Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 271: Script Revisions for "Painted Skin" and Teacher Dong's Right-Hand Men
On April 8, after years of preparation and promotion, the crew of "Red Cliff" finally started filming in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province.

Perhaps to avoid being disturbed by reporters, the opening ceremony was relatively low-key, with only Zhang Fengyi and other characters from Cao Cao's camp present. Fan Xiaopang also made a brief appearance; she plays Sun Shangxiang, who, although from the Jiangdong camp, has a significant amount of screen time in Cao Cao's camp.

Yes, in the movie, Sun Shangxiang disguised herself as a man to infiltrate Cao Cao's camp as an undercover agent and gather intelligence.

I don't know if all the men in Jiangdong have died out.

Or is Cao Cao's camp just a bunch of useless fools, unable to even guard against spies, especially a female one?!

Don't think that the ancients were fools who didn't understand intelligence warfare. Many military books emphasize the importance of intelligence, and they were very good at it.

Historical records also indicate that Cao Cao had many officers under his command who were in charge of intelligence and espionage work.

In a major battle of this magnitude, it's quite normal for one side to have spies infiltrated and the other side to hunt them down.

But having Sun Quan's sister infiltrate Cao Cao's camp is a typical example of "artistic creation".

Thanks to Fan Xiaopang, Yan Li also read some of the scripts for "Red Cliff" and it really broadened his horizons.

Honestly, Yan Li didn't know if these big directors were blinded by flattery, or if they had gotten so caught up in the flattery that they couldn't back down and were just giving up.

How could anyone come up with such an insulting plot?!

That film, "The Promise," and the currently filming "Red Cliff," have truly shattered Yan Li's illusions about those great directors.

He may still believe in the abilities and skill of these great directors, but he won't blindly believe them anymore.

Some issues with "Red Cliff" served as a wake-up call for Yan Li, and also made him pay closer attention to certain aspects of "Painted Skin".

As I said before, Yan Li doesn't understand creation, but he does know how to find fault.

It can't raise the upper limit, but it can guarantee some lower limits.

At least Yan Li claims that his thinking is relatively normal and mainstream, and he can empathize with most viewers. Sometimes, he can prevent and avoid some of the ridiculous, nonsensical, and low-IQ actions of directors who get carried away.

Yan Li even invited some screenwriters, film critics, and ordinary viewers with controllable confidentiality to a script workshop.

Further discussion and research will be conducted on the script of "Painted Skin" to refine and improve it.

Yan Li's requirements for this script are a clear story, smooth pacing, and appropriate commercial elements. On this basis, some so-called in-depth discussions can be added appropriately.

To put it more bluntly, it should be easy for people to understand, enjoyable to read, and leave a lasting impression.

These three requirements sound easy, but they are actually quite difficult to meet, especially the latter two.

The script for "Painted Skin" was also revised again and again.

In addition to the script Yan Li wrote based on the intelligence, two more versions were written, almost resulting in a final battle between humans and demons.

Because "Painted Skin" is expected to start filming in the second half of the year, many things are already in preparation. Some leeway needs to be left in between, so Yan Li is pushing the script quite hard, making the screenwriters afraid when they see Yi An's phone call.

But fear was useless. Whenever Yan Li had time, he would read the script or hold meetings with the screenwriters almost every ten days or a week.

Limingxuan

Yan Li held a small discussion with the director and screenwriters in the largest private room.

Although the script for "Painted Skin" was revised frequently and the production team was under pressure, Yan Li did not treat the screenwriters as mere tools to be exploited.

The reason for holding the discussion in the tea room is that the atmosphere in the company is rather serious and oppressive, while the tea room is a place for relaxation, where you can drink tea and eat snacks, and the atmosphere will be more relaxed.

Yan Li doesn't understand creative work very well, but he respects creative talent, has high expectations, and pays a lot of money.

So, although the screenwriters of "Painted Skin" were cursing and complaining, none of them gave up.

