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Chapter 306 Pregnancy

Wu Yuchen patted the review comments in his hand and said with a smile, "Actually, there are so many comments that it might dazzle people. But you have to understand that you should adhere to one principle: conform to the mainstream values ​​of our country."

Seeing that Li Xiaoran was still a little confused, Wu Yuchen continued, "In the context of this drama, it means that villains cannot be the main characters, and bad guys must receive the punishment they deserve."

Then Wu Yuchen said to Li Xiaoran:
"Look, the script has been revised several times, but the two thieves' character settings have never changed; they're always villains. You've given the main roles to the villains in the movie, and you've made them look incredibly cool. Do you think that after the movie is released, it will encourage teenagers to imitate them?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoran agreed, saying that the current script portrayed the two thieves too well.

Then Wu Yuchen continued:

"Moreover, the reasons for the change are indeed insufficient. Just because you saw a stranger who looks like your brother, you're willing to risk your life to help him? Is your family thief really that noble?"
Even if such noble thieves and chivalrous robbers truly exist, they shouldn't be promoted around here; it could easily mislead people and lead them astray.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoran asked curiously, "Then how do we change it?"

Wu Yuchen put down the script in his hand and said with a smile, "It's very simple, just turn the two thieves into good people!"

"Become a good person? If it were possible, Director Feng would have changed it long ago. He certainly wouldn't want to change his persona, right?" Li Xiaoran was very puzzled by this statement.

Wu Yuchen pulled Li Xiaoran over and made her sit on his lap. Then, he rubbed her belly with one hand and said, "The character setting doesn't need to be changed. Just add one more."

Li Xiaoran was still confused: "An extra one? What do you mean by an extra one?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head, then took out his phone and dialed Feng Xiaogang's number directly.

It was the middle of the night for Feng Xiaogang, and he was quite annoyed to be woken up. However, seeing that the caller ID showed Wu Yuchen, he immediately answered, "Hello, Director Wu~"

"Director Feng, did I disturb your rest?"

Feng Xiaogang quickly replied, "No, no, I stay up late now. I'm a night owl; I only get inspiration at night! I'm full of energy right now!"

"Hehe, that's good. I've read your script for 'A World Without Thieves,' and I've also read the comments from above. They do make some sense."

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiaogang was somewhat disappointed, but he still said, "Director Wu, you're right. I didn't think it through. I actually just wanted to make a story about a bad guy turning good. If it really can't be done, then forget it..."

"Why bother? I'm still waiting to see Xiaoran as the leading lady!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiaogang immediately perked up: "Hey, Director Wu, go ahead, I'm listening!"

"Actually, it's quite simple: get the female thief pregnant."

Upon hearing these words over the phone, Feng Xiaogang was jolted awake. It was as if a lightning bolt had struck his mind, and everything became clear.

Get the female thief pregnant? Get the female thief pregnant!
Yes! How could he not have thought of that?
Once the female thief becomes pregnant, the identities of the male and female protagonists change, and they gain the identity of parents.

Children inherently represent purity and kindness. And the pregnant woman, being one with the child, would then pass on this goodness, which the child represents, to the female thief.

In this way, not only are the two husband-and-wife thieves freed from their simple villainous identities, but their motivation for doing good deeds also becomes clear: to accumulate good karma for their child! This setting not only makes the script coherent, but also brings more space for the entanglement of good and evil and the exploration of human nature to the entire script.

Then Wu Yuchen said on the phone:
"You can add something else to it, like going to worship Buddha or something, to create a process of spiritual cleansing for the female protagonist, and add the Buddhist concept of good cause and good effect."

There's also the option to deepen the connection between the simpleton and the female lead, like by having him help her or save her. I reckon that would work.

Feng Xiaogang exclaimed excitedly, "Master Chen! That's incredible! I'm truly impressed! It's enlightening! I'm completely in awe!"

Then Feng Xiaogang exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my god, guess what happened when I looked up now?"

Wu Yuchen chuckled: "What, did you see the Big Dipper?"

Feng Xiaogang's eyes darted around, and he immediately waved his hand: "Hey, how can the Big Dipper compare to you! You're like the bright moon in the sky! No, you're like the sun high in the sky, illuminating not only me, but also our Chinese cinema!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen burst into laughter. This Feng Xiaogang truly lived up to his name; could an ordinary person flatter him like that?

