Exciting 1979!

Chapter 290 Overseas Copyright Development of "The Lion King" (Seeking Subscriptions)
"Let me introduce you. This is Sarah Brightman, the singer of 'Moonlight Shadow.' She is only 21 years old and is a talented singer and musical actress."

"I admit that your song is very well written, but paired with Sarah's perfect voice, it is a perfect match, which is why the song has such explosive power. It not only entered the Billboard 100 singles in the United States, but also directly broke into the top ten in the UK. Of course, Lennon also deserves credit, and everyone still misses him."

She then told Wei Ming, "Sarah is very interested in you. Because of Mr. Why's reputation in the children's book industry, she found me through the publishing company. When she learned that you were my ex-lover, she praised my taste and felt sorry for our breakup. After drinking coffee at Coffee House twice, we became friends."

Wei Ming can only say that Melinda made the right friend, and she won't have to worry about finding people to buy her songs anymore. Brightman also made the right friend, so it's a win-win-win situation.

However, Melinda later told him that it was a win-win-win situation.

The fourth person was Andrew Lloyd Webber.

This guy is amazing. He's only 33 years old this year. He's a musical composer who founded his company before he was 30 and is one of the largest theater operators in London.

At that time, his company was rehearsing the musical "Cats," which he personally produced and adapted from the children's poem collection "The Old Possum's Modern Cat Book" by British poet T.S. Eliot.

Even people who aren't interested in musicals have probably heard of this musical, which once held the record for the most performances on Broadway, and even star Taylor Swift starred in the movie version.

This record was later surpassed by another more famous musical, The Phantom of the Opera, which was also composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

There is also a so-called "Big Four" in the musical theatre world, namely "Cats", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Les Misérables" and "Miss Saigon", with Andrew Lloyd Webber holding two of the spots.

At that time, the fledgling singer Sarah Brightman was rehearsing for the musical "Cats," and a few years later she would become the lead actress in "The Phantom of the Opera."

Crucially, she was Andrew Lloyd Webber's second wife, whom he married a few years later; she was his second wife both forwards and backwards.

As for how far things had progressed between Sarah and the married man Andrew, Wei Ming had no idea.

But Melinda wrote in the letter: "Sarah also loves the story of The Lion King. She recommended the fairy tale to musical theatre director Andrew Lloyd Webber, the founder of The Real Goods, a company that develops musicals."

“Andrew is very interested in this work. How about it? Are you interested in bringing this story to the stage of a musical first? I also sent you a copyright licensing agreement this time. If you are interested, you can authorize me to handle it for you. I only want 20%. Don’t think it’s expensive. I also need to hire a professional lawyer. You have no idea how expensive lawyer fees are.”

Wei Ming couldn't help but chuckle. He wouldn't care about more than 20%, he was always generous to women, and Melinda had helped him a lot. However, there were some things he needed to clarify beforehand.

Licensing is certainly an option, after all, The Lion King was later made into a musical, and its influence was comparable to the world's four major musicals, and it was a great success.

However, the musical version cannot bypass its own licensing for other derivative works, such as movies and animations; this must be written into the contract.

You can't just create a musical and suddenly the IP is yours, and Hollywood can directly obtain the license from you to make a movie. That won't do.

Besides discussing the copyright development of "The Lion King," Melinda also mentioned the translation progress of "Rubik's Cube? Anyone Can Play It," which should be completed this month.

"Rubber cubes are selling like hotcakes in Europe right now, and we're working overtime, translating and illustrating simultaneously, afraid that a similar book will be published before us. Our advantage is that your name is in the author's column, Mr. Why."

The implication is that Wei Ming has become a very useful brand, even if he is only a co-author.

Wei Ming took out a letter, intending to tell Melinda his thoughts and send her Jurassic Park so she could try translating it. However, he felt the novel wasn't suitable for a picture book and that it would be better to publish it as a novel.

He also received a letter from Lao Wan of Science Fiction World magazine. Although the story of the more than 50,000-word manuscript that had been completed was relatively complete, the story of Jurassic Park was indeed not over.

Therefore, he will continue to create Jurassic Park 2 and 3, and continue writing until a new consortium is ready to take over the renovation of Jurassic Park and name it "Jurassic World" before ending the story.

