For the next three days, Boss Huang spent his time watching the first episode of the twenty-four-episode Piao Miao Zhi Lu, covering the plot from Li Qiang's departure from Earth to the Heavenly Court Star, through various adventures, and finally to his reunion with Fu Shan, encompassing the first four volumes.
With a total of twenty-four volumes in Piao Miao Zhi Lu, it could be filmed into six seasons, which was indeed a considerable amount of content.
After finishing, Boss Huang spent another day organizing his feedback, which mostly consisted of minor details. Peter Jackson readily accepted all of it, as the boss's wishes were paramount, and these were small adjustments that could be delegated to several Chinese assistant directors.
"At the latest, all the modifications will be completed within a month, and then our drama can be released. It's just a shame..." Peter Jackson said with a sigh, leaving his words unfinished.
"A shame about what?" Boss Huang asked with a smile.
"It's a shame it will be released in China!" Peter Jackson replied, then realizing his words might have been misconstrued, he quickly added, "Boss, I don't mean there's anything wrong with it being released in China. I just mean that the Chinese market's volume might not be enough to cover the cost of this drama. This drama might lose a lot of money!"
Peter Jackson was not wrong. An investment of a staggering 800 million US dollars truly could not be recouped solely through the drama itself; it was an impossibility.
Historically, there had been dramas that earned 800 million US dollars, but those were like "Game of Thrones" or "House of Cards," produced in the future with the advent of online platforms. Furthermore, their revenue was not direct but indirect, obtained through website memberships. Thus, they couldn't be considered dramas that could generate 800 million US dollars in profit.
Currently, the only drama that might have reached that figure is "Friends," but that was the combined revenue of ten seasons. "Piao Miao Zhi Lu," on the other hand, reached the 800 million US dollar mark for a single season.
Therefore, even at this moment, Peter Jackson still couldn't understand Boss Huang's true intentions. He had seen plenty of capital and the forces behind it. He had never encountered any capital that acted like Boss Huang, undertaking something with no visible profit prospects. This was an impossibility in the film and television industry.
"Let me put it this way!" Huang He chuckled. "When you do things, you can't just look at profit from one angle. For this drama, "Piao Miao Zhi Lu" genuinely has no possibility of profit, that's undeniable."
"But you have to see that we can gain profits through other means. For example, my Jiangnan Group will produce special edition blind boxes for Piao Miao Zhi Lu, and Hua Huang Ichiban Kuji will also produce special editions. Additionally, related games for Piao Miao Zhi Lu are under development, along with countless Piao Miao Zhi Lu licensing opportunities. These will all be future profit points for Piao Miao Zhi Lu!"
"I hope to create a universe as vast as Middle-earth. By then, just by selling product licensing, I can earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Won't all this money be earned back?"
"That's just too long!" Peter Jackson understood Boss Huang's meaning but still sighed. He wasn't unfamiliar with the model of continuously earning money through IPs. In fact, he quite liked this method of making money, as it meant only masterpieces that resonated with the audience would be produced, and audience approval would lead to sufficient IP value for sustained profits for years, or even decades.
And to produce masterpieces, directors and production teams must be given enough space and time to refine their work, which was undoubtedly the most perfect approach for them. However, no capital in the world would willingly choose such a method because it was too slow to generate returns. One might have to wait five or six years, or even a decade, to recoup the investment, a wait that no capital could accept. Perhaps only large corporations might have such intentions.
But then again, even the most experienced directors couldn't guarantee that their creations would stand the test of time and be loved by audiences for over a decade. Many major studios had attempted such ventures but found them ineffective, and over time, they became hesitant to pursue them. To think that this Boss Huang from China possessed such courage, considering Peter Jackson's own estimation, the success rate of this project was less than fifty percent.
It wasn't that Peter Jackson found anything lacking in the project itself, but rather that the probability of a high-cost blockbuster was extremely low, to an astonishing degree. This less than 50% chance was already the highest probability Peter Jackson could give.
In fact, even Boss Huang himself felt a bit apprehensive. Previously, whether it was "Drawing Sword," "Soldiers Sortie," or "Chinese Paladin," there were precedents from his previous life, which guaranteed that these works would be loved by audiences. Thus, Boss Huang could always remain confident, willing to invest heavily without any psychological pressure.
