Chapter 43 If you can't succeed in the script reading of "The Ballad of Yunshui," who can? ...
Ji Cen didn't know what Wen Qi wanted to see. That night, Wen Qi hurriedly left and didn't return for a whole week.
Zhu Qingzhi didn't contact him either. It wasn't until a week later, when filming for "Yun Shui Yao" started ahead of schedule, that she sent Wen Qi a message to inform him. The filming location was far away in Nancheng, a six-hour flight from Beijing.
Wen Qi replied an hour later, and only with two words: 【Okay.】
Zhu Qingzhi didn't reply; perhaps he was really busy.
The male lead of "The Knot" is Zhang Siyue, who just won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards last year. He was originally contracted to be the second lead.
However, last month, his first period drama as the male lead just premiered and received a warm response, gaining fans quickly. His team showed a slight tendency to fight for top billing, but nothing came of it, so Zhu Qingzhi couldn't make a big deal out of it.
Zhu Qingzhi flew to Nancheng two days later. She had almost finished polishing the script, but as soon as she landed, the production team gave her a new script, saying it was the latest version that had just been finalized, and told her to take the time to familiarize herself with it.
She spent the whole afternoon shooting costume photos, and it wasn't until evening that she had time to go through the script completely. The script had indeed been enriched a lot, with a lot of new content added. Zhu Qingzhi barely slept all night and only managed to get through it roughly.
The next afternoon, as soon as the cast and crew arrived, they began a script reading. Zhang Siyue and the second female lead, Shen Rou, sat next to her. They had met at many events before, so they weren't too reserved with each other.
It took about two hours to read through almost the entire movie script. During that time, Director Zheng went out two or three times, but each time was only for about ten minutes, and Zhu Qingzhi didn't pay any attention.
During the intermission, Director Zheng suggested, "Qingzhi, Siyue, Shenrou, you guys prepare your lines for these scenes again in a bit."
He took the script from his hand; there were highlighter marks on two folded pages. Zhu Qingzhi and the others nodded in agreement, found their lines in their scripts, and quickly got into character.
The scenes that Director Zheng just selected didn't have any emotional outbursts; they were scenes from the script's calmer period, but they were all turning points in the plot, so they were the most challenging for the actors' delivery of lines.
One flaw in Zhu Qingzhi's lines is that, having grown up in Haicheng in the south, she has a slight inability to distinguish between nasal and non-nasal sounds. This has been a frequent source of criticism since her debut, but she has worked hard to improve and now rarely makes such mistakes.
Zhang Siyue has excellent delivery of lines; she can control the emotional ups and downs of long monologues very well.
At the start of the second half of the story, Zhang Siyue began speaking first. His delivery of lines was noticeably better than when the story had just unfolded. Shen Rou was also very good; she studied broadcasting and had a crisp voice that perfectly suited the character.
Zhu Qingzhi followed behind them. With such excellent performances ahead, she could indeed hear the shortcomings, but her strength lay in her full emotions and meticulous handling of many details, which had its own unique aspects.
In addition, Xiaoyue is from the South, so this flaw can even be considered a good fit for the character. Director Zheng also gave her encouraging advice: "Hmm, make the ending of your voice clearer, don't drag it out."
Zhu Qingzhi noted it down and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Afterwards, everyone analyzed several key plot points, all of which were already in the original script. The creators each offered suggestions, some of which were revised on the spot, while others still needed further consideration.
As dusk approached, Director Zheng suggested dismissing the group: "There are still some issues regarding lighting and props; let's discuss them again tomorrow afternoon."
After everyone packed up their things, they left one after another. Director Zheng then called Zhu Qingzhi back: "Why did you withdraw the character biography you wrote? Are there a few points that need to be revised?"
He was actually quite unhappy. He had given Zhu Qingzhi so much time, so why did she only think of making revisions right before filming was about to start?
Zhu Qingzhi immediately sensed Director Zheng's mood and slid down to apologize: "I'm so sorry, Director Zheng. I only received the new script yesterday. I'll go back tonight and polish the character biographies a bit more, and I'll send them to you tomorrow."
Director Zheng was still studying the storyboard when he heard this, and he looked up at Zhu Qingzhi.
