Chapter 291: What if the script is too bad? (Extra update, 6,000 words update)

Chen Ziyan's question echoed in Lu Yan He's mind for a long time.

He was also wondering why he had never thought about writing a script for himself.

After thinking it over, he felt the reason was likely that he subconsciously already knew exactly what those films would look like once performed. He knew that if he wrote a script for himself, he would fall into a complex state of hesitation.

This hesitation was the result of subconsciously imitating the original work; it was a lack of self-confidence, and a hidden sense of shame at being unable to surpass the original.

However, Lu Yan He could not explain these things to Chen Ziyan.

Why was he able to read the scripts of this world with a calm mind?

Because those scripts did not have formed images in his mind, nor did they have a completed performance, so he could interpret them according to his own understanding.

But the scripts he wrote himself—from the film and television works of the world he traveled from—were all finished products. When Lu Yan He wrote the scripts, the images from the original films would surface in his mind.

Every cry, every laugh, every moment of anger or sorrow already had a reference point.

Lu Yan He would subconsciously imitate them.

And this film was also the first one Lu Yan He thought of that was suitable for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang to star in together.

After so many thoughts flashed through Lu Yan He's mind, he couldn't help but sigh; he had only acted in a few plays, yet he was already lecturing himself with such well-reasoned logic.

Clearly, when he read the project proposal and the story outline, he had a very clear feeling that this story would be very interesting, but how did it become so boring when written into a script?

Lu Yan He silently closed the script and pondered for a long time.

Hu Siwei said okay.

And Lu Yan He didn't want to change the name either.

Lu Yan He took a deep breath.

Lu Yan He sent the revised scripts of *Raise the Red Lantern* and *Rouge* to Chen Bige:

Sister Bige, the first draft of the script is finished.

Although the script for *Under the Eaves* looked thick, the word count wasn't actually that high.

Moreover, he would subconsciously feel that his own performance was inferior to the original.

One is *Dumb and Dumber*, one is *Squid Game*; these are the two scripts Lu Yan He is currently writing.

"Regarding the script, if you have any thoughts, feel free to tell me," Hu Siwei said. "This is just the first draft; there will definitely be many changes later, which is very normal."

The original film starred Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and is a very classic comedy.

Hu Siwei came over at this time.

Having handled this matter, Lu Yan He breathed a sigh of relief.

It doesn't have to be high-brow, nor does it have to be beautifully written; it just needs to have a sense of life, to look like something that would happen in our daily lives.

But first and foremost, it must be natural and have a sense of reality.

Translating *Dumb and Dumber* into *A Dai Yu A Gua* (Dumb and Dumber) perfectly followed the emotional expression of the Chinese language.

An eight-episode short drama, *Under the Eaves*.

But once the performance becomes a subconscious imitation, no matter how accurate the imitation is, it loses the most critical part of acting: the immersion and empathy from the depths of the soul.

"The first draft of the script is finished," he said to Lu Yan He. "This is the script."

It couldn't be called pretentious, exactly, but it was just very affected.

He didn't know how to describe his feelings; this script... was a bit unsatisfactory.

Were they going to use such a script to turn the tide for Beijing TV's ratings?

Lu Yan He found it unbelievable.

Lu Yan He spent almost just one afternoon reading the script.

So far, he had already written three scripts, and the fourth one would be *Dumb and Dumber*, prepared for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.

Lu Yan He was stunned.

It just needed to be adapted by him a little bit; the ages of the two protagonists needed to be changed to be slightly younger. Of course, the reason Lu Yan He chose it was precisely because the entire plot was suitable for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang to perform, as long as they could let go.

Lu Yan He frowned as he finished reading the script, not knowing where to begin.

Hu Siwei: It's okay, say whatever you want. This is a first draft; it's impossible to film according to this script. It will need many revisions, which is very normal.

Simply put, it was just finding motives and excuses for his own behavior.

*Dumb and Dumber* was a film Lu Yan He watched with his classmates. Even now, Lu Yan He remembered how he and his classmates laughed until they rolled on the floor while watching it.

