Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 295: Castrate him first!

[Many years later, when facing the Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, Jim Parsons will recall the distant afternoon when the young writer from the ancient Eastern country told him that he would "castrate you first"...]

Zhang Chao was used to being the center of attention, so he was not at all uncomfortable. He continued to speak calmly, "The Sheldon in this episode is not annoying enough."

Parsons, the actor, seemed to be thinking about something. Screenwriters Chuck Lorre and Bill Brady looked at each other, and Chuck Lorre asked, "Can you tell me more about this?"

If it were any other small investor, these two well-known Hollywood figures would not have paid any attention at all, but Zhang Chao is a famous writer in the United States after all, and his opinions on the characters are still worth referring to.

Zhang Chao took out the notebook on his phone and looked at it for a while before saying, "Sheldon and Leonard are both genius characters, but Leonard is obviously more 'human', more considerate, more eager for normal social interaction, more willing to date a girl like Penny, and will feel ashamed of his overly 'nerdy' hobbies and habits.

In comparison, Sheldon seems to be unkind, sharp-tongued, and rigid. Is that a good summary of mine?"

Parsons, Chuck Lorre and others all nodded. Zhang Chao's summary was not comprehensive, but he hit the key points.

Zhang Chao continued: "Since Sheldon is such a character, why do we need to leave so many 'little tails' for him?"

"'Little tail'?" Everyone was obviously confused by Zhang Chao's impromptu "Chinglish". Xu Ruiya quickly took over and explained: "In Chinese, 'little tail' refers to the part left over after a problem is not completely resolved."

Everyone understood this, and Chuck Lorre understood a little, so he asked, "You mean, Sheldon's image is a little bit repeated with Leonard?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "Yes. Since Leonard has already shown the 'human' side of his 'genius', some of Sheldon's performances in this episode seem redundant, including -

When filling out the form in the office of the "High IQ Mi Qingzi Library" at the beginning, Leonard said that Sheldon was a "semi-professional player", which means that Sheldon's "self-comforting" behavior is very frequent.

Then when he first met Penny, Sheldon, like Leonard, was attracted by Penny's appearance and showed obvious admiration for her.

Later, when Penny came to their room, Sheldon's behavior on the "whiteboard incident" was almost like he was "jealous" of Leonard.

Then, after Penny sat in his 'special seat', he showed 'uncomfortable' behavior but still succumbed to Leonard's complaints.

In addition, there are some sporadic lines and performances, which I will not list one by one. In short, I feel that you are a little hesitant when dealing with the character of "Sheldon". You want to use him to show the extreme side of "nerd", but you are afraid that the audience will find him annoying and give up watching the show.

I don’t know if what I said is right or not?”

Chuck Lorre and Bill Brady's expressions turned serious after listening to this. Every point Zhang Chao made touched their hearts.

How should a sitcom about a "genius nerd" be shot? How to highlight the characteristics of the character while not making the audience hate him? It is difficult to strike a balance - because there is no precedent.

Before "The Big Bang Theory", typical TV dramas and movies that portrayed geniuses were either like Dr. Nash in "A Beautiful Mind", who was pure and extreme, but whose life was almost tragic; or Will in "Good Will Hunting", who went from being rebellious and lonely to reconciling with himself and the world, and finally filled the audience with chicken soup.

Of course, the rest are basically all highly intelligent criminals - the cunning Frank Abagnale Jr. in "Catch Me If You Can" or the elegant but cruel Dr. Hannibal in "The Silence of the Lambs".

But the core of these movies in portraying "genius" is actually the same. They all try to eliminate the American public's stereotype that "genius = nerd ≈ weirdo" and strive to show their "human" or "human-like" side.

The logic of "The Big Bang Theory" is completely the opposite. They exaggerate stereotypes to the extreme to create laughs, but at the same time they want the audience not to be disgusted or even think it is "cute", which is actually very difficult.

Chuck Lorre said, "Let's go to the conference room and talk."

