Chapter 271
New movie title: The Unmarriageable Sister
On the way to their destination, Ling Suisui and Tong Xiaoman talked about Yan Siling's project.
She asked, "Sister Tong, I heard that this project has been greatly changed? What do you think after reading it?"
Tong Xiaoman thought for a moment and said, "Since you are about to meet Yan Siling, let her talk to you herself. Listening to my evaluation first may give you a preconceived impression, and I haven't had much exposure to art films before."
So that’s it... Ling Sui had a rough idea in his mind.
Tong Xiaoman's judgment on the quality of a film is mainly based on commercial thinking, and this standard is indeed not applicable to Yan Siling's current project.
Compared to the first time they met, Yan Siling was much calmer. She wrote slowly before when she had no ideas, but after sorting out the logic, she had almost finished writing the detailed outline. Due to time constraints, the script will not contain too much content.
Ling Suisui first took a look at the changed project name: The Sister Who Can’t Get Married.
It is indeed a major change - Yan Siling directly deleted the setting that the heroine gained some kind of "superpower" and would be regarded as a man in the eyes of others, and instead set the character as a sister who had been an only child for 28 years and suddenly learned that she had a twin brother.
If it is a commercial film, the heroine has changed from a guaranteed heir to a vase that may be sent out for marriage. The next step is to fight with her brother for the family property, and stage a family infighting.
But according to Yan Siling's setting, the heroine's parents are ordinary people and their family is only well-off. She was a golden phoenix who flew from a small county to a big city through the college entrance examination. After graduation, she successfully started a business and bought a house. She easily earns a million a year.
So, did her parents force her to buy a house and a car for her brother, or help his children get schooling? Neither do I. At least from the detailed plot, the parents, younger brother, and sister-in-law are not coveting the heroine's property.
It can be said that Yan Siling almost avoided all the bloody and scumbag plot points that could be used on social platforms to attract traffic. The only remaining contradiction is "unable to get married" as described in the movie title, which is the contradiction supporting the main plot of this work.
To sum it up in one sentence, when the family saw that the younger brother had a son and a daughter and lived a happy life, they urged the heroine to get married and have children as soon as possible. However, the heroine's blind dates had all ended in failure. After repeated quarrels, the heroine suffered a mental breakdown and almost broke up with her family.
After Ling Sui finished reading, some thoughts came to his mind.
"Your story is very new and seems to have nothing to do with the previous version, but there are some things in common."
Yan Siling: "Well... I think the previous version of the story had too many logical loopholes. Introducing supernatural elements seems to be a lazy shortcut, but it would be difficult to make it work. I tried to write in a more absurd and satirical direction, but I found that it didn't work. I couldn't handle this new style, so I returned to the real daily plot."
"I thought about it for a long time. What exactly do I want to express in this film? I want to study the gender differences between men and women from the perspective of social identity, so I have the setting of making the heroine 'become a man in the eyes of others'. Later, I looked up information and read some literature and decided to write 'Mulan's dilemma'."
Ling Suisui had heard of this term. The term "Mulan's dilemma" was first proposed by French scholar Kristeva.
The story of Mulan is included in the Chinese textbook and Chinese people are no strangers to it. As we all know, Mulan joined the army for her father, which means that when she can obtain equal rights with men, it is prerequisite that she has a male social identity.
"The heroine's brother disappeared before she could remember anything, so she was raised as an only child. Her parents hoped that she would become successful and become the backbone of the family. In essence, they were placing their hopes for their son on their daughter. This was just a last resort for them."
"For the first 28 years, the heroine had this position in the family until her parents found her younger brother. At this time, her family's expectations and positioning of her changed. She went from being a son 'disguised as a man' to a daughter from a traditional perspective."
"The heroine's pain, irritability, and depression only come from her dissatisfaction with her blind date, and she is very uncomfortable with the sudden appearance of family members. She feels that her parents' care for her has decreased. These are trivial matters and not the main point. The most important thing is that she suddenly discovered that she is actually a woman."
Yan Siling gestured with her hands and feet: "Do you understand what I mean? The gender I'm talking about here is not biological, but a social cognition... an adjective. Yes, an adjective."
Ling Suisui asked her to put her hands down and just sit there. After all, she was just dancing around and didn't convey any useful information through sign language.
"I think I understand," she replied. "The heroine's dissatisfaction stems from her own disempowerment. She already has wealth and success, while her brother's financial situation is very average. But just because he is biologically male, he easily replaces her position in the family."
“That’s absolutely right!”
Yan Siling was so excited that she wanted to applaud her: "That's what I think. The sister who can't get married is the family's evaluation of her and the root of all conflicts. She thought she was the master of the family, or at least a reserve master, but when her brother returned, her identity became someone else's daughter-in-law - even if she hasn't found her other half yet."
