Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

"Ingenious concept, bizarre plot twists, vivid characters... truly a rare gem!"

After reading the novel, the group was so shocked that, apart from Zhao Zhenqiang who uttered a sigh, the other two fell into an unspeakable silence.

Zhang Shuai'an had no idea what they were thinking, so he could only wait quietly.

"Hey, what are you all doing so quietly?"

Fatty Wang couldn't wait any longer and said to them, "Speak up, we only have one day to revise the script."

Liu Shiyu said with a wry smile, "I'm just so shocked. They can write such a novel at such a young age. We're all in our thirties and haven't even independently written or directed a TV series yet. I feel a little ashamed."

Huo Yaoliang shared the same thought, sighing, "Truly, heroes emerge from among the young; comparing people is a recipe for disaster, and comparing goods is a recipe for disaster."

"Alright, let's stop complaining."

Zhao Zhenqiang quickly recovered and got straight to the point: "Anzai's novel is very cleverly written and is very suitable for adaptation into a screenplay. Everyone here is an expert in this field, so I won't waste time with small talk and will get straight to assigning the adaptation tasks."

"I'll follow Brother Qiang's orders."

Fatty Wang patted his belly. "Haha, I've been waiting for this for ages."

"The most crucial part of this series is the first three episodes. They must be well-written and outstanding. I, Anzai, and Jingzai will be in charge of that."

Zhao Zhenqiang assigned the most demanding tasks to him, Wang Pangzi, and Zhang Shuai'an.

There's a reason behind this allocation.

Of all those present, Zhao Zhenqiang was the most skilled screenwriter, having already directed several hit TV series independently, and was also the most experienced.

Zhang Shuai'an is the original author and knows the key points of the plot best, so it goes without saying that Zhao Zhenqiang dragged him into it.

Wang Pangzi is Wang Tianlin's son, and he often comes up with ingenious ideas, which can inject a lot of novel inspiration into the first two units.

"Ah Liang, you are meticulous and have a solid foundation. I'll entrust the adaptation of the case of 'Spreading Triumph Before the Palace' to you."

Zhao Zhenqiang pointed at Huo Yaoliang and gave him the task of adapting the material.

Then he pointed to Liu Shiyu: "Ayu, you will be in charge of the case of the Five Rats Disrupting the Prime Minister."

Finally, he looked at Du Qifeng: "The remaining magical illusions and the Dragon's Tribulation are entrusted to you, A-Feng."

"No problem." Although Du Qifeng felt some pressure, he did not hesitate at all.

Soon, they began working on the script.

It must be said that everyone was a master in their field, and they quickly grasped the key points of their respective areas of responsibility, and began to unravel the mystery with brilliant strokes.

He kept writing until after 6 p.m.

"Are you all crazy?"

When Zhao Zhenqiang's wife, Zhuang Wenqing, returned home, she saw smoke filling the study and even thought the house was on fire.

When they came in, they found six grown men squatting in the study writing a script.

After working for four hours, they were scratching their heads and looking disheveled and completely out of sorts.

"We're writing the script," Zhao Zhenqiang explained quickly. "It's a task assigned by Boss Shao. Filming has to start in three days, so we have to finish the script today."

Chong Man-ching was a student in the first class of TVB's acting training program. She was classmates with Chiu Chun-keung, and the two married in 1976 and are still considered to be happily married. However, in the early 1980s, Chiu Chun-keung had multiple affairs, and her adoptive mother was a gambling addict. Overwhelmed with grief and exhaustion, she divorced and became a nun.

Seeing their disheveled appearance, she could only cover her mouth and laugh, saying, "Alright, you guys write well, I'll go cook for you."

Zhao Zhenqiang rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose: "How's the writing going?"

"The Magic Illusion arc is the simplest and has already been revised," Du Qifeng responded first, his tone calm and collected. "I also filled in some logical loopholes and extended the plot a bit. Although this arc is short, there are quite a few female characters, four or five in total."

Zhang Shuai'an thought back for a moment. The main female characters in this unit were probably Pang Feiyan, Ya Tou, Kang Qiao... who else was there?

Oh, there's that female magician Yuli in the memories, that makes four.

"Although 'The Dragon's Revenge' borrows the traditional 'Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat' tactic from traditional Chinese opera, it has been updated and is more complex." Du Qifeng frowned slightly. "This still needs some more work to sort out, and I estimate it won't be finished until tomorrow morning."

"Okay. You've got it sorted out." Zhao Zhenqiang nodded, knowing that Du Qifeng was always cautious, so if he said that, there was probably no problem.

Huo Yaoliang kept twisting his arms, feeling a little dizzy: "I need to rest for a while. My hair is all greasy from staying up for just four hours. But the general outline has been sorted out, and the lines have been assigned. In another two hours, it should be finished."

