Chapter 180 Chinatown Detective
"This story..."
After listening to Meng Bai's brief introduction of the Arclight project, Chen Sicheng hesitated for a while and asked, "The plot is indeed amazing, but... can it really pass the review?"
The setting of the protagonist being a "dark hero" is actually not new. It often appears in both American and Japanese dramas.
There are actually similar settings in domestic dramas, such as the "Darker" in last year's "The Darker".
But the problem is that they are supporting roles, or more accurately, "villains".
The protagonist at most has some ideas, and then falls into struggle, which happens to be a turning point in the plot or a "character arc" for the character's growth.
You are good, not only does the protagonist "go down in person", but he also directly completes the identity transformation without any inner struggle.
More importantly, this plot is completely a slap in the face of the police and the judicial system.
It can be said that unless the protagonist finally chooses to "surrender" or "fail and get caught", it is absolutely impossible to pass the review.
Meng Bai smiled and said, "This is just a rough idea. When the project is actually launched, the plot may not be the same. In addition, I actually have another idea, which is to set the background of the story abroad."
"Abroad?"
"Yes, such as Thailand or the United States." Meng Bai smiled and said, "Brother, didn't you find that the judicial environment I just described is actually a bit out of place in China?"
Chen Sicheng thought about it. Indeed, this kind of "rich people get away with it" story is normal in the United States.
But if it is set in China, not to mention reality, just on the screen, the style is indeed a bit strange.
"But if the background is set abroad, it will be difficult for the audience to feel involved, right?" Chen Sicheng thought of a question.
Before this, the most successful movie with a foreign background was "Lost in Thailand" two years ago.
However, that movie is a comedy, and the main story focuses on a few protagonists. The foreign background will not have much impact on the audience.
On the contrary, through the story of laughter, you can also appreciate the foreign scenery and produce some unique jokes.
But the stories of criminal investigation and reasoning are different, not to mention the impact of cultural differences on the cases. According to Meng Bai's idea, with so many cases, do you use foreigners or fellow countrymen?
If you use foreigners, why don't people just watch foreign dramas; if you use fellow countrymen, where can you find so many fellow countrymen in other countries.
"It may not be impossible." Meng Bai looked at him and said, "There is really a place that can combine these two needs."
"Where?"
"Chinatown."
Chen Sicheng's mind was like lightning, and the originally blocked thoughts were instantly blown up.
Yes, isn't Chinatown a perfect "background stage" that combines Chinese and Western cultures!
And it's not just convenient for the development of the plot. There are so many countries in the world with Chinatowns. Shooting a movie in one place can just make a complete series.
"That's right, that's right, the point of Chinatown is too critical!" Chen Sicheng smiled happily.
He always felt that his design was missing some feeling before, but if the point of "exotic Chinatown" was added, it would be a "finishing touch".
"Junior brother, I really sincerely invite you to cooperate. Film remuneration, production or investment share, just mention the conditions." Chen Sicheng said with a scorching gaze.
He did not forget that Meng Bai's identity is not only an excellent screenwriter, but also the boss of a film and television company. The investment share of the project is the key.
Chen Sicheng's idea is not wrong. For Meng Bai, the personal remuneration of screenwriters is just a small matter. The investment share is more attractive.
A long time ago, he actually thought about finding a suitable opportunity to get in touch with the film market.
The initial plan was to make a movie version of "Psychological Crime", but this must at least wait until the online drama "Psychological Crime 2" is broadcast, at least a year.
As for Guo Fan's "The Wandering Earth", it is even further away. Conservatively estimated, this project can be started within two years, which is considered a success.
So for Meng Bai, Chen Sicheng's project in front of him is really a good opportunity.
In fact, to be honest, the output value of the film market is not high.
Last year, the total market value of the entire film industry was only 30 billion.
In comparison, the total annual output value of the online drama market (including self-produced dramas) is 37.8 billion, and the output value of the TV drama market is more than 40 billion.
