Standing by the window watching Carl's car slowly disappear, Andy was speechless at Carl's high enthusiasm. In his words, he would definitely make CCA regret it, and he would definitely use his penis to slap that bitch in the face!
Mike McMillan hurried into the conference room and sat down in his seat. He then glanced at all his colleagues. Although most of them had expressionless faces, the unease in their eyes was obvious. He couldn't help but sigh. No wonder, considering he had always been sarcastic and cynical towards that sleazy fat man in the past.
As he thought about it, McMiller became somewhat disheartened. His client had run into problems, and he was facing the prospect of being fired.
Following the sound of footsteps, a middle-aged man, around forty to fifty years old, walked into the conference room with a gloomy expression.
"Can anyone tell me what's going on?"
The middle-aged man, seated at the head of the table, slammed a stack of manuscripts onto the conference table. "Such a wonderful story, and we can only publish one volume? Are you kidding me?"
Elton Bull roared like an angry bull. As the head of Scholastic Publishing in Los Angeles, he was under a lot of pressure. Scholastic is a world-renowned children's book publisher and distributor. The American version of the globally popular Harry Potter series was published and distributed by Scholastic. The book "Dark Fairy Tales" that was in front of Elton was definitely the first book in a series. This was a completely new big IP.
But now, someone is telling him that their publishing house can only release the first volume of this series, and the rest have nothing to do with them. This is like a bolt from the blue; how could he not be furious?
McMiller hesitated for a long time before standing up, his face pale, and said cautiously, "I'm sorry, I couldn't persuade Carl & Andy."
Snap!
Elton slammed his fist on the table and stood up, roaring, "I don't want to hear sorry. Today, today, I don't care what method you use, I want you to sign Andy back! You stay, everyone else, go home."
Soon, only the two of them remained in the conference room. The furious Elton slowly calmed down, his eyes fixed on the nervous, sweating Mike. "I don't care what caused this, you have to bring back good news! Like this... tell Andy's agent that we can pay the royalties in advance, and the royalty split can be increased to a maximum of 15%, as long as his book is published by our publishing house, all of this is negotiable."
"15%? But Andy's agent is very greedy. What if he makes some unreasonable demands?"
Mike was quite surprised. A 15% royalty rate was a privilege enjoyed only by top-tier authors. Thinking of that fat man's hateful expression, he still asked cautiously.
"Fuck! We're open to discussing anything! Can't you think a little further ahead? Have you even read the manuscript? Idiot, where are we? This is Hollywood, the movie studio! A story this good will make Hollywood film companies flock to it. Once the movie is released, our book will sell like hotcakes!"
"Yes, I'll go find Andy's agent right away!"
Mike lowered his head, not daring to look at Elton, who was once again hurling insults. He grabbed the folder on the table in a panic and ran out of the conference room.
Elton, left in the conference room, stared at the manuscript on the table for a long time. "I hope everything goes well!"
**********
"What an interesting fellow," Andy chuckled and shook his head, glancing at Carl, who was gloating beside him, and then at McMillan, the Scholastic representative who was practically on the verge of tears.
"Alright, the conditions you've offered are quite generous. Let's talk. Carl, it's in your hands now."
Ignoring McMillan's gratitude, he merely gave Carl a subtle look before standing up and going upstairs. He didn't want to waste any more energy; he just wanted a result, and the process was something for the professionals to handle.
More than an hour later, Carl walked into the study with a smug and lewd look on his face.
"Judging from your expression, it seems the conversation went well." Andy took off his decorative glasses and pretended to gently rub his nose with his fingers to relieve non-existent fatigue.
"Haha, who am I? I'm Carl! That brat was so blind back then, how can I not teach him a lesson he won't forget!"
Carl happily sat down on the sofa, his face beaming with the satisfaction of having gotten his revenge.
Andy took a cigarette from the pack and tossed it to Carl, then lit one for himself, signaling him to continue.
"A 15% royalty, a $1 million advance payment, hehe, after tax of course, they promise to do their best to promote your work, write advertorials for you in newspapers, and expand your influence."
Andy chuckled upon hearing this, a hint of pride creeping into his smile. He took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled, thinking to himself, "I'm really short on cash right now; this million will ease my financial burden."