After the usual pleasantries, Yan Li looked at the latest version of the script while listening to the screenwriter's report on the revisions.

"President Yan, we made some changes to the character traits of Pang Yong and the female demon slayer because they overlap."

There aren't many main characters in "Painted Skin." Apart from the love triangle between the main characters, the most noteworthy are Pang Yong, the female demon hunter, and the lizard demon.

Among them, the lizard demon is the simplest character, a subordinate and sycophant of the fox demon, and belongs to the villains.

Pang Yong and the female demon hunter are two different characters. Pang Yong is more complicated; he is a comrade-in-arms of the male protagonist, Wang Sheng, and also has some emotional entanglements with Wang's wife, Pei Rong. Later, he leaves the army and ventures into the world alone. The female demon hunter is simpler; she has a grudge against a fox demon.

The two travel together to the city where the protagonist lives, discover traces of a fox demon, and begin to work together to exorcise the demon.

These two characters overlap somewhat, but each has its own role, making it difficult to delete them.

First, there's the character Pang Yong. He supports Madam Wang at crucial moments, trusting her even when everyone else believes she's a female demon, which sets him apart from the male lead. This character setting makes it impossible to remove him.

Because the female lead needs to have a way out; only sacrifices and love with a way out have weight. If there is no way out, it's just pure tragedy.

The female demon slayer felt more cumbersome than Pang Yong, and was once considered for removal, but it was later decided to keep her.

Since the fox demon already has a sycophant, it would seem homogenous if Lady Wang also had only one sycophant. Adding a female demon slayer, or even subtly outlining a romantic relationship, could weaken this feeling.

To reduce character overlap, the scriptwriters made changes, increasing the importance of the female demon hunter.

Only the female demon hunter was allowed to be in charge of exorcising demons, detecting demonic energy, and fighting demons. Pang Yong became the assistant.

In the story, Pang Yong, Wang Sheng, and Madam Wang remain the same, except that after leaving the army, they do not wander but open an inn in the city and occasionally do escort business.

The female demon hunter arrived in the city and checked into Pang Yong's inn. The two became acquainted and then discovered demonic energy.

The female demon hunter, who is skilled in martial arts and also wants to protect her village, helps Pang Yong, who gradually uncovers the fox demon and then the main plot begins.

Later, it was because of the female demon slayer and his old love that Pang Yong trusted Madam Wang.

After the ending, the female demon hunter leaves, and Pang Yong, who has feelings for her, pretends to be delivering a shipment and goes with her.

Yan Li looked at the script and nodded. To put it bluntly, it was about changing the weighting of the characters.

Pang Yong's decision to step down as the fourth lead gave more screen time to the female demon hunter, making both characters more like mere "tools."

This change ensures that the original roles of the two characters remain intact, with less overlap and a more logically sound interpretation.

The female demon hunter wanders around exorcising demons and has a grudge against a fox demon. She encounters a retired soldier who protects the village and a sycophantic old lady named Wang. The motives and actions of the two match up.

The presence of a male and a female, a martial artist and a demon, enriches the character composition and fight scenes.

At the same time, the reduction of Pang Yong's role completely eliminated the possibility of the production team inviting a big-name kung fu star to participate.

The main supporter of this voice comes from director Gordon Chan, who lacks confidence in the all-mainland cast of "Painted Skin" and has always wanted to bring in a kung fu star of sufficient caliber to attract audiences through action elements.

Yan Li, however, believes that the core selling points of "Painted Skin" lie in the characters, the plot, and the special effects, rather than the so-called action elements.

The idea of ​​having two top stars compete for attention wasn't something he decided on a whim. Based on the feedback collected from various sources, the effect is definitely on par with or even surpasses that of most big-name Hong Kong and Taiwan stars.

If that's the case, why spend so much money on action elements that aren't particularly important?

If Gordon Chan feels that action elements are important, he can hire a kung fu star, but there's no need to hire someone too expensive.

