1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 108: The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Please subscribe and vote!

Chapter 110 A Moment of Patience Leads to Increasing Anger (3/5) Please Subscribe and Vote!

"Jeffrey, Disney is not Richard Gere."

Richard Gere, no matter how great he is, is just an actor, while Disney is a behemoth. Perhaps it's just a misunderstanding; it's best to clear things up rather than escalate the situation. Leave this to me. You just need to get a feel for the situation from Menken and avoid creating unnecessary complications.

"JJ, do you think I'm the kind of person who doesn't know what's important?"

Harris looked Xu Shengjie up and down, then laughed and said, "All I know is that you're a petty person!"

Richard Gere had only said a few words to him, and as a result, he had someone get him damaging information.

If Janet hadn't shown mercy and blurred Uma's face, Uma would probably be in a very awkward situation right now.

Extramarital affairs are not considered a big deal in the United States.

The reason why this has caused such a stir is mainly due to Richard Gere.

It's because he's always been cultivating an image of a "good man," a "good husband," and a "gentleman."

Even so, despite the photographic evidence, American soap opera housewives still chose to believe Richard Gere and transferred their anger to the censored Uma—this guy almost ruined both of their careers.

Harris didn't believe that Xu Shengjie was the kind of person who would swallow his anger.

She gave Xu Shengjie a few more warnings and then went to visit Theron.

Xu Shengjie sat on the sofa in the lobby, finished the pot of Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong tea, and then got up to go back to his room.

The guest room is a suite, but it's not very big.

There was a worktable outside, which was a bit messy.

The hotel had warned the cleaning staff that they were not allowed to enter without Xu Shengjie's permission.

So no one cleans this room.

He called the front desk and asked the housekeeper to come up and clean the room, change the sheets and towels, and then sat down at the work table to write and draw.

Harris said Disney is a behemoth!

That's true.

Xu Shengjie felt very uncomfortable being offered such a discriminatory price.

He called Manken, who was also surprised.

"Mr. Montan is a professional; he should know the compatibility between 'The Colors of the Wind' and 'Pocahontas'."

There must be some misunderstanding. Knowing him as I do, he wouldn't make such a decision; it makes no sense.

Who is the person you are negotiating with?

"His name seems to be Baker Worth."

"I understand, the fourth producer of Pocahontas."

This guy—

It must be his personal decision. Here's what I'll do: I'll call James, James, and director Gabriel to find out what's going on. James is the executive producer, and James is the lead producer; they'll give me an explanation.

"Thank you for your help!"

"No trouble at all, Jeffrey, but there is something I need to trouble you with."

"What?"

"I'm going back to Burkeban this weekend, it'll probably take about two days."

I had arranged to teach Tina and Brit. Could you look after them for me? They can stay with you for a couple of days. You know, girls their age can get into trouble if they're not supervised.

"Where are their parents?"

Brit's parents have gone to Louisiana—her parents, well, that's a long story.

Tina's father is in the military and is rarely home; her mother mainly takes care of her. She usually lives at school and comes home on weekends. However, she has a very important performance this weekend, so she asked me to look after Tina—I contacted her, and she can't come back for the time being; she won't be back in New York until Sunday night. So I'm hoping you can help look after them.

They're very well-behaved and won't cause you any trouble.

That's how it is at Chaping Middle School. Students live on campus during the week and go home on weekends.

Xu Shengjie scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

But then I thought about it again, and it wasn't such a big deal.

"You need to give me some proof, otherwise I can't explain myself."

"Of course."

Manken readily agreed.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get!

This is just like the old saying: "If you endure it for a moment, you'll only get angrier; if you take a step back, you'll develop breast hyperplasia."

Xu Shengjie felt very uncomfortable, so he dialed Manken's number again.

This time, however, he was chatting.

"After I finish filming here, I want to record a song."

"No problem, I've been urging you to record a song for a while now, but you haven't given me an answer yet."

"I want to record an album, and I want to make 5,000 copies. Approximately how much would that cost?"

-

"This...it'll cost quite a bit of money."

"I know, I was just asking."

"Did you write all the songs yourself? How many?"

"Five or six? I'm not sure."

"In that case—" Menken hesitated for a moment, then said, "150,000 US dollars, I'll take care of the recording and album production—but are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you'd better find a record company, maybe that would be better."

"Never mind, singing is just a hobby of mine."

"If I really sign with a company, all those rules and regulations will make me very uncomfortable."

"But how do you plan to sell five thousand CDs?"

"How about I give it as a gift? I think it shows great sincerity."

"this----"

Manken was both amused and exasperated.

But he also knew that most genius teenagers like Xu Shengjie had eccentric temperaments and thought processes that were very different from those of normal people.

Most importantly, this guy doesn't seem to be short of money!

