2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 80 A Serendipitous Encounter? (Supplement 1)

To be honest, the script for "Fire in My Heart" is not perfect.

There are many reasons why it became so popular:
Firstly, it was Sophie Marceau's shocking nude scene, and her appeal was undeniable.

Secondly, it touches on sensitive topics such as surrogacy and women's independence.

Thirdly, the excellent acting of all the actors made up for the director's shortcomings, as well as the abrupt plot and missing lines during filming and editing.

If a movie has 100 lines of dialogue, 50 of them are acted out by the male and female actors, rather than spoken.

In short, Chu An's statement that the script wasn't very good wasn't modesty, but a statement of fact.

Su Manqing spent an hour reading the script in detail and felt...
The script was alright, above average. The theme was very profound; all the characters were portraying a single goal: suppressing their emotions and desires.

The problem is that, judging solely on the script, it doesn't actually reach the level of winning at Cannes, let alone being impeccable.

If you take it to Sundance, it will be difficult to impress even American art-house film directors.

His brow furrowed slightly, a hint of disappointment in his expression.

But thinking about it, it's understandable. For a Chinese person to write about old Victorian European stories and achieve this level of skill is already quite impressive.

Su Manqing didn't quite understand. Given Chu An's professionalism, surely he knew the script had flaws? Why was he so confident in pushing it to her?
Unable to figure it out, he rubbed his hands together and pulled out the second script below "Heart Fire".

Su Manqing suddenly realized that she had been so engrossed in watching the script that she had forgotten there was another script.

I quickly took it up and looked at it, and was immediately stunned.

Because the second script is the same as the first one, and it's on the cover too.
Heartfire

Only one line of small print was added: "Revised Version"

Su Manqing subconsciously opened it, and then spent more than an hour looking at it.

This time, after closing the script, she didn't make any rash comments. Instead, she pondered for a moment and quietly pushed the door of the inner room open a crack. Outside, a top-tier TV actress was auditioning.

Not wanting to disturb her, Su Manqing waved to Chu An. Chu An noticed her and walked over. "What's wrong?"

Su Manqing: "Can I call a friend over?"

Chu An was very focused on his work, and while staring at the actress, he casually replied, "Whatever."

Su Manqing: "Can I use your computer?"

Chu An: "No password."

After saying that, he walked away, ignoring Su Manqing.

Ignored, Goddess Su wrinkled her nose at Chu An and then shrank back.

She made two phone calls first. One was to the female executive of the production company that produced the crime film she had worked on before, who had come to Shengjing specifically to discuss a collaboration. Although the collaboration didn't go through, she had a fairly good personal relationship with her and could be considered a friend.

Su Manqing asked her to meet at Chu An's place, saying that she was unsure about a script and hoped she could give her some advice.

Another call was made to her agent in the United States, asking her to take the trouble to get up in the middle of the night to answer an email.

Then, she opened Chu An's computer, typed out the first few pages of the second script by hand in English, and sent it to her American agent.

In the email, he also left a message, "Take a look at this script and see what you think."

After turning off the computer, Su Manqing picked up the script again and studied it carefully.

A short while later, her friend arrived as promised.

Chu An led them in; a middle-aged white woman in her forties.
Su Manqing expressed her gratitude in fluent English, "Senny, thank you so much for coming. I need your help."

Sunny and Su Manqing embraced warmly. "We're friends, of course I'll come to your aid."

Su Manqing asked Senni to sit down and handed her the script. "You have more authority to speak on scripts than I do. Please take a look at this; I obtained it by chance."

Sunny, holding the script, didn't rush to open it. She smiled and said, "Su, actually, I still want to advise you that even Hollywood stars mostly built their careers step by step. Our film may not make you a superstar, but it's valuable experience, isn't it?" She waved the script of "Heartfire" and added, "Besides, I guarantee that no other production company can be as generous as we are in offering the lead role."

"So, you really aren't going to consider it?"

Su Manqing shrugged apologetically, "Senny, you know, I want better opportunities."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade Su Manqing, Senni could only shrug nonchalantly, "Alright! Let's see what kind of script moved the beautiful Ms. Su."

As she spoke, she flipped open the script with a playful expression. The script was in Chinese, so Su Manqing could only translate it for her sentence by sentence.

The process was very slow; after more than half an hour, they had only translated a few pages of the beginning and the story outline summarized by Su Manqing.

Seni suddenly interrupted Su Manqing, "Enough!"

Looking at Su Manqing with a serious expression, he said, "Su, have you obtained the copyright to this script? If not, my company might be interested in buying it."

Su Manqing was stunned, thinking to herself, of course I can't sell it to you!
Just then, her phone rang.

The American agent was woken from a deep sleep, groggily glanced at the beginning of a script and a synopsis, and then, wide awake, picked up the phone.

As soon as the call connected, she exclaimed solemnly, "Su! No matter who gave you the script, you must get the role of Elizabeth!!"

Upon hearing this, Su Manqing's expression turned serious, and she thought to herself, "Just as I thought!"

Both Senni and her agent confirmed her suspicions: the revised version of "Heart Fire" was the good script Chu An had presented.

------

Knowing that there were problems with the original "Heart Fire," Chu An was definitely going to revise it.

He didn't make many changes, but they completely changed the flavor of the story and even altered the theme.

In the original version, both the female and male leads have somewhat conflicted personalities. The female lead is filled with fear and shame for selling her body, yet she also displays a free-spirited, strong, and independent woman's demeanor. The male lead, on the other hand, is entangled with the female lead while simultaneously expressing deep love for his sick wife whom he has cared for for ten years, ultimately killing her with his own hands. He can be described as a sophisticated egoist.

Chu An simply changed Elizabeth's character to be completely free and independent, amplified her personal charm, and deleted the psychological displays of tears, struggle, and shame.

This makes her an exception among oppressed women of the Victorian era, in line with the open-mindedness of contemporary women.

Then, the plot of killing his wife was removed from the male protagonist, Godwin, and placed on Godwin's sister-in-law (in the original version, Godwin's sister-in-law cared for his sick wife with him for ten years and had long harbored feelings for Godwin. When she learned that Godwin and Elizabeth were in love, she chose to bless them and leave, indirectly highlighting the theme's restraint and forbearance of desire).
She stripped away her sister-in-law's love for Godwin, transforming their relationship into pure familial affection. When Godwin was unable to save the plantation and was tormented by the dual struggle of betraying his ailing wife and loving Elizabeth, she took the initiative to end her sister's life, thus bringing relief to Godwin and everyone else.

It also showcases women's independence, freedom, courage, and responsibility.

In short, Chuan transformed what was originally a film about suppressing desires into a film about emotional struggle, using Godwin's sick wife as a cage to imprison everyone, including Elizabeth, Godwin, and his sister-in-law.

Ultimately, with the passing of his ailing wife, everyone was given a new lease on life.

Although the theme has changed, there aren't many things that need to be modified.

However, Chu An wasn't very confident in her screenwriting skills, so she simply gave both versions to Su Manqing. As for which one to use, she and the future director would decide.

Chu An himself didn't expect the effect to be so good.

Little did he know that the revised version of "Firelight" would cater to both Western audiences' preferences and political correctness.

This includes a series of ethical controversies such as surrogacy, women's independence, and euthanasia.

Moreover, after the changes, it became a pure female-centric drama, and Elizabeth's character is extremely charismatic.

Furthermore, the metaphor of using a sick wife as a prison perfectly fits the tone of an art film.

The fast-paced narrative also aligns with the logic of commercial films.

Overall, the script is very good.

Worth the investment.

.

(End of this chapter)