Huang Laoban's words instantly made many people's eyes widen with excitement.
They weren't stupid; they knew the key reason why science fiction was struggling was its inability to be converted into forms more suitable for audiences. They dreamed of their works being adapted into TV series, movies, or animations, but the market simply didn't exist.
Currently, the entire Chinese film and television adaptation market valued realistic literature or martial arts novels the most, because audiences enjoyed them, and the required hardware costs for filming were not high, presenting no difficulty—finding actors was all it took to start shooting.
Unlike science fiction, which, to say nothing else, could have just one shot of a spaceship consume half of a film crew's budget. Therefore, even the science fiction TV series that did exist were like "Magic Mobile Phone," a mix of sci-fi and mythology, with no expensive special effects shots throughout.
However, domestic audiences had gradually become discerning due to the influx of American blockbusters. If you produced a sci-fi TV series without special effects, you'd be criticized; if the special effects were poor, you'd be criticized even more. Over time, it became widely acknowledged that science fiction was the most difficult genre for television and film adaptations, and without Huang Laoban's money, no one dared to touch this perilous genre. As a result, no one was willing to engage with science fiction.
When they saw no possibility of their works being adapted into film or television, these authors naturally became contemptuous of such adaptations, proclaiming that written words were the true form of pure science fiction, which was quite normal.
However, it was worth noting that although no film or television companies were willing to touch science fiction, several companies had already announced plans to shoot Xianxia-themed TV series and movies. While they would likely still be Xianxia works with shoddy special effects and a focus on romance, it was at least a sign that the genre was beginning to gain momentum.
After all, the Xianxia genre used to be even more niche than science fiction!
The mastermind behind all this, naturally, was our Huang Laoban. His "Misty Journey" swept through everything, becoming a global sensation. It was said that besides the Chinese market, its global viewership had surpassed 200 million. This was a terrifying achievement; no Chinese TV series had ever reached such astonishing heights.
What was even more alarming was that this data was still increasing, prompting many foreign film and television import companies to come to China, seeking similar TV series, as their domestic audiences were currently enjoying this genre.
This situation naturally ignited the passion of those film and television companies, leading to a surge of various Xianxia-themed TV series and movies.
Chinese people's tendency to flock together was also a characteristic. Although most of those who flocked together met unfortunate ends, much like raising gu worms, under the guise of such intense competition, a few exceptionally talented companies would inevitably emerge.
To get back to the point, upon hearing Huang Laoban's words, everyone instantly became invigorated. If Huang He said this, did it mean he was interested in promoting the development of the science fiction industry?
Just as people were filled with joy and speculation, Huang Laoban directly stated, "I am here today precisely to contribute to China's science fiction industry. I believe there are many excellent works within our science fiction sector."
"Therefore, I will be direct. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I hope to establish a stable cooperative relationship with all you author friends and the magazine 'Science Fiction World.' We, Jiangnan Group, hope to join forces with you all to jointly create some high-quality science fiction works, adapt them into animations, television shows, and movies, and then promote them nationwide and even globally, jointly ushering in a new era for science fiction!"
Hearing Huang Laoban's direct declaration, the authors present began to pant with excitement. If they were to cooperate with Jiangnan Group, wouldn't that mean their copyrights could be sold, and regardless of whether they became popular, they could at least earn tens of thousands in copyright fees?
Thus, someone immediately asked, "Mr. Huang, what kind of works would be eligible for cooperation with Jiangnan Group?"
"This standard is difficult to quantify, but I can broadly outline a few points," Huang He said with a smile. "Firstly, the works themselves must be recognized and loved by the vast majority of audiences. Therefore, niche works can also be very excellent works, but the film and television industry targets a wider audience, so the works themselves need to be suitable for more viewers."
"Also, the works cannot be too idealistic or overly stream-of-consciousness. The works of Jiangnan Group will ultimately be shown to the common people, works that the common people will enjoy and find exciting. Therefore, the structural requirements for storytelling are very high!"
"If that's the case, then perhaps none of the science fiction works present here will meet your requirements!" Da Liu, who had also been silent for a long time, suddenly interjected.
"Oh, what do you mean by that?"