Huh? Oh? What did she say wrong?
Fortunately, Director Zheng quickly looked away: "Hmm, can we get it done tonight?"
"Yes, yes, that's fine."
She refused to sleep! She refused to believe it! Why could others finish it in a day, but she couldn't?!
Zhu Qingzhi made a solemn pledge and didn't leave the hotel once she returned. She didn't even eat dinner, but drank four or five cups of coffee and stayed up until late at night before she finally managed to finish the script. She polished the character biographies, but there were a few points she had doubts about, which she would have to raise during the script reading the next day.
The coffee worked; she couldn't sleep, so she lay in bed scrolling through her WeChat Moments.
Welcome back to China, Sister Xiaoning.
Late at night, only Ji Cen was active on WeChat Moments, posting four or five updates in a row.
Zhu Qingzhi was bored, so she clicked on a video. The environment was noisy and the lights were intertwined, so she couldn't tell where it was. But it wasn't the Xisha Islands. The background wall was even more flamboyant, with colorful balloons and a banner that read "Welcome Back to China".
A graceful woman stood in front of the pool table, holding a cue stick, quietly watching others swing and hit the ball. Zhu Qingzhi keenly spotted the familiar figure on the far left of the picture.
Wen Qi, is he here too?
Before she could take a closer look, Ji Cen's post on WeChat Moments became invisible.
She suddenly became curious about who Sister Xiaoning was, and without thinking, she asked Gu Qiao.
This night owl really isn't asleep: [The Liu family's daughter, who graduated with her PhD last week, is in the same year as my brother and his classmates. Why are you asking about her? And why aren't you asleep yet?]
Zhu Qingzhi only answered the last question: "I just finished reading the script and am about to go to sleep."
Gu Qiao's flattery arrived as promised: 【You're so dedicated! If you don't succeed, who will?!】
Zhu Qingzhi chatted with her for a few more minutes before putting down her phone, but subconsciously swiped to her chat window with Wen Qi, where the chat history had stopped four days ago.
Never mind, she still didn't look for Wen Qi.
*
The next day, during the script reading, Zhu Qingzhi noticed that Director Zheng's expression was not very good. She had just passed on the character sketches when Director Zheng's opening remarks were to ask her for her opinions.
Zhu Qingzhi didn't mince words and directly raised two questions.
Firstly, the original script started with Xiaoyue and Xiaoqiu's interaction at a summer after-school tutoring class, but the final version of the script added a brief encounter between the two in their childhood, emphasizing the emotional entanglement of their parents' generation.
This leads to the impression that Xiaoyue's later tolerance and closeness towards Xiaoqiu is a premeditated scheme, a revenge plot. After much deliberation, she still feels that this part of the plot is superfluous and does not align with Xiaoyue's core character.
Secondly, the scene where the female lead bandages the male lead's wound in the stairwell was deleted or altered. Although the change is minor, it significantly alters the story's coherence and weakens the emotional driving force.
The deleted and altered plot gives the impression that it is detached from the main storyline and dispensable.
There were many details that weren't discussed during yesterday's script reading, and it was said that they would be gradually adjusted based on the needs after filming begins.
She didn't realize it at first, but while working on the script that night, she discovered the trickery. Someone must have wanted to add scenes, creating a double script. However, she downplayed the issue, only offering two suggestions for her own storyline and not interfering too much in the other characters' stories.
Everyone present looked grim.
"Chief Screenwriter Li, what do you think?" Director Zheng had been flipping through the script so much that it was practically turning into a fan; she was worried he'd get cold.
The script for "Yunshuiyao" was basically adapted by the original author himself. However, the author is now over 80 years old and should not travel long distances. The polishing and finishing of the script was handed over to the screenwriting team, which resulted in a "dual script" situation. Chief screenwriter Li was the first to be held accountable.
He looked troubled, and started making notes on the script in his hand with a pen: "I mentioned yesterday that some plot points needed further adjustments. Since the creators have brought it up, I'll make some changes."
Director Zheng stopped flipping through the script: "You just start changing things as soon as she brings it up?"
Zhang Siyue, who was next to Zhu Qingzhi, remained silent, looking down at the script. Shen Rou did the same. Zhu Qingzhi eventually joined them and also looked down at the script.
