Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 264 - 269: How is Beyoncé?

The middle-aged white man handed the letter of intent to Wang Jian and then settled into the office chair, waiting in silence.

But in his mind, he was replaying the words spoken by the new owner of the group, Little Bronfman, when he had been assigned to negotiate.

"I’m Too Rich is a light, dramatized work, perfectly in line with the current market’s pattern for comedies that aim small but win big."

"Plus it’s based on a true story, which doesn’t alienate audiences by being too far removed from reality and can avoid a deluge of harsh criticism from reviewers."

Well, about that, this elite who had been immersed in Hollywood for many years agreed.

After all, that’s just the way it is.

Think filmmakers have no bottom line in pleasing audiences?

Then just look at the resume of this young best-selling Asian author in front of you!

But...

He sighed softly, shaking his head slowly in his mind.

"This super-rich second generation doesn’t follow the unspoken rules of Hollywood. Isn’t it all about exploiting outsiders as much as possible?"

In fact, Wang Jian, who was reading the letter of intent, was also deeply skeptical about this.

Were the terms in the letter of intent too favorable?

A licensing fee of two million US dollars, and that was just for one-time adaptation rights?

The most crucial question was that, as the original author, he could actually meddle with the casting and even the final edit.

This... wasn’t this a trap?

He thought about his past experiences dealing with the media and looked suspiciously across the table.

"What if your boss is an idiot?"

The middle-aged white man internally chuckled bitterly, but his facial expression remained very serious, "Mr. Little Bronfman has great respect for artists. He believes that in adapting a work, it’s essential to fully consider the original author’s opinions."

Little Bronfman?

Wang Jian immediately recalled reports about this name.

Born into a wine family, scammed by Hollywood once, and then after selling off the family business, plunged fully into Hollywood...

"Oh, then it’s no problem..."

He nodded and continued to review the letter of intent.

"This female character based on a real person in the book, for promotional purposes, is..." Wang Jian raised another question.

"Literally," the senior executive shrugged, beginning to explain.

"Like the autobiographically adapted film Jerry Maguire, whose main character doesn’t have the same notoriety as Mr. Wang."

"But because the other protagonist is a sports agent, all his supporting roles are famous athletes, and we really can’t compete with that advantage."

"To aid in promotion, we will compare and link the real-life person with the actor as much as possible to try and salvage what we can."

"And the public’s interest in authors largely focuses on their romantic relationships."

Uh...

Wang Jian glanced at the letter of intent, then back to the computer screen.

Damn romantic relationships, character prototypes...

The ones who had been involved with the protagonist were easy to talk about since he had already acted out that part of the drama.

But to work in the reality of the slums, Wang Jian had also included an African female character.

Did that mean they needed to find an African girl?

"Sorry Mr. Wang, this additional condition is very important for box office impact," the middle-aged white man said after sipping his coffee. "I believe you couldn’t possibly get better terms from Hollywood."

Indeed, such wastrels are a once-in-a-millennium occurrence...

Wang Jian weighed the pros and cons while unconsciously clicking his mouse.

At that moment, he saw the paid ranking list on the homepage of the website.

After an initial period of adjustment, traditional writers were starting to leverage their deep literary skills.

Their paid works had become an important part of the website’s revenue.

"Why would these famous authors, who aren’t lacking in money, choose me?" Wang Jian’s fingers tapped lightly on the desk.

"Isn’t it because they want to lean on this website to have a say in their work’s adaptation?"

So, is skin color an issue in the face of interest?

Wang Jian thought for a moment and felt that even if it were a Star Wars-type alien with three breasts, it wouldn’t be a big deal...

"I generally agree with these terms," he looked across the table, "after review by lawyers, we can issue a license."

"Then..." the middle-aged white man stood, "here’s to a pleasant partnership."

After shaking hands with him, Wang Jian immediately called the website technician, "Post on the homepage that ’I’m Too Rich’ will be adapted and will have some degree of final editing rights."

Due to the plagiarism lawsuit, many writers were closely watching the website.

Soon, the news began to circulate among the writers’ community.

"Hmm, I got it." Stephen King put down the phone and clicked on the website.

After carefully reading the news about the adaptation of I’m Too Rich, he took off his glasses.

"Indeed, only capital can fight capital. Our strategy was right."

Stephen King pondered for a moment then picked up the phone again, "Mr. Heller, shall we issue a statement supporting Wang Jian in the name of the association?"

"He has obtained some of the final editing rights in the adaptation of his work into a movie."

...

Thanks to the increasingly developed information communication tools, Wang Jian also received a call quite soon.

"Heh, thank you," he replied with laughter to George Martin on the other end of the phone, while internally commenting,

"If not to attract you all, I really wouldn’t be interested in any final editing rights!"

Of course, it was also one of his goals to annoy the Viacom Group through this matter.

But soon, Wang Jian looked at his phone with confusion; the caller was Wozniak.

What did this big shot want?

He wasn’t a writer, could he also be concerned with the issue of final editing rights?

"Hello, Wang," Wozniak’s voice sounded hesitant, "the revenue from the audio website has been tallied, and we can both receive a million-dollar cut from the downloads."

A million dollars?

Not bad!

Wang Jian thought about it, ready to respond.

Then, he heard another voice on the other end.

"Let me do it," said a slightly shrill voice.

"Hello Mr. Wang, I’m Steve Jobs."

"I heard from Wozniak that because of the videotape, the real-life person in your book is very popular on social media?"

"Um... yes," Wang Jian was still somewhat puzzled.

"And in your new work, there’s also an important African female supporting character?"

"So..." Steve Jobs rustled some papers.

"What do you think of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles?"

"The African singer who did the performance for ’Anomalies and Creatures’."

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