Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 97 Let’s call this novel “The Cliff”

In the “Graduate Writers Class” of Yanshi University, Moyan had just finished teaching a novel writing class to Zhang Chao and others.

The theme of Moyan’s class is - Searching for the lost spiritual homeland.

He mentioned in class: "When I first started writing, I was very depressed because I couldn't find anything to write. I read newspapers and listened to the radio, and collected materials everywhere, but I found that nothing was good... In 1984, I wrote a novel "Autumn Water"... Regionalization may be a condition for a work to become a great work... So writers don't need to avoid their hometown when writing, but should do everything possible to find writing materials and inspiration from the resources of their hometown..."

“…Hometown is just a starting point of imagination, which we need to constantly surpass. Based on imagination, our hometown is boundless and open, where you can let your imagination run wild.”

After class, classmate Quan Yong called Zhang Chao over and said he would invite him to have dinner outside.

Zhang Chao said, "We are all classmates. If you have anything to say, just tell me. There is no need to be so formal."

Quan Yongxian said: "Then I really don't dare to speak."

Zhang Chao said, "Okay. But don't go out to eat. Let's go to the Northwest Restaurant on campus. The noodles there are good. I'll just have a bowl of noodles."

Seeing that Zhang Chao was very determined, Quan Yongxian had no choice but to follow him to the Northwest Restaurant.

The Northwest Restaurant naturally focuses on Northwest flavors. Zhang Chao ordered a bowl of fried pork noodles. Quan Yong first ordered fried noodles for himself, and then ordered ten grilled skewers and a bowl of braised beef.

After finishing his noodles and skewers, Zhang Chao asked again: "What exactly is going on? Why is it so difficult?"

Quan Yong put down his chopsticks first, sighed, took out a stack of manuscripts from his bag, handed them to Zhang Chao, and said, "Take a look first."

Zhang Chao pushed the dishes aside, wiped the table, and began to read the script carefully.

Quan Yong first gave him a TV drama script, which told an anti-Japanese story that took place in Northeast China. Liu Dongliang, a surgeon who returned from studying in Japan, tried to rescue an anti-Japanese hero. Although he failed, he was moved to join the anti-Japanese organization, using the pseudonym "Snow Wolf", and waged an arduous struggle against the Japanese army and traitors.

This is a spy war drama, and the title is "Snow Wolf".

Zhang Chao quickly finished reading the first two episodes and put the manuscript down.

Quan Yongxian asked expectantly, "How is it?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "At least from the first two episodes, it is still very attractive. Especially the protagonist Liu Dongliang, he is not simply set as a gay, but has a transformation process, so the character is much more delicate."

Quan Yong breathed a sigh of relief first.

Zhang Chao asked, "You showed me this script, didn't you just want me to comment on it? There must be something else. Just tell me, don't make it difficult for me."

Quan Yongxian said, "Actually, I want to ask you, do you have any way to help me sell this script to a film and television company?"

Zhang Chaoqi asked, "Such a good script, can't you just invest in it?"

Quan Yongxian sighed and said, "It's not that easy. Although I am a little famous for writing novels, I can't leave Heilongjiang. This script was written a long time ago, and I first submitted it to our Longjiang Film and Television Production Center through connections. It was shelved for more than a year, and finally I was told that it couldn't be filmed. They said that the center was short of funds and was afraid of losing money if it was filmed.

After I came to Yanjing, I also invested in some film and television companies, but nothing happened. Later, they told me that the scripts in these film and television companies are piled up from floor to ceiling. If the screenwriter is not familiar or famous, the producer will not even look at it. "

Zhang Chao asked, "You want me to help you transfer it to the film and television company?"

Quan Yong nodded first and said, "Yes. I just want to ask you to do me a favor. Aren't you familiar with Huayi? They also invest in TV series."

Zhang Chao fell into deep thought and did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the manuscript and started reading again.

Seeing this, Quan Yongxian sighed and said, "You really can't make much money writing novels nowadays. The royalties for short stories and novellas published in literary journals are only a few thousand yuan at most, and tens of thousands at most. If a long novel can't get support funds, it will take forever to get in line with the publishing house. Even if it is published, the first print run of several thousand copies may not be sold out."

Halfway through his speech, he looked at Zhang Chao with envy, and then continued: "Screenwriters still make money. A TV series script costs at least a few thousand yuan, and a whole series can cost hundreds of thousands of yuan. This is not unknown - it's difficult to be a 'writer' nowadays. It's better to be a screenwriter."

What Quan Yongxian said was true. It was a trend for writers to change their careers and become screenwriters. It was a pity for many writers that their writing could not be fully commercialized, so they were trying their best to get into the film and television industry. Not to mention the distant past, Mo Yan, who had just finished teaching them today, had written quite a few scripts.

Zhang Chao hesitated, not because he couldn't help, but because he really didn't know the show "Snow Wolf". Before his rebirth, he wasn't a know-it-all, and he didn't even remember the name of the show "Snow Wolf". It's unknown whether it was filmed or not, or if it was filmed but not broadcast.

