Chapter 44 Movie Script

At least several hundred people from the film crew travel this route every day, but not many staff members carry dozens of pages of script with them at all times.

Nowadays, most document exchanges within the team are conducted via personal computers. Only important actors and junior writers who need to discuss and adjust the script at any time will carry such a thick stack of papers.

It's easy for the person on the other end to guess that he is a screenwriter, but his act of stopping people in the street is a bit strange.

While laughing and saying she needed to go to the restroom, Ning Li cleverly switched to the personal computer chat interface and sent a message to Xu Pingtang.

Ten minutes later, when he returned to the path, he saw the muscular man already chatting with Xu Pingtang.

"Ning Li, you've come at the right time. Mr. Fang from Giant Entertainment wants to commission a movie script from our studio. Didn't you just write the opening of a suspense script recently? You can chat with the client while you're at it."

Giant Entertainment's iconic pure white spaceship slowly landed at the street corner, and the man Ning Li had just glimpsed on the second floor of the building on the street leisurely walked down the stairs.

This was a face more refined than many of today's top celebrities. With one hand in his pocket, he looked like a regular at a lavish business dinner, exuding an air of noble elegance that carried a slight sense of oppression. In an instant, Ning Li couldn't help but recall the pain of having her new script rejected.

He had seen Mr. Fang countless times through the screen, but this was the first time he had met him in person.

Unlike Sister Liang's usual obsequious and domineering attitude, President Fang, despite being a well-known big boss in the entire Star Federation, was completely unpretentious. After coming downstairs, he took the initiative to walk over and briefly shook hands with each of them.

Ning Li was the lowest-ranking newcomer in the studio and the most inconspicuous screenwriter in the crew. She had never had the opportunity to shake hands with the big boss of the client before.

He felt completely dizzy, and only after sitting down in the private room that Mr. Fang had booked did he remember to nudge the older man next to him with his elbow:

"You said Giant Entertainment wanted to commission scripts from our studio, why didn't they just contact Sister Liang directly? Why did they have to go through all this trouble to wait for us at the film set?"

Xu Pingtang smiled and said, "President Fang's assistant said that President Fang really likes my book 'Many Things in the Alley,' so he came here specifically for us."

"I just sent a message to Sister Liang, but the signal here seems to be bad, and I can't get the message to go through."

Ning Li looked up and around.

The restaurant's entrance displays the highest star rating from the Federal Food Rating System. The entire building is perched high above the vast ocean, with the rising and falling seawater flowing beneath their feet through the glass.

The private room was over 100 square meters in size, with floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides. Outside the windows, someone in a tuxedo was playing the piano, and the melodious piano music flowed into the room through the sound holes.

Although Ning Li hadn't looked at the menu, he knew that the price of just a few dishes on the table was equivalent to his monthly salary, and even a single spoonful from the bowl was probably worth a whole box of broken boxed lunches from the film crew.

Not only him, but even the rich kid who just joined the studio was stunned by the scale of the meal.

With Liang Xinyuan absent, this was the first time the three of them had bypassed the studio head and directly contacted the client, resulting in stiff expressions on their faces.

"Hello everyone, I'll keep it short. I'm starting a new film project and I need to complete the first draft within two days. Also, the character designs must match the physical appearance of the main actors."

Ning Li and Xu Pingtang exchanged a glance.

Industry agreements stipulate that film length cannot exceed 120 minutes, and the current mainstream length is between 100 and 110 minutes. The first draft is about 20,000 words long.

Although the task was heavy, their studio had more than ten people. If each person was responsible for a part, it was not impossible to finish the script in two days.

Sweat began to bead on Xu Pingtang's forehead as he anxiously switched between different information interfaces on his optical computer, attempting to repair the malfunctioning network.

With such a big investor suddenly appearing and time so tight, it would be a disaster if the three of them ruined the deal.

Fang Zhuo's gaze swept lightly across the three faces. The two original screenwriters he was targeting were sitting here. Although the other young man's main business was adapting ancient romance drama scripts, it would be a good thing if he could be recruited by Juyu.

As he casually cut his steak, he offered a condition even more tempting than the food itself:

“You can name your price for a single script, but you need to terminate your employment relationship with your original studio and transfer to Giant Entertainment.”

"In addition, there is a fixed monthly salary, and all benefits are the same as those of regular employees of Juyu. The company will not interfere with you taking on other external orders."

Upon hearing this, the group immediately understood why Fang Zhuo had avoided Liang Xinyuan and spoke with them, the workers, alone.