There were many films Lu Yan He liked and considered classic, but they weren't strong because of the script. If you really looked at the script, it might be a very boring, simple story, or an essay without a main plot, or the film's quality didn't primarily lie in the script. Those films were all passed over by Lu Yan He. It wasn't that he didn't like them, but that they couldn't be replicated through the script. For example, Wong Kar-wai's *The Grandmaster*, or the famous Hollywood musical *Mamma Mia! *.

The Dumb and Dumber duo.

Hu Siwei handed a script to Lu Yan He.

Without self-confidence, an actor's performance becomes incredibly fragile.

He sent a message to Hu Siwei: Producer Hu, is this a script written by your friend?

Hu Siwei: No, he found a screenwriter to write it. What do you think?

Lu Yan He: I don't know how to say it.

Lu Yan He had a principle when adapting films from his memory: the plot must be strong enough.

He said: "I'll take a look first."

He had watched good sitcoms like *Friends*, *The Big Bang Theory*, and *I Love My Family*, so he knew what a good life comedy looked like.

Lu Yan He nodded.

This name... somehow just made him feel like it wouldn't be a hit.

And *Under the Eaves* was a bit pretentious from the very beginning. It started with a line: "We learn the word 'friendship' in the classroom, but perhaps we won't understand what friendship is until a long time later."

Lu Yan He said: To be honest, if the script is like this, I don't even want to film it.

Hu Siwei: Is it that bad?

Lu Yan He said: Haven't you read it?

Hu Siwei: I just flipped through it casually.

Lu Yan He: You should read it yourself first.

Hu Siwei: Didn't you think it was well-written when you looked at the story outline before?

Lu Yan He said: The story outline was indeed well-written, which is why I was tempted. I even turned down a lead role in a film for this show, but this script... I'm at a loss for words.

Hu Siwei: Is the script that bad? I'll read it carefully.

Lu Yan He sighed.

It turned out Hu Siwei hadn't even read the script.

Regarding the script for *Under the Eaves*, Lu Yan He really felt it was terrible. After talking with Hu Siwei, he thought for a long time and tried to write the first episode based on the script outline he had seen before.

In short, he was rewriting the script.

This story was about six young people meeting and becoming friends in a city.

It didn't have a clear main plot; it basically talked about their happiness and troubles in life and work, as well as the various jokes that happened in between.

In the script outline Lu Yan He had seen before, the six people were given very clear settings. Six different personalities, six different professional backgrounds, intersecting and colliding to create all kinds of stories.

There were no complex plot twists; it was just a life comedy.

Lu Yan He thought for a long time and decided to merge the first episodes of *Friends* and *The Big Bang Theory* to write the beginning of this story.

Because her fiancé Hu Fan's ex-girlfriend came to her dressing room on the wedding day and told her she was pregnant with Hu Fan's child, Li Lili fled the wedding scene and happened to see her old friend Chen Wanqiu outside a coffee shop, so she rushed in and met Chen Wanqiu and her friends.

Li Lili had nowhere to go and was taken in by Chen Wanqiu, living in the same apartment building as Jiang Kele and Wen Fan, who both fell for the beautiful and sweet-smiling Li Lili at first sight and wanted to pursue her, launching their own offensives.

Li Lili, in order to get her things from her fiancé's house, asked everyone to accompany her. When everyone learned that Li Lili had suddenly left the wedding and left a mess behind, they began to sympathize with her fiancé, Hu Fan. Seeing everyone sympathizing with Hu Fan, Li Lili angrily told the reason for her escape. Hu Fan said that was impossible because he hadn't had a relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Li Lili didn't believe him.

Hu Fan moved into their apartment building to win Li Lili back.

That was the content of the first episode.

For a sitcom, the first episode is a hook, but this hook cannot be too complex; the process must be relaxed and funny, and the ending must make everyone want to know what happens next.

And several people suddenly gathering in one place from different places is one of the classic hooks, which naturally makes the audience curious about the stories that happen after these people get together.

Lu Yan He wrote the script for the first episode, read it again, modified some details, and sent it to Hu Siwei.

