Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 132 When one is successful, one should benefit all under heaven.

The month after "Low IQ Crime" aired, the numbers on the whiteboard in the Early Spring Culture office were updated again.

Meng Zhaoming added a new line of text under the "Aired Series" column: "Low IQ Crime" - Genre tag: Comedy/Crime, Douban rating 7.9, peak popularity 10980.

It's lower than the previous ones.

This is due to the difference in script quality; no wonder it's rumored that Luo Jinnian didn't put much effort into this drama.

The color of that line of text was different from the suspense dramas mentioned above; it was written in blue ink.

But the truly interesting changes occurred on the other side of that whiteboard. Meng Zhaoming posted several new notes under the "Industry News" section. The first note read: "Platform X is preparing three suspense dramas, with a shortened official announcement cycle and a unified promotional message of 'XX version of The Hidden Corner'." The second note read: "Platform Y has acquired the rights to three suspense novels and is adapting them at a rapid pace." The third note was a specific case—a medium-sized suspense drama was released at the same time, and its popularity was not as expected, but it only took less than half a year from project initiation to broadcast, nearly one-third shorter than the industry average. This note was underlined in red, with a question mark written in pencil next to it.

Luo Jinnian stood in front of the whiteboard, looking at the sticky notes for a long time, but didn't reach out to touch them.

There have indeed been some changes in the industry during this period.

First, several suspense dramas were released in quick succession, with similar genres and tones. The keywords in their promotional materials were like the same bucket of paint splashed on the same surface, with each one using phrases like "high-energy plot twists," "high-energy throughout," and "mind-bending masterpiece." Then the media began to use "suspense craze" to describe the phenomenon during that period.

The media wrote in their articles: "From 'The Hidden Corner' to 'The Silent Truth,' suspense dramas have transformed from a niche genre into a mainstream genre in just two years. Major platforms are vying for a share, and a large number of similar projects are flooding the market. Audience demand for suspense dramas seems to remain high, but the growth model on the supply side is shifting from 'producing high-quality works' to 'filling slots.'"

Luo Jinnian was having lunch when he saw the article, his chopsticks hovering above his bowl for a moment. The article didn't name Early Spring Culture, but one passage seemed to be striking a bell yet to be rung: "What the industry needs is a solid foundation, not a lot of houses. The more houses built without a foundation, the faster they will collapse."

A solid script is the foundation.

Without a good script, even the best acting from other actors, along with costumes, makeup, and props, are just decorations. Only a good script can win over the audience.

Luo Jinnian put down his chopsticks and sighed.

But domestic investors just can't seem to grasp this principle.

This kind of mediocre drama production will only damage the market; he has to do something about it.

At the same time, some subtle changes are also taking place among the audience.

Some voices emerged on the forum, moving beyond the simple praise of "this show is so good" to offering different opinions. One post said, "I'm tired of watching suspense dramas. Several have been released in the past few months, and each one tries to imitate the style of 'The Hidden Corner.' They can learn color grading but not scriptwriting. The first few episodes are okay, but they fall apart later. Suspense dramas can't be made well just by changing the filter."

Learning from and imitating good works is something that can be done anywhere.

That post went viral, and hundreds of replies followed, with many people expressing similar feelings.

Viewers pointed out the problems with these works more specifically: forced plot twists, weak logic, and sacrificing character plausibility for the sake of creating suspense. One viewer also mentioned "Low IQ Crime" in a single sentence: "The same company produces works with different quality; Early Spring Culture clearly has a clearer plan when making dramas."

Luo Jinnian didn't laugh when he saw that reply. He went back and read the first post about "you can learn color grading but not scriptwriting," and went over that sentence in his mind.

He sent Director Qin a message: "I'm thinking about what to write for the next film." Director Qin didn't ask, "Why did you suddenly think of this?"

He simply replied with one word: "Speak." Luo Jinnian then sent another message: "After the next one, I might not be doing any suspense films for a while. Let's put them on hold for now."

Director Qin's reply came a little slower than usual; Luo Jinnian could sense that he had been thinking for a moment: "You want to change direction?"

Luo Jinnian said, "It's not a change, it's a wait. I'm filming because the audience is getting tired."

Director Qin's reply was even shorter than before, consisting of only a few words and a punctuation mark: "You think further ahead than some people."

However, we still need to present our last suspenseful work.

Upon seeing the reply, Luo Jinnian put down his phone and flipped through the table of contents for the next issue of "Story Club." The regularly sent magazines, the constantly updated platform data, and the news from all over the industry were like winds blowing from different directions, but they were all moving in the same direction.

The wind direction changed, and the trajectory of the wind swirling above his head was being rearranged.

On a weekend afternoon, he sat in his rented room, finished revising the manuscript for the next issue of "Story Club", and then opened a new blank document.

The buzz surrounding "Low IQ Crime" hasn't died down yet, and Luo Jinnian has already figured out what to film next.

He searched through his memories of his past life and finally stopped at a book that had faded from mainstream attention—"The Magpie Murder Case".

It was a story with a textbook-level narrative structure, a "book within a book," a murder case in a detective novel and the author's death case found by the editor in reality, with two parallel lines that eventually converge into the same body of water like two rivers that have flowed separately for many years.

