"6.5 million?" Listening to this number, Li Xiaole narrowed his eyes, the BBC's second round of quotations was 6.5 million pounds per episode, which is already quite high, but there is still a gap with the price in his mind, in addition to the North American copyright that Pirate TV has determined, there are more than 40 countries in Europe alone, and the average copyright fee of 200,000 per episode in each country is not only this money, you must know that "Sherlock" is not an ordinary drama, but a 90-minute episode long drama.

"This price, it's just so surprising, I reported it to Fred, all the directors are excited, Lee, I'm really glad we didn't sell it according to their price of 3 million pounds per episode, or we'd probably be frustrated by smashing things at home now." Charlie laughed heavily, he really didn't expect "Sherlock" to go so far.

"That's it......" Li Xiaole squinted his eyes and calculated in his heart, "Sherlock" should be sold for 9 million pounds, he felt that he should maximize the benefits, and immediately had an idea in his mind and said to Charlie:

"Charlie, I think so, you ask the BBC if they are willing to take over the filming rights of the subsequent season of "Sherlock", if they are willing, then they will pay 9.5 million pounds per episode for the current season of "Sherlock".

"What......?" Charlie was stunned on the spot, he was in a good mood to announce the good news, but he didn't expect Li Xiaole to come to such a show, what is this going to do? Sold the rights of the subsequent seasons and recycled the short-term profits now? So after 4 years, when the money is spent, what will the Drama Council do?

"Charlie, don't worry, I know what you're thinking, even if the Council wants to make a sequel to "Sherlock", I'm afraid it will face a lot of problems." Li Xiaole smiled and said:

"You probably don't know yet, Emma is going to be a stage star, Benny has a Hollywood offer, and Martin is going to work on The Hobbit......"

"Original...... I see...... "Charlie looked at Martin and the three of them, took a deep breath, and suddenly realized that his idea was still too simple, and now the actors of "Sherlock" have all been reborn, and it is no longer like a few months ago, you can listen to their arrangements at will.

"And you know, I'm also going to make a movie, and I don't have a clue about the script for the next season, so why not transfer the follow-up production rights to the BBC, it's good for everyone." Li Xiaole said with a smile.

"Up to £9.5 million per episode...... I'm afraid it's hard for the BBC to accept it...... "Charlie has a complicated look, and he still wants to fight for it in his heart, he hopes that Li Xiaole can stay......

"Don't worry, they will definitely agree to the follow-up production rights, so that they will be more attentive to the operation of "Sherlock" overseas." Li Xiaole said confidently, "Sherlock" is just his first cry in the UK, the real highlight is still to come, he carefully prepared the film to attack the Oscars - "Millionaire in the Slum", this is the main purpose of his coming to the UK, according to Indian law, only film agencies in Commonwealth countries can shoot on their soil, he can enter Bollywood, otherwise it will not be a matter of one or two years to go through countless complicated legal applications.

"Well, that's all there is to it." Charlie understood that the matter was irreparable, but he couldn't help but feel a little sad in his heart, this energetic crew that the Drama Council had just established was about to go its separate ways in a blink of an eye...... This made him, an old man, a little reluctant from the bottom of his heart, as if he was watching his children leave his side one after another.

Looking at the reluctance in the eyes of old Charlie, who was like a father, Emma and the three couldn't help but feel a little guilty...... With them gone, what will be the future of the Drama Council......

"Charlie, by the way, I forgot to tell you." Li Xiaole looked at everyone's somewhat sad atmosphere, turned around and suddenly rummaged under the desk drawer, muttering: "Where is it......" while turning out a stack of scripts with four big characters of "Downton Abbey" printed on the cover, turned around and handed it to Charlie:

"This is a series that I wrote in my spare time during this time, and I think it fits the style of the Drama Council very well."

"What is this?" Charlie took the script a little helplessly, and he intuitively thought that Li Xiaole was leaving him a souvenir script or something before parting.

While flipping through the outline, I was a little surprised to find that it was a period drama during the First World War in England, and I couldn't help but ask curiously: "Lee, is this the script you wrote?" How much does it cost per episode? ”

"Lei Ting and I roughly made a plan, this series is mainly in a refined style, and the cost is probably more expensive, about 4.1 million pounds per episode on average." Li Xiaole said honestly, after all, it is a period drama, and the cost is still higher than that of modern dramas.

