Chapter 121: The Self-Recommended Collaborator

The agency person introduced, "Ms. Hepburn, this is Michael Viner, originally a film producer and record producer. He founded Dove Audio Books in 1985 and is a quite excellent new company in the audiobook industry.

"This Ms. Deborah Raffin is Mr. Viner's wife. She is also a Hollywood actress and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in the 1981 film *Touched by Love*."

Ms. Hepburn shook hands with Mr. Viner cordially and even gave a cheek kiss to Deborah Raffin, who was also an actress, showing her intimacy.

After both sides sat down, the coffee Henry had ordered in advance was just served. But Michael Viner couldn't wait to take out the information from his briefcase, almost filling the table.

Michael said, "Ms. Hepburn, the radio play-style audiobook you mentioned, actually, a long time ago, I had discussed a similar expression method with my wife.

"Simply put, it's a person in a story telling a story, using such a framework to compose the content of an audiobook. For the second layer of stories, we plan to adapt the works of Ms. Mary Sheldon.

"The stories available for selection include excellent works that have been adapted into Disney animations, such as *Sleeping Beauty* and *Beauty and the Beast*. There is no problem with the copyright part; Disney's copyright coverage does not include audiobook adaptations of the original works.

"We plan to select four to five stories, together with the storytelling itself, and edit them into about an hour of content. And we will also add music, instead of letting the reader be the only protagonist.

"Although doing this has concerns about dispersing the focus of the reader, I believe Ms. Hepburn won't care about such small things and will agree to use this richer expression method to make this audiobook even more excellent."

Audrey Hepburn asked curiously, "It sounds like your plan is quite good, so why haven't you produced it before?"

Michael smiled bitterly and said, "In the past audiobook market, literary works themselves still occupied the protagonist's position. Some people didn't even care who the reader was.

"And my approach further weakened the importance of the reader, so I couldn't find anyone willing to cooperate. And the small actors who could be hired cheaply didn't have the line-reading skills to reach the level I wanted.

"This project has been shelved until you, Ms. Hepburn, proposed such a special audiobook requirement, hoping to express it in a form similar to a radio play, and we saw such an opportunity."

Audrey Hepburn looked at the information on the table, placed in the middle, the last stack of paper, with the title "The French Lady's Magic Fairy Tales" on the cover. She asked, "This is... a script?"

Michael explained, "This is a dialogue script that my wife and I conceived together and then asked someone to polish. The content is about a French lady recalling her childhood when the composer Mr. Maurice Ravel visited her home and told her stories.

"If you are willing to participate in the production of this audiobook, then the protagonist will be changed to you, and you will perform in your true colors. Oh, of course, you only need to record the sound in the recording studio, and it won't bring you too much burden."

Audrey Hepburn's physical condition was already an open secret. After all, even the work of the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador had been suspended; those who wanted to know the reason would naturally know.

If a publishing company required the lady to cooperate with promotions, hold autograph sessions, etc., such a publishing company would have been rejected early on and would not appear on the list of partners the lady could choose from.

For a while, there was only the sound of turning pages at this table in the coffee shop.

For Audrey Hepburn, who loved reading, she naturally wouldn't be like a bunch of big stars with reading disabilities, who needed someone to explain the script and then guide the big star to recite the lines orally.

Ms. Hepburn's reading speed was quite fast, and this wasn't the time to ponder the text content in detail, just looking at the general idea. If there was any difficulty, it was the problem of presbyopia; it was a bit strenuous to use it to look at the standard font of a typewriter.

However, the lady still finished reading the script content in one go. She praised, "This story is already very complete. And the music is scheduled to be *Mother Goose Suite*?"

"Yes. This is also the work of Mr. Maurice Ravel," Michael replied.

"How do you plan to express the music part?"

Michael said, "If I can cooperate with Ms. Hepburn, then I plan to find a symphony orchestra to cooperate. We must do every aspect to perfection.

"There's no need to deliberately find those well-known symphony orchestras; Hollywood has many teams that are very excellent. Oh, the lady is also from Hollywood, I believe you will know more about this than I do."

Audrey Hepburn didn't deny this statement. She took a pen out of her handbag, pointed at the script in front of her, and asked, "Is it convenient?"

"Please, please. No problem," Michael said with a beaming smile.

Ms. Hepburn discussed with the couple Michael and Deborah about certain paragraphs in the script. Because Deborah was also one of the originators of the script, she also had many ideas to share.

It's just that these contents were basically discussions that would only happen when entering the production stage. But now, even the contract hadn't been signed yet.

Judging from Ms. Hepburn's attitude, cooperating with this couple was almost a certainty. She didn't think about waiting for other publishing companies to propose plans to see if there were better opportunities.

Actually, this is a quite realistic side of the entertainment industry; there is no fair competition, only first come, first served. And those who are well-prepared will definitely have more opportunities than others.

However, today was ultimately the first meeting, and the information in front of Ms. Hepburn couldn't be considered the final draft, so the discussion between the two sides was just touching upon the surface. If they wanted to be a real production plan, the couple Michael still had quite a few things to revise.

So for the subsequent contract negotiation, Ms. Hepburn was prepared to follow her past habits and leave it to the agent to come forward and negotiate with the other party.

However, some conditions could be discussed face-to-face. So the lady said directly, "I hope the proceeds of this audiobook can also be donated for public welfare purposes. Of course, it's the part after deducting costs."

The agent asked, "Ms., is it to be donated to UNICEF?"

"Hmm, I think the amount of this part won't be too much, and it's a long-term income. Donating to UNICEF is also fine, but do you have any other suggestions?"

The audiobook market is not big, not small. But compared to the fundraising banquet held by Ms. Hepburn in New York for UNICEF, this income is really not eye-catching...

Deborah Raffin said at this time, "Ms. Hepburn, if you are willing to donate to other public welfare purposes, how about the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)?

"Their headquarters is also in New York, aiming to 'provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals across the United States.' Established in 1866, it has quite a history."

Hepburn nodded and said, "Then please trouble the agent brother to help me investigate the content about this ASPCA, and I will make a decision later. Then the negotiation matter will be left to you." After saying that, the lady stood up, preparing to say goodbye.

The people present also stood up and saw Ms. Audrey Hepburn off. Henry, the little assistant who looked like a transparent person, followed closely behind.