The senior executives of Fox Television Network were surprised that Chuck would attach so much importance to Zhang Chao's opinion, but they still followed him obediently.

Ma Boyong and Xu Ruiya were completely confused. Ma Boyong grasped some key points and began to understand why Zhang Chao insisted on bringing him to the United States.

Compared to the pilot episode I just watched, the protagonist in his novel has the same lukewarm personality as him and does lack charm.

After several people sat down in the conference room, Chuck Lorre couldn't wait to ask, "We have actually considered what you said, and we are indeed worried about the audience's reaction."

Zhang Chao's mind was filled with classic scenes from the 12 seasons of "The Big Bang Theory" that he had followed in his previous life. It can only be said that for a veteran fan who has "observed" the entire cycle of this drama, he can now grasp the characters' personalities and the direction of the plot better than the two screenwriters and two leading actors.

After sorting out his thoughts, Zhang Chao said: "The biggest selling point of this drama is to satisfy the curiosity of ordinary people to peek into the daily life of 'geniuses'. Why do they look so weird? Why do they do fixed things at fixed times?
Why do you like comics and science fiction so much? Why can't you socialize normally with 'ordinary people'? ..."

As Zhang Chao spoke, the others nodded from time to time, and Ma Boyong even took out his notebook and kept taking notes.

Zhang Chao said: "The four geniuses that appear in the series, Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard, actually represent different interpretations of the stereotype of 'genius'.

In this case, why let Sheldon have a "humanity" that is confused with others? His position in the series is so important, and even sets the tone of the whole series, how can it be so impure? "

Parsons asked first this time: "Then should...?"

Zhang Chao glanced at his big eyes that were full of affection and curiosity, and shuddered in his heart. He joked, "First, I have to castrate you!"

Everyone in the audience was shocked, and Parsons covered his mouth in fear.

Zhang Chao then smiled and explained: "I am talking about the character 'Sheldon' that you played. The 'castration' here does not refer to physical castration, but to 'desexualizing' Sheldon.

He should be a "sexless person" whose biological gender is male, but who does not care about, pursue, or respond to "sex".

In this way, Sheldon can completely separate himself from the others in terms of personal image. To be honest, Howard and Leonard are enough to be involved in the jealousy, and there is no need to involve Sheldon.

In this regard, he should be a calm, objective but harsh evaluator."

After Zhang Chao said this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but then started to think about it.

Especially the two screenwriters and Parsons who plays Sheldon, they feel that the clouds have been cleared, but they still have doubts. Another screenwriter Bill Brady said: "Won't many audiences hate him like this?

We added 'humanity' to Sheldon because we wanted him to be more likable and less mean."

It is normal for the current producers to think this way, because the first season of "The Big Bang Theory" also took a full half season to gradually "castrate" Sheldon's sexual characteristics based on feedback from a large number of viewers.

This is almost the most important adjustment that determines the fate of "The Big Bang Theory", and it also makes the character of "Sheldon" completely break out of the circle.

Zhang Chao said: "There are many ways to make him cute, but you don't need to use 'sex'. Although 'sex' is the easiest subject to make jokes about in American TV series.

But Sheldon should be "asexual", or even "anti-sex". In fact, at the beginning, you let Sheldon oppose "selling rice and sperm" and think it is a kind of "genetic fraud", which shows his extreme cleanliness in this regard.

Instead of letting Sheldon tell those cheesy sex jokes, it is better to let him be a bystander, or even a judge. Showing the "divine side" of "genius" is what Sheldon should show in the first season. "

After Zhang Chao finished speaking, the conference room was filled with whispers. Zhang Chao's suggestion was undoubtedly very professional and valuable for reference, but in this case, some of the previous scripts had to be rewritten.

Hollywood sitcoms are usually filmed and broadcasted at the same time. For example, in the original time and space, The Big Bang Theory was filmed in 3-4 episodes, and after the broadcast, the audience feedback was listened to, and the script was adjusted, and the next content was filmed. Chuck Lorre asked: "If we don't arrange 'sex jokes' for Sheldon, how can we show his cute side?"

