A widower's entertainment

Chapter 394 [Novel and Screenplay] (Please Subscribe)
Winter in Beijing arrives swiftly and suddenly, with a biting, piercing wind howling in overnight.

"It's getting colder, Zhaole, put your scarf on."

Lin Youcheng placed the soy milk and fried dough sticks he had bought on the dining table while reminding Lin Zhaole to wear a scarf, since the temperature had dropped and the weather had changed in Beijing.

Lin Zhaoqing ate his fried dough sticks, glanced at the weather outside, then took a big gulp of soy milk and said, "I wonder when it will snow."

"Didn't the weather forecast say it would snow tomorrow?"

Lin Zhaomei sat next to Xie Shuhua, peeling the eggs on her plate as she said, "It might snow tomorrow."

"When it snows, we can build a snowman."

While serving soy milk to Lin Zhaoman and Lin Zhaohuan, Xie Shuhua said, "The weather is getting colder, so you should dress warmly and avoid catching a cold."

The children naturally nodded in agreement.

Because the school was nearby, the children went to school after breakfast.

Lin Youcheng didn't need to help with the dishes and tidying up, since Song Ma was there to help with those things. Lin Youcheng continued writing, but this time it was no longer a novel; he was writing the screenplay for the movie "The Hunt." Since he planned to export the screenplay to Hollywood, Lin Youcheng naturally had to finish writing the screenplay.

As for the manuscript of the novel, after Lin Youcheng finished adapting it, he immediately called Zhang Wei to inform him, and Zhang Wei had already taken the manuscript of the novel "Hunting".

This is actually because Lin Youcheng has always had a closer relationship with People's Literature. Although he had published novels in the literary magazine of the Four Great Dan (a famous Chinese opera troupe) before, it was Zhang Wei, the head of the novel group, who had always been in contact with Lin Youcheng and urged him to submit his manuscripts. Naturally, they were more familiar with each other.

Upon receiving Lin Youcheng's call, Zhang Wei was naturally very excited and rushed over immediately to pick up the manuscript of Lin Youcheng's short story.

The editorial department of People's Literature magazine has also read Lin Youcheng's somewhat dangerous short story, "The Hunt".

Clearly, Zhang Wei already knew why Lin Youcheng had said the story was somewhat dangerous. After reading the novel, his feelings were not just danger, but genuine fear.

Zhang Wei truly never expected that Lin Youcheng would write such a story.

It seems that all it takes to ruin a person is for a child to tell a lie.

The little girl was lonely and quiet, yearning for care but unaware of good intentions. A crude remark she overheard, coupled with a vengeful heart without understanding its true meaning, was casually uttered. Like a pebble thrown into a pond, ripples spread outwards, unexpected, calm yet violent, nearly destroying the happy life that a kind, divorced man was about to begin.

The protagonist, Jiang Min, is deep and reserved, only revealing his cheerful innocence when interacting with children. Faced with the sudden malice from the world, he is speechless, dejected, and frustrated, his two unbearable outbursts filled with helpless sorrow. Near the end, he encounters the little girl again, openly embracing her. He is truly a kind and gentle man. However, his ultimate fate is nothing more than being trapped in a cold, windswept hunting ground, like a frantic deer, waiting to be hunted down by an unknown sense of justice.

Zhang Wei felt a chill run down his spine. The little girl was too young to understand the power of lies to kill silently, nor did she understand that a child's lie is more like the truth than an adult's, and that once it is told, denying it is meaningless.

The strong reaction from kindergarten teachers and parents seems understandable, given that harming young children is an intolerable crime. Thus, one lie was twisted into a chain of lies, and the truth was completely buried under a cloud of repressive beliefs and disbelieved. Those angry crowds, undoubtedly filled with a sense of justice and hatred of evil, saw the perpetrators as villains, and since the law hadn't severely punished them, they would act as their own. Their dismissive attitudes, indifferent gazes, and waving fists were like the slow, agonizing torture of death, leaving the victims feeling worse than dead.