All of them are above the film industry.
However, compared to the revenue, the biggest feature of the film industry is its huge influence.
The comprehensive value of a classic movie is far greater than that of a hit TV series.
Even in the circle, companies that can do film projects are higher than companies that only do TV series, although these are actually two different tracks.
So, if it's just about making money, it's enough for Arclight Film and Television to continue on the road of film and television dramas.
But if you want to develop Arclight Film and Television into an industry giant, you must enter the film industry.
It's difficult for new companies to squeeze into those old-fashioned film circles. So if you really want to enter, you still have to rely on some new capital.
Chen Sicheng himself is certainly not one, but Wanda Pictures behind him is a "giant".
In addition, his connections and channels in the film industry are also quite wide, which is quite suitable as a "novice village".
"If there are two protagonists, one is Haoran, and the other person, who are you going to find, senior brother?" Meng Bai asked.
"I want to find Baoqiang." Chen Sicheng said, "The contrast effect in appearance will be very strong, and we can also add some action and comedy elements."
At this point, he smiled and said, "Anyway, the most profitable movies in China are still comedies, so let's make a mystery comedy."
Not to mention, this idea is similar to Meng Bai's suggestion to Guo Fan to shoot "The Wandering Earth" as a "disaster film.
" "Mystery comedy." Meng Bai nodded, "Okay, then let's follow this style for the plot."
Chen Sicheng's eyes lit up, and the other party's implicit meaning in this sentence was obviously that he agreed to cooperate.
"Haha, then junior brother, let's have a happy cooperation." Chen Sicheng laughed.
The two talked about the story framework and plot style again, but didn't say too much.
The script was not out, the entire project was not established, and there was no budget investment, crew preparation, and cast lineup.
"We should move faster." Chen Sicheng said, "I think it would be best if we can finish filming by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, so that we can put it in the summer season next year."
There are two major seasons in a year. If the Spring Festival season is not in time, the summer season is also good.
"Okay, next month, I will revise a preliminary version of the script first." Meng Bai said.
Chen Sicheng nodded, thought about it, and suddenly remembered a question: "Junior brother, if you use the follow-up project of the 'Green Ivy Series', there will be no objection from Leshi.com, right?"
"It doesn't matter." Meng Bai said indifferently: "Anyway, according to the style of 'mystery comedy' we mentioned, the entire script must be changed, and it will have basically no connection with the original. What's more, no one stipulates that Arclight can only do projects in the 'Green Ivy Series', as long as it is not mentioned in external publicity." "
Moreover, no matter whether to make a series later, the first one will definitely be an origin type, and it has nothing to do with the entire series."
Chen Sicheng felt relieved when he heard it: "That's good, but in fact, you can also talk to them. Leshi Pictures has also made great achievements in film investment and production in recent years."
"Okay, I'll mention it to them later to see if there are any ideas for cooperation."
After speaking, Meng Bai said to himself: I just don't know if Leshi Pictures' funds can last until the movie is released.
As far as he knows, the projects that have been approved by Leshi Pictures this year include "The Great Wall", a "China-US co-production" in cooperation with Zhang Guoshi, and "Lord of the Rings", a "full CG fantasy masterpiece" in cooperation with Xiao Si.
Both of these are high-cost productions, and Leshi Pictures is the first producer and pays the most.
In this case, Leshi.com headquarters has to continue to draw blood to fill the "car manufacturing" project that Boss Jia is researching.
It can only be said that the financial pressure is not ordinary.
Thinking about it this way, it seems that Leshi Pictures' high frequency of financing is not completely without reason. After
sending Chen Sicheng away, Meng Bai divided his time into two parts. While watching the filming of "Forensic Qin Ming", he began to think about the script of "Detective Chinatown".
"Detective Chinatown" is the tentative name of this film project.
Time soon came to the end of the month, and Meng Bai, who was busy, suddenly received news from Qin Lan.
Someone is willing to be a "takeover hero."
(End of this chapter)
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