Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 66 Purchasing the Copyright of Tailfish
Yanjing, Guanshan Cafe.

This café, located near the Imperial College, is one of the favorite spots for screenwriters and writers.

Half-withered ivy climbs the old gray brick wall. When you push open the door, the copper bell rings softly. Facing you is an entire wall of old books, from Lu Xun's collected works to Kafka, you can find everything.

There were no ceiling lights in the room; only brass wall lamps and glass-shaded table lamps on the wooden table provided warm light. The air was filled with the aroma of Blue Mountain coffee and the ink of old book pages.

Very stylish...

Jiang Ye chose an elmwood table by the window. He wore an indigo tie-dye shirt with fine vine patterns embroidered on the cuffs.

Two buttons on his collar were casually undone, making him look like a young man who had just run off from a film set.

The wind chimes tinkled softly.

The woman who entered was around 30 years old. She wore thin-rimmed glasses, a navy blue cocoon coat over a simple black turtleneck sweater, and well-tailored wide-leg pants.

"Big Tailfish!"

When Jiang Ye got up, he knocked over a bookmark, and the scattered sticky notes were full of storyboard sketches of Qin Fang and Si Teng's scenes together. "Sister Xue Man said you often come here to revise your manuscripts, so I booked a table three days in advance."

The tailfish caught a glimpse of the topmost sketch.

Si Teng leaned against the carved window of the old teahouse, the hem of her cheongsam transforming into vines that entwined around the window frame—a famous scene from Chapter 14 of the original novel.

She suddenly chuckled: "Someone contacted me last month, and they couldn't even tell if Si Teng was a demon or a human."

"Because they came here for the title of 'top of Jinjiang Literature City'."

Jiang Ye opened Chapter 37, the margins of which were covered with annotations.

"I came here because of the eight words: 'Born to be a vine, yet capable of becoming a demon.'"

Tailfish accepted the "Ink Fragrance" coffee brought by the waiter, and a touch of youthful enthusiasm suddenly mingled with the aroma of cinnamon.

She looked at the hand-embroidered vine pattern on Jiang Ye's shirt and suddenly asked, "Have you read any of my other books?"

“Yes, I have.” Jiang Ye smiled and said frankly, “Actually, I’m your reader. I’ve been following you since ‘Kaifeng Tales of the Strange’.”

"The way Duanmu Cui protects Zhan Zhao in that book, even though she is a high and mighty god, always shows a soft heart in the details. This contrast is particularly touching."

"Later, when I read 'The Bell of Resentment,' I saw the part where Ji Tangtang was walking at night in the Gobi Desert. You wrote that the wind was blowing the tent loudly, and the sound of the bell mixed with resentment was like crying. That feeling of loneliness and strength made me think that if this story could be made into a film, it would definitely be very exciting."

All of this was preparation before Jiang Ye came to meet him. Sometimes, when discussing cooperation, money is only part of the equation; mutual understanding is also very important.

Especially some literary writers.

Wei Yu paused, her hand holding the water glass still, and when she looked up, her eyes showed a hint of approval: "Looks like you really have seen it."

“Of course,” Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow. “I’m currently watching ‘Half-Demon Si Teng’. Miss Si Teng’s attitude of ‘I don’t need anyone else to interfere with what I do’ is simply the coolest female lead I’ve ever seen.”

"Those who want to change her into a naive and innocent character probably didn't understand what you wrote at all."

These words really struck a chord with the tailfish.

"I'm here today to discuss the film and television adaptation rights for 'Half-Demon Siteng' with you," Jiang Ye said, getting straight to the point. "I know many companies have approached you, and their offers may be higher than mine, but I dare say no one understands better than me what young people want to watch these days..."

He looked into Wei Yu's eyes, his tone calm yet resolute: "In your stories, whether they are about demons or gods, they all possess a vibrant energy, which is the most important thing that cannot be lost."

"I dare not say that I can do it perfectly, but at least I can guarantee that Si Teng will still be the same Si Teng. Her pride, her shrewdness, and her clear-headedness will all be there."

"..."

Ultimately, Jiang Ye and Wei Yu reached an agreement on the film and television rights of "Half-Demon Si Teng" and completed the transaction for 800 million yuan.

Recognition is one thing, but the money also needs to be paid properly.