For such an uncertain play, it doesn't matter if you lend a few favors, but the key is that you can't help anyone.

Zhang Chao considered for a moment and said, "I can help you pass the script to the producer at Huayi, but I think even if he reads it carefully, it is unlikely to be made into a TV series in the near future."

Quan Yongxian became anxious and asked, "Why? Is there a problem?"

Zhang Chao said: "There are two reasons. The first is that although "Snow Wolf" is a spy war theme, I looked through it and found that there are a lot of scenes. The cost of shooting it will not be low. The new policy this year prohibits TV stations from inserting advertisements during prime time, so all crews are cutting costs. This means that the script must be changed - but if the scenes are changed, is "Snow Wolf" still "Snow Wolf"?

The second reason is that this involves real heroes from our history. Although it is not made up or exaggerated, it is still an unstable factor. The producers want stable returns, and our fame is not enough for them to take this risk. "

Recently, because of writing a script, he carefully studied the relevant policies and found that this year is indeed a "bad year" for TV dramas. A ban directly prevented thousands of episodes of TV dramas that had already been produced from being broadcast.

Quan Yong listened first, sighed, and didn't know what to say.

Zhang Chao said: "But your play gave me some inspiration."

Quan Yongxian: “Hmm?”

Zhang Chao said: "The spy story that took place in the puppet Manchukuo is attractive not only because of its special historical background, but also because of its unique geographical environment and cultural features. Modern industrialized cities in the snow, tall Russian-style buildings, and rail cars clanging through the streets...

Judging from Snow Wolf, Harbin is what the teacher said in class, your spiritual hometown, right? "

Quan Yongxian nodded and said, "Indeed, although I was born in Jiamusi, my spiritual hometown is indeed Harbin. In order to write Snow Wolf, I searched for information in the library of Harbin for several months, and also asked some details from the old people who had done underground work back then."

Zhang Chao said: "No wonder the details are so realistic. I was inspired by Snow Wolf and thought of this story -

The protagonist is the captain of the action team of the Special Agent Department of the Puppet Manchukuo Police Department in Harbin. His name is...any name, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang, Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding--let's call him Zhou Yi--in fact, Zhou Yi is a hidden comrade. In order to obtain important intelligence, we sent a female radio operator--let's call her Qiu Yan--to pretend to be a couple with Zhou Yi..."

Zhang Chao only gave the outline of the whole story, but it took nearly 10 minutes.

Quan Yongxian became more and more fascinated as he listened. When Zhang Chao finished speaking, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Zhang Chao, what's wrong with your brain? You came up with such a wonderful story just by reading a few pages of my script. This story, this story, it's like it was tailor-made for me."

Zhang Chao said: "The core of this story lies in the complex multi-party struggle, the sophisticated plot structure and a lot of psychological games. The scenes are concentrated in the office building of the puppet Manchukuo police department and Zhou Yi's home. There are mostly indoor scenes, and the cost is controllable. And it does not involve real historical figures, so the risks are also controllable. If you write this story, I think it is very likely to be filmed."

Quan Yongxian hesitated and said, "This TV drama script has at least hundreds of thousands of words, and it took more than half a year to write. We still have a lot of creative work to do."

Zhang Chao suggested an idea: "In fact, you can first write a short story of about 10,000 words, or a novella of 20,000 to 30,000 words, and treat it as homework. You can also submit it to a journal, and it would be even better if it is published.

Then you write a script outline and the first few episodes based on the novel, and I will pass it on to Huayi’s producers for you to review and introduce the characteristics of this drama.”

Quan Yongxian waved his hands and said, "How can this be possible? This story is something you came up with. How can I use it to write a novel and publish it? Just write it. If you need background information, I can tell you."

Zhang Chao said, "My spiritual hometown is not Harbin, so no matter how I write, there will be a layer of separation between me and this story. Besides, I was inspired by your "Snow Wolf", so feel free to write it."

Quan Yong thought for a while and said, "Then let's sign this novel like a script, with our names together." It is normal for a script to have multiple signatures, but it is more rare for a novel.

Zhang Chao knew the temper of Quan Yongxian, a man from Northeast China. If he disagreed, he would rather give up the story than keep it for himself. So he nodded in agreement.

Quan Yongxian looked relaxed and asked, "What's the name of this novel? How about 'Horvat Street'? This is the old name of the most representative street in Harbin. The Harbin Police Department of the Puppet Manchukuo is located there. When you were telling this story just now, the appearance of this street kept appearing in my mind."

Zhang Chao said, "Hey, this is too subtle. I guess no one can understand it except you. This story needs to be filmed for everyone to see. I think it should be called "The Cliff"!"

——He didn’t know how “Snow Wolf” was doing back then, but he clearly remembered the sensation “Cliff” caused! It was a spy film masterpiece that ranked among the top ten in the ratings of the year on every TV station that broadcast it!
(End of this chapter)