Penguin Pictures CEO Sun Zhonghuai: The success rate of adapting best-selling novels into films is less than 30%

When it comes to the development of literary IP, game IP and movie IP, Sun Zhonghuai believes,"So far, we have led the development, and we have also chosen to cooperate with the best film production companies and producers to develop it. It's like we have already washed it. A plate of excellent cherries is placed in front of us, and we choose like-minded people to cooperate."

Original title: Sun Zhonghuai, vice president of Tencent and CEO of Penguin Pictures: The success rate of adapting best-selling novels to films is less than 30%

, two film content companies were established within one year. Tencent entered the film industry with a high-profile and used its spirit of buying and buying to accumulate a large amount of IP. On June 13, at the ongoing 19th Shanghai International Film Festival, great director Ang Lee was invited to a forum hosted by Tencent, which also made people sigh at his strong resource integration capabilities.

In the two forums attended by reporters with Tencent, Sun Zhonghuai, vice president of Tencent and CEO of Penguin Pictures, made few remarks during his two appearances, and claimed that he was a recruit and a layman in the film industry. When sitting with Ang Lee the day before, Sun Zhonghuai said: "I am very scared to sit here and talk about this topic. I don't think our current team is an expert. We didn't even have a foot in it. We just pushed the door open."

On June 14, the reporter saw Sun Zhonghuai again at the "Internet + Movies" Summit Forum. When asked by the host how to use literary IP to develop movies, Sun Zhonghuai repeatedly said: "Actually, I am not the most suitable person to speak. First, I am not the person in charge of Tencent Literature... In addition, when it comes to movies, I think Tencent is still a layman now."

Tencent only makes connections and content

. Like all Internet tycoons who enter the film industry, the logic of Tencent's participation is also to bet on the future of rapidly developing China films.

"China's film content industry is particularly hot. To use a fashionable word, in the cultural and creative industry, many people have announced their entry into and investment in this field." Sun Zhonghuai said,"Tencent only does two things: connectivity and content. Movies play an important role in the content field. I would like to compare it to the pearl on the crown. In such an important position, it is natural for Tencent to participate or want to participate."

When it comes to the development of literary IP, game IP and movie IP, Sun Zhonghuai believes,"So far, we have led the development, and we have also chosen to cooperate with the best film production companies and producers to develop it. It's like we have already washed it. A plate of excellent cherries is placed in front of us, and we choose like-minded people to cooperate."

Choosing cherries from a plate of cherries, Sun Zhonghuai found that this method of making movies had distinct advantages and disadvantages. "The advantage is that this kind of project is relatively conservative and will not take too much risk, so the results of the projects we have cooperated so far are good. But the downside is that there is no experience in the market, and the team can learn less."

"Of course, this is an eternal paradox. If you don't want to go into the river, you will never learn to swim." Sun Zhonghuai said,"So we wonder if we should really jump into the water this year or next year. We will only know (how to swim) after we have flooded a few times."

Big IP does not mean that good movies

return to the topic of online literature and online IP. Sun Zhonghuai believes that good literary works actually do not distinguish between online and printed versions. Printed matter can become electronic versions, and online literature can also become paper books. As long as it is a good literary work and has a large readership, it will be a good start or advantage for IP.

But to what extent can this starting point and advantage determine the success or failure of a film adaptation? Sun Zhonghuai said frankly: "I don't think 10% of the proportion will reach, maybe 5%." Later, after thinking about it, he changed his mind and said: "Less than 10% may be an exaggeration, but I think less than 30% is more reasonable."

Sun Zhonghuai recalled the forum on the 13th. Ang Lee's two-hour eloquence made Sun Zhonghuai sigh: Movies are not only about stories, but stories are just a carrier of the author's thoughts. Whether a movie can ultimately reach the audience depends on whether it can see its own heart through the screen, and whether the heart of each audience can resonate with the movie. This resonance is actually far from the resonance of reading novels at the beginning.

"So I don't think a big IP or a particularly popular novel will inevitably bring about success in adapting a movie." Sun Zhonghuai said that if you think that you can achieve the success of a movie by relying on popular IPs, you actually have to take a lot of risks.

Editor: yvette