Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 180 Chinatown Detective

"this story……"

After listening to Meng Bai's brief introduction of Arclight's project, Chen Sicheng hesitated for a moment and asked, "The plot is indeed amazing, but... can it really pass the review?"

The setting that the protagonist is a "dark hero" is actually not new, and it often appears in both American and Japanese dramas.

Domestic dramas actually have similar settings, such as the "Darker" in last year's "The Darker Side".

But the problem is, he is just a supporting role, or more accurately, a "villain".

At most, the protagonist has some ideas and then falls into struggles, which happens to serve as a turning point in the plot or a "character arc" for the character's growth.

In your case, not only did the protagonist "take action personally", but he also completed the identity transformation without any inner struggle.

More importantly, this plot is a complete slap in the face of the police and the judicial system without any clothes on.

It can be said that unless the protagonist finally chooses to "surrender himself" or "fail and get caught", it is absolutely impossible for him to pass the trial.

Meng Bai smiled and said, "This is just a rough idea. When the project is actually launched, the plot may not be the same. Besides, I actually have another idea, which is to set the background of the story abroad."

"foreign?"

"Yes, such as Thailand or the United States." Meng Bai smiled and said, "Brother, didn't you find that the judicial environment I just described is actually a bit out of place in China?"

Chen Sicheng thought about it and realized that this kind of story of "rich people getting away with it" was indeed very normal for Americans.

But if it happens in China, not to mention reality, but only on the screen, the style is indeed a bit strange.

"But if the background is set abroad, it would be difficult for the audience to feel involved, right?" Chen Sicheng thought of a question.

Before this, the most successful movie with a foreign background was "Lost in Thailand" two years ago.

However, since that film is a comedy and the main storyline focuses on a few protagonists, the exotic background will not have much impact on the audience.

On the contrary, through the hilarious stories, you can also appreciate the exotic scenery and create some unique jokes.

But the story of criminal investigation is different, not to mention the impact of cultural differences on the case. According to Meng Bai's idea, for so many cases, do you use foreigners or fellow villagers?

If you use foreigners, then why don’t people just watch foreign dramas; if you use fellow countrymen, where can you find so many fellow countrymen in other people’s countries?

"That may not be impossible." Meng Bai looked at him and said, "There is actually a place that can combine these two needs."

"where?"

"Chinatown."

It was as if lightning flashed through Chen Sicheng's mind, and his originally blocked train of thought was instantly blown away.

Yes, isn’t Chinatown a perfect “background stage” that combines Chinese and Western elements?

And it's not just convenient for plot development. There are so many countries in the world with Chinatowns. Shooting a movie in one place can also be made into a complete series.

"That's right, that's right, Chinatown is a very important point!" Chen Sicheng smiled happily.

He always felt that his designs were lacking something, but if he added the "exotic Chinatown" element, it would be the finishing touch.

"Junior brother, I really sincerely invite you to cooperate with me. Just name your conditions, such as salary, production or investment share." Chen Sicheng said with a burning gaze.

He did not forget that Meng Bai was not only an outstanding screenwriter, but also the owner of a film and television company, and the project investment share was the key.

Chen Sicheng was right. For Meng Bai, the screenwriter's personal salary was just a small matter, and the investment share was more attractive.

A long time ago, he actually thought about finding a suitable opportunity to get involved in the film market.

The original plan was to make a movie version of "Psychological Crime", but this would have to wait until the online drama "Psychological Crime 2" was aired, which would be at least a year.

As for Guo Fan's "The Wandering Earth", it is even further away. Conservatively speaking, if this project can start filming within two years, it will be considered a success.

So for Meng Bai, this project of Chen Sicheng is really a good opportunity.

In fact, to be honest, the output value of the film market is not that high.

Last year, the total market value of the entire film industry was only 300 billion.

In comparison, the total annual output value of the online drama market (including self-produced dramas) is 378 billion, and the output value of the TV drama market is more than 400 billion. Both are higher than the film industry.