There are plenty of actors who are good at their jobs but don't charge high prices!
For example, Wu Jing, who became famous with "SPL" and "Men's True Colors", Zhao Wenzhuo, who has been discovered in TV dramas in the past two years, and Shi Xingyu, who played a laborer in "Kung Fu", although the latter's dramatic scenes are not as good.

Chen Jiashang's reasons were quite reasonable, and he even had the support of investors.

Out of consideration for unity, Yan Li couldn't directly suppress the rebellion, so he took a roundabout approach from the script to resolve the issue.

It's not easy to get a kung fu star of sufficient caliber to play a role that's only ranked fifth or sixth. Even if they do get the part, how will they be paid?

If the pay is too low, the actor will definitely not accept it, but if the pay is too high for such a supporting role, the production team and investors will also be unwilling.

Sure enough, after this version of the script was approved, Gordon Chan stopped mentioning any particular person.

But casting still needs to be done.

In particular, the role of the female demon slayer has been given more weight, subtly making her the fourth lead, second only to the male protagonist and the two female leads. It's worth considering who should be cast in this role.

Wang Ou has made it clear that she will not act anymore. It's not that she doesn't want to act, but that she's afraid to act.

Similarly, people like Yang Rong, Jiang Xin, and Huo Siyan dared not get involved in this mess.

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan would not play supporting roles to Shuang Bing, and the people around them also had various reasons for not being eager to participate.

Therefore, although "Painted Skin" is Yi An's highest-invested project to date, the internal casting process was the most peaceful.

Currently, the two actresses who clearly want and are close to playing this role are Sun Li and Yang Xue.

The former has been trying to break into the film industry for the past two years, and with Deng Chao's connections, "Painted Skin" was a perfect fit for him, so he naturally tried his best to get involved.

The latter is a jack-of-all-trades. Although she is close to Dong Xuan, she also has good relationships with Shuang Bing. In addition, she is close to Yi An and is innocent with Yan Li. She is considered the most promising among the group of rouge girls to rise to the top.

Of course, there are other actresses vying for the position, but they are all somewhat inferior to Sun and Yang in terms of fame, status, and connections.

Yan Li originally favored Yang Xue, but when he heard that Sun Li was trying to win her over, he hesitated.

Sun Li is becoming more popular, and Yi An plans to have Deng Chao star in "Painted Skin," which would be a third collaboration between the couple and would also be beneficial for publicity.

Hmm, if Sun Li plays the female demon slayer, then Deng Chao could play the lizard demon.

"Painted Skin" already has two rivals vying for attention, so adding another real couple to the story would be a bit too much.

Therefore, the scene where Deng Chao and Sun Li fight each other to the death in the drama is more interesting, and the promotional materials are more elaborate.

Yan Li's resolve was wavering, but he hadn't made a final decision yet. He still had some time, and perhaps other suitable candidates would emerge. Unbeknownst to Yan Li, while he hesitated, others had already begun to act.

...

A restaurant

With everyone present, Qin Lan hosted a gathering for her sisters, which also served as a welcome to the newcomers Gan Wei and Ying Cai'er.

Although the two are newcomers, they didn't join immediately; they had met the Teddy Sisters group before.

Gan Wei, in particular, came with a mission and funds, and was very enthusiastic about joining the group and willing to spend money.

So she has dealt with all the members of the Teddy Sisters group, and even tried to win them over. Perhaps a few people don't fall for her tricks, but she has at least met them all.

Ying Cai'er is not as good as Gan Wei, but she has met quite a few people by following Liu Yun and Huo Siyan. She has a cheerful and lively personality and is very outgoing. Regardless of her inner thoughts, she is very popular and well-liked on the surface.

"Come on, let's welcome the eighth and ninth brothers to the group."

Huo Siyan stood up and invited everyone to toast. Although Gan and Ying were still considered "substitutes," they had already been put in the order of their drinks.

Coincidentally, the two new members who joined this time are both quite young, or rather, this is one of the reasons why they were able to join the group.

