Chapter 339: I Want to Adapt It Into a Film
Mu Jingzhe felt proud, but she also had some concerns.
“You want to give the story to Fang Yu and let him know that his father is a nameless hero, but he doesn’t know the truth yet, right?”
“He doesn’t know yet, but he’ll understand in the future.” Shao Xi smiled more because of Mu Jingzhe’s affirmation and gained confidence. “He’ll definitely thank me in the future. I’m so good to him.”
Mu Jingzhe laughed. “I hope so. Little Xi, do you want to publish this book? I think it can be published. Such a good piece of work should be seen by more people. Otherwise, it would be a pity.”
“Mommy, you and I had the same thought. I only wrote this on impulse and didn’t think so much about it, but now I feel that more people should read it.”
“Then contact your previous editor and publish it as soon as possible. I want people to read it soon.”
Shao Xi didn’t agree immediately. Instead, he leaned closer to Mu Jingzhe. “Mommy, forget about publis.h.i.+ng it. I have another idea.”
“What kind of idea?”
“I want it to be made into a movie. There are too few people reading books these days. A lot of people don’t know how to read yet, but there are a lot of people who watch movies. They might not know how to read, but they can understand movies. It’s just like when we screened the movie here. Everyone in the village loved watching it and could understand it. That’s why I want to make it into a movie. I want more people to see my story. I also want everyone to understand it.”
Mu Jingzhe was stunned for a moment. In the original novel, Shao Xi’s work had later been translated into various languages and been sold around the world. His fans had been everywhere, and he could have been considered world-renowned. Later on, his works had also been adapted into movies. Every movie had made good box office sales, left a long-lasting impact, and been widely discussed.
However, this would all happen in the future. In any case, there definitely wasn’t such a thing at this time. She hadn’t expected Shao Xi to think of it so early.
Mu Jingzhe recalled this plotline in the original novel and didn’t say anything for a while. Shao Xi was a little nervous. “Mommy, why aren’t you saying anything? Do you think I’m wrong? Or do you think it won’t work?”
“Sure it will. It’s a good idea to have it made into a movie. This story is indeed suitable to be made into a movie.” What Shao Xi said was the truth. Compared to the modern era, when university students were as many as a cow’s hair and nine years of compulsory education was the norm, many people were illiterate in that day and age.
For example, in Great Eastern Village, more than 90% of the older generation was illiterate. Even in Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng’s generation, most of the men might only have gone to school and studied for a few days. The women were basically illiterate too.
Li Zhaodi had only learned how to read later on. Although many people had learned before, they’d quickly forgotten about it and were pretty much illiterate now.
There weren’t many people in the village who could read Shao Xi’s books. Those who could read in the entire village were basically gathered at school.
Great Eastern Village was a microcosm that represented the situation in the villages across the country, so Shao Xi’s concerns were very accurate.
“Little Xi, why did you think of making it into a movie?”
“I thought of it when I went to the horror movie with Teacher Ji and the rest. Even Xiao Wu and Little Bei said that they support me.”
Mu Jingzhe nodded and said, “No wonder. Little Xi, I know some directors. Why don’t I get them to introduce some candidates to me and see if there are any suitable directors to work with?”
“Alright, I agree. Mommy and Little Bei know a lot of people after all.”
“Then I’ll start to contact them tomorrow.”
As the two of them discussed this, Little Bei and Xiao Wu saw that they hadn’t come out and secretly came to see what was going on. Mu Jingzhe let them in and told them about Shao Xi’s plans.
When they heard that his work was going to be made into a movie, although they hadn’t read the content yet, all of them raised their hands in support.
“I support you, Second Brother. I want to see if there are any suitable roles for me. I want to partic.i.p.ate too!”
“I support you too, Second Brother. Count me in.” Xiao Wu raised his hand.
Later on, Shao Dong joined in. “I can be involved too. I don’t know how to act, but I can invest.”
Mu Jingzhe gave Shao Dong a thumbs-up and told Shao Xi, “Little Xi, express your grat.i.tude to the investor quickly.”
Shao Xi immediately got up and went to ma.s.sage Shao Dong’s shoulders. Mu Jingzhe laughed out loud when she saw this. Sometimes, when she was so busy that her neck felt uncomfortable, she would ask the five kids to ma.s.sage it. The moment she said ‘express your grat.i.tude’, they immediately thought of this.
The next day, Mu Jingzhe contacted Director Lu, who she was familiar with, and asked him to help her find a movie director who was good at filming movies with children as protagonists. The director didn’t have to be especially famous. Only their character and abilities needed to be adequate.
At first, she didn’t specify that they wanted to film Shao Xi’s work. She was afraid that if people heard that he was a child, they would belittle him. Although Shao Xi was a little famous now, he was indeed still a child.
However, since Director Lu insisted on asking, it wasn’t appropriate for her to hide it from him. Director Lu didn’t say much. He was quite interested after reading the plot outline, but he had a movie to film and didn’t have the time to take on this project. In the end, he said that he would help her ask around for a suitable director.
While waiting for Director Lu’s reply, the children finished reading Shao Xi’s story and felt that they could work together. Little Bei also liked stories and had always regretted that they had not worked together. “Second Brother, why didn’t you make the protagonist a girl? Since you made the protagonist a boy, how can I act in the movie?”
“But I am writing about a boy.” Shao Xi was helpless.
“I really like this story. Why isn’t the main character a girl?” Little Bei nagged. “I told you before that I wanted to act in the film, but you didn’t listen. Second Brother, do you know how many people want me to act in their movies? You don’t know how to cherish a good opportunity.”
“I do.” Shao Xi couldn’t bring himself to be mean to his only sister, so he could only promise her. “Next time… Next time, I’ll write a story about a girl. I’ll let you act in it then.”
“I might not be willing when that time comes. I’ll only agree if I like the script,” Little Bei said proudly. However, her eyes were filled with reluctance and unwillingness as she looked at “Nameless”.
Two days later, Director Lu introduced a young director to Mu Jingzhe. His surname was Jiang, and he had graduated from directing school. He was very capable and had previously been an a.s.sistant director and directed a movie himself. However, due to the theme, the movie might not be able to premiere in theaters.
Similar to many directors who pursued their dreams, Director Jiang had thought that his movie would definitely sell well. When the funding chain had broken during filming, he had been unwilling to give up, so he had even sold his house to invest in his own movie.
Initially, he had wanted to earn back the money from the box office ticket sales, but in the end, the movie hadn’t even been released. Now, he had been reduced to wandering the streets, freeloading here and there.
Director Jiang was already married. Because he had lost their house, his wife was so angry that she had gone back to her parents’ house. Furthermore, his wife was pregnant and had given him an ultimatum: If he didn’t change his ways and start earning money, he wouldn’t be able to see their children anymore and they would have to get a divorce.
Director Jiang knew that he had done something wrong. Even in his dreams, he wanted a pie to fall from the sky. When Director Lu found him, he didn’t act like the other directors and downright refused upon hearing that the story had been written by a ten-year-old child.
Although Director Jiang also had a skeptical att.i.tude, he was interested after reading the story. He could film it. Besides, he had been a producer and screenwriter in the past, so he could also work part-time as a screenwriter. However, he had a request. Other than charging a slightly higher director fee, he also hoped to get paid in advance because he wanted to buy back his old home and earn some money for living expenses to convince his wife to go home.