1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 514 "The Ballad of the Songbird and the Snake"

While abroad, Zhao Zhenkai experienced the freedom and extravagant lifestyle of foreign countries. He felt that he was no longer the innocent and pure person he once was, but a capitalist who had been corrupted by the stench of capitalism.

This situation inevitably led him to distrust Jiang Xian, the big boss who was based in China.

You're in China, and I'm abroad. How could you possibly know better than me how fast the social situation abroad changes?
However, every time this idea appeared, Jiang Xian would quickly nip it in the bud.

Every instruction and idea Jiang Xian gave made Zhao Zhenkai think, "How come this guy is more knowledgeable than me?"

Take the last film festival for example. At Jiang Xian's insistence, Zhao Zhenkai had to break the contract and negotiate the North American rights to "Green Ray" at an extremely low price.

This incident angered the over-sixty-year-old director Rohmer, who criticized Zhao Zhenkai for lacking martial ethics and being a fraudster. He said that he had already rejected several North American film companies because of the high price offered by "Today Films," but now Zhao was saying that the previous price was too high and that they needed to renegotiate.

In the end, Today Pictures won the entire North American distribution rights for "Greenlight" with a relatively low bid. As a result, Jiang Xian had to release the film on a pay-TV channel three days before its theatrical release.

This matter put Zhao Zhenkai in a difficult position.

It's not easy to get the movie released in theaters. If the people in the theaters find out about this, they'll be cursing him behind his back.

It's not a big deal to be criticized, but if you offend the theater chains, how will "Today Pictures" ever survive in the North American film and television industry again?
Just like Xu Zheng, his film "Lost in Russia" was pulled from theaters and instead released on streaming platforms for free, winning widespread acclaim from audiences.

Can the theater owners just sit idly by and suffer this loss?
It is said that dozens of cinema chains have joined together to submit a request to the Market Department of the Film Bureau, saying that this film "Lost in Russia" is too unethical. During our film's theatrical release window, this is simply throwing away our livelihood. It is a trampling and deliberate sabotage of the film industry's distribution mechanism.

This is treacherous, kicking someone when they're down, and taking advantage of someone's misfortune!
Zhao Zhenkai certainly had this concern; he didn't want to offend the cinema chain relationship he had worked so hard to build because of this matter.

But Jiang Xian's attitude was unyielding.

Then Greenlight was released three days early on paid channels such as Bravo and AMC.

Zhao Zhenkai was naturally scolded.

The cinemas were absolutely furious, saying things like "Even God won't let you get away with this," and even threatening to send people to vandalize their company.
For three days, Zhao Zhenkai was filled with anxiety.

Three days later, Greenlight hit theaters.

It became a box office hit as soon as it was released.

This film, which Rohmer made on a whim, unexpectedly became a wildly popular and box office hit.

The theater chain called back.

Those who should apologize should apologize, and those who should make amends should make amends. What about the large number of people outside just now?
He received many gifts, and his relationship with the cinema chain became even stronger. Zhao Zhenkai was dumbfounded when he saw this situation.

The reversal came too fast!

Do you really question, understand, and become?
Before this, Jiang Xian was almost a tyrant in his mind. After this incident, he felt that he was still too young and could not see through him at all.

Zhao Zhenkai didn't understand why either.

He was abroad, while Jiang Xian was in China, but Jiang Xian was always right in handling all matters.

Perhaps being good at business is a talent?

All his scheming was no match for Jiang Xian's quick wit.
Perhaps, perhaps that's the case.

That's what Zhao Zhenkai thought.

As for Jiang Xian spending two million to buy the North American distribution rights for "The Last Emperor," Zhao Zhenkai felt it was a trivial matter.

Only two million.

It's nothing to Today.

"But have you written any new novels lately? The Hunger Games has finished its serialization."

Last month, the final chapter of The Hunger Games was serialized in Today magazine.

This is the fourth installment in the Hunger Games series, following the first book, The Hunger Games, the second book, The Girl on Fire, and the third book, The Mockingjay. It is also a prequel to the entire series. The Hunger Games: The Song of the Birds and the Snakes.

