Chapter 32: Hijacking the Film and Television Adaptation Rights

In fact, after Chen Mo proposed the concept of online feature films, the representatives from the three video platforms all felt a sudden spark of inspiration.

This idea was really just a thin veil—nothing so mysterious—yet for a time, it had been overlooked right under their noses.

When Chen Mo brought it up, as insiders in the industry, they naturally understood the appeal online feature films held for these platforms that were aggressively vying for market share.

It could be said that if they succeeded, it would establish a certain barrier for smaller websites—one they could control.

More importantly, if successful, it would become a brand-new profit stream for the platforms, something they absolutely could not afford to miss in their current phase of spending heavily to capture the market.

Of course, whether it would succeed or how effective it would be was not a concern for them. Their job was simply to report this idea upward. For them, that was already the greatest benefit.

However, this was a major plan for the three platforms, and clearly, it wouldn’t bear fruit overnight.

The key problem was that they currently had no model to follow.

After settling this matter, Chen Mo immediately flew to the capital.

Though Chen Mo only had one film, "Watching the Meteor Shower Together," under his belt, the workload was truly heavy, and they were severely understaffed.

He naturally hoped to recruit a top talent to help handle the trivial tasks, but at this stage, he certainly couldn’t find such a person.

So he had to settle for a second-best option—one candidate was his former agent, Zhao Ming.

Having worked with Zhao Ming for several years, Chen Mo knew him fairly well. Although Zhao was an agent and Chen Mo had no plans to sign any artists, that didn’t mean his expertise was irrelevant.

In fact, Zhao Ming was currently the most suitable person Chen Mo could secure.

Of course, it wasn’t realistic to have Zhao manage the company’s affairs, but having him continue as Chen Mo’s assistant, serving only his acting needs, was ideal.

Previously, Zhao Ming had declined twice, which Chen Mo understood—after all, people always aim higher. Back then, not only Zhao but even Teacher Li Bin didn’t believe Chen Mo could successfully produce a drama.

But now the results were in, and everything was different.

The moment Chen Mo called, Zhao Ming agreed to meet without even asking what it was about.

“I really didn’t expect you to pull it off, and so successfully at that. Honestly, I still find it hard to believe. If you had this ability, why bother being an actor?” Zhao Ming said, still in disbelief.

As he said, if Chen Mo had such talent, why settle for acting?

“Zhao, enough about that—how have you been lately?” Chen Mo asked with a smile.

“Same old, really. I’m starting to regret it a bit, though,” Zhao Ming sighed.

“Regret what? Turning down my offer?” Chen Mo laughed.

“Yeah! If I’d known you were this amazing, why would I have stayed at Xingyu as a workhorse?” Zhao Ming said bluntly, without embarrassment.

“It’s not too late now. How about it, Zhao? Come work with me—not as an agent, but as an assistant, helping coordinate film and television production matters. Interested?” Chen Mo extended the invitation again. If Zhao refused this time, their friendship would likely be over.

“Of course I’m interested! Honestly, I wanted to volunteer earlier but was afraid I wasn’t qualified,” Zhao Ming admitted with some excitement.

“How long do you need to wrap things up over there? When can you start?” Chen Mo asked, smiling at his reaction.

“Three days will do. I only have a couple of minor projects left, nothing major to hand over. If you hadn’t called today, I was already planning to jump ship,” Zhao Ming said with a bitter smile.

It seemed his own troubles had affected Zhao Ming.

But this was perfect—he could come over quickly and help.

Chen Mo took out a sheet of paper with several novel titles written on it.

They included "Ghost Blows Out the Light," "The Lost Tomb," "Love Is Not Blind," "Nirvana in Fire," "The Journey of Flower," and "Net Death."

The first two were among the most frequently adapted IPs for online films and series in the previous era.

"Love Is Not Blind" was interesting—Chen Mo initially forgot it, but it came to mind because it was one of the notable works related to the Knife Gang incident, which made it a dark horse in film.

"Nirvana in Fire" came to him while researching; in the previous life, its adaptation rights had been sold off cheaply.

"The Journey of Flower" was one of Zhao Xiaodao’s signature works.

"Net Death" was the original novel for the film "Search." Chen Mo had planned this project early on, as it, like the Knife Gang incident, stemmed from online bullying tragedies. Though different, it would help make the Knife Gang story resonate more deeply.

Chen Mo wasn’t sure if the rights for these works had already been sold, but negotiating adaptation rights for online novels now was generally inexpensive—buying them was a bargain.

He certainly wouldn’t produce all these adaptations himself, but owning the rights would give him control whether he produced them or invested in them.

Moreover, these projects had proven to be excellent in the previous era’s adaptations. As for more titles, he could neither recall them nor did he have enough capital.

“Check the ownership of these novels in the coming days, and help me acquire the adaptation rights. For legal matters, contact Copyright Lawyer Cao Qing at Hongjing Law Firm. Here’s his card,” Chen Mo handed the paper to Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming glanced at it and asked, “No problem! But what about the price?”

“Negotiate first, and also research recent copyright transactions for similar works. It shouldn’t be too expensive,” Chen Mo said, admitting his lack of expertise in this area.

He had no professionals to handle this, so Zhao Ming had to take it on.

Fortunately, since "Watching the Meteor Shower Together" aired, Chen Mo’s shell company, Shengshi Film Company, had gained some recognition, at least enough not to be seen as a scam.

That would help when negotiating rights.

What Chen Mo didn’t expect was that while he was worried about lacking staff, others were eyeing him.

Not in the way Yu Youde did, but someone wanted to sign him.

“Little Horse Gallop?” Chen Mo was puzzled when he received a call from Ning Hao. Of course, he knew this company.

Before Big Dog’s untimely death, this company had done quite well, but after his passing, the large company fell apart.

He recalled Ning Hao had also joined Little Horse Gallop in the previous life.

“Yeah, do you want to meet them? They’re quite strong,” Ning Hao said.

“Are you planning to sign with them?” Chen Mo asked curiously.

“Yeah, their offer is good, and they can handle distribution for 'Crazy Stone' later,” Ning Hao said.

“Then let’s meet,” Chen Mo replied. Though he didn’t intend to sign with Little Horse Gallop, cooperation was possible.

“Okay, I’ll have them contact you. You can talk directly. If you want to make films in the future, Little Horse Gallop is a good choice. They’re investing heavily this year, signing many directors, and their conditions are flexible. Think it over,” Ning Hao advised.

No sooner had Ning Hao hung up than Chen Mo received a call from a vice president at Little Horse Gallop.