Chapter 418 Users exceed 100 million
The person who came to negotiate the business was Legendary Pictures, who very sincerely offered a price of US$500,000.
The US$500,000 includes the rights to film the film, as well as the rights to "commercialization" related to the "Mars" IP.
Don't think that the price of half a million dollars is low. In 1999, when Time Warner bought the rights to Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", it also spent half a million dollars.
This was a quite high price at the time, so much so that within Warner Studio, many executives did not understand it and complained that the deal was not worth it.
Later, the Harry Potter series became popular and became Warner's most profitable IP.
However, JK Rowling, the author of the original work, has a very large say in the film adaptation.
From choosing the film director to adapting the script, from the shooting location to the selection of actors, everything is executed according to her wishes.
From the beginning, Rowling was involved in almost every aspect of film production.
The price offered by Legendary Pictures at US$500,000 can be said to be full of sincerity.
You must know that in Qin Shaoyan's previous life, 20th Century Fox only spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy the copyright of this novel.
As a member of the advisory group, Xiong Xiaoge’s wife Luo Yan thinks the price is appropriate.
But Davis rejected the other party's offer, and Facebook and YouTube had a huge appetite.
Half a million dollars is a huge amount of money for an ordinary author, and the Hollywood name is also attractive enough, and it also has a great publicity effect on the novel itself.
But for Facebook and YouTube, this is just a small amount of money. What they want is influence and the huge value that this IP can contain.
Legendary Pictures’ offer obviously cannot satisfy Facebook and YouTube.
Davis asked the other party directly, "If we give you half a million dollars, can we participate in the production of the film?"
"No, no, no, of course not." Legendary Pictures The person in charge shook his head and refused.
Are you kidding? How could you get involved in such a thing?
Edward, the president of TNB, is more euphemistic, "We will provide part of the funds and be responsible for Internet promotion and marketing. We can cover and penetrate millions of readers in North America."
The person in charge of Legendary Pictures hesitated, "How much are you willing to provide?"
"It depends on your budget." Davis took over the topic, "We can provide one-third. Funds."
The person in charge of Legendary Pictures immediately replied: "We need to think about it."
Before Legendary Pictures could come up with anything, Paramount and 2. Tenth Century Fox followed suit.
One quote was US$350,000, and the other was US$400,000.
The offer was not high, but they were interested in Edward's proposal.
They don’t care about funding, they care about marketing on the Internet.
"The Martian" became popular throughout North America in a short period of time, and it also attracted two to three hundred thousand signatures requesting a movie adaptation, which is enough to illustrate the huge power of the Internet.
Of course they are not fools. For this book to become such a hit in a very short period of time, there are obviously promoters behind it.
By cooperating with the other party, they can enjoy this huge marketing channel, so they can't help but be tempted.
Paramount is currently holding the IP of "Transformers" and is preparing to release it in 2007. It wants to use the Internet to market it in advance and is eager to cooperate with "The Martian".
Twentieth Century Fox is very hesitant because they have a very expensive project on their hands, which is Cameron's "Avatar".
In 1994, James Cameron wrote an 80-page script for "Avatar" in just two weeks.
In August 1996, Cameron announced that he would begin filming "Avatar" after completing "Titanic", which would use synthetic or computer-generated actors, and the plan would cost $100 million. .
That was US$100 million in 1996. Fox gritted his teeth and agreed.
But then Fox swayed, remembering the painful experience of budget overruns and delays in Cameron's last film, "Titanic."
The budget of "Avatar" has reached 200 million US dollars, and there is a huge possibility of overspending.
Fox wants to adapt this novel into a mid- to low-cost movie, so as to make a big splash.
Legendary Pictures over there got the news and immediately came back to kill them, bringing Warner Brothers with them.
Because they have just signed a seven-year cooperation agreement with Warner Bros., which stipulates that both parties will jointly finance and produce 40 film and television works in the next seven years.
Once you have a competitor, the subsequent negotiations will be much easier.
Things that were previously non-negotiable have become negotiable.
After a week of back and forth, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. have won the film adaptation rights to "The Martian" for a nominal price of one million US dollars.
