China Entertainment’s rescue plan is hard to come by

Chapter 885 almost gave him away~ [Two chapters combined]

In Sun Yi's memory, Wen Ziren was a very refined person, with the kind of feeling that Asian American academic elites have. He was lean and not tall, but his eyes were very sharp, and he often showed a sense of control that he had everything under control, which was very much in line with the "observer" temperament needed by the director of suspense films.

but now.
With messy hair, a full beard, and a wrinkled polo shirt with the Ralph Lauren logo, he looked exactly like a knock-off from a street stall.

"Old Wen, did you just get back from Afghanistan?"

Sun Yi couldn't help but make a joke.

He knew that directors sometimes had bursts of inspiration and would become completely absorbed in their work, but this was just too much of a whirlwind.

This Asian director, who rose to fame in Hollywood with the "Saw" and "Insidious" series, was completely devoid of his usual calm and composure. He was clutching a large stack of printed manuscripts, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his two eyes, which were not large to begin with, were now glowing eerily bright, like two clusters of will-o'-the-wisps.

"Sun! Tom!" Wen Ziren's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "Look at this! I've been working on this for three months! I finally got it done!"

Wen Ziren rushed to the huge desk in a few steps, completely ignoring the financial statements on the table, and slammed the thick stack of scripts in his hand onto the table with a "bang".

Tom looked at Sun Yi, shrugged, as if to say—see, I told you, he's obsessed.

Sun Yi's attention, however, was drawn to the script on the table.

On the dark blue cover, several rough, blood-red English letters, seemingly stained with blood, are very striking.

GLOBAL OUTBREAK.

The cover is already done, and it's very well-done.

"The story begins in Philadelphia! Without warning! It was an ordinary morning, rush hour, with cars and people..." Wen Ziren spoke rapidly, gesturing wildly in the air as if directing an invisible disaster.

"Then, boom! Ten seconds! The bitten person is transformed in ten seconds! No longer those slow-moving, useless snacks! My zombies are the 2.0 upgraded version! Fast! Everything is incredibly fast! So fast it'll suffocate you! Their hearing and sense of smell are exceptionally developed, and their bodily functions won't stop until they've rotted into a skeleton! Even if you shoot them in the head, you have to smash their entire skull before you can stop them."

Wen Ziren rattled off a long string of words, and seeing that he was about to continue, Sun Yi quickly stopped him.

"Old Wen, don't rush, don't rush, I understand how you feel. Sit down and talk slowly, we still have time."

After saying that, Sun Yi pushed the coffee in front of him over.

"It was poured by that hot secretary from earlier; I haven't touched it yet."

"Victoria? Hmm, she has a really great figure, especially her breasts. Tom's a fan. I heard she's interested in trying her hand at acting, maybe even playing a female zombie in one of my scripts, the super-busty kind."

Wen Ziren took the coffee and chugted down more than half of it.

Sun Yi was just joking, trying to help Wen Ziren relax and ease the tension in his mind.

In retrospect, the results are excellent.

Sure enough, once the topic turns to women, especially beautiful and sexy women, the conversation never stops.

Tom looked embarrassed, as if his little secret had been discovered.

Sun Yi shook his head and chuckled, saying nothing more.

"Alright, alright, now let's talk about your script."

He then picked up the script and began to read it.

There were even a few storyboard images from the director tucked inside.

It's clear that Wen Ziren put a lot of effort into this script.

Sun Yi flipped through the script, the content of which was just as Wen Ziren had introduced: the virus first broke out in Philadelphia, USA, and then the protagonist was forced to join an action team due to the safety of his family, choosing to go deep into the occupied area to find a cure.

The plot was generally fine, but it wasn't particularly original. However, the zombie concept in Wen Ziren's script caught Sun Yi's eye.

In previous zombie movies, whether it was "Dawn of the Dead," "Resident Evil," or even Star Trek's "The Walking Dead," the zombies were all slow-moving and hunted humans solely based on their instinctive hunger for flesh.

In Wen Ziren's setting, zombies are incredibly agile, have exceptionally developed hearing and smell, and even possess a certain level of basic group consciousness, giving them a sense of alien insectoids. They are a type of creature that has undergone a complete genetic mutation.