"£4,100,000 per episode??" Old Charlie's face froze when he heard this, and he looked at Li Xiaole for a long time before he said slowly: "Li ...... This is a cost that the Council has never had before...... What's more, it's not that you're afraid, but I'm afraid that you won't be able to pass the council's review......"

Li Xiaole is going to make a movie soon, he will definitely not come to shoot this series, Black Pearl Company will naturally not invest, the Drama Council is so easy to take a breath, can't you immediately invest all the money you earn into a drama......

You must know that British period dramas are very difficult to film, and there are too many classic dramas in front of you...... Li Xiaole, who Chinese screenwriter, probably doesn't have that pure British flavor......

"Actually, it's not much, the budget is done in the back, so the details are there, you look at the back." Li Xiaole pointed to the script with his finger:

"Charlie, look at it, there is a budget table at the back, which includes the remuneration of the camera, lighting, and recording crew, and I have already negotiated with all the actors, and they are all willing to act, although the price is not cheap, but it is definitely worth it, and the cost budget of 4 million pounds added up to all of these is not excessive...... There is also the evaluation of market expectations......"

Li Xiaole elaborated on the reason for such a large investment in this series:

"Recently, in the British TV drama market, fashion dramas are a blank, and there are no strong dramas of the same type, the audience has a sufficient sense of **** for this genre, Lei Ting counted the statistics of ATC Network Company, many of my viewers over the age of 25 are looking forward to a drama similar to "Pride and Prejudice" that describes the aristocracy, and people are not less enthusiastic about the British royal family after the Princess Diana incident, Prince William's fart will make headlines, and everyone can shoot them without royal authorization, Therefore, the period drama of the aristocratic castle will be a pretty good breakthrough point.

If you put this writer and producer in my name, I believe that this series will definitely get a good result and will definitely be profitable......"

"Downton Abbey", the British aristocratic theme, is very popular in later generations, Li Xiaole is clear, the reason why he asked Charlie to make this film is not only to let the Drama Council embark on a virtuous circle and find a balance between art and the market, but more importantly, he has selfish intentions, and he really wants to fight at the Oscars next year.

In the eyes of the public, the Oscar Awards seem to be a very fair and open film award, but the 6000 judges are all emotionally tended, and those technical awards may be quantifiable, but once it comes to several awards that are more subjectively judged, Best Director, Best Picture, etc., when the gap between several nominated films is not large, then the subjective impression score will play a great role.

This is also the so-called favorability vote, those who have been nominated many times can easily get these favorability votes, and Li Xiaole, as a cutting-edge film director in the world, does not have any favorability votes in the eyes of the judges.

He gave "Downton Abbey" to the Drama Board to be filmed, and asked to put his name on it, he wanted the 728 Oscar-qualified industry peers in Britain to see that he not only knew how to modernize Sherlock Holmes, but also accurately grasped the core of traditional British aristocratic culture.

He wants to give all the Oscar judges an impression that he Li Xiaole is not only a director of commercial films, but also has his own unique understanding of humanities and arts.

To know what Ang Lee can win the Oscar for director twice, in addition to the fact that he is really good, there is really another reason, that is, he filmed a British movie "Sense and Sensibility" that did not do well at the box office in 1995, almost all British people think that Ang Lee has made those unique and noble British artistic temperament, which makes everyone instinctively think that Ang Lee's movies are very advanced.

Think about it, if Feng Xiaogang had filmed "Brokeback Mountain", would he have been able to win the Oscar for Best Director?

In fact, Li Xiaole should not go through the back door, he just wants those British Oscar judges to put him in the same position as British and American directors such as the Coen brothers and Nolan at next year's awards ceremony, and compete fairly, which is enough.

On the other hand, in fact, Li Xiaole also knows in his heart that he himself is actually not good at filming "Downton Abbey", and the technique and plot may be completely fine, but the nostalgic temperament expressed in the work is not something he can show.

Now he is called to the Council to film, in fact, he wants to be named a producer and screenwriter, which in anyone's opinion, as long as "Downton Abbey" is filmed, only he will think that he Li Xiaole is manipulating the director behind his back, and regard it as his work.

This was a mutually beneficial result for him, the Council, and even an unknown British director, of course, he couldn't say it directly, so he could only put on a very guilty look and give the project to Charlie, making him think that he had created the project to help the Council......