Chapter 1104: Chapter 315: Boss’s Information, Three Directions
Everyone suddenly realized, he was indeed focused on the film’s performance.
"Negotiating the DVD rights after the film is off the screen will definitely be much cheaper. At that time, I took a gamble; if the box office is good, it doesn’t matter; if the box office is bad, then I would be losing money for the company." After sitting down, Qiao Pan now feels fortunate to have fulfilled his duty.
"But... as we’ve observed, last week there were already pirated DVDs on the market, and there are downloads online. They’re not just cam versions, so where did they come from?" Zeng Zixi questioned, voicing the doubts in his heart.
Qiao Pan chuckled lightly: "Back then, in order to prevent piracy of ’Hero,’ there were instances of cinemas checking audience belongings, prohibiting bringing in items like DVDs. But times are different now, and piracy from cinema filming, the so-called ’sneak version’ or ’cam version,’ no longer has much of a market. This is closely related to the need for production companies to sell rights. Piracy based on legitimate DVD copies and recordings are all clear versions.
Big companies, big productions also sell rights, but the contracts specify the release time, prohibiting early release. However, they’re still providing preview copies to video companies, which may also be leaked as piracy, though usually they’re less refined. Nowadays, major pirate dealers are operating and contracting cinemas themselves. In second-tier cities, they focus on digital theaters, with not much cost. This way, pirate dealers can legitimately obtain digital copies, so within days of the film’s release, they can produce fairly clear pirated copies to cash in. There’s no longer a need for the risky business of bribing cinema and copy personnel."
Everyone was speechless. With pirate dealers embedded within legitimate cinemas, how can piracy be prevented?
Qiao Pan sighed: "There’s no way, where there’s profit, there will be piracy. It’s even worse with online novels; pirate dealers spend a few cents to buy VIP Chapters, then publish images or use software to extract text versions, yet claim they are transcribing out of love and sharing. Their ruthlessness lies in the fact that no matter how films are pirated, whether as discs or downloads, everyone knows the legitimate version is in theaters. Whereas on online novel piracy websites, each claims they’re the original release site, making it so many readers don’t even know where the legitimate versions actually reside..."
Li Yan interrupted the old Qiao’s lament: "Before national income improves, especially with shifts in consumer attitudes, this reality can’t be changed. As creators, we shouldn’t complain about these things; we should think about how to produce good works, enticing viewers to willingly go to cinemas, and making people still want to support by buying tickets even after watching pirated versions! If you let the audience or readers enjoy, then they will reciprocate. ’Avatar’ was a film that made people willing to buy tickets, and with online novels, as long as readers like them, I believe despite piracy sites trying to conceal, readers will still find the original release site to support the authors."
After hearing this, Qiao Pan fell silent for a while, then suddenly realized, "President Li, your words have awakened me! Although I’ve reviewed my own mistakes, I still thought if there wasn’t piracy, things wouldn’t have been so dismal. Especially the success of this film has made me realize that if operations are handled well and piracy is minimized, the box office can be even better. Now I understand why others have better box office results even under the same piracy situation; the film is key!"
"Old Qiao, you think filming progressed quickly this time; a few months of preparation was shorter than before. But actually, you’ve been preparing for this all along, and the effort you’ve put in these past months has definitely surpassed any of your previous films. You, Director Zhou, the crew, and everyone in the company have worked with dedication on this film, and that’s why the audience accepts it."
Li Yan felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that speaking like this seemed somewhat pretentious, considering Qiao Pan’s age and industry experience were greater than his. Perhaps... this is called ’clarity from an observer’!
"You’re right, and I need to propose a second suggestion!" Qiao Pan adjusted his demeanor, now without a hint of complacency from the success of ’Spring Light,’ becoming more composed: "The return rate for ’Spring Light’ is high, but the overall profit is not significant. We’re backed by the Paradise Group, so we won’t go for small-scale endeavors. To make big money, we need to produce major films, and besides operations, there’s one most crucial aspect — the script!"
Director Zhang Yimou’s ’Hero’ opened the domestic era of big films, but every year’s major projects had good box office but mediocre or even poor reputations. The three major directors all took on big films, yet their reputations didn’t match their other movies. Especially Director Chen Kaige’s ’Wuji,’ which lowered the reputation of domestic blockbusters to a certain level. This situation lasted until ’The Warlords,’ ’Assembly Call,’ ’Yip Man,’ etc., which improved the reputation of big films, before a lot of domestic blockbusters were criticized as bad films again, until ’Let the Bullets Fly,’ which finally achieved both box office and critical acclaim.
"...regarding the reputation of domestic blockbusters, everyone is aware of it. And why is the reputation poor? It’s not because of ugly visuals, fake special effects, or bad acting; mostly it’s due to poor plots and stories. That’s a script issue! Whether it’s original or adapted, by renowned screenwriters or famous authors, what we’re missing is a sincere and captivating story."
On this point, everyone agreed, and Li Yan directly asked, "I guess you’ve researched this for a long time? What’s your advice on scripts?"
"Starting now, our company will strike from three aspects: firstly, we’ll offer substantial rewards for exceptional scripts; secondly, dedicated personnel will search for original novels suitable for adaptation in online novels; thirdly, we’ll commission scripts from famous screenwriters and authors." Qiao Pan said earnestly.