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "Alright, alright, Director Feng, it's a small matter. Don't flatter me. This script is quite good. Making a good film and bringing a great movie to China and its audience is more important than anything else!"

Feng Xiaogang grinned and said, "Alright! With you saying that, I certainly won't let you down!"

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but chuckle. That Feng Kuzi!

However, he then saw Li Xiaoran sitting on his lap, looking at him with an expression of adoration.

Li Xiaoran wrapped her arms around Wu Yuchen's neck, her eyes filled with admiration, and kept saying:

How did you come up with that idea?

"How come you're so awesome?"

Wu Yuchen had just opened his mouth to speak when Li Xiaoran grabbed his head and covered his lips with hers, silencing him completely.

……

The moon tonight is white, big, and round, shining through the window into the house, making the night even more enchanting.

Despite being exhausted, Li Xiaoran clung tightly to Wu Yuchen, clearly quite infatuated with him and deeply fascinated by him.

Wu Yuchen stroked Li Xiaoran's alluring body and said, "Sister Ranran, go back and prepare well for this role. The script is quite good."

Li Xiaoran gave a soft "hmm" and then said, "I wonder who the male lead will invite."

Wu Yuchen chuckled but didn't reply. He had already secured the female lead role and didn't plan to get involved in the other roles. However, he guessed that the Wang brothers still wanted to cast Liu Dehua, given his strong box office appeal.

Then Li Xiaoran turned to Feng Xiaogang: "Director Feng's mouth is just too 'sweet'! I wouldn't be able to say those words..." Although Feng Xiaogang has now made a name for himself and is considered a figure of importance in society, his way of dealing with people has been ingrained for decades and has become his survival philosophy, making it difficult to change. When asking for favors, especially from people of higher status, he subconsciously resorts to this kind of flattery.

Wu Yuchen had heard someone mention that last year, Feng Xiaogang was having dinner with a leader and said, "Who are you? Just standing on the city wall, I feel that there are too many lights in the whole capital, wasting electricity! If you just say the word, half the lights in the capital will be turned off for you!"

Feng Xiaogang hasn't gotten cocky yet. Back in his previous life, after the consecutive successes of "A World Without Thieves" and "Assembly," he started putting on airs as a big director and successful person, venting the frustration he felt from currying favor with superiors by bullying subordinates. Everyone needs an outlet, otherwise they might go crazy.

For someone like him, just always stand above him.

Wu Yuchen gently patted her shapely buttocks: "If he had your background, he wouldn't have said that. One thing at a time, Director Feng is still quite capable."

Li Xiaoran nuzzled Wu Yuchen's chin: "That still can't compare to you~"

Wu Yuchen chuckled and kissed her on the cheek: "Yes, yes, but no matter how great I am, I still have to listen to you, Ranran~ Good girl, go to sleep!"

Li Xiaoran then happily hugged Wu Yuchen's arm and closed her eyes.

……

Ukraine.

"Crack!"

At Zhang Yimou's voice, the entire crew stopped and looked at him, waiting for the director's next command.

Zhang Yimou stood up, waved his hand, and said loudly, "No more filming!"

These words startled everyone. Jin Chengwu and Liu Dehua exchanged a glance, then ran over with some concern and quickly asked, "Director Zhang, what's wrong? Is there a problem with our performance?"

Zhang Yimou shook his head and said, "It's not your problem, it's my problem. The location isn't right. Let's find a new location!"

Kim Sung-woo and Andy Lau breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but the others sighed and lamented, as if they had wasted their time and effort.

The production team of "House of Flying Daggers" has had a lot of trouble since filming began.

The film was scheduled to start shooting on September 11th, but just a week before filming began, on September 5th, Anita Mui publicly announced that she had cervical cancer, casting a shadow over the entire crew.

Casting Anita Mui as the "Big Sister" of the Flying Knife Clan was a result that satisfied everyone. After all, she was famous and had commercial appeal. Moreover, Zhang Yimou also valued Anita Mui's big sister aura and chivalrous spirit, and even prepared the costumes and styling.

