Chapter 59

“Actually, I never intended to consume any public resources…”

“After all…”

“Not long ago, I nearly strayed off the right path and caused a lot of trouble for media friends…”

“In fact, even now, I still feel ashamed toward the media and viewers…”

“But…”

“After careful consideration, I’ve made a difficult decision!”

“…”

Law firm.

On the TV, the Beijing TV flagship program 【1819】 was airing.

An Xiaoshi stood frozen, coffee cup in hand, staring blankly at the TV screen, at that familiar office, at that familiar Zhou Yang.

She saw Zhou Yang sitting in his office chair, his face haggard, eyes red, staring straight into the camera, his dry throat emitting a series of suppressed yet furious voices.

On camera, she watched Zhou Yang silently pull out a lawyer’s letter.

“Today, we received a lawyer’s letter from 【Tianyu】…”

“The Legal Department of 【Tianyu Group】 has ordered 【Xuanshi Entertainment】 to cease all infringement activities regarding 【Superman 2】, and warned us that if we continue infringing, they will use every legal means to protect their legitimate interests!”

“When we received this lawyer’s letter today, our entire company, 【Xuanshi Entertainment】, came to a standstill!”

“We were terrified, utterly panicked—as if the sky had collapsed overnight. Even Shen Long, the director of 【The Traveler: Reboot】, who was filming at the time, was so frightened he nearly crawled into his office, speaking incoherently in a tone I’d never heard before: ‘We’re finished…’”

“I was terrified too. My hands were shaking when I took the lawyer’s letter…”

“I know 【Tianyu Group】. I know even better how terrifying a giant we, a bunch of amateur second-rate producers, are about to face!”

“We were terrified…”

“So, the moment we got the lawyer’s letter, we kept calling 【Tianyu Group】, hoping to resolve and clarify this matter through negotiation…”

“But…”

“They didn’t answer the phone!”

“We had no choice—we could only use the familiar, impartial, fair TV platform of 【1819】 to clarify this matter…”

“…”

…………………………

August 8.

【Tianyu Group】.

A breeze blew through the window.

It stirred Deng Hairong’s slightly agitated face.

On the desk lay the August 8 box office attendance figures for 【Superman 2】.

If nothing changed, 【Superman 2】’s daily box office would continue to decline.

Daily revenue was projected to drop below four million RMB!

For a domestic film, four million RMB daily was still a decent figure!

But for 【Superman 2】, a film globally anticipated, this box office was already dangerously low!

Two hundred million RMB was barely enough!

It meant that for 【Tianyu】, which had spent nearly fifty million RMB to secure exclusive distribution rights for 【Superman 2】 through Huaxia Film Group, this venture might end in loss.

Theaters take a cut, promotional staff take a cut, taxes take a cut, the Film Development Fund takes a cut…

Ultimately, for a fifty-million-RMB film, two hundred million RMB in box office was the baseline.

Beyond two hundred million RMB, they could make a small profit on the original acquisition cost.

But below two hundred million RMB—around 190 million—it was barely break-even.

Below 190 million RMB—loss.

Currently, 【Superman 2】’s box office in China stood at 170 million…

But it had already been in theaters for over twenty days, with only ten days left before withdrawal.

Based on daily attendance and the downward trend, it was unlikely 【Superman 2】 could pull in another twenty million RMB.

And the company now had to push hard to secure another film, 【King of the Monsters】—but this time, the project team handling it was no longer his.

Now, aside from making a little more money from official DVD sales and recouping some losses, they had no other options…

“How are DVD sales going?”

“Yesterday we sold about 100,000 copies, roughly one million RMB in profit—after all marketing and operational costs, we might have less than eight hundred thousand RMB…”

“I told you to crack down on piracy, and I told you to send the lawyer’s letter to deal with that Zhou Yang—have you done it yet?!”

“We’re working on it, but it takes time, and…”

“And what?”

“…”

In the office.

Looking at the DVD sales data.

Deng Hairong felt a suffocating pressure in his chest.

The assistant hesitated, then finally clenched his teeth and quietly turned on the TV.