"Yeah, this version of the script is just something you guys directly revised." Director Zheng threw the script down. "You gave me this kind of script after dividing us into A and B groups for filming? Do you really think I'm old and easy to fool?"
"I'll say it again: if you want to film, then film; if you don't want to film, then get out. There are plenty of capable people out there; I don't necessarily need you. These two sentences apply not only to the actors but also to all the staff on the crew."
【Yunshuiyao】is a major IP and Director Zheng's first work after a ten-year hiatus from filming. As a result, the number of investors recruited was countless, and the crew members were a mixed bag.
But Zhu Qingzhi really didn't expect that a dual-script could appear during the script reading stage. Usually, it's during the shooting stage, with pages being added every day. This was the first time she had ever seen someone operate like this.
Zhu Qingzhi was practically staring a hole through the script.
At this moment, the head screenwriter, Li, finally realized what was happening. He picked up the script that Director Zheng had slammed on the table, flipped through it, and said with a forced smile, "Director Zheng, here's the thing. We did revise the script again before, but we weren't satisfied with it ourselves, so we didn't show it to you."
“We only realized yesterday during the reading session that our team had made a mistake. Since you had no objections, we assumed you agreed and kept quiet. Who knew this would happen?”
"Director Zheng, please don't misunderstand. How could we possibly do something like this with two different scripts? Even if we were to do it, we wouldn't do it during a script reading."
While Chief Screenwriter Li was joking with a smile, he felt a chill in his heart. Director Zheng had spoken very harshly, but he knew that Director Zheng had conceded this time. Therefore, regarding the issue of the dual scripts, he had to make sure that it looked acceptable on the surface.
He didn't expect anyone to step forward and share the fire, but to his surprise, this guy was really fearless.
“But Director, I didn’t know the script I have had been revised. You were there during our reading session yesterday morning, Director Zheng, and no one mentioned this issue then,” Shen Rou said. “Zhu Qingzhi has the right to offer her opinions, and so do I, right?”
After Director Zheng vented his anger, his expression improved considerably. He was only upset about his subordinates' dishonesty; he didn't actually have much of a problem with the lead actors.
Besides, he was the one who selected most of the people, so there was no need to embarrass everyone. He was quite polite to Shen Rou: "Of course you can raise your objections."
Shen Rou flipped through the script and was about to speak when her chair was suddenly kicked. She glanced at Zhang Siyue out of the corner of her eye, but seeing that he seemed normal, she didn't pay any attention to it.
The script now emphasizes the emotional journey of Xiao Qiu and Xiao Qing, adding scenes such as love letter confessions, traveling a long distance to see her off to the exam, and trying to stop her in the rain. This is very advantageous for her.
“The side plots all need to be developed to some extent, and the core of the story hasn’t changed. I think this version of the script is pretty good.” Shen Rou glanced at Zhu Qingzhi and noticed that she had been very calm all along, and was even playing with the edges of the script.
She felt that Zhu Qingzhi was very lucky. Although Chaoxing was a small company, it had always done its best to support her and handled public opinion very promptly. It even managed to get the lead role for Director Zheng.
As a contracted artist with Mingyuan, Shen Rou has Xiao Tang above her, so she doesn't get many resources. If she had known this, she would have signed with a small company, and her future might have been better.
"Adapting a novel into a movie requires making choices; not all the plot points have to revolve around one character."
Her words were quite pointed. The atmosphere suddenly became even more oppressive, and the head screenwriter, Li, broke out in a cold sweat.
Director Zheng shook a cigarette out of the pack, tapping the cigarette butt on the table intermittently. He had no intention of letting things go or making a last-minute change; after all, no matter how ugly things got, he wouldn't be the one who suffered.
"If you want to do it, do it; if you don't want to, then leave. And since we've come this far, let me add one more thing: don't let this show cause any more of a laughing stock about fighting over billing order."
Director Zheng also showed Zhang Siyue almost no mercy.
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Author's note: Qingzhi [eating melon]: Men are not important.
Wen Qi [Cai Gou]: I thought so.
Ah-me: Two people who don't open their mouths are having a tiff.
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