Atticus Pound solves the case in the book, while Susan Ryland investigates it outside the book. The two cases achieve the same kind of closure on different levels, as elegantly as a gear that has been carefully put back in its place.

The previous life unexpectedly became popular in China, leading netizens to exclaim: "It's as easy for the British to make suspense films as drinking water."

Luo Jinnian chose it not only because of its ingenious story structure, but also because it hit a delicate spot in terms of genre. It is neither mind-bending nor heavy, and it does not rely on plot twists to torment the audience.

It simply uses an old-fashioned British style, a slow and steady approach, to let the reader and the audience sit on that boat together and watch how the undercurrents beneath the surface slowly push them toward the shore.

This is different from most suspense dramas on the market. It doesn't rush or force the pace, and it doesn't push the plot by creating climaxes. It just relies on its own quality to support the entire weight.

Luo Jinnian hopes that this drama will rekindle the audience's enthusiasm for classic suspense.

After receiving the first episode's script, Director Qin took a full week to reply. After reading the script, he said, "I'm not sure if I can film this well." Luo Jinnian asked him why, and he said, "This narrative structure involves two parallel narrative layers. If the cuts are too fast, the audience won't be able to keep up; if they're too slow, it will feel dragged out. The pacing must be steady, precise to the point that every frame must be perfect."

After listening, Luo Jinnian said, "Then let's find someone who can sew the two lines together to film it."

Director Qin was silent for a moment before replying, "I know someone named Zhang Li. He directed 'Da Ming Dynasty 1566' and has a very accurate grasp of the rhythm of multi-narrative structures."

After researching Zhang Li's background and reviewing several of his representative works, Luo Jinnian gave him a call. After listening to Luo Jinnian's brief description, Zhang Li said something that left a deep impression on him: "This script of yours, in all my years of directing period dramas, is the first I've encountered that requires synchronizing the pace of two eras. The modern and the past, but they must share the same rhythm. If their rhythms are out of sync, the audience will feel like they're watching two unrelated stories. If they're aligned, they'll feel like they're experiencing two lives simultaneously."

Luo Jinnian asked, "Do you think this breathing can be controlled?" Zhang Li was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone: "It needs to be at a suitable frequency."

Casting was also carefully considered. Atticus Pound is a British detective, and it's difficult to find a completely suitable actor in China for the role. Luo Jinnian made some adjustments during the adaptation—retaining the detective's exterior but moving the setting from rural England to the Shanghai Concession during the Republican era, and simultaneously shifting the two storylines: the "character in the detective novel" and the "editor in reality." The realistic storyline is changed to Susan, an editor at a small modern publishing house, who discovers clues to another murder case hidden in the manuscript of a famous writer's posthumous work. The two storylines run parallel: one is the detective's investigation during the Republican era, and the other is the modern editor's investigation into the writer's death. They eventually converge to unravel the mystery.

He cast an actress he had worked with before to play Susan, a middle-aged actress with a calm and reliable demeanor. She accepted the role after reading only half an episode of the script. For the detective role in the Republican era, he cast a middle-aged actor who was skilled at playing refined and elegant historical roles. After the costume fitting photos were released, Luo Jinnian looked at them for a long time. The actor was wearing a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, standing by the window of an old-fashioned study. Sunlight streamed in from the window, cutting a line of light and shadow on the floor.

Luo Jinnian felt that this person could give the audience both the feeling of "the detective" and "the subject of the writing" at the same time.

He is a detective, and also a character being written down by someone.

After filming began, Luo Jinnian didn't appear on set as frequently as before. He knew that Zhang Li was a director who didn't need anyone watching him closely; he had his own judgment on every cut and every sound adjustment. But the two narrative layers of that film had to proceed simultaneously, like a clock with two hands; if one hand stopped, the rhythm of the other would be disrupted.

At the end of the first week, Luo Jinnian received a clip from Zhang Li. The scene depicted a detective standing by the window watching the rain outside. The window was fogged up, and the detective drew a line on the glass with his finger.

Susan was turning the page; the rustling of paper and the sound of rain outside the window stopped simultaneously at a certain point. Luo Jinnian read the material and replied to Zhang Li, "Very good, please continue."

The filming period for that movie took longer than Luo Jinnian had anticipated, about four months. On the day filming wrapped, Zhang Li sent him a photo—the clapperboard from the last scene of a film, which read "Filming wrapped for 'The Magpie Murder Case'." The background showed a bookshelf in an old-fashioned study, filled with books that had been aged by the props team. Looking at the photo, Luo Jinnian felt that the bookshelf looked exactly like the detective's study he had imagined.

He could no longer make out the words on the spines of the books, but even if he couldn't see the titles of each book, he knew which column they belonged to. Just like the two storylines in this play, they were in different positions most of the time, but at certain moments, such as when light shone from a certain angle, they would be recognized as the same thing because the shadows they cast on the ground happened to form the same shape.

Hopefully, this serious suspense film can save and correct the market that has gone astray.

Luo Jin was arrogant and conceited in middle age.

He still wants to promote the development of entertainment by collecting the culture of another world, just like when he first came to this world. You could call it a grand ambition on his shoulders.

But since he chose to let Luo Jinnian travel through time, he must do something about it.

Having successfully saved another version of myself, now it's time to "benefit all under heaven when I achieve success."