Chapter 270: Script Revisions for

On April 8, after years of preparation and promotion, the production team of "Red Cliff" finally commenced filming in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province.

Perhaps to avoid media disturbance, the launch ceremony was low-key, with only Zhang Fengyi and other Cao Camp characters present; Fan Xiaopang also made an appearance, portraying Sun Shangxiang, who belonged to the Jiangdong faction but had substantial scenes within the Cao Camp.

Hmm, in the film, Sun Shangxiang disguises herself as a man to infiltrate the Cao Camp as a spy, gathering internal intelligence.

Who knows if all the men of Jiangdong have died out.

Or is the Cao Camp filled with useless fools who can't even detect a spy—let alone a female one?!

Don't assume ancient people were fools who didn't understand intelligence warfare; countless military texts emphasized the importance of intelligence—they were experts at it.

History also records that Cao Cao had numerous special investigators dedicated to intelligence and espionage work.

In a war of this scale, it's perfectly normal for one side to infiltrate spies and the other to hunt them down.

But letting Sun Quan's sister infiltrate the Cao Camp is a classic case of "artistic invention."

Thanks to Fan Xiaopang, Seeing Yan Li also read some of the "Red Cliff" script, and it truly opened his eyes.

Honestly, Seeing Yan Li didn't know whether these big directors had been flattered into confusion or had climbed so high on their own hype they couldn't get down, so they just gave up and threw caution to the wind.

How did they come up with such an insult to the audience's intelligence?!

That film "The Promise," and now this "Red Cliff," have seriously shattered Seeing Yan Li's illusion of these big directors.

He may still believe in their ability and skill, but no longer blindly.

Some problems with "Red Cliff" served as a wake-up call to Seeing Yan Li, prompting him to tighten his grip on certain aspects of "Painted Skin."

As always, Seeing Yan Li doesn't understand creation, but he knows how to spot flaws.

He can't raise the upper limit, but he can guarantee a minimum standard.

At least Seeing Yan Li considers his own thinking normal and relatively mainstream, able to empathize with most viewers; sometimes, he can prevent or avoid directors' absurd, nonsensical, low-intelligence antics.

Seeing Yan Li even organized a script symposium with some screenwriters, film critics, and controlled, confidential ordinary viewers.

To further discuss and study the "Painted Skin" script, refining it and eliminating the unnecessary.

Seeing Yan Li's requirements for this script were a clear story, smooth pacing, and solid commercial elements; on that foundation, some so-called depth could be added appropriately.

Put more bluntly: make it understandable, enjoyable, and ideally, leave some lingering aftertaste.

These three requirements sound easy, but achieving them is still difficult, especially the last two.

The "Painted Skin" script was revised again and again.

In addition to the version Seeing Yan Li demanded based on intelligence requirements, two other versions were written, nearly turning it into a full-blown human-demon final battle.

Since "Painted Skin" is scheduled to begin filming in the second half of the year, many preparations are already underway, leaving some buffer room, so Seeing Yan Li has been pushing the script tightly, making the screenwriters fear any call from Yi An.

But no matter how much they fear it, it's useless; whenever Seeing Yan Li has time, he reviews the script or meets with the screenwriters almost every ten days or week.

Li Mei Pavilion

Seeing Yan Li held a small discussion meeting with the director and screenwriters in the largest private room.

Although the "Painted Skin" script has been revised frequently and pushed hard, Seeing Yan Li never treats screenwriters as disposable tools.

Holding this meeting in a tea house was intentional: the company is too serious and oppressive, while a tea house is a relaxed setting—drinking tea, eating snacks, the atmosphere becomes lighter.

Seeing Yan Li doesn't understand creation, but he deeply respects creative talent—he demands much, and pays well.

Thus, although the "Painted Skin" screenwriters grumble and complain, none have quit.

After casual greetings, Seeing Yan Li reviewed the latest script version while listening to the screenwriters' revision reports.

"Director Yan, regarding the overlap in character traits between Pang Yong and the Female Demon-Slayer, we've made certain adjustments."

"Painted Skin" has few main characters; besides the central love triangle, the most noteworthy are Pang Yong, the Female Demon-Slayer, and the Lizard Demon.

Among them, the Lizard Demon is the simplest—a subordinate and sycophant of the Fox Demon, serving as a villain.

Pang Yong and the Female Demon-Slayer: the former is more complex, a comrade of the male lead Wang Sheng, with emotional entanglements involving Wang's wife Peirong; later, he leaves the army and wanders the martial world. The Female Demon-Slayer is simpler—she has a grudge against the Fox Demon.

Both arrive in the protagonist's city, detect the Fox Demon's trail, and join forces to subdue demons.

These two characters have some overlap, yet each serves distinct purposes, making deletion difficult.