The protagonist of this prequel is President Snow, the main antagonist in the original story.

The story takes place 64 years before the main story, on the eve of the tenth Hunger Games. Panem, established after the war, is divided into the upper capital and 12 lower administrative districts, and uses the Hunger Games to intimidate the people.

However, the game rules were not yet perfect at this time, and it was even on the verge of being canceled due to low ratings.

Like the main story, the prequel also has a male protagonist and a female protagonist.

The male protagonist is Snow, an outstanding student from the upper class.

The protagonist, Lucy Grey, is a poor working-class woman who is also chosen as a participant in the tenth Hunger Games, or a "tribute," to fight against other lower-class participants and provide entertainment for the upper class.

It is also worth mentioning that although Snow is an upper-class person, he is also subject to the constraints of resources. For example, his family is almost unable to pay the rent, and food resources in the upper class are also very scarce. If Snow gives his lunch to Lucy, he will have to go hungry.

Therefore, Snow was eager for and urgently needed the help of the prize money.

In this plot, one very interesting thing can be portrayed in a particularly brilliant way.

That is what is called "human nature".

The thing that best embodies this meaning is "the male protagonist's attitude towards the female protagonist".

In the first two chapters, Snow's attitude towards the female protagonist is extremely friendly. Especially in the second chapter, Snow even cheats to save her. He secretly gives her poison and manipulates a venomous snake in the final stage of the competition to help her avoid its attack.

On the surface, the male protagonist's attitude towards the female protagonist in the first two chapters is extremely kind.

Moreover, Snow, this upper-class rich kid, is not arrogant or conceited at all in the first two chapters; on the contrary, he has a saintly heart.

He was often indignant about the unfair treatment of the lower classes, and he was also the only student in the entire school who resolutely opposed the continuation of the Hunger Games.

Based on this, the protagonist's brother, during the game, infiltrated the competition venue by bribing the guards to pray for the victims.

Of course, he wasn't just praying; he was deliberately trying to amplify his actions through the livestream, hoping it would spread throughout high society and incite a mass reaction. His scheme was immediately seen through by those in power. They cut off the livestream and used the threat of "he's your brother, you're jointly responsible" to blackmail Snow into sneaking into the match and bringing his brother out.

Later, Snow successfully took his brother away. After experiencing this incident, the brother was impressed by the protagonist's sense of justice and took Snow's advice to heart: You should live, because only by living can you use your wealth to save more people from the underprivileged.

Many people started posting comments at this point.

They believe Jiang Xian is rehashing old ideas, writing a shallow and boring novel with a binary view of good and evil.

Some readers of "The Hunger Games" are also very angry and do not want Jiang Xian to continue the story poorly; they want the novel to end where it should.

Of course, because the protagonist of the novel is Snow, they still have expectations for this novel and are eager to see what Snow went through to become a tyrant.

In addition, Jiang Xian added some new settings in the prequel, such as the origin of "The Hunger Games":

Highbottom and Snow's father were close friends during their school days. At a party, in the midst of their drinking, Highbottom proposed the idea of ​​the "Hunger Games," in which two tributes would be chosen from District 12 and made to kill each other to remember the lesson of rebellion.

The next day, after sobering up, Highbottom was horrified by his own evil idea and was eager to destroy the plan report. However, Snow's father had already taken the lead and handed the plan to the professor, claiming that the idea was proposed by the two of them. Thus, the brutal "Hunger Games" was born.

The reason Snow was later denied a scholarship was because Principal Highbottom believed that Snow would inherit his father's bad habits and take pleasure in cruelty and power. Therefore, he deliberately prevented Snow from receiving the scholarship and even assigned him the worst tribute.

Furthermore, the song "The Hanged Man," which is considered the song of the rebels in the main story, was actually written by the female protagonist, Lucy Grey. She was inspired by a man who was framed and hanged, and her girlfriend who cried uncontrollably for her lover, to write this melancholic song.

There are many more examples like this.

This kind of "Easter egg" description in the main story greatly satisfies readers' curiosity about the world of "The Hunger Games" and maintains readers' love for "The Hunger Games".

