Chapter 385 The brain-burning crime drama with a higher score than 'Wulin Biography' - 'Mao Li'
That night, Zuo Le's reply to a comment about the next new drama became a hot search topic.
This is no exaggeration. As the number one TV drama director in China, Zuo Le's popularity in the field of TV dramas is no joke. His new drama trends have always been a hot topic pursued by the media and fans.
Every time Zuo Le announces the news about his new work, there are inevitably a few hot searches. This time too little information was revealed, otherwise the news would be even greater.
Even so, after the news broke, several phone calls came in.
Senior executives from Shanhe Company inquired about the situation, platform parties inquired about the situation, and artists and managers secretly expressed their interest in playing a role in Zuo Le's new drama.
Zuo Le also didn't expect that so many things would happen to him with just one word, so he could only express it bluntly or tactfully.
The script of the new drama is still in the writing stage, and the project has not even been officially approved within Shanhe. The specific details will be discussed after he completes the script.
After working for half an hour, they finally blocked these people back. While Zuo Le breathed a sigh of relief, he also had a headache about the script of the new drama.
This script, which he started writing at the end of last year, has almost finished the plot.
But what makes him a little confused is that the plot structure of this new drama is different from ordinary TV dramas, and most importantly, the scale of the plot seems to be a bit too high...
………
"Mao Liang" is the name of Zuo Le's next new drama.
This drama has appeared in Zuo Le's Golden Finger from very early on, probably together with the web drama "Spicy Next Door" which is the prototype of "Story of College Students".
However, only the first part was released at that time. Zuo Le watched it and was very uncomfortable with the rough and almost inferior service and the young and immature acting lines of the actors. He gave it up after browsing two episodes.
Until the beginning of last year, the second part of "Mao Liar" appeared on Goldfinger due to an update.
Zuo Le was moved by its high ratings, which were similar to "Crossing the Guandong" and "Da Ranfang", and endured the discomfort to watch the first part again.
Then there are only two words - it smells so good.
Since then, Zuo Le has wanted to film this drama, but since the ending has not yet come out, he has been holding back.
It was not until the middle of last year that the third and final chapter of "Mao Liar" was released.
Zuo Le looked at the Goldfinger video player and saw that the final chapter of "Mao Liang" had a higher rating than "Wulin Gaiden". He couldn't help but be curious. He stayed up all day and all night to finish watching this drama, and then he was shocked.
people.
A true brain-burning crime drama masterpiece!
Not to mention domestic dramas, even if we include those classic American dramas, Japanese dramas, and South Korean dramas, the final chapter of "Mao Liang" can definitely be ranked first.
If it had not been decided to shoot "Latent" first at that time, and there were some flaws in the script of "Mao Liang" that still needed time to be rectified, Zuo Le would have really wanted to film "Mao Liang" first.
Now that "Latent" has been filmed, Zuo Le also plans to complete the drama "Mao Liang" as the next step. For this reason, he even temporarily slowed down the Shanhe Film Project.
It shows his love for the drama "Mao Liar"...
But to be honest, the situation of the drama "Mao Liang" is really special, so it is not advisable to copy it mechanically, and a lot of modifications must be made.
The drama "Mao Liang" has a complex plot and many characters. A certain number of plots have to be deleted and added. In the end, the logic must be rigorous and complete to be able to justify itself.
Changing the script is a troublesome thing. With Zuo Le's current screenwriting skills, it sometimes feels difficult, and his hairline has quietly moved back half a centimeter.
The biggest difficulty in adapting the drama "Mao Liang" is that the gap between the first part and the final part is too big.
The first plot of the original version of "Mao Liang" is just a story about a gang of liars with quite a personality, specializing in deceiving bad people, and an alternative story of chivalry and justice.
The main plot is to avenge the heroine Zhao Ning's father who was deceived into committing suicide.
The so-called villain "Fox Organization" actually did not show the demeanor of the super behind-the-scenes mastermind in the first film.
Even due to the tight production budget, it seems to be a grass-roots team of small gangsters. The second boss hides in the basement every day, and the boss makes appointments for negotiations at a hamburger snack bar, which is not upscale at all.
It was not until the second part, Yong He's Revenge, that the main plot of the five major companies under Nong's organization and the prions was drawn out, that "Mao Liang" truly reached its climax.
Then in the decisive battle at the end of the chapter, the protagonist team defeated the Fox Organization, all grievances and old grudges were settled, and the drama successfully became a god.
From the overall plot structure, most of the plots in the first part of "Mao Liar" are incompatible with the second and third parts. However, due to various small foreshadowings and the backgrounds of several protagonists, they cannot be abandoned entirely.
