Chapter 346: Copyright Trading: A Short Separation is Better Than a New Marriage

Although the Venice Film Festival has already concluded, the busiest time for the copyright trading market has only just begun.

After all, films shortlisted for major awards generally choose to take a gamble, so the time for trading award-winning films is after the ceremony, which must last at least another week or so.

Wei Jin's art-house films have always been hot commodities pursued by distributors, and now that he has taken home the Jury Grand Prize, the price has risen even higher.

Before the awards ceremony, the intended price from distributors for Whiplash was as high as over 16 million USD, but Wei Jin did not agree and kept letting Chen Zhiming string them along; now is the time to reap the fruits of victory.

After a round of intense negotiations, a total of 12 distributors offered a sky-high price of 26.8 million USD.

Wei Jin was very satisfied with this figure; although it could not compare to the 31.6 million USD for The Hunt back then, that was a Golden Bear Award film, and it was an English-language film with a subject matter more suitable for Europe and America.

This Whiplash only won the Jury Grand Prize and is a musical art-house film, so a copyright transaction price of 26.8 million USD is definitely a high price.

It was not just the price of Wei Jin's award-winning film that soared; Xu Anhua's A Simple Life was no exception.

Previously, the cumulative quoted price was no more than 1.6 million USD, but after winning the Silver Lion Award for Best Actress, the price soared directly to 6.8 million USD.

Converted, compared to the production cost of 30 million, the copyright transaction alone realized a net profit of over 20 million RMB, and once it is released domestically, it can make another big profit.

At the same time, Li Gang from China Film Group also sent news that the matter of The Thieves had been settled, and the distributors who intended to close the deal had already signed the contracts.

"How much?" Wei Jin asked over the phone.

"It's still the reputation of President Wei that carries weight; excluding the copyright for the Southeast Asia region which wasn't sold, the other regions combined total 31.2 million USD!"

Hearing this number, Wei Jin was very satisfied; with a production cost of 180 million, the investment was recouped directly through copyright revenue, and the box office would be pure profit.

"By the way, President Wei, Han Dong's meaning is that since the film is about to be released, once we return to the country, we will directly make this figure public."

"That's fine."

Wei Jin had no objections to this request; the boost that copyright trading gives to a film's box office is undoubtedly huge, and for Han, it is also a glorious political achievement.

Having settled the film copyright matters, the subsequent administrative work such as contract signing was left to Chen Zhiming to handle.

Wei Jin took Liu Yifei and flew back to the country directly on a private jet; as for Bai Yu and Teacher Wang, the two had returned to the country first after the awards ceremony ended.

On the private jet, Liu Yifei was somewhat curious about this copyright transaction.

"Brother, can art-house films really sell for such a high price?"

Liu Yifei had never been exposed to copyright trading before, and in her view, those domestic art-house film directors who shout every day for theaters to give them more screenings must be losing money.

But according to the situation with Whiplash or A Simple Life, it can't be considered losing money, right?

Listening to the young girl's confusion, Wei Jin held her on his lap, his large hands stroking her full, slender, and delicate fair legs.

"Yifei, these are all illusions; Jia Kezhang and the others saying that is nothing more than to arouse public sympathy and earn more."

While Wei Jin's hands were being mischievous, he taught the young girl quite a bit of insider knowledge.

In fact, whether it is a commercial film or an art-house film, directors who can reach the top of their path can make money easily.

In terms of net worth alone, these art-house directors who have been selling copyrights abroad for a long time are really no worse than Feng Dapao and the others; it's just that they don't flaunt their wealth.

After listening to Wei Jin's explanation, Liu Yifei nodded thoughtfully, then thought of something else.

"Brother, don't come over these next few days; Changchang is staying at home for a few days, and I have to keep her company."

Hearing this, Wei Jin was stunned for a moment, then remembered the news he saw a couple of days ago and understood.

A few days ago, that New Journey to the West produced by Zhang the Bearded had more trouble.

An actor took the initiative to expose that she had been subjected to "hidden rules," and even the text messages from the assistant director acting as a go-between were exposed.

Subsequently, staff members who had been fired by the crew stood up to expose that out of 7 spider spirits, 6 had not been able to escape.

They had bumped into Zhang the Bearded coming out of several actresses' rooms at four or five in the morning several times, which was also the reason they were fired.

Once this news came out, the circle exploded, and the media swarmed in.

How could Zhang the Bearded admit it? Facing the reporters' interviews, he was furious, "It is simply nonsense."

Then this guy started playing hide-and-seek, letting Huayi come forward to issue press releases and lawyer letters.