Andy invested most of his money in Apple stock, leaving him with only $400,000 in the bank and $300,000 in payment from Seventeen magazine. He gave Carl $100,000 to register a company and rent an office, leaving him with $600,000. The salaries of his maid and fitness coach, lawyer fees, private doctor, and other living expenses were not small.
In this country, any service involving people is expensive. Andy raised an eyebrow, feigning anger, "How's the company registration going? And why did you bring people to my house?"
Carl completely ignored Andy's performance and rolled his eyes. "Of course the company has to be registered in Bermuda. California's taxes are just too high! Didn't you see him? He looked like he was going to die. He even said that if he couldn't see you today, he would cling to me. I was so annoyed by him that I brought him here to see you."
Andy pointed at Carl and said very seriously, "Don't bring strangers to my house anymore. Get your office location sorted out as soon as possible, and we'll meet at the company from now on."
Carl nodded to indicate that he understood, glanced at the clock on the wall, and seemed to want to leave.
"Stay for dinner. Nelson will be here in a bit; he needs your help with some things," Andy said, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.
"Okay, that's great! We can enjoy delicious food again." Karl naturally wouldn't miss out on the food.
In the United States, the relationship between private lawyers and their wealthy clients can last a lifetime, making it an extraordinary relationship.
"Hi, Nelson, it's so nice to see you." Carl greeted him like an old friend, showing great respect for Andy's personal lawyer.
"Hey Carl, you've gained a lot of weight again. Take care of yourself, maybe you should eat less!" Nelson said jokingly as he shook hands with Carl.
"Hey man, I'm full of energy and in perfect health!" Carl shouted, as if to say, "If you don't believe me, I'll take off my clothes and show you."
"Alright, alright, let's get down to business. Nelson, these are some TV show ideas that came to me while I was writing my novel. I'd like to register the global rights, is that alright?"
Andy handed several printed documents to Nelson.
Nielsen quickly scanned the pages, his surprise growing stronger. The pages contained three television program ideas and detailed processes, with the "Got Talent" program being the most detailed.
"Boss, I must say, you really are a genius!"
As Nelson finished organizing the documents, he looked at Andy sitting opposite him and exclaimed in admiration.
"There is actually no need to register global copyrights. The simplest way is to keep it with the writers' guild, whose copyright protection is available worldwide."
"No, no, I know the functions of the union, but these are just ideas after all, and they haven't been made into programs for broadcast. Moreover, we don't have the resources to produce these programs right now. I'm afraid that if something similar happens in another country, going to court would be too much of a waste of time."
Andy knew that the Writers Guild's copyright protection could prevent his interests from being harmed, but he vaguely remembered that the production time of Britain's and America's Got Talent was roughly during this summer vacation. Although he had put the script and the outline of these ideas into the Writers Guild's archives in early May, if there was a clash, both sides would suffer losses. He was in it for money, not to cheat people.
After listening to Andy's explanation, Nelson seemed to understand his concerns, but global registration was not something that could be completed in a short time.
Just as the two were deep in thought, Carl shouted excitedly, "Wow, that's a genius idea! Andy, your brain is amazing, I love you to death!"
"Quiet! I know I'm a genius, but can you keep your voice down?" Andy glared at Carl, who was shouting loudly, somewhat annoyed; he had just startled Carl.
"Oh God, why do we need to register in each country one by one? We just need to find two TV stations in the US and UK to cooperate with. They will definitely see the value in it. Then we can sell the copyright to them. Given the efficiency of TV stations, it can be broadcast very quickly. Then it will become a fait accompli. There is no need for so much trouble."
Karl couldn't help but say excitedly.
"Nonsense, I've thought of this method before, but I want to maximize my profits. The idea of 'Got Talent' has some of the shadow of American Idol. Fox spent $67 million to buy the copyright, which has now proven to be a very successful deal. But my idea is still only on paper, and how much it can sell for is really unknown."
Andy rolled her eyes at Carl, looking somewhat annoyed.
"It's just a business negotiation. The most important thing now is to establish our copyright. We can send invitations to several major TV stations and have them come together to bid. If they know that we have this idea, there won't be any overlap in ideas."
Carl's face beamed with excitement as he paced back and forth in his study, rubbing his hands together. "We should do it simultaneously in the US and the UK, first seizing the English market, and then the one with the highest bidder wins."
****
Mass Release 9/10
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