Liu Shiyu then placed the manuscript on the desk: "The first draft is finished. However, it still needs further refinement."

Zhao Zhenqiang checked Zhang Shuai'an and Wang Pangzi's work again and found that the two of them had finished revising the scripts for the two units, "Fame and Fame" and "Blood Altar," and the completion rate was very high.

He also finished revising "The Mystery of the Hidden Village" himself, but it still needs some polishing.

Zhao Zhenqiang also felt some pain in his hands: "Okay, let's rest for a while, and continue working after we finish eating."

"Although I've endured hardships before, it's rare to feel this exhilarated as today."

Huo Yaoliang tossed aside his pen, his face full of smugness: "If this script is made into a film, it will definitely be a hit."

"If this quality doesn't become a hit, it would be an injustice." Liu Shiyu nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Fatty Wang presented the main character outlines written by Zhang Shuai'an to them and suggested, "Since it's break time, why don't we finalize the actors for the main roles?"

"That works too." Zhao Zhenqiang agreed. "The main characters are five people in total: Bao Zheng, Gongsun Ce, Ling Chuchu, Zhan Zhao, and Pang Feiyan."

He pointed at Zhang Shuai'an: "Bao Zheng goes without saying, it's already decided that our Anzai is the one. He's handsome, talented, and his acting skills shouldn't be a problem either."

Zhang Shuai'an chuckled: "This character was written based on myself, so I have absolutely no problem playing him."

That's a bit presumptuous of him to say, but actually he's capable of using "Zhou Jie's" acting template, and this role really isn't difficult for him.

Chiu Chun-keung then went on to talk about the key casting factors for the other main characters:

"Ling Chuchu is the female lead and has a romantic storyline with Bao Zheng. We need to choose carefully; we can't choose someone who is too old or looks too mature."

"Gongsun Ce is the second male lead, the kind of young scholar-like character who is not only handsome but also has a refined and elegant demeanor, a dashing and romantic figure."

"The character Zhan Zhao is set to be around twelve or thirteen years old in the novel, which is a bit too young. I think it could be changed to fifteen or sixteen. Since his martial arts skills are the best, we need to find someone with some martial arts background."

"Finally, there's Pang Feiyan. In the novel, she only appears in the third story, which needs a slight modification. In the first two units, we need to give her more screen time. She's a typical rich young lady, spoiled and domineering, but also kind-hearted and capable of admitting and correcting her mistakes. She's a character with a growth arc."

After describing the characteristics of these characters, Zhao Zhenqiang looked at the others and said, "What good recommendations do you have? Let's hear them and discuss them!"

Fatty Wang suddenly suggested, "Why don't we all write down our favorite actors on slips of paper, and then we can compare them? If there are any matches, we can just decide on them. If not, we can discuss it further."

"Okay." Zhao Zhenqiang thought the suggestion was good, then turned to Zhang Shuai'an and said, "You're probably not very familiar with TVB actors, so you can write about them or not."

Zhang Shuai'an said with a smile, "I still remember a few names, so I'll write them down to make up the numbers."

"Alright." Zhao Zhenqiang didn't have high hopes, but emphasized again, "Personally, I feel that Shao Sheng's intention for this drama is to promote more newcomers. Don't just write about those old guys. Let's begin."

Zhang Shuai'an didn't really know much about TVB actors, especially since he was limited to the period from 1979, so he knew even less.

However, he still came up with a list and wrote it down.

First, Gongsun Ce thought of Miao Qiaowei.

Miao Qiaowei has the air of a young master from a prestigious family, and he is also handsome, so his appearance is quite acceptable.

This person should be in the TVB acting training class right now, but won't graduate until next year.

Next was the casting of Ling Chuchu. The actresses he knew all debuted in the 1980s.

The only one I can think of is Zhao Yazhi.

However, Zhao Yazi is already 26 years old this year, so it's uncertain whether she can play Ling Chuchu.

But then she thought again that next year she would be playing Feng Chengcheng, who was still a student in "Shanghai Bund", so it seemed that playing Ling Chuchu wouldn't be a problem either.

Next up was Zhan Zhao. As he got a bit older, the actor he thought of was Huang Rihua.

Although Huang Rihua later became famous for his role as the domineering Xiao Feng in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", he actually played Xu Zhu in an earlier version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", while Xiao Feng was played by martial arts champion Leung Ka-yan.

Huang Rihua's bald look in the film bears a striking resemblance to Shi Xiaolong's Zhan Zhao.

As for Pang Feiyan, he hasn't thought of anyone to play her yet.

(Huang Rihua plays Xu Zhu, and Chen Fusheng plays A Zi.)