Chapter 69 The Disguiser
The main reason why Meng Bai came to Noon Sunshine was for a script called The Disguiser.
That was when he was in college. Because of the popularity of The Hidden, many people in the market were following the trend of spy war dramas in those two years.
Meng Bai was also influenced at that time. Based on some fragments of inspiration in his mind and some information he found, he wrote a story about "multiple identities and lurking in the enemy camp" based on real people such as "Brigade Commander Wang Yong", "Three Heroes of Longtan" and "Yuan Shu".
However, he just wrote an outline at the time, and there was no complete story. It was not until he met Zhou You when he was working on the crew of All Quiet in Peking that he completed the outline that had been shelved for many years, and then asked his senior to help him send it up.
At that time, his idea was to see if he could get a script adaptation and signature.
Unfortunately, there was no news later, and he thought there was no hope, so he gave up waiting and started a new script, which was later "Soul Ferry".
Unexpectedly, his new script had already been put into production, and he was told that Noon Sunshine had taken a fancy to the script and wanted to talk to him about the adaptation.
When things were not going well, there were thousands of difficulties and obstacles, but when things went smoothly, everything was smooth sailing.
So sometimes Meng Bai himself couldn't help but sigh that if there really was such a thing as fate in the world, then this thing was really too bland!
But no matter how you look at it, this is a good thing, and Meng Bai naturally still hopes that the cooperation will be successful.
As for why he didn't shoot it himself, to be honest, he had considered this issue before he came.
It's just that he is currently a newcomer in online dramas, and he is not familiar with the situation and doorways in the circles of TV dramas and TV stations. He needs a "big brother" like Noon Sunshine to lead the way.
As for making the script of "The Pretender" into an online drama, Meng Bai had never thought about it. First, it is a pity to shoot an online drama with this kind of serious drama theme, and second, he also wants to take this opportunity to learn about the production and post-distribution experience of other professional teams.
After all, compared with the income of a drama, those experiences, relationships and channel information are more valuable.
In other words, this script is equivalent to "paying tuition fees". What's more, he is not unwilling to charge.
Of course, the premise is that Noon Sunshine is indeed willing to cooperate.
But soon Meng Bai found that he had too many concerns. Because he had just greeted Hou Hongliang, the "senior producer", and he said to him directly: "We have taken a fancy to the script of "The Pretender" and would like to invite Mr. Meng to be the planning and screenwriter. What do you think?"
Hou Hongliang is a middle-aged man wearing black-framed glasses and a well-tailored casual suit. At first glance, he has the demeanor of an industry leader and a successful person.
Meng Bai scratched his hair. Is this the rhythm of the boss's conversation? He got straight to the point.
But Meng Bai is not a novice now. He knows that the most taboo in the negotiation of this kind of commercial cooperation is to be brought into the other party's rhythm.
"If this project is approved, will Director Kong Sheng be responsible for it?" Meng Bai asked slowly.
You can be fast, but I have my own rhythm.
Hou Hongliang was not in a hurry, or rather, he did not care too much. He said patiently: "It's hard to say. It depends on Director Kong's arrangement. But don't worry, we are very optimistic about this script. If the project is approved, even if other directors are in charge, Director Kong will help supervise and check it."
"Can I ask, if we cooperate, when can this drama start filming?" Meng Bai explained: "Because I also have some projects planned later, I'm afraid I won't be able to adjust them by then."
"I know, I've also learned about the plan of the 'Super Web Drama Film and Television Universe' announced by Leshi.com." Hou Hongliang smiled and said, "If our cooperation goes smoothly, we can start preparations around October, and we should be able to start filming at the beginning of next year."
"It will take half a year?" Meng Bai said.
"It's hard to say how long it will take for many processes, such as project establishment, review, investment confirmation, and contact with the platform, so we can only use the most conservative time to calculate." Hou Hongliang explained.
Meng Bai suddenly realized that yes, he was used to shooting online dramas and forgot that the process of TV dramas was much more troublesome.
However, isn't this the experience he needs to learn?
He calculated the time in his mind. According to his original plan, "Psychological Crime" will be finished in July and August, and he can start preparing for "Soul Ferry 2" while doing post-production, and finish it before the end of the year. In this way, after the Chinese New Year, the next work of the "Green Ivy Series" can be started.
But if "The Pretender" is to be considered, then this schedule will have to be adjusted. "Psychological Crime" and "Soul Ferry 2" can remain unchanged, but the next work needs to be postponed.
After sorting out the timeline, Meng Bai found that it was not impossible. He only needed to replace the original "detective" story of the next "Green Ivy Series" with the "forensic" one, and he could just try out an idea he had long ago.
Thinking of this, Meng Bai looked at Hou Hongliang and said, "I actually have always hoped to cooperate with our Noon Sunshine, but I still have a few requests. I wonder if Mr. Hou can agree to them?"
"You say."
"First of all, since I am a 'planning screenwriter', I hope to have the right to suggest the plot. And any changes to the plot must be told to me."
Hou Hongliang pondered for a few seconds and asked, "Just the right to suggest?"
"Yes." Meng Bai said straightforwardly.
Cooperating with a large company like Noon Sunshine, he naturally would not dream of having the "complete discretion" of "chief screenwriter", but he would still not give up the control of the plot of the work.
On this point, Meng Bai is very firm. Anyway, the script is his, and at worst he will not cooperate. After he has filmed a few web dramas and has the capital, he will naturally have plenty of opportunities to make TV dramas.
The "accident" of "The Adventures of Li Xianji" at the beginning only needs one time.
Fortunately, after considering for a while, Hou Hongliang chose to agree to Meng Bai's request.
After all, he is no longer the new screenwriter who had no confidence before. The outstanding performance of "Soul Ferry" and the binding cooperation with Leshi.com have given him the strength to fight for the right to speak.
"Any other requests?" Hou Hongliang asked.
"Mr. Hou, you are my predecessor, so I won't do those empty things." Meng Bai said: "To be honest, there is actually a main reason why I agreed to cooperate, which is to learn and observe your production experience and crew operations."
In the identity of "producer", Meng Bai is a duck on the shelf. Previously, "Soul Ferry" had a small investment and a small crew, and most of the crew recruited experienced people, so many problems could be solved.
But the experience of just one drama is still a bit insufficient. Like this time's "Psychological Crime", with the rapid expansion of the crew, he felt a little overwhelmed.
At this time, there are two ways to solve it. Either organize a few smaller projects to brush up experience; or find a big boss and learn from him, which is equivalent to finding a "master" to guide you.
His original plan was the former, and the experience he had accumulated from the "Green Ivy Series" projects should be enough for him to upgrade.
But now this sudden cooperation has given him the possibility of the latter.
Even among TV drama producers in the whole country, Hou Hongliang can be called a T1-level figure. Having the opportunity to learn from such a big man is equivalent to "taking a car to brush a high-level copy". The experience accumulated from one drama is equivalent to that of working on four or five dramas by himself.
(End of this chapter)
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