Zhang Chao thought about it and decided not to reveal too much about the follow-up content to avoid the show deviating too much from its original track, so he said: "Sheldon is not really 'cute'. His cuteness is more about the audience using their imagination to fill in after they get used to his 'meanness'."

“……”Everyone couldn’t digest Zhang Chao’s interpretation for a while.

Zhang Chao further said: "There is a special food in China called 'stinky tofu', which is the product of ordinary tofu fermented, and has an extremely strong smell.

Many people cannot accept it and will vomit when they smell it. However, people who love to eat it will become addicted to it, saying that stinky tofu "smells bad but tastes good", and "the more you eat, the better it tastes."

Everyone: “…” No one understood why Zhang Chao suddenly started talking about food.

At this time, Zhang Chao did not continue to speak, but suddenly asked Ma Boyong: "Do you know why this is?"

Ma Boyong was originally sitting in the corner watching Zhang Chao's performance. He was a complete nobody and when he was suddenly asked by Zhang Chao, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered. However, when he saw Zhang Chao's encouraging eyes, he calmed down and knew that this was an opportunity Zhang Chao was giving him.

He glanced at the notes in his hand, thought for a moment, and quickly answered: "Because of the strong contrast. When diners eat stinky tofu, the greater the contrast between what they smell and what they eat, the more delicious they will feel.

If a person has no sense of smell at all, when eating stinky tofu, he may not think it is much better than ordinary tofu.

In fact, there are such "delicacies" in many other parts of the world - such as French blue cheese, German cheese, and Thai durian..."

Ma Boyong glanced at Zhang Chao while speaking, but Zhang Chao showed no intention of continuing the conversation. Seeing that the others were staring at him with great interest, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue speaking:
"It's the same with Sheldon. Because his 'venomous' or 'mean' qualities are so prominent, as long as he shows a little positive behavior, everyone will think he is 'cute'.

This is also the reason why we can be particularly tolerant of his "harshness" after he rejected the "genetic fraud" in the beginning.

Therefore, this series does not need to set up additional plots for Sheldon to be 'cute' or 'human'. If the plot continues normally, the audience will interpret a 'cute' Sheldon by themselves."

Ma Boyong felt a little uneasy after he finished speaking, but Chuck Lorre's praise quickly dispelled his uneasiness: "Well said, young man." Then he turned to Zhang Chao and asked: "Is this the screenwriter you recommended to intern in our crew?"

Zhang Chao nodded with a smile.

Chuck Lorre smiled and said, "With such an interpretation of the character, you can indeed join our team. -Okay, go on."

Ma Boyong was surprised and delighted. He didn't expect that he would be recognized by Chuck Lorre, so he continued, "Compared to Sheldon, from the first episode, Leonard is more suitable as the core character to drive the plot.

His character arc is actually more obvious than Sheldon's. As the most "normal" member of the team, he can better embody the compromise between "genius" and "world". Maybe this is also some of the themes that this series wants to show?
In addition, he can tolerate being Sheldon's roommate, his interactions with Raj and Howard are more intimate, and he and Penny are more like a couple. Penny's cheerfulness and extroversion can make up for his dullness and introversion.

In essence, Sheldon is the same as Howard, the 'sexual maniac', and Raj, the 'speechless man' who 'meets women'. As long as the tone and keywords are established, the content about them can be easily formed.

However, exploring the ‘ordinary’ characteristics of Leonard will form a good balance for the other three ‘extremes’ and prevent the series from going in the opposite direction…”

It was the first time that Xu Ruiya saw Ma Boyong able to talk so calmly among a group of "big shots". She felt immediately relieved and even secretly gave him a thumbs up under the table.

In this way, the discussion about the pilot episode, after Zhang Chao initiated it, lasted all the way until the evening. Chuck Lorre waved his hand and asked the employees to buy them a few boxes of pizza to fill everyone's stomach.

