Chapter 805: The Original Intention Behind Chapter 805, "The Dragon"
"Hey, don't worry. I just want to flesh out Wang Budao's character and final ending based on the current plot, but I definitely won't write him out."
Zhuang Hongyi forced an explanation for himself.
"I think if this Ghost-Hunting Squad is marketed well, we might even be able to film a movie series, just like the old Hong Kong zombie movies."
"The only regret is that there are ultimately restrictions outside the mainland, and 'Mang' itself has some political leanings. I don't know how it will perform once it's officially released. If it becomes a hit, it would be a real shame not to turn it into a world-renowned movie IP."
If everyone were wiped out according to the original plot, then dead would be dead. It would be hard to get the original cast back for a sequel. But if they don't die, who's to say if there will be a sequel in the future?
Only works with long-term operation can yield long-lasting profits!
Xiao He:...
So, Director Zhuang is already looking forward to the release results even though he hasn't finished filming yet?
And so the reason Zhuang Hongyi spared the lives of the three main characters was simply to make it easier to release a sequel series later?
Xiao He closed his eyes, not wanting to speak anymore.
He thought the 'kind personality' had logged in, but a closer look revealed it was the 'capitalist personality' instead. The money-making brain had once again successfully seized the high ground.
Xiao He was truly exasperated with Zhuang Hongyi.
To be able to consider this next step, he didn't know if Zhuang Hongyi was confident enough in them or optimistic enough about the future.
"In that case, Director Zhuang, why don't you just delete most of the supernatural parts and see if it can be released in the mainland later?" At this moment, Lv Dun continued to cautiously suggest, "Anyway, many parts regarding the Mang can be explained through the Research Institute's experimental direction!"
The existence of the Mang monster itself was quite complex. It was a new species of monster that Zhuang Hongyi had specifically created for the script of "Mang," based on the human experiments of the Japanese. There was some scientific evidence for its existence—even if it was still unscientific in reality, at least on the surface, it barely managed to pass the supernatural hurdle.
Therefore, this part of the story could completely downplay the metaphysical aspects and add more of the Japanese's horrific experiments, making the monster's origin more scientific and making it easier to pass the mainland's censorship for release.
After all, for actors who had spent years in the domestic film market's ecosystem, the prospect of entering an overseas market they didn't know well and where they had no fan base—to compete with other films of unknown caliber—left them feeling a bit bewildered.
Little did he know that as soon as Lv Dun made the suggestion, Zhuang Hongyi decisively rejected it: "Huh? No way!"
Zhuang Hongyi crossed his arms, showing a rare forceful side: "I will absolutely, positively not cut any of the supernatural feng shui or the gory ghost parts. It goes against my original intent. Cutting them would only leave the work fragmented and imperfect. I'd rather let those little foreigners abroad see what's what than compromise."
"Besides, Xiao He is right here. Don't you guys have any confidence in our Best Actor?"
Xiao He rolled his eyes speechlessly: "...Director Zhuang, if you're not cutting it, then don't. I strongly suspect you're trying to goad me."
What use is a single Best Actor!
Besides, isn't your original intent just to make more money later?!!!
"No, no."
Zhuang Hongyi patted Xiao He and gave a very half-hearted "I have high hopes for you!" Then he looked at Lv Dun: "Come, let's properly confirm your upcoming plot. I have some other ideas."
Without waiting for Lv Dun's confusion, he left the set first. Lv Dun could only say goodbye to the others before following in Zhuang Hongyi's footsteps.
Xiao He sighed helplessly, having seen through his nature: "He runs away whenever he hits a question that's hard to answer."
On the other hand, Wang Sheng, who had been listening to the situation, saw that everyone looked skeptical and couldn't help but cough lightly, revealing some information he knew: "Actually, what you don't know is that Director Zhuang wrote this script purely out of spite."
"Huh?"
Hearing such gossip, Xiao He and Cheng Jingyu couldn't help but look at Wang Sheng, waiting for him to clear their doubts.
"I remember it was a few years ago. At that time, our neighbors, the Koreans, produced a work about feng shui and metaphysics that shone on the international stage. In contrast, our own threshold has been getting stricter. Even films of this type from Hong Kong aren't really allowed to be filmed anymore. Works once represented by zombie films have already become a thing of the past..."
Wang Sheng sighed as he thought of the situation back then. "You know what they're like—all those cultures were misappropriated and turned into their own. The production team even had the audacity to shamelessly boast about their country's feng shui and metaphysics while receiving awards, claiming they were the origin and birthplace."
"It just so happened that Director Zhuang heard about it then. In a fit of rage, he locked himself in a dark room and created this script without sleep or rest. However, at that time, it was considered a defiant act, and there was no chance of filming it. So, he was also severely criticized by Director Ning..."
Hearing Wang Sheng's explanation, everyone looked at each other, not expecting such a story behind it.
"So, Director Zhuang's insistence on filming this subject matter is actually to preserve this part of our positive culture. Some things left by our ancestors can still be preserved and learned to a certain extent. At the same time, he wants to prove to everyone, to the whole world, where the roots of these cultures truly belong."
"He wants to prove that we Chinese people can still make these kinds of movies, and those despicable thieves will always just be thieves."
As Wang Sheng spoke, he looked over at the Daoist masters who were gradually packing up their things to leave.
"Otherwise, the people from the Celestial Master Association wouldn't have supported us so much."
A businessman as money-loving as Director Zhuang wouldn't film such an unrewarding subject either.
He is indeed a businessman, but he also has his own principles.
Xiao He was silent for a moment before finally nodding with some emotion: "Alright, I've misunderstood Director Zhuang."
Zhuang Hongyi still has a bit of that chuunibyou idealism in him.
"But so Director Zhuang used to get scolded by Director Ning too?"
Director Ning, of course, refers to Director Ning Jiaqi, the director of "No Bait" and also Zhuang Hongyi's teacher. Since "No Bait," he has officially retired and passed his team to several of his students. Among them, Zhuang Hongyi, being the most excellent and outstanding student, naturally took on the heaviest responsibility.
Because of this, people often forget that Zhuang Hongyi also started as a student, as if he were naturally Director Ning Jiaqi's most favored student.
Wang Sheng was stunned for a moment, then stifled a laugh: "Director Zhuang... uh, that's only natural. Director Zhuang often has some strange ideas, so it's normal for him to be scolded by Director Ning..."
Then, he covered his mouth and whispered in a low voice: "Director Ning used to say that Director Zhuang is suited for commercial films and shouldn't mess with those messy things. Director Zhuang wasn't convinced back then, so he made a few art films right after his debut, and then he became well-behaved."
Xiao He: "Pfft—"
That's true; Director Ning is very good at reading people.
But then, Xiao He asked a fatal question: "So, is what we're doing this time considered 'messy things'?"
Wang Sheng's expression stiffened: "Hiss... don't tell Director Zhuang I was gossiping about him behind his back."
That really is a good question!