Liu Cixin didn't know how to describe his mood, excited, excited, and a little nervous in addition to that, but in general he was very happy, very, very happy.

As a science fiction writer, Liu Cixin likes to watch science fiction films, likes classic films such as "2001", "Blade Runner" and "The Matrix", and he also fantasizes that one day his novels can be adapted into movies. But he knows that this is impossible, making science fiction films requires a complete industrial chain, a complete production system, and more importantly, a lot of money. At present, the annual revenue of the entire Chinese film market is only 900 million yuan, which is only 110 million yuan when converted into US dollars, which is not comparable to the cost of a Hollywood blockbuster. Making a science fiction film in this situation is absolutely wishful thinking!

Although the appearance of "Time Prisoner" gave domestic science fiction fans a surprise, Liu Cixin didn't think it had anything to do with him, and the science fiction structure he wrote was particularly huge, and it was unlikely that it would be filmed in China.

To his surprise, Alai, the editor-in-chief of "Science Fiction World", called, saying that Zhang Ran, the director of "Time Prisoner", had taken a fancy to his two novels and wanted to meet him to discuss the issue of film copyright.

After hanging up the phone, he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, and directly asked the unit leader for leave, and then hurried from Niangziguan to Rongcheng.

After the plane landed at Shuangliu Airport, Liu Cixin stopped a taxi outside the airport and went directly to the "Science Fiction World" magazine.

The editor of "Science Fiction World" was very familiar with Liu Cixin, and knew why he came, so they all smiled and said hello, and then pointed to the editor-in-chief's office and signaled inside.

Liu Cixin came to the door of the editor-in-chief's office and took a breath. Then he knocked on the door, waiting for the sound of "please come in". Push the door in. Walking into the office, he saw the editor-in-chief, Alai. and a man in his thirties with glasses sitting across from Arlai. He couldn't help laughing: "He Xi, you are also here!"

He Xi smiled and nodded: "Da Liu, you're here!"

Alai beckoned Liu Cixin to sit down, then he poured a glass of water and said with a smile: "Drink some water first, Zhang Ran's house is in Jingyang, only an hour's drive from here." The day before yesterday, he bought two novels by Lao Wang and went home. He just called me and said that his car had arrived in Rongcheng. Should be there soon!"

Liu Cixin nodded and asked, "I don't know which of Lao Wang's novels he bought?"

Alai said: ""Mercury Sowing" and "Seven Shells"!"

Liu Cixin nodded secretly, these two novels are Wang Jinkang's masterpieces, and they are very classic science fiction novels, Zhang Ran is indeed very discerning. Zhang Ranren didn't arrive, Liu Cixin had nothing to do, so he chatted with He Xi and Alai.

The three of them chatted for almost half an hour, and the knock on the door suddenly sounded, and Liu Cixin and He Xi looked at the door in unison. Alley said "Please come in". The door creaked open, and a young man in his twenties walked in.

Zhang Ran walked into the room, nodded at Alai, and then looked at Liu Cixin and He Xi. In the previous life, Liu Cixin's "Three-Body Problem" won the Hugo Award. There are many media reports and interviews, and Zhang Ran recognized it at a glance, but He Xi has not seen it and does not know him. Introduce yourself: "It's Mr. Liu Cixin and Mr. He Xi, right? I'm Zhang Ran!"

Liu Cixin and He Xi hurriedly got up and said, "Yes, I am Liu Cixin." ”

"I'm He Xi. ”

"Alright. Sit down and talk slowly!" Zhang Ran smiled and sat down on the sofa.

Liu Cixin and He Xi also sat down. Their eyes stayed on Zhang Ran's body, and they kept looking. They all know that Zhang Ran is young, and now that they look at it, they are younger than they imagined.

However, as science fiction writers, they know that it is a good thing for science fiction directors to be young, and many classic science fiction films are made by young directors, such as "Star Wars", "Alien", and "The Matrix". It's just that Zhang Ran is much younger than these people.

Zhang Ran smiled and said, "I'm a fan of science fiction, and I especially like your novels. Whether it is "The Wandering Earth" or "Exotic", I have watched it many times and like it very much. ”

Hearing Zhang Ran say this, Liu Ci and He Xi both showed happy smiles.

"I don't like to talk nonsense, and I invite you here today in the hope that you will buy the film rights of a few science fiction novels from you. Speaking of this, Zhang Ran paused for a moment and looked at Liu Cixin and He Xi, "I want Teacher Liu Cixin's "Mountain Village Teacher" and "The Wandering Earth", Teacher He Xi's "Exotic" and "Six Beings of the Path"! I believe that if these novels are made into movies, countless audiences will like them, and I hope you can sell me the film rights of the novels. ”

Although they are all here for this, the feelings of hearing Zhang Ran say it are obviously different, and both of them are a little excited: "Of course you can, to be honest, I never dreamed that my novel would become a movie one day!"

"Yes, as long as you can shoot it well, you can give it to you for nothing!"

Zhang Ran waved his hand and said sincerely: "Although the situation of domestic science fiction has begun to improve in the past two years, it is still far from the United States. Some people say that the Chinese are not imaginative enough, but that is pure nonsense. In fact, the root is still in the market, and writing science fiction novels in the United States can not only support oneself, but also be able to live a very nourishing life, but what about us in China? It is impossible to support oneself at all. Science fiction writers are amateur writers, and they certainly can't put much effort into it. I can't help much, but I can't exploit everyone, and I have to pay for it. ”

When the two heard Zhang Ran say this, they both nodded silently, they are famous science fiction writers in China, but if they write science fiction novels, they still can't support themselves. If they can survive by writing science fiction, they will be able to devote more energy to writing, and they will definitely be able to write better works.