However, compared to its revenue, the biggest feature of the film industry is its huge influence.

The comprehensive value of a classic movie is far greater than that of a hit TV series.

Even within the industry, companies that can do film projects are superior to companies that only do TV series, although these are actually two different tracks.

Therefore, if the only purpose is to make money, it is enough for Arclight Pictures to continue on the path of film and television dramas.

But if Arclight Pictures wants to develop into an industry giant, it must enter the film industry.

It is difficult for new companies to break into those established film circles. So if you really want to enter, you still have to rely on some new capital.

Chen Sicheng himself certainly doesn’t count, but Wanda Pictures behind him is a “giant”.

In addition, he has extensive connections and channels in the film industry, which makes him quite suitable as a "newbie village".

"If there are two protagonists, one is Haoran, and the other is someone else. Who are you planning to look for, senior brother?" Meng Bai asked.

"I want to find Baoqiang." Chen Sicheng said, "This way the contrast in appearance will be very strong, and we can also add some action and comedy elements."

At this point, he smiled and said, "Anyway, the most profitable movies in China right now are still comedies, so let's make mystery comedies."

Not to mention, this idea is similar to Meng Bai's suggestion to Guo Fan that "The Wandering Earth" should be filmed as a "disaster film".

"Mystery comedy." Meng Bai nodded, "Okay, let's stick with this style for the plot."

Chen Sicheng's eyes lit up. The implied meaning of the other party's words was obviously that he agreed to cooperate.

"Haha, then junior brother and I will have a pleasant cooperation." Chen Sicheng laughed.

The two chatted about the story framework and plot style, but didn't say much.

The script has not been completed, the entire project has not been approved, and there is no way to talk about budget investment, crew preparation, and cast.

"We still have to move faster." Chen Sicheng said: "I think it would be best if we can finish filming by the end of this year or early next year, so that we can put it in the summer season next year."

There are two major schedules in a year. The Spring Festival schedule can’t catch up, but the summer schedule is also good.

"Okay, next month, I will revise a first version of the script." Meng Bai said.

Chen Sicheng nodded, thought about it, and suddenly thought of another question: "Junior brother, if you use the subsequent projects of the 'Green Vine Series', there will be no objection from Leshi.com, right?"

"It doesn't matter." Meng Bai said nonchalantly, "Anyway, according to the style of 'mystery comedy' we mentioned, the entire script must be greatly changed, and it will have little connection with the original. What's more, no one stipulates that Arclight can only do 'Green Ivy Series' projects, as long as we don't mention it in external publicity."

"Also, regardless of whether or not there will be a series later on, the first film will definitely be an origin film and will have little to do with the entire series."

Chen Sicheng felt relieved after hearing this: "That's good, but you can also tell them. Leshi Films has made great achievements in film investment and production in recent years."

"Okay, I'll talk to them about it later and see if they have any ideas for cooperation."

After saying this, Meng Bai thought to himself: I just don't know if Leshi Pictures' funds can last until the movie is released.

As far as he knows, the projects that have been launched this year at Leshi Films include "The Great Wall", a "Sino-US co-production blockbuster" in collaboration with Zhang Guoshi, and "Jade Dynasty", a "full CG fantasy masterpiece" in collaboration with Xiao Si.

Both of these are high-budget productions, and Leshi Films is the first producer and pays the most money.

Under such circumstances, the headquarters of Leshi.com has to continue to draw funds to fill the gap in Boss Jia’s new “car manufacturing” project.

All I can say is that the financial pressure is extremely great.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that the high frequency of financing of Leshi Pictures is not completely without reason.

After seeing Chen Sicheng off, Meng Bai divided his time into two parts. On one hand, he focused on the filming of "Forensic Qin Ming", and on the other hand, he began to think about the script of "Detective Chinatown".

"Detective Chinatown" is the tentative name of this film project.

Time soon came to the end of the month, and Meng Bai, who was busy, suddenly received news from Qin Lan.

Someone is willing to be the "savior".

(End of this chapter)