Chapter 99
If it's more than half, you have to read the entire script before considering it.
Ling Suisui used the word "major changes", which means that every detail has to be changed.
and “redo” – perhaps the former sounds better in name only?
The director needs to be changed, and the special effects company doesn’t need to be so high-end. After all, "The Game Is Online" is an infinite flow game rather than a science fiction theme. Under limited conditions, you should save as much as possible and just use enough.
As for the supporting actors...it's a bit early to consider this now, let's wait until the project really gets going. For some unimportant roles, as long as the actors are not too bad, Ling Suisui can accept filling in a few people with connections.
There is no way, when you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
Before he has the ability to change the rules, Ling Sui can only try to use the rules flexibly to benefit himself.
Just the changes listed above can save 50% of the project budget.
Ling Suisui estimated that when the time comes, he would find a platform to attract some investment, and the project rating would be A and strive for S, and it would be best if the copyright could be sold in advance.
Collecting a deposit from the platform can not only ease the cash flow pressure on the producers, but also give advertisers peace of mind, which is equivalent to telling them that the drama will definitely be broadcast, there is a place to broadcast it, and the money they have spent will not be wasted.
She said: "The positioning of this drama also needs to be changed. The roles of several supporting characters should be increased, and it should be made into a team challenge mode centered on the heroine and with a more group-oriented approach, so as to increase the interaction among the main characters."
Ai Tianming agreed with everything else, but frowned on this point.
He said awkwardly: "Do you really want to give the supporting role more scenes? Then you..."
"Me what?" Ling Suisui raised an eyebrow and asked him, "Do you think that if it's a group portrait, I'm not the heroine anymore, and I feel a little wronged?"
Ai Tianming nodded and said that the original reason why he wanted to direct this play for her was because he was angry that Huacai and Yumi adapted the original novel into a male-centered one and also pulled down and stepped on Ling Sui.
Ling Suisui didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. Sure enough, his desire to enter the film and television industry was just a sudden impulse...
The other party had good intentions, so Ling Suisui patiently explained:
"Whether it's a novel or a play, the core of the narrative is contradiction and conflict. I suggested giving the supporting characters more roles, which was indeed based on realistic considerations, but more importantly, it was based on the content itself."
"In the original novel that has been released, the heroine does not fight alone, but is in a fixed team. However, the original novel has only 400,000 words, and the total length is relatively short, so there is less focus on the supporting characters. However, the settings of these characters are all related to the heroine, and there are points that can be further explored."
"Extending this part of the content will make the narrative richer, the plot structure fuller, and it will also be easier to create contradictions and conflicts."
The reason why Ling Suisui mentioned "adding scenes" was because the original novel was too short.
The full text of 400,000 words is considered a novella in the online literature world, and if adapted into a script, it would only take ten episodes at most. At this time, expanding the content of the original work becomes an inevitable choice for adaptation.
Ling Suisui continued, "Besides, what I just said was that it was centered around the heroine and was a group portrait adaptation. Don't you find that it seems to be missing something compared to the regular TV series on the market?"
Ai Tianming thought about it, the heroine is the center, and the supporting roles are the group...
"Wait—you mean, there's no male lead?"
"That's understandable." Ling Suisui nodded. "Since I'm the heroine of this drama, how can I possibly compromise myself? The roles added to other supporting roles can be deducted from the hero's share."
"I know that there is an official match in the original novel, but he is only the love interest of the heroine, and his appearance percentage in the novel cannot be considered as that of the male protagonist."
"We don't have to erase the emotional line, but we can't raise it to the highest priority either. My plan is that there are five people in the protagonist team, and the official partner is one of them. Then he will account for a quarter of the total role of the important supporting roles. If he appears earlier, it will float up a few percentage points."
Ai Tianming opened his mouth wide: "Can we shoot like this?"
"Of course you can." Ling Suisui told him, "For example, in spy dramas, the male and female protagonists may not necessarily be lovers."
Ai Tianming thought about it carefully and found that according to what Ling Suisui said, this drama does have a group portrait, but it seems to be more in line with the definition of a "female protagonist".
Ling Suisui thought that if she were to play the leading role, it would be hard to find a second role, so it would be better to select someone based on the criteria for important supporting roles, so as to avoid being caught between a high and a low position.
When the ranking is decided, she will be the "leading actress" and the four team members will all be "starring actors", so there will be no particular order of ranking.
She said: "It's hard to calculate the percentage of scenes, as long as I appear in 40 to 45 percent of the scenes in the script, it's fine."
"Isn't it a bit too little?" Ai Tianming asked her. "I saw on Weibo that many fans are calling for the leading male and female actors to have at least 70% of the scenes, and 80% is not too much."
Ling Suisui: ...
She deadpanned, "Fans don't have professional knowledge, but you as a producer can't be without it."
"Do you know what 80 percent of the scenes mean? It means that as long as the crew starts filming, I have to be there. There are no days off during the entire filming process, and I can't stop for even a second. I have to shoot continuously."
Ling Suisui picked up a bottle of wine and said, "If you want to see all the words and icons on the bottle clearly, shouldn't you turn it over? The same is true for the narrative of film and television dramas."
"If the drama is too focused on one character, the narrative angle will be fixed, limiting the richness of the plot. According to my current criteria for accepting dramas, the priority of a good drama must be ranked before good character design and a lot of drama."
If she takes 80% of a cake worth 10 yuan, or takes 40% of a cake worth 100 yuan, which one will give her more? Even an elementary school student can calculate it.
If more roles mean more love from the audience, then why do actors still need to act in TV dramas and movies? Why not just do a one-man show live?