After eating pizza, the group continued their “brainstorming” session until the two senior executives of Fox TV Network began to yawn, and then they ended it with a sense of unfulfilled desire.

Chuck Lorre and Bill Brady personally escorted Zhang Chao, Ma Boyong and others to the company's downstairs. Chuck Lorre said with some emotion: "I didn't expect you to have such a deep understanding of American sitcoms.

If I had met you last year, maybe that pilot episode wouldn't have failed. - And you, Ma, you really have a strong sense of story, I hope you can contribute more wonderful scripts to the team. "

Zhang Chao thought that he didn’t have a deep understanding of American sitcoms, he just watched the 12th season of The Big Bang Theory twice more…

At this time, Chuck Lorre suddenly asked, "We haven't decided on the name of this series yet. Do you have any suggestions?"

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and said, "Since the main characters are physicists, why not use some kind of physical law or physical hypothesis as the title of the play? My physics is very poor, so I can't give you any suggestions on other aspects."

Chuck Lorre nodded thoughtfully. Zhang Chao did not directly give the title "The Big Bang Theory" because he knew that both novelists and playwrights were extremely proud.

He can accept your suggestions or hints, but just giving him a name may prompt him to think in other directions. Zhang Chao didn't know how much the name "The Big Bang Theory" played a role in promoting the series, so he just dared to go with the flow.

After saying goodbye, Zhang Chao and his group drove back to their "base" in Pasadena.

Walking into the living room, Zhang Chao took off his coat, threw his bag, and collapsed on the sofa, complaining: "I'm so tired. I had a high-intensity brainstorming session right after getting off the plane. Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't dare to do that."

Ma Boyong and Xu Ruiya first turned on the lights everywhere, bathing the entire room in soft light, and then sat on the sofa.

Both of them were still excited, especially Ma Boyong. This was the first time for him to come into contact with a world-class team of film and television screenwriters. With Zhang Chao's deliberate concession, he was the one who spoke almost all the words about "Chaotidal Culture" in the second half, with Zhang Chao only inserting a few words at key points.

Ma Boyong sighed, "I just now know how these distinctive characters in American TV series come from?"

Zhang Chao, curled up on the sofa, didn't even open his eyes, and said lazily: "In your previous novels, you tried too hard to create 'comprehensive', 'complex', and 'multi-layered' characters. In fact, readers are most concerned about the most prominent feature of the character, that is, the 'long board'.

If the "long board" is long enough, readers will automatically ignore or tolerate the "short board". Of course, "short board" is not indispensable. We humans often fall into the pits we dig.

The process of digging oneself out of these pits not only advances the plot, but also allows the characters to grow. Since this is a popular novel, the core characters have no "arc", which is the biggest problem. "

Since there were no outsiders around, Zhang Chao spoke very bluntly.

Ma Boyong didn't care. In fact, he understood all these principles, but without Zhang Chao's inspiration today and the encounter with Hollywood's top screenwriters, it would be difficult to transform these principles into practical writing experience in a short period of time.

The three chatted for a while, and Huang Jiefu came back with a red face, looking like he had drunk a lot.

As soon as he saw Zhang Chao, he rushed over and hugged him fiercely. If Zhang Chao hadn't pushed him away in time with his hand, he would have kissed him.

Huang Jiefu said: "Boss, I love you! I love you so much! Every one of your 'predictions' is accurate, we are about to..."

Suddenly he saw Ma Boyong and Xu Ruiya still sitting on the sofa opposite him, and he quickly shut up in embarrassment. Zhang Chao pushed him away with a look of disgust on his face, sat up, and was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang, a BlackBerry email notification sound.

When Zhang Chao saw that it was a message from David Miller, the editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, an important partner of his in the United States, he clicked on it and took a look.

Who knew that the more he read, the wider his eyes would get, and finally he blurted out a sentence in English:
"What The Fu**!?"

The other people all looked at Zhang Chao in astonishment, wondering what kind of email could have provoked him to swear.

(End of this chapter)