The excited media couldn't find the bearded man, so they naturally started looking for the actors in the crew, and because Shu Chang had a cameo as the "Queen of Women's Kingdom," she had also been harassed incessantly these days.

She was planning to come to Liu Yifei's place to avoid the limelight.

"Alright, you keep her company."

Wei Jin had no objections to Liu Yifei's proposal; having pampered the young girl for nearly 20 days, the other concubines in the inner palaces should also be treated with equal favor.

"Brother, do you think this matter is true? I think that besides loving to hype things up, Producer Zhang is otherwise okay..."

"Heh, that's hard to say."

To be honest, regarding this news, Wei Jin actually felt it should be true; after all, this guy Zhang the Bearded is a core member of Huayi, and his playing around is not exactly subtle.

Back during The Return of the Condor Heroes, if it hadn't been for Liu Xiaoli and Chen Jinfei protecting her, the young girl would likely not have escaped being harassed either.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin felt it necessary to let the young girl see the dangers of the circle.

"Yifei, there are still several hours left before we return; let's go to the lounge to rest for a while..."

Feeling the hard object pressing against her thigh, how could Liu Yifei not know what was about to happen? Although she was a bit shy, she still nodded slightly and agreed; once they returned to Beijing, she would no longer be able to have the man all to herself, so she should seize the final moments.

Watching Wei Jin and Liu Yifei get up and head to the lounge, the flight attendant Chen Ting wore a sour expression; why didn't she have the chance to be alone with the boss? Several hours later, the private jet landed at Beijing Airport.

Wei Jin and his party emerged from the VIP passage. At this time, Liu Yifei was wearing a loose T-shirt, paired with ultra-short shorts and white sneakers, and with the flush of spring that had not yet faded from her face, the whole person radiated an incomparably youthful and beautiful aura.

The group walked through the airport, and the head-turning rate was very high; although security measures were already sufficient, it still caused quite a stir.

It was hard enough to walk out of the airport, but there were already a large number of reporters blocking the way outside.

Wei Jin had no way to deal with this; within the week after the Venice Film Festival ended, the reporters would likely be guarding here, and it was unavoidable.

Choosing a place with fewer people, Wei Jin accepted the reporters' interview.

"Director Wei, congratulations to Whiplash for winning an award. Can you tell us how much the copyright sold for?"

Wei Jin exclaimed "good fellow" internally; these reporters went straight to the point as soon as they came up, but unfortunately, he did not intend to announce it before the film was released.

"Please forgive me for keeping this question confidential for the time being; I can only say it's alright."

The questioning reporter rolled their eyes directly; it was too perfunctory. Could a film by you, the great Director Wei, possibly be low? Then they started to probe.

"Then is it more than The Thieves? Yesterday, China Film Group just announced the copyright transaction amount to the public: 31.2 million USD!"

Even though Wei Jin had a premonition about Han Sanping's whirlwind temperament, he was still shocked by his efficiency.

"Almost, I suppose."

"Yifei, how does it feel to attend an international film festival for the first time?" "Director Wei, are you and Yifei dating?"

Half an hour later, after dismissing the reporters, Wei Jin took Liu Yifei into the business car sent by the company to pick them up.

In the car, secretary Li Na reported a great deal of work to Wei Jin; after all, it had been nearly half a month, and with the president away, she, as the secretary-general of the administrative office, had been incredibly busy.

Wei Jin listened while nodding from time to time.

*The Piano Tuner* had already finished its theatrical run, with a final box office of 312 million; had it not faced pressure from Hollywood blockbusters in the latter half of the month, the box office could likely have been another 10 or 20 million higher.

Nevertheless, Wei Jin was already very satisfied.

According to the theater chain split, the film's share of the box office was around 125 million; after deducting production and promotion costs, the net profit was nearly 100 million.

Furthermore, this type of suspense film had a strong market globally, and overseas distributors had already come forward to purchase the film's international rights and remake rights, with offers reaching as high as 11 million USD.

Calculating it this way, a small production with a cost of 25 million had brought in a net profit of nearly 200 million, which was simply beyond imagination.

"Boss, the celebration banquet for *The Piano Tuner* hasn't been held yet, what do you think..."

"Is Zhang Songwen still with the *Heart Surgery* crew?"

"Yes, they should be wrapping up in about a week."

"Then let's forget it; just send the main creators a big red envelope."

"Very well, Boss." — After sending Liu Yifei home, Wei Jin arrived at Dongshanshu.

He hadn't seen his "Rich Flower" in over half a month, and he missed her dearly.

Opening the door and changing his shoes, Wei Jin saw only the nanny cleaning in the large living room.

