Chinese entertainment: What's wrong with actresses wanting to improve?

Chapter 326: Script Adaptation Progress and New Projects

On September 25, Fu Yibai leaned back in his office chair, with a project progress summary sheet that Wang Peng had delivered the day before spread out in front of him.

The final cut of "Lost in Thailand" has been finalized, and "Cold War" has entered its final technical review stage...

He closed the folder and glanced at the time.

It was just past three o'clock.

Fu Yibai stood up, straightened his clothes, and pushed open the office door to leave.

Guo Zhenni was sitting at her workstation in the outer room organizing documents when she heard the door open and looked up.

"Mr. Fu."

"I'm going to the scriptwriting department; you don't need to come with me."

The scriptwriting department is on the 21st floor, occupying half of the floor's space.

When Fu Yibai pushed open the door, it was quiet inside, with a dozen or so screenwriters sitting at their workstations.

Some people are typing on their computers, some are annotating thick novels, and some have blank sheets of paper covered with flowcharts spread out in front of them, pen tips hovering in mid-air, their brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

On the bookshelf by the window, the original novels of "Zhu Xian", "Shen Mu", "Qing Yu Nian" and "The Three-Body Problem" are neatly stacked.

Each book's cover was worn and frayed, and the spines were covered with labels of different colors, indicating "character design," "main plot," "side plot," and "foreshadowing."

"Mr. Fu."

The female screenwriter sitting on the far right was the first to see him and immediately stood up.

The others followed suit, and the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor filled the air.

"Sit down, everyone sit down."

Fu Yibai waved his hand and walked to the long table by the window.

There were adaptation schedules for four novels spread out on the table, and he pointed to the top one with his finger.

"How's 'Zhu Xian' going?"

The head screenwriter in charge of adapting "Zhu Xian" is a male screenwriter in his early thirties, surnamed Sun, who wears black-rimmed glasses.

He adjusted his glasses and opened the folder in front of him.

"President Fu, the main storyline and relationships between the core characters in the original work have all been sorted out."

The adaptation is currently about 60% complete.

The growth storyline of Zhang Xiaofan, the emotional storyline of Biyao and Lu Xueqi, and the worldview structure of the righteous and demonic paths have all been integrated into the script framework.

The novel's many large-scale scenes rely heavily on visuals. We are currently working with the special effects team to determine which scenes can be achieved using existing technology and which require adjustments.

Fu Yibai nodded.

"Don't rush, take your time, and make sure the quality is maintained."

He opened the schedule for "Joy of Life".

The person in charge of this project was a female screenwriter surnamed Zhou, who spoke very quickly. She opened her notebook, which was filled with dense annotations.

"Mr. Fu, the adaptation progress of 'Joy of Life' is about the same as that of 'Zhu Xian,' also around 50%."

The main storyline of the original novel is very clear: Fan Xian's growth from Danzhou to the capital, the foreshadowing left by Ye Qingmei, and Emperor Qing's political intrigue—all three storylines have been fully dissected.

"The current challenge lies in how to transform the large amount of dialogue and information in the original work into rhythmic dramatic scenes."

Fu Yibai hummed in agreement, then looked at the "Tomb of the Gods" group and the "Three-Body Problem" group.

"How are you all doing? What's the progress?"

The two screenwriters in charge of "Shen Mu" and "Three-Body Problem" exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat somber.

"Mr. Fu, the adaptation of 'The Tomb of the Gods' is much more difficult than we expected."

The original world-building is vast, encompassing a cemetery of gods and demons, ancient gods, and a heaven-defying cultivation system...

Each of them, taken out individually, is a story in itself.

"Compressing all this content into a TV series of dozens of episodes was a headache for us for two months just figuring out what to include and exclude."

He turned to a page filled with a densely packed diagram of relationships between people, arrows and labels crisscrossing like a spider web.

"The current progress is less than one-tenth."

We tried several adaptation approaches, but none of them satisfied us.

Either it loses the spirit of the original work, or the length simply isn't enough to support it.

"If it can't be finished in three seasons, then divide it into five or seven seasons."

This novel is a classic; we must do it well and not rush the process.

Fu Yibai's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight.

"As for the length, there is no need to adhere to the original plan of the number of seasons."

We'll provide as much space as the story needs.

The prerequisite is that each season must have a complete beginning, development, climax, and resolution, and a sufficiently compelling climax.

Screenwriter Zheng was silent for a few seconds, then nodded and made a few notes in his notebook.

Fu Yibai then took on the role of screenwriter for "The Three-Body Problem".