At the same time, the two parties have also reached in-depth cooperation in film promotion and distribution, and all parties are happy.
As soon as the news broke, the entire Internet became lively.
Science fiction fans in particular were even more excited, setting off waves of discussion on the Internet.
Even media reporters went to Legendary Pictures to interview the people in charge and asked them what they thought about the adaptation of the novel.
Even before the movie was even approved, public opinion was already building up, which made the people at Legendary Pictures feel like they were really making a lot of money.
So when being interviewed by reporters, Legendary Pictures naturally praised the novel and called it the greatest science fiction work in the first decade of the 21st century.
……
The news that the film rights to "The Martian" had been purchased by a Hollywood film company quickly spread back to China, and public opinion became even more heated.
Even CCTV broadcast a brief news, and several other major state media reported in full.
A large number of experts and scholars have stood up and announced that they have long been optimistic about the novel "I Grow Potatoes on Mars".
Being adapted into a Hollywood movie marked the rise of Chinese science fiction. Since then, Chinese science fiction has entered a new era.
The title of China's greatest science fiction novel was all mentioned, which even Qin Shaoyan himself was stunned to see.
"Science Fiction World" magazine was very excited, because the novel was first published in their magazine, and the magazine also gained a lot of popularity, and was praised and rewarded by superior leaders.
The editor-in-chief immediately contacted Qin Shaoyan and asked him to reorganize the novel and then print it.
Qin Shaoyan could not care about the novel at this time. He also had to deal with the financing of Qvod.com.
At this time, Xiong Xiaoge was holding a stack of newspapers and asked with suspicion: "You didn't do these, right?"
"Mr. Xiong." Qin Shaoyan was helpless, " How can I do this? These are some of the top newspapers. I don’t have the background or ability to bribe them to hype me up.”
"But it's your ability to hype it up to this point." Xiong Xiaoge put down the newspaper casually, "The matter in Hollywood has been settled. Do you have a second step next?" "No." Qin Shaoyan said quite Xiong Xiaoge said with regret, "We haven't caught up with the good times now, so this IP is a loss."
"Is it still a loss?" Xiong Xiaoge felt that Qin Shaoyan was bragging a bit too much. .
“It took so much effort to sell it for so little money.” Qin Shaoyan sighed, “In another ten years, this IP will be worth at least one billion US dollars.”
“Qvod.com and YouTube is not listed on the stock market, and it has no stimulating effect on the stock price.”
"Marketing is a waste of money. It can only be regarded as losing money and making money."
"Okay, this time YouTube and Facebook can establish a cooperative relationship with Hollywood, which is already a good start." Xiong Xiaoge said was very optimistic, "Your plan has been very successful."
"Since Mr. Xiong feels If it succeeds, then give me money." Qin Shaoyan perked up and asked for money directly, "As soon as the financing is completed, I will announce that Qvod Films will start the development of the TV series "I Grow Potatoes on Mars."
"How to market is your business, I only look at the results." Xiong Xiaoge patted the newspaper on the table.
IDG led the investment with US$30 million this time, plus seven venture capital firms including Sequoia China and Capital Today, for a total of US$90 million.
Sequoia China’s Zheng Nan feels a little mixed. He now regrets why he didn’t vote more in the first round.
Now if you want to invest again, you have to spend more money. This time they spent a total of 15 million US dollars, which is the most except IDG.
In fact, Zheng Nan already started to regret it when he found out that Qvod.com owned the copyright to "I Grow Potatoes on Mars".
Qin Shaoyan's various dazzling operations next further deepened this feeling.
It’s nothing to sell the animation of the novel for two million dollars, but the most fatal thing is that Hollywood bought the film adaptation rights.
Zheng Nan couldn't blame Xiong Xiaoge because when Qin Shaoyan told him that Qvod.net was valued at US$900 million, Zheng Nan wished he could stay away from Qin Shaoyan.
You really dare to ask for it.
The premiums for video websites are indeed high now, but they are not as shameless as yours.
Now this time and that time.
Zheng Nan would have regretted it even more if Qin Shaoyan hadn't assured him that he would launch a hit IP again after Qvod went public.
The craze brought about by "I Grow Potatoes on Mars" did not subside quickly, but became more and more popular.