It's a pity that this is just a luxury!

"I think so, I bought the copyright of film, television and games for 100,000 pieces of your novel. The contract I had already prepared. Let's take a look, if you have any questions, just ask!" Zhang Ran said, took out two contracts and put them in front of the two.

Zhang Ran's price is quite high, and he doesn't have to open such a high price at all. However, these novels are the best of domestic science fiction novels, suitable for making movies, and even if he doesn't make them himself, he can sell them to others.

Liu Cixin and He Xi both picked up the contract. Take a closer look. They believe that Zhang Ran will not pit himself, but what should be clarified has to be figured out. Otherwise, it's hard to say if something goes wrong.

The contract was read quickly, and everything else was fine. It's just that there is one of them that they can't believe it. The contract states that they, as the original authors, can share 3% of the film's profits with the creators of the film's scripts. That is to say, if the profit of the movie is 10 million, they and the screenwriter of the film will get a profit share of 300,000 together, and if the profit is 100 million, they will share the profit share of 3 million.

Liu Cixin couldn't believe it, pointed to this and asked, "Director Zhang, what is this?"

Zhang Ran explained with a smile: "Our film will be made in the United States, and the whole film will operate completely in accordance with the Hollywood way, and an American team will be hired, and maybe even American screenwriters will be invited to participate in the creation of the script." It is a hard and fast rule of the Writers Guild of America that screenwriters participate in the sharing, and the benefits cannot be taken by Americans! Are there any other questions?"

Liu Cixin shook his head: "No, just follow this contract." ”

He Xi also shook his head: "I don't either, the treatment you gave far exceeded my requirements, and I couldn't be more satisfied." ”

When they write a novel, it will cost them one or two thousand yuan, and Zhang Ran will take 100,000 yuan to buy the copyright of the novel, which is already sky-high. I didn't expect them to have a chance to share, which was something they couldn't even dream of.

Liu Cixin and He Xi did not hesitate at all. Picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract.

Zhang Ran picked up the contract and looked at it, then put it in his bag, with a satisfied smile on his face: "The copyright problem has finally been solved, and the next step is to change it to a movie script." But movies and novels are two different concepts entirely. Turning a novel into a movie is definitely going to change a lot of things. You two are the best science fiction writers in the country, so I want to hear your opinions!"

Liu Cixin and He Xi both nodded: "Of course it's no problem, I don't know if you plan to shoot that novel?"

Zhang Ran said: "I'm going to shoot "Six Beings". The cost of this story is relatively small, and it is not technically difficult. Filming "The Wandering Earth" will definitely not be able to do it without $200 million. Even if you sell me now, you can't find so much money, so you can only shoot it later when you have the strength. ”

Liu Cixin was happy when he heard this. His science fiction has always been known for its majestic atmosphere, and the structure is very huge, if it is made into a movie, it will definitely not lose to the top Hollywood blockbusters.

Next, Zhang Ran talked to the two about the problem of "Six Beings of the Six Paths".

"Six Beings of the Realm" tells the story of a man named He Xi who could see similar ghost things when he was a child. As an adult, He Xi often dreams about what he saw as a child. One day, he saw something in a dream that he hadn't noticed before, and he saw a man with a T-shirt that read "Maple Knife City".

However, He Xi searched all the cities in the Chinese world, and did not find Maple Leaf City, which does not exist in the world. But he didn't give up and started asking for help online. Unexpectedly, heavily armed police suddenly came to the door and forcibly sent him to a psychiatric hospital.

At the same time, a policewoman named Shizune Makino discovers something shocking while tracking down the murder of a councillor, which fades into the air after the killer kills and then disappears into thin air. Makino Jing accidentally learned about He Xi's situation, and she found He Xi. Under their tracking, a shocking answer is known, this world is not the only one, there are five different worlds, each with an earth. In order to alleviate the population pressure on the earth, scientists created the Gate of Living Beings more than 100 years ago, and secretly immigrated tens of billions of people to other worlds, and Maple Leaf City is one of the cities inhabited by Chinese.

Originally, the six worlds were not connected to each other, and they could only travel to other worlds through the Gate of Beings, but now there is a killer who can travel freely through the six worlds, and a superman who can do whatever he wants. Now the only one who can stop the killer is He Xi, because He Xi can see things from other worlds, his physique is special, as long as he passes through the sentient beings gate, he can stimulate his potential and become a superman who can freely shuttle through the six worlds.

The first half of "Six Beings" is a bit like "Soul Shifting City", chasing the suffocating truth of things, while the second half is a bit like "Cosmic Hunt and Killing Order", where He Xi tracks down the identity of the killer and finally starts a decisive battle with the killer. The whole story is very exciting, but as a movie, it is still relatively thin and needs to be rich.

Liu Cixin and He Xi are science fiction writers known for their imagination, so Zhang Ran was very humble to discuss with them how to make the movie better. At the beginning, Liu Cixin and He Xi proposed a lot of things, but when Zhang Ran put forward his opinion, the idea he proposed shocked the two writers and made them ashamed.

In the evening, Zhang Ran invited the two writers to a meal, and did not return to the hotel until nine o'clock. As soon as he walked into the room, the mobile phone rang suddenly, he picked it up and saw that it was Liu Yifei's phone, and immediately connected: "Baozi, how did you remember to call Weishi, is there something wrong?" (To be continued.) )