This director lacks vision.

Chapter 23 Adaptation of Old Boy

After calming Nazar down, Jiang Yifeng checked the time; it was only 10 p.m., so he called Gao Yuanyuan directly.

"Hello, Teacher Gao, I am Jiang Yifeng. Mr. Zhang should have told you about me."

"Director Jiang, it's a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Zhang speaks highly of you, saying that you are an excellent director and one of his trusted confidants."

In terms of standing within the directing circle, Jiang Yifeng is currently nobody.

Gao Yuanyuan was only being polite to Zhang Chaoyang and Sou Hu out of respect.

Jiang Yifeng didn't beat around the bush. He said directly, "I have a very good script here and would like to invite you to play the female lead. The timeframe is about three to five days, and the schedule is in May."

If it's convenient, I can add you on QQ and send you the electronic version of the script.

You take a look first. "

Since it was Zhang Chaoyang who introduced them, Gao Yuanyuan couldn't refuse directly.

"Okay, Director Jiang, please send me the script first."

Gao Yuanyuan's plan was simple: first, she would politely look at the script, and then find an excuse to refuse.

She added Jiang Yifeng as a QQ friend and, after receiving the script, planned to glance at it casually.

I was immediately drawn in when I saw the first page.

Because the script begins with a modern poem.

All the endings have already been written.
All the tears have already begun their journey.

But suddenly I forgot how it all began.

In that ancient summer that will never return

No matter how hard I try to find out...

Your youth was like a fleeting cloud.
And your smile is very faint and pale.

Gradually disappearing into the mountains after sunset

So he turned to the yellowed title page.
Fate bound it together very poorly.

I read it again and again with tears in my eyes.

But we have to admit
Youth is a book written too hastily.
This poem is dedicated to our lost youth.

Gao Yuanyuan is an artistic young woman who has also read Xi Murong's poems.

This poem, "Youth," was one of Gao Yuanyuan's favorite poems during her middle school years.

Such verses may seem pretentious to adults, but they are just right for those who are sentimental and yearning for youth.

A single poem brought back memories of Gao Yuanyuan's middle school days.

Back then, she wasn't a big star and didn't have much money, but she was happy every day.

"You also like Xi Murong's poems?"

Gao Yuanyuan subconsciously sent a message to Jiang Yifeng.

Jiang Yifeng smiled, knowing that Gao Yuanyuan, this artistic young woman, had taken the bait.

He calmly typed, "I used to really like this kind of 'time-lapse' style of poetry, but I don't like it anymore."

"Why? What are 'flowing year' style poems?"

Jiang Yifeng deliberately waited a moment before replying:

"Because we've grown up, times have changed, and our feelings have changed."

"As for the 'Fleeting Years' style, it is my own summary of the types of modern poetry. Xi Murong's poems are a typical example. They always pile up some images and words about the fleeting nature of time to express sad emotions."

This kind of modern poetry, while seemingly expressing some emotion, is essentially empty and dull, no different from Guo Jingming's melodramatic coming-of-age literature.

Upon seeing Jiang Yifeng's remarks, Gao Yuanyuan felt there was some truth to them, but she was mostly curious.

"Then why did you quote Xi Murong's poem as the opening of the script?"

"That was my youth, after all. When I was young, I loved poems written in the style of fleeting years. Looking back now, although it's a bit embarrassing, it also represents the naivety and beauty of youth."

Upon seeing this, Gao Yuanyuan's fondness for Jiang Yifeng skyrocketed.

Jiang Yifeng contacted her in a simple, direct, and efficient manner, which surpassed the approach of many others.

He also has his own set of theories when discussing poetry, which impressed Gao Yuanyuan.

She asked expectantly, "Have you ever written modern poetry?"

"I have written them, all of them were written during my middle school years."

Could you send me a few articles to read?

“Your request is a bit excessive. These modern poems are my embarrassing history, and I don’t usually show them to others.”

The more Jiang Yifeng said this, the more curious Gao Yuanyuan became.

"I'll only read one article, and I promise I won't spread it."

"Okay, this poem was written when I was in my first year of high school, and it's called 'The Moon'."

"Of course I know that's not my moon."

But there was a moment

The moonlight did indeed shine on me.

But life isn't a movie.

I also lacked a bit of luck.

I quietly touched you
But unexpectedly

You scattered like dandelions.

Your image is everywhere.

Upon reading this poem, Gao Yuanyuan found it excellent and appreciated it more and more with each reading.