First, Pang Yong is crucial—he supports Wang's wife at the critical moment, trusting her even when everyone believes she is a demon, creating contrast with the male lead; this setup ensures the character cannot be removed.

Because the female lead needs an escape route; sacrifice and love carry weight only if there's a way out—otherwise, it's pure misery.

The Female Demon-Slayer carries more narrative baggage than Pang Yong and was once considered for deletion, but they later decided to retain her.

Because the Fox Demon's side already has one sycophant; if Wang's wife also has only one, it becomes homogenized. Adding the Female Demon-Slayer, even subtly hinting at a romantic thread, weakens that feeling.

To reduce character overlap, the screenwriters revised the script, enhancing the Female Demon-Slayer's importance.

Now, the Female Demon-Slayer handles demon-slaying, detects demonic aura, and leads all battles against demons; Pang Yong becomes the assistant.

In the plot, Pang Yong's relationship with Wang Sheng and Wang's wife remains unchanged, but after leaving the army, he doesn't wander—he opens an inn in the city and occasionally takes on escort jobs.

The Female Demon-Slayer arrives in the city, checks into Pang Yong's inn, they meet, then detect demonic aura.

The Female Demon-Slayer slays demons; Pang Yong, self-assured in his martial skill and determined to protect the locals, assists her; together, they gradually uncover the Fox Demon, then enter the main plotline.

Later, it's because of the Female Demon-Slayer's past romance that Pang Yong comes to trust Wang's wife.

After the ending, the Female Demon-Slayer departs; Pang Yong, who harbors feelings for her, pretends to escort a shipment and follows her away.

Seeing Yan Li nodded at the script—it's essentially a shift in character weight.

Pang Yong, the fourth lead, steps back to give more screen time to the Female Demon-Slayer; both characters become more "tool-like."

This revision preserves their original functions, reduces overlap, and makes the logic more reasonable.

The Female Demon-Slayer wanders, slaying demons and holding a grudge against the Fox Demon; she encounters Pang Yong, a retired soldier protecting his hometown and Wang's wife's former sycophant—their motivations and actions align naturally.

One man, one woman; one martial, one magical—this enriches the character composition and fight scenes.

Meanwhile, reducing Pang Yong's screen time has completely silenced any calls to hire a martial arts superstar.

The main supporters of this idea were director Chen Jiashang, who lacked confidence in the all-mainland cast and constantly wanted a heavyweight martial arts star to attract audiences through action elements.

Seeing Yan Li, however, believes the core appeal of "Painted Skin" lies in its characters, plot, and special effects—not in so-called action elements.

The "Two Warriors Clash for Yan" gimmick wasn't his impulsive idea; based on feedback collected so far, its effect will surely offset or even surpass most Hong Kong/Taiwan big-name stars.

If that's the case, why spend so much money on action elements that aren't particularly important?

If Chen Jia-shang thinks action elements matter, he could hire a martial arts star, but there's no need to pay an exorbitant fee.

There are plenty of actors who perform well and charge little!

For example, Wu Jing, who rose to fame through *Sha Po Lang* and *Men Er Ben Se*; Zhao Wenzhuo, discovered in TV dramas over the past two years; and Shi Xingyu, who played the coolie in *Kung Fu Hustle*—though the latter is weak in dramatic scenes.

Chen Jia-shang's reasoning is reasonable, and even some investors support him.

For the sake of unity, Seeing Yan Li couldn't directly suppress him; instead, he would work around the script to resolve it indirectly.

It's hard to get a substantial martial arts star to play a role ranked fifth or sixth—even if they agree, how much should you pay them?

Pay too little, and the actor won't accept it; pay too much for such a supporting role, and the crew and investors won't agree.

Indeed, after this version of the script was approved, Chen Jia-shang stopped mentioning anyone by name.

But casting still had to be done.

Especially since the Female Demon-Slayer role had been expanded, subtly rising to fourth billing, just below the male lead and two female leads—choosing who to cast was worth careful consideration.

Wang Ou had clearly said she wouldn't act—it wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she was afraid to.

Similarly, Yang Rong, Jiang Xin, Huo Siyan, and others dared not get involved in this mess.

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan wouldn't play second fiddle to Shuang Bing; even their inner circles had little desire to participate for various reasons.

Thus, despite *Hua Pi* being the highest-budget project Yi'an had ever funded, it was internally the quietest in casting.

Currently, the two who clearly wanted the role and were closest to it were Sun Li and Yang Xue.

The former had spent the past two years trying to break into film, and with Deng Chao's connections, *Hua Pi* offered her perfect timing, geography, and harmony—naturally, she pursued it fiercely.

The latter was a jack-of-all-trades; though close to Dong Xuan, she also maintained good relations with both Shuang Bing, and being close to Yi'an herself, plus having a clean reputation with Seeing Yan Li, she was the most likely to rise among the circle of Xiao Yanzhi women.

