1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 623 Playboy

The visitor was Maxim, who worked for MGM.

When Jiang Xian was arguing with Miramax's Vestahn, it was Vestahn who represented MGM and won the rights to two of Jiang Xian's novels, or rather, his alternate name String.

"Jiang, it's been a long time!" As String's partner, Maxim was one of the few people who knew String's true identity.

"Maxim, it's been a long time."

Jiang Xian also greeted Maxim warmly, saying, "I've seen the movie, and your adaptation is excellent."

MGM adapted two of Jiang Xian's films.

One is "The Moon and Sixpence", and the other is "Letter from an Unknown Woman".

Both films were very successful in their production, with plots that were quite faithful to the original works, making them truly "authentic." Of course, this is also thanks to the screenwriters of these two films, none other than Jiang Xian and Ang Lee.

After their release, both films received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay in 1985 and 1986, respectively, as well as numerous other awards.

Unfortunately, apart from "The Moon and Sixpence" winning Best Original Score, the two films ultimately went home empty-handed at the Oscars.

Released in 1985, "The Moon and Sixpence" lost to "Amadeus" in the Best Picture competition.

The 1986 film "Letter from an Unknown Woman" also failed to win an Oscar, as "Out of Africa" ​​swept the awards that year.

Jiang Xian didn't feel ashamed at all for losing to these two films.

Although his novels are famous enough, both of these novels are adaptations of classics.

The former is adapted from the stage play "Mozart" written by playwright Shaffer in the 50s, which was a huge success when it was first staged on Broadway in the United States.

The latter, *Out of Africa*, directly combines Isaac Dansen's novels *Out of Africa* and *Shadows on the Grass*, Judith Thurman's biography *Isaac Dansen: A Novelist's Life*, and Errol Terzebinsky's biography *The Silence Will Be Broken*.

Take Isaac Danson's novel "Out of Africa" ​​for example. It was not only a bestseller in the United States, but it also earned her a Nobel Prize in Literature nomination.

After the novel was written, the protagonist's home in Kenya, "Karen Estate," immediately became a well-known tourist attraction.

Incidentally, Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" was also nominated for the Oscars that year, but it lost to the Argentinian film "Official Statement" in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

After pouring two cups of coffee, Maxim first congratulated Jiang Xian on the outstanding performance of "The Last Emperor" at the Academy Awards. Afterwards, he chatted with Jiang Xian for a while about the two films, "The Moon and Sixpence" and "Letter from an Unknown Woman".

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, he finally explained his purpose, saying that he had come on behalf of someone.

—Samuel Goldwin Jr.

Jiang Xian was certainly familiar with this name. Since he was there to attend the Oscars, he would inevitably hear this name repeatedly, as he was the producer of this year's Academy Awards ceremony, and this was his second consecutive year serving as producer.

He also produced the previous Academy Awards, the 59th Academy Awards.

He himself is a legendary figure in Hollywood, having planned and produced countless films, such as "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World".
The Godwin family behind him is a prominent Hollywood family. His father, Samuel Godwin, immigrated to the United States in his early years and worked in the clothing industry. Later, he left the clothing business and switched to film. A few years later, he sold his film business to Louis Mayer, the son of a penniless scrap metal dealer.

Everyone knows Louis Mayer, right?
"King of Hollywood".

One of the founders of MGM.

He later initiated the founding of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

He established the Academy Merit Awards, the precursor to the Oscars.

He spearheaded the establishment of the studio system in Hollywood.

He promoted the star system in Hollywood.
In short, this Samuel Goldwyn Jr. is a true "good" second-generation Hollywood heir with status and background.

Given that his father was one of the founders of MGM, it's not surprising that Maxim was asked by him to find Jiang Xian.

On the other hand, upon hearing Maxim say that he had come because Samuel Godwin Jr. had entrusted him with something, Jiang Xian immediately became curious, wondering what Samuel Godwin Jr. wanted to ask him.

"That's it."