He said: This is the revised script for the first episode, Producer Hu. This is the script I want to read.

Hu Siwei had only read the first two episodes of the script before admitting that the script was indeed terrible.

He picked up his phone and called Bai Jingnian: "Brother, where did you find that amateur screenwriter to write the script?"

He didn't mince his words.

Bai Jingnian asked: "Have you read the script?"

"I read the first two episodes; it's so bad I don't even want to talk about it," Hu Siwei said directly.

Bai Jingnian sighed, "I'm also speechless. I spent a lot of money to find a famous screenwriter to write it, but they just handed me this kind of stuff."

"Who is it?"

"He Shize."

"He hasn't written scripts himself for a long time; he opened a screenwriting studio and threw all the work to his apprentices," Hu Siwei said. "No wonder the script is so bad. Didn't you say you were going to write the script yourself before?"

"I found I couldn't write it. I thought of such a story outline and thought I could write it, but I'm just not cut out for it," Bai Jingnian sighed. "Did you send it to Lu Yan He? What did he say?"

Hu Siwei: "I already said it was bad; do you think he would say it's good?"

Bai Jingnian: "It's my fault. I didn't ask you before looking for a screenwriter. I said, how could that old guy only charge me 50,000 per episode."

Hu Siwei was shocked and asked: "You've already spent 400,000?"

"I haven't paid the final payment yet; I just paid a deposit," Bai Jingnian said. "I'm planning to call him and scold him, and I don't intend to pay the final payment."

Hu Siwei: "How can you do things like that? Was a contract signed?"

Bai Jingnian: "Signed. The first four episodes have to pass before writing the next four."

"Then we definitely can't ask him to write it," Hu Siwei said. "I'll go talk to him. How could he have the nerve to charge 50,000 per episode for this crappy script?"

Bai Jingnian: "What should we do? Lu Yan He is not satisfied with the script; we have to find someone to rewrite it."

Hu Siwei thought for a while and said: "I'll think about which screenwriter is more suitable."

After hanging up the phone, Hu Siwei sighed, but saw an unread message on his phone.

He looked, and it was actually a document sent by Lu Yan He.

—This is the revised script for the first episode, Producer Hu. This is the script I want to read.

Hu Siwei was stunned.

Lu Yan He had told him before that he had a sitcom script he wanted to write, but he didn't expect Lu Yan He to start writing it so quickly.

But Hu Siwei didn't take it too seriously.

What kind of script could an actor who had just started acting write?

They all feel good about themselves after finishing writing.

Hu Siwei opened the document, and just after reading the first few lines, he was stunned.

City A, Meet Coffee Shop, located in the bustling city center of City A.

Chen Wanqiu: Can you two stop looking at that woman by the window so lecherously? It makes me feel embarrassed to sit with you.

Jiang Kele: Haven't you learned "A fair lady, a gentleman's desire"?

Wen Fan: Translated into plain language, it means we like looking at beauties.

Chen Wanqiu silently rolled her eyes at Zhou Zhixi.

Zhou Zhixi: That's why I've always told you men are very lecherous.

Chen Wanqiu: Darling, don't say men are lecherous while putting your hand on my thigh.

Jiang Kele and Wen Fan turned their heads at the same time, scanning Zhou Zhixi and Chen Wanqiu with ambiguous eyes.

Zhou Zhixi immediately took her hand off Chen Wanqiu's leg, and both of them made expressions of disgust and wanting to vomit.

Zhou Zhixi: If you look at us with those eyes again, I'll poke your eyeballs out!

Hu Siwei had worked at Beijing TV for many years, having been a producer, supervisor, assistant director, and accountant for many dramas. In all his years of work, he had dealt with film crews and read countless scripts.

What is a good script?

Hu Siwei had his own judgment criteria: a script that makes people want to keep reading.

What's different about a script compared to a novel is that a script has no narrative, introductory, or foreshadowing descriptions.

It starts directly with location, characters, and lines.

The beginning Lu Yan He wrote, not to mention how exquisite it was—of course, it couldn't be called exquisite—but all the main characters were introduced, and in just a few lines of dialogue, the main personality and relationships of each character were presented, along with changes in emotion and state.