Not only is it highly discussed on the Internet, newspapers and magazines are constantly publishing relevant news.
This novel has become a topic of discussion among people on the streets. It can be seen that this novel is very popular in the industry.
Pirates naturally cannot let go of this opportunity. The genuine books have not yet been confirmed, and pirated books are already flooding the street stalls.
The mysterious author who has remained silent has naturally aroused everyone's curiosity, and countless reporters want to discover the author's identity.
"Science Fiction World" magazine was harassed endlessly, and even official leaders came to inquire, but the magazine was helpless.
Because they didn’t know who the author was, they all had to be negotiated and conveyed by Xun Ziliang.
Xun Ziliang has made it clear beforehand that the author does not want his identity to be exposed, so they respect the author's wishes and will not tell anyone.
The more mysterious it is, the more curious it is. Who is the author of "I Grow Potatoes on Mars" has become the hottest topic on the Internet.
Just when everyone was speculating, the Qvod website came out and announced to everyone that they had obtained full authorization for "I Grow Potatoes on Mars".
All previous animated version adaptations and Hollywood movie adaptations were run by them.
Their Qvod Film and Television Company has officially adapted "I Grow Potatoes on Mars" into a TV series and will invest a lot of money in the production.
This is the first time that the domestic TV drama industry has tried the science fiction genre. Qvod Film and Television Company said that they will spend five years carefully polishing it.
As soon as the news was released, the Internet became lively, and countless netizens followed suit.
They haven’t watched the domestic science fiction TV series yet, and now that they have the first person to try it, they are naturally encouraged.
However, the media is not very optimistic, including people within the film and television industry, who feel that Qvod's move is too risky.
Because there is no relevant production experience in China, whether the audience can accept science fiction TV series is also a question mark.
Moreover, this TV series is indispensable for watching special effects. The production cost remains high and it is easy to lose money.
However, the popularity of the novel "I Grow Potatoes on Mars" is too high, and the media and public opinion have praised it very highly. After all, it is a novel that is favored by Hollywood, and no one dares to make any accusations.
Amidst the praise, Qvod.com told the media that they will invest more funds in the future to create and develop high-quality domestic content.
In the next five years, Kuaibo.com will invest RMB 500 million in content production, hoping to create China's "Harry Potter" series of IPs.
Other colleagues in the video industry almost vomited blood after seeing the news.
They are troubled by the problem of piracy. Zhang Sohu's "anti-piracy alliance" attacks everywhere, desperately blocking their applications, and finding faults from time to time.
If you cannot join the "Anti-Quabo Alliance", you will not be able to get the genuine film and television resource library of Kuaibo. If you cannot get the genuine resources, they will have no advertisers, and users will be lost quickly.
While colleagues continued to lose blood, Qvod.com became more and more popular, and was promoted by all major media through the popularity of a novel.
By November, the number of registered users of Qvod.com officially exceeded 100 million.
It’s even more uncomfortable to see your peers making money than them losing money!
In the anti-piracy alliance, Kuaibo.com is the leader, and Sohu Video has also taken a lot of share.
The strange thing is that Yiku.com, which has a deep background and deep wealth, not only did not gain any benefits, but also lost a lot of users.
Why is this happening?
Many people who run video websites are also a little strange. There seems to be something wrong with Yiku.com.
But no one has the time to pay attention to Yiku.com. They themselves can hardly live anymore.
Fortunately, Qvod.com still feels sorry for its peers. When its users exceeded 100 million, CEO Kou Hongfei announced that he would actively promote the "Anti-Piracy Alliance" camp and attract more video websites to join as soon as possible.
Afterwards, the anti-piracy alliance’s review was relaxed a lot. More than 50 video websites passed the review and were authorized to use Qvod’s genuine film and television resources.
But this is not without cost. Although the price is a bit small, it is a bit overwhelming.
......
On a certain day in November 2005, when Chinese netizens opened any video website, they were stunned
No matter which video website it was, including Qibo and Sohu Video , Tudou, 56...
Without exception, there is a particularly conspicuous video in the most prominent position on the homepage.
An advertisement for a game.
(End of this chapter)