Maxim coughed twice. "You might not know, but the American film industry has been in turmoil lately. The Writers Guild is protesting, and this has had a wide-ranging impact. Even the scriptwriters for this year's Oscars have stopped writing because of this; the scripts are only half-finished and no one is writing anymore."

"."

Jiang Xian roughly guessed what Samuel was thinking, but didn't point it out. "The Oscar organizers have powerful connections. Why don't they just have them discuss it with the Writers Guild?"

"I've already tried it."

Maxim gave a wry smile. "These screenwriters don't give you any face at all. Think about it, ruining such a big event as the Oscars not only further enhances their influence, but also increases the pressure they put on the producers' alliance."

"But what does this have to do with me?" Jiang Xian asked quietly after he finished explaining the whole story.

"Cough cough."

Maxim coughed again. "Well, Mr. Samuel took a liking to you because of your Chinese identity. You're a screenwriter, and you're Chinese, so you're not influenced by the Writers Guild. At the same time, you have a good understanding of America and Western society, and you have a solid foundation in writing. It's perfect for you to continue writing the script."

"I'm just here to attend an awards ceremony, and the task of writing the script has fallen to me?" Jiang Xian chuckled.

"Mr. Samuel, this is a last resort. The Writers Guild's stagnation is going to continue for who knows how long. You know, these days, it's too hard to find a screenwriter willing to take over."

“Maxim, this is a very important matter, I need to think about it carefully,” Jiang Xuan said calmly.

“Yes, yes, this is a very important matter. However, I hope Mr. Jiang Xian can give Mr. Samuel a response as soon as possible. He is currently very busy and cannot get away. Otherwise, he would not have entrusted this matter to me. He would have come to visit in person. Please forgive him.” Maxim said, handing Mr. Samuel’s business card to Jiang Xian.

"I understand, I understand."

Jiang Xian nodded and accepted the business card.

After seeing Maxim off, he returned to his room and carefully considered the matter.

Writing a script wasn't too difficult for him, but what about the implications behind it?

It's important to know that the Writers Guild of America's members cover almost all screenwriting professionals in North America, making it a veritable "protective umbrella" for all screenwriters in the United States.

It is called a "protective umbrella," but the premise of "protection" is based on obedience.

What are the consequences of betraying an organization?

A very famous filmmaker in later generations was Park Chan-wook, who was a director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed:

"Oldboy," starring Choi Min-sik and Yoo Ji-tae.

Song Kang-ho starred in "Joint Security Area," as well as "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" and "Determination to Leave."

He also served as the producer of "Snowpiercer".

He gained international acclaim for a series of works.

In 23, Park Chan-wook collaborated with HBO on a seven-episode series called "The Sympathizer," a television adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Vietnamese-American author Nguyen Thanh Viet, starring Robert Downey Jr., Hou Xuan-de, and Sandra Oh.

The series premiered on HBO Max in 2024. It received critical acclaim but failed to achieve commercial success. Although it achieved a high 89% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it did not generate much discussion. At the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, only Robert Downey Jr. received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but ultimately did not win.

However, because of this drama, the Writers Guild of America issued a statement expelling Park Chan-wook from South Korea from the guild's membership.

The reason is that when this guy was creating "The Sympathizer," the Writers Guild was in the midst of a major shutdown that lasted from May 2023 to the end of September.

Other screenwriters have completely suspended their work, supported the Writers Guild, and responded to the call to quit.

Unlike the other members, Park Chan-wook did not completely suspend his work, but continued to write the script for HBO's limited series "The Sympathizer".

Because of this incident, Park Chan-wook's screenwriting partner, Don McKellar, was also expelled from the association.

Prior to him, the Writers Guild had already announced that it would punish seven "scabs".

Four of them were the first to have their identities revealed because they chose to appeal.

For example, Loma Ross, the Canadian screenwriter of "Sullivan's Crossroads".

Another screenwriter who was fired, Edward Drake, although less well-known in the industry and whose works have consistently received IMDb ratings below 5, still maintained his innocence after being accused.

