Chapter 23: Overseas Distribution Rights!

Standing before the big screen, Zeng Li looked at Scarlett and made a heart gesture toward her.

"Ah! Sister Li, I love you, just like a mouse loves rice!"

At this moment, the international star Scarlett transformed into Zeng Li's little fangirl, screaming wildly.

"Gege... Sister Li, I really envy you for having an international star as a fan," Su Chang, standing beside Zeng Li, said with a smile, covering her mouth.

Zeng Li laughed along. Over the past two days, she and Scarlett had become as close as biological sisters, eating and living together. If one didn't know they weren't a lesbian couple, one might have easily misunderstood.

"Yang, Li, we love you!"

Scarlett's shout was heard by the audience. Suddenly, many spectators began screaming wildly toward Fu Dalong and Zheng Guolin.

The two men, being worshiped by a foreigner, were so excited they nearly fainted.

Back home, they were merely nobodies; they never expected that coming to Venice would earn them a group of foreign fans.

"Haha, it's worth it, totally worth it," Fu Dalong said with a grin.

As a fellow male lead, Zheng Guolin's neck was so engorged with excitement that he felt like a blood vessel might burst if he wasn't careful.

Judging by the reactions of everyone in the theater, the premiere of *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* was a massive success.

The audience members, who lingered long after leaving the screening room, went out of their way to recommend the film to their friends and neighbors.

In their words, this was the most anticipated film of this festival and one of the greatest films ever made; to miss it would be their loss.

This caused many people to flock into the screening room when the film played again.

In an instant, the theater was packed to capacity.

When the film ended, the people exiting the screening room were all incredibly excited, transforming into promoters to pitch the movie to others.

Due to the runtime of *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins*, only two screenings were held on the premiere day.

On the day after the premiere, the film's rating in the festival catalog reached a high of 3.9.

It became the highest score among all the premiered films.

Such a high rating was sufficient to prove the excellence of the film.

The Venice Film Festival catalog, published daily, recorded the screening schedules, film introductions, interviews with filmmakers, and in-depth analyses of popular films during the festival.

At the same time, it gathered the opinions of various media outlets and veteran film critics, providing daily ratings for the films in the main competition unit (on a five-point scale).

Generally, a high catalog score meant a greater chance of winning an award.

Of course, there was also the possibility of a "big hit turning into a dud," ending with nothing at all.

The day after the premiere ended, Cheng Sheng—acting as the director, producer, and investor—began to get busy alongside the coal bosses.

He needed to engage in informal negotiations with distributors from various regions.

As a complete novice on his first trip abroad and his first time attending Venice, Cheng Sheng was completely clueless about negotiating overseas distribution rights.

Fortunately, Zeng Li had her little fangirl, Scarlett.

As a Best Actress winner in Venice, Scarlett knew a bit about overseas distribution.

Last night, Cheng Sheng and Scarlett had had a sudden, intensive chat for over an hour, through which he learned the intricacies of the business.

That was why he dared to bring the coal bosses to meet with those distributors.

He had no intention of selling the distribution rights just yet; he was only conducting preliminary negotiations. He wanted to wait until after the awards ceremony to formally negotiate the final contracts.

Although Scarlett hadn't explicitly revealed whether the film would win an award, her words and actions suggested that the chances were very high.

If he sold the overseas distribution rights after winning an award, the price would undoubtedly double or even triple.

After several days of negotiations, Cheng Sheng discovered that these distributors were extremely cunning.

Even though they knew *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* was an excellent film, these distributors had actually united to drive the price down, which was simply infuriating.

The American distributors, in particular, actually wanted to snatch up the distribution rights for the Americas for only one million—how was that any different from robbery?

Cheng Sheng, of course, would not agree.

He didn't believe that without "Butcher Zhang," he couldn't make a living.

While prices in Europe were higher than in America, they weren't much higher.

The distributors for the Japanese market offered the highest price, but it still hadn't reached Cheng Sheng's bottom line.

As a region most deeply influenced by the Chinese cultural sphere, Japan had the highest recognition of Chinese history, and they particularly worshipped the history of the Tang Dynasty.

The title of "Emperor" could be traced back to Li Zhi of the Great Tang; as the third-generation successor, Li Zhi was referred to as the Emperor, while the Empress was Wu Zetian.

The Japanese title of Emperor was also derived from Li Zhi.

The film *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* would undoubtedly be a massive shock to Japan.

As long as the Japanese distributors weren't blind, if this movie were released in Japan, the box office would absolutely break historical records.

Cheng Sheng actually wanted to sell the film to the Japanese distributors to let them witness what the Great Tang truly was, but the price they offered was too low and did not meet his psychological threshold, so he had to let it slide.

Since the major distributors wanted to suppress the price, Cheng Sheng certainly wouldn't let them succeed.

Furthermore, he had no intention of selling the overseas distribution rights immediately.

Once the film secured an award, not only would the price double, but he wouldn't have to worry about distributors knocking on his door.

In that case, it was better to wait patiently.

On the 10th.

The day before the film festival awards ceremony.

As soon as Cheng Sheng walked into the hotel, he saw Zeng Li.

"Sister Li, are you planning to go out?"

"Director Cheng, didn't you receive an invitation from Director Jia Zhangke?" Zeng Li asked, puzzled.

"Oh, look at my memory, I almost forgot today is the premiere of Director Jia's *World*."

Reminded by Zeng Li, he remembered.

Yesterday, Jia Zhangke had personally invited him to attend the premiere of *World*.

He had just been too busy with his own affairs and had forgotten instantly.

Cheng Sheng looked at Zeng Li. Her style of dress was simple and exquisite; her clothes seemed tailor-made for her, showcasing her curves while remaining comfortable and natural.

She truly lived up to being a great beauty produced by the Central Academy of Drama only once in two hundred years, already possessing a subtle "mature older sister" aura. According to another memory, Zeng Li's "shelf life" was incredibly long.

"I'll go back and change first, then we can go together," Cheng Sheng said.

Zeng Li did not refuse. Once Cheng Sheng changed and came back down, the two went to the screening venue together.

Upon arrival, they first congratulated Jia Zhangke and chatted for a few moments before entering the screening room.

Many people had already arrived at the theater, with an occupancy rate of over fifty percent. It seemed Jia Zhangke's reputation in Venice was quite good; unlike his own premiere, where the occupancy rate was less than forty percent.

Finding a seat in the middle, Cheng Sheng sat down next to Zeng Li. Seeing that her small face was a bit red from the cold, he said, "Venice isn't like back home; it's best to wear a down jacket when you come out here in the future."

After saying that, Cheng Sheng took off his coat and draped it over Zeng Li.

"Thanks, but a down jacket is a bit bulky and unflattering," Zeng Li said.

Hearing this, Cheng Sheng found it truly difficult to understand the minds of women—choosing style over warmth, and not even fearing catching a cold.

(End of Chapter)