At the same time, the conversion speed is also very fast. In Wen Ziren's script, the concept of "ten-second conversion" is mentioned many times.

For some reason, Sun Yi suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu.

"Ten-second conversion"

"Ten-second conversion!"

Damn it, no way.

Sun Yi's heart skipped a beat, and then a memory switch deep in his brain was triggered.

Collective consciousness, collective behavior, and hordes of zombies stacked on top of each other to scale human walls—isn't this the most shocking and iconic scene in the primitive world of "World War Z"?

In Sun Yi's memory, the film was released at the end of this year. It was a huge investment, produced by Paramount, and starred Brad Pitt. It garnered considerable box office revenue worldwide, but its reputation was extremely polarized.

Those who loved it loved it to death, praising the film's groundbreaking "zombie horde" visual effects and fast-paced, oppressive atmosphere, while those who disliked it relentlessly criticized the film's plot flaws, especially the male lead's far-fetched motivations. The film ultimately landed on a slightly different note on Douban, receiving a score of 7.5, making it a film that received mixed reviews.

However, that was the original void.

The plot and the protagonist's motivations can both be changed.

This is something Sun Yi excels at.

In the original novel, Brad Pitt plays Jerry, a former UN investigator whose core motivation for adventure is "protecting his family." While this motivation seems personal against the backdrop of a global catastrophe, it's not entirely flawed. However, the scene where he sacrifices soldiers in a South Korean military camp to gather intelligence lacks depth in portraying the character's inner struggles, making him appear isolated and one-dimensional, more like a plot device.

That's not good; if the main character isn't vivid enough, it's difficult to evoke a sense of immersion in the audience.

These can be addressed through changes in filming techniques and script design.

The problems of plot inconsistencies and narrative discrepancies can also be effectively resolved.

In the original novel, the first half of the movie clearly used the suspense of "global manhunt" to attract the audience, with a lot of thrilling and action scenes. However, in the second half, when they went to the laboratory, it suddenly turned into "scientific mystery solving". Moreover, the zombies in the laboratory were also very "low-level", completely lacking the sensitivity and ferocity of the outside world, and even less cooperative. It felt like a plot-driven death.

These factors all need to be adjusted.

As Sun Yi flipped through the script, his mind involuntarily began to rethink his ideas.

If I were to work on this script, how would I revise it?

No, wait.

With the current production speed in Hollywood, a year is considered fast for "World War Z". At this point, the film should have already started preparations, right?
Sun Yi frowned. The book he held in his hand, *Global Zombie Transformation*, aside from the different title, was practically a carbon copy of *World War Z* in its core premise—ten-second infection, enhanced hearing and smell, a pyramid-like siege, and the search for a cure!

If these two movies were to be released at the same time, it would be a huge problem.

"Sun? What's your opinion?"

Seeing Sun Yi suddenly frown while reading the script, Wen Ziren and Tom exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of foreboding.

Wen Ziren, in particular, was terrified that his painstakingly crafted manuscript would be rejected by Sun Yi.

Sun Yi is currently in a dilemma.

What kind of situation is this?

I thought Wen Ziren had a burst of inspiration and created a great script.

Well, to be honest, the script was indeed good, but the problem was that it coincided with someone else's inspiration.

The key issue is that he can't say it directly.

Should I just tell them that I've seen "World War Z" and that this script is similar?

If the two people were to retort with, "The movie hasn't even been released yet, how do you know it's similar?" Sun Yi would be putting himself in a difficult position and wouldn't be able to explain himself.

Sun Yi now regrets letting Wen Ziren work on "The Walking Dead".

"Are there any major flaws in the script?" Wen Ziren asked again, and Sun Yi even sensed a hint of unease in his tone.

This matter will definitely not be resolved without an explanation.

Look at how Wen Ziren has driven him to this point. He's a well-known Hollywood director, yet he's acting like this in front of Sun Yi.

"Old Wen, Tom." Sun Yi put down the script in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the two men's faces, and asked tentatively, "Have you guys heard that Paramount is also making a similar zombie movie?"

"Paramount?" Wen Ziren was a little confused.

