Chapter 18

After more than half an hour, Ye Wei arrived at the Universal Studios Plaza.

This was the headquarters of Universal, one of the six major giants in the film industry, and also a famous theme park, with countless tourists visiting every day. When he reached the focus film office in the Universal City headquarters building, it was only 16:32, still within office hours.

In the corridor, Ye Wei tidied up his disheveled appearance from the rush and then strode confidently into the bright and stylish studio.

Inside was a spacious open-plan office, bustling with activity. Employees were busy at their desks, secretaries were shuttling back and forth with documents, and phones were ringing non-stop. Laughter, discussion, and replies filled the air...

At the reception, two attractive young ladies were seated. Seeing a young man approach, they smiled and said, "Hi, ladies, good afternoon. I'm Ye Wei. I called at noon to ask about the producer of 'Little Miss Sunshine.'"

"Ah?" Both receptionists were taken aback, exchanging glances in confusion.

The brunette, who had answered the call earlier, had thought the caller's voice sounded a bit young, but she never imagined he would be so young... a teenager?

She blinked, confirming that he was indeed a teenager, not just someone who looked young. Despite his tall stature, his face still had a youthful innocence, probably no more than 17 or 18 years old. How could he be a producer? Like the Olsen twins? But who was he?

"You... you're sure?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Unless I'm a clone," Ye Wei said with a half-smile, knowing what surprised her. But what could she do, kick him out? She wouldn't do that.

"Oh, then please follow me..." The brunette receptionist felt a bit dizzy. Whatever, she thought, just do her job. This industry was never short of strange people and strange things.

Ye Wei followed her inside to the producer department's reception room.

This was his first time in such a place, a truly professional film company! Focus wasn't a small company with fewer than ten people; it was a giant in the art film industry, with a well-structured department and over a hundred employees, like a well-oiled machine.

He looked around curiously until he reached the elegant and quiet reception room, where he sat on the sofa and began to wait.

The receptionist said a manager-level producer department head would come to meet him and asked him to wait a moment. Honestly, for a stranger to call and then show up, having a manager receive him was already quite good. Of course, if things progressed, he would eventually meet department heads, VPs, or even C-level executives.

Moreover, for a film project to be transferred, there was another important person: the project's producer.

Now, production companies were like banks, buying a producer's project, investing money in it, and having the producer execute it, while the company sent a supervisor.

Producers would also break down production tasks and subcontract them to different small companies, such as casting, location scouting, post-production, special effects, trailers, and publicity... almost every step was involved. This was an era of risk-sharing cooperation, and the era of large production studios was long gone. Universal was no exception.

So, the producer of the 'Little Miss Sunshine' project, although likely suspended, would still have a significant impact on the matter.

Ye Wei thought about these things, waiting for over half an hour. He glanced at the wall clock several times before someone finally knocked and entered.

"Sorry, the office was busy, and I kept you waiting..." A middle-aged man in a gray suit said as he entered, then suddenly froze.

"No problem, I just took a nap, just kidding," Ye Wei stood up, smiling and extending his right hand, "Hello, I'm Ye Wei."

"Hello..." The middle-aged manager was surprised by the producer's age, finally understanding what "looks so young, like a high school student" meant. It wasn't a metaphor; it was a fact. This was an Asian high school student!

"Uh, please sit down, I'm Gale Wilson, call me Gale." He felt helpless, knowing he would waste another ten minutes. How could anyone just show up like this?

Ye Wei sat back down, aware of the situation. He was too young to be easily trusted, which was understandable and would follow him for a long time.

But he still had a chance, and the manager couldn't refuse him. A long-standing rule in the film industry was, "Be polite, never offend anyone, because they might be the next Spielberg or the son of a billionaire."

Smart people respected this rule, which is why he dared to come over so confidently.

Sure enough, after Gale sat down, he asked as usual, "So, Wei, you're interested in 'Little Miss Sunshine'?"

"Yes, I saw information about it in a magazine. I know Focus's production capabilities. A project that gives you such a headache must have its unique qualities."

Ye Wei's tone became serious, and his young voice didn't sound frivolous.

This gave Gale a strange feeling, as if the person sitting opposite him was really a producer, and he started to take it more seriously, "Yes, 'Little Miss Sunshine' is indeed unique. Our company, one of the predecessors of 'American Film,' bought it at the end of 2001 and has been improving it. It has been revised 30 times over the past two years."

"Wow." Ye Wei exclaimed. In Hollywood, after a script is acquired, it undergoes continuous revisions before production begins, which is a necessary process.

Production companies often bring in multiple screenwriters to rewrite and revise the script. Some are good at dialogue, others at scenes, and others at character development... There are also "script doctors," who are famous screenwriters hired for a week or two to review and provide feedback.

So, a good script and a bad script both have a large team behind them.

However, due to the Screenwriters Guild's rules, only those who contribute 50% to an original script or 33% to an adaptation can be co-credited. Even if the total revisions by all screenwriters exceed 50%, individually, they might not meet the threshold, so only the original author is credited.

Laypeople might think the quality of a script depends solely on the original author, but in reality, there could be many unnamed contributors, sometimes dozens. For example, "Charlie's Angels" had 17, and "The Flintstones" had 32.

This is one reason why Hollywood scripts are often mediocre, being too much like assembly-line products.

Of course, independent films, especially indie art films, are different. When the screenwriter and director are the same person, the process is even more personal. In Hollywood's industrial system, everything follows a commercial process.

However, 30 revisions over two years is an extremely high number, comparable to "Moonlight" which took ten years and 20 revisions.

There are two possibilities: one, it keeps getting better, approaching perfection; two, it becomes a mess, destroying the original script.