"Where is Tian Tian?" Wei Jin asked the nanny.

"President Wei, Tian Tian is upstairs."

Wei Jin nodded and walked toward the second floor; upon entering the bedroom, he saw Jing Tian lying on the bed playing with her phone, her cool loungewear shorts perfectly revealing her curves, and her pair of snow-white, beautiful legs swinging back and forth, which was very eye-catching.

Watching the young girl engrossed in her phone, Wei Jin quietly came up behind her and caught her beautiful legs by surprise.

Startled, Jing Tian hurriedly turned around, and upon seeing that the person was Wei Jin, a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"Brother, you're back?"

As she spoke, Jing Tian had already bounced off the bed, leaping high to pounce on Wei Jin, her pair of proud Dharma Treasures pressed tightly against his face.

"Wuwu~~ Tian Tian, are you trying to murder your husband?"

Wei Jin patted the girl's perky buttocks; she slid down slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck, her pair of slender, beautiful legs hanging tightly around the man's waist like a koala.

"Hmph, who told you to leave for over half a month?"

A woman's mood really changes like flipping a book; Jing Tian, who had just been full of surprise, now had her little mouth pouting to the sky.

"Tian Tian, I went to take care of business, didn't I? As soon as I got back, I came to see you; my luggage is still in the car..."

Wei Jin could naturally understand the young girl's slight emotions; he pressed his chin against her delicate cheek and rubbed it with his stubble to show affection.

Breathing in the man's scent, Jing Tian felt a bit intoxicated; she certainly knew Wei Jin had gone to handle business, and her words just now were merely acting spoiled, though she still maintained a tsundere appearance.

"Then why did you scare me just now?"

"Haha, isn't that because you were too engrossed in what you were watching?"

Wei Jin smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the girl onto his lap and flicking her nose.

"What are you looking at?"

Hearing the man's words, Jing Tian was a bit excited and took out her phone.

"Brother, look at this, the internet is so lively."

Wei Jin took a look, and good heavens, Feng Dapao was truly too shameless.

The nominations for this year's Golden Rooster Awards had been announced.

Perhaps because the Golden Rooster had changed its rules this year, many industry insiders had opinions and chose to go to the Golden Horse Awards instead; the number of films registered for the Golden Rooster was quite small, and most were not very well-known.

Feng Dapao's *Aftershock* was nominated for all major awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Screenplay, and Cinematography, totaling 9 nominations.

9 nominations—this was extremely rare in the history of the Golden Rooster Awards!

Although other films were nominated in the same categories, those registered for the Golden Rooster could not compare to *Aftershock* in terms of box office or influence.

This meant that *Aftershock* was very likely to sweep all the nominated awards.

This made Feng Dapao feel invincible, and he started sucking up to the organizers directly online.

"I just can't understand those who went to the Golden Horse; as the highest award for Mainland China films, isn't the Golden Rooster fairer, more open, and more just to us Mainland filmmakers than the Golden Horse?"

The netizens were laughing like crazy, and the trolls online used all sorts of memes to roast Feng Dapao.

For example, one netizen used Zhuge Liang's words: "I have never seen such a brazen and shameless person!"

Others used Chen Shiren's words: "A person cannot be shameless to this extent!"

Many fellow directors in the industry also mocked him on Weibo, with the core message being one sentence: "You've lost all the face of a great director."

However, Feng Dapao was a big commercial director after all, and there were many people sucking up to him, most of them actors, all wishing *Aftershock* 9 nominations and 9 wins on Weibo, which was very ironic.

"How is it, Brother, exciting right? I've been laughing at the netizens' comments all night."

"It is indeed exciting; in the industry, only he can be this shameless."

After grumbling a sentence, Wei Jin put down the phone and looked at the beautiful face of his "Rich Flower" close at hand, his eyes burning with heat.

Immediately, Wei Jin gently lifted the girl's pretty face and pressed his lips against her delicate ones.

The young girl responded passionately, and Wei Jin, knowing the beauty had been waiting for a long time, displayed his talent for being "good at undressing."

After a long French kiss, Jing Tian had become completely bare.

Lifting the girl up, Wei Jin was just about to take the next step, but Jing Tian stopped him.

"Brother, today I want to watch you."

Wei Jin smiled upon hearing this; the little girl was afraid he would use the rear-entry position.

"Fine, Tian Tian, whatever you say."

After speaking, Wei Jin pressed the girl against the bed, her pair of slender, exquisite legs automatically draping over his shoulders.

Soon, bursts of celestial music rang out within the room; truly, a short separation is better than a new marriage. (End of this chapter)