Divine Lucky Star

Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Darn Unreliable Teammates! (Please subscribe, asking for monthly passes!)

As soon as Bai Yaning finished speaking, the whole scene fell silent once again.

Zhao Zhenhao was miserable! Zhao Zhenhao was going crazy! Zhao Zhenhao was yanking his hair out by the handful!

Damn, how did the topic shift back to this kid again!

Who would’ve thought, of all people, that messy young man would turn out to be this guy!

Can you even write a screenplay?! If you’re so talented, why the hell did you go and work as a temp in the crew, damn it!

Are you just playing dumb to catch me off guard?!

In an instant, all eyes at the table turned sharply and stared at Wang Hao’s face!

If looks could kill, Wang Hao would be sliced a thousand times over by now!

“Um,” Wang Hao said cautiously, glancing at the faces around him, “can we, maybe, not talk about this topic? It’s kind of embarrassing…”

Zhao Zhenhao, Zhang Xingran, and Xia Bin said in unison, “No!”

Bai Yaning also held back a laugh, looking earnestly at Wang Hao.

With her understanding of Wang Hao, this guy was definitely someone who could turn a full grasp into half a chance, so now she was even more curious!

“Um…” Wang Hao was totally bewildered, “Why are you all staring at me like that? Do we really have to talk about this? I don’t actually understand much…”

Today, I really didn’t want to stand out! I just came to be an extra and make a brief appearance! Mr. Director, keep this up and I’ll have to ask you for a pay raise!

“Do tell,” Bai Yaning said with a smile, “I’m quite curious. I’ve known you for so long, and it seems like there’s nothing you can’t do.”

I really can do anything! But I so want to keep a low profile!

Zhao Zhenhao: “…”

Damn it! You two must be having an affair! What do you mean there’s nothing he can’t do? How long have you known each other? What have you talked about?

Is it a romance scene? Why not throw in a kiss scene while you’re at it?!

“Um…” Wang Hao sweated profusely, “Maybe I still shouldn’t say it. Look, everyone present is a professional, I’m just a temp worker…”

Damn it! Zhao Zhenhao knew upon hearing this that this guy had to have something up his sleeve…

“Speak! You must speak!” Zhang Xingran, seeing his adversary right in front of him, refused to let the opportunity slip by: “If you don’t clarify today, I’m definitely not letting you off the hook!”

“Exactly, exactly,” Xia Bin joined in, egging him on and not forgetting to drag Zhao Zhenhao into it: “Mr. Zhao is here as a witness. You have to spell it out for us this year! Otherwise I won’t be able to continue shooting my movie!”

What a pig teammate, damn it!

“Mr. Wang, please do tell,” Zhao Zhenhao almost spit out his bile, “I’m really eager to hear any creative ideas from you.”

“You really want me to tell?” Wang Hao was even more depressed, “Do you really want to hear it?”

Everyone nodded together: “We want to hear it!”

Fine, I’ve been cornered! Wang Hao had to start blustering again: “Well, as for the script, it depends on what genre you want to shoot. Generally speaking, I haven’t been involved with many films, so I can’t compare to any of you! Like romance films, sci-fi, comedies, web series, series, fantasy and fairy tales, and what else—family dramas, **** artsy films, action, horror, thrillers, adventure, crime, mysteries, war, historical — I really don’t understand much!”

Nobody’s going to believe you! If you don’t know, then how could you mention so many types?! Damn it, I’ve gone through so much material and still can’t beat you!

“Mr. Wang is joking,” Zhao Zhenhao said with politeness, though very reluctantly, “I’m also very curious why Mr. Wang thinks Mr. Zhang’s screenplay won’t work, of course, I can guarantee everyone here will keep your secrets.”

Well, you all forced this on me, so don’t blame me!

“Speaking of the screenplay, there’s a lot to say,” Wang Hao took a deep breath before starting off: “First off, why choose a contemporary urban film? Naturally, because the investment has got to be reasonable, right? After that is the theme. For urban films, it’s definitely romance, right? So, what kind of romance should it be?”

Zhang Xingran interjected disdainfully: “Do you even need to say it? My screenplay is about a fairy falling in love with a mortal, what’s not to love about such a premium theme?”