Hu Siwei's professional sensitivity reminded him that at least this beginning was a good one.

And when he read the ending of the first episode, he was stunned again.

Li Lili picked up the trash bag to take out the trash.

Chen Wanqiu: I think Hu Fan is quite good. He's handsome and emotionally stable. You messed up your wedding, but he's still very gentle with you. If he didn't lie, you should seriously consider marrying him.

Li Lili said while opening the door: If he didn't lie, then I really messed up our wedding. How could I have the nerve to see him?

After Li Lili finished speaking, she opened the door and walked into the hallway.

The neighbor's door was open, and two men were moving a television set in.

Chen Wanqiu walked to the door and asked: Is someone finally moving into the neighbor's place?

Hu Fan walked up the stairs carrying a box, saw them, and smiled at them.

Li Lili asked in surprise: Why are you here?

Hu Fan said: You wouldn't believe me, so I had to move over. From now on, we're neighbors.

Hu Siwei put down his phone and stared blankly at the night sky outside the window.

The first episode of the script Lu Yan He wrote actually made him read it in one breath; it was smooth, natural, and had many bridges that made people laugh out loud.

Only one question remained in Hu Siwei's mind: Was this really written by Lu Yan He?

After a while, he realized another question: Was this written by Lu Yan He in just a few hours?

From the time he gave the script to Lu Yan He, to Lu Yan He telling him the script was terrible, to Lu Yan He sending him the first episode he wrote, it took no more than ten hours in total.

Hu Siwei was dumbfounded.

"You said this script was written by Lu Yan He himself?"

Bai Jingnian looked at Hu Siwei in disbelief and asked.

It was late at night, and Bai Jingnian had already gone to bed, but Hu Siwei suddenly knocked on his door and barged in. Bai Jingnian thought something big had happened, but Hu Siwei told him he had a new script, the first episode, and urged him to read it.

Bai Jingnian was originally very unhappy, but after reading the script, his expression changed immediately, and he asked who wrote it.

"You should have told me earlier that you found someone to write the script; I wouldn't have gone to find He Shize," Bai Jingnian thought this was written by a screenwriter Hu Siwei had found before.

When Hu Siwei explained how the script came to be, Bai Jingnian fell into the same state of disbelief as Hu Siwei at the beginning.

Hu Siwei: "It was written by Lu Yan He, and he just wrote it."

"How is that possible?" Bai Jingnian looked at Hu Siwei in disbelief. "He wrote this episode of the script in just a few hours?"

Hu Siwei: "That should be the case."

The two looked at each other.

After a long while, Bai Jingnian said: "Hu Siwei, we must get Lu Yan He to agree to write all the scripts for us."

Hu Siwei looked at him and said: "The problem now is whether he is willing to write all the scripts for us."

Bai Jingnian said: "What is our budget for the script?"

Hu Siwei said: "The original budget was 200,000 per episode."

Bai Jingnian: "Do you think Lu Yan He will agree?"

Hu Siwei shook his head: "Does he lack this 1.6 million?"

Bai Jingnian: "Then what should we do?"

Hu Siwei pondered for a moment: "I'll talk to him and see what he thinks."

"You must get him to agree to write the script," Bai Jingnian said. "He perfectly wrote the feeling I wanted."

Hu Siwei glanced at him sideways.

The next day, Lu Yan He sat in the school coffee shop, looking seriously at Hu Siwei and Bai Jingnian sitting opposite him.

The two people opposite looked a bit nervous.

Others who saw this scene felt strange.

A young student was calm and serious, while two middle-aged men were as nervous as students waiting for a tutor's evaluation.

"You want me to be in charge of the screenwriting for this show?" Lu Yan He confirmed again.

Bai Jingnian nodded immediately and said: "Yes, to be honest, at first I wanted to write the script myself, but after writing a little, I couldn't write the feeling I wanted, so I found someone else to write it. The person I found was also trash and just fooled me. Last night, Hu Siwei brought the script you wrote to find me, and I couldn't sleep with excitement after reading it."