This is blatant poaching with high salaries.

Xu Pingtang's expression changed instantly. He put down his knife and fork first, grabbed the arms of his two henchmen beside him, and stood up, indignantly saying:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Fang, I may have to disappoint you. Everyone in our studio was discovered by Sister Liang. It's not about money, it's about the dedication of writers."

After saying that, Xu Pingtang pulled and dragged the two of them toward the restaurant entrance.

To his surprise, Ning Li suddenly slipped away from him like a slippery eel, then quickly ran back to the dining table, raising her right hand enthusiastically:

"Boss, I'll take care of it. I only need 50,000 for a script. I don't have the persistence of a writer."

Xu Pingtang's eyes widened, his face instantly turning red, and he pointed at Ning Li's face, saying with heartache:

"Ning Li, I'm really disappointed in you. Hasn't Sister Liang treated you well? Among all the newcomers in the studio, you have the lowest approval rate and are the most disobedient, yet you receive the best treatment."

“I thought you saw how much Sister Liang cared for you. She brought you into the screenwriting industry, taught you how to revise scripts step by step, and guided you when you had no ideas.”

"Even your only book that was ever published, 'Sinking Season,' was based on material provided by Sister Liang. Is this how you repay her?!"

"Yes, we all know your family is having some difficulties, but Sister Liang did her best to give you a raise. And now you're going to betray her for such a small amount of money? You really break my heart..."

Even Ning Li, who was usually shameless, was now being criticized so much that her face turned red and white.

Seeing the change in his attitude, Xu Pingtang sighed and wanted to step forward to pull his younger brother, who had gone astray, back on track.

Fang Zhuo smiled and rested his chin on his hand slightly: "What do you mean by 'this insignificant amount of money'?"

He leaned back in his chair and handed the pre-written contract to Ning Li:

"The price for a single script is five million, with a guaranteed monthly salary of 100,000, and all business trips and field research trips will be reimbursed for five-star hotel stays."

Fang Zhuo gently made a shushing gesture towards Ning Li:

"Don't say things like 'a script is worth 50,000 yuan' anymore, or people will think Giant Entertainment is going bankrupt."

Ning Li shakily pulled up the contract, glanced at it, and quickly signed her name in the "Party B" section. She then made a fist-and-palm gesture towards General Manager Fang.

“Godfather, I will write whatever you tell me to write. Not only in terms of appearance, I can also write the protagonist's personality exactly like the main characters.”

"If you want to act in it yourself, I can write a character for you separately, and also add a character biography of tens of thousands of words."

"Godfather, I felt an instant connection with you the moment I saw you. Now I finally have the chance to repay you, and I will do anything to do it!"

Xu Pingtang's face turned extremely ugly from the back-and-forth between the two. After a long while, he gave a wry smile and slowly said to the man sitting in the main seat, "President Fang, you may not be very familiar with the ecosystem of our studio."

“Unlike the workflow of other big screenwriter studios, most of the scripts here are based on the basic framework, creative ideas and outline provided by Sister Liang, and we junior screenwriters are only responsible for supplementing the specific content.”

"You can poach anyone you want today, but you'll soon find out whether that person has the ability to create their own original work."

He shook his head at his rebellious younger brother and said disappointedly, "Ning Li, I can't write a good script without Sister Liang, and neither can you."

After saying that, Xu Pingtang forcefully grabbed the arm of another newcomer and turned to leave without looking back.

Fang Zhuo quietly watched Xu Pingtang's back, recalling the scripts produced by Liang Xinyuan Studio in recent years—five of which were written by Xu Pingtang, and the themes and directions of each were not much different from those he wrote in his previous life.

In other words, without Liang Xinyuan's so-called "discovery" and "guidance," Xu Pingtang would probably have become a top-notch screenwriter by now, instead of spending so many years honing his skills in the studio.

He really wanted to scan Xu Pingtang's brain with an instrument to see if Liang Xinyuan had implanted some kind of unconditional obedience chip inside.

Fortunately, we successfully signed Ning Li this time. In terms of peak creative level, Ning Li's ability far surpasses that of other screenwriters of the same era.

In the original novel "Brilliant", Ning Li's performance was notoriously unpredictable, sometimes creating masterpieces hailed as the pinnacle of suspense films in the past decade, and other times delivering nonsensical, rambling memos that sent chills down people's spines. His condition was extremely unstable.

In stark contrast to this fluctuating level of creative output is the remarkably consistent pace of creation over the past decades.