If you were to sign someone like this to a record company, especially since Xu Shengjie is still a newcomer, there would definitely be a lot of constraints. Rather than feeling uncomfortable with the other options, it's better to let him have his way. Maybe one day he'll change his mind, and then we can figure out a way to get him to sign.

Disney also owns a record label.

Manken worked there!

"Okay, wait for me to come back, then we'll talk in detail."

"Allen!"

"Um?"

"What animated feature film projects has Disney had in the past two years?"

"Animated feature films? This year's focus is definitely Pocahontas. Next year, I heard it's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which seems to be in production—and then there's Hercules, which has finished pre-production and is expected to start production next year. Besides these two, before Jeffrey left in August, we talked about making an animated feature film about Tarzan. But now that he's left, I'm not sure if the successor CEO will still be involved."

By the way, why did you ask that?

"Just curious, you know I'm really interested in animated feature films."

"Hehe, you could try writing a story, maybe it will be noticed."

Besides, you're a bestselling author now, so the price will definitely be high—you should really give it a try.

"May I?"

"sure!"

"How about the Chinese story?"

"A Chinese story? I'm a little unsure. As far as I know, Disney executives are only interested in opening Disney parks in China. A Chinese story—I haven't heard anyone mention that idea. But if you write something really good, you might have a chance."

"I see. I'll think about it some more."

Xu Shengjie hung up the phone and fell into deep thought.

He certainly can't afford to mess with Disney, but he can certainly annoy Disney.

For example, Kung Fu Panda; for example, Finding Nemo; for example, Up —

He had ample time to acquire the intellectual property rights of Disney animated feature films that came out after 2000.

But what he most wants to snatch right now is not the aforementioned animated feature film, but rather—Mulan.

Of course, if he could have traveled three years earlier, he would have stolen Toy Story as well.

But it's 94 now, and Toy Story 1 is already in production.

Although Manken didn't mention the feature film just now, he did mention it once during their casual conversation earlier.

It's said to be a joint production between Disney and Pixar, and it's already two-thirds complete, with completion expected in the first half of next year.

Oh, what a pity!

However, Mulan remains a knot in Xu Shengjie's heart.

Whether it's animated films or later movies, especially the movies, although Liu Yifei starred in them, too much of her own personal touch was added. Japanese-style makeup, a jumbled mess of plot points—many people blame Liu Yifei! Xu Shengjie feels this is unfair—Liu Yifei might have been a big name in China at that time, but in Hollywood—

She probably doesn't have much leverage to resist.

They incorporate Japanese style into Chinese works, and then subtly define the Japanese style as Chinese.

Whether it's Americans or Japanese, they've consistently used this method to infiltrate and influence the mindsets of their people.

If Liu Yifei doesn't act, they will find someone else.

For example, Awkwafina!

Don't think they wouldn't do that; that's the benchmark they set for Chinese people as "successful Asian actors in Hollywood."

The other one is Yang Ziqiong.

In the animated film, Mulan's image is also hard to describe.

Oval face, squinty eyes!

She fits the so-called image of an Asian beauty in the eyes of Europeans and Americans.

The Western heroine in Frozen is so beautiful, and there's also Beauty and the Beast, which are typical universal beauty designs.

Why should someone's image in China always be that of someone with squinty eyes?

When Xu Shengjie first watched this animated feature film, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

There are also stupid comments on Douban, such as the meaning of self and the dignity of life—I didn't feel there was anything wrong with it when I was young, but as I get older, I feel more and more uncomfortable.

However, Xu Shengjie was unable to stop it.

Under US copyright law, Mulan is considered a historical figure and thus belongs to the public domain.

I just don't understand why Chinese historical figures are considered public domain under US copyright law; if Chinese people were to film Washington's story, would they jump out and stop them?

The law is the law, and rules are rules.

Xu Shengjie couldn't stop the Americans from making Mulan, but he could write the story and seize the copyright.

Since it's a public resource, you can use it, and so can I.

I'll write the story down here first. If you don't want to buy the copyright from me, then please write another story yourself.

Under U.S. law, Xu Shengjie can claim the right to original expression.

With this right, he can preemptively register trademark rights for his original character, work title, and logo. He can also strive for a "secondary meaning" for Mulan based on publication and creation records. That is, any act that immediately evokes the Mulan trademark can be considered an infringement of the "Mulan" trademark.

It's complicated to explain.

However, you can ask Jessica to handle this matter.

The most urgent task is to write "Mulan" first, and then seize the trademark rights through text and illustrations.

It's like the future, whether it's the Japanese or the Koreans, who will seize the trademark rights for dumplings.

Having thought this through, Xu Shengjie already had a complete plan.

that is----

How come two more tasks have been added while filming a movie? No, three—we also have to copy and record songs.

Xu Shengjie patted his forehead and sighed.

He got up from his worktable, walked to the telephone, sat down on the sofa next to it, and then dialed the number.

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