“The theme isn’t a problem,” Wang Hao laughed, “Romance movies are either about a man chasing a woman or a woman chasing a man, but the issue is that no matter what kind of romance theme it is, the heroine is usually the obedient, naive ‘sweet and silly’ type. The audience has grown tired of it! Just take Mr. Zhang’s script that I had studied before, the female lead is too ‘sweet and silly’; it’s not interesting at all!”

“Sweet and silly?” Zhang Xingran retorted, “The audience likes that, what’s wrong with it?”

“Sweet and silly itself isn’t a big problem,” Wang Hao said with a grin, “but the issue is that a flat and straightforward movie lacks impact. I’ll be blunt, your script lacks a climax!”

Climax! Oh, that word sounds a bit dirty…

“You’re the one without a climax!” Zhang Xingran exclaimed, “At the end of my script, the two characters erupt in a fierce conflict before finally overcoming all the hardships and getting together. How can you say there’s no climax?!”

With her shouting like that, it wasn’t just Wang Hao and the others who were stunned, but even the wait staff around them were taken aback!

What’s going on? This woman isn’t experiencing a climax?

Bai Yaning tried to control her blushing face and simply kept her head down eating.

Zhao Zhenhao and Xia Bin broke out in a cold sweat.

What can I say? When literary women of a certain age get fierce, even gods would be afraid!

“Don’t get too worked up,” Wang Hao said, sweating bullets, “Your plot’s ending has the two characters with different life philosophies, one divine and the other human, right? In the end, the goddess gives up her immortality to be with the male lead. But that’s just an ending, not a climax.”

“How can it not be a climax?” Zhang Xingran fumed, “This is the climax! I was thrilled and on fire when I wrote it myself! If this isn’t a climax, then what is?!”

Wang Hao: “…”

Can’t you keep your voice down? Can’t you see that the wait staff is trying not to laugh?!

“Going around in circles, all this talk,” Wang Hao covered his forehead, “Come on, let me give you some substantial advice. First of all, a climax and an ending are two different things: a climax is a climax, the ending is the resolution plus the epilogue. Moreover, a climax doesn’t have to be emotional. If anyone tells me it should be emotional, I’d definitely slap them in the face! If you say the ‘climax didn’t reach high enough,’ ‘lacking strength,’ that’s passable at best.”

Zhang Xingran turned away huffily, “Hmph! Go on!”

Ah, it’s not easy at all. Truly, it’s tough to appease a literary woman of a certain age!

But luckily, I have plenty of knowledge on my side, huh!

“Let’s break down this matter of the climax,” Wang Hao continued with a smile, “A successful climax is made of 49% character, 49% structure, and 2% climax. The problem with your climax is not from the climax itself, but from issues with your characters and structure. When your climax clearly couldn’t reach high, you still forced it; that’s you causing your own issue.”

Bai Yaning: “…”

Zhao Zhenhao: “…”

Xia Bin: “…”

Are you really serious, telling her that the problem with her climax has nothing to do with her climax?

Wang Hao wasn’t thinking in that direction at all and continued to speak, “The peak of character action should fully reveal the character’s personality and the central themes of the work, and it should be unified. In the action system of a script, all actions should be tested in the climax scene, which means the unity of action includes the coherence before and after, as well as the causal relationship between actions, all needing to be verified in the climax.”

Zhang Xingran sneered, “Where did you get all this theory from?”

Wang Hao: “…”

You’re such a renowned scriptwriter, haven’t you ever read ‘On Theatricality’ by Master Tan Peisheng?

“Well, let’s not discuss where it came from,” Wang Hao continued with a smile, “The causal connection between suspense and climax makes the beginning and the core action echo each other, ensuring continuity from start to finish, which is a key aspect of achieving unity in action.”

He went on as if feeding chewed food to someone, “Your climax is not successful, and 80% of the problems come from the beginning. Since we’re talking about writing scripts, well, let me talk about scripts. Theatrical language is different from novel language. The language of drama is action! Action! The structure of the drama.”

“Prologue, the beginning, the opening, introduction, development, secondary climax, delay, the climax, resolution, epilogue, this is the basic structure of a play!”

“Now take another look at your script, does it have all these?”

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Speaking of which, brothers, why are the recommendation votes so few… I’m running with tears!