Chapter 136: Film and Television Adaptation Rights

Big Beard Zhang was the affectionate nickname everyone used for him, because he wore a full, bushy beard.

His real name was Zhang Weishen. Born in the 1950s, he had worked as an actor and director, but production was ultimately his true profession. He had served as producer on numerous television series, including major CCTV productions such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin. In the industry, he could be considered a fairly well-known producer.

From time to time, he also directed a few television series.

Big Beard Zhang Studio was a film and television production studio founded by Zhang Weishen in partnership with Huayi Brothers, a private Chinese film company.

The studio had previously produced several martial-arts dramas adapted from classic novels by famous writers from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their ratings had been quite good, so Big Beard Zhang was preparing to strike while the iron was hot and continue making martial-arts productions.

His target was the recently popular Legends of the Condor Heroes.

For a time, however, Big Beard Zhang’s work had been put on hold. He stayed home and rarely went out, passing those tedious days with a copy of Legends of the Condor Heroes in his hands.

“Legends of the Condor Heroes bears repeated reading. It is a superb work, with a thrilling, undulating plot. It is in no way inferior to the works of those famous Hong Kong and Taiwanese authors.” Big Beard Zhang said this to Yu Min, the director contracted to his studio.

Yu Min was Zhang Jizhong’s disciple. Capable of both directing and producing, he and another contracted director, Zhao Jian, were Big Beard Zhang’s right- and left-hand men.

Several of the studio’s martial-arts productions had been produced by Big Beard Zhang, with Yu Min handling the dramatic scenes and Zhao Jian directing the action sequences. The two worked in close division of labor.

Adjusting his glasses, Yu Min said, “Indeed. After reading the whole series, I feel an epic and stirring heroism rolling around in my gut. Teacher, do you really think this post-eighties kid named Zhang Tan could have written such a good novel? Could he have hired someone else to write it for him and then passed it off as his own?”

Zhao Jian, who was eating an apple nearby, cut in. “Didn’t you read the newspaper? It said right there that Zhang Tan’s father is a laid-off worker and his mother is a farmer. Where would he find a ghostwriter? You have to believe in this world. Some people really are geniuses.”

Big Beard Zhang exclaimed, “Whether Zhang Tan is a genius or not doesn’t matter, so long as his books are good. The Eastern Heretic, the Western Venom, the Southern Emperor, the Northern Beggar, and the Central Divinity—just look at the grandeur of that structure. This novel is absolutely worth adapting. Once we turn it into a production, it will definitely be a hit. It won’t be inferior to any of the dramas we’ve made before.”

“I trust your eye, Teacher.” Yu Min offered him a timely compliment before continuing, “Have we secured the rights yet? Don’t let someone else snatch them away.”

“I’ve already sent people to contact Zhang Tan.”

…

When Li Yan received a call from Big Beard Zhang Studio, she was overjoyed.

A martial-arts novel could earn far more than royalties alone; it could also bring in various adaptation fees. It was just that Zhang Tan had previously been too obscure for anyone to take notice of him. Now, at last, someone with genuine insight had recognized his talent and begun seeking the rights to Legends of the Condor Heroes—and it was the studio of the nationally renowned Big Beard Zhang.

After Li Yan passed the good news on to Zhang Tan, he was equally excited.

At last, one foot had entered the splendid, pretentious paradise of the film and television industry.

Once the excitement had subsided, Zhang Tan asked rationally, “Who exactly is Big Beard Zhang? How large is his studio? What productions has he made before?”

“Zhang Weishen is a famous producer who has worked on numerous television series. He participated in the production of both Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin. The studio was established through his partnership with Huayi Brothers. Huayi Brothers is responsible for the investment, while the studio handles production.”

Zhang Tan nodded. “It sounds like a capable studio. In that case, we can discuss the television and film adaptation rights.”

Legends of the Condor Heroes was a classic.

Although Zhang Tan was eager to see it adapted, he was not willing to hand the rights to just anyone. If some obscure, incompetent little company came forward, he would refuse. Fine wine did not fear a deep alley; he would rather wait a little longer than sell the adaptation rights carelessly.

If the result was a terrible production, it would damage his own reputation.

At the very least, the adaptation had to reach the standard of the 1983 version starring Felix Wong, Michael Miu, and Barbara Yung. The 1994 version starring Julian Cheung and Athena Chu would also be acceptable. As for the other versions, Zhang Tan did not care for them very much.

“Sister Li, you’ll handle the negotiations with Big Beard Zhang Studio. Find someone who understands the business and bring him in. We need proper advice on these adaptation rights.” Zhang Tan knew his own limitations. Although he possessed the life experience of a thirty-year-old, he knew nothing about the film and television industry.

If he negotiated with them himself, he might be cheated and still end up counting the money for his own betrayers.

Even Li Yan alone would not be enough. They had to find someone knowledgeable to advise them.

Naturally, that task fell to his assistant, Li Yan.

Zhang Tan only needed to sit securely behind the scenes and steer the ship.

Li Yan nodded and asked, “An old classmate of mine works at the Television Drama Management Center of Anhui Television. He is quite knowledgeable about television production. I can ask him to come and help us. Do you have any requirements regarding the adaptation?”

“Of course I do. Invite your old classmate out first. We can have a meal together and discuss it.”

The next day, Li Yan arranged a meeting with her old classmate.