Wei Ming didn't know if Melinda herself was capable of translating a novel with science fiction and thriller elements and many technical terms. If she wasn't, Wei Ming believed she would help him find a more suitable translator.

Aside from her tendency to show off in sexual matters, Melinda has always been self-aware in other areas.

Wei Ming had just started writing his letter when he heard a knock on the door. Knowing it was Sister Lin, Wei Ming quickly went to open the door, pulled her in, and pinned her against the wall for a deep kiss.

After a long period of oxygen deprivation, Zhu Lin finally pushed Wei Ming away, her whole body going limp.

"I came here to listen to music, but where's the music?"

Wei Ming started playing a record, then sat on the sofa with Zhu Lin in his arms. Wei Ming sat on the sofa, and Zhu Lin sat on Wei Ming's back.

"Oh dear, don't get handsy, you're defiling the art."

Wei Ming: "I only want to defile you. Of course, in my heart you are a work of art."

Zhu Lin was very pleased with Wei Ming's sweet words, but she still patiently listened to the whole song.

"Did you really write this? Did you write the lyrics too?"

"Of course, you think those English classes I audited at Peking University were for nothing? Generally speaking, the English level of students in the Spanish department is not as good as mine."

Zhu Lin thought the main reason was that she had an ex-girlfriend to practice with. She always felt that the surrounding environment was very important for language. For example, because her grandmother spoke Shandong dialect and her father occasionally spoke it, she naturally had the ability to speak Shandong dialect, which made her feel very comfortable when filming in Shandong.

Wei Ming looked at his fingers and smiled slightly. Sister Lin blushed and said, "Carry me inside."

This time, Wei Ming simply carried her on his shoulder, just like a bandit king snatching his wife.

However, Zhu Lin's gaze suddenly shifted and she saw the outer packaging of a package. She had seen it before; it looked like something only overseas packages would have. Damn it, that foreign woman is starting to seduce men from halfway around the world again.

I wonder if Gong Xue knows that you need to take good care of your home while you're in Yanjing!

More than an hour later, Zhu Lin and Wei Ming lay on the bed, both badly injured. The battle had been so intense that Wei Ming was even worried that the elderly couple next door might hear it.

But it felt really good. After resting for a while, Wei Ming pulled Sister Lin up and said, "Let's go have lunch. It's already past one o'clock."

Zhu Lin nodded; the strenuous exercise she had just done had completely exhausted her.

However, just as the two finished dressing and were about to leave, the door opened, and a very energetic little old lady appeared in front of them.

"Grandma!"

Wei Ming was startled. "Grandma, why do you like to block your grandson so much? You did the same thing with Gong Xue last time."

Zhu Lin hid directly behind Wei Ming and nervously whispered, "Hello, Grandma." They had met at Yunyun's wedding.

However, my grandmother didn't see it as clearly as Mr. and Mrs. Wei did at the time.

But today she finally understood that her grandson was capable, and that the girl was incredibly beautiful.

"Oh, hello, hello, Xiao... Xiao Zhu, right?" She remembered there was also Xiao Gong. "I, I came back to get something, I'll be going now."

Before they could react, Grandma jogged away, looking back as she ran.

Zhu Lin gently patted Wei Ming: "It's all your fault. What's wrong with coming to Tuanjiehu to listen to music? You had to come here. Grandma is bound to overthink things."

“How can you call it wild thoughts? We really did act wildly. We’re allowed to act wildly, but we can’t let others think wildly?” Wei Ming hugged Sister Lin and kissed the tip of her nose, looking quite self-righteous. “Okay, it’s alright. Let’s go, let’s go eat.”

Actually, there was something going on. When the whole family was having dinner that evening, my grandmother mentioned that she wanted to go back to her hometown.

Her parents even asked her if she was unhappy staying here.

Grandma said that the family is raising so many quails, and her eldest aunt has difficulty walking, so she wants to go back and help her eldest uncle share the burden.

Wei Ming knew these were all excuses; his grandmother was just afraid that he would delay her grandson's affairs. So he advised, "Grandma, the rainy season is in two months. Your rheumatism has finally gotten better. I'm afraid it will flare up again if we go back."