Lu Yan He was a bit surprised: "The script I wrote isn't that good, is it? You're being too exaggerated."

"It's definitely not an exaggeration; it's exactly the feeling I wanted," Bai Jingnian said. "I just wanted to write about the most ordinary side of a few young people. The things they experience are dramatic and comedic, but their life state is absolutely realistic."

Lu Yan He understood what he was saying.

He nodded.

"It's okay for me to be the screenwriter, but I have a few requirements," he said.

Hu Siwei: "Tell us, as long as we can satisfy them, we will definitely satisfy them."

Lu Yan He said: "First, the name of this show must be changed. I don't like the name *Under the Eaves*."

Hu Siwei looked at Bai Jingnian.

This name was chosen by Bai Jingnian himself.

Bai Jingnian nodded without hesitation and said: "No problem, you decide."

Lu Yan He said again: "Second, there are two roles in it for which I have target actors. I hope to leave these two roles for my target actors."

Bai Jingnian looked at Hu Siwei.

Hu Siwei said: "As long as it doesn't exceed our salary budget, no problem."

Lu Yan He nodded: "Of course."

Hu Siwei thought of something else and asked: "Yan He, which role are you planning to play?"

Lu Yan He said: "Jiang Kele. He is an actor in the show, and his personality is very different from mine. I want to challenge myself."

Hu Siwei was a bit surprised when he heard this and said: "But Jiang Kele's role doesn't seem to be the most important one?"

Although this is a sitcom where all six are protagonists, there is still a focus among the six.

At least from the story of the first season, Hu Fan is the first male lead.

The only main plot is whether Hu Fan and Li Lili can get back together.

Lu Yan He said: "I don't need to play the most important role. It doesn't matter."

Hu Siwei hesitated slightly and nodded.

Even if Lu Yan He is not the first male lead in the plot, it's not like he's just a supporting role.

Actually, according to Hu Siwei's idea, having Lu Yan He play the first lead would be the best.

"Then we can increase the weight of Jiang Kele's role in the script," Hu Siwei said. "After all, you are the only first-tier actor in the show."

"It doesn't matter. I think all six of them will become first-tier actors after this show airs," Lu Yan He said calmly. "Producer Hu, when I read the project proposal, I was looking forward to this project becoming such a show."

Hu Siwei and Bai Jingnian looked at each other and fell silent.

Neither of them expected Lu Yan He to have such confidence in this show.

Lu Yan He handled the creative side of things, and Chen Ziyan took over the rest.

"Salary and screenwriting fees, 2 million per episode. In addition, Yan He must enjoy 10% of the show's revenue," Chen Ziyan said.

Hu Siwei's face instantly showed difficulty.

"10%? Ziyan, this is an almost impossible number," Hu Siwei said.

Chen Ziyan's attitude was firm: "As the only lead who can carry the ratings and the only screenwriter, Yan He deserves this number."

Hu Siwei actually knew that Chen Ziyan was right.

In fact, taking a share is a very common phenomenon in the foreign film and television industry, especially for the core figures of a show.

Lu Yan He is clearly such a core figure for this show.

However, in a traditional TV station like Beijing TV, they almost never give such treatment to creative staff.

At most, they give a higher salary and higher writing fees.

Chen Ziyan said: "Without Yan He, you definitely won't be able to film this show. You know that very well."

Hu Siwei said: "Increasing the salary plus screenwriting fee to 5 million per episode is more realistic than taking 10% of the revenue. This is not something I can decide, Ziyan, and the station will be very reluctant to agree to such a practice; they won't be willing to set such a precedent."

Chen Ziyan said: "That is your business, Producer Hu. If you want to create a evergreen sitcom that can continue for a long time to save Beijing TV, then you have to pay the appropriate price."

Hu Siwei was silent for a while and said: "Salary plus screenwriting fee, 1.5 million per episode, 5% revenue. I will go and fight for it with the station."

Chen Ziyan: "Forget about bargaining. 10% is already me being modest. If I really wanted to be greedy, asking for 20% wouldn't be too much, and you know that."