Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 161: Who Will Write It, Who Will Act It?

"Mr. Ren, here is the list you requested."

In the studio, Wang Li placed a stack of neatly organized lists on her desk.

The list is densely packed with screenwriters and behind-the-scenes production talents from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong who have experience in period dramas, suspense dramas, and adventure dramas.

"They're all here," Wang Li pulled out a chair and sat down. "I tried to broaden the scope as much as possible, and I only picked people with case studies. However, Director Ren, Teacher Zhang's novel is too large and the world view is too complex. It's probably too much for one or two screenwriters to handle."

Zhang Muye sat to the side, looking at the list of well-known names in the industry without saying a word.

He has been staying at the film and television studio for the past few days, and the more he watches, the more he understands that the film and television industry and writing novels are completely different things.

Ren Pingsheng quickly flipped through the list, his gaze lingering on a few names.

"Of course, one or two people can't handle it."

Ren Pingsheng laid out the list, saying, "Ghost Blows Out the Light is a stitch-together of folklore, history, suspense, science fiction, and period drama. If you let one person write it, the result is that it touches on everything, but it doesn't delve into anything thoroughly."

He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and pulled out a marker. "What we need is a professional writing team, divided by function, with each person doing their own job."

Ren Pingsheng wrote "Chief Screenwriter" at the top of the whiteboard, drew a line after it, and filled in his own name without hesitation.

He should be in charge of controlling the tone of this project.

Then, he wrote "holding the pen" below.

Ren Pingsheng tapped the pen twice on the whiteboard, glanced at the list again, and then looked up at Wang Li, "Go contact Zhang Jialu and Chen Shisan."

Wang Li quickly jotted down in her notebook: "Zhang Jialu, a Taiwanese, is the screenwriter of 'A World Without Thieves' and 'The Message'. Chen Shisan, from Hong Kong, wrote the 'My Date with a Vampire' series for ATV."

"Yes," Ren Pingsheng nodded. "Zhang Jialu is in charge of the movie version. He understands commercial blockbusters and can control the pacing and timing of large-scale scenes. Chen Shisan is in charge of the TV series version. He is best at elevating the destiny and emotional entanglements behind metaphysics, and is very suitable for connecting elements such as the Feichen Pearl, the ancient curse, the Ghost Cave civilization, and the Queen of Jingjue into a main storyline that runs through several seasons."

More importantly, Zhang Jialu was the head screenwriter of the previous life's "Mojin: The Lost Legend".

He has already delivered a high-scoring answer in adapting "Ghost Blows Out the Light" into a film or television series. Bringing people in early is like putting that piece of the puzzle back in its original place.

After finishing writing the main text, Ren Pingsheng started a new line on the left and wrote down the historical research and the design of the suspense trap.

This time, he didn't look at the list; he simply wrote the name that came to mind on the whiteboard: Ma Boyong.

"This person isn't very famous in the film and television industry now, but he's already a well-known genius in the world of novels and literature."

Ren Pingsheng pointed to the name and explained, "His specialty is stuffing bizarre imaginations into the gaps in real history. Bring him over here to be in charge of the historical implementation of ancient tomb mechanisms, artifact identification, and feng shui puzzles. The mysterious and mysterious Suspended Soul Ladder and Corpse Fragrance Devil's Flower in Teacher Zhang's novels cannot just rely on metaphysics to fool the audience. They must be supported by real historical materials so that the tomb raiding process is both culturally profound and mind-bending."

Judging by the timeline, Ma Boyong should be currently conceiving "Mystery of Antiques," and his knowledge of antiques, history, and unsolved cases should be at its peak.

In addition, the ability to make nonsensical statements in a serious manner amidst a vast amount of historical materials is exactly what "Ghost Blows Out the Light" needs.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Muye, who had been silent all along, suddenly brightened up.

When he writes novels, his imagination runs wild. What he fears most is that they will become cheap supernatural and bizarre stories when adapted into film or television. If someone knowledgeable can provide historical background, the quality will be completely different.

Ren Pingsheng continued writing, with the script written by a dedicated screenwriter.

He wrote two names side by side at the back: Wang Juan and Zou Jingzhi.

