Chapter 331: 310: Preparations of The Young Party_1
If someone were to ask Lin Yuan who the handsomest man in the world is, Lin Yuan would have different answers for different age groups.
Initially, it was the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers; then it became Ultraman; later, it was Masked Rider.
And now…
It’s the Transformers.
So while others are concerned about whether Lin Yuan attended the Dragon Awards and showed his face, Lin Yuan is more concerned about what benefits this award has brought him.
And it has been beneficial.
After receiving the Dragon Award for Best Film Score, Lin Yuan noticed a significant surge in his film and television reputation, reaching 280,000.
This made Lin Yuan realize that the Dragon Awards have a high impact on reputation.
Thereafter, Lin Yuan thought about the script for “Life of Pi” that he had already received.
It’s related to his system task.
Even though it’s currently impossible to film this movie, it’s time to prepare the company for it.
With the script in hand, Lin Yuan found Ol’ Zhou.
“A new script?”
Upon learning of Lin Yuan’s intentions, Ol’ Zhou perked up and showed a face full of anticipation:
“Let me see!”
Ol’ Zhou completely respected Lin Yuan’s scriptwriting abilities, so when he learned that Lin Yuan had written a new script, he took it very seriously.
“Alright.”
After handing the script to Ol’ Zhou, Lin Yuan didn’t wait around for him to finish reading and left.
At this point, talking too much is useless, what matters is the company’s assessment of the script.
If the company does not prioritize this script, Lin Yuan plans to invest more money into it.
Ol’ Zhou didn’t read it alone either.
He immediately went to the film department, entered the conference room, and asked his assistant behind him with a serious tone:
“Call for an emergency meeting, all mid-to-high level personnel in the film department must attend.”
“Understood.”
The assistant instantly spread the word.
The purpose of this meeting is to let the film department set standards regarding the cost for Lin Yuan’s new film.
Soon.
The senior executives of Starlight Film Department gathered in the conference room. The success of “The Sound Tuner” had brought Xian Yu into the company’s spotlight, so no one dared to delay.
“Director Zhou.”
To Ol’ Zhou’s surprise, the company’s top director, Du An, also attended, with the company’s top screenwriter, Zhang Yu, behind him.
“Can we take a look at the script together?” Zhang Yu asked with a smile.
“Of course, we could even ask for some advice from industry seniors like yourselves.” Ol’ Zhou courteously smiled back, then instructed: “Please take a seat, we will distribute the script.”
Everyone found their seat.
Du An and Zhang Yu also found a spot to sit down.
Typically, Xian Yu’s new script would have nothing to do with them, but when they learned that Xian Yu had written a new one, both Du An and Zhang Yu were rather curious.
So, they decided to come along.
Soon, the script was distributed.
Everyone saw the information on the script.
Title: Life of Pi
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Without further ado, the conference room quieted down and everyone started reading the script.
Generally, reading a script takes between half an hour and one hour.
During this time, the only sound in the conference room was the flipping of pages.
The story isn’t complex.
At least, it’s not described as such.
The film starts with the introduction of a family. They run a private zoo, and the protagonist is their youngest son, named Pi.
Let’s call him Young Pi for now.
The main plot of the script begins when this family decides to move.
Young Pi’s father decides to sell the animals and settle elsewhere, so the family boards a ship bound for a distant place.
However, they encountered a shipwreck.
Except for Young Pi, everyone else perishes.
Young Pi and a tiger drift in a lifeboat for 227 days.
The man and the tiger form a peculiar bond, ultimately overcoming their predicament and achieving rebirth.
If we interpret it solely in a literal sense, the plot structure isn’t complex.
But…
When everyone finished reading the script, the conference room descended into deathly silence.
Meanwhile…
Screenwriter Zhang Yu’s fingers were trembling slightly when she flipped to the script’s final few pages.
And director Du An, after he finished reading the script, was slightly short of breath, His eyes clearly flashed with an intense desire!
“Let’s hear your thoughts…”
Ol’ Zhou swallowed, breaking the silence in the meeting room.
To everyone’s surprise…
The first person to speak was director Du An. His voice was clearly filled with urgency: “Can I direct this script?”
After saying this, Du An gave a wry smile to Zhang Yu: “Sorry…”
“I understand.”
Zhang Yu wasn’t angry, but instead took a deep breath: “This is one of the best scripts I’ve seen in my career!”
“So…”
An executive seemed slightly incredulous: “Did young Pi eat his own family?”
Known for her thoroughness, Zhang Yu, a seasoned professional screenwriter, responded: “Based on the script’s metaphors and the conversation between Young Pi and the writer at the end, it appears so. Just like the plot in ‘The Sound Tuner,’ the protagonist told a monstrous lie… The quality of this script is exceptionally high, even more impressive than I initially imagined.”
Zhang Yu seemed slightly shocked.
Soon, the conference room turned chaotic:
“Cannibalism?!”
“I broke out in a cold sweat!”
“I knew something was wrong halfway through the script. On the surface, it looks like Young Pi’s ocean drifting with a tiger, but in reality, there wasn’t a tiger at all!”
“The script Xian Yu wrote is a little too heavy, and it’s also surprisingly difficult to film!”
“No, it’s not heavy at all.”
Suppressing the excitement in his voice, Du An said: “The script can be presented in the most elegant way. The so-called ‘heavy’ element is just a thought left to audiences after they finish watching the film. For directors, this is a huge challenge! Director Zhou…”
Once again, Du An turned to look at Ol’ Zhou. After seeing this script, a voice echoed within his heart:
I want to shoot this! This script, I must shoot it!
Ol’ Zhou didn’t agree immediately: “We’ll have to see what Xian Yu thinks. Director Du should know that Xian Yu adopts a screenwriter-centric approach for his crew…”
Du An’s eyebrows furrowed at once, filled with distress and conflict.
On one hand, he was eager and excited at the sight of the script. On the other, he was persistent in upholding the principle of director-centricity in filmmaking.
“Let’s not talk about this for now, there shouldn’t be any problems with the quality of the script, right?” Ol’ Zhou said.
“None!”
“This script is even better than ‘The Sound Tuner’!”
“The only issue might be the difficulty in controlling the cost.”
“The expectations for special effects are too high.”
“Immersive filming techniques will definitely have to be used.”
“…”
There are no issues with approving the script.
Having nodded, Ol’ Zhou said: “I’ll send the script for review later, then we’ll tackle the budgeting and pre-production preparation. Casting would be challenging too, but we’re likely to be quite busy. As for the final choice of director, we’ll consider it later since we won’t be starting on this film anytime this year…”
As he said this, Ol’ Zhou glanced at Du An again.
Du An was still in conflict.
He didn’t want to give up his leadership position in the film crew but was also eager to film this script. Yet Xian Yu was firmly screenwriter-centric.
However, what’s certain is that the preparations for “Life of Pi” are about to begin.