Whose fault was it? It seems like no one was at fault. The child was innocent, the adults did their duty, and the bystanders didn't have the same foresight as the audience to know that the protagonist was innocent. None of them were at fault.

Therefore, there will be a bone-chilling cold, an unsettling sense of frustration, a stifling and unpleasant feeling, and an endless desolation like punching cotton.

This is Zhang Wei's genuine feeling after reading Lin Youcheng's "The Hunt".

"Director Zhang, I don't know why, but reading Lin Youcheng's 'Hunting' made me think of his previous novel 'Atonement.' We habitually assume that children don't lie, but in fact they do lie. They just don't realize how destructive their lies can be at times."

Hearing his colleague's words, Zhang Wei nodded in agreement. "Atonement" also ruined a couple because of the children's accusations, but "The Hunt" and "Atonement" are completely different stories. "The Hunt" is more about how the children's lies led to the malicious spread of rumors.

Zhang Wei even wondered, or rather pondered, whether he would have made the same choice as others if he had known before I knew the truth.

This is precisely what chills Zhang Wei to the bone; perhaps, under such rumors, he too could become such a hunter and executioner.

Zhang Wei was silent for a moment, then said, "Youcheng, the story he wrote is really too desperate."

"Yes, it's really depressing and hopeless, completely different from his previous novel 'Love,' although that choice was also sad, but we all know that choice was noble and about love. But this novel, 'The Hunt,' is really terrifying!"

Other editors also shared their opinions, each with a lot to say.

"Lin Youcheng's writing is delicate, meticulous, and textured. The entire story showcases the evil of human nature, from the innocent evil of children to the evil instigated by adults, the evil of refusing to admit one's evil deeds and continuing to be evil. Human nature is like a powerful force of public opinion, capable of destroying even the strongest bones. Towards the end, one truly feels despair." "Yes, *The Hunt* repeatedly questions human nature, and each time the strongest resistance is expressed through sex. I believe Lin Youcheng uses this story to question human nature, posing a serious question about 'human nature at its inception': Is human nature inherently good or evil? Even though Lin Youcheng doesn't give us a direct answer, he guides readers to think for themselves and give themselves a definite answer."

"Actually, Lin Youcheng's novel isn't that hopeless, because the ending is open-ended and somewhat mysterious. I like this kind of ending, and I might remember it for the rest of my life. Who fired that last shot? I seem to have an answer in my heart, but I can't be sure. That's the most fascinating thing about this kind of open ending. Or rather, that's also where Lin Youcheng's novel 'The Hunt' isn't completely dark enough."

"That's right, it's not as dark as I thought. I also considered whether this story should not leave any hope. Such an ending is somewhat indecisive, and therefore not as powerful."

Of course, these discussions are all from a literary perspective. After all, serious literature is concerned with the connotation and humanity of the story. Undoubtedly, the humanity in Lin Youcheng's short story is quite complex, and the whole story is full of plot tension and human struggle.

……

Lin Youcheng wasn't particularly concerned about whether People's Literature would reject his manuscript or require revisions. After all, even if People's Literature rejected it, he could submit it to other literary magazines, which were always eager to receive his manuscripts and commission him to write.

Lin Youcheng's most important task right now is writing the screenplay for the movie "Hunting".

This is also because Lin Youcheng's influence and status are different now. For ordinary authors, it may be necessary to publish the novel before film and television companies can see if it is suitable for film adaptation. Especially for novels like Lin Youcheng's that need to be translated for overseas publication, the timeline is even longer. However, Lin Youcheng's status as a writer and screenwriter is very unusual. There are already many film and television companies and producers abroad who want to work with Lin Youcheng as a screenwriter. If word gets to Lin Youcheng that he has a new script, then a lot of companies will definitely rush to compete for it.