This is the price of a currently popular IP!
However, the most expensive domestic copyright should be Tong Hua's "Chang Xiang Si". It is said that Yang Mi's company, Jaywalk Studio, bought the film and television rights in 2017 for 8 million yuan...

And they didn't even let Dilraba Dilmurat play the role, they let Yang Zi play it instead...

To each their own!
The scope of this copyright transfer explicitly includes film and television adaptation rights, as well as information network dissemination rights and television broadcasting rights.

The former ensures that the completed work can be exclusively or non-exclusively distributed through internet platforms, while the latter provides a legal basis for television broadcasting. Why do people who don't understand the entertainment industry have to pay tuition to get in?

For example, buying copyrights is never as simple as just obtaining an "adaptation license." The ownership of distribution rights is the core factor in bringing the series to market.

Without it, even if a finished product is produced, it cannot be legally sold to television stations or video platforms.

Take "The Untamed" for example. Although the production company, Xinpeng Media, held the rights to use the original novel and the drama title, it did not have the complete copyright of the drama itself. As a result, it was sued by its partners when it authorized offline exhibitions. Ultimately, due to the copyright flaws, related projects were implicated, and even the script copyright of "The Sea in My Dreams" was frozen, which directly affected the normal broadcast.

Jiang Ye also spent another 100 million yuan to invite Wei Yu to become the screenwriter for the production team.

With his super memory, he could actually do the job himself.

But Jiang Ye still spent the money because he wanted to build a relationship with Wei Yu and become partners.

Since Yun Nan returned, Jiang Ye has done two things.

First, they used the revenue-sharing contract for the "Princess Promotion" platform and the music copyright of "Cool" as collateral to obtain a loan from Yanjing Bank.

A total of 1600 million yuan in credit was obtained!

He also pre-sold the commercial performance rights of "Liang Liang" to Taihe Music, thus cashing out 200 million yuan in working capital.

A total of 1800 million yuan—this is the leverage he plans to use to sway two film crews!

The second option is to buy copyrights.

Wei Yu is one of the authors he values ​​highly; the female protagonists in her novels are all very well-developed.

Sweetie Da, the epitome of wealth and beauty in "Si Teng"; Liu Haochun, the author of "Seven Hearts"; Reba Nie Jiuluo, the author of "The Rise of the Owl"; Meng Ziyi, the author of "The Mystery of the Three Lines"; and Nini Ye Liuxin, the author of "Westward Out of Yumen"...

As long as the first collaboration goes smoothly and the ratings explode, Jiang Ye is confident that he can tie Wei Yu to his chariot!

After all, her other hit film, "The Bell Ringer," should be starting filming soon. When it's released, it's a complete flop, with a Douban rating of only 3.2!

The casting was poor, and the adaptation was drastically altered, resulting in severe criticism!

Jiang Ye will use "Si Teng" to prove who is the man who understands Wei Yu's novels the most!

……

That evening, Jiangying Media

At nine o'clock in the evening, the entire office building was so quiet that only the hum of the central air conditioning could be heard.

The employees had all gone home, but the light in the boss's office was still on.

When Bai Lu pushed the door open, Jiang Ye was leaning back in his office chair with his eyes closed, resting his long legs on the edge of the table, twirling a pen in his hand.

Hearing the noise, he didn't even lift his eyelids: "You're here?"

"Boss!" Bai Lu slammed her bag on the sofa. "I've been moving props at the drama troupe every day this week, my legs are about to break! Why did you call me here so late at night?"

"I need my own living space too!"

"You've been working so hard? Do you want the boss to give you a leg massage?"

"Get out of my way! What's going on?"

The two have been working together for a long time now, and they have become increasingly familiar with each other.

In private, Jiang Ye would often tease her, and Bai Lu was very good at taking jokes...

Jiang Ye slowly opened his eyes: "The company is about to assemble a new production team. As the pre-selected actress, shouldn't you familiarize yourself with the business beforehand?"

(P.S.: Just to clarify, this is a normal story about the entertainment industry, and many big-name actresses will appear. It's not that the author is trying to create a bulldozer.)

There are basically only 3 or 4 main female characters, and their storylines will be the most numerous.

But there will definitely be some that come to you!
Interacting with top actresses is a normal part of the story; there will be partners, and later, rivals who will fight over resources!
(End of this chapter)