Ling Suisui finally added: "Also, if I work too hard during the filming process, I won't be able to guarantee my performance in every scene."
After all, she is a living person, not a machine, and she will feel tired both physically and mentally.
Ai Tianming only half understood the previous reasons, and the last sentence was the main reason that convinced him.
Ai Tianming confirmed again: "Do you really think half of the role is enough?"
Ling Suisui: "…It's not that half is enough, but half at most. If it exceeds this ratio, I will have to read the entire script before considering whether to accept it or not."
"This is not just a single person's part, it includes all the scenes with the other actors and the group. For the four important supporting roles, each person should have a 20 to 25% share of the scenes. If it is less than this, it will be difficult to code the actors."
Because each actor does not perform a solo show, according to this mixed calculation method, the sum of all people's roles will definitely be greater than one.
She and Ai Tianming emphasized: "Don't be stingy in portraying the supporting roles. Only when every character is good can the drama be good."
"Think about Teacher Tang Bing. Her role in Jin Bang Ti Ming only accounted for one-third of the screen time. Did that affect her winning the Best Actress award? Or do you just not have the confidence in me and think that a supporting role will overshadow my brilliance?"
Ai Tianming immediately said: "That's definitely not the case. I understand what you mean."
Seeing that he understood, Ling Sui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This is the end of their preliminary discussion on "The Game Is Online", and they just need to set a general framework. As for the details of the next development, Ling Suisui still needs to discuss it with Tong Xiaoman and ask her to come forward to discuss it.
After all, what she promised Tong Xiaoman at that time was that she would not only be her agent, but also a partner in the studio and future company.
Every profession has its own specialties, and professional matters should be left to professionals. Ling Suisui would like to focus her limited time and energy on studying and improving her acting career, which is her track.
"Oh, right." Ling Suisui reminded, "Currently, the film and television copyright of the game is still with Huacai. You should put the filming plan aside for now and get the copyright in your own name first."
Ai Tianming smiled and said, "I understand. I will just act as if I am acting on impulse. If the other party's offer is high, I will not even discuss it and will just say no."
——But this IP is too hot to keep with Huacai. The cost invested previously cannot be withdrawn, and there is no money to add to it. At this time, Ai Tianming, who is "stupid and rich", is willing to take it over. What are you waiting for if you don't sell it to him!
Even if there is no way to make his money, as long as I can recover some of the losses, it is much better than watching it become the company's bad debt and losing all the money!
The most important thing is that only Ai Tianming himself said he wanted to buy it. Huacai would think he was a fool who was throwing money around. But if it were any other film and television company, they would think whether the other party was profitable and would not let go easily.
Therefore, his image of a "naive and innocent" young man is also beneficial in the business world.
Zhong Yao’s birthday party lasted until the early morning, and Ling Suisui slept directly in the villa’s guest room.
By noon the next day, most of the guests had left, with only a few people staying for lunch.
Ling Suisui is one of them, but she is mainly waiting for Ji Zhaoying. This guy has been partying until three in the morning and hasn't gotten out of bed yet.
At the dining table, Ling Suisui and Zhong Yao said, "After I got up today, I went to read the column of the author you mentioned yesterday. I am a little interested in a book, but I have only read the first few chapters and haven't finished it yet."
Zhong Yao asked her, "Which one is it? This author has written many books on ancient detective stories."
"It's not that kind." Ling Suisui shook her head. "It's a period piece she wrote last year. The title of the piece is "I Started a Business by Setting Up a Street Stall in the 1980s." It tells the story of a housewife who started her career after divorce after the reform and opening up."
Ah, from ancient detective stories to contemporary business literature... the span is a bit too big.
So Ling Suisui added: "The dramatic conflicts in the first few chapters are still within the scope of the original family. They are quite intense but also quite cliché. I want to read a few more chapters to see if the career development will be better in the future."
Zhong Yao pondered over what she had just said. She had specifically mentioned that the story took place after the reform and opening up...
"You want to win an award?"
In front of his friends, Ling Suisui nodded without hiding it.
"Yes, although the official award rules do not restrict the subject matter, works that reflect social reality and conform to the main theme are more favored by mainstream awards."
The Golden Eagle and Magnolia Awards are okay, but the Feitian Award is a government award and is almost only given to this type of film and television drama.
Zhong Yao understood, and she said that she would help Ling Sui keep an eye on the developments of this work. She also taught her to use keyword searches on novel websites to find some works of similar themes for horizontal comparison.
However, if Ling Suisui had this goal in mind, then 80 percent of his novels would not be suitable. Either the cheat code is too big, or the plot design is too suspended, sacrificing realistic logic for the sake of excitement.
It’s not that there is anything wrong with these two points, but they don’t match Ling Sui’s demand for film and television copyright.
"It doesn't matter, I'll just take my time." Ling Sui-sui is optimistic. "I can play this kind of role when I'm 40, so I have plenty of time to choose carefully. If I play it now, I'm not suitable in terms of age."
This was her real cake-making career plan, the one proposed by Ai Tianming. Although Ling Suisui had also seriously considered it, she decided to go with the flow and just give it a try.
Zhong Yao thought, that’s indeed the case.
Ling Sui's birthday is in December. She will only be 21 years old at the end of the year. It is really rare to find female stars who dare to prepare for the mainstream Best Actress awards at this age.
But she has already won the Magnolia Award for Best Supporting Actress, and she has the confidence and ability to act like one.
Some people commented that Ling Suisui is the actress that scares her peers the most.
But Zhong Yao feels that the qualifier "concurrently" will be removed one day, and that day will not be too late.
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