Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 555 Landing in North America, The Ideas of a Famous Screenwriter
Cao Sheng pondered for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

I've decided not to rush into writing the script for the second part of "Infernal Affairs".

There are two reasons.

First, he's been very busy lately, serializing two novels at the same time, which has left him with very little free time. Second, he feels that the story should be allowed to unfold for a while longer, so that more viewers can see the movie "Infernal Affairs".

In the original timeline, why were the box office results for "Infernal Affairs" 1 and 2 so dismal in mainland China?
The reason for this is that word-of-mouth has not spread.

It wasn't until the third installment of "Infernal Affairs" was released in mainland China that the box office figures showed strong momentum, because by then, many people had already watched the first two "Infernal Affairs" films through the internet, DVDs, and other means.

Word of mouth spread as a result.

When the third installment of "Infernal Affairs" was released, the film became a highly anticipated classic sequel, and its box office performance was naturally outstanding.

And now?
Although the first "Infernal Affairs" film grossed over 6000 million yuan in mainland China, far exceeding the performance in the original timeline, Cao Sheng believes that if the release of the second "Infernal Affairs" film is slightly delayed, the box office of the second and third films will be even more impressive.

Therefore, he decided to postpone the script for the second part until the end of the year.

It wouldn't be too late to start writing it next year.

He believes that delaying the release of a sequel to a classic like this would only have benefits, not drawbacks.

If it had been delayed by five years, the second film could have grossed hundreds of millions of yuan at the box office in mainland China.

If it were delayed by ten years, the second film might have grossed over a billion yuan at the box office in mainland China.

Cao Sheng recalled that the original version of "Lost in Thailand" grossed over a billion yuan at the box office, and he vaguely remembered that "Lost in Thailand" was released in 2012.

It is now 2002, and 10 years from now, it will be 2012.

Given the reputation and quality of "Infernal Affairs", if "Infernal Affairs 2" were released in 2012, would its box office be lower than that of "Lost in Thailand"?
So, no rush!
Of course, he wouldn't let the second part really wait 10 years to be released.

Because the investors, director, and lead actors of "Infernal Affairs" couldn't wait that long. If they did wait that long, the lead actors would have aged considerably, and the performance would feel very jarring compared to the first film.

Moreover, while the box office will certainly be higher in 10 years, the RMB will also depreciate significantly over that period.

Putting aside everything else, right now in Huizhou, one yuan can buy four meat buns, but in 10 years, one yuan will only buy one meat bun.

Some unscrupulous shops can even sell a meat bun for 1.5 yuan.

This is the extent of currency devaluation over 10 years.

Having made up his mind, Cao Sheng smiled, logged into the Qidian author backend, opened the book page of "Cultivation Chat Group", and scrolled to the book review section.

As he expected, there were many posts discussing "Infernal Affairs" in the book review section.

For example: "After Infernal Affairs came out, does anyone still question Ah Hui's screenwriting ability?"

This post became the most popular post in the entire book review section because of the large number of clicks and replies.

Cao Sheng clicked on the post.

The post reads: "In the past two years, many people have questioned Ah Hui's screenwriting ability, believing that he is not worthy of such a high screenwriting fee and that his screenwriting ability is definitely not that of the best screenwriter in Chinese-language films. Now, the quality of 'Infernal Affairs' should shut those people up, right? If you disagree, please write a higher quality script!"

Below this post are 53 pages of comments.

1st floor: "Let me state first: I am not questioning Ah Hui's screenwriting ability!"

2nd floor: Let me also clarify! I didn't question Ah Hui's screenwriting ability either!

3rd floor: "If no one upstairs has questioned it, am I the one who has?"

4th floor: "To be honest, when I finished watching 'Infernal Affairs' in the cinema, I was completely dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that such a classic movie was actually written by Ah Hui. He's amazing!"

5th floor: "This movie made me realize that I had always underestimated Ah Hui. Ah Hui is really awesome!"

6th floor: "My roommates always laugh at me for liking to read online novels. When they saw me reading Ah Hui's novels, they laughed at me too. Until recently, when they came home from get off work, they told me how good and awesome the movie 'Infernal Affairs' was. I told them that the screenwriter of the movie was Zhongyuan Yidianhui. The look on their faces at that time, hehe, I can't help but laugh when I think about it."

