Chapter 64 New Project

When Liu Zhou returned to school, he was greeted with Liu Ye's resentful gaze.

Liu Zhou got goosebumps when he looked at him, and couldn't help but say:
"Why are you looking at me like that, like a grudge?"

"Why don't you ask me to act in such a good script?"

"Aren't you filming a movie? Would I go to the mountains in southwestern Hunan and drag you out?"

"Then you can't wait for me?"

Liu Zhou was a little amused by Liu Ye's shameless attitude of wanting everything.

"Can you please have some shame? I created this play because Haozi was upset when he saw you filming a movie. I wanted to let him satisfy his acting craving. What good things do you expect me to give you?"

Liu Ye was also a little embarrassed by what Liu Zhou said, as he had only said it verbally just now.

But when he returned to school, Liu Ye felt a little jealous when he found out that a group of his classmates had put on such an amazing drama.

I was feeling a little proud of having starred in a movie, but now I suddenly realize there is nothing to be proud of, and my happiness has suddenly diminished by half.

"Oh, what a pity, I missed this great play 'Dragon Boat'."

"Stop sighing here. Others envy you."

"Then can you arrange a role for me in the next performance?"

"I'm not sure right now. I don't know if anyone else is okay. If they are, I can let you take over."

"Then it's settled."

Liu Zhou ignored him, completed the admission procedures, and returned to his own courtyard.

After a quick cleanup, before Liu Zhou could sit down to rest, the phone rang.

"Liu Zhou, I'm Manager Li from the Capital Theater. Are you back to school?"

"Manager Li, you are really well-informed. I just arrived at school today."

"I won't beat around the bush. When can you have more performances of your play?"

"I'll go check it out first. I don't know if there are any personnel changes. I'll give you an answer in a couple of days."

"Okay, you have to hurry up. We have a lot of people asking you when the play will be performed again."

Not long after, Liu Zhou received another call from Senior Brother Zhang from the Oriental Theater, also asking when he could come to Shanghai again.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Zhou couldn't help but smile. It seemed that the drama "Duds" was really popular, and it was not just a short-lived popularity.

Thinking that drama can actually make a lot of money, Liu Zhou considered whether he should stage two more plays, or even set up a drama troupe and treat drama as a career.

The next day when they returned to school, Liu Zhou gathered the members of the crew, and Liu Ye also followed happily.

Liu Zhou first gave them the remuneration for the performance in Magic City.

Liu Ye's eyes turned red when he looked at the thick stack of money in Qin Hao's and the others' hands.

I went to the mountains in southwestern Hunan and stayed there for several months, and my salary was only 20,000 yuan. They performed a few plays in Beijing, and earned much more money than I did.

Liu Zhou didn't notice Liu Ye's envious look, and went on to tell them about the theater invitation.

This winter vacation, they didn't receive any invitations from any film crews that they were satisfied with, so they were all free.

This saves a lot of trouble as we don't have to rehearse again.

The only one who was a little anxious might be Liu Ye, and in the end Liu Zhou asked him to play the role of Lu Deshui.

Although Liu Ye was a little annoyed that Liu Zhou asked him to play a donkey, he had to agree under everyone's pressure.

At the end of February, the drama "Duds" was performed again for five consecutive shows at the Capital Theatre, and every show was sold out, which made the popularity of this drama, which had been somewhat dormant, rise again.

After resting for three days, Liu Zhou led the crew south to Shanghai and performed five consecutive shows at the Oriental Theater.

After returning to the capital, Liu Zhou announced the disbandment of the crew.

It is a real disbandment. In the short term, Liu Zhou is not planning to perform "Duds" again.

By the next performance, Liu Zhou didn’t know if he could get this group of people together again.

Although drama has a high status in the eyes of industry insiders, the mainland entertainment industry is now recovering rapidly, and many of them still prefer to act in movies and TV series.

After finishing his work on the drama, Liu Zhou finally had time to write the first part of Ghost Blows Out the Light, "The Mysterious City of Jingjue".

Liu Zhou is familiar with the Ghost Blows Out the Light series of novels, so he doesn't need to write an outline. There may be some details that he needs to polish.

He had already written a little while at home, and this time he planned to finish "The Lost Tomb" in one go.

It was mid-March, and Liu Zhou, who had been writing in seclusion in his courtyard, finally put down his pen.

After some sorting, he asked Zeng Li to help him send the manuscript to Mengya magazine.

After Qu He received Liu Zhou's manuscript, he also read it carefully. Before he knew it, it was almost time to get off work.

