Global Film Emperor

Chapter 290 A Perverted Idea
"Brother Bo, yes, this is Lu Ze. Here's the thing, I recently got a script, but I'm not very satisfied with it. Do you have some time lately? If you do, could you come over and help me revise it? This kind of thing needs to be done by your professionals. I only have a high school diploma, how could I possibly revise this? It needs to be done by you screenwriters. Yes, because the work is a bit urgent, I'd like to find a few more people to help. No problem? That would be great. I'll wait for you in Shanghai. Give me a call when you arrive, and I'll come pick you up. Okay, you've really helped me a lot, haha. Okay, let's have a couple of drinks when we get there."

After hanging up with Deng Bo, although the results of "Wrong Love" were not as ideal as expected, it really had nothing to do with Deng Bo. It was purely Xiao Fengying's own doing. Deng Bo's screenwriting ability was beyond doubt, so Lu Ze appointed several screenwriters who wrote very good commercial scripts, and he was one of them.

Lu Ze absolutely rejects bad movies, but since Li Shanjun said he has given him the right to revise the script, then to be honest, Lu Ze has taken away most of Bai Xiqun's power. If the production team approves the project and starts filming now, then Lu Ze will be the boss of the production team. In this way, the temptation for Lu Ze is still very strong.

It's not that Lu Ze wanted to be the tyrant on set, but even the company's top executives didn't trust Bai Xiqun's abilities, so how could Lu Ze possibly entrust the "steering wheel" of the production team to him?

However, it's too early to say anything now. If the script hasn't reached the point where Lu Ze likes it, then he won't film it. He'll just treat it as helping the company find someone to revise the script, and then he'll be done with it.

Lu Ze would not refuse this point. The company has not yet signed a formal screenwriter, so they do not have many connections in the screenwriting field. If they were to simply pay someone to write the script, it would cost more than they are now, and the screenwriter might not put in much effort, since it is not a script they wrote themselves.

It still depends on connections. We need to invite a group of people over and use friendship and money to get them to put in more effort to revise this script that doesn't belong to them. Lu Ze has acted in quite a few dramas and has made quite a few connections with great screenwriters. He just happens to have this kind of network.

If Lee Sun-kyun asked Lu Ze to film a script he didn't like, Lu Ze would absolutely refuse. But if Lee Sun-kyun asked Lu Ze to help him find someone to get the script done, Lu Ze wouldn't mind helping out.

He twirled his phone a few times in his hand before carelessly tossing it on the table. Lu Ze rubbed his face with both hands, let out a long sigh, shut down his computer, drank the last sip of tea, put it in the dishwasher, and returned to his bedroom to turn on his bedside lamp and quietly start reading.

Watching the plane land on the airport runway, Lu Ze put on his sunglasses, took Liu Bin into the airport, and waited for more than ten minutes. A middle-aged man with a plump build, slicked-back hair and a big beard slowly walked towards Lu Ze with a suitcase and waved to him.

"Sixth Brother, it's been a long time! You've gained weight again. Bring me the luggage. I'm really sorry to have troubled you this time, coming all the way from Chengdu."

"I don't like hearing that. What's with all this talk about trouble? Good brothers don't talk about these things. You, Lu Ze, asked me to come and help you out, how could I not come? What kind of brother would I be then? Right?"

"Haha, yes, let's walk this way. I'll have a couple of drinks with you later. I won't say any more sentimental things."

"That's pretty much it."

Liu Bin helped pull the suitcase while Lu Ze chatted and laughed with the man. He didn't mention the man's real name, but rather his pen name, Huang Liu. Huang Liu was a top screenwriter in China, 44 years old this year. He wrote the script for the highest-grossing domestic commercial film last year, and he was a well-known figure in the industry. Lu Ze got to know him because of another of his works.

The King of Fighters.

An hour and a half later, the car stopped in front of the hotel. It was a little past 2 p.m., not yet lunchtime. After Lu Ze helped him with his luggage, the three of them set off again for Qian Shijia.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Meng Nixin was standing at the door. When she saw Lu Ze bring Huang Liu in, she quickly ran over to greet Lu Ze and then shook Huang Liu's hand.

"Teacher Huang, thank you for your trouble. Please come in. This is my business card."

Lu Ze knew exactly what this person was up to, but if you wanted to poach Lu Ze's connections, you had to see if the person would even look at you. People who make a living by writing usually don't like to associate with business people. Firstly, their circles are different, and secondly, these people feel that they can't outsmart business people. Huang Liu was clearly one of those people.

After receiving the business card, he only exchanged a few words with Meng Nixin before turning the conversation back to Lu Ze. When he pushed open the conference room door, he suddenly exclaimed and turned to look at Lu Ze.

Deng Bo, Li Congwen, Yu Tai, and Qin Fei are all close friends of Huang Liu. Lu Ze is well aware of this. In any circle, there are bound to be friends and enemies, and the people Lu Ze has found are all very close to each other.

