Chapter 11
"Tian Yao" is a fantasy drama, so there are a lot of wire-actuated scenes.
It is difficult for a novice to master balance immediately on the wire, let alone perform beautiful aerial moves.
Therefore, Ye Yuze directly used money to pave the way and set up a set of equipment in the villa garden to do adaptation exercises. He also found a martial arts teacher and a physical education teacher to give them special training, so that he and He Tong could be in a suitable condition when they joined the group two months later.
That day, the two were practicing sword dancing moves when the door of the training room suddenly opened and Fang Chen rushed in like a gust of wind.
"I'm so angry! This is simply..."
Seeing that there was a third person in the room, he suddenly stopped talking, put his fist to his lower lip and coughed: "The class is not over yet..."
The martial arts teacher knew he had something to discuss when he saw him like this, so he tactfully said, "Actually, it's about time. It's just that two of my students are so outstanding, I couldn't help but delay the class. That's all for today, I'll come back tomorrow. Remember to stretch your muscles and don't sit down to rest right away."
After watching the martial arts teacher being sent away by Uncle Zou who had followed him, Fang Chen picked up a bottle of water by the wall, sat down on it, unscrewed the lid and took several gulps.
"What's wrong? Look how angry our Mr. Fang is." He Tong asked while stretching.
Fang Chen wiped his mouth and said angrily, "It's that Qian Pingxin! It's a good thing Editor Yu reminded me of this!"
Ye Yuze: "What's his problem?"
"That's a habitual plagiarist!"
He Tong and Ye Yuze were both stunned when they heard this.
"That online drama that suddenly went viral last year, called 'Delicious Marriage, Good Wife,' was written by that guy. It was based on an online novel called 'Scholar's Wife.' The author of that novel is a nobody, still in college, busy with school, and only writes for fun, occasionally writing a little bit, then running out of time and giving up. So, even though the novel was good, it didn't become popular.
"After the web series premiered, a few people came out and said it was similar to The Scholar's Wife, but it wasn't a big deal and was quickly dismissed by the internet trolls. But everyone in the screenwriting community knew it, and it wasn't the first time Qian Pingxin had plagiarized! I mobilized all the girls and boys in the company who read countless scripts these past two days to go through all the dramas he co-wrote, and every one of them contained plagiarized plot points!
"Then I asked a few more people to look at the script of 'Tian Yao'. That guy really hasn't changed his bad habits. More than half of the episodes he's responsible for are filled with plagiarized content! And he must have been too careless now. Many of the plagiarized clips are from famous works. It's incredible! I don't know where Qianying found such stuff!"
Fang Chen was so angry that he slapped the ground twice, but ended up shaking his hands away in pain.
"This drama is one of our company's biggest projects next year. The total investment is 370 million, and we own 170 million of it! That guy used to only be in the online drama circle, relying on his obscurity to avoid any trouble. If we don't find out about this beforehand, won't we be the ones to take the brunt of the criticism when the drama airs next year? And with such a huge investment and production, if the audience boycotts it and we lose money, who will we turn to for justice?"
The drama "Tian Yao" has three screenwriters: a chief screenwriter oversees the overall adaptation and plot rhythm, while two screenwriters are responsible for the actual writing of the script. The chief screenwriter is a specially hired individual responsible for adapting the original work into a script outline, without overseeing the details. The two screenwriters, Xingchen and Qianying, each contribute plot details based on the outline. Qian Pingxin was assigned by Qianying.
Normally, this kind of adapted drama should not involve plagiarism, but the original work of "Tian Yao" has only more than 600,000 words and contains many descriptions of fighting. To adapt it into a 64-episode TV series, it is necessary to add a lot of plots and describe in detail the parts that were just mentioned in the original work. Qian Pingxin added a lot of plagiarized details here.
"So what's the situation now?" He Tong asked.
"This morning, my boss and I personally arranged a meeting with CEO Qianying. He claimed he knew nothing about this and has agreed to have our screenwriter rewrite his part of the script." Fang Chen's anger subsided a little after he said this. "It's good that their CEO knows how to deal with things."
"After all, they have invested 100 million yuan. If they lose money because of this, they will not have a good ending. But that Qian, does he have any backing to copy so blatantly?" He Tong asked again.
Fang Chen shook his head. "I think he's just a bit of a fool! He probably just wanted to make a living at first, but then he realized it was easy to make money by taking shortcuts like this, and no one would report him, so he became more and more daring."
"Fortunately, Editor Yu reminded me. Thanks to Brother Ye for his great reputation." He Tong said with a smile.
"What?" Fang Chen was puzzled. "Does Editor Yu think highly of our Yu Ze?"
"It's all settled. Let's take a shower and eat."
After stretching, Ye Yuze stood up and turned to leave.
Fang Chen was about to get up but was stopped by He Tong.
He Tong lowered his voice and asked, "If I sue that guy, will there be any results?"
Fang Chen also lowered his voice and answered, "The legal department said that it's hard to deal with those who copied pieces of things, but if it's the drama 'Delicious Marriage, Good Wife', they should be able to beat him to death."
After listening to this, He Tong nodded thoughtfully.
◆◇◆
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
In early December, He Tong and Ye Yuze received a notice to take the final makeup photos for "Tian Yao". They also tried on the clothes and changed them quickly if they were not suitable.