He was a middle-aged man in his thirties, dressed like a successful professional and wearing gold-rimmed glasses. His speech carried a hint of officialese, but he clearly possessed real expertise. He explained the operations of the film and television industry—especially the mechanics of television production—in a thorough and coherent manner. Zhang Tan immediately entrusted him and Li Yan with the task of traveling to Beijing to negotiate the television and film adaptation rights for Legends of the Condor Heroes with Big Beard Zhang Studio.

Zhang Tan also made his bottom line clear before they left to negotiate.

As far as the price was concerned, Zhang Tan was not overly demanding. This was the first time one of his novels was being adapted, and it had not yet been tested by the market. Asking too much might scare the other side away. Still, they could not offer too little. The quality of the work was there, after all, and Jin Yong’s adaptation rights had once sold for no less than a million yuan.

Of course, Jin Yong was on an entirely different level. His works had been adapted over and over again, and every production managed to cause a sensation. He could sit at home doing nothing all year and earn tens of millions from copyright fees alone. Once he had earned more than enough, he had even sold the rights for a single yuan. What a life.

Zhang Tan had no particular demands regarding the price, but he did have one firm requirement concerning the script: the story structure could not be substantially altered, and the work could not be turned into something unrecognizable. When writing the novel, Zhang Tan had already woven in a great deal of cinematic and television material. If the story were simply filmed chapter by chapter as he had written it, it would already make an excellent television series.

For the first adaptation in particular, Zhang Tan hoped the novel’s content would be reproduced with a high degree of fidelity. If someone remade it in the future, they could change it however they pleased; Zhang Tan would no longer interfere.

That was essentially his only demand.

And so Li Yan and her old classmate boarded a northbound plane to negotiate the adaptation rights.

Zhang Tan remained in Hefei to cooperate with the publisher’s promotional campaign for his new book.

…

The so-called promotional campaign contained no novel tricks. It consisted of interviews with reporters.

Many reporters had requested interviews with Zhang Tan, but in the end only three media outlets were selected. The other newspapers and magazines received prepared press releases.

The three outlets were the Hefei Evening News, Southern Weekly, and China Youth Daily.

The Hefei Evening News focused on the local bestselling author, once again reporting on Zhang Tan’s early rise to fame and the changes in his life after Legends of the Condor Heroes became a hit.

Zhang Tan, however, felt that he had not changed very much.

Perhaps it was a matter of mindset. Although he had made a great deal of money and had become rather showy about wanting to buy a car and a house, his life remained low-key. He could enjoy a meal at a street food stall, ride a bicycle wherever he wanted, and spend half an hour slowly sipping a bottle of yogurt. He had never felt that becoming famous entitled him to look down on one person or another.

He still listened to his mother, never disrupted his teachers’ classes, and never put on airs in front of his classmates.

When people treated him courteously, he returned the courtesy.

The only difference was that he no longer felt compelled to bow and scrape. He no longer felt inferior. When meeting officials, he interacted with them as an equal, and if someone displeased him, he would simply turn on his heel and leave.

“I suppose I’ve merely acquired a little of that so-called literary backbone,” Zhang Tan thought.

China Youth Daily requested some biographical information and compiled an account of Zhang Tan’s journey to adulthood.

Only Southern Weekly focused primarily on his new book.

It was the same reporter as last time.

“Congratulations on the upcoming publication of your new book, The Return of the Condor Heroes.”

“Thank you.” Zhang Tan smiled.

“The Return of the Condor Heroes is a million words long, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Legends of the Condor Heroes was 1.2 million words. You began writing it in July of last year, and it is July again now—a full year. Two books, totaling 2.2 million words. That is truly an astonishing achievement.”

Zhang Tan sighed. “Yes. Even I find it a little unbelievable. Somehow, without realizing it, I actually wrote that much.”

“How do you write each day? How much time do you spend on it?”

“Well, I’m still in school, so I write my novels at night. I start when evening study begins and continue until a little after eleven. I write very quickly—nearly three thousand words an hour—and I can complete more than two hundred thousand words a month. Once the outline is planned, the actual writing goes very quickly.”

“There are not many writers who can write as fast as you,” the reporter said sincerely. “Is The Return of the Condor Heroes a sequel to Legends of the Condor Heroes?”

“I should say that I’ve planned a trilogy—the Condor Trilogy. The Return of the Condor Heroes is the story of the next generation, the descendants of Guo Jing, Yang Kang, and the others. In broad terms, any character from the previous book who did not die will continue to appear. Guo Jing and Huang Rong are still there. Yang Kang is dead, but the protagonist is his son, Yang Guo.”

“Many readers have spoken extremely highly of your novels. Whether it is your debut work, The Four Great Constables, or your new novel, Legends of the Condor Heroes, they all say that you have pioneered a new style of martial-arts fiction—the heroic style of the great chivalrous warrior. Clearly, you are a remarkably gifted author.”

Zhang Tan smiled and replied with a double entendre. “I have merely stood on the shoulders of the martial-arts masters who came before me. That is how I achieved even this modest success.”

“Tell us about the creative concept behind The Return of the Condor Heroes. How did you come up with a story like this? Why is the protagonist Yang Kang’s son rather than Guo Jing’s son?”

“Of course.”

Zhang Tan then spoke at length, and the interview proceeded smoothly.

To be continued.