On Beijing TV, Deng Hairong saw the suit-wearing vampire in 【1819】 using clumsy acting to commit the most nauseating act in the world.

“They didn’t answer the phone!”

“We had no choice—we could only use the familiar, impartial, fair TV platform of 【1819】 to clarify this matter…”

“We’re just a group of young people. We don’t want to offend any film company—we just want to make our films…”

“Yes, we will keep making our films. We will make our new movie, 【The Traveler: Reboot】, even better!”

“…”

Deng Hairong stared fixedly at the TV screen!

He had always been calm, but right now, for some reason…

The moment he heard “【The Traveler: Reboot】,” a surge of rage shot from his soles straight to his skull.

This bastard!

So damn infuriating!

He suppressed his outburst and glared at the assistant: “Has this man contacted us?”

“No…”

“Definitely not?”

“No!”

Deng Hairong nodded, closed his eyes.

【Superman 2】’s poor quality, the mismatch between its high investment and low box office, and the market chaos had intensified his inner irritation.

He suddenly wanted to be alone.

But the damn voice of that suit-wearing vampire, vivid and piercing, drilled into his ears.

“We never intended to infringe, and we never have infringed…”

“The movie 【Sun Wukong vs Superman 2】 was officially licensed to our DVD distributor…”

“I consulted a lawyer. He told me our film—its content, title, actors, promotional images—constitutes no infringement whatsoever!”

“We merely used the word ‘Superman’ for promotion, but we didn’t use the American Superman—we used the Chinese Superman, Yan Shuangying!”

“Yes, they registered the trademark, but it’s the trademark of the character ‘Superman,’ not the pure text ‘Chao’ and ‘Ren’…”

“May I ask, if ‘Superman’ is trademarked, does that mean no one can use the words ‘super’ and ‘man’? If I trademark ‘Earth,’ can’t textbooks use the word ‘Earth’ anymore?”

“If I trademark ‘Sun,’ and ‘Milky Way,’ do all people basking in sunlight now owe me patent fees?”

“…”

Hearing these words, he leapt to his feet, teeth clenched, voice trembling with fury: “Forget the lawyer’s letter! Immediately notify the Legal Department—gather evidence and sue them!”

“Deng Zong, I’ve consulted Legal. These guys haven’t infringed in any major way… they…”

“Sue them! I don’t believe we can’t find evidence!”

“Deng Zong, we should either ignore them or let it cool. I think these guys are just stirring up hype to promote their new film. If we react, we’ll give them more attention. Even if they did infringe slightly, they’d probably pay us less than one hundred thousand RMB in damages—completely disproportionate to our investment. My personal suggestion: notify the media to suppress the buzz, then join official authorities to crack down on piracy. Let these small-time scammers be.”

“…”

When Deng Hairong heard this, he calmed slightly.

“Only one hundred thousand RMB in damages?”

“Yes! Our latest evidence shows they’re only suspected of superficial promotional infringement… maximum penalty: one hundred thousand RMB, plus apology and rebranding.”

“…”

Hearing this, Deng Hairong finally closed his eyes.

“I need to calm down.”

“Alright!”

………………………………

“Director, Director, we broke it!”

“Broke what?”

“Ratings broke! 【1819】 set a new record!”

“How high?”

"It has already surged to 17.8%, surpassing our previous high of 17.7%!"

"..."

Beijing Television Station.

In the director’s office, a sound suddenly rang out.

Then...

Director Xu Fengshun took the data set, his face filled with delight.

"How could the viewership be this high?"

"After careful analysis, we found this record-breaking viewership is due to our program’s topics centered on the Hollywood blockbuster 'Superman 2,' combined with elements like copyright infringement, legal notices, and youth entrepreneurship. Also, the movie 'Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2' has immense popularity online... There are countless netizens who love to stir up trouble and watch the drama..."

"..."

Xu Fengshun took over the data analysis project!

Instantly, his spirits lifted!

Then...

Under the gaze of the head of the marketing department, he opened his computer and launched "Movie Home."