, after realistic stories like "Seaside City" and "The Hunt," he has written a science fiction script. How could this not shock a group of American media? Especially since there were reports that Lin Youcheng's script copyright fee was nearly four million US dollars, which also attracted a lot of media coverage in Hollywood.

Warner Bros.' reason for releasing this news was naturally for publicity, especially since the script for "Coherence" needed promotion. It can be said that Warner Bros. was already promoting that the science fiction script written by Lin Youcheng was also related to comets, which can be seen as a deliberate attempt to capitalize on the news of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's impact on Jupiter.

Of course, the remaining film production and promotion actually have little to do with screenwriter Lin Youcheng. Even if Warner Bros. bought the script but didn't make it, it wouldn't have any impact on Lin Youcheng.

Because news came from the United States, people in the domestic film industry naturally learned that Warner Bros. had spent nearly four million US dollars to buy the film adaptation rights to the two screenplays written by Lin Youcheng, which was undoubtedly a huge shockwave.

That's right, it really was a huge shockwave in the science fiction world, leaving a group of literary and film workers in China stunned.

What is dimensionality reduction attack?

This is a true example of dimensional reduction attack!
Such astonishing news naturally spread; there's no way around it, given how impactful it is.

Although Yu Hua had long known that he couldn't compare to Lin Youcheng, and he was already quite satisfied with his novel's copyright fee of over 30,000, he still couldn't help but gape and be speechless when he learned that Lin Youcheng's two scripts had actually received four million US dollars in copyright fees.

It’s really exaggerated!

"Youcheng, he's really amazing!"

Yu Hua opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

Looking at Yu Hua's shocked expression, Cheng Hong smiled and said, "He received a million-dollar manuscript fee before, so this isn't too surprising."

"Yes, it's not too surprising... but it's four million dollars!"

Yu Hua couldn't even imagine how much money this was. It was almost a thousand times the copyright fee for his novel. Was the capitalist world abroad really that rich and that ridiculously wealthy?

Even Yu Hua, who had never thought about going abroad, felt a little dazed.

There's no way around it; anyone in the industry who knows this number has their heart pounding.

When Zheng Xiaolong from the Yanjing Television Art Center heard from his wife in the United States about the copyright fees Lin Youcheng earned at Warner Bros. in Hollywood, he was astonished and exclaimed, "It has to be Lin Youcheng! His film scripts are becoming more and more valuable abroad!"

These words naturally drew nods of agreement from everyone else in the production center.

"I really never expected this!"

"He's won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, so the price will definitely keep going up. Before, it was a million dollars, but now these two screenplays seem to be doing alright."

Zheng Xiaolong forced a smile and said, "Yes, yes, it's alright!"

This is more than just okay!
In Zheng Xiaolong's eyes, Lin Youcheng, the writer and screenwriter, would definitely have been a capitalist in the past. Of course, Lin Youcheng may have become a capitalist long ago now.

After all, the copyright fees they earned were truly outrageous and terrifying, and this wasn't the first time.

While Zheng Xiaolong was shocked, he was also envious. After all, anyone who heard of such numbers would be envious. However, they all knew that it was something they could never be envious of, because the American film companies only recognized the stories written by Lin Youcheng, and the stories written by Lin Youcheng were truly excellent.

Lin Youcheng was well aware that such an outrageous copyright fee was quite impactful, but it was nothing in the United States. Moreover, in Lin Youcheng's view, he had many good scripts that he could sell to Hollywood companies.

He's just accumulating initial capital for his children, just like how "Interstellar" and "Coherence" were simply ways to earn capital for them.

Lin Youcheng was even more aware that besides earning foreign exchange through script exports, there were many other investments that could be made. In the future, his children could not only collect rent, but also perhaps receive dividends from some companies.

Of course, for screenwriter Lin Youcheng, the best investment right now is to export the script and then invest in it domestically, since the price offered by the United States is indeed very good.

A father's love is like a mountain, and clearly, the fatherly love in Lin Youcheng's case is as precious as a mountain of gold.

That's right, fatherly love is like a mountain of gold, not a mountain of silver.

(End of this chapter)