As mentioned before, veteran members may not be willing to call newcomers "sister," which could easily disrupt internal unity. Therefore, it's best for newcomers to be younger and placed in the lower ranks.

Cherrie Ying was born in June 1983, four months younger than Zhao Ke, who is ranked seventh, and is ranked eighth. Gan Wei was born in 1984, and is ranked ninth.

After the welcome, everyone ate and chatted, and gradually the conversation turned to "Painted Skin".

There are no secrets in the industry. Although the script for "Painted Skin" is being revised, some information about the characters is already known within the industry, at least to those who are close to Yi An.

Ma Yili touched the cup and asked Qin Lan if there was any new information.

Qin Lan glanced at her: "You have an idea?"

"I?"

Ma Yili shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't have ideas, but she had concerns about the two soldiers, fearing that they would get involved and become cannon fodder.

Moreover, she would rather recommend someone else than herself.

"Wen Zhang?"

Qin Lan chuckled and teased, "You really treat your little boyfriend well."

"Of course! Am I not good to my boyfriend?"

Ma Yili said matter-of-factly, and then added, "Really, I wanted to bring this up with you before, but he's not very famous, so it wasn't easy for you to say anything."

"Now that 'Struggle' is about to air, his fame will definitely rise. If there's any suitable opportunity, could you help him out and put in a good word for him with your partner? I'll consider it a favor I owe you."

Qin Lan was somewhat surprised by Ma Yili's emphasis on the article.

Since the Teddy Sisters were formed, the other sisters have all benefited from her to some extent, but Ma Yili has never made any demands.

She had always thought that Ma Yili was doing quite well and hadn't seen any suitable opportunities, so she hadn't spoken up. Little did she know that this was what was waiting for her.

Using her own favors to pave the way for her boyfriend, does Lao Ma really think highly of Wen Zhang?
Despite her surprise, Qin Lan nodded in agreement.

The Teddy Sisters are all women, so resources are actually quite scarce. Ma Yili's selfless act of pushing her boyfriend aside makes it easier for Qin Lan to operate.

However, it's hard to say what resources she can secure, since Yi'an has a predominantly male artist group. Qin Lan can offer some benefits to her fellow artists, but she can't let it affect the interests of her own company.

Compared to Ma Yili's approach of pushing her boyfriend, Huo Siyan and Li Xiaolu were more direct, heading straight for the female demon hunter in "Painted Skin".

Huo Siyan didn't dare to risk her life, and neither did the others, most of whom didn't have the fame to compete for it.

Li Xiaolu originally thought the same thing, but when Huo Siyan heard that Yang Xue was trying to win her over, she thought it was Dong Xuan's side that was making the move, so she started to urge her on.

Li Xiaolu is, after all, a popular young actress and a Golden Horse Award-winning actress, so she is definitely qualified to be nominated.

As for Shuangbing, although Li Xiaolu is a member of the Teddy Sisters group, she has no direct conflict with the two of them.

Her family has some status and connections in the industry, so if she behaves herself, Shuangbing might not cause her any trouble.

Under Huo Siyan's influence, and with other ulterior motives in mind, Li Xiaolu decided to give it a try.

But the two of them alone weren't enough; they also needed Qin Lan's help to whisper in their ears.

Qin Lan originally didn't want to get involved in this matter.

Because she was afraid that Li Xiaolu and Shuangbing would clash, would she stand up for her sister?
If Li Xiaolu were to be won over by the two soldiers, she would be in an even more difficult position.

However, Huo Siyan, having grasped Qin Lan's pulse, mentioned Dong Xuan and Yang Xue, which made Qin Lan wary.

She didn't want Dong Xuan to take advantage of her, but Yang Xue's rise to power wasn't entirely unacceptable to Qin Lan. What she was really worried about was that Dong Xuan and Fan Xiaopang would team up against her because of Yang Xue.

Although the Seven Fairies are all made up, they are not without good sisters.

Who knows if Dong and Fan will reconcile and form a tacit understanding? That wouldn't be a good thing for her either.