Of course, other actresses were also vying for it, but in terms of fame, status, and connections, all fell short of Sun and Yang.

Seeing Yan Li had originally favored Yang Xue, but upon hearing Sun Li was competing, he began to hesitate.

Sun Li was more famous, and Yi'an planned to have Deng Chao appear in *Hua Pi*—a third collaboration between the couple would benefit promotion.

Hmm, if Sun Li played the Female Demon-Slayer, Deng Chao could play the Lizard Spirit.

*Hua Pi* already had Shuang Bing fighting over Seeing Yan Li; adding a real-life couple falling in love on-screen would be too much.

So if Deng Chao and Sun Li killed each other in the drama, slashing wildly, it would be more compelling and offer more promotional angles. Seeing Yan Li's internal scale tilted slightly, but he hadn't made a final decision—there was still time; perhaps another suitable candidate would emerge.

What Seeing Yan Li didn't know was that while he hesitated, someone had already begun acting.

…

A certain restaurant

Taking advantage of everyone being present, Qin Lan gathered the sisters for a meal, also serving as a welcome for the new members, Gan Wei and Ying Cai'er.

Though they were newcomers, they hadn't joined outright—they'd all previously crossed paths with the Teddy Sisters.

Especially Gan Wei, who came with a mission and funding, was especially eager to join the group and willing to spend money.

Thus, she had interacted with every member of the Teddy Sisters, even courting and buying them off—though a few weren't swayed, at least all had met her.

Ying Cai'er wasn't as strong as Gan Wei, but having followed Liu Yun and Huo Siyan, she'd met most of them; her personality was cheerful, lively, and outgoing—no matter her true feelings, publicly she was very popular and well-connected.

"Come on, let's welcome the eighth and ninth members into the group."

Huo Siyan stood up and proposed a toast; though Gan and Ying were still "probationary," their rankings had already been assigned.

Coincidentally, these two new members were both quite young—or rather, this was one reason they could join.

As previously mentioned, the original members weren't necessarily willing to call newcomers "sister," as it could disrupt internal unity; thus, newcomers should be younger and placed at the end.

Ying Cai'er was born in June 1983, four months younger than Zhao Ke, the seventh-ranked member, placing her eighth; Gan Wei, born in 1984, was directly ranked ninth.

After the welcome, everyone ate and chatted, and gradually the conversation turned to *Hua Pi*.

There are no secrets in this circle; though the *Hua Pi* script was still being revised, details of the roles were already known within the industry—at least among those close to Yi'an.

Ma Yili traced her cup's rim and asked Qin Lan if she had any new updates.

Qin Lan glanced at her: "Do you have an idea?"

"Me?"

Ma Yili shook her head—she did have ideas, but she feared Shuang Bing and didn't want to become cannon fodder.

Moreover, compared to herself, she preferred to recommend someone else.

"Wen Zhang?"

Qin Lan chuckled teasingly: "You're really good to your little boyfriend."

"Of course I am—I'm his girlfriend, aren't I supposed to treat him well?"

Ma Yili replied firmly, then added: "Honestly, I've wanted to mention this to you before, but his fame is low, and you couldn't speak up easily."

"Now that *Struggle* is about to air, his fame will surely rise—if any suitable opportunity comes up, help him out, and have your man pass a word. I'll owe you one."

Qin Lan was surprised by Ma Yili's seriousness toward Wen Zhang.

Since the Teddy Sisters' founding, every other sister had benefited from her in some way, but Ma Yili had never asked for anything.

She'd always thought Ma Yili was doing well enough herself, hadn't seen a good opportunity, so hadn't spoken up—never imagining she was waiting for this moment.

Using her own favor to pave the way for her boyfriend—was Ma really that confident in Wen Zhang?

Still, despite her surprise, Qin Lan nodded in agreement.

The Teddy Sisters were all women, and relevant resources were tight; Ma Yili sacrificing for her boyfriend made it easier for Qin Lan to maneuver.

But it was uncertain what resources could be secured, since Yi'an had more male artists; Qin Lan could allocate favors to her sisters, but couldn't harm her own company's interests.

Compared to Ma Yili's promotion of her boyfriend, Huo Siyan and Li Xiaolu were more direct—they went straight for the Female Demon-Slayer role.

Huo Siyan wouldn't dare seek death, and others dared not either; most lacked the fame to even compete.

Li Xiaolu had originally thought the same, but after hearing Yang Xue was competing, she assumed Dong Xuan was behind it and began urging her on.

Li Xiaolu, after all, was a popular rising star and a Golden Horse Award winner—she was absolutely qualified to enter the competition.

As for Shuang Bing, Li Xiaolu, though a member of the Teddy Sisters Group, had no direct conflict with either of them.

