Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 349 - 333: Using One Flaw to Conceal Another

"Hmm, why is it so silent in there?"

Wang Jian approached the conference room door, listening carefully, and asked with a bit of puzzlement.

"Ha, the two inside are Ganni Versace and Roy Raymond," the head of HBO responded with a smile, "They’re not that real estate tycoon, nor Mr. Larry Elson."

"All we need to do is let them know about the existence and strength of their competitors, and that will naturally serve to drive up the bid."

"You wouldn’t want to see an utterly graceless argument, would you?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jian shrugged nonchalantly.

As long as he received enough money, he couldn’t care less about their state.

Wang Jian managed his expression, opening the large conference room door, revealing a smile that perfectly matched his artist identity.

Just like the head of HBO said, the two sitting inside were indeed fashion masters after all.

And this group was notoriously pretentious.

It had to be said, judging purely by their attire, they indeed lived up to their reputations.

Both were dressed in very proper dark suits, managing to stand out neither too much nor resemble the "Wall Street elites" found all over New York.

"Mr. Wang, hello," a man with a typical Germanic appearance stood up.

"Roy Raymond, the CEO of Victoria’s Secret."

"We’ve had a partnership before."

Naturally, Wang Jian treated the big sponsor with all due courtesy.

He shook hands with a smile and gestured for the other man to sit down.

"Ganni Versace," another middle-aged man also rose to his feet.

"Prince Charles, Lady Diana, and Miss Sofia have all mentioned Mr. Wang to me."

"I hope we have an opportunity for collaboration this time."

"Uh, probably nothing good..." Wang Jian mocked himself inwardly, also asking the man to take a seat.

"Prison Break Transformation is the last of the Prison Break spinoffs," the HBO head chimed in, sitting down next to Wang Jian and immediately starting to hype up the project.

"This series has a certain fan base, and the ratings of the first two parts clearly reflect this."

He then brought out two documents, handing them to the two fashion icons.

"Although you may already have these numbers."

"This document should be more accurate."

"It’s a joint statistic by HBO and wangwen.com, on the ratio of clothing sponsorship to revenue for the first two parts of Prison Break."

Truth be told, Wang Jian had already seen these figures and knew them inside out. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

It was just that, given his identity, it was inconvenient to talk dollars and cents in front of fashion industry people so closely related to the arts.

"Ah, if this continues," Wang Jian sighed, "one day I’ll go schizophrenic."

Fuck!

He looked at the two potential sponsors, earnestly examining the figures, and cursed inwardly, "Do you dare say you didn’t know this shit?"

"Stop dragging your feet and just cough up the cash!"

Whether the fashion moguls heard Wang Jian’s internal cries or also felt that this act was a pure waste of time was uncertain.

They wrote a number on a piece of paper each.

Then, they passed one each to the head of HBO and to Wang Jian.

"$9 million?" Wang Jian looked at Victoria’s Secret’s offer and nodded slightly.

The number closely matched the evaluation done by the website staff.

So, besides offering the IP, the site only needed to contribute a fraction of the funding to proceed with the shooting.

Considering Victoria’s Secret’s fame in the United States, he was already leaning towards them.

But quickly, the scales in Wang Jian’s heart began to swing wildly.

Because Versace’s offer was: $18 million!

"Doesn’t this mean that even if the TV series hasn’t started filming, it’s already profitable?"

What’s there to even think about!

From now on, Mr. Ganni Versace from Italy is my long-lost half-brother!

Wang Jian placed the paper down, preparing to announce the result.

This was also his moment as the sole producer, a critical task, and a chance to make his presence felt.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the CEO of Victoria’s Secret suddenly spoke up.

"From what I understand of the novel, it should contain many plotlines involving fashion models and their daily lives."

He stood up and handed over a promotional page.

"And the most famous group of models in the United States should be our company’s Victoria’s Secret Angels."

"I believe that their involvement would make the work look realistic and more textured."

Roy Raymond looked at Ganni Versace and revealed a faint smile.

"Hehe, artists should care more about the quality of the adaptation than money."

"Hehe, Mr. Versace, I am very sorry."

Wang Jian looked at his smiling face, wanting nothing more than to kick the man and yell, "Shut up, you poor bastard!"

However... his rationale was indeed hard to refute.

Wang Jian thought for a moment and turned to look at the head of HBO.

Unexpectedly, this elderly Caucasian was just making a thinking pose and did not intend to speak.

"In ’Anomalies’, ABC was criticized for being unfaithful to the original."

"In ’I’m so rich’, Universal was blasted for recklessly altering critical literature."

"If the project fails, HBO can’t stand the torture of the media and writers as well as those two companies due to less influence."

"Besides..." he glanced at Wang Jian and then looked away, "I think I know what sort of person you are after spending this time together."

"Wang, I trust you will make the right choice."

After a long silence, Wang Jian cursed inwardly, "Old fox!"

He lifted his head to face the CEO of Victoria’s Secret, frantically thinking of what excuse to use.

But unexpectedly, Roy took the lead and said, "By the way, we are interested in obtaining the website’s authorization to design a ladies’ clothing series for ’Anomalies’."

"The profit-sharing ratio could refer to the partnership between LEGO and Hollywood."

"Of course, you could personally attend a Victoria’s Secret party, where the Angels will showcase for you."

"I am sure that Mr. Wang will be satisfied with Victoria’s Secret’s designs."

After saying that, the CEO even winked.

"Uh..." Wang Jian was taken aback, then nearly spat out blood, "Do I look like someone who’s easily swayed by women?"

However... a Victoria’s Secret ’Anomalies’ co-branded edition would probably sell well.

He lowered his head, pondering, "Shit! 18 million US Dollars and co-branded merchandise, I don’t want to give up either!"

Ganni Versace just wants to utilize the drama to expand his influence in the United States, doesn’t he?

Let’s just give it to him!

Victoria’s Secret can only provide ladies’ lingerie sponsorship for ’Prison Break Transformation’ anyway...

A new idea surged in Wang Jian’s mind.

"Hmm, the key issue is, I mustn’t let these two see that I’m swayed by money."

"Comparatively, being a playboy is just a minor issue!"

He struggled to control his facial expression, showing a smile all men understand.

"I am very interested in Victoria’s Secret’s invitation."

"However, considering Mr. Versace’s global influence, which is more advantageous for promoting the work, I do not want to let that go either."

"How about this..." he picked up his coffee and took a sip, "Mr. Versace could appear as a major supporting character and provide the corresponding outerwear sponsorship."

"And Victoria’s Secret could feature supermodels and provide lingerie sponsorship."

"As compensation, I will consider reducing the fees." He paused, pretending to think entirely for the sake of the work, "After all, this would not only bring fame, but also solve the issue of realism."

Wang Jian wrote down 700 and 1500 on a piece of paper and pushed it towards the two fashion moguls.

The head of HBO wore a very surprised expression on his face.

"With so many non-professional actors, what will this drama turn out to be!"

"Heh, anyway, due to the constraints of ’Prison Break Transformation’, it won’t be a big seller unless it garners an enormous amount of buzz," Wang Jian tapped his fingers lightly on the table, shrugging nonchalantly.

"So, making money before filming starts is not a bad choice, huh?"

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