However, the news of Anita Mui's cancer immediately disrupted Zhang Yimou's plans. Although Anita Mui insisted that she would go to Sichuan to film after she had received treatment, it was cancer!

However, the trustworthy director Zhang Yimou did not refuse Anita Mui, but told her to rest assured and recover, and that the role would be reserved for her and would not be given to anyone else.

When the crew arrived in Ukraine, they encountered a second setback before filming began.

Anyone even slightly familiar with Zhang Yimou knows that his films place great emphasis on visuals. In "House of Flying Daggers," he also aimed to construct the entire film from visual perspectives such as imagery and color. Filming a romantic fight scene amidst a vibrant sea of ​​flowers, creating a sense of beauty in nature and the human form, was one of Zhang Yimou's pursuits and starting points for this film.

Therefore, a year ago, Zhang Yimou had already set his sights on the renowned Ukrainian sunflowers. In order to create a visual effect of a sky full of golden sunflowers and a blue sea, the production team spent two thousand dollars to buy high-quality local sunflower seeds and hired more than 80 local flower farmers to plant golden sunflowers.

The gardener was hired and paid, and Zhang Yimou was full of anticipation. But six months later, SARS broke out, and the crew couldn't go to Ukraine in time to supervise the flower planting. When the crew finally arrived in Ukraine this September, they found that the flowers on the hillside were only sparsely blooming, far from meeting the conditions for filming.

This disrupted Zhang Yimou's filming plans once again.

But the crew had already traveled all the way to Ukraine and brought all the equipment; they couldn't have come all this way for nothing, could they?

Therefore, the production team had to reselect locations, and ultimately, they were forced to reluctantly choose a field of white wildflowers in the area to film the scenes between Jin Chengwu and Zhang Ziyi.

Now, in this same sea of ​​flowers, the scene of the final battle in the flower field was supposed to be filmed, but Zhang Yimou called a halt to Andy Lau and Kim Sung-woo because the flowers were past their blooming season! He had just discovered that some of the flowers were already starting to wither, and filming them like this wouldn't achieve the visual effects and feel he wanted.

"Director Zhang, what should we do? It's already late autumn, and according to the local weather report, it's already snowing in some places. There's definitely no way we can find another field of flowers!"

Zhang Yimou was silent for a moment, then asked his senior producer Zhang Weiping, "Can we choose a different location? It doesn't have to be in Ukraine anymore. We can look for one back in China."

Zhang Weiping shook his head directly: "Zhang Yimou, it's not that I don't want to find someone for you, but you have to consider the production team's funding. And what about Andy Lau's schedule? He specifically cleared this time for us. If we don't film now, what will happen when he goes back and his schedule is over, and he's gone to other places? How will we film then?"

Zhang Yimou also let out a long sigh. He originally planned for the three main actors to have a final battle in a sea of ​​flowers against a backdrop of three different colors, thus conveying the meaning of fate.

But now things are really not going as planned!

Since arriving in Ukraine, he has encountered a series of misfortunes. During filming, Takeshi Kaneshiro fell off his horse and was injured, and action director Cheng Xiaodong was almost blinded by an arrow.

Zhang Yimou shook his head. Things didn't go as planned, so he could only accept it.

He then said to the crew, "Didn't you say it's already snowing? Let's find a place where it's snowing and turn this scene into a snow fight!"

"Okay, Director Zhang, we'll go scout right away!" Upon hearing the director's decision, the crew members began to adjourn the meeting and immediately set to work.

After most of the people had left, Zhang Yimou called out to his good brother, Weiping, "Wait a minute, there's something I want to tell you."

Zhang Weiping stopped and looked back at Zhang Yimou. He immediately put on a kind and gentle smile, knowing that Zhang Yimou was not one to speak easily.

He closed the door, then walked over and sat down next to Zhang Yimou: "Yimou, just say what's on your mind. What's there to be embarrassed about between brothers like us?"

The old strategist hummed in agreement, then thought for a moment before saying, "Wei Ping, Chen Ting called me yesterday and said..."

When Zhang Weiping saw him stop again, he pressed on, "What are you saying?"

"She's pregnant."

(End of this chapter)