Speaking of the rainy season, Wei Ming remembers that Sichuan will experience severe flooding this summer, and Ya'an is also in the flood-prone area, so he is even more worried about letting his grandmother go back.

"Besides, we don't feel comfortable letting you travel alone by train or plane. If you insist on leaving at this time, I will have to take leave to accompany you."

"No, no, oh dear, I'll stay a little longer then." Grandma gave in. Actually, she was also reluctant to part with her daughter. They had been separated for twenty years, and she wanted to make it up to her.

After finishing her grandmother's question, Xiaohong added, "Brother, I signed up for the high jump, long jump, and table tennis at the student sports meet tomorrow. You have to cheer me on!"

Wei Ming: "I'm not only cheering you on, I'm also a referee, a referee for the women's table tennis team. But how's your table tennis playing?"

"Anyway, I'm unbeatable in the dorm," Xiao Hong said proudly.

Wei Ming: "Then let's go to school early tomorrow and have a match."

The next day, under the supervision of referees Liu Zhenyun and Liang Zuo, Wei Ming scored a zero against Wei Hong.

Liang Zuo exclaimed in amazement, "Ming-ge plays table tennis so well! This must be at the national team level!"

Liu Zhenyun shook his head: "Even the national team is probably no match for him. Look how strange his serve is. Xiao Hong always gets hit by his serve."

Wei Ming listened without blushing or skipping a beat. Table tennis techniques are constantly evolving and improving. Some of the serving techniques Wei Ming is currently using will be banned in the future. Those that can be banned must be extremely effective, such as Liu Pang's blocking serve.

Moreover, he has decades of experience playing table tennis in parks, which is quite extensive, but now that it's the era of smaller balls, he's a little uncomfortable.

Wei Hong was disheartened, but Wei Ming, with an air of superiority, said, "Want to learn? I'll teach you." Wei Hong nodded, "I want to learn that behind-the-back catch move, it's so cool!"

Wei Ming sternly said, "Those are all fancy moves, not practical. The most important things in table tennis are three words: receiving, neutralizing, and serving. However, receiving and neutralizing require long-term and continuous practice, and it is difficult to learn them in a short time. I will teach you how to serve instead."

After an hour of intensive training, Wei Hong's skills improved rapidly, and she won a championship in the women's table tennis competition that afternoon. However, she did not make it to the finals in the high jump and long jump.

From then on, Wei Hong's interest in table tennis increased greatly. She felt that she was very talented and that she might become a table tennis star like Tong Ling and Cao Yanhua.

The 36th World Table Tennis Championships just concluded a few days ago in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. The Chinese table tennis team swept all seven titles: men's team, women's team, men's singles (Guo Yuehua), women's singles (Tong Ling), men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. This victory signifies China's dominance in the world of table tennis, where Brazilians simply couldn't even make it to the finals.

Therefore, table tennis was extremely popular at the time, and newspapers were full of reports about Guo Yuehua, Cai Zhenhua, and others. Two days later, a conference was held in Beijing to welcome the table tennis delegation back victorious.

To satisfy Xiaohong's passion for table tennis, and to fulfill the whole family's love for the sport, Wei Ming and Lao Wei cleaned up a room in the courtyard house and bought a standard wooden table tennis table. When the parents were bored, they could play table tennis at home to exercise, and the grandmother would occasionally play a few rounds as well.

That night, under the cover of darkness, Wei Ming took Gong Xue to the courtyard house on his motorcycle.

She has finished filming her scenes at the Beijing Film Studio and is now going to northern Jiangsu to film the final parts.

Even though they were about to part ways, she couldn't bear to let Xiao Wei miss out on the food. Besides, she had slept with Zhu Lin yesterday and heard Zhu Lin tell her about how their grandmother had caught them red-handed at the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

Not to be outdone, Gong Xue also recounted how he and Wei Ming were cornered in the bedroom by their grandmother: "We were still together at the time."

The speaker blushed and the listener was panting heavily; indeed, the more unconventional the sexual matter, the more stimulating and moving it becomes.

Two once pure and beautiful girls were corrupted by Xiao Wei.

Today, Wei Ming brought Gong Xue to the courtyard house. First, he showed her the table tennis room, and the two even played two games.

