A widower's entertainment

Although Lin Zhaomei had known for some time that her father might collaborate with producers from Columbia Pictures, she never expected that he would earn such a substantial copyright fee by providing only a story outline or a story idea, without actually providing a complete script. This truly surprised her.

Of course, after hearing her father tell the story of "Final Destination," Lin Zhaomei also understood how terrifying this idea truly was. What seemed like a simple matter of death at midnight, where if the King of Hell wanted you dead, you wouldn't live past dawn, was now a terrifying prospect. There was nowhere to escape when death came, and even if you miraculously escaped once, you would die in a far more horrific way. Simply realizing that death was always nearby, waiting to take your life, was enough to terrify her.

It's like she's sitting here chatting with her father now, and maybe the next second her mother, Xie Shuhua, will walk in with a plate of washed fruit. Then, there happens to be her younger sister Lin Zhaoyuan's toy car on the floor, and Xie Shuhua accidentally steps on it, causing the apples in the plate to fall and the whole plate to shatter. Then, as they go to get a broom to clean up and are about to throw away the broken pieces, her foot slips, and then—

Lin Zhaomei dared not think about it any further. This was truly a terrifying story, and she felt that danger was everywhere around her, and no one knew what would happen next.

“Dad, the story you’re telling is really scary, because it makes me feel like death is right next to me, and I don’t know when something unexpected will happen.”

Upon hearing Lin Zhaomei's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "So you should pay more attention in your daily life."

"This is something that can't be avoided simply by being careful."

Lin Zhaomei shook her head. It was like the protagonist in a story who had no idea how he was going to die. No one knew what would happen in the next second. But these seemingly ordinary little things and details were actually pre-planned by something in the dark, one link after another, which was really chilling.

Lin Zhaomei shook off those terrible thoughts from her mind and stopped thinking about them. She smiled and said, "However, Dad, the story you came up with is really valuable. It's a genuine golden idea."

This is what Lin Zhaomei admires most about her father; he is truly amazing.

Even without a script, just a story outline idea, it sold for so much money.

Of course, the producers at Columbia Pictures were actually willing to spend that money, knowing that the story was quite compelling.

Hearing Lin Zhaomei's words, Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "If Columbia Pictures makes a good film about this story, it might do well at the box office, and it could even be made into a series, making even more money."

Lin Zhaomei nodded. As a directing student, she naturally knew that such a story would result in a typical commercial film, which is exactly what the domestic film market needs most right now. However, it was clear that a story like "Final Destination" would not be released in China.

"Dad, you're amazing! You've become a millionaire."

Lin Zhaomei praised him from the bottom of her heart, having truly witnessed her father casually earn a large sum of foreign exchange, which, when converted to RMB, would make him several millionaires. It was truly remarkable.

"Dad, you have to write me a notebook later too, and it has to be full of brilliant ideas."

Although Lin Zhaomei has tried writing screenplays herself, she has her own internationally renowned screenwriter, who has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, by her side. Moreover, he is her father. How could she miss this opportunity?

Lin Youcheng couldn't help but laugh when he heard Lin Zhaomei's words.

"millionaire?"

"A brilliant idea?"

Lin Youcheng suddenly thought of another truly brilliant idea, the real brilliant idea—

That is, the movie "Slumdog Millionaire"!
This movie is the real genius, far superior to anything like "Final Destination." They're simply incomparable. You have to understand that "Slumdog Millionaire" is set in another timeline, and it's another film since "Schindler's List" to sweep Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTA Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Moreover, it's a typical low-budget film that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gained international acclaim.

This millionaire's story is truly extraordinary. A young man from the slums participated in the TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" with the goal of finding his missing girlfriend, Latika, who was a big fan of the show. However, just as he was about to win the huge prize, he was accused of cheating. To prove his innocence, he told the police his amazing and unbelievable life story.

This is the main storyline of winning a prize by participating in a TV quiz show. By answering each question, the protagonist's bumpy journey is connected, which is truly full of suspense and thrills.

Lin Youcheng still finds this story quite fascinating, like a suspenseful element or a question that existed from the very beginning.

That young man was just one question away from winning the million-dollar prize. How did he do it?
A: He cheated; B: He was lucky; C: He was a genius; D: It was all predestined.

One question after another, and the young man did know the answers, because each question seemed to be a fragment of his memory, stirring up his recollections of family, love, and life.

Lin Youcheng thought of this story, and realized that it was a truly brilliant idea and a great idea.

The film received nine Oscar nominations and ultimately won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Song. These seven Oscars are truly remarkable.

Of course, Lin Youcheng was also well aware that if he were to write this script now, he would have to adapt the story to suit domestic audiences. However, whether it was the TV program "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" or the protagonist's life experience, these could all be adapted. After all, there would be quiz shows in China later on, and even if there weren't, he could bring it up. Perhaps later, similar TV programs would be planned based on his script.

Lin Youcheng needs to think more about how each question in the program corresponds to the life experience of the male protagonist in China.

The male protagonist doesn't need to answer every question correctly. Just like in the original story, a very simple question was asked, but the protagonist couldn't answer it, so he used the opportunity to let the audience make the choice for him. As for the later questions, they were all the male protagonist's memories.

