50 Chapter 50
It's easier said than done. The reason why Ning Shu could infiltrate the City That Never Sleeps was because it was originally a satellite city under the jurisdiction of the Hehuan Sect and the people were open-minded. In other places, the reputation of the Hehuan Sect was almost synonymous with demon cultivators. How could they let you sneak in and mess around so easily?
Bai Xuan also knew that expanding into other markets would be difficult, so she offered a suggestion: "Why don't we have our disciples go to other cities and try showing replays of talent shows? Even if they fail, we won't lose anything."
"No." Ning Shu thought for a moment and then refused. "Half of the highlights of talent shows are the excitement of the voting phase and the sense of accomplishment in developing stars. The replay of the talent show is already decided, so the audience won't feel too involved. Secondly, the timeline is too long, and those cultivators who don't like us won't be able to follow the updates every day.
Thirdly, some of the performances are too stimulating for the conservative monks, such as Liu Pianpian's dance style, which will definitely be criticized by them."
The monks who could visit the city that never sleeps were naturally open-minded, so a weekly talent show would be just the thing to whet their appetite. However, it wouldn't be appropriate to tap into the market in a more conservative region. It would be better to choose a more moderate, conservative show that could be watched in its entirety in one sitting.
First arouse their interest, then change their minds subtly.
In this case, the most suitable way to open up the market is a movie with an exciting plot, excellent pictures, superb acting, and "private goods".
After determining this general direction, Ning Shu handed over the subsequent MV shooting work to Xiao Cui, while he stayed in the house, racking his brains to replicate various excellent scripts he had read in his previous life.
Well, first of all, it would be best to highlight the core competitiveness of the Hehuan Sect, that is, the focus should be on the heroine, and the setting must be that all the members are beautiful women.
Secondly, any plot that is too scary or dark will be rejected. The tone of the entire script must be beautiful, kind, pitiful and cute, so that people can realize the beauty of girls at first sight, and change the stereotype that all the girls in the Hehuan Sect are witches.
Finally, in order to develop fans, art films that are less popular will not work. The script must stand the test of the market, and the heroine must have a highlight role. It is best if it can make the audience heartbroken, crying and becoming loyal fans of the first, second, and third female characters.
Well... in that case, it's not a bad idea to make some moves and stir up some party disputes in terms of emotional stances. Wouldn't the fans of the first and second female characters start to argue and generate more heat?
The more Ning Shu thought about it, the more ideas came to her. She buried her head in writing frantically. It was not until three full days later that she went to meet her mother and the elders with many excellent scripts from the Earth era.
"Mother, sisters, I'm sure Sister Bai Xuan has told you about the difficulties we face." Ning Shu distributed the scripts to the others at the meeting and picked up a small wooden stick to knock on the screen with the names of the various scripts written on it:
“In order to open up new markets and attract more monks to support the sisters’ practice, I decided to shoot a completely new form of drama to be shown in other cities.
"Let's put aside issues like casting and location selection for now. The most pressing task right now is to quickly select a script that's most likely to be well-received by the monks. I've already distributed the scripts I've considered so far. I hope you'll share your thoughts so we can work together to select the most suitable one for filming."
The sect leader and several elders knew that this matter was related to whether the disciples of the Hehuan Sect could attract more fans in the future, so they all opened their notebooks and read them seriously. The spacious conference room was silent, with only the occasional sound of flipping papers.
Estimating that the time was almost up, Ning Shu saw that her mother and sisters had closed their books and raised their heads. She coughed lightly and stood up:
"Well, let's officially begin this script discussion! Let's start with the first script, 'The Mermaid Princess.' This script's strength lies in the fact that the heroine easily wins the audience's sympathy, the acting requirements are not high, and the classic plot is timeless. What do you think of this script?"
Zixiao raised his hand silently.
"Sister Zixiao, what do you have to say?"
"Why didn't the Mermaid Princess stab that shameless guy to death with a dagger?"
Ning Shu: ...
"Because we are filming a fairy tale, not the revenge of the poisonous widow."
"But this plot is too absurd! Is anyone really going to enjoy watching it?" Zi Xiao frowned with a look of disdain: "I just think this merman is too weak to actually sacrifice herself for those stinky men!"
"Shu'er, Zixiao is right. Those men may like to read this story, but I'm afraid that we in the Hehuan Sect cannot find a disciple who is particularly suitable to play the role..." The Sect Master also nodded in agreement with Zixiao's opinion.
The disciples of the Hehuan Sect might squat by the Acacia Lake and cry bitterly when they are heartbroken, but it is absolutely impossible to ask them to voluntarily sacrifice their cultivation and life for the other party.
"That's right. If the actors can't get into the role, it will affect the final effect of the film..." Ning Shu thought about it and felt that her mother's words made sense, so she raised her hand and put a big cross on the name of "Mermaid Princess":
"This one's out, let's move on to the next one! How about 'Liang Zhu'? Liang Shanbo is still worth it, right? It's also a very sad love story, and the young couple who were abruptly separated can resonate with many sisters..."
Bai Xuan hesitated to speak.
Ning Shu looked over curiously: "Sister Bai Xuan, what's wrong with you?"
