Chapter 74

Zhang Tan officially completed the transfer procedures and, before leaving, handed over his work to Feng Dong.

"The department has adopted your suggestion and decided to let Xu Jian continue to follow the 'Unlucky Bear' project," Feng Dong said.

Because Zhang Tan was leaving, any subsequent work on 'Unluck Bear' needed to be arranged for someone else to follow up. Feng Dong asked him to recommend someone, and Zhang Tan recommended Xu Jian.

"He has the capability, of course, if there are any issues to discuss, you can always come to me," Zhang Tan said.

Feng Dong patted Zhang Tan's shoulder and said, "Director Wang heard about your transfer and initially had some objections, but later understood. After all, it concerns your career prospects. She asked me to thank you and congratulate you."

In fact, Zhang Tan had spoken on the phone with Director Wang of Pujiang TV. She was somewhat reluctant for Zhang Tan to leave, as no one would follow up on the 'Unlucky Bear' project. Compared to finding someone else, she undoubtedly trusted Zhang Tan more. However, after the phone conversation, she also understood that everyone has their own choices, and she could not hinder someone's career choice.

"Thank you for the team leader's understanding," Zhang Tan said gratefully. In this matter, the scriptwriting department was quite open-minded and generous, and did not make things difficult for him.

"Although we won't be in the same department, we'll still be on the same floor. Feel free to drop by anytime, and I hope you will work hard in your new position and achieve success."

"Thank you."

After leaving Feng Dong's office, Zhang Tan met Xu Jian, who sincerely thanked him.

Zhang Tan smiled and said, "I should be the one to thank you. I'm leaving with a clear conscience, and the follow-up work will be up to you. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me."

Xu Jian never expected Zhang Tan to transfer, and even less expected him to choose the film and television department. When he heard the news, he thought it was a joke. In the end, the project was handed back to him.

After briefly saying goodbye to everyone, Zhang Tan took the elevator to the 5th floor, where the film and television department was located.

"Welcome, Zhang Tan."

He Miao was the first to notice Zhang Tan's arrival and greeted him happily.

"Hello, Director He," Zhang Tan said politely. He Miao beamed, looking extremely pleased.

"Come here, you'll be working here from now on."

He Miao led Zhang Tan to an office, which was currently occupied only by him, making it his personal office.

Then, He Miao introduced Zhang Tan to Zhu Ruopu and the scriptwriters in the scriptwriting department.

Finally, He Miao brought Zhang Tan to his office.

"Come to my office and let's chat."

He Miao made a cup of tea for Zhang Tan and introduced him to the situation in the film and television department and the scriptwriting department. Zhang Tan's first impression was that it was weak.

"Our main focus is on 'Chief Jin,' which has led to a lack of scriptwriters for other projects. Now that you're here, do you have any ideas?"

Before coming, Zhang Tan had done some research, and after listening to He Miao, he organized his thoughts and said, "I'll follow the department's arrangements and go where needed. However, I hope to participate in a project as soon as possible."

"Of course..."

He Miao meant that Zhang Tan should not participate in 'Chief Jin.' Although it was currently the hottest project in the production company, many people were already involved, and Zhang Tan's lack of experience would not give him much say among the senior scriptwriters. It would be better for him to work on a separate project, even though it might not be as prestigious as 'Chief Jin.'

"There are three projects here. Take a look and pick one if you're interested," He Miao said finally.

From this, it was clear that He Miao placed great importance on him, offering three projects for him to choose from. However, it also indicated that the film and television department was not as well-resourced as the animation department, with fewer projects and even fewer people.

In the animation department, Zhang Tan had to compete with several others to participate in a 'Lantern Bearer' comic adaptation.

Zhang Tan took the materials He Miao handed him and carefully read through the project descriptions.

These were projects that had not yet been approved, just ideas.

The first was a film project, which excited Zhang Tan. It was a big movie right from the start!

He read the project description carefully, but the more he read, the more he felt something was off. It was a completely cliché love story.

He couldn't help but ask, "Where did the synopsis for 'Passionate Fire' come from?"

He Miao's face turned awkward at the name, as if he was embarrassed to say it. But since Zhang Tan asked, he reluctantly said, "It was provided by the investor."

He was brief and did not elaborate, as further criticism of the investor would be inappropriate when first meeting Zhang Tan. If it were a senior scriptwriter from the department, he would have already complained a lot, and in fact, he had done so many times.

He Miao's brevity was due to the assumption that a newcomer wouldn't understand, but Zhang Tan immediately grasped the situation. This was a story synopsis written by the investor!