But "Piao Miao Zhi Lu" was different; it was an adaptation without any validation from his previous life. If there was any experience validation, it would come from adaptations of similar web novel IPs like "Douluo Continent" or "Battle Through the Heavens," which featured male protagonists. The results of those adaptations were quite unsatisfactory.
Of course, the reason Boss Huang dared to undertake such a project now was his belief that the failures of those adaptations were not due to the original works but due to the reluctance to invest heavily.
Firstly, web novel IPs like "Piao Miao Zhi Lu" and "Douluo Continent" are fundamentally based on immense and magnificent imagination and worldviews. Translating these onto the screen required one thing: money. Without substantial financial investment in sets and special effects, ridiculous outcomes like "Dou Qi Hua Ma" (referring to a martial arts element visualized as a horse) would occur.
Secondly, it was the excessive exploitation of these dramas by capital. They wanted to spend less money on the dramas while simultaneously using them to promote their own popular actors, who not only lacked acting skills but might even have fabricated popularity. How could such dramas become popular?
Therefore, this was also an attempt by Boss Huang himself. He was very curious to see if, by investing heavily and concentrating all available resources into one drama, a company could successfully create a web novel IP and then expand that IP to encompass an entire world. Boss Huang was very much looking forward to this, and the cost was no longer an issue.
In short, Boss Huang was not short of money; he could afford to lose it.
Then, in the next moment, Boss Huang said to Peter Jackson, "Dear Mr. Jackson, you probably can't rest yet, because there's something else that requires your hard work!"
"What is it? Is it to cooperate with the drama's publicity? That's no problem. I've actually wanted to visit China for a long time. I might as well take this opportunity to sightsee!" Peter Jackson said with a smile, sounding quite expectant.
"No, no, no!" To his surprise, Boss Huang shook his head repeatedly. "Not at all. You don't need to go to China. We already have a comprehensive marketing plan for China, so you don't need to waste your time. If you want to travel to China, after this work is completed, I will personally accompany you on a tour of the entire country. How does that sound?"
"What exactly is this work?" Peter Jackson was taken aback. Boss Huang, a major boss, was willing to accompany him on a tour for this work, so it couldn't be ordinary work.
"Actually, I think what you said earlier was correct. It would take too long for Piao Miao Zhi Lu to make money. We can't wait that long. So, I also think there's a way to make quick money to help us recoup our costs as soon as possible!"
"For example, a movie, 'Piao Miao Zhi Lu.' What do you think?" Huang He said with a grin.
"Huang, you plan to film another movie of 'Piao Miao Zhi Lu'? That would cost even more!" Peter Jackson asked in surprise.
"No, no, no, it won't cost money; it's all from the existing footage!" Boss Huang chuckled. "Look, we have a full twenty-four episodes of plot, and all these scenes were shot with cinematic quality. So, if we simply edit them slightly, we can directly produce a major film, can't we?"
"You mean, to edit these twenty-four episodes into one movie!" Peter Jackson finally understood Boss Huang's intention and scratched his head. "Good heavens, this is the most painful job in the world. Twenty-four episodes amount to 1440 minutes. You want me to condense it into a 120-minute movie? Who knows how such a movie would be edited! I might as well just kill myself!"
"Then let's make a few more!" Boss Huang chuckled. "If one doesn't fit, we'll make two, or three. Even five or six wouldn't be out of the question. You can edit it however you like, and even reshoot some scenes and plotlines as supplements. What do you think?"
"By the way, these movies are intended for release in the US and European markets, so there's no need to worry about conflicts with the drama, which will primarily be released in the Chinese domestic market."
"Furthermore, in the Western versions, we can re-establish Li Qiang's background to be the child of an American white father and a Chinese mother. Then, when he travels to China, he encounters a destined encounter with immortality. Wouldn't that cater to the needs of the American market?"
"Editing one drama into six movies? And changing the character setting to cater to the market?" Peter Jackson rolled his eyes. All his previous good impressions of Boss Huang vanished instantly. This guy was indeed a capitalist through and through; no wonder he could get rich!