Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 75 Script Revision
I hung up the phone and went back upstairs.

Chen Hong could tell that Zhang Yan wasn't in a good mood, so she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind without saying a word, and quietly pressed her ear against Zhang Yan's back, listening to his 'thump-thump' heartbeat.

Feeling the tenderness coming from behind, Zhang Yan felt somewhat ashamed, thinking that he should have said a few more words in defense of Chen Hong when Xu Fan made veiled accusations that morning.

However, his shame always came and went quickly.

Covering Chen Hong's smooth hand with his back, Zhang Yan laughed and said, "It's nothing serious. I was planning to start a record company with Dou Wei when he came back, but who knew that someone would suddenly appear out of nowhere."

"Is that Zhang Peiren?"

"Yes, he's from Rock Records in Taiwan, and he's planning to open a branch of Rock Records in mainland China. Coincidentally, Jing Shi Records, which Dou Wei is signed to, is also a branch of Rock Records..."

After Zhang Yan briefly explained the intricacies of the situation, Chen Hong hugged him tighter and said, "Actually, this is a good thing. We can see how he prepared, and it will be a good reference when we start our own record company in the future."

Chen Hong was quite supportive of Zhang Yan's plan to start a record company, because these days, most famous actors would release an album while they were still popular.

They claim to be developing their careers in film, television, and music, but in reality, it's all for the sake of making money through gigs.

If Zhang Yan starts his own record company, Chen Hong won't need to rely on others to release albums anymore, and the quality will definitely be guaranteed.

Zhang Yan listened to Chen Hong's words and felt that there was indeed some truth to them.

Although Zhang Peiren's approach to starting a record company may not be suitable for him, the general framework is certainly worth referencing.

Moreover, Zhang Yan's main focus is pop music, which doesn't conflict with Zhang Peiren's dedication to rock music, and they can definitely collaborate to some extent.

"correct."

After Zhang Yan calmed down a bit, he told her about how "Tianjin Wei" was going to be broadcast ahead of schedule, how Chen Zhipeng had asked him to shoot an advertisement, and how Guan Hu wanted to invite him to be a producer.

Chen Hong was overjoyed to hear this, and after hearing Zhang Yan's "tailor-made" advertising slogan for her, she was even more excited and hugged his neck and kissed him endlessly.

After calming down for a while, she asked again, eager to try, "If you agree to revise the script for Guan Hu, can I play the female lead in this movie?"

"This one……"

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment, but he had a reason for stopping Chen Hong before, and he couldn't very well say that he couldn't revise the script well now, could he?

So he could only vaguely reply, "Let's see what Guan Hu really means first."

It's true what they say, "Speak of the devil and he appears."

The two had barely finished their conversation when Guan Hu came knocking again.

After entering the door.

He tentatively asked, "Teacher Zhang, what do you think about becoming a producer..."

"I'm actually quite interested in being a producer."

Zhang Yan didn't mince words and said directly, "But you have to make it clear first how much of a role I play as a 'producer,' what I can manage, and what I can't touch."

"Uh~"

Guan Hu hadn't really thought it through; he just wanted to get a screenwriter for free.

Upon closer examination, the producer's power is both immense and insignificant.

For example, regarding the actors, Guan Hu just wants to find acquaintances to get them for free, at most giving them a small fee. If Zhang Yan is willing to help bring people into the scheme, as long as the candidates aren't too outrageous, Guan Hu is willing to give his full support.

But if Zhang Yan is unwilling to owe favors to the production team, then the casting process will naturally fall out of reach.

In addition, regarding filming, the more Zhang Yan intervened in the script, the more say he naturally had during filming, provided that Guan Hu approved of it.

In short, aside from money, effort and reward are proportional.

After a brief consideration, Zhang Yan felt that this was a job he could do, provided that Guan Hu was willing to "help" and film the instant noodle commercial.

"That's definitely no problem!"

Upon hearing Zhang Yan's story about shooting the commercial, Guan Hu happily said, "How about this? I won't charge you for shooting the commercial; consider it payment for the producer's fee."

Zhang Yan hadn't considered not paying, and he didn't need the meager sum, but Guan Hu insisted, so in the end he had no choice but to agree.

So the two of them discussed it briefly and then went their separate ways.

Guan Hu was in charge of assembling a film crew for the commercial shoot, while Zhang Yan worked overtime to revise the script.

Without disrupting the overall framework, Zhang Yan focused on revising the scene where the male protagonist uses rock music to win over the veteran cadres of the literary federation in the bar. This scene was deemed too idealistic, resembling more of a clumsy fantasy by a rock musician, and lacking sufficient conflict and explosiveness.