Other big screenwriting studios might only produce two or three scripts a year at most, but Ning Li is different; he takes on any job, good or bad.

When the client pays enough, he writes fluently and smoothly; when the budget is limited, he readily submits his defense, showing no regard for his reputation, only deserving the best he can do with the balance in his bank account.

At this rate, Ning Li alone could accomplish the work of more than ten people in other companies, producing at least seven or eight notebooks of vastly different quality each year.

It's no wonder Xu Pingtang said Ning Li's acceptance rate was low. Given Fang Zhuo's understanding of Ning Li's work style, it was already quite good that she could finish writing "Chen Ji" and hand it in despite her low monthly salary.

As Ning Li finished signing the contract, a system pop-up window appeared on Fang Zhuo's screen—

[Investment Target Number 8: Ning Li]

[Intelligence: 72][Stamina: 29][Appearance: 35][Emotional Intelligence: 62][Loyalty: 83]

[Recommended Careers: Screenwriting, document drafting, and other text-based jobs]

[Skill Talents: 90]

[Initial valuation: 14200]

After the meal, he asked Ning Li, "Do you prefer a sea view or a mountain view?"

Although Ning Li was a little confused, he still answered honestly, "Godfather, I like them both, but I prefer the sea view."

Less than half an hour later, he was taken to the top-floor executive suite of the largest sea-view hotel on this famous tourist star. The suite had five bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms, with the three sea-facing rooms directly facing the beach.

"This hotel is a ten-minute walk from the nearest star-rated restaurant. If you need anything, you can ask Jiang Yu to pick you up. If you don't want to go out to eat, you can press the bell at any time. The security personnel live on the floor below you. You can call them anytime in case of an emergency."

"The company will reimburse all your food and lodging expenses. The script fee has already been fully transferred to your card. If you want to change hotels, just let Jiang Yu know."

"I've sent the actor information to your personal terminal. The main actors will contact you this afternoon. I just sent you a domestic drama material package. You can refer to it when writing the script. There are no restrictions on the theme or direction. You can use your imagination."

Ning Li drew back the curtains and stared at the shimmering, gold-like surface of the sea outside the French windows, her jaw nearly dropping in astonishment.

He was shocked to check his bank card balance and found a transaction record of five million yuan ten minutes earlier.

Five million... That's a price only top screenwriters in the industry can get. He didn't even know if Liang Xinyuan's script could sell for that price.

Moreover, the boss had so thoughtfully prepared a five-star resort hotel for him, and even considered security. Ning Li felt as if he was unworthy of such treatment.

He couldn't help but ask, "Godfather, are you training assassins? Will you need me to go to the battlefield when you fight Liang Xinyuan someday?"

Fang Zhuo raised an eyebrow: "Would you like to come if needed?"

Ning Li patted his left chest: "Godfather, rest assured, I have a reputation for loyalty and righteousness."

Just before the boss left, Ning Li recalled Xu Pingtang's words before he left and felt it necessary to give the boss a heads-up:

"Godfather, Brother Xu is right. My acceptance rate in the studio was really low before... But this time is different from before. I will definitely write well."

Fang Zhuo leaned lazily against the door, indicating that he understood the meaning behind Ning Li's words.

It wasn't that they lacked ability; it was simply that they weren't paid enough.

Even when Ning Li is in a low-energy state, her original writing ability far surpasses that of most unsuccessful screenwriters on the market. The reason why the acceptance rate is so low is that Liang Xinyuan has a large number of stable and skilled writers.

He casually asked Ning Li about the composition of the studio, and Ning Li immediately rattled off a long list of names.

Fang Zhuo recalled that these dozen or so people were all prominent screenwriters in the entertainment industry.

Everyone huddled together in the studio like a breeding ground for venomous insects. Some were driven by ideals, others by a sense of gratitude, while the rest seemed to have fallen into a vortex of internal strife and infighting, oppressed without even realizing it.

Most of their works had their titles changed by Liang Xinyuan and were then distributed to different film and television platforms. Without the involvement of these renowned screenwriters in the casting process, important roles in these dramas were often played by newcomers, resulting in significantly lower viewership.

Unlike Chi Yingying, Liang Xinyuan did not have a strong public relationship with Xinghan.

She is not signed with Star Han Entertainment, and the production companies she collaborates with on these scripts are all different.

Several interview videos show that Liang Xinyuan and Ruan Zihan are not close, and even Ning Li said that he had never seen Ruan Zihan in the studio.

