Chapter 248: Box Office Share

Akiwara Yuto was unaware that the various members of the New Orthodox School had already become his supporters; in fact, even if he had known, he would not have cared.

After realizing that "there would be no more obstacles to winning awards in the future," he no longer intended to further involve himself in the infighting between mystery subgenres.

After all, just as Gao Tian Zhijiu said, no matter which school gained the upper hand, it would inevitably suppress the other.

And what Hehe Xintai called "fair development" was, in its own way, just another form of unfairness.

However, since he had accepted quite a bit of help from Hehe Xintai, Akiwara Yuto did not intend to talk about ending their cooperation, though he would no longer continue to "charge into the fray" as he had before.

Compared to these matters, he was now more focused on his next steps, such as the film companies that had come knocking following the "Akiwara Yuto Fever" phenomenon.

"Akiwara-sensei, regarding the work *The Devotion of Suspect X*, we at Dongying Film are very interested."

In the newly rented office at Anjiu Bookstore, a round-faced man with a beaming smile handed over a document, "This is our project proposal; please take a look."

Akiwara Yuto took the document and lowered his head to read it carefully. He had not expected that *Astrology*, a work currently burning hot, would attract so little interest, while *Suspect X* had drawn all the attention.

Compared to the *ZOO* series rights he had sold during his time at *New*, the terms offered in this proposal—both the signing fee and the primary and secondary usage fees—were significantly higher and could be considered sincere.

However, Akiwara Yuto proposed an increase in the box office share, conditional on reducing the signing fee and the primary and secondary usage fees.

This point did not actually conform to the regulations here in Japan; according to past conventions, an author's sale of copyright was usually based primarily on the copyright fee.

But Akiwara Yuto knew the box office performance of *Suspect X* from his past life, so he naturally could not let his interests go for nothing, and after thinking it over, he proposed a 3% share.

In his view, this figure was already a very conscientious price.

"Akiwara-sensei, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" The round-faced man's smile faded, and he then added, "If possible, we can increase the amount of the signing fee."

Akiwara Yuto shook his head and continued to insist on his point of view: "I believe a 3% box office share is already very reasonable."

With monthly royalties already exceeding 100 million yen, he really did not care about that small signing fee.

Hearing Akiwara Yuto's demand, the round-faced man's face stiffened; he could not agree to this condition, and in fact, even if he did, he estimated that his superiors would not approve it.

In every industry in Japan, there were some customary industry rules; for example, the specific fees for entertainers appearing on television or the royalty splits for authors all had consistent regulations.

Therefore, he felt that Akiwara Yuto was completely overreaching, trying to break industry rules just by relying on a bit of fame.

However, he did not immediately storm out.

Commercial negotiations were inherently "good things take time," and he figured that after some time passed and no one else offered better terms, Akiwara Yuto would recognize reality and obediently agree.

After all, among Akiwara Yuto's works that had been adapted for film and television, besides the *Furuhata Ninzaburo* television series, there were only the films adapted from the *ZOO* series.

And the film and television rights for the many other works in the other party's hands remained available.

He did not believe Akiwara Yuto could endure the loneliness and never sell them.

"Akiwara-sensei, let's leave it at that for today." The round-faced man stood up and added, "If you change your mind, please contact me as soon as possible."

After saying this, he left with his two subordinates, and as Akiwara Yuto watched his back, his expression darkened.

By now, he was speechless at the deeply ingrained industry conventions in Japan; he had not expected his request to meet with such great resistance.

One had to know that the cumulative sales of *Suspect X* had already exceeded 1 million copies and it had a large base of loyal fans.

As long as this IP wasn't filmed too poorly, it was basically guaranteed that the box office would reach the passing mark. If a suitable director and actors could be found, a box office smash would be easy!

But even so, whether it was Dongying Film or other film companies, none could accept his request for a box office share.

Asano Aiko, sitting to the side, advised, "Akiwara, if it's not suitable, let's just forget it."

She had always participated in the negotiations regarding Akiwara Yuto's copyrights.

Akiwara Yuto waved his hand to indicate he understood, but he did not give up; instead, he prepared to participate in relevant negotiations once again.

"Akiwara, the film adapted from the *ZOO* series is going to be released soon; do you want to go see it together?"

Asano Aiko suggested with a smile, and after considering it, Akiwara Yuto agreed.

After all, this work was the result of their collaboration during his time at *New*, and since he was a newcomer at the time, he had sold it very cheaply to help boost sales.

However, to be honest, he was now curious about the quality of this work, because he had heard that the filming process for this movie could be described as everything going wrong.

After he sold this work at the time, the Mantanshe Literary Award incident occurred, causing a falling out between him and Mantanshe and leading to a series of "blacklistings."

This made the upper management at Mantanshe treat this film project as dispensable—after all, if the film were truly a hit, it might bring extra revenue to Akiwara Yuto.

The film company acting as the producer also abandoned the project for a time.

Because compared to the film's investment costs, the small copyright fee paid was nothing at all.

Moreover, besides good sales, the *ZOO* series had no halo of awards.

But to the film company's surprise, Akiwara Yuto reached a reconciliation with Mantanshe a few months later, and his name became the focus of public opinion with the help of events like the Burakumin protests.

After weighing the pros and cons, the film company resumed coordinating the work for this film, and after spending more than half a year filming, it was prepared for a near-future release.

After Akiwara Yuto sighed about how "good things take time," he suddenly thought of a question.

If this film's box office could be a hit, his request for a box office share might actually have a chance.

It seemed that for the *Harry Potter* series by the British author Rowling from his past life, it was only after the first two were hits that the film producers granted her the right to a box office share.

Thinking of this, Akiwara Yuto's mood improved.

He and Asano Aiko set a time, preparing to go and properly watch the film after its official release.

Although he had made the appointment, Akiwara Yuto forgot one thing: as the original author, he had the right to participate in the test screening.

One week before the film's official premiere, on June 10th, the production team from Dongsheng Film Company sent an invitation for Akiwara Yuto to participate in the test screening.

A so-called test screening was actually a screening held within a limited scope before the film's public release to solicit opinions.

And for the sake of "pomp," test screenings often invited famous entertainers and social figures to create the false atmosphere that these celebrities all thought highly of the work.

However, since it had the word "test" in it, it was still different from a premiere held on a truly large scale.

After Akiwara Yuto told Asano Aiko about the test screening invitation, she declined because she had something to do, so it was changed to Akiwara Yuto and Satake Maki going to the venue to watch it.

Upon arriving at the venue, staff members quickly led the two to seats in the front row, and after exchanging pleasantries with the director and many of the leads, the film soon began playing.

But as Akiwara watched, his expression became strange.

The film itself seemed to be shot quite well, but it was a little different from what he had imagined...