House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 289 – That Man Who Is Above The Sky And Below The Earth1

Du Yuanlei didn’t make everyone wait too long. In the afternoon, she announced the news of Tang Kaitai’s withdrawal from the male lead role. She lowered her proud head and sincerely apologized to everyone, “…It’s my fault. I didn’t consider it thoroughly when I invited Tang, such an irresponsible actor, to play the male lead, which wasted everyone’s time.”

“Because there are many scenes that need to be reshot, the production budget of the crew is not enough, and we need to seek sponsorship. Moreover, we need to recruit a new male lead. We need to pause the shooting for a while…” Du Yuanlei couldn’t hide her sadness well and told everyone with difficulty that they might have to wait until next year to resume production.

“It seemed like the money for this film, which was written and directed by Director Du, came from her own funds. And she didn’t sign a contract with the actors. This Tang Kaitai is really disappointing!” Qin Wen also felt sympathy and whispered to Guo Ziyi, “No matter what, as long as I have time, I will definitely help her finish this film. Little Guo, you won’t back out then, will you?”

Guo Ziyi said somewhat excitedly, “How could it be possible? This is my first time playing the male lead. Well, although it’s just the second male lead, my role is significant!”

“Hee hee, okay, actually I really enjoy acting with you too. It would be great if you were the male lead. I’m just afraid that the new male lead’s acting skills will be as bad as Tang Kaitai,” Qin Wen laughed and said, “Oh yes, I remember you used to like Director Du, and you even sang a song for her at the freshmen party. Well, no matter what, you shouldn’t run away at the last moment.”

Guo Ziyi ignored her and when it was about time to disband, he approached Du Yuanlei.

“Senior Sister Du, can I ask how much money is still needed for this film? If it’s not too much, within two to three hundred thousand, I can still sponsor you!” Guo Ziyi gritted his teeth and said to Du Yuanlei, “Don’t worry, I just want to help you and make this film go smoothly. I’m not trying to do anything else by doing this!”

Guo Ziyi wanted to use his own pocket money and New Year’s money “savings” to invest in Du Yuanlei.

A touch of emotion flashed in Du Yuanlei’s eyes. She hesitated for a moment and said, “There’s no need for so much. We are just making a low-budget film, and I only invested a little over a hundred thousand yuan. We are currently short of about thirty thousand yuan.”

“Do you really want to invest in me?” Du Yuanlei asked nervously when she saw new hope. “If you invest, do you have any requirements…”

Although Guo Ziyi just said that he simply wanted to help her, Du Yuanlei couldn’t help but ask. In the entertainment industry, there have been many cases where investors interfered with the directors’ filming.

Guo Ziyi smiled awkwardly and made a suggestion that he didn’t know if it could be considered a requirement. “Senior Sister Du, it doesn’t matter if you agree or not with this suggestion. I will still invest in you, but the decision is in your hands.”

“What suggestion?” Du Yuanlei calmed down.

“Actually, I also feel that there is some conflict between the weight of the roles of the male lead and the second male lead.” Guo Ziyi said “also,” but Du Yuanlei didn’t have the time to delve into it. He said sincerely, “The image portrayed by the second male lead is not worse than that of the male lead, so it will inevitably give people a feeling of the roles being indistinguishable.”2

After he finished speaking, Du Yuanlei frowned and said, “But the real protagonist of my movie is Xu Shishi. She is the biggest contradiction.”

“Yes. Xu Shishi’s struggle with love and her ultimate choice to remain faithful to the deceased Ah Guang is the theme you want to express, Senior Sister Du. But since we’re talking about this, I have a small question. Is this theme being expressed too heavily?”

Guo Ziyi said, “Ah Guang is already dead. Letting Xu Shishi remain faithful to him may seem beautiful, but it is very likely be criticized, making people feel that this is conveying inappropriate feudal ideas.”

“You…” Du Yuanlei felt that the script she had worked hard to write had been criticized by Guo Ziyi as worthless, and she felt a little embarrassed in her heart.

But after a while, Du Yuanlei sighed sadly, “You’re right. If you look at it from the perspective of an ordinary audience, all the issues you mentioned do exist. My screenwriting skills are still very poor. I really wanted to incorporate all the content I wanted to express, so it appears that the main and supporting themes are not clear.”

“It’s okay. While the male lead hasn’t been found yet, why don’t you take this opportunity to polish your script?” Guo Ziyi advised.

“I don’t have any other inspiration. Maybe I’m really not suitable to be a screenwriter. I should honestly just film scripts written by others,” Du Yuanlei said with a sigh.

“How about I find you a skilled person to consult with? His storytelling ability, not to brag, is unparalleled in the world!” Guo Ziyi boasted, “And he can also write scripts. Last time I went to see him, he was in the middle of writing a script, and it was pretty good. You can find him and let him give you some inspiration!”

“Ah? There’s someone like that? Well, let’s give it a try!” Du Yuanlei could only keep trying everything in a desperate situation.3

……

The person who Guo Ziyi boasted as unparalleled in the world was now holding his finished script and has come to the kindergarten to have it checked.

“The Ugly Duckling?” Teacher Mu opened Yang Yi’s script and read it with great interest.

“Narrator: The countryside is really beautiful. In the summer, sunflowers are golden, and the rice seedlings are lush green…”

These narrations would naturally be read by Teacher Mu or Teacher Shen or Teacher Cai. The children only needed to perform and remember their lines.

Teacher Mu looked at the story and dialogue inside and was gradually attracted by “The Ugly Duckling.”

Yang Yi’s version was not quite the same as the original. He added a lot of dialogue, and through the discussions of other ducks and animals, the difficult situation of the Ugly Duckling was vividly portrayed.

“Ah, thank heaven! I’m so ugly now that even the hunting dogs don’t want to bite me.” When Teacher Mu read this monologue of the Ugly Duckling, she couldn’t help but feel sad for the Ugly Duckling’s plight.

Although Yang Yi used simple dialogue, the plot he constructed was very gripping.

Fortunately, the Ugly Duckling eventually turned into a white swan, and all the suppressed emotions were released in an instant. Teacher Mu couldn’t help but shout, “Good!”

Yang Yi couldn’t help but curl up the corner of his mouth4, feeling in a great mood.

“This script is really good. The story is easy to understand, and the principles it conveys are profound. It teaches children that as long as they have dreams and pursue them relentlessly, beauty will surely come! I think after the children perform this, they have a great chance of getting first place,” Teacher Mu said to Yang Yi.

Yang Yi nodded gently, but he didn’t reveal, “Actually, the Ugly Duckling was able to turn into a swan because it was hatched from a swan egg…”

Teacher Mu asked, “Yang Xi’s father, do you need to arrange a good role for Yang Xi? For example, playing the Ugly Duckling that turns into a white swan. Xixi is so beautiful, it would be suitable for her to play the white swan.”

Yang Yi was taken aback. He hadn’t thought about using connections, but Teacher Mu brought it up.

He himself disdained to do so, but with conflicting thoughts, for a brief moment, he considered accepting because he also wanted Xixi to perform in front of her parents with glory!

But wasn’t it not good to use connections like this? Leaving a bad experience for Xixi, wouldn’t that be more harm than good?

Yang Yi hesitated, but still shook his head firmly. “No need, let the children choose the roles they want. There’s no need to deliberately arrange anything for Xixi.”