"Liang Shanbo was indeed a very good lover, and their story of life and death together is very touching." Bai Xuan hesitated for a moment before pointing out the problem:
"But don't you think there's a loophole in this story? Why did Zhu Yingtai have to go to a sect that only accepts male disciples to practice? There are obviously many sects like the Hehuan Sect or the Qingyinfang that accept female disciples, and most sects don't restrict the number of their disciples by gender..."
After Bai Xuan's reminder, Ning Shu suddenly realized: "That's right! Different backgrounds can't be mixed up. How could I forget this!" So the script of "Liang Zhu" was also eliminated, and Ning Shu pointed to the next one: "The story of "The Legend of the White Snake" is mainly about the love between immortals and mortals..."
In this way, Ning Shu led everyone in discussing various classic stories from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign. Each of them could not be adapted for the big screen due to various reasons. Later, she felt thirsty and drank the water in the cup in one gulp before speaking:
"The last play, 'Nie Xiaoqian,' tells the story of a scholar who stumbles upon a dilapidated temple and falls in love with a female ghost."
This time, the elders finally stopped raising objections. The clan leader looked over the script in his hand again and again, and finally spoke hesitantly:
"Shu'er, our Hehuan Sect's reputation is already bad, and this story has the Black Mountain Old Demon and the female ghost who sucks human essence... Will those cultivators hate us even more after reading this?"
"This is indeed a problem. If this movie spreads, it will easily increase the outside world's stereotypes about us..." Ning Shu touched his hair and thought for a moment before proposing a solution:
"But it doesn't matter. We can modify the original story. As long as the changes are exciting and reasonable, it won't damage the charm of the story itself."
The story of Nie Xiaoqian was originally a short story written by Pu Songling, a novelist in the Qing Dynasty, in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. It simply tells the story of a scholar rescuing a female ghost, and the female ghost pledges her love to him. It was through the continuous innovation and transformation of many movies, TV series and even games that it finally became a national IP known to every household in China.
Through continuous innovation and modification, Ning Caichen became more and more infatuated, Nie Xiaoqian became more and more kind, and some versions later added various emotional lines to the mysterious supporting role Yan Chixia. Even the Black Mountain Old Demon was transformed from a stereotyped villain who sucked human essence into a poor woman who turned from love to hate.
These adaptations have been tested by the market and the audience. Ning Shu decided to stand on the shoulders of giants and pick apples:
"How about we change it to this: These female ghosts were all forced. They were taken in and raised by the Black Mountain Old Demon since they were young. They were forced to do these things because of the Black Mountain Old Demon's kindness and threats. Then we can make the female ghosts look a little more pitiful, and include more clips of them helping kittens and puppies, and their inner longing for freedom.
This will not only win the audience's sympathy, but also make Nie Xiaoqian's betrayal of the Black Mountain Demon seem more plausible."
Upon hearing this, Zixiao slammed the table and nodded in agreement: "Right! Let's change it this way! Besides, weren't those men trapped because of their own ill intentions? If they were all like Ning Caichen, would they have died? Why blame the women? They were clearly at fault too!"
"Sure, we can add some clips of lecherous men who couldn't resist temptation or betrayed the female ghosts." Ning Shu accepted Zi Xiao's suggestion and added another clip on the screen: "The poor female ghosts were all heartbroken by those ruthless men and turned evil. It's all their fault!"
The sect leader's eyes lit up when she heard this. She had learned this all by herself: "So, that Black Mountain Old Demon..."
"Yes, she was once an ordinary, innocent female cultivator. She must have met a scumbag when she went down the mountain to train. Not only was she deceived, but he also tried to steal her money and kill her. That's why she became a ghost cultivator." Ning Shu added slowly on the screen:
"We could make the Black Mountain Old Demon's past more tragic, like... ahem! The poor wife who was murdered by a ruthless cultivator to prove her faith..."
"Killing one's wife to prove one's faith? What's that?" Several elders looked at each other in bewilderment. "What can killing one's wife prove? I've never heard of such a cultivation method."
"That's right, to prove the ruthlessness in one's heart, it's understandable that literary works are a little bit fabricated..." Having said this, Ning Shu tried to straighten his back to make himself look less guilty:
"Anyway, the Tianyan Sect has thrown so much dirty water on us, we are just giving them a taste of their own medicine!"
Rumors about the Hehuan Sect's female cultivators gathering yang to replenish yin and seducing men to inhale sexual energy were first spread by the Tianyan Sect. If we want to create stereotypes, let's all join in!
"That makes sense!" The elders of the Hehuan Sect, who were often blamed and scolded, couldn't help but brighten up and enthusiastically joined the discussion: "In that case, I think it would be better to set that man of the ruthless path as having bad intentions from the beginning..."
Why do we women make mistakes? It all comes down to you men's sweet talk, double-dealing, and unreasonable behavior!
It's all your fault for confusing our minds and making us indulge in pleasure! We women are all good by nature, and it's you who have seduced us with your beauty! You damned male friends are the root of all trouble! It's all your fault!
Ning Shu coughed twice guiltily, listened to the increasingly heated and excited discussion, and looked out the window with a vague look.
【Author’s words】
Ning Shu: Guilty, looking away...
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