The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 130 One ring within another

"Okay, I understand. I'll consider it." Angela's eyes flickered. "So, what about the last character, Ruyue? In the new script, her role is greatly reduced, and there are no fighting scenes. I don't think Zhang Ziyi is interested."

"Can't we just find any actress for this kind of role?" Xu Jiuyang said in a fake tone, then coughed lightly. "Come to think of it, I have a friend who's an actress herself, and she's quite famous. She and her friends opened a film and television company and have signed several actors. How about I go and do her a favor?"

"No problem," Angela agreed immediately, "but in exchange, you have to write a script for me."

"You won't let me write "Red Cliff", right?" Xu Jiuyang immediately showed a look of horror.

"What are you thinking about?" Angela rolled her eyes at him. "For a big production like this, seven or eight senior screenwriters will definitely need to discuss it together. You can help check for omissions and fill in the gaps when the time comes, but forget about being the lead writer."

"That's okay, that's okay..." Xu Jiuyang patted his chest exaggeratedly, then revealed a puzzled look: "But, I haven't written a script?"

"You can learn. I didn't say right away. Before the end of this year..." Angela paused and thought carefully. "Before November, it shouldn't be complicated to shoot. We can try to participate in next year's Cannes Film Festival."

She looked at him and said, "That's what you suggested. Invest in Chinese entertainment, and then focus on both commercial and literary arts."

"Are you serious?" Xu Jiuyang smacked his lips.

"I invited you to watch such a big show today. Doesn't that prove my sincerity?" Angela hinted.

"Your Chinese level is very strange. When you are good, you can even understand "Records of the Grand Historian". When you are mediocre, you even get common words wrong." Xu Jiuyang looked at her.

"Anyway, I want to write a literary script. With your ability, you should be able to do it." Angela said.

"But..." Xu Jiuyang seemed to say something.

"I can find someone to polish it," Angela said, not giving him a chance to refuse. "After all, you're the only Chinese person I know who has a full and objective understanding of the Chinese film and television market."

Xu Jiuyang couldn't help but straighten his chest. After thinking carefully, he asked, "What type?"

Just as the other party said, this drama is indeed very good to watch. He has wanted to criticize people like Zhang Yimou for a long time, especially after "Half River Green".

Although it is not appropriate to criticize others for something they haven't done yet, as long as I am happy, who cares about those things? In his previous life, didn't Zhang Yimou also smile happily after he gave up flying a fighter jet to go to school?

"It's a more literary suspense film," Angela said. "Do you know the cartoon 'Perfect Blue'?"

"Weima's...room?" Xu Jiuyang hissed. "You want to adapt this into a live-action movie?"

"Yes," Angela nodded. "Whether it's the creativity, structure, or presentation, it's all very exciting. Unfortunately, it's too showy, and since it's an animation, it's destined to have a difficult time gaining a wider audience."

Xu Jiuyang subconsciously wanted to refute, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that the other party was right. Satoshi Kon's works were indeed excellent and his fans were very loyal, but the audience was indeed not large.

Satoshi Kon is indeed a master, but he loves to focus on and hide details too much. For audiences who like this, it is naturally a supreme delicacy. Every time they discover new details from his works, they feel extremely happy mentally. But for ordinary audiences, it's fine if they can watch it, but if they can't, they will just think: What the hell is this?!
Similarly, it is because of this that Satoshi Kon chose to devote himself to animation rather than live-action movies - live-action movies are constrained by uncertain factors such as funding and actors, and it is impossible to bury details in every frame, but animation does not have this limitation.

Because of this, he is very strict with his works and has basically never sold the remake rights.

So Xu Jiuyang asked, "Have you obtained the adaptation rights for Perfect Blue?"

"Of course, don't forget who Columbia's parent company is," Angela shrugged. "Besides, I also promised to help him sue Aronofsky in the United States."

"Aronofsky?" Xu Jiuyang didn't react. "This guy made a movie called 'Requiem for a Dream' last year, and several scenes in it were plagiarized from 'Perfect Blue' without any changes," Angela explained.

"Is that so..." Xu Jiuyang suddenly realized.

Speaking of which, Darren Aronofsky is also a completely shameless guy. Not only did he lie on Satoshi Kon and suck his blood, he also ate him twice.

It is impossible to say that "Requiem for a Dream" was not influenced by "Perfect Blue". The storyboards were directly copied without any changes.

Later, he used the structure of "Perfect Blue" again to create "Black Swan", which is the movie that won Natalie Portman the Oscar for Best Actress. Moreover, this movie was released just after Kon Satoshi passed away.

Although there is a certain degree of coincidence, it is also shameless to a certain extent, and I have never heard of Aronofsky making a public apology in my previous life. So if Angela really pays to help Satoshi Kon with the lawsuit, and with the help of Sony, the local tyrant, it is still possible to get the adaptation rights.

"So, how do you plan to adapt it?" Xu Jiuyang asked again.

"I'll leave this to you. Whether it's split personality or the actor's own growth, it's up to you to decide." Angela waved her hand, looking like "I trust you to do the job."

Xu Jiuyang twitched his lips. "I understand, but there's one thing I need to make clear first. I still have an actor's contract to fulfill, and I'm expected to join the crew in August or September."

Angela's smile froze, and after a moment she sighed softly: "I guess if I asked you to help buy out the contract, you would definitely not agree."

Xu Jiuyang shrugged.

"I guess again, it should be related to the company that you want to recommend the actor to play Ru Yue." Angela said again.

"If you think it's inappropriate, you can refuse." Xu Jiuyang coughed awkwardly.

"No, it's nothing. This kind of thing is very common." Angela pursed her lips. "That's it, then. I think you should try your best, right?"

"I will." Xu Jiuyang nodded.

If it really doesn't work, you can also refer to "Black Swan". Anyway, Darenowski copied Satoshi Kon, so it's normal for me to copy it again.

That was about it. Angela picked up her phone and dialed a number. After a few words, someone soon entered the conference room. It was Tang Wei, who was dressed as a white-collar worker.

"This is Tang Wei from Mingdeng Films. She is specially used to connect with Chinese film and television companies." She introduced.

"Hello, Teacher Xu." Tang Wei, with a decent smile on her face, bowed slightly to Xu Jiuyang.

"Hello." Xu Jiuyang forced a smile, and his heart finally settled down. It really was Tang Wei.

But it doesn't matter, this is a good thing. Working for Angela is better than filming something like "Lust, Caution".

Well, speaking of this, is it possible in this life to use some connections to paralyze or even kill the guy named Li?

Even as he was thinking this, he asked, "Why do we need to set up a company specifically for this? Aren't you Columbia's Deputy Director for Greater China?"

"I am, but that doesn't mean I can do whatever I want." Angeli said confidently.

(End of this chapter)