raknovel Chapter 35 The Biggest Bets
Chapter 35 The Biggest Bets
Nothing major happened at the company over the weekend.
Xu Wen sent a message saying that Studio M had confirmed the video conference on Tuesday, and that the two people attending would be the same as last time: the production director and the copyright manager.
Zeng Hao replied with a single word: Okay.
Then I put down my phone and continued looking at what I was holding.
He spent the weekend going through Xue Zhijian's seven arrangements again, focusing on "Ugly Monster". The arrangement of this song was more complete than the others, but the way some sections were handled was the kind of heavy electronic style that was popular in 2015. It would sound dull on a variety show stage and needed to be redone to create more layers and make the emotional expression clearer.
He wrote this judgment in two lines and sent it to Xu Wen, asking Xu Wen to tell the arrangement team that the direction of the rework should prioritize the live feel and not pursue the studio effect.
Xu Wen replied: Understood, I will pass it on.
On Monday morning, Peng Bing sent the final version of the checklist for the start of filming. The schedules of all supporting actors were finalized, the costume and prop team was in place, the location was confirmed, and the production crew's notification had been sent out. Filming was scheduled to start on December 5th, with no changes.
Zeng Hao scanned the list, found no problems, and wrote two words at the bottom: Confirm.
Push it back.
He's done everything he could on the "Diamond Lover" storyline. Next up is Peng Bing's matter. He doesn't need to interfere with things on set after filming starts, unless there are unexpected problems. Otherwise, this storyline can be put on hold for now.
At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Zeng Hao sat in his office with a video conference window open on his computer screen.
Xu Wen sat next to him, while Chen Mo was on the other end of the line. On the other end of the screen were two people from Studio M: the production director was Park Jae-won, and the copyright manager was Kim Hye-jin. Both of them spoke Mandarin reasonably well, with Park Jae-won being more fluent. Kim Hye-jin would occasionally have to think before speaking.
Park Jae-won spoke first, exchanging a few pleasantries before getting straight to the point: "President Zeng, we have conducted a very detailed internal evaluation of this project, and the conclusion is that we are very optimistic about it. We hope to move forward as soon as possible, so today we would like to formally discuss the issue of the licensing fee."
Zeng Hao didn't reply immediately. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and then spoke, "Director Park, I've heard your evaluation conclusions. I'd like to ask a question first: what's the general direction of your internal restructuring plan?"
Park Jae-won was taken aback, not expecting Zeng Hao to not take the topic of licensing fees, but he still answered, saying that their adaptation idea was to retain the core setting of gender-swapped time travel, replace the protagonist's modern background with the environment of a local Korean chaebol family, add a subplot of family power struggles, and maintain the original emotional logic of the main plot.
After listening, Zeng Hao nodded. "The core character design cannot be changed. Xu Wen mentioned this to you before. Does the adaptation plan involve any adjustments to the protagonist's personality?"
Park Jae-won and Kim Hye-jin exchanged a few words in Korean in hushed tones. Then Park Jae-won said that the basic character traits would be retained, but some localized details would be made according to the aesthetics of Korean audiences, without changing the core character design.
"Okay," Zeng Hao said. "The clause about the outline being approved must be written into the contract. It's not just a formality. I will review it and make sure there are no problems before we can start filming. You need to be prepared for that."
Park Jae-won explained, then changed the subject, "President Zeng, regarding the licensing fee, we have a preliminary budget range internally, and we would like to discuss it with you."
Zeng Hao placed his hands on the table, remained silent, and stared at the screen.
Park Jae-won paused for a second and said, "Our budget limit is around 500,000 RMB, but of course this number is negotiable. We are sincere in our offer."
Five hundred thousand.
Zeng Hao went through the number in his mind without any change in expression or immediate rebuttal. He simply picked up his teacup again, took a sip, and put it down. "Director Park, I understand that you have budget pressure, but the figure of 500,000 is quite different from our expectations."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Go Princess Go has now garnered over 200 million views on iQiyi. This number is extraordinary for a web series in China. You should have seen this data when you did your internal evaluation. I believe the adaptation value of this IP in Korea is more than just 500,000."
Park Jae-won didn't speak immediately, but exchanged a few more words with Kim Hye-jin in a low voice.
Jin Huizhen spoke up this time, speaking slowly in Mandarin, but her meaning was clear: "President Zeng, we understand the value of this IP. 500,000 is our internal starting budget, not the final price. We have some room for negotiation, but we need to know your expectations so that we can negotiate internally."
Zeng Hao looked at the screen and went over Jin Huizhen's words in his mind.
The other party is using the phrase "internal negotiation," which means they are not short of money, but need a figure to report back to their superiors. This is a common softening tactic in negotiations, aiming to get the other party to make an offer first, and then to work on their figures.
He doesn't intend to go along with this rhythm.
"I don't have a rush to finalize this figure today," Zeng Hao said calmly. "The copyright of 'Go Princess Go' is in my hands and won't run away. You go back and discuss it internally, and give me the most sincere figure you can offer. I will then judge whether we can continue to negotiate and how to negotiate."
Park Jae-won was silent for a few seconds. "President Zeng, could you give us a reference range so that we can have a direction internally?"
"Director Park," Zeng Hao said, "if I give you a range, your internal discussion will inevitably result in the lower limit of that range, which is inefficient for both of you. You should provide the actual figures, and I will make the judgment. That will be faster."
There was silence on the other end of the screen for almost five seconds.
Park Jae-won spoke, his tone a little more relaxed than before, "Okay, Mr. Zeng, we'll discuss this internally and give you an answer by this Friday at the latest."
"Sure," Zeng Hao said. "We'll keep in touch with Xu Wen."
The meeting ended, and the screen went black.
Xu Wen closed the meeting minutes notebook. "President Zeng, what if their return figures are still around 500,000?"
"No," Zeng Hao said. "They didn't come here today to try and break up. 500,000 is their bottom line. If they find me, they'll raise the price themselves. Just wait."
Xu Wen nodded, put the notebook into his bag, and left.
The connection with Chen Mo had already been lost. This middleman was sensible and didn't say a word during the entire meeting; he just waited for the result.
Zeng Hao wasn't in a hurry at all.
What does the number 500,000 signify?
This suggests that Studio M internally values this copyright even more than they appear to, otherwise they wouldn't have flown over twice specifically for the meeting.
They themselves wrote the words "full sincerity" in their letter of intent, but now they're using 500,000 to test the waters. This in itself is a message, indicating that they're betting that Zeng Hao is eager to monetize this IP.
This is his biggest bargaining chip.