After all, the scripts Lin Youcheng wrote before are already well-documented.

This is precisely why not only Hollywood directors, but also directors from island nations and other countries, have expressed a desire to collaborate with Lin Youcheng, the renowned Eastern screenwriter.

After the huge success of "The Truman Show," Paramount Pictures naturally hoped to continue collaborating with Lin Youcheng. Although it's not yet Oscar season, "The Truman Show" has already started to win some film awards after its high box office in the first half of the year, including Best Original Screenplay from Lin Youcheng, the Eastern screenwriter.

Lin Youcheng has now contacted Paramount Pictures, expressing his desire to collaborate on a new script. Paramount Pictures producer Freeman was very excited and immediately flew to Beijing to visit Lin Youcheng and discuss the collaboration.

It's fair to say that even without having read the script, Freeman's team had no hesitation about acquiring Lin Youcheng's script.

Hollywood is undoubtedly a place where success and fame are pursued, and Lin Youcheng, an Eastern screenwriter, is quite successful in Hollywood now. In particular, "The Truman Show" made Paramount Pictures truly see Lin Youcheng's success. Not to mention that the film "Amour," which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, was also written by Lin Youcheng. This naturally allowed people in the film industry to see the skill of Lin Youcheng as a screenwriting master once again.

In the eyes of foreign filmmakers, "Love" is a pure emotional film. The emotions and the story are interconnected, which is why Hou Xiaoxian's film was able to win the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. It is because even foreign audiences can clearly understand this film and are deeply moved by it.

Freeman clearly loved Lin Youcheng's story "Love" very much, and said as soon as they met, "Lin, your story 'Love' is really moving."

Clearly, Hou Xiaoxian's film "Love" has sold its distribution rights to other countries at the Venice Film Festival and has already been screened in the United States. Of course, works like "Love," which have won the highest awards at the three major European film festivals, or even just being nominated, will be noticed by people in the film industry, let alone "Love" winning an award.

Accompanying Freeman was a translator, who also translated for Lin Youcheng on his behalf.

Lin Youcheng could understand it, and he could tell that Freeman really liked the movie "Love".

"Lin, we're planning to put 'The Truman Show' up for next year's Oscars. We all think you have a good chance of winning Best Original Screenplay. You deserve it. If you're really nominated, we really hope you can attend the awards ceremony this time."

This is also Freeman's honest opinion. Lin Youcheng, an Eastern screenwriter, is quite famous in Hollywood, but he has never been to Hollywood. Even when his film "Every Day" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Lin Youcheng did not attend the award ceremony. Of course, the chances of winning the award for that film were not high at that time. However, "The Truman Show" is different. The script of this film is outstanding and amazing.

Otherwise, Freeman wouldn't have brought Lin Youcheng the screenplay award he had already won from the United States, even though it was just a small award.

But in fact, the reason Freeman invited Lin Youcheng to attend the Oscar ceremony after he was nominated was largely because Lin Youcheng really had a very high chance of winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with the film "The Truman Show".

If it really is about winning an award, then Lin Youcheng, the winner, would naturally be the most suitable person to be at the award ceremony.

Upon hearing Freeman's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but smile and say, "We'll talk about it later. I wanted to discuss another script collaboration with you this time."

Whether or not to attend the awards ceremony following the Oscars is still a long way off for Lin Youcheng, since the nominations haven't been announced yet, and even if the nominations are announced, Lin Youcheng doesn't feel that he absolutely has to attend the awards ceremony.

After all, when the film "Atonement" won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival, he, the screenwriter, was not present at the awards ceremony. If the award is really to be given to him, then it doesn't matter if he, the screenwriter, is not present, since screenwriters are behind-the-scenes personnel.

"Of course!"

Freeman was clearly quite excited when he heard Lin Youcheng mention another script collaboration.

Because he came specifically for Lin Youcheng's new movie script!
(End of this chapter)