When playing against Sister Xue, Wei Ming automatically adjusts his skill level to match hers; otherwise, it's pointless to play when one always scores and the other always loses.

As the game progressed, Sister Xue seized an opportunity and delivered a powerful dunk.

The ball didn't go ashore; it hit Wei Ming directly in the crotch.

Wei Ming let out a wail, and Sister Xue immediately put down her racket and went to check on him. Her concern clouded her judgment, and she fell into a trap.

Soon, under the lights of the ping-pong room, two figures began to sway on the table, accompanied by a dog howling at the moon.

Of course, her swaying figure wasn't limited to the ping-pong room; the bedroom was the main battlefield, where Gong Xue particularly liked the red bed and red quilt that resembled a bridal chamber.

Gong Xue left, and Zhu Lin also entered the film academy's acting training class. She filmed three movies, playing the lead role in two of them, and officially began to systematically learn acting with newcomers like Li Chengru, Zhang Guangbei, and Zhao Baogang.

Her arrival not only amazed the acting training class, but also made other departments of the film academy aware of her existence. Many male and female students from the 78 acting class and directing department even came to see her. Zhu Lin behaved generously and appropriately.

Until one day, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Xie Xiaojing from the directing department stopped her and wanted to invite her to make a movie.

Xie Xiaojing told her, "This is our graduation project, adapted from the novel 'The Locked Courtyard' by female writer Wang Anyi. We would like to invite you to play the female lead."

Tian Zhuangzhuang added, "We'll use our spare time."

Zhu Lin instinctively asked, "So, what works do you have?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang said embarrassedly, "This is our first work. We'll have another work after this is finished."

Cui Xiaoqin said, "Although we don't have any works, our photographer does. Zhang Yimou from the photography department participated in 'Niu and Niu Er,' which is very popular recently."

It wasn't exactly a huge hit, just average to above average, but it received excellent reviews from critics. The famous film critic Zhong Dianfei even wrote an article praising the film, and Wei Ming also accompanied Zhu Lin to see it once.

"Hey, isn't that Zhang Yimou? Old Zhang, come here." Xie Xiaojing pulled over Zhang Yimou, who looked like an old farmer. With the popularity of "Niu and Niu Er", Zhang Yimou, whose name was listed in the end credits, can be said to have one foot in the film industry. He is the person with the most film experience in the class.

For this year's directing department's graduation short film, Zhang Yimou was the first cinematographer confirmed, along with two others: Lü Yue and Hou Yong.

Coincidentally, Zhang Yimou also remembered Zhu Lin. During the wedding scene he filmed, there were two women, one on the left and one on the right, who were even more beautiful than the bride. One was the well-known actress Gong Xue, and the other was this Zhu Lin.

Upon hearing that they wanted to cast Zhu Lin as the female lead, Zhang Yimou quickly expressed his approval, saying that her face was very photogenic and could withstand scrutiny from all angles.

After being praised by them, Zhu Lin did not get carried away, but asked, "Do you have a script? I'd like to take a look at the script first."

Tian Zhuangzhuang told her, "We have already asked Wang Anyi to write the film script, and it will be sent to you as soon as possible."

"Alright then." Zhu Lin thought she would make a decision after seeing the script.

She stayed at Tuanjiehu that day and told Xiao Wei about it.

Unexpectedly, Tian Zhuangzhuang and his group still approached Sister Lin, a student in the advanced training program. He felt that it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. The current Tian Zhuangzhuang and others were definitely inexperienced, and the things they produced would only be barely watchable. However, these directors, cinematographers, and art directors from the class of '78 would occupy a large part of the film industry's ecosystem in the future, and getting to know them would bring many benefits.

Of course, even without them, there was still herself. Wei Ming had been keeping an eye on new film information from major film studios across the country for her.

Moreover, it's just a short film, so it doesn't take much time.

Wei Ming told her to make her own decision. He said he had asked her to meet him here today to tell her that he was going to Hangzhou next week.

"This year's Hundred Flowers Awards and the newly established Golden Rooster Awards are being held in Hangzhou. I have been invited to participate as a nominee and will probably be there for a week."