However, it's only a matter of time before the other party slips up. Based on Fang Zhuo's understanding of Ruan Zihan, it's impossible for other reborn individuals to develop so smoothly for six or seven years without surrendering to him. There must be some intricate connection between them.

When they returned to the villa, it was just past three in the afternoon. Taking advantage of this free time, Fang Zhuo asked Jiang Yu to go through the list of famous film and television stars in the entire Star Federation again, planning to contact venues according to different settings after the first draft was completed.

He thought he would receive the first draft of the script in two more days, but he didn't expect to receive a message from Ning Lifa the next day at noon.

Unlike when the two parted yesterday afternoon, Ning Li now had two large bags under her eyes, but her eyes were unusually excited, as bright as a raw rat probing out of a sewer.

"Godfather, please take a look first. If it's not good, I'll revise it."

There was a faint smell of smoke in the room, and three or four bottles of energy drinks were on the table. Ning Li's hair was just as frizzy as it had been yesterday.

Fang Zhuo sat on the sofa, opened the document, frowned, and asked, "How long did you sleep yesterday?"

Ning Li scratched his head: "I didn't sleep. I was so excited while writing that I couldn't fall asleep until midnight."

“The company provides overtime pay, and remote work can be paid by clocking in and out, but I don’t advocate this kind of work style that sacrifices health. Go to the room inside and sleep now. If I have any opinions on the draft, I will make annotations right next to you, and you can revise it after you wake up.”

Watching Ning Li close the door, Fang Zhuo sighed softly.

Although this article came suddenly, it was indeed timely.

Unlike the Blue Star plane, the Star Federation's biggest movie season is the Founding Day in early December, with the holiday lasting from the beginning of December until the end of the month, and the official statutory holidays lasting up to twenty days.

Thanks to technological advancements, the pure shooting period for most films has now been compressed to around ninety days. If a film is to be released during the National Day holiday, other production companies would typically begin filming at the end of May, and other films scheduled for the same period are now in the final stages of shooting.

However, as long as there are sufficient funds on hand, all progress issues are essentially money issues.

There are still more than three months until the beginning of December, and he is confident that he can make it into the busiest period.

Fang Zhuo turned to the first page of the draft and discovered that Ning Li had indeed given him something different—

The opening of the script resembles a traditional ancient romance novel set in a secluded household. The female protagonist, Liu Fu, is the daughter of a poor farmer. Her greatest pastime as a child was to lie on the wall of another farmer's house at the entrance of the village and listen to the woman there sing and play music.

However, the owner of that house was not very welcoming to Liu Fu, and even the woman's children thought she was dirty.

One day, while the woman was playing and singing, she was called away urgently. Filled with tension and resentment, the protagonist Liu Fu jumped off the wall and secretly took away the other party's instrument and travel permit.

With this certificate, Liu Fu successfully sneaked into the city and, by chance, was hired as the music lawyer for the third young lady of the prefect's household.

Her life on the tightrope began from then on. She racked her brains to fool the prefect's wife and desperately hid the fact that she was not good at music.

The script also included several scenes where she almost had her secrets exposed by chance.

However, her crude disguise fooled most people. Liu Fu became bolder and fabricated a story for her own brother. Under the pretext of recruiting guards in the prefect's mansion, she successfully got her brother involved as well.

From then on, the family's minds became active. They regarded this wealthy family as a gold mine. First the older brother, then the parents, they all managed to sneak in using false identities obtained through various means.

Liu Fu's mother became the young master's wet nurse, while her father, an old scholar who hadn't even passed the county-level imperial examination, became the third young master's tutor by forging his past experiences.

Fang Zhuo flipped through the pages; this long section about the disguise process only accounted for the first tenth of the entire first draft of the script.

Just when the whole family had successfully taken over the mansion, the plot of the entire script took a sharp turn for the worse. Ning Li brought the plant mutation setting that often appears in fantasy themes to the ancient romance script.

The world descended into chaos overnight. In the southern towns, all the plants grew and multiplied at a frenzied rate, and these mutated plants became extremely aggressive towards all humans and animals.

The Bao family, which had several hundred servants, immediately decided to send the entire household to the capital, where plants were scarce and the situation was under control.

The pace of the entire script is also noticeably accelerated in this section—servants rebel, bandits rob, and the master-servant relationship is reversed. All struggles and conflicts occur rapidly and continuously along this long road of relocation, and are then suppressed by bloody means.

Along the way, the rate of plant mutation gradually slowed down, and the officers and soldiers gradually brought the chaos in various places under control.