The soul of the trio of Hu Bayi, Wang Pangzi, and Da Jinya lies in their authentic Beijing accent and slang, and their ability to keep joking around even in life-or-death situations.

Wang Juan is best at establishing a character's persona through humor, anger, and satire, and he's adept at crafting clever plot twists.

The reason for bringing in Zou Jingzhi, who wrote "The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan," was to correct the modern feel of Wang Juan's lines and ensure that all the dialogue had the unique local flavor of the 1980s.

Looking at the names on the whiteboard, Wang Li gasped.

This lineup is beyond luxurious; it's downright extravagant.

Ren Pingsheng didn't stop; he wrote "folk horror" on the right side.

"Su Zhaobin," Ren Pingsheng wrote down the name, "have you seen 'Double Vision' and 'Silk'? I want him to be in charge of the horror atmosphere and scare design for the whole show. With him here, those zombies and worms in the tomb will definitely scare the audience's scalp to the bone."

He then added a secret room conspirator below.

"Contact Amagi Seimaru."

"Neon?"

Wang Li was truly stunned this time; she couldn't keep up with Ren Pingsheng's train of thought at all.

"He is the original author of 'The Kindaichi Case Files'," Ren Pingsheng said with certainty. "The circular maze of the Jingjue Ancient City and the various ancient city sacrifice chambers need to be enhanced with the tricks of classic mystery. Tomb raiding and puzzle solving cannot just be a formality or relying on the protagonist's halo to force their way through. Every step of escape must be based on rigorous logical reasoning, so that the audience can be immersed in the crisis along with the protagonist."

The team structure on the whiteboard is already taking shape and is full of potential.

But Ren Pingsheng knew that there was still one last, and most crucial, step to go.

He wrote four words heavily at the bottom: Academic Advisor.

"Professor Chaogejin is an expert at the Institute of Ethnic Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and can provide us with academic support on ethnic minority folk customs and shamanic culture. Professor Wan Jianzhong is a doctoral supervisor of folk customs at Beijing Normal University and an absolute authority on funeral customs."

"The stories behind Ghost Blows Out the Light are filled with ancient burial rites, folk funeral taboos, tomb murals, sacrificial rituals, and folk legends. Someone must keep watch for us about what places we can and cannot touch."

He threw the marker on the table with a crisp sound.

"Avoiding cultural flaws is one thing," Ren Pingsheng stared at Wang Li, "but the key is the censorship endorsement. With these two academic giants as guarantors, our script is a well-documented study of folk culture, and the resistance to censorship will be much less."

Looking at the list, Wang Li swallowed hard: "President Ren... are you planning to make a TV series or do academic research?"

How much does it cost to get this group of people together?

"Don't worry about the money; this is the cheapest and most important investment in the entire project."

"And," he added, "we have money!"

He wasn't exaggerating.

Two days later, the investment share for the TV series "Ghost Blows Out the Light" was successfully finalized.

Without any wrangling, the four giants—China Film Group, Wanda Group, Sohu, and Baidu iQiyi—along with Shengping Vision and Wang Caixia's dream,

Those who invested in the TV series divided up the entire investment in the series.

Big capital has the keenest sense of opportunity; film projects are already underway, while TV series serve as preliminary development and IP promotion, with low risk.

It is highly profitable and absolutely necessary.

As agreed, Wang Caixia used the exclusive authorization to offset 900 million yuan of her investment and added another 800 million yuan in cash, finally obtaining the 10% share she had longed for.

On the other hand, after more than a month of fierce competition, "Lost in Thailand" officially ended its theatrical run nationwide.

The final box office figure, to the astonishment of countless people, was 7450 million!

Although it failed to break the 100 million mark, in the face of the World Cup and many blockbusters, a low-budget comedy with an investment of 10 million yuan was able to rak in nearly 75 million yuan at the box office, which is a miracle worthy of being recorded in the history of Chinese film distribution!

When the final report was delivered to Ren Pingsheng's desk, even the usually composed man couldn't help but get excited.

The dream team for the script is being assembled, and the financial ammunition depot is fully stocked.

Next, we need to address the most challenging issue, the one that will determine the fate of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

Who will play the role?

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