Zhang Yan, drawing on his own experience, changed the story to one where another band wanted to perform at the bar, which led to a conflict with the male protagonist's band.

The other party provoked first: "If you're so tough, let's meet somewhere tonight and have a musical duel. The loser has to smash the instrument!"

The male protagonist immediately retorted: "Fine, let's go to the morgue at Peking University Third Hospital tonight and see who dares to challenge me!"

The reason the male protagonist suggested going to the morgue was because his old rival and love rival, the second male lead's father, was the morgue's night watchman—in the original script, the second male lead's father was an old man who suffered a stroke and died of illness midway through the journey, so he didn't play a significant role overall.

So Zhang Yan changed the old man's character background to make his death more 'valuable'.

That night, the two bands mustered up their courage and climbed over the wall into the morgue. During their conversation, the male and female leads mentioned that the second male lead, a policeman, had a father who was an alcoholic and was probably already passed out drunk.

The provocative band was quite bold, still performing well even in the morgue.

Upon seeing this, the female protagonist immediately opened several morgue cabinets to increase the deterrent effect—she was a medical student here for further studies and was in contact with cadavers every day, so she wasn't afraid of these things at all.

This finally threw the opposing team off balance, and they ultimately lost to the male protagonist's band.

The male and female protagonists returned victorious and had sex that very night in a warehouse provided by their childhood friend.

The next day, the female lead suddenly received news that the second male lead's father had passed away—the cause was a heart attack due to the shock he experienced the previous night.

The male and female protagonists and the band members were all filled with anxiety.

The female lead, in particular, was still distraught and lost in thought even though the truth was not exposed in the end.

Fearing she wouldn't be able to handle the pressure and would tell the truth, the band members verbally threatened the female lead.

The male protagonist got into a conflict with his teammates, which resulted in a fire that destroyed the warehouse that his childhood friend had kindly lent them, along with the goods inside.

Afterwards, the female protagonist, once again an accomplice, lied with the male protagonist about the cause of the fire, and then became increasingly confused and listless, like a walking corpse.

Even after discovering the male protagonist's infidelity, she remained indifferent.

The female protagonist's emotions completely collapsed when the fugitive's childhood friend stabbed the second male lead, a policeman, and then fell off the bridge and died in front of her.

A few days later, she went to the hospital and gave herself to her childhood friend, a policeman who had a crush on her, on the rooftop.

Then she invited her childhood friend, a police officer, to the school to watch her performance at the freshman welcome party.

The next day, just as the second male lead, a policeman, thought he had found love and was humming a song as he returned to the police station to work, he suddenly heard that the female lead had come to turn herself in and confessed that it was she and her bandmates who had caused the second male lead's father to have a heart attack that night.

In the finale, the second male lead, a police officer, slumped into a chair in the interrogation room, looking blankly at the female lead.

The female lead then whistled the same tune her friends used to farewell her to the second male lead—at the same time, the scene cuts to childhood memories and fleeting glimpses of adulthood, ultimately concluding this funeral of youth with the sound of the whistle.

PS: In the original film, the childhood friend whistles goodbye to the female lead at the beginning and end, but Zhang Yan's version reverses the ending.

…………

Two days later.

Having already gathered all the information from the production team, and having finished reading Zhang Yan's version of the script, he was so excited that he slapped his thigh.

His biggest worry was that Zhang Yan would ruin the overall tone.

But Teacher Zhang is Teacher Zhang.

Aside from the deleted and altered part of the fanfiction about the literary association, all the original youthful memories were preserved, and the tragic death of the second male lead's father made the subsequent storylines of the female lead, the male lead, and the band more plausible.

Moreover, the shock brought by this 'death rock' is much more direct and exciting than any old man from the literary association. It's like using a real climax to revitalize the entire script!
As for the changes to the ending, the protagonist's voluntary surrender not only elevated the entire story but also gave her a final redemption, making her seem less like a hypocrite and more like a person with flesh and blood and thoughts.

The scene where the female lead whistles at the second male lead in the interrogation room is just so damn good!

This is the real funeral for youth, this is the real farewell to confusion!
"Teacher Zhang!"

Guan Hu grabbed Zhang Yan's hand, his tongue trembling as he said, "Don't worry, I'll go raise the money right now, and we'll try our best to get this script published as soon as possible!"

As he spoke, he was about to rush out the door.

"Don't be in such a hurry."

Zhang Yan quickly stopped him: "We need to film the commercial first—the TV series is airing tonight, and they're waiting for it urgently."

(End of this chapter)