"So many people? I thought there was only one or two. Qin Fei, what are you doing here? You still haven't paid me back the bottle of Martell you owe me. How dare you show your face in front of me? I've never seen anyone as stingy as you. You've been dragging your feet on something worth thousands of yuan for three years. Get out!"

Despite their playful antics, the group maintained a very good relationship. They could even have drinks and reminisce together in the evenings. For them, collaborating on a project was a pleasant experience.

Lu Ze pulled out a chair and sat down, listening to their jokes. In fact, these screenwriters weren't as bookish as outsiders thought. They looked no different from ordinary people. Only when they picked up a pen would they reveal their talent.

A short while later, Bai Xiqun walked in with Feng Changhao, the Minister of Commerce. Feng Changhao was fine, but Bai Xiqun was clearly taken aback. These five screenwriters were all big shots to him, the kind of people who could become famous overnight if they got their scripts. However, he had received news yesterday that Lu Ze was in charge of the script and it was no longer under his control. Seeing these people again, Bai Xiqun's feelings were somewhat complicated.

Scripts are usually decided by only two people: the producer, the investor, and the director. I've never heard of a script being decided by the actors. But that's how it is now. Bai Xiqun understands very well that Lu Ze has taken power from him. Now he's just a puppet, and Lu Ze may still be in charge of directing this film.

Anyone in this situation would be upset, even if he had a very high level of affection for Lu Ze, which had now been completely squandered. In the end, he just silently pulled out his chair without saying a word. He had a hurdle in his heart, but he could only accept it. "Alright, alright, Lu Ze, everyone's here, right? Let's see the notebook, or are we here for afternoon tea? Hurry up, hurry up."

Seemingly getting a little impatient with Huang Liu's teasing, Qin Fei quickly changed the subject and asked Lu Ze for the script. Lu Ze was amused by Qin Fei's words, shook his head, and took out five scripts and placed them in front of the screenwriters.

"Zhuoma? Xizangren? Sixth Brother, have you heard of him?"

The script cover had the original screenwriter's name on it. The five of them talked for a bit, but none of them remembered anyone in the industry with that pen name. In the end, they confirmed that it was some nobody.

Lu Ze leaned back in his chair, watching the five screenwriters flip through the script. Their brows furrowed more and more, and they occasionally clicked their tongues, clearly finding something in the script awkward. They turned the pages faster and faster, obviously getting impatient.

About an hour later, Deng Bo, who had a good temper, simply closed the script, tossed it aside, and moved it away from himself. Huang Liu, who had a bad temper, however, was methodically tearing the script into strips and throwing them into the trash can.

Yu Tai pondered for a moment, took a sip of tea, looked up at Lu Ze, and gave his opinion.

"I suggest we don't change this script. It's unnecessary. We'd be better off writing another one. I reckon writing another one would be faster than changing it, and the level of the concept would be much higher."

"I agree. Let me first point out the shortcomings of this script. The story framework is not big. There are too many movies like this. It's not original at all, and it's seriously unreasonable. This kind of script might have been popular in the early 2000s. Moreover, the little monster in this setting is not as good as Huba."

Li Congwen gave a very objective opinion. To be honest, Lu Ze also felt that this script was very similar to "Monster Hunt". Although it could not be considered plagiarism, it was basically the same. If this kind of film were to become popular in 2021, it would be impossible for the entire nation to be thrown into the mountains to work for a year and then come out with an empty spirit of entertainment. Moreover, Lu Ze felt that "Monster Hunt" was bad enough.

"Minister Feng, what is your filming budget? I have an idea, but it's very expensive, I estimate it will be extremely expensive. If your budget is not high, then I won't mention it."

Upon hearing Huang Liu's question, Feng Changhao nodded and said, "The budget should be around 300 million, but the company attaches great importance to this project. If necessary, we can increase the investment without any problem."

"Then let me tell you?"

"of course can."

"My idea is to scrap this script and rewrite it. If you insist on making this kind of film, why not make an epic battle like 'The Lord of the Rings'? Based on ancient mythology, add your own settings to enrich the story. You don't need to connect the mythological stories, just the images of the gods and monsters. I imagined that if the writing goes smoothly, we could even make a sequel."

The concept was interesting, but still vague. It piqued the interest of the other screenwriters, but they frowned, clueless. Qin Fei knew that Huang Liu must have an idea, so he couldn't help but glance at Huang Liu.

"Can you be more specific?"

Seemingly proud of his imaginative ideas, Huang Liu deliberately kept everyone in suspense, revealing a lewd smile. He took a sip of tea, lit a cigarette, and even stretched his arm.

"How about writing a story about an era where humans are food for monsters, and how people band together to fight back against them in order to survive?"

"It's a bit outdated, isn't it? It's been overused in online novels. If you want to become popular, you can only rely on special effects, but that's not very interesting."

"How about we add another main setting?"

"what?"

Huang Liu, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke from his nose and glanced at the crowd.

"What if God dies? What if he's killed?"

"."

(End of this chapter)