"Bet?" Ye Zhiqiu's suggestion stunned Pierre, and he frowned.

"What bet?"

Ye Zhiqiu said slowly: "Don't you think that Chinese science fiction is 20 years behind? Let's bet on this."

Pierre frowned and asked coldly: "And then?"

Ye Zhiqiu smiled and continued, "How about betting on whether I can make a truly successful science fiction movie within two years?"

"If you lose, you publish an apology in the media, and vice versa if I lose."

"Two years?" As soon as Ye Zhiqiu finished speaking, Pierre sneered disdainfully and said arrogantly without hesitation: "No problem, I bet with you."

"I'll give you one more year. Within three years, as long as you can make a science fiction film that can gross half of Battlestar Galactica 1's $3 million worldwide, I'll apologize to you."

Ye Zhiqiu was stunned for a moment, then he put on a bright smile and said, "Okay, then I hope Mr. Pierre will not forget today's bet."

Pierre's face turned cold. He said, "I'll wait for the day when you apologize," and left without looking back.

Ye Zhiqiu and Pierre did not deliberately lower the volume of their conversation, and the guests around them could hear it clearly. Soon, the news of the bet between the two spread throughout the venue.

When Ye Zhiqiu walked back to the crew, many people looked at him with sympathy, admiration, or disdain.

Winning the Best Director Award tonight has proven this young man's ability, but shooting a science fiction film with a box office of no less than $3 million in three years? And by a Chinese director?

Everyone present was an industry insider, and to be honest, almost no one was optimistic about Ye Zhiqiu. Looking at the global film and television industry, the number of directors who could do this could be counted on one's ten fingers.

The theme of science fiction is different from other genres. In addition to the plot itself requiring a high degree of imagination and originality, the biggest difficulty lies in its special effects.

High-quality special effects production involves high-end computer hardware and software equipment, as well as a large number of professional talents, and requires the support of a large and mature film industry foundation.

These things are currently lacking in the Chinese film and television market and cannot be developed in a short period of time.

It's like a less developed country may be able to produce high-quality feature films, but it is almost impossible to produce science fiction films.

Therefore, most people at the scene of this bet were not optimistic about Ye Zhiqiu, thinking that it was just a momentary impulse of the young man.

Ye Zhiqiu himself looked relaxed, not caring at all about what others thought, and even felt like laughing.

5 million US dollars is "just" less than 40 billion RMB in box office revenue. It is indeed difficult to say the least, but don't forget that the entire Chinese market is behind you!

He said before that it is not that China does not have a science fiction market, otherwise how could "Galaxy Battleship 2" have such a high box office in China? In the past, domestic science fiction was not recognized, but there were no good enough works to attract audiences to the cinema.

When domestic science fiction is no longer shoddy, but well-made and on par with foreign science fiction blockbusters, the enthusiasm of domestic audiences will be even more terrifying...

The movie he is currently filming, "The Wandering Earth", is aimed at this goal.

Besides, the bet was about "making a sci-fi movie with a box office of more than $3 million within three years", and there was no stipulation that it had to be the next one...

To put it another way, even if "The Wandering Earth" doesn't reach that level, he still has "The Wandering Earth 2" and even a series of classic science fiction movies from his previous life...

When I bring out The Matrix and Interstellar, what can you use to fight me?

The crew members of "Hello! Mr. Tree" who had seen what happened just now didn't know what Ye Zhiqiu was thinking. They all looked worried and wanted to comfort him but were hesitant and didn't know how to start.

After all, although they supported Ye Zhiqiu in their hearts, they also felt that this bet was very difficult...

Ye Zhiqiu, however, was talking and laughing, doing what he was supposed to do, and everyone felt relieved.

The incident just now passed quickly, as if nothing had happened, and did not affect the atmosphere of the dinner. Many guests still took the initiative to come forward and make friends with Ye Zhiqiu.

Among them was a middle-aged white man wearing a plaid shirt.

"Hello, Mr. Ye. Let me introduce myself. I am the manager of the British Arrow Film Production Company..."

The other party's attitude was quite enthusiastic, but the next sentence was: "We are very interested in the Harry Potter novel you posted on social media before. We want to adapt it into a film and television work. We hope you can authorize the copyright to us. I wonder if you are interested."

"Oh?" Ye Zhi was stunned by the other party's words and asked, "What price can you offer?"

At that time, in order to attract traffic, he did post the English novel "Harry Potter" on foreign social media, but he only finished the first part "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and stopped writing. Unexpectedly, he was noticed by the other party.

Seeing that Ye Zhiqiu seemed to be interested, the middle-aged man cheered up and said quickly: "Don't worry, we are a well-known film and television production company. I will strive to get you the best treatment."

"For this novel, we can give you $80 in copyright adaptation fees." While speaking, the middle-aged man carefully looked at Ye Zhiqiu's expression, and seeing that the other party did not seem to be moved, he immediately added a sentence.

“Of course, we are very optimistic about this work, and if you like, we hope to add a little more to it later.”

Ye Zhiqiu looked at him with a look that said "you look at me like a fool", and was too lazy to bargain with him, so he said directly: "Sorry, please go back."

The middle-aged man got anxious when he heard this and said quickly: "Mr. Ye, this salary is already the price of a well-known screenwriter in the industry. This novel is quite popular, but you are just a new screenwriter in the European and American markets. No one will be willing to pay you such a high price..."

Seeing that Ye Zhiqiu was not moved at all, the middle-aged man knew that he had messed up this time. He whispered "FUCK" and left in shame.

Ye Zhiqiu had no intention of trying to keep him. As one of the best-selling film series in the world in his previous life, he would be a fool to sell the film and television adaptation rights of "Harry Potter" for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This kind of copyright must be held in your hands. Even if you do not develop the film and television adaptation yourself in the future, you must choose the equity and profit-sharing model of cooperation.

But now is not the best time. A new screenwriter and director does not have the bargaining chips to negotiate with those international film and television giants. It will be enough to wait until his box office performance and fame in the international film and television circle are bigger.

I can only say that Arrowhead Company had a good vision and saw the potential of this story, but it was a bit too much for them to want to get something for free.