He said he had only made minor adjustments to the script at the time of the incident and had not violated any union rules.

Furthermore, he stated in his appeal that he lived in fear, feeling as if he were on the guillotine.

This shows how terrifying it is to be expelled from the Writers Guild.

The other two are Julie Bush, the screenwriter of "Sons of Anarchy," who was suspended from union membership for a year for her involvement in revising the script.

Tim Doyle, the writer of "The Big Bang Theory," also faced public criticism from the Writers Guild of America for making some comments on social media.

The names of the other three of the seven individuals were not previously disclosed because they chose not to appeal.

The union did not reveal the names of the three until Park Chan-wook was announced.

In addition to Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, another screenwriter named Anthony Sipiano, the screenwriter of "Bates Motel," will have his membership suspended until 2026, will be publicly censured, and will be permanently barred from serving as captain of the Writers Guild of America's Stallion.

In short, the Writers Guild will not let any "scab" get away with it.

Being expelled from the Writers Guild of America is a devastating blow for a screenwriter.

The Writers Guild plays a vital role in protecting the rights of writers, especially in assisting writers with contractual disputes with producers.

Therefore, if you are not a member of the Writers Guild or are expelled from the Writers Guild, it is basically equivalent to losing your job security.

It's like having no labor protections when you work; that means you're at the mercy of capitalists.

Although this didn't actually have a significant impact on Jiang Xian, he still had to consider the development of "today".

After all, the Writers Guild is too big a deal.

As Maxim said, the Academy Awards ceremony is such a major event that it is definitely a project that the Writers Guild of America is paying close attention to.

If something so exciting can go wrong, it undoubtedly further validates the influence of their Writers Guild.

If Jiang Xian dares to get involved, he will definitely incur the hostility of the Screenwriters Association.

Offending such a large organization would definitely not bring any benefits. Jiang Xian could foresee that if he offended the Screenwriters Association, "Today" would definitely be implicated. In the future, which screenwriter would dare to have more contact with "Today"?

Although Jiang Xian dares to say that he has no shortage of movie scripts, he can't write everything, can he?
How can a film and television company continue to develop without the support of screenwriters?

In short, Jiang Xian felt that this matter was definitely more harmful than beneficial, and he had no reason to help little Samuel.

You, Samuel, are very powerful, but we're not close.

Not only will you not gain much benefit from doing this, but you'll also get a lot of trouble and embarrassment. It's not worth it at all.

Jiang Xian told Zhu Lin about it, and Zhu Lin also felt that it was not worth offending the Writers Guild for a little Samuel.

Besides, it's perfectly reasonable not to help little Samuel with this favor, and little Samuel shouldn't have any complaints about us because of it.

“If we’re really going to offend them, then so be it. It’s obvious which is more serious, offending a person or offending a powerful force,” Jiang Xian said.

Before the Academy Awards, Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin attended the 45th Golden Globe Awards, hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

This year's Golden Globe Awards were held at the Hollywood Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Although not as grand as the Oscars, it was still a star-studded event, with reporters from major American newspapers flocking to the event to catch a glimpse of the stars before the Oscars took place.

William was a reporter for the Playboy magazine.

Many people know Playboy, but they don't know that there is another book called Playgirls under the great reputation of Playboy.

The 1960s and 70s were a time when the global sexual liberation movement was in full swing.

In the United States, various adult pornographic magazines quickly emerged, and Playboy and Penthouse became a trend.

At the time, the feminist movement was at its peak, so some people keenly realized that women also longed to be part of sexual liberation, and thus, inspired by Playboy, they created Playgirl.

Playboy magazine was at its peak in the late 1970s, with each issue selling up to 1.5 million copies.

Today, William from "Playboy" is at the Golden Globe Awards with only one mission: to hunt for women.

However, the one I'm after is a beautiful woman.

Not a woman.

Just like how Playboy initially used nude photos of Marilyn Monroe on its cover to attract men.

Playboy magazine also uses naked men on its cover to attract women.

So William came here to photograph handsome men.

(End of this chapter)