Well, she really can't just stand by and do nothing about this.

Coincidentally, while Li Xiaolu and Huo Siyan were persuading Qin Lan, Dong Xuan also encountered Yang Mi, a good student who volunteered to help.

Although there had been some estrangement between the teacher and student, the growing influence of the Teddy Sisters group next door put some pressure on Dong Xuan.

Guan Yue is trustworthy among the people around Dong Xuan, but they are not good at their careers, and Yin Xu is the same.

Jiang Xin was outwardly friendly but inwardly estranged, while Yang Xue was shrewd and worldly-wise. Dong Xuan had no hope for either of them and held back, making it difficult for her to regard them as confidants.

Tong Yaya is a newcomer, and we haven't known each other for very long, so she's not ready to take on any major responsibilities yet.

Dong Xuan gave that student, Yuan Shanshan, a chance, but her performance was not very satisfactory.

Because of her, Dong Xuan thought of Yang Mi, her "beloved student," again.

Yang Mi, as a student of Beijing Film Academy and a student mentored by Dong Xuan, is essentially a protégé.

Even if there are some ulterior motives, they are not matters of principle such as espionage, betrayal, or scheming. It can only be said that the child is a bit too ambitious, which is understandable.

On the other hand, the more someone has this kind of personality, the more likely they are to succeed.

Guan Yue and Yang Xue have good personalities and character, but that's their disadvantage. Their career performance is only so-so. Only ambitious people like Yang Mi can compete with the Teddy Sisters.

Although Yang Mi is not very famous yet, she is doing well and is considered a rising star among the new generation.

Dong Xuan had a certain optimism about him. With some investment and support, he might become a formidable asset under her command in the future.

However, Yang Mi's appetite is a bit too big; she immediately set her sights on "Painted Skin."

Her background is too shallow, and she also has to be wary of Yang Xue. Dong Xuan doesn't think she can rise to the top.

But it doesn't matter if I give it a try; the main point is to show how much I value Yang Mi, and then I'll arrange other resources.

"Mimi, when does your contract with Rongxinda expire?"

Yang Mi was taken aback for a moment, then immediately replied, "Around 2010, I guess."

"It's been a while."

Dong Xuan fell into deep thought. Relying solely on her resources, it was difficult to predict Yang Mi's rise. However, if she could join Yi An, that would be a different story.

Yi An currently only has two female artists, which is clearly an overabundance of resources.

If Yang Mi joins in and becomes one of their own, then simply by eating Fan Bingbing and Wang Lijun's leftovers, she could rise to prominence quickly.

Of course, she wasn't the only one who saw this obvious situation, but Yi'an still didn't have any female artists joining. Those who know, know what's behind it.

Dong Xuan felt that if she was willing to go all out, she could still break through this shackle and insert Yang Mi'an into the relationship.

There are two main challenges. One is the contract with Rong Xinda. The other is whether Yang Mi can withstand the pressure, or even targeting, from Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou.

These are rare and promising talents; let's hope they don't fail before they even get started.

Dong Xuan felt it was better to slow things down and let Yang Mi's career move forward first.

Joining a company as a newcomer and as a popular young actress are two different things. The confidence and attention an artist receives are also different. If Yang Mi shows enough potential, even if Fan Bingbing and Wang Li cause trouble, Yan Li will not sit idly by.

Yan Li usually turns a blind eye to their internal struggles, but when it comes to company interests, everyone has to behave themselves.

Moreover, after a year or two of negotiation, Rongxinda's contract will be nearing its end, making the situation easier to resolve.

Besides Yang Mi, Tong Yaya is also a promising talent and may become a valuable asset in the future.

snort!
Dong Xuan thought to herself, "Let those two, surnamed Qin and Fan, be smug for a while."

Once she's trained Yang and Tong, she'll turn the Teddy Sisters into the Dead Dog Sisters, and she'll make them hand over the title of Yi An's number one sister to someone else...

　(78000)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)