"To be frank, current science fiction works are mainly short and medium-length stories. Even long-form science fiction literature rarely exceeds 300,000 words. Many of these stories lean towards idealism or various scientific explanations and settings, with not much actual narrative content."
"Taking my own works as an example, the shortest of my current works is not more than 100,000 words, and many works are around 10,000 words. Many readers complain to me, saying their book reviews are longer than my original text."
"Taking 'The Wandering Earth,' which you just mentioned, even if the entire work were adapted, it would likely only amount to content not exceeding 60 minutes. This is truly difficult."
"Da Liu is right, this is also a fact!" Huang He nodded. "Therefore, the works themselves need to undergo professional script adaptation, meaning many plots, dialogues, and settings not present in the original work will need to be added, and the content of the entire novel will need to be fleshed out. This is a common method in the film and television adaptation of literary works, but science fiction novels require more adaptation content!"
"That is certainly true!" Before Da Liu could speak, someone volunteered, "Since it's going to be adapted for film and television, it will naturally require adaptation. We understand all of this, and we support it!"
This person clearly hoped to sell their works for money immediately. However, someone else said, "Adaptation is not a problem, but neither I nor my readers wish for the core of the work to be changed, nor do we want a lot of extraneous things to be added, to the point where it becomes unrecognizable!"
"Mm!" This statement received approval from many in the audience. By this time, audiences were already tired of various literary works being arbitrarily altered, as seen with the "Journey to the West," a prime example.
"That's very well put. My personal view is the same as yours; I also detest fabrication!" Unexpectedly, Huang He readily agreed, "Therefore, to prevent such a situation, my personal suggestion is to invite you, the original authors, to be responsible for the script adaptation, with you taking charge of the entire script adaptation process."
"Of course, considering that many of you present lack professional script adaptation knowledge, I will hire an additional 2-3 experienced professionals from the script adaptation industry to assist you, helping you adapt your works! Fleshing out a work under 100,000 words into a TV series or film script of tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of words."
"Great!!" The audience in the venue cheered in unison, but the authors were somewhat put on the spot. They found writing tens of thousands of words difficult enough in their daily lives; now, to expand a work of tens of thousands of words into hundreds of thousands of words, wouldn't that be too exhausting?
So, someone immediately said, "Mr. Huang, can we serve as assistants? Professional matters should be handled by professionals."
"No, it must be you, the original authors!" Huang He stated decisively. "There is something I need to clarify for everyone: script adaptation is handled by people, and every person will inevitably inject their own ideas into their adapted script. This is an instinctive human behavior that cannot be controlled."
"This is why many works on the market, while advertised as being faithful to the original, turn out to be completely different from the original except for the protagonist's name. This is because adaptation authors inject many of their own elements during the changes. However, when they change things, they must adhere to the original plotline and values, which inevitably leads to intense conflict between the two, resulting in adaptations that turn out to be rubbish."
"Therefore, for any work that cooperates with our Jiangnan Group, I must require the original author to be responsible for the script adaptation. The entire script must undergo the primary adaptation work by your own hands. The assistants I provide for you will only help with formatting and structural aspects of the script. The majority of the work must be handled by yourselves!"
"Ah..." Hearing Huang Laoban say this, many authors' faces immediately turned even more grim. Then they heard Huang Laoban continue, "Of course, I also know that writers like to procrastinate and are fond of being 'pigeons,' cooing!"
"Therefore, I quite admire the approach in Fusang (Japan) where each author has a dedicated editor, and if the manuscript is not submitted by the deadline, this editor will move into the author's home to urge them on."
"So, if any of you cooperate with our Jiangnan Group, I will definitely assign you a dedicated editor who will live at your home every day to help you complete your daily adaptation tasks."
"Well, I'm stating this upfront: these will be written into the contract. If there's a breach of contract... don't worry, I won't fine you. I'll send you to a hotel room for seclusion, cut off all contact, and block any channels of communication with the outside world. Naturally, there will be no televisions or computers, and you'll remain in seclusion until the work is completed!" Huang Laoban rambled on. The audience below cheered wildly, while the 'pigeons' on stage couldn't help but want to escape.
This Huang He was simply too terrifying!