Film and Television Copyright Sale

"These are the works that have made it to the final selection round. Our magazine will organize the final judging then, and it will be broadcast live throughout. There will also be an awards ceremony on-site, and we welcome all teachers to attend," Fang Ning said.

The judges sat around the conference table, with the works printed on A4 paper laid out. Kuala Lumpur Affairs was unanimously recommended by everyone to enter the final selection.

"Hey, what's the background of this Digital Teacher? Why have I never heard of them before?" asked the judge sent by Goose Factory to Fang Ning.

Fang Ning said, "I don't know either. Maybe they only recently got the idea to start writing.

All I can tell you is that it's not an old author submitting under a different name."

After the initial judging meeting ended, the Goose Factory judge found an editor they had a good relationship with and obtained Chen Yuanguang's personal information.

The reason Science Fiction World had his personal information was because when submitting, one needed to sign an originality commitment, and then if the work won an award, they needed contact information to reach the author.

"Jenny, there's a good work in this Science Fiction New Star Competition that I think has great adaptation value, and the value of being made into a series IP.

I've sent you the specific work on WeChat Work, you can take a look. If you're interested, we can bypass Science Fiction World and sign a contract directly with the author.

Anyway, Science Fiction World only gets the publishing rights. We can get the film and television adaptation rights and the IP operation rights."

It was 2018. The Wandering Earth, which opened the first year of Chinese science fiction films, hadn't been released yet, and Shanghai Fortress, which closed the door again, was even further away.

Everyone had a concept of the film and television rights for science fiction works, knowing it was a gold mine, but no one in China had successfully mined it yet.

Jenny was the direct superior of the initial judging panel sent by Goose Factory, the Vice President of Goose Factory's Video Content Production Department, responsible for copyright operations and content production.

Jenny replied, "Okay, I'll take a look first and get back to you after reading it."

At eleven o'clock that night, Jenny replied, "Sign him. Talk to him directly. You can decide on anything within 1 million yuan yourself."

This was the tail end of the golden age of copyright operations, and big companies were still very generous with their money.

"Mr. Chen? I'm Guo Wei, a Senior Manager in Goose Factory's Video Content Production Department. You can call me David." Guo Wei called Chen Yuanguang the next morning.

Since he no longer had the pressure of writing 4k characters a day, Chen Yuanguang's schedule had returned to normal. He was already awake by nine in the morning.

"Hello, David," Chen Yuanguang said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Guo Wei's face darkened on the other end of the phone. Ever since he joined Goose Factory and took this English name, he disliked it the most when people called him David in Chinese. He suppressed his emotions: "Mr. Chen, you participated in the Science Fiction New Star Competition organized by Science Fiction World magazine and submitted a manuscript titled Kuala Lumpur Affairs, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"It's like this, we are very interested in the work you submitted for the Science Fiction New Star Competition.

We hope to purchase its film and television rights and also hope to reach a long-term cooperation agreement with you.

We hope to build Kuala Lumpur Affairs into an IP, a series of detective films.

This is our current idea. Would it be convenient for you to meet offline for further communication? If you are willing, I will add you on WeChat Work. My work position certification information is on it."

Guo Wei's English name was a bit plain, but he was efficient and thoughtful in his work, otherwise, he wouldn't have been in the position of Senior Manager.

Chen Yuanguang said, "Okay."

It was free money, no reason to refuse.

Guo Wei said, "After you accept my friend request on WeChat, please send me your specific address, and I'll book the soonest flight to come over."

In Guo Wei's mind, Kuala Lumpur Affairs could completely be compared to Detective Chinatown and be made into a series.

At five o'clock that afternoon, at the Starbucks in Yintai Square, Guo Wei met Chen Yuanguang. The first impression he had was, "Around 1.8 meters tall, handsome features, refined demeanor, not bad, not bad."

As a senior manager in the content production department of Goose Factory Video, Guo Wei had dealt with many celebrities, so for him to think someone was handsome, they had to be genuinely handsome.

"Mr. Chen, appearances can be deceiving. Are you still in school?" Guo Wei asked as he shook hands with Chen Yuanguang.

Chen Yuanguang replied, "Yes, at Jiang University right next door."

Guo Wei's interest in the deal grew stronger. The work could be promoted, and the author himself could also be promoted. The author could be marketed similarly to Han Han. When the movie was filmed, he could even be given the title of associate director. With some effort, it would definitely create a buzz.

"We hope to purchase the film and television rights to your work, Kuala Lumpur Affairs, for 500,000 yuan. We can guarantee that you will win an award in this Science Fiction New Star Competition.

Furthermore, regarding the operation of the copyrights for your future works in the cooperation agreement, Goose Factory Video will have priority."

Guo Wei didn't lower the price just because he was a student. In his mind, there was no need. The money was coming from Goose Factory, and any money he saved for Goose Factory wouldn't go to him anyway.

Reporting a budget of 1 million but offering 500,000 was standard practice, leaving room for the other party to negotiate.

Chen Yuanguang said, "In principle, I am willing to cooperate with Goose Factory. The money is also negotiable; 500,000 yuan is acceptable. I have one request: I greatly admire Mr. Michael Levitt and hope Goose Factory can arrange a private meeting for me with Mr. Levitt. Half an hour would be enough."

This was Chen Yuanguang's core objective. As an online novelist, he was somewhat connected to the copyright operation circle. A price of 500,000 yuan was already quite high; at most, he was a new author.

Although Chen Yuanguang estimated that if he signed the copyright sale agreement with Goose Factory, Goose Factory would immediately find ways to ensure he won the first prize so they could proceed with their operations.

Guo Wei thought for a long time before remembering who Michael Levitt was. "No problem. Mr. Levitt is only here because of Goose Factory's reputation. I will communicate with my colleagues."

The objective was achieved just like that. It seemed very simple. He was just one step away from getting a signed recommendation letter from a Nobel laureate – proving his academic ability in front of the other party.

But for someone who had received a Knowledge Download from four hundred years in the future, was this a difficult task?

"Then you can send me the specific cooperation contract when it's ready. I'll have a lawyer review it for me, and we'll sign it after there are no issues," Chen Yuanguang said.

The lawyer was from the law firm that his mother's foreign company cooperated with. Before coming, Chen Yuanguang had roughly explained the situation to his mother, and his mother suggested finding a lawyer to help him review the contract to avoid being taken advantage of.

Guo Wei said, "No problem. Also, I wonder if you are interested in signing a contract with Goose Factory?

We can package you as a celebrity author, operating across all platforms like Weibo, WeChat official accounts, and so on."

Half a year ago, Chen Yuanguang would have agreed without hesitation, but now, he had to consider it.

"I don't have the energy to manage readers, and even less energy to specifically manage Weibo. Moreover, Kuala Lumpur Affairs, this novella of only sixty thousand words, is probably not enough to package me as a celebrity author, right?"