As Chapter Three unfolds, all previous assertions of "dualism" are proven wrong.

Chapter Three tells the story of Snow being demoted for helping Lucy cheat and having to serve 20 years in the lower-class District 12 before he would be eligible to return to the upper class.

Meanwhile, the female protagonist Lucy lost her championship title and returned to her hometown in the lower class, and the male protagonist's brother also went down with him to fulfill the ideal of helping more people in the lower class.

At the beginning, the male protagonist is overjoyed to meet his brother and the female protagonist.

But as time went on, and as the male protagonist learned that his brother was risking his life to help the lower classes escape control, and that the female protagonist was also involved, his behavior became strange.

In an attempt to distance himself from the situation, the male protagonist actually recorded his brother's treasonous conversation and reported it, which directly led to his brother's execution.

At the same time, in order to stop the district chief's daughter from making a report, he resolutely killed her.
Moreover, after killing the district chief's daughter, the male protagonist once considered running away with the female protagonist.

But when they arrived at a lakeside cabin and saw their murder weapon inside, Snow changed his mind.

He knew that as long as he disposed of the murder weapon properly, he would no longer have to fear the exposure of his crime.

In addition, he even had the idea of ​​eliminating the female lead completely.
The plot exploded.

During that period, half of the letters received by Today magazine were discussions about the plot of The Hunger Games.

The key point is that Snow's descent into darkness in Jiang Xian's writing is not sudden or abrupt.

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that in the first two chapters, although Snow was a member of the upper class, he was extremely lacking in resources and desperately needed to win the competition in order to lift his family out of their financial predicament and raise enough money for his university tuition.

In other words, all of Snow's goodwill in the first two chapters actually aligned with his pursuit of real-world desires.

Therefore, Snow's goodness can only be considered "superficial goodness".

However, once faced with a true test of humanity, when confronted with a divergence between "reality and conscience,"...

Snow then revealed his true colors.

And he and Lucy parted ways by fate.

Now, when readers see the novel's title again, they immediately realize what's going on.

The song of the songbird and the snake: Lucy is the songbird with a beautiful voice, while Snow is the snake with a vicious heart.

In the end, Snow emerged victorious, and in the dialogue at the end of the novel, he elaborated on his understanding of the Hunger Games:

“In the past, he thought it was a punishment for the losers or a reminder for the victors to be prepared for danger in times of peace. But having been at the grassroots level, he understands that the world is a huge arena, and the Hunger Games can make those in power understand who the winners are.”

The ability to redefine and revitalize terms or movements that originated in a specific historical period, and to prove their effectiveness through practice, is something not everyone can do.

Therefore, Snow also began to transform into a true political animal, a true tyrant.

The prequel to The Hunger Games has officially ended, which also marks the conclusion of the entire Hunger Games series.

Writers, critics, and magazines from all walks of life sent congratulatory messages.

The most famous author is Stephen King, a master of the genre. "Among stories of anti-utopianism, The Hunger Games stands out. The story is fast-paced and suspenseful at all times. The author is a master of words, with no wasted words and a delightful, dry humor. Reading The Hunger Games is addictive, like playing a video game. You know that world is not real, but you can't help but keep putting in coins."

The special significance of the book's completion, coupled with the hype generated by the novel industry, directly led to a surge in sales for this issue of "Today" magazine.

Nearly three years have passed since The Hunger Games was first published in the United States.

Three years is not a short time for many students, and a feeling similar to "the end of my youth" has emerged in the hearts of American youth, which has further fueled the popularity of "The Hunger Games".

Zhao Zhenkai certainly wouldn't let such a good business opportunity slip by. The newly established "Today Publishing House" under "Today" quickly began planning the publication of the four-part "Hunger Games" series.

No one would doubt how much income this publication would bring Jiang Xian.

At this moment, in response to Zhao Zhenkai's question, Jiang Xian simply answered.

"A new novel? I've been quite busy lately, I'll give it to you later."

There are just too many best-selling novels in the US, and Jiang Xian's mind is currently focused on "The Troubleshooters." He needs to wait until he finishes writing that novel before he can think carefully about which novel to work on next.

(End of this chapter)