7th floor: "I've been feeling lately that novels have limited Ah Hui's talent. If Ah Hui hadn't written screenplays, I probably would never have discovered how talented he is. I declare: Infernal Affairs is the best Chinese-language film I've ever seen! Without a doubt!"

8th Floor: "When will those scripts Ah Hui sold to Hollywood finally be released? I can't wait! It seems like all the scripts Ah Hui sold to Hollywood could be made into special effects blockbusters, right? Does anyone know if those scripts have started filming yet?"

……

Cao Sheng read for a while and then left the thread.

Then I saw the titles of several other posts in the book review section.

For example: "No wonder Tony Leung and Andy Lau have been going to Huizhou to look for Ah Hui recently, the quality of 'Infernal Affairs' is just too good!"

"Leung Chiu-wai looked so handsome in the leather jacket and suit in 'Infernal Affairs'!!"

"When will Ah Hui be able to write a novel with two main characters like 'Infernal Affairs'?"

"Of the ten talents in the mainland literary scene, Ah Hui alone possesses at least eight! No wonder my writing is so bad..."

……

Reading these posts can easily make the person being praised feel smug.

Fortunately, Cao Sheng knew in his heart that "Infernal Affairs" was not his own work.

He was just a porter.

Otherwise, with such praise from his fans, it would be hard for him not to get carried away.

……

After reading the book reviews for a while, he closed the browser.

I opened the drafts, outline, and detailed outline of "Cultivation Chat Group" and started thinking about how to write the next chapter.

He was very clear-headed and always remembered that novels were his core business.

I've always remembered that there aren't many classic movies left that I can share.

……

Two days later.

The English-dubbed version of "Infernal Affairs" has been released in the United States and has begun a limited screening there.

This is the norm for almost all Chinese-language films when they are released in the United States.

Even the most popular Chinese-language films are usually released on a small scale in the United States first to test the market reaction.

Only if the response is good will there be a chance to expand the scale of the screening.

When "Infernal Affairs" first appeared on the big screen in the United States, it was only shown on 50 screens.

The number of viewers was not large, but those who understood the film gave very positive feedback.

However, not many Americans currently have the patience to watch the whole movie.

Because when they watch Chinese movies, what they want to see are Chinese kung fu films.

But Infernal Affairs is not a kung fu movie.

Moreover, the plot of "Infernal Affairs" seems a bit obscure to Americans, as both the good and evil sides in the film are engaged in psychological warfare.

This was quite unfriendly to American audiences who already had cultural differences. However, some Chinese people here thoroughly enjoyed the film.

The feedback given was full of praise.

However, although not many Americans have the patience to watch the whole movie, the online reviews and ratings for the film are increasing.

Gradually, it also attracted some American viewers to go to the cinema and patiently watch the movie.

Gradually, word-of-mouth for the film began to spread.

The scale of screenings has gradually increased.

One week after its release, the screening scale was expanded to 80 screens; two weeks later, it expanded to 130 screens; and three weeks later, it expanded to 210 screens.

If it continues to be released at this pace, it seems that the box office figures for this movie could rise very high.

pity……

The release time of any film in any country is limited.

Moreover, this is a Chinese-language film.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this movie will end its run in the US before its box office truly takes off.

William Monaghan is a famous screenwriter in Hollywood.

One afternoon three weeks after "Infernal Affairs" was released in the United States, William Monaghan, on the recommendation of a friend in the industry, found a movie theater showing "Infernal Affairs," bought a ticket, and went in with a critical eye to watch this Chinese film.

That friend praised the movie to the skies.

He had never seen his friend praise a Chinese film so enthusiastically.

This piqued his curiosity.

He was lacking inspiration lately and was looking for some obscure movies to spark his creativity.

He didn't quite understand the plot of "Infernal Affairs" on his first viewing, even though he had watched it very carefully. He still couldn't understand it well because of the cultural gap between the two countries.

But this time, because he watched it very carefully, he still managed to understand some of the highlights of the movie.