At the same time, there is also Zhao Ning in this film. The heroine in the first part of "Mao Liang" started to withdraw from the second part. Apart from a few easter eggs, she has almost no scenes.
If this character is completely deleted, the gathering of the protagonist group and all the plots of the first part will have to be overturned.
But if Zhao Ning is left behind, his character attributes will overlap too much with those of the male protagonist Xiaobao and the second male lead Shao Zhuang.
The double king meeting between two smart people can still be filmed. If Zhao Ning, who is as smart as the two, is added, and the three parties work together, the whole plot may collapse.
Because of this, Zuo Le thought about it for a long time and finally came up with a fairly appropriate method.
He deleted most of the unnecessary branch plots from the first part of "Mao Liang" and retained the main plot of Zhao Ning's revenge and a few outstanding plots.
The main purpose is to highlight the stories and emotions of several people in the protagonist group, and by the way, let Xiaobao grow up bit by bit and become the second-generation leader of the team.
Zhao Ning's role is to teach Xiaobao to mature, gather the hearts of the team, and mainly act as a guide.
In the end, Zhao Ning succeeded in revenge, quit the world, and said goodbye to the right and wrong of the protagonist group.
In the subsequent plot, Xiaobao takes over, Shaozhuang joins the gang, and the protagonist group starts fighting the main plot of the five major companies one by one, with branch plots from various parties mixed in during the period.
………
After sorting out the plot, the remaining thing that makes Zuo Le awkward is that the plot structure of "Mao Liang" is unit-like, with almost one story per episode.
Even the final chapter of "Mao Liang" in the later period always revolves around the main line and the plot is continuous, but each episode still has its own independence from each other.
The length of these unit episodes ranges from more than fifty minutes to more than an hour, and some are even as long as a movie.
If you break it up and shoot it like an ordinary TV series, the plot rhythm will easily cause confusion, but if you don't break it up, the length of a single episode will be too much.
Zuo Le once tried to add some plot points and divided it into two episodes, but sometimes he just did it. All the episodes seemed watered down, which led to the plot being dragged out and affecting the quality of the TV series.
In addition, there is the issue of scale in "Mao Liar".
Although the banner of the protagonist group is "only deceive bad people, not good people", it can be regarded as chivalrous and righteous, and even has a positive meaning of popularizing science and deception to a certain extent.
But then again, at the end of the day, the protagonist group is indeed engaged in criminal behavior.
Lying to bad people is also lying. The law will not recognize whether you are doing good deeds unless the protagonist group donates money to charity every time.
Just like in Hong Kong gambling movies, the place where money is gambled must be legal, and anyone who plays with money must be charitable...
Zuo Le can understand the official review standards, but he certainly cannot change the character setting of "Mao Liar".
Xiaobao and the others were a group of swindlers who made a living by defrauding people. In the end, they even knocked out the Fox Organization and made a lot of money themselves.
Punishing evil but rarely promoting good is not particularly in line with the mainstream positive values that the government has always promoted.
Of course, this kind of liar character is the most realistic. If it were changed to defrauding money for charity, it would be forced and reasonable, and the whole drama would directly change.
Zuo Le would rather give up "Mao Liang" than shoot randomly and ruin the show...
But if the plot is not changed and the plot and character standards are set here, even with Zuo Le's reputation, the TV platform may not dare to launch such a TV series.
So what Zuo Le is struggling with is whether to completely turn "Mao Liar" into a web drama.
First, there is no time limit for a single episode of a web series. As long as the film studio wants to make it, it can be a movie per episode.
In this way, the problem of the length of a single episode of "Mao Liar" just mentioned will be easily solved.
In addition, the second reason is that the review standards for online dramas are relatively looser. The plots that cannot be shown on TV platforms are not a big problem on video websites as long as they are operated well.
Zuo Le is not confident that "Mao Liar" will pass the review on the TV platform, but with his current strength, he can basically ensure that the network will not be affected.
After all, "Mao Liar" is not a sensitive subject, nor does it involve any high-voltage wires that cannot be touched. Fundamentally speaking, it is a story about a liar fighting a bad guy.
A TV series like this cannot be a big deal, and even if some "righteous people" resist and criticize it, it won't do any harm.
Of course, I just have such an intention now.
After all, "Shan He" usually has two legs: TV platform and Internet. A pure online drama has never been done so far.
If "Mao Liang" can be released on a TV platform in the future, Zuo Le will definitely not give up hundreds of millions of TV copyright fees in vain.
But if it really fails to pass the review, there is a great possibility that "Mao Liar" will become Shanhe's first online drama.
It is conceivable that if there is no TV platform to attract viewers, "Mao Liar" also has the selling points of Zuo Le's new drama + criminal brain-burning + high scale. Its first broadcast and exclusive broadcast rights on all platforms will probably be difficult to sell.
