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"Well, that's a pretty good idea."

Zhou Buqi agrees with this idea.

Film and television works are the best promotional tools.

Regarding the cooperation between Netflix and Sohu Video, it is actually not good for Netflix. Because Netflix cannot do business in China, it has spent so much money but cannot develop the domestic market. Everything has to be a wedding dress for Sohu Video. This is really a loss.

In particular, Zhou Buqi’s arrangement is to ask Sohu Video to find cooperation projects. Those must be Chinese-language projects, which have relatively small foreign audiences.

Developing a "League of Legends" show is different.

The first is the audience.

This is a fantasy and science fiction story, and it is a foreign story. The characters all have foreign names. For foreigners, the threshold for watching is very low, and it does not require strong understanding and cognition like watching Chinese programs.

The second is investment.

To make "League of Legends", Netflix doesn't need to invest so much money. As a "promotional film" for the game, the game manufacturer Changyou will pay a large amount of money to ensure the excellence and success of the project. As one goes, Netflix spends less money.

It's certainly a good thing to be able to control a series for so little money.

Third, the audience.

The two largest markets for "League of Legends" are domestic and South Korea. Netflix can’t develop in China, but Netflix can go to South Korea! Netflix will focus on its overseas strategy this year, and its first overseas stop is South Korea!

If Netflix launches a series about the "League of Legends" series, it can effectively attract Korean players and audiences!

This is in line with Netflix's strategy.

Fourth, it also has great benefits for Sohu Video.

There are too many players of "League of Legends" in China. If Sohu Video can become a partner of the game, countless players can flock to Sohu Video... Especially when the song "Lonely Warrior" is sung, teenagers across the country Everyone will flock to it.

There is another point that Zhou Buqi pays special attention to.

Literary works are adapted into film and television works, and film and television works are adapted into literary works; film and television works are adapted into games, and games are adapted into literary works; film and television works are adapted into games, and games are adapted into film and television works... These points can promote each other.

However, there is a core relationship here.

That's Hollywood's privilege.

Because of the uniqueness and world-class status of Hollywood, the adaptation of film and television works is the most difficult, most decisive and most critical step!

Whether it is a forward adaptation or a reverse adaptation, the right to speak is often held by Hollywood.

This leads to the fact that there are very few games that can be adapted into film and television works.

Unless the game manufacturer is very rich and willing to spend a lot of money to let Hollywood squander it. Otherwise, there are so many excellent projects in Hollywood, and thousands of scripts are waiting to be developed every year. These are all Hollywood's own people, why would they develop promotional films for game companies?

Even if it is developed into a film and television work, it is usually a movie.

Because games are often very imaginative and have large themes, it means that the investment in adaptation is too high. If it is adapted into a TV series, the risk is too high and it is difficult to recover the cost. But the story structure of many games is very large, and it is impossible to tell a complete story with just the length of the movie. If the cut is too slow, the movie will be slow-paced, which will affect word-of-mouth; if it is cut too fast, only gamers can understand it, and it will be difficult for non-gamers to understand without knowing the background of the game, which will affect word-of-mouth.

Therefore, movies adapted from game games occasionally succeed, but most of them fail.

If the game is adapted into a TV series, the story can be told slowly from the very beginning, character by character is slowly created, plot by plot is slowly advanced... This can greatly lower the viewing threshold and allow A lot of non-gamer viewers can relate too.

Therefore, adapting "League of Legends" into a TV series is an opportunity.

Changyou has hundreds of games, many of which have mature story structures and have the potential to be adapted into film and television works. If we cooperate with Netflix and make this project successful, it will open up a new world in the future. You can find more themes from Changyou's many games and adapt them into more film and television projects. Netflix and Peacock can join the battle.

This can promote industrial cooperation in Zhou Buqi's hands from a strategic level.

Zhou Buqi pondered: "In the past, TV stations were very orthodox and did not like the theme of games. It is difficult to accept TV series adapted from games. It is different now. Internet streaming platforms do not have so many restrictions. As long as the content is good and there is a market, If you have a good reputation, you can do anything.”

Zhang Chaoyang was very happy when he heard what he said, "Yes, that's what it means! If streaming media wants to surpass TV stations in a shorter time, the best strategy is to find differentiation. Traditional TV stations are very interested in game programs and TV series. Be careful, if streaming media does this, it can capture the hearts of gamers.”

"But..." Zhou Buqi also realized one of the difficulties, "Stories like "League of Legends" are all imitated from "The Lord of the Rings". The themes are mainly fantasy, and the story structure is bigger than the last. It's huge. With its story background and fantasy theme, if it were to be remade into a film and television series, the investment would be huge!”

"$100 million per season is always enough, right?"

Zhang Chaoyang knows how popular this game is in the domestic market and how popular it is with young people today.

He must be ruthless and win this market for Sohu Video!

Zhou Buqi shook his head, "$100 million to shoot one season may not be enough. MGM filmed the drama version of "The Lord of the Rings" at a cost of $140 million for the first season, which rose to $150 million for the second season. Now that we are filming the third season, the cost of a 12-episode TV series is simply a bottomless pit.”

"Ah?" Zhang Chaoyang was quite surprised, "So many?"

Zhou Buqi said: "The fantasy background means that every frame must be visually processed with special effects to present a feeling of a fantasy world. So many people say that I made the wrong decision and should not Make a movie. If it had accepted Warner's plan to co-produce the "Hobbit" movie trilogy, MGM would have made more than a billion dollars from this project."

Zhang Chaoyang's strategic vision is obviously better than those of MGM's filmmakers. He smiled and said: "That's different. Cooperating with Warner will only make more money at most, which lacks strategic value. Developing independent TV series on your own is a departure from the traditional Hollywood model. A kind of disintegration of the TV industry. You can take full control of this project to use the golden brand of "Lord of the Rings" to promote the development of the streaming media industry. Aren't you doing Peacock? This is just like a landmark building."

Zhou Buqi nodded, "That's what I said, but the story of "League of Legends" cannot be compared with "Lord of the Rings". You can't spend as much as "Lord of the Rings" to support "League of Legends". 100 million US dollars per quarter may not be enough. Even if it is enough, how much can Sohu Video make?”

"What should we do?" Zhang Chaoyang felt a shadow cast over his heart.

Zhou Buqi smiled and said: "By the way, Jieyu Media has a domestic animated film, which has been completed in post-production, called "The Return of the Great Sage". This is an animated film promoted by me. There will be an internal test screening tonight. , are you free? Can we go and see it together when you have time?”

"Hmm..." Zhang Chaoyang immediately understood what he meant, "Animated movie? Cartoon? Adapt "League of Legends" into a cartoon?"

Zhou Buqi said: "It's animation, animation-style cartoons. In the short term, the only way out for such a big subject is to change it to animation. The cost of animation is lower and easier to control. Otherwise, the level of special effects rendering will be broken. No matter how much money comes in, the production strategy of extremely low-cost Japanese animation is being accepted by the global animation industry. This is a way out. If animation becomes popular and the game continues to flourish, there may be adaptations in the future. It’s a chance for a live-action movie.”