The premise of the movie, in particular, that the two male protagonists infiltrated each other's opposing camps, impressed him greatly.

His intuition told him: This should be a good movie.

So, as soon as he came out of the screening room, he went to the ticket office and bought another ticket for "Infernal Affairs". When the next screening started, he went into the screening room again to watch the movie.

On the second viewing, he understood even more of the film's brilliance.

The sense of amazement in my heart became even stronger.

When he finished watching the movie for the second time, other viewers left the theater in twos and threes. He noticed that as they left, they were almost all whispering about the plot of the movie.

Some people called this movie garbage, saying they couldn't understand it at all and it was bad.

However, some audience members were very excited and praised the movie as very exciting when they left.

This prompted William Monaghan, who remained seated, to raise an eyebrow thoughtfully.

He suddenly realized that although the Chinese film had a wonderful plot and an amazing concept, it had a high barrier to entry for many American viewers.

Many viewers are unable to understand the film and therefore miss out on its brilliance.

—If we could buy the adaptation rights to this movie and make an American version of "Infernal Affairs" with American actors and in English, wouldn't the box office be amazing? Wouldn't the reviews be great too?

At this thought, William Monaghan's heart skipped a beat.

After leaving the movie theater, he got into his car, hesitated for a moment, took out his phone, and dialed his friend Martin Scorsese's number.

As soon as the call connected, he said, "Hey! Martin! My friend, do you have time right now? Look what I found! A Chinese crime thriller, yes, yes! I'm sure it's a Chinese movie, and it's excellent! Really excellent. I swear on God, it's absolutely worth watching. If you're willing to see it, I'll buy you a ticket. What? You don't have time right now? No, no, no! Time is like water in a sponge, you can definitely squeeze out some time, right, buddy? Come on, come on! I have an idea. If you also like this Chinese movie, maybe we can collaborate and convince the company to buy the remake rights. I'll write the script, and you direct it, okay? Okay? Please! Give me some face..."

……

China.

Beijing.

Feng Xiaogang, who had already finished filming his new movie "Big Shot's Funeral," was recently overseeing the post-production of the film. That evening, after finishing his work for the day, he sat in his car on his way home, squinting at the street scene outside the car window.

Like many others, he has two distinctly different sides to his personality.

In public, he is confident, assertive, and eloquent, able to articulate his reasoning on any matter.

But when no one else is around, he becomes quiet and reserved.

This was caused by his early experiences.

Many people know that he had a very difficult early life. In order to find a chance to get ahead, he had to fawn over many people. At that time, he put himself in a very humble position.

He tries every means to please certain people, hoping that they will give him a chance because of his hard work and pleasant words.

For example, write him a script, or give him a plan to direct a movie.

and many more.

And now?
He felt he had finally made it through.

Naturally, I don't want to be as humble as before. Who would want to live such a humble life forever?

If he succeeds but remains as humble as before, then his success will have been in vain.
Therefore, after achieving success, he became increasingly irritable, frequently losing his temper and no longer giving face to anyone.

Therefore, he earned the nickname "Little Cannon". He was not angry at all, but quite satisfied with the nickname.

And they decided to keep it that way.

At this moment, besides him, there was only his driver in the car. He could shed all his pretenses and look at the street scene outside the car window with a blank expression, quietly thinking about some things.

For example, Cao Sheng wrote the screenplay for "Infernal Affairs," which recently grossed over 6000 million yuan at the box office in both mainland China and Hong Kong.

Such amazing box office figures left him with mixed feelings.

He watched this movie a few days ago.

He was well aware of the quality of this film and knew it was worthy of such impressive box office numbers.

He admired that someone could make such a film.

more……

But I felt depressed.

Thinking that Cao Sheng is indeed amazingly talented, he was able to write such a good script. It's a pity that this kid doesn't know where to sit. As a screenwriter from the mainland, he sold his best scripts to Hollywood or Hong Kong directors and film companies.

What Feng Xiaogang was given was a nonsensical and chaotic script like "Crazy Stone".

If I were given the script for "Infernal Affairs" to film, wouldn't I be able to do a good job?

That's incredibly disrespectful of me!

(End of this chapter)