How is this related to Paramount?
He turned to look at Tom. He was just a director; filming and creating were his main jobs. This kind of project news in the industry was always something Tom paid attention to.

Tom blinked, equally bewildered.

Zombie movies?
I haven't heard of that~
There are no secrets in Hollywood. Although you can't know the exact details of each company's projects, the specific genre, director, and lead actors are all information that is basically public knowledge to those at the top of the pyramid.

Tom racked his brains, racking his brains, but couldn't recall any zombie movies Paramount had made recently.

"Boss, is this all the information you have? Is there anything else?"

Sun Yi was also in an awkward position at this moment.

Saying too much won't work, and saying too little won't make them understand.

At this moment, Sun Yi put all his acting skills to use.

"I heard it too, it seems... it seems the lead actor is Brad Pitt."

"Brad Pitt?" Tom was even more confused; this was completely different from what he knew.

“Boss, as far as I know, Paramount has indeed invited Brad Pitt to star in one of their films, and judging from the schedule, filming should start soon.” Tom paused here, “But as far as I know, this movie isn’t a zombie movie.”

"Not a zombie movie?"

This time, it was Sun Yi's turn to be dumbfounded.

"The boss is an action-thriller film based on the Bourne series," Tom replied, speaking slowly and deliberately.

Is it adapted from The Bourne series?

Sun Yi's brain went blank for a moment.

He seemed to recall that "World War Z" was supposedly inspired by the Bourne series. After filming half of it, the director and lead actor Brad Pitt became increasingly dissatisfied with the remaining half of the script. After discussing it, they decided to scrap it and reshoot it, borrowing the novel "World War Z" and turning it into a zombie movie.

This may explain why the first half of the movie is an action-thriller, while the second half becomes a science mystery, resulting in a very fragmented plot.

The more Sun Yi thought about it, the more convinced he became that it was true.

However, there is also the original novel.

"Ahem, sorry, maybe I remembered wrong." Sun Yi wanted to take a tactical drink of water, but forgot that he had just given the coffee to Wen Ziren.

“Old Wen, I think your script is pretty good, but I think I’ve read a zombie novel before, called, called…” Sun Yi slapped his forehead, pretending to think, and after acting for a while, he blurted out, “Yes, World War Z.”

After he finished speaking, he quickly paid attention to the expressions on the two people's faces.

Tom looked at him strangely, and it was hard to pinpoint exactly when, but Wen Ziren suddenly looked at him with adoration, his eyes shining brightly as if he wanted to devour him whole.

Wen Ziren excitedly slammed his hand on the table, as if he had found a kindred spirit, and gave Sun Yi a thumbs up.

"Sun, it really is you. In such a short time, after only a cursory glance at the script, you were able to discover that I had borrowed from 'World War Z'."

"In terms of the main plot, I did refer to 'World War Z,' but I upgraded it, especially the zombies. The original novel still retains the original zombie template. You could say that my script is a combination of the original work and my inspiration, and one plus one is greater than two."

Reference, borrowing, the idea that one plus one is greater than two?
"What about the copyright of this novel?" Sun Yi asked, puzzled.

"Boss, when the company was founded, you told me to acquire more copyrights and IPs, especially in the horror and suspense genre. So, several years ago, I secured the film and television adaptation rights to this novel for the company." Tom said again, carefully choosing his words, "You're probably too busy to keep an eye on the company's script library, so..."

Damn~
In Sun Yi's mind at that moment, a thousand alpacas were galloping through his mind.

History, in a strange and abrupt way, came to him.

Unbelievable, such a thing exists?
After all that fuss, it turns out this has been our company's own project for a long time.
"Haha, that's true. I haven't paid much attention to the company usually," Sun Yi chuckled. "But that's precisely why it highlights your value; you two are both indispensable parts of North American Starry Sky."

"I have decided to allocate 5 percent of the company's shares to each of you as equity incentives."

"As for this script," Sun Yi slapped it down on Wen Ziren's *Global Corpse Transformation*, "the premise is amazing, and it has huge potential, but it does have quite a few flaws. However..."

He changed the subject abruptly, tapping his finger forcefully on the dark blue cover, "It can be revised! It can be approved as a project."

"Long live the boss!!!" x2
(End of this chapter)