He had encountered such investors before. They had money and leisure time, and considered themselves to have artistic talent. After satisfying their material needs, they pursued spiritual needs, throwing their ideas to scriptwriters to develop into scripts, promising ample funding and production.

For example, Zhang Tan had a real experience once. He was already somewhat famous when an investor approached him, saying that war films were popular and he wanted to make one, asking Zhang Tan to write a script.

Zhang Tan asked what kind of war film, and the investor thought for a moment before saying, "A sniper, cool, right?"

Zhang Tan, seeing that the investor was just thinking on the spot, worried about his changing ideas, and quickly asked for all his thoughts and requirements at once.

"Young people in war films are too common. Let's do something special, like old people in war. I think that's a good idea," the investor said.

Zhang Tan thought it was a good idea, setting the protagonist as an old hunter. "When friends come, there's rice wine; when enemies come, there's a hunting rifle. One shot, one wolf, no, one Japanese soldier!"

The investor said hunters were too common and not special enough, wanting something cooler and with a unique identity.

"Come on, come on, here's the pen! You do it," Zhang Tan said, letting the investor brainstorm. The investor came up with a scientist!

He gave the old man a scientist identity, and even a weapons expert, a very cool and impressive one, and even more impressive, he was Qian Xuesen's junior!

Zhang Tan finally spoke up, saying this was an insult to a national hero and couldn't be done.

"Okay, let's change it. He's from the same school as Qian Xuesen, just two years younger. That should be fine, right? No direct mention, just a hint."

Seeing the generous payment, Zhang Tan, despite feeling disgusted, wrote the story outline and character profiles, but didn't dare to write more, first showing it to the investor for approval.

The investor looked at it and said he would think about it. Two days later, he called back, saying he had shown it to an old scriptwriter who thought it lacked conflict and suggested adding personal and national vendettas, like a daughter being violated by the Japanese.

Zhang Tan thought the investor was crazy, but for the money, he continued writing. After several revisions, he finally completed the script, handed it in, collected the payment, and quickly disappeared, never wanting to see the investor again. He thought the script would never be produced, but a year later, he received a call from the investor saying it was going to be filmed, asking if Zhang Tan could join the production team.

Zhang Tan, having been through this, didn't join the team but went to see the filming. He was thoroughly impressed by the lead actor, a well-known veteran actor, Wang Xuexin.

What amazed him even more was that the show actually aired.

The name of this war drama was 'Grandpa's War.'

He Miao's simple words made Zhang Tan think a lot. He wanted to avoid such projects like the plague.

In such projects, the scriptwriter is a tool, completely at the mercy of the investor, who often doesn't understand the craft and likes to give random instructions.

He looked at the second project, a self-produced suspense drama. The third project was a drama with child actors?

...

"How about it? Have you made a choice?" He Miao had finished his tea and poured another cup for Zhang Tan. The purple clay pot was boiling, and the tea aroma filled the air.

Zhang Tan put down the materials and said, "I want to choose the third one."

"The third one? The one with child actors?" He Miao was surprised. He thought Zhang Tan would definitely choose the second one, or perhaps the first one. If Zhang Tan chose the first one, he would have given him more details and advised him to be cautious. But the third one? Child actors?

Zhang Tan firmly said, "Director He, I choose the third one, the drama with child actors. I think this project is feasible and want to try it."

He Miao thought, the target audience for this drama is children, as the production company's main audience for its animations is children. If animations can be successful, why can't live-action films? So, he considered inviting children to act in major dramas, which could be a traditional strength of the production company, passed down through generations. They lacked confidence in general live-action films but were confident in children's films.

Zhang Tan also thought, "Child actors in major dramas, isn't this like the 'Little Actors' from the previous life?!" Finding some children to act in traditional major dramas, such as 'Dream of the Red Chamber' or 'The Legend of the White Snake,' with their cute and charming performances, the ratings were quite good, and the social response was enthusiastic, not inferior to popular TV series.

He Miao thought for a moment. Since Zhang Tan had chosen the project with child actors, and it was one of the projects he had given him, he decided to let Zhang Tan take it on. The investment was not large, and it was a self-produced drama, suitable for a newcomer, and it would also be a good way to test his abilities. However, he needed to set some expectations upfront.

"This project hasn't been approved yet. Whether it gets approved depends on the project planning," He Miao said.

Zhang Tan asked, "Have the producer and director been decided? I want to talk to them."

"They haven't been decided yet. Currently, only the scriptwriter is decided, and that's you."

"..."

Zhang Tan was not discouraged. Without a producer and director, he would find them himself. Although the project was still in the early stages, he had significant influence over it, which was suitable for a newcomer like him.

With He Miao's support, he began to look for a director.