The costumes and makeup of this drama are very attentive. Even the third and fourth male characters have four specially made sets of costumes, one of which is only worn for a few shots.
The two were scheduled to shoot in the afternoon, and after lunch they had to start their makeup. The makeup for ancient costumes is much more complicated than modern ones, but fortunately the four looks didn't change much, requiring only minor changes to the makeup.
He Tong and Ye Yuze sat in chairs being fiddled with by two makeup artists, while the head stylist discussed key points with Xiaoyu and Aya. Actors like them who brought their own makeup teams, as long as they communicated with the head stylist from the beginning, generally didn't need to bother the crew with makeup after filming began.
Fang Chen was sitting aside, scrolling through his phone. He was feeling bored when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. He looked up and saw Xiao Zheng opening the door, followed by two people walking a few steps inside, one in front and one behind.
Fang Chen knew both of them. The former was the company's agent Zhang Quan, and the latter was dressed in ancient costume, probably Huang Ye, who played the second male lead. He was also here today to take the final photos.
Zhang Quan wore a friendly and profitable smile, bowed slightly, and said, "Hello Mr. Xiao Fang, hello to the two young men, hello to everyone. I just heard you arrived, so I brought my artist to say hello."
As he spoke, he pulled the person behind him forward and continued, "This is Huang Ye, who just debuted through a talent show. This is his first time filming a drama and he doesn't know anything. From now on, please take good care of our Xiao Ye on the crew. Come on, call someone, this is Mr. Xiao Fang."
The last sentence was naturally directed at the artists around him.
Huang Ye smiled shyly at Fang Chen: "Hello, Mr. Fang."
Zhang Quan pulled him to the other side and urged, "Call me Brother Ye or Brother He."
"Hello, Brother Ye, Hello, Brother He."
Ye Yuze just turned his head to take a look, nodded, and turned back.
He Tong smiled and waved at them: "Hello."
Fang Chen sat up straight and said, "Come on, come and sit down and talk. Don't stand."
Zhang Quan waved his hand: "No, no, I won't bother you. We have other announcements to attend too, so I'll go take off my makeup now."
"Okay, you guys get busy." Fang Chen didn't force him to stay, "There will be many opportunities to meet in the future."
"Yes, yes. Good luck with the shoot, both of you."
Zhang Quan said this with a smile, then took Huang Ye out.
As the two of them left the dressing room, Huang Ye couldn't help but grumble in a low voice: "Why should I call them brothers? They haven't officially debuted yet. And that He Bi is three months younger than me."
Zhang Quan had put away his previous smile and glanced at him indifferently.
"Why? Because they were personally led by Mr. Xiao Fang, because they have a room full of assistants and bodyguards, and because they can use the VIP dressing room while you can only use the main dressing room."
“…” Huang Ye bit his lower lip unwillingly.
Zhang Quan patted him on the back. "Keep your head clear, young man. You don't have to flatter them, but don't offend them either. Now, go take off your makeup."
No one in the dressing room took the incident seriously. After finishing their makeup and putting on their wigs, they started changing into their clothes. There were four sets of clothes in total, and they had to finish all the filming today, so time was very tight.
He Tong's hairstyle was a high ponytail with long hair, which didn't affect his movements much. Furthermore, he had experience wearing ancient costumes in his previous life, so he could roughly do it himself.
After taking care of himself, he looked up and saw two or three people surrounding Ye Yuze and adjusting his clothes.
Compared to He Tong's simple, dark, straight-collared gown, Ye Yuze's outfit is more complex, resembling a Ming Dynasty round-collared robe with wide sleeves and a palace sash tied around the waist. Furthermore, for added effect, the crew also prepared an undergarment, rather than just using a fake collar. Upon first seeing this outfit, most people wouldn't be able to pull it off on their own.
The heroine's master, played by Ye Yuze, goes by the Taoist name Yizhu Zhenren. He is in the late stage of the Spiritual Transformation Realm, and his name remains unmentioned throughout the film. His weapon is a green bamboo flute. His wig is held together with a white jade hairpin at the back, leaving his long, flowing hair hanging down behind him, swaying slightly with his movements. His clothing, all in pale colors like moon white and pale blue, is embroidered with bamboo motifs in silver thread. Paired with his long hair, he exudes a sense of otherworldliness.
Perhaps sensing He Tong's gaze, Ye Yuze also looked up. He then smiled gently and called softly, "Disciple."
In an instant, He Tong felt a warm feeling rushing into his nose. He quickly turned around, covered his nose, and ran hurriedly to the small bathroom in the room.
Fang Chen, who was busy browsing his phone, was bumped by the panicked He Tong. He looked up blankly and asked, "What happened to that kid?"
The gentle smile on Ye Yuze's face had disappeared, only the corners of his lips were still slightly raised, almost imperceptibly.
"Young people are impulsive."
"?"
Fang Chen looked back and forth at Ye Yuze and the closed bathroom door, and finally decided not to bother his mortal brain by trying to guess what geniuses were thinking, so he continued to look down at his phone.
◇◆◇
On the evening of December 16th, the official Weibo of the crew of "Tian Yao", which had not posted any news for a long time, suddenly posted a Weibo
@Tian Yao TV Drama Crew V: Tomorrow at noon, Wenxin Peak will be waiting for you.
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