Her family at least held some status and connections in the circle; if she stayed low-key, Shuang Bing might not bother her.

Under Huosiyen's persuasion, and with other motives in mind, Li Xiaolu decided she could give it a try.

But their strength alone wasn't enough—they needed Qin Lan to whisper a few words in the right ears.

Qin Lan originally didn't want to get involved.

Because she feared Li Xiaolu and Shuang Bing would clash—should she stand up for her sister or not?

And if Li Xiaolu got swayed by Shuang Bing, she'd feel even worse.

But Huosiyen read Qin Lan's pulse and mentioned Dong Xuan and Yang Xue, stirring Qin Lan's alertness.

She didn't want Dong Xuan's side gaining advantage, but Yang Xue's rise wasn't entirely unacceptable to her; what she truly feared was Dong Xuan and Fan Xiaopang teaming up with Yang Xue to target her.

Though the Seven Fairies as a whole were fake, they weren't without genuine sisterhoods.

Who knew if Dong and Fan might reconcile and form a tacit alliance against her? That wouldn't be good at all.

Hmm, she really couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

Coincidentally, while Li Xiaolu and Huosiyen were convincing Qin Lan, Dong Xuan herself encountered the eager student Yang Mi.

Though there had once been tension between teacher and student, the growing strength of the Teddy Sisters Group put pressure on Dong Xuan.

Guan Yue was trustworthy but lacked professional ability; Yin Xu was the same.

Jiang Xin was disloyal; Yang Xue was slick and adaptable; Dong Xuan held no hope for either and kept them at arm's length, unable to regard them as confidants.

Tong Yaya was a newcomer, and their acquaintance was too brief to entrust her with major responsibilities yet.

The student named Yuan Shanshan had been given a chance by Dong Xuan, but her performance was unsatisfactory.

Because of her, Dong Xuan was reminded of Yang Mi, her "favorite student."

As a Beijing Film Academy student and one personally mentored by Dong Xuan, Yang Mi was inherently part of her inner circle.

Even if she had some private ambitions, they weren't matters of principle like espionage, betrayal, or conspiracy—she was simply overly ambitious, which wasn't hard to understand.

Besides, the more driven a person was, the greater their chance of success.

Guan Yue, Yang Xue, and others had decent personalities, but that very trait held them back—their professional performance was merely passable; only someone like Yang Mi, with such drive, could stand up to the Teddy Sisters Group.

Though Yang Mi's fame was still modest, her development was solid, and she was already a visible presence among the new generation.

Dong Xuan still held some hope for her; with some investment and support, given time, she might become one of her fiercest lieutenants.

But this girl's appetite was too big—she immediately set her sights on "Painted Skin."

Her foundation was too shallow, and she still had to contend with Yang Xue; Dong Xuan didn't believe she could rise to the top.

But trying wouldn't hurt—mainly to show her regard for Yang Mi, then allocate other resources accordingly.

"Mi Mi, when does your contract with Rongxinda expire?"

Yang Mi paused, then replied: "Around 2010."

"That's too long."

Dong Xuan fell into thought—feeding her resources slowly wouldn't guarantee Yang Mi's rise; if she could join Yi'an, things would be different.

Yi'an currently had only two female artists, and their resources were clearly excessive.

If Yang Mi joined and became a true insider, even just eating the leftovers from Fan and Wang could propel her to rapid success.

Of course, this situation wasn't invisible to others—but Yi'an had never taken on another female artist; behind it, someone was blocking it, and those who understood knew why.

Dong Xuan felt that if she pushed hard enough, she could break through this barrier and place Yang Mi inside.

But there were two difficulties: one was Rongxinda's contract; the other was whether Yang Mi could withstand Fan Xiaopang and Wang Ou's suppression—or even targeted attacks.

A rare good seedling—don't let her die before even stepping onto the battlefield.

Dong Xuan decided to hold off for now and let Yang Mi's career climb a bit first.

Being a newcomer and joining as a rising star were two different things; an artist's confidence and level of attention differed greatly—if Yang Mi showed enough potential, even if Fan and Wang caused trouble, Seeing Yan Li wouldn't sit idle.

For their internal squabbles, Seeing Yan Li usually turned a blind eye; but once company interests were involved, everyone had to behave.

Besides, waiting one or two years would bring Rongxinda's contract close to expiration, making it easier to resolve.

Besides Yang Mi, Tong Yaya was also a promising prospect—she might become a capable ally in the future.

Hmph!

Dong Xuan muttered to herself, let that Qin and that Fan enjoy their moment of triumph.

Once she cultivated Yang and Tong, she'd turn the Teddy Sisters Group into a dead-dog sisters group, and make the Yi'an number one position handed over to others…

(End of Chapter)