Of course, besides these, there were still some questions that didn't require personal experience to answer, but the protagonist still managed to deduce the answers using common sense. It was around the eighth question that the story reached this point. Because the protagonist's previous answers had been unbelievably smooth, if he continued like this, he might go even further. The host then gave a misleading answer, which is a reflection of human nature in the story. However, it's clear that the protagonist gave the truly correct answer.

In the final question, which is the real climax, the protagonist calls his beloved for help from outside the game. However, it is clear that neither of them knows the answer. In the end, he chooses the answer, and fate smiles on him again—he guesses the right option.

Everyone cheered for him—strangers, TV crew members, even the malicious host who had prayed for his failure. The final outcome was the protagonist embracing and kissing his lover, undoubtedly providing the answer to the question posed at the beginning of the story:

D: Everything is predestined.

It all happened so naturally, and it touched people's hearts so deeply.

The whole story is truly a dazzling, lively, slightly dark yet romantic, smooth narrative. It is full of suspense and thrilling storytelling methods. The story is romantic and bright, with a fairy-tale quality. It has an epic scale, humanistic care, and sharp and insightful views on human nature and thought. Most importantly, the story is full of creativity.

It can be said that the protagonist's fate is also full of twists and turns, which is what makes this story so amazing. Through the various unfair treatments encountered by the lower class and the struggles and resistance of ordinary people, the story shows the development and changes of society and the dilemmas it faces. At the same time, it also reveals some problems in society, or the tragic fate that the lower class cannot escape.

Lin Youcheng was also well aware that if he were to adapt the story, it couldn't simply be about writing about some basic life experiences. He also needed to make the problems in the protagonist's life experiences reveal questions about society. Otherwise, the whole story would lack the epic scale and sharp incisiveness of a feature film.

Thinking about it this way, Lin Youcheng also felt that this story was not so easy to adapt, and he still needed to think about it carefully.

However, in Lin Youcheng's view, as long as the script is filmed well, it will be good. After all, the story of the script is already quite exciting, and can even be described as truly thrilling.

Lin Youcheng looked at Lin Zhaomei and suddenly thought that if he gave this good script to Lin Zhaomei to film, it would be the best gift for her.

Such a good notebook should be given to my daughter.

After all, parents always want to give their children the best.

Of course, such a good script also requires Lin Zhaomei to have solid directing skills. Although Lin Zhaomei had already made the short film "Destiny" and won the Best Short Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival, receiving a lot of recognition, it was still just a short film. If she wants to make a feature film, she naturally needs to continue to hone her skills and study hard.

Thinking this, Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "Zhaomei, study hard during your university years, and Dad will give you a good degree later."

Lin Zhaomei's eyes lit up when she heard Lin Youcheng's words. She could tell that the good book her father was talking about was definitely not ordinary, so she couldn't help but ask, "Dad, what story is in this good book?"

"Is it like 'Final Destination'?"

Lin Youcheng smiled and shook his head, saying, "They can't be compared at all; that's the real good script."

"A true millionaire!"

Lin Youcheng felt that comparing the story of "Slumdog Millionaire" with "Final Destination" was completely different, but that doesn't mean that "Slumdog Millionaire" is an art film. You should know that the film's commercial box office performance was also quite amazing. It was an absolute low-budget, high-grossing film that earned nearly 400 million US dollars worldwide that year. On such a low budget, this figure was an absolutely terrifying box office return.

It's safe to say that if he had told Columbia this story and this idea, things would have gone even crazier there.

Lin Zhaomei didn't know what kind of story her father, Lin Youcheng, was referring to as a truly good script or a real millionaire, but she was naturally very much looking forward to it. However, she also knew very well that films like "Atonement," which her father wrote, won the Best Screenplay Award and the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, "Amour" won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and "The Reader" won the Best Actress Award at the Berlin Film Festival, not to mention "The Truman Show," which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

These excellent scripts won these awards because the directors did a great job. Lin Zhaomei was well aware that if she couldn't direct them well, she might ruin her father's scripts.

Lin Zhaomei naturally didn't want to ruin the good story written by her father. For her, she had even more reason and a greater responsibility to make the best use of her father's script.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhaomei looked at her father, Lin Youcheng, with a serious expression and said, "Dad, don't worry, I will definitely study hard and film well."

Lin Youcheng smiled. He hoped his daughter could do well in the film. There was no other reason than that he hoped his daughter could win an award. Ultimately, he just wanted the best for his daughter.

Of course, in Lin Youcheng's view, Lin Zhaomei was naturally very talented as a director. Otherwise, her short film would not have won the Best Short Film award at the Berlin Film Festival. Her directorial talent was evident, as Li An had praised her. Moreover, Lin Youcheng knew very well that his daughter, Lin Zhaomei, had always worked very hard. Otherwise, she would not have read books related to filmmaking at such a young age, frequently used cameras and video cameras to shoot, and would not have been admitted to the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy with the highest score in her major in her second year of high school.

You should know that he entered the university with the highest score in his major, and he even won an award for his short film in his freshman year. Although he doesn't say it out loud, Lin Youcheng, as his father, is actually very proud of him.

Because this is his daughter, she is truly outstanding!

Lin Youcheng said with a smile, "Dad believes in you. I'll write this in the notebook and keep it for you."

Lin Zhaomei's eyes lit up with a smile upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words. (End of Chapter)