This poem about the moon was copied by Jiang Yifeng from a later online work. The words are simple and refreshing, and the imagery it depicts incorporates the moon paradox and the dandelion curse, which can evoke a certain emotional resonance.

It perfectly matches Gao Yuanyuan's aesthetic.

If it were any more profound, Gao Yuanyuan might not be able to appreciate it.

She typed, "Thank you for your poem, it's really well written. I'll look at the script first and get back to you later."

After only a short chat, Gao Yuanyuan's attitude towards Jiang Yifeng completely changed.

She began to seriously consider the possibility of starring in Oldboy.

So I read the script very carefully.

The script begins with the male lead, Da Peng, and the second male lead, Qiao Shan, standing on stage participating in the "Happy Talent" talent show.

The judges asked, "What do you do?"

Dapeng replied, "I'm a real estate salesman."

The scene flashes to Dapeng's usual work, where he works hard every day, but his income can't keep up with the rising housing prices, and he can never own a house of his own in the city.

Qiao Shan said, "I am a barber."

The scene flashes to Qiao Shan working in a barbershop, where he is best at creating "emo" hairstyles.

"Why did you participate in this talent show?"

The scene then shifts to Dapeng being harassed by a client, being dumped by his girlfriend, and being pressured by his family to get married.

There is also the helplessness and frustration of Qiao Shan being looked down upon by his wife and having his shop vandalized by thugs.

The final image is of Michael Jackson retiring from the entertainment industry (later changed to his death).

"Have you studied music before?" "Which middle school did you graduate from?" "What are your classmates doing now?"

As the judges asked questions and Dapeng and Qiaoshan answered them, the script unfolded along two intersecting lines: the present and the past.

On the reality side, the show's favored contestant was late, and the judges were using questions to stall for time, asking increasingly outrageous questions.

This timeline represents Dapeng and Qiaoshan's high school life, their youth, and their regrets.

The original Oldboy script was actually quite mediocre, even rather poor.

The male protagonist, Xiao Dabao, likes the school beauty, so he learns guitar and sings for her, only to be completely ignored.

Heartbroken, Xiao Dabao degenerates into a school bully, first bullying the second male lead, Wang Xiaoshuai, and then bullying his own underling, Bao Xiaobai.

When faced with a bigger beating from thugs, Wang Xiaoshuai used Michael Jackson's moonwalk to scare them away, which was quite outrageous.

Then, inexplicably, he became friends with Xiao Dabao.

Twenty years later, the two coincidentally prepare to participate in "Happy Talents," only to be retaliated against by Bao Xiaobai, who has now become a television producer.

The two sang "Old Boy" on stage, moving countless people.

This is the complete plot of the original Oldboy.

The reason Old Boys became so popular is because their cover of the theme song was excellent and resonated with many people's emotions.

In fact, most people have only heard Old Boys' songs and haven't seen this short film.

In Jiang Yifeng's view, this kind of scoundrel protagonist has a very poor attitude towards life and is really hard to represent the youth of the post-80s generation.

This might be the experience of literary youths like Xiao Yang or Wang Taili when they were studying.

But Jiang Yifeng didn't like male protagonists who were involved in school bullying, so he adapted the script based on his own life experiences.

There aren't many melodramatic plots; the themes are youthful regrets and an older man pursuing his dreams.

In this script, Jiang Yifeng also planted hidden plot lines and foreshadowing.

At the very beginning of the script, there is an annoying character—the late-arriving seed player.

His lateness caused the live broadcast mishap, forcing the judges to ask a bunch of random questions to buy time.

When Gao Yuanyuan watched to the end and learned the identity of the seeded player, she was also amazed by the plot twist.

After thinking about it, she decided to accept the script.

Anyway, it won't take long, just three to five days' worth of work.

"Director Jiang, I'll take this role. I won't be available until after May 3rd."

After receiving Gao Yuanyuan's call, Jiang Yifeng smiled happily and said, "Thank you for your support, Teacher Gao."

As you know, we're a small production crew and quite poor, so we can only pay for cameo roles.

I need your help.

Gao Yuanyuan: "..."

"A cameo role is fine, but I need to see all the poems you wrote before."

"That won't do, I'll give you one more song at most."

"Three songs!"

Two songs, that's the most I can do!

"make a deal!"

Jiang Yifeng rubbed his head and began to recall some poems he had read online before.

I should be able to cobble together two poems; let's just make do with them for now.

(End of this chapter)