Looking at this novel which is very different from Liu Zhou's previous works, Qu He also sighed that this new novel is so damn attractive.

Qu He had a feeling that this novel would be more popular than Liu Zhou's previous three novels. This book would be very attractive to men of almost all ages except children.

On the other hand, Liu Zhou received a call from Qu He within two days.

After confirming that there was no problem with the subject matter, Liu Zhou also discussed the contract issues of the book with him.

Because Liu Zhou's requirements were relatively high this time, and he revealed that this was a series of novels with several parts, it took several days of negotiations with the magazine to finalize the contract.

This time, Liu Zhou's royalties reached 20%, which was unprecedented in the industry, and this was also the point of dispute between the two parties.

Liu Zhou was very persistent about this, and finally "Mengya" compromised and agreed to his request, but the number needed to be kept confidential.

Currently, no one has ever received 20% royalties, and no media or magazine dares to give it, and they don't want to become the target of public criticism.

Liu Zhou agreed to the request for confidentiality immediately. He also wanted to keep a low profile and make a fortune quietly.

Liu Zhou's request for 20% royalties was not an exorbitant demand, but he really deserves it now.

In later generations, Han Han was able to get 20% of royalties, so of course Liu Zhou can do the same now, because his popularity now is no less than his popularity back then.

In addition to the 20% royalties, the first print run of The Mysterious City reached 300,000 copies.

Liu Zhou originally wanted to publish it directly, but Mengya disagreed and wanted to serialize it for a while first, and he did not object.

After handing the manuscript to Qu He, Liu Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally have some peace and quiet for a while. It was really uncomfortable to be urged to update more all the time.

On this day, Liu Zhou, who had put his worries aside, was resting in the courtyard, and Qin Hao came over again and wanted to invite him to dinner.

Liu Zhou did not go this time, but asked Zeng Li to go to a small restaurant at the entrance of the alley and order a few dishes to eat in the yard.

While eating, Liu Zhou saw Qin Hao's depressed look and couldn't help asking:

"You're not acting like a jerk again, are you? You look so terrible."

"Not really. I just think it's a pity that the crew of Donkey Deshui was disbanded directly."

"What's so sad about this? We all have to pursue our own careers. We can't just keep performing in dramas forever."

"Why not? It's better to act in a drama than to act in those films that are not very artistic."

"Do you think everyone is as picky as you? Everyone has different pursuits."

Seeing that he suddenly fell silent, Liu Zhou asked curiously:

"Why did you come here this time? You didn't come just to have dinner with me and talk about this, did you?"

"Old Liu, have you ever considered setting up a dedicated drama studio like Meng Jinghui did?"

"Are you addicted to acting in dramas?"

“I think acting in a play is quite interesting.”

"If you want to act in a drama, can't you apply to Beijing People's Art Theatre or the National Theatre? They have many classic plays."

"Of course I have considered it, but as a newcomer in those two big studios, there is no way I can play the leading role. I will have to play supporting roles for several years."

"There is no big or small role. Be careful, Teacher Chang Li will criticize you when he hears you say this."

"I also know that roles are not big or small, but if you are used to playing the leading role and suddenly have to play a minor role, the psychological gap is too big, so it's better not to do it."

"So you want to hang out with me?"

"Yes, Lao Liu, you are so talented. You will definitely be able to create more excellent works in the future. It is also very enjoyable to perform your drama."

"You should know that my dream is to make a movie."

"I know that your writing of plays has no impact on your filmmaking."

When Liu Zhou heard what Qin Hao said, he hesitated for a moment and said:
"Mouse, I can't give you an accurate answer to this matter for now. I need to think about it carefully."

Liu Zhou had just realized how much money a popular play could make, and this matter was indeed promising.

However, compared with the film market, the drama market is still too small.

Liu Zhou's focus in the future will definitely be on movies. Even if he can produce a few more excellent drama scripts, it will be impossible for him to participate in the whole process.

Even if he wanted to hire someone to manage it, Liu Zhou didn't have a suitable candidate right now.

It is impossible for Liu Zhou to set up a drama troupe just for Qin Hao.

"Okay, when you have thought it over, let me know as soon as possible."

"No problem. Although I can't give you a quick reply about the drama studio, can I let you indulge in some drama here?"

"Have you created any new work?" Qin Hao asked in surprise.

Liu Zhou didn't say anything, but went to the study to get a notebook and handed it to Qin Hao, then said:
"I want to work on this project next, and I want you to come over and help me?"

Qin Hao saw the name on the cover of the book and blurted out:
"Isn't this the script you created in your freshman year?"

(End of this chapter)