This is a man in his mid-thirties, surnamed Wu. He has very short hair and noticeable bluish discoloration under his eyes.

On the table in front of him lay the original texts of the Three-Body Problem trilogy, each one densely marked with sticky notes of different colors.

"Mr. Fu, the situation with 'The Three-Body Problem' is... more complicated than that with 'Tomb of the Gods'."

Screenwriter Wu's voice was a little hoarse.

"The novel's opening scene involves a sensitive period in history."

Furthermore, the novel contains a large amount of hard science content, such as high-dimensional physics, quantum mechanics, and sophon blockade.

We need to consult and oversee these matters with experts in the relevant fields to ensure scientific rigor.

Screenwriter Wu rubbed his temples and continued, "Another challenge is the shift in narrative perspective."

The first book of "The Three-Body Problem" focuses on Wang Miao and Ye Wenjie, the second book shifts to Luo Ji, and the third book focuses on Cheng Xin.

How to allow the audience to smoothly transition between different main characters while maintaining the continuity of the cosmic epic is the key point we are currently refining.

After listening, Fu Yibai picked up the original text of "The Three-Body Problem" and flipped through it.

The edges of the pages were worn and frayed, and someone had written dense annotations in pencil on the margins.

"Screenwriter Wu, I'm not setting a timetable for the 'Three-Body Problem' project."

He put the book back and his gaze fell on screenwriter Wu's face.

"I know better than anyone how difficult it is to adapt this novel."

Your task now is not to rush the schedule, but to find a viable path.

Even if this path takes three or five years to traverse, as long as it leads to success, it's worth it.

Screenwriter Wu's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Mr. Fu, we will definitely live up to your trust."

"These IPs are the most important content assets for Dawn over the next ten years."

I don't care when they are adapted; I only care whether they can become benchmarks in their respective fields after they are adapted.

If you encounter any difficulties, report them directly; don't try to handle them alone.

Communicate more with the original authors; they are the creators of these worlds and know better than anyone how to bring them to life on screen.

The scriptwriting department was silent for a moment, then everyone responded in unison.

"clear."

"If the project succeeds, everyone will receive a bonus."

a lot of!"

"Yes, Mr. Fu!"

The screenwriters were instantly energized.

Back in his office on the 28th floor, Guo Zhenni was on the phone. When she saw him come in, she covered the receiver with her hand.

"Mr. Fu, Mr. Wang is waiting for you."

"Let him come over."

Fu Yibai walked into the office and sat down behind his desk.

The tea on the table was still warm, and he picked it up and took a sip.

There was a knock on the door, and Wang Peng pushed it open and came in.

"Mr. Fu."

"sit."

Wang Peng sat down in the chair opposite the desk.

"You've come at the perfect time."

Fu Yibai leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"You can take these scripts and start preparing."

These are the company's projects for next year.

Fu Yibai took four scripts—"Legend of Chu and Han," "Let's Get Married," "A Lone Warrior," and "Get Lost, Mr. Tumor"—from the drawer and handed them to Wang Peng.

Wang Peng took the script and glanced at it briefly.

"A historical drama?"

This is the first time Chenxi has produced a historical drama, and there are great risks involved in producing this kind of drama.

"This is a good notebook."

I've worked on almost every genre of TV series in recent years, but I haven't done a serious drama like this yet.

Riding on the wave of "The Legend of Chu and Han," we can try to broaden the themes of Chenxi and establish a more substantial brand image.

Of course, I am aware of the risks.

Therefore, extra care must be taken in the production, the costumes, props and sets must be carefully considered, and the actors must be as suitable as possible.

You could contact a few historical consultants to refine the details of the script.

"Also, for these projects, I'd like to recommend a few actors."

For the TV series "Legend of Chu and Han," I recommend Chen Daoming as Liu Bang and He Rundong as Xiang Yu.

"He Rundong plays Xiang Yu?"

His image doesn't quite match Xiang Yu's.

Wang Peng thought about He Rundong's performance on Running Man and couldn't bring himself to portray Xiang Yu at all.

"Ask him if he wants to play this role."

If you want to, you need to start building muscle now.

"clear."

"Um.

I recommend Gao Yuanyuan as the female lead in "Let's Get Married".

I recommend Wang Baoqiang for the role of Feng Yuxiu in "Kung Fu Jungle".

This film was made in collaboration with Eagle King, resulting in a co-production.

The director should ask Lu Yang if he wants to direct; if not, then you should look for another director.

For the female lead in "Go Away Mr. Tumor," I recommend Tang Yan, and for the director, I recommend Lin Yufen.

That's all.

"clear."

"Okay, go ahead and get busy."