billion book
Chapter 72
“Thank you, Uncle Oliver, I’ll head over to the company tomorrow to start
“Tomorrow?” Oliver exclaimed, somewhat surprised, “Isn’t that a bit rushed? I was thinking of picking a perfect day for a signing. ceremony, make a big announcement online about your official debut!”
Xanthea replied, “No need for such a big fuss. Rather than an overwhelming personal marketing campaign, I believe good work is the best introduction to the audience.”
“Alright, we’ll do it your way! But it’s unfortunate that I just boarded a flight to Mystoria for a business trip and will be away for a week. I won’t be able to manage the signing process personally. I’ve already sent your details over to Ryan and instructed him to take care of everything. Whatever resources you’re interested in or events you want to participate in later, just let him know. I’ll make sure you get them!”
“There’s actually something now!”
“Oh? knew you weren’t just suddenly deciding to debut without having something in mind. What caught your eye?”
Xanthea said, “The film and television rights for a novel, Realm of Illusions. I wanna play the lead role – Phoenix!”
Realm of illusions?
Oliver thought Xanthea’s decision to debut was influenced by some major IP or a famous director. Instead, she mentioned a novel he had never even heard of.
He quickly searched it up; it was a low-budget urban romance recently concluded on a small niche website, written by a newcomer. Due to financial needs, the author had sold the rights at a low price,
but no film company had been interested in adapting it, and it ended up in a novel auction.
“Xan, you sure you want your debut project to be this? It seems to have little to no fame, far behind those popular online IPs!”
“Uncle Oliver, that’s where your vision lays.”
Xanthea curled her lips up; as someone who had another choice to live again, her biggest advantage was her foresight!
In the past two years, following the explosive success of the web series adaptation of A World Apart, there had been a frenzy for novel IP adaptations in the film industry.
Many investors threw huge surns of money to acquire the rights to popular novels. However, due to over–marketing and high audience expectations, many of these adaptations flopped. Even the “top ten eagerly awaited novel adaptations currently discussed online were predicted to have dismal viewership.
But there was one series, Xanthea remembered clearly, that had emerged like a dark horse last summer, reviving the frosty film industry with ratings breaking 5, becoming a sensation both domestically and internationally. This series was adapted from the then–obscure novel Realm of Illusions.
Realm of Illusions featured a strong urban female lead, Phoenix, who, different from those with meek and innocent image, was an international mercenary with multiple identities and responsibilities. Mysterious and powerful, beautiful yet formidable, she dominated everywhere she went.
Its fresh plot and appealing strong female lead resonated with contemporary audiences, making the series an instant hit across a dozen of countries, breaking the highest viewership records in domestic
drama for the past 20 years and winning numerous awards both at home and abroad. Even her colleagues of the institute, usually preoccupied with their experiments, eagerly discussed the plot during lunch with her.
If she could play Phoenix, she was confident she could challenge Isabella for the top spot in the entertainment industry!
“I bet it’s a dark horse that’ll shine brightly later. Do you believe in me, Uncle Oliver?”
“Of course, if you’re that confident, I support you!”
Oliver turned on his laptop, “Except, the rights to the novel aren’t with the author anymore. They’ve been moved to an auction. I just had someone check; this Wednesday, at the Nexus Museum, there’ll be the annual grand online literature rights auction. Realm of Illusions is on the auction list. I’ve already asked Ryan to handle the necessary procedures for participation, so you can go with him then.”