For Yan Siling, this is the unavoidable core contradiction of the film and what she wants to express most.
Other melodramatic elements can certainly increase dramatic tension, but they may also distract the audience from the main plot and make them focus on the material dispute, thereby downplaying the heroine's disempowerment.
Yan Siling was particularly excited. These interpretations were nothing if they came from her, but when they were said by her co-actors, it was like scratching the itch in her heart, making her feel so happy. What does it mean to find a soulmate among profound streams? This is it!
Moreover, this confidant is a golden thigh. Even if she has no money, no equipment, and no connections, as long as she has Ling Suisui, these problems are no longer problems. Is there anything luckier than this in the world?
Yan Siling looked at Ling Suisui with sparkling eyes: "Teacher Ling, when are you available? It only takes me two months, or even faster, one month to finish the script!"
It doesn’t matter if the script is not perfect. She is the director anyway, and she just knows what she wants to shoot in her mind.
Ling Suisui seemed to see through Yan Siling's thoughts. She did not give a direct reply, but told her not to be anxious.
"You can talk to our company's screenwriter Tang Bao." Ling Suisui suggested, "She writes political and political books, and has recently been studying the mental health issues of women who find themselves in a state of long-term disempowerment. Although the historical backgrounds are different, perhaps you will have something in common."
"Besides, don't even think about the actors not having a script when filming starts and having to rely entirely on the director's direction. I won't agree to that. I admire your talent, but this is our first time working together and your credit score with me is not high enough."
Ling Suisui could get the company to invest tens of millions in her, but it was absolutely impossible to film a movie without a script. If directors of commercial films occasionally let themselves go, the consequences are unimaginable, let alone those who go the art film route.
She said it so bluntly, and Yan Siling actually accepted it well. Only those who truly want to cooperate will speak frankly.
Yan Siling nodded vigorously, indicating that she would work hard during this period to perfect all the details of the movie script with guaranteed quality and quantity. When Tong Xiaoman asked her to hire a few screenwriter assistants, she readily agreed.
Tong Xiaoman estimated the process of script completion, film filing, and early preparations. If everything goes well, filming can start early next year. Considering that the filming of "Dragon Slayer" is expected to last until February, Tong Xiaoman suggested setting the start time in April, which would make preparations easier and the actors would not have to join the crew seamlessly.
As for the shooting period, the entire movie does not involve any special effects and the script is not long, so thirty days is enough.
"Ru Meng Ling can start filming in July." Tong Xiaoman took a look at the arrangements for the second half of the year. "I released some news a few days ago. Three platforms are bidding. After confirming who to cooperate with, we can start recruiting investors."
Yan Siling still didn't quite understand why President Tong suddenly brought this up in front of her. Right? Ru Mengling's matter had nothing to do with her.
——No, it actually matters a lot.
Tong Xiaoman: "Usually the platform only pays a deposit first, but we can also evaluate the amount of cash flow that Fengshou Media can use and borrow from banks next year based on the full amount."
Yan Siling understood. In other words, how much money Harvest Media was willing to spend on making this movie depended on how well Ru Meng Ling sold...
Even at the age of Ling Sui, he has to use the money earned from commercial TV dramas to support art films. This is the price of pursuing art.
Yan Siling was so moved that she almost wanted to rush over and hug Ling Suisui. But this was outside, and Tong Xiaoman was there, so she felt a little embarrassed.
She had no way to express her sincere feelings and could only say tearfully that she currently had nothing to repay Ling Sui. However, she will definitely try her best to make this film seriously and will never disappoint the heroine and investors.
This was exactly the effect Ling Suisui wanted to achieve. She gently comforted and encouraged Yan Siling, telling her not to feel any pressure and that the director should just focus on creating her work. As for the issue of funds, she doesn't need to worry about these things at all.
Ling Suisui said this sincerely, and didn't seem embarrassed at all. But because of this, Yan Siling felt even more touched.
Oh my God, she is so nice, she must be acting so relaxed on purpose to avoid feeling guilty!
After walking out of the restaurant, Ling Suisui opened his mobile phone and saw the message from Ai Tianming.
The other party asked her if she was going to make a movie recently and if she needed investment. It's okay for art films. The premise for a movie to make billions of dollars is huge investment. It can't be done on such a large scale. Small profits of a few thousand, a few million, or even a few hundred thousand are the norm.
With Ling Sui's box office appeal, even if the subject matter is unpopular, it will be easy for the box office to break 100 million.
She replied with a stretching emoticon, asking him to wait as there were quite a lot of people queuing and they were not that short of co-producers. But since they are old friends, he will be given priority.
Ling Suisui couldn't help laughing out loud when he thought of Yan Siling's expression just now.
Naive young man, you have no idea of the value of the title "Sui Huang"~
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