The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"Um."

Shu Chang nodded upon hearing this.

She does have some anxiety about her appearance. Besides spending a lot of time with Liu Yifei, another reason is that the female celebrities who have risen to prominence in recent years are becoming more and more beautiful.

A few years ago, although there were quite a few good-looking female celebrities in the industry, most of them were relatively average.

In recent years, it seems that people in the entertainment industry are paying more and more attention to appearance.

Gu Ning was about to say something when her phone on the bedside table suddenly rang.

Shu Chang took the phone and handed it to Gu Ning.

Gu Ning saw that the caller ID showed it was Liu Yang calling. She answered the call, chatted for a few minutes, and then hung up.

"I'll go prepare breakfast for you, get up quickly."

These days, even without the speakerphone on, cell phones are quite loud.

Shu Chang was in Gu Ning's arms. Although she didn't hear the details, she still heard quite a bit and knew who he was going to see, so she lifted the blanket and got ready.

"Don't rush, it's still early."

Gu Ning hugged Shu Chang and said, "My brother is hungry, let's make sure he's full first."

Shu Chang rolled her eyes at him, moved her hand down, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it: "Your little brother is a bit greedy, just like that saying."

"What did you say?"

"This brother should not linger!"

"..."

…………

Around 1 p.m., Gu Ning drove Shu Chang to a teahouse.

"President Gu!"

Liu Yang was waiting at the door. When he saw Gu Ning arrive, he quickly went forward to open the car door for him. He was somewhat surprised to see Shu Chang getting out of the car on the other side, and greeted her with a smile: "Miss Shu!"

The fact that Gu Ning and Shu Chang came together explains a lot.

Liu Yang thought he would remind Song Wan later to treat Shu Chang like the boss's wife.

Regardless of whether the two end up together or not, they definitely shouldn't give each other the opportunity to whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears.

"Hello, Mr. Liu!" Shu Chang replied with a smile.

"Let's go in first," Gu Ning said.

The three entered the teahouse and were led by a waiter to a private room on the second floor.

After the waiter left, Liu Yang glanced at his watch and said, "I arranged to meet Director Zheng at 1:30. He should be here in about ten minutes."

"Did Director Zheng accept the invitation immediately?" Gu Ning asked.

"Yes, they agreed quite readily, probably because of Director Gu," Liu Yang said.

Gu Ning didn't take it seriously. The status of film directors is higher than that of television directors, but that's only relative.

Despite his fame in the industry, he is far inferior to Zheng Xiaolong in terms of status and influence.

After waiting for a while, seeing that it was almost time, Gu Ning led Liu Yang and Shu Chang downstairs to wait.

About five minutes later, a van stopped in front of the teahouse, the door opened, and a middle-aged couple got out.

It was Zheng Xiaolong and his wife Wang Xiaoping.

Not many people know Wang Xiaoping, but she is not only a well-known writer, but also a famous screenwriter in the industry.

The reason why the TV series "Empresses in the Palace" became a phenomenon has little to do with the original author; the key factor is the screenwriter, Wang Xiaoping.

The original novel is a harem drama novel, and it can't really be called a palace intrigue novel.

It was only through Wang Xiaoping's adaptation that it became a classic palace drama.

Palace intrigue and power struggles are actually quite similar. Well-written ones have constant plot twists and turns, and it's difficult to judge whether the characters are good or bad.

This not only tests the logic of the plot, but also the character development.

"Director Zheng, Teacher Wang!"

Gu Ning smiled and stepped forward to greet them, introducing herself: "I'm Gu Ning, you can just call me Xiao Gu."

"Director Gu is joking. I've also seen the short film that won you the award. It's very insightful, and my wife and I both really like it." Zheng Xiaolong reached out and shook hands with Gu Ning.

Wang Xiaoping laughed and said, "Comparatively speaking, I actually prefer 'Red Silk.' Although there are many flaws in the script, they do not detract from its overall excellence; it was very well made."

"Director Zheng and Teacher Wang are too kind."

Gu Ning smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with them, introduced Shu Chang and Liu Yang, and invited them into the teahouse.

Upon arriving at the private room, Gu Ning asked Zheng Xiaolong to order tea, but he declined and instead ordered a pot of jasmine tea.

It is said that the water quality in Beijing was poor, and jasmine tea could mask the taste of the water, so over time, people in Beijing came to like drinking jasmine tea.

After the waiter brought the tea and snacks, and they chatted for a while, Gu Ning asked Liu Yang to bring out the two novels, "Scarlet Heart" and "Empresses in the Palace".

"Director Zheng, I invited you here to discuss a collaboration."

Gu Ning said, "I have acquired the film and television adaptation rights to some novels and am preparing to turn them into TV series."

I lack the ability in this area, so I would like to invite Director Zheng to direct it.

"Two novels?"

Zheng Xiaolong was taken aback when he heard this. Liu Yang had contacted him before, talking about filming "Empresses in the Palace".

After he refused, he mentioned it to his wife, but Wang Xiaoping persuaded him to accept it.

Wang Xiaoping really liked the novel, but felt it had many flaws and had thought about how to adapt it.

That's why she was able to persuade her husband to accept the offer, worried that he would be taken advantage of by someone else.

"The other one is called 'Scarlet Heart,' and it's about..."

Gu Ning gave a brief account of the plot of "Scarlet Heart".

Zheng Xiaolong frowned slightly after listening. The drama of the Nine Princes' Struggle for the Throne was dramatic enough, but there was a conflict between "Scarlet Heart" and "Empresses in the Palace".

When Wang Xiaoping persuaded him to take on the role, she shared with him the general idea of ​​the adaptation.

If the adaptation were based on Wang Xiaoping's original concept, both dramas would be set during the Yongzheng era.

The difference lies in the fact that the former focuses on Yongzheng's struggle for the throne, while the latter focuses on Yongzheng's empress.

When a film is directed by the same person and covers two periods of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, even if it's an adaptation of a novel, it's easy for viewers to mistake it for a sequel.

Zheng Xiaolong expressed his concerns.

Gu Ning was delighted to hear this. He had thought it would take a lot of effort, but judging from Zheng Xiaolong's words, he was interested in filming.

"Actually, it's not a big deal if the audience sees it as a sequel."

Gu Ning said, "Moreover, there is a fundamental difference between the two. When filming 'Scarlet Heart,' we could be more historically accurate, while 'Empresses in the Palace' did not need to be."

Despite the praise for the exquisite costumes and props in "Empresses in the Palace," it is actually just a Qing Dynasty costume.

The historical figure who played Zhen Huan is very different from the one in the drama.

"Scarlet Heart" is relatively close to history in many aspects, except that it only adds some fictional romantic storylines for the characters.

"I think Xiao Gu is right."

Wang Xiaoping looked at Gu Ning and asked, "I wonder who you plan to invite as the screenwriter, or the original author?"

"The original author may not be able to write a good script. I'd like to ask Teacher Wang to adapt it, but I don't know if Teacher Wang is willing," Gu Ning said with a smile.

"I'm just afraid I won't be able to fix it properly," Wang Xiaoping said hesitantly.

"Professor Wang is too modest. You graduated from the Chinese Department of Peking University. Revising this kind of script is a piece of cake for you."

Wang Xiaoping smiled and said, "Then I'll give it a try."

Zheng Xiaolong: "..."

No, I haven't even agreed yet, and you've already talked about script adaptation?