By the time they approached the capital, the state of the world was almost indistinguishable from when the plant mutation had not occurred.

At the end of the play, soldiers at the city gate of the capital are inspecting the travel permits of a group of dozens of people, but the hand that reaches out from the sedan chair to hand over the permits is surprisingly Liu Fu's.

She lifted the curtain and smiled at her elder brother, Liu Ji, who was riding a tall horse: "Brother, this capital city is truly beautiful."

Taking advantage of this brief period of chaos, their family finally managed to usurp the throne...

Although it's only a first draft of over 20,000 words, the script has a complete rhythm and the plot is intricately linked. The female lead's appearance and personality are highly similar to Tong Qinglu's, while the highlights of the latter half focus on the female lead's brother.

Given the sheer number of scenes highlighting the female lead's brother, it's practically a done deal that Cen Yanhuai will be promoted to stardom.

The first half of the plot just happens to require the male lead to be timid and hesitant, so this transitional period can be used to allow Cen Yanhuai to gradually adapt to the rhythm of the film crew.

Fang Zhuo wanted to offer some suggestions, but he could hardly find anything that needed to be changed.

Ning Li's works have always spanned a wide range, but what remains constant is that they are all filled with a lot of suspense and action plots. The strength of this script lies in its control of the rhythm, with one small plot after another being thrown out almost continuously.

If paired with a suitable team, the script's potential can be greatly increased.

Fang Zhuo sent a message to Zhang Kaigang on his personal computer and then casually forwarded the first draft to him.

Zhang Kaigang replied quickly: [Who wrote this? I'm coming to your company right away. Don't give this notebook to anyone else, I'll take it even if it means a pay cut.]

At the same time, Jiang Yu's message popped up: [President Fang, a director is waiting for you in the company office. What time will you be back?]

Fang Zhuo turned off his personal terminal and chuckled softly.

Zhang Kaigang isn't a rabbit with its tail between its legs; he wouldn't run that fast. So, the other director who came knocking must have heard about Giant Entertainment's new drama and wanted to volunteer.

Half an hour later, Fang Zhuo arrived at the office floor, took half a step forward, and shook hands with the other party.

The man in front of him was a director second only to Zhang Kaigang, named Tian Linshan, who was in his early fifties and was currently at the peak of his directing career.

Tian Linshan's hairline has receded significantly, and the remaining hair is a mix of black and white, with even more white hair. However, he did not choose to wear a hat to cover it up. Instead, he carefully combed the remaining few strands of white hair to cover the top of his head.

He touched his hair and said, "I'm sorry to make you laugh, Mr. Fang. I've been bald for several years and I've tried many folk remedies, but none of them worked."

Tian Linshan had a friendly smile, with slight crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. As he spoke, he took the initiative to shake hands with Deng Jiaqiang: "This must be Manager Deng. I've heard so much about you."

"Both of you are smart people, so I'll get straight to the point. I was previously signed with Xinghan Media, but I haven't filmed any of their dramas. The treatment there was really bad, and they always made me mentor new actors."

"I currently have a few scripts that haven't been filmed yet, and they're all sure to be huge hits. I wonder if you two could do me the honor of letting me take these scripts and find another agency..."

“My per-drama fee is negotiable in the future. As long as I have enough room to perform, I’m willing to accept a reduction to half of what I used to receive. My main interest is Giant Entertainment as a development platform. That’s why I felt it was necessary to come here today after hearing that you were going to launch a new project.”

"Oh, I forgot to mention, of course, my contract with Xinghan expires in half a month, which won't delay our signing here."

Deng Jiaqiang's attitude was also quite friendly; he took the initiative to put his arm around this well-known director and said indignantly:

"So Xinghan goes this far, even forcing actors into a director of your caliber's production? Director Tian, ​​let me take you downstairs to get a coffee, we can talk as we walk."

Seeing how enthusiastic the other party was, Tian Linzhong didn't stand on ceremony and put his arm around Deng Jiaqiang's shoulder as they went downstairs.

The two walked ahead, with Fang Zhuo following far behind, quietly watching the top of Tian Linzhong's head.

He hadn't taken two steps when he was interrupted. Zhou Zongyun, with an ice cream in his mouth, appeared from the other side of the elevator. He glanced at the group, then rushed over and, in his haste, grabbed Fang Zhuo's sleeve. Although he was panting heavily, he tried to keep his voice down:

"Mr. Fang, Mr. Fang, wait! Don't go yet, I've seen this person before—"