Zhu Lin was disappointed that he wasn't invited. "The Traitor" was also in the awards season, but it was of mediocre quality and was simply ignored. Sigh, West Lake must be very beautiful.

Gong Xue's "Good Things Take Time" had some presence, while "The Herdsman" was a strong contender for the award. Gong Xue was invited by the organizing committee to participate, but because the filming of "Mom, Love Me Again" had reached its most critical stage, she resolutely declined, wanting only to focus on filming the last few scenes well.

"The Hundred Flowers Award~" Zhu Lin's tone was full of envy. He had no hope of winning, so he was just waiting to see if Xiaoxue could win. He had already put out the voting slips in the "Popular Cinema" magazine he bought, and he had chosen Wei Ming, Gong Xue, and "The Herdsman".

Before Wei Ming set off for Hangzhou, this issue of Science Fiction World was released. The magazine's current circulation is only around 10,000 copies, which is no longer enough to cover costs, and it relies entirely on government funding to survive.

To boost sales, the editor-in-chief decisively printed the words "Wei's new work 'Jurassic Park'" in large print on the cover.

Moreover, in an era when book and magazine covers were supposed to be simple, they still put Liu Rulong's illustration of a Tyrannosaurus Rex with its gaping maw on the cover to attract readers.

Given the quality of Wei's novel, the first print run of this issue of "Science Fiction World" reached 20,000 copies.

Although many adults don't read Wei's novels, they have all heard of his name. He has a huge reputation for dominating the Western children's book market, and his books "The Toothless Tiger" and "If I Were Wu Song" have been broadcast on television and in theaters.

~
Zhang Guoli, 26, is an actor and announcer with the Chengdu Railway Art Troupe, while his wife, Luo Xiuchun, is a stage actress with the Sichuan People's Art Theatre.

Although he lived in Chengdu for many years, his life experience was very rich and went far beyond Chengdu. He was born in Tianjin, grew up in Beijing, and later went to Guizhou to work as a railway worker. Because of his standard Mandarin, he was selected by the railway art troupe to be an announcer.

But he was not content to be just an announcer, so he worked hard to arm himself with knowledge, and he liked to read more books, watch more movies, and make more friends in his spare time.

Today he went to Xinhua Bookstore and saw a magazine with dinosaurs on the cover. He probably wouldn't normally read such a magazine, but there have been many reports recently about dinosaur fossils being discovered in Zigong.

There are two major hot topics in Sichuan right now: one is dinosaur fever, and the other is supernatural abilities fever. The first child with supernatural abilities to be discovered and widely reported was also from Sichuan.

So Zhang Guoli picked it up casually, and only then did he notice the author's name, "Wei something".

"Isn't this guy a writer of fairy tales? How come he's writing science fiction?"

Driven by curiosity, Zhang Guoli picked up the magazine and started flipping through it, becoming completely engrossed in it.

Well written, so easy to read. No wonder he is a famous writer whose influence extends abroad. Even scientific knowledge is not obscure. He explains things in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and he makes good use of metaphors so that people like him with a low level of education can understand it.

Moreover, the idea of ​​resurrecting dinosaurs, which is not novel to seasoned science fiction readers, is an absolutely amazing concept to him. This guy is too imaginative, even thinking of an entire park.

"If this park existed, I would definitely visit it, as long as it's not too expensive," Zhang Guoli said happily.

"Hello comrade, I'll buy this magazine!"

Initially, Science Fiction World was mainly distributed offline in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas, and people outside could only subscribe through the post office to read it.

Liu Cixin, an 18-year-old graduating student from YQ No.1 Middle School, has just passed the preliminary college entrance examination and is now making the most of his time to prepare for the college entrance examination in July. His mother is a primary school Chinese teacher and attaches great importance to education.

However, he received a package from the post office today, sent by the editorial department of Sichuan Science Fiction Literature.

Liu Cixin exclaimed, "Oh dear!" He had forgotten to cancel!
He subscribed to Science Fiction World for half a year, but the magazine is becoming increasingly boring, and with the college entrance exam coming up soon, he probably won't subscribe again after the exam.

Well, since we're already here, let's take a look.

After finishing his homework that evening, he tore open the package and saw "Wei something" and a big dinosaur on the cover...

~
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(End of this chapter)