"Before we took over, the original author, Michael Arndt, spent a year revising the initial draft before seeking production."

In other words, this script has been in development for over three years!

Although this is common in Hollywood, Gale still felt a bit nostalgic, adding, "We initially liked it because it had a very interesting story idea, but we always felt the plot was too flat."

"So, we brought in one screenwriter after another to enhance the story's tension, redesign characters, and write new scenes, but..."

He sighed and shrugged, "It's still not enough. And the ending, how to describe it... it's like spending 2 hours in a circle and ending up with a fall. We don't want a Hollywood ending, but without it, it's nothing. Do you understand?"

After saying so much, Gale couldn't help but ask, "Do you understand?" An ordinary high school student wouldn't, and if this young "producer" didn't, there would be no point in continuing.

"I'm sure you're speaking English," Ye Wei laughed, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not an ordinary teenager, I'm a demon!"

After a moment, he continued, "Audiences need compensation. People go to the cinema not to see the real world but a world that compensates for reality. There, heroes defeat villains, true love prevails, truth is revealed, and justice is served... these exciting and beautiful desires can only be realized in that imaginary world, and life can't satisfy us. You know, once you step into the cinema, reality should end."

"Reality ends here," is also the motto of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Think about it, if Andy was shot dead in "The Shawshank Redemption" when he escaped, or if Forrest Gump died alone in "Forrest Gump," what would happen?

"Wow." This time, it was Gale's turn to exclaim, sitting up straight. Anyone who could say such things was not an ordinary high school student.

"Gale, I know I look young, like the guy in 'Footloose,' but you can really trust me, I'm a professional." Ye Wei laughed.

Gale couldn't help but nod, continuing, "The script has other issues, some controversial scenes, too many characters, and rapid scene changes..."

"But to be honest, I personally think it's ready. With a few more tweaks to the ending, to make the audience leave the theater smiling instead of complaining, it can be produced. However, there's a lot of opposition within the company, and they're all big shots. They've lost patience and confidence in the project and just want to recoup the script's cost."

"Looks like I'm in for a good deal!" Ye Wei pretended to be excited, but he was clear in his mind. This could be Gale's honest opinion or a sales tactic to make the buyer think, "Focus isn't giving up on this project because it's not good, but because of office politics."

"I think it won't be a loss." Gale's smile was a bit enigmatic.

"Can I see the script now?" Ye Wei asked, good or bad, he needed to see it to know.

"Uh, after all this talk, I still don't know which company you're from?"

Gale had a few more steps to follow. Although the script for "Little Miss Sunshine" was already registered, with 30 revisions, there was no worry about plagiarism. As for leaks, this wasn't a highly confidential blockbuster script, and no media or fans cared, so leaks wouldn't matter.

But scripts aren't just given to anyone, especially a strange high school student producer.

"Viedo Image, it's a small independent production company my dad runs. We have money, we love movies, so... our first film, 'The Wedding Date,' was released this week, but the box office wasn't good, and we lost face. We want to make it up with our second film."

Ye Wei shrugged, spreading his hands on the sofa back, exuding a bit of a playboy vibe, not needing to act, just being himself.

He had thought about his strategy. Being young was a disadvantage, but "having money" was an advantage. In this matter, the film company was after money. Even a 5-year-old with a million dollars wouldn't be taken lightly.

The other party wouldn't know Viedo Image's financial status, only that "a wealthy son who knows a bit about movies has come, who knows what he wants, but he's a wealthy son."

"Oh..." Gale nodded, standing up and saying, "Wei, wait a moment, I'll go get the script from the office."

Ye Wei said "OK," knowing the other party was going to check his background. Go ahead.

Gale left for a while and returned with a different smile, holding a script, treating Ye Wei like a VIP.

"Wei, here it is, take a look."

"Thanks." Ye Wei's eyes lit up, excitement surging as he almost snatched the script and started reading it without hesitation.

This was a script written in standard format, one page equaling about one minute of screen time. The thick stack of 120 pages was a standard 120-minute film.

After flipping through the cover that read "Little Miss Sunshine, Screenplay by Michael Arndt," he began to read the 120 pages, which had been revised countless times by many people:

'1. Electronic Control System, Video Screen

On stage, five young women stand side by side, waiting for the judges to score them (all holding their breath, full of anticipation). The judge announces the winner's name. The other four are heartbroken.

The camera pans over the losers' smiles, finally landing on the winner. Tears of joy stream down her face as she hugs the nearest contestant.

Titles appear, music plays (slow, emotional, long-lasting), and continues through the opening scene until the title appears. ...'

Just reading the first few pages, Ye Wei was captivated, his body tingling with excitement. This was a good story start! Cleverly introducing the main characters in their respective scenes, yet connecting them to create a suspenseful atmosphere...

Gradually, he stopped evaluating and fully immersed himself in the story, flipping page after page...

"Wei, you can keep reading, I'll go back to the office for a bit." Gale said, standing up and leaving.

"OK, OK..." Ye Wei mumbled, his eyes glued to the script.

'18. Interior, Restaurant, Day

...

Richard: How's the new plan going?

Oliver: It's going well.

Richard: When can you show us?

Oliver: I'm not sure, it depends on Grandpa.

Grandpa: A few more days, we need to keep working on it.

Oliver sits down. Grandpa walks to the table.

Grandpa (continuing): What's this? Chicken?! Every day it's the damn chicken! Oh, Almighty God! Can we, just once, have something else for dinner instead of this damn chicken?!

Shirley ignores him. Richard tries to interrupt.

Richard: Dad... Dad... Dad... Dad...!!!

Grandpa: I just want to say...!'

The page turned, and the AD began.

The page turned, and the AD ended.