The expected sky-high price.
………
After all, the review and other matters are a matter for later, Zuo Le is still focusing on the script first.
The left-hand version of "Mao Liar", which has been adapted a lot, has about 40 episodes, but its length is comparable to the 60 episodes of an ordinary TV series.
The characters remain roughly unchanged, and the timeline is set around 2010. Firstly, it takes care of the original plot, and secondly, it is different from the current time.
In film and television works, it is allowed to "fictionalize or adapt" some real-life plots, and it is also admitted that some mistakes and omissions may have occurred in the past, as long as the final ending is positive.
But as the reality is approaching the timeline, it is best for ordinary people not to touch it lightly, otherwise something may happen easily.
In addition, even if you don't cause trouble, it is easy to conflict with reality, your efforts will be thankless, and you will get into a lawsuit for nothing...
A dozen years ago, hello, hello, hello, hello to everyone.
The time background is 2010, and the location is Quancheng, the base camp of Shanhe.
Thanks to the Shanhe Opera, Quancheng has repeatedly appeared as a background city in recent years. Its reputation has soared, its presence has increased, and it has greatly proved its status as the provincial capital of Dongshan.
At least, viewers from outside Dongshan Province who often watch Shanhe dramas will not think that a certain island city is the capital of Dongshan Province...
Now that the background is set, let’s talk about the initial plot of "Mao Liar" on the left page.
Three years ago, a small gang of liars appeared in Quancheng. They were sophisticated and thorough in their actions. They had completed many cases and shocked the world.
Just when everyone thought there was another strong group on the road, the gang suddenly disappeared.
To be more precise, Zhao Ning, the leader of the gang, disappeared, and the remaining three people broke up and committed crimes individually instead of working together as a group.
At the beginning of "Mao Liang", Zhao Ning, who has been missing for three years, returns to Quancheng, reunites his three partners, and prepares to avenge his dead father.
There are four people in this initial protagonist group, and everyone has unique skills and abilities.
The boss, Zhao Ning, is very smart and thoughtful. She basically formulates and directs the team's fraud plans, and is the backbone of the four of them.
An Ning, a cold beauty, is the good-looking person in the quartet, and is also the main agent in the honey trap and seducing the target.
Xing Dongdong is known as a quick-handed thief. He is very good at sneaking through doors and picking locks, just like entering a house. He can steal items close to him and obtain them in an instant. He is an effective member of the team.
Li Wei is a master of technology, good at hacking and various technical details, and has outstanding achievements.
These four people each performed their duties and cooperated with each other tacitly. After regrouping, they quickly got a few big fat sheep, and then they were targeted by the two of them.
The former is called Xiaobao, the son of an old liar from Qianmen. He grew up in Qianmen liar business and likes to make a living by cheating. When he saw what Zhao Ning and others were doing, he found it to his liking and wanted to join the gang and follow suit.
The latter is the villainous Fox Organization in the show "Mao Liar".
This is a huge gang of scammers, like the overlord of thousands of sects in Quancheng, and it almost monopolizes all the fraud business in Quancheng.
When the Fox people saw Zhao Ning and others cheating, they wanted to drive them out of Quancheng. Later, they felt that a few people had good abilities, and the second boss wanted to subdue a few people and let them work for the Fox organization.
Although Zhao Ning and others deceive people, they only deceive bad people. They are good thieves and naturally look down on the unscrupulous fox. After Xiaobao passes Zhao Ning's test and joins the gang, the two sides quickly confront each other.
Because they underestimated the enemy and because Zhao Ning, Xiaobao and others were very capable, the Fox Organization suffered a lot.
After that, the fox organization, which was gradually angered, began to increase the pressure on Zhao Ning and others, and the main plot gradually unfolded.
………
From the perspective of smoothness, the initial plot of "Mao Liar" is pretty good.
As long as the details and actors can keep up, Zuo Le is confident that it can be properly integrated with the later plot without delaying it.
And compared to the original crew, which was strapped for funds, the production efforts of Zuobo's "Mao Liar" are extraordinary, and all the services are top-notch, which will definitely make up for the various regrets of the original film's lack of funds.
However, there are pros and cons. The original version lacked money, and although the shots were a bit cheap and rough, it also revealed a reality rarely seen in film and television dramas.
After all, no matter how natural the performance of passers-by performed by extras is, they cannot compare to real passers-by...
Zuo Le would like to add some real shots of passers-by, but the starring role in Zuo Le's version of "Mao Liang" will definitely not be as unknown as the original version.
Once a star appears, the crew can't keep a low profile even if they want to, so how can they capture real shots of passersby...
