Divine Lucky Star - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Hao the Screenwriter

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ten minutes! In ten minutes, Wang Hao had to sort out not only the overall plot of the drama, but also the parts that needed to be revised. This might seem like an opportunity, but in fact, it was no different from not being given one.

“Alright.” Wang Hao nodded. “But I need to take a look at the script; I need to at least have an understanding of the drama’s theme.”

“Okay.” Director Gao gave a nod. “Stage manager, bring him the introduction.”

The stage manager quickly gave Wang Hao the introduction, and he skimmed through it quickly. The drama was called “The Domestic Agent.” It was about an agent who completed a mission for his country and ultimately married the girl he loved.

No wonder there was a bank robbery scene.

After reading the introduction, Wang Hao started to think about the movies and dramas about special agents which he had watched in the past. In the end, he found four suitable works.

“Kingsman: The Secret Service,” “From Beijing with Love,” “Mr. Bodyguard,” and “Super Soldier King”.

Weighing the stories of the four works and the next scenes in the drama, Wang Hao soon made a decision.

“From Beijing with Love”!

“From Beijing with Love” was one of the masterpieces of the previous world which starred the comedian Stephen Chow. Its plot and style were similar to the current drama.

In the movie “From Beijing with Love,” there was precisely a scene where the protagonist Yong Dou caught a group of jewelry shop robbers. So, it seemed the perfect choice.

“Okay, I’ll start now.” Wang Hao took a deep breath and said, “First, the scene in the Internet café doesn’t make sense to me. I understand that you want to illustrate the relationship between the two characters, but I think it can be combined with the scene in the restaurant. Although the fight in the café certainly shows the lead actor’s bravery and strength, and that he knows when to retreat, it’s not really necessary.”

“Huh?” Director Gao laughed and said, “Tell me. How do we combine the two scenes? Why is the fight scene unnecessary?”

“It’s very simple. Look,” Wang Hao said, as he recalled the scenes from “From Beijing with Love,” “the lead actor knocking down the yobs in the Internet café has already given the audience the impression that he’s strong. Then, there won’t be any suspense anymore when he tries to stop the bank robbers later on. To be honest, the actor doesn’t really have any big quarrel with the yobs, so it doesn’t seem ethical for him to fight them. Also, the Internet café is too far from here. There two scenes seem to lack coherence.”

Wang Hao had read many novels and watched a lot of dramas and movies. He could easily come up with some classic scenes.

Indeed, movies and novels shared many things in common.

Such as fight scenes.

There had to be a reason for a quarrel to turn into a fight. You couldn’t just say “What are you looking at?!” for the other party to reply “So what?!” before you started punching each other. That was too predictable.

Director Gao had obviously taken an interest in Wang Hao’s ideas. He lit two cigarettes and gave one to Wang Hao, then asked, “How would you change it?”

Wang Hao took a puff and crossed his legs pretentiously. “If I were you, I’d cut the scene in the Internet café and make them meet here. The yobs from before can be directly switched to the bank robbers — in fact, I’ve always thought that robbing a bank is stupid. Banks have bulletproof glass, and it’ll be difficult for the robbers to escape afterward. So, I suggest that they rob a jewelry shop instead. It’ll be easier for the robbers to get away.”

“Robbing a jewelry shop? That isn’t a bad idea.” Director Gao pondered for a while. “We can change that. The essence of robbing a bank and robbing a jewelry shop is the same; it is indeed easier with the latter.”

Director Gao didn’t feel contempt toward Wang Hao any longer, so he didn’t speak as harshly.

Wang Hao continued, “Now, let’s imagine the scene together. First, the two characters meet in the restaurant and reconcile. Then, the lead actor starts to tell the actress about his strongest skill. What skills does the protagonist know?”

Director Gao answered, “Boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling.”

“So outdated?” Wang Hao’s eyes widened. “Change it to knife throwing. It’s the trend right now!”

“Hm, keep going.” Director Gao smiled and said, “If you can convince me, the lead actor will be throwing knives from now on!”

“Okay,” Wang Hao said. “Then, the lead actor tells the actress, ‘Actually, my strongest skill is knife throwing! Let me tell you, real knife throwing doesn’t involve hands. Do you know what it uses? Force! Controlling knives with force. When you reach the highest level, you can slash anything into pieces!”

Wang Hao looked up at the sky and mumbled, “Nobody ever knows where he puts his knives and where he pulls them out from. Before he throws a knife, no one can imagine its speed and strength. But once he throws it, it only goes where it’s supposed to…”

Knife throwing in itself wasn’t impressive enough to be integrated into the plot. However, when he combined the knife throwing scene with Gu Long’s description from “Flying Dagger,” there was definitely an instantaneous effect on the mood!

“God, what he said about knife throwing is awesome! ‘But once he throws it out, it only goes where it’s supposed to…’”

“God, just imagining it makes me feel excited!”

“If the lead actor can play with knives like that, he’ll become more handsome and attractive!”

“I’ll be as hot as the sun if I know knife throwing…”

Discussion started to emerge, and the eyes of the lead actor brightened — if I can really play with knives, wouldn’t this drama be awesome?!

“I didn’t know you have so many ideas!” Director Gao’s eyes sparkled and he nodded nonstop. “Go on!” Director Gao was no longer looking down on Wang Hao. He even looked forward to hearing how Wang Hao would revise the scene.

Wang Hao carried on in scammer mode. “The lead actress doesn’t believe the actor at first, so he wants to show her, but the actress stops him. ‘Okay, stop talking. Eat!’ The lead actor looks frustrated. ‘Look at you! Are you still mad at me?’ The actress gets closer and says to him, ‘Yes, I can’t wait to kill you!’ Suddenly, there’s the sound of a camera shutter. They get up together and grab the photographer — guess what?”

Director Gao asked, “What? A spy? An enemy?”

“Neither.” Wang Hao cackled. “In fact, a little boy thought that the image of them talking together was beautiful, so he took a photo of them. He even thought that they were a loving couple. The two characters then look at the picture. It’s lovely, with both of them smiling bright. And right after that, they get back together!”

“Wonderful, wonderful,” Director Gao said excitedly. “This is indeed much better than having them reconcile in the Internet café! What then?”

By now, all the surrounding crew was stunned by Wang Hao’s ideas, and Lu Tong’s jaw had dropped to the floor…

Wang Hao continued, “Next is the most remarkable part —”

When he was about to introduce the next shot, a lazy voice rang out. “Director Gao, what are you doing? Briefing the new actors?”