raknovel Chapter 106 Dancing on the Red Thread
Chapter 106 Dancing on the Red Thread
Chapter 106 Dancing on the Red Thread
If we don't film now, we'll never be able to film again.
This may sound alarmist, but it is a reality in the development of China's film and television industry.
Similar to the theme of "collecting multiple female leads," many other themes have changed with the times and tightened policies.
From being able to film to not being able to film, it's only possible to emasculate it to the point that even its own mother wouldn't recognize it.
For example, crime dramas were CCTV's ratings magic weapon before 04. "Conquer", "Black Hole" and "Black Ice" were all phenomenal hits.
But with the issuance of the ban, there were no more pure gangster bosses like Sun Honglei.
Take supernatural horror films for example. Before 06, it was possible to make Chinese horror films of the quality of "Double Vision". Later, the restrictions on real ghosts became tighter and tighter. In the end, even the possibility of ghosts being present was no longer allowed. They all had to be mentally ill.
The tomb raiding genre is a prime example of dancing on the edge of a red line.
Since the promulgation of the Film Administration Regulations in 02, promoting superstition and glorifying illegal and criminal acts such as theft have been inviolable red lines for film and television works.
What is tomb raiding?
It promotes feng shui superstition and is also a real crime!
The protagonist is involved in illegal activities, uses feng shui and metaphysics, and encounters supernatural phenomena.
Little did people know that Hong Kong director Johnnie To had already held a press conference in 07 to announce the filming plan for the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" trilogy.
But until recently, he was still complaining to the media that the script just wouldn't pass censorship.
Even a renowned director who has won the Golden Horse Award, the Hong Kong Film Award, and the Golden Bauhinia Award still has to kneel before this red line.
If you want to make a film about tomb raiding under the current system, you have to do what the later web series "The Lost Tomb" did: change the tomb raiders into cultural relic protectors, and turn tomb raiding into handing over to the state.
Or, like in "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe," feng shui and metaphysics are forcibly interpreted as extraterrestrial civilizations and mutated creatures.
This safe shooting method was only figured out 15 years after my previous life.
However, these practices are fatally damaging to the tomb raiding genre.
What is the most captivating aspect of the original work?
It's the sinister energy of Hu Bayi searching for the dragon vein by feeling the sixteen-character Yin-Yang Feng Shui secret technique; it's the desperado's temperament of knowing there are dangers in the tomb but still forcing his way in; it's the eerie atmosphere of half-science and half-metaphysics when locating the burial site.
If you cut all of that out, what's left is just an adventure action movie disguised as a tomb raiding film.
Is it good-looking or not?
It's alright.
But it's a far cry from what fans of the original work expected.
Just look at the Douban rating.
"Mojin: The Lost Legend" scored 7.5 points, which is the limit of what can be achieved while dancing in shackles.
Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe?
4.4 points, it doesn't even deserve a book on tomb raiding.
Why did Ren Pingsheng think it was okay to film now?
Because on July 1st of this year, in addition to the implementation of the new "Regulations on the Management of Television Drama Content", a new film censorship system will also be implemented simultaneously.
One-time preparation and two-time review system.
There are two changes in the new system.
First, for films of general genres, the full script review is no longer required; only a story synopsis of about 300 words is needed to complete the registration process.
In other words, as long as you write the synopsis as an adventure and treasure hunt, all the content in the script related to tomb raiding, the supernatural, and feng shui metaphysics does not need to be disclosed during the filing stage!
Second, the review process has changed from being solely reviewed by the State Administration of Radio and Television to being ultimately reviewed by local authorities.
Six provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, will obtain the final review rights for all digital films, except for those on major revolutionary historical themes and Sino-foreign co-productions.
Shengpingshi is a company registered in Yanjing.
This means that as long as the Beijing Film Bureau approves the film, a public screening license can be obtained without having to go through the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
As the regulatory body of the most developed cultural industry region in the country, the Beijing Film Bureau handles several times more commercial films each year than other provinces and cities, and its understanding and tolerance for such themes are far greater than those of the old cadres at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
Comedies like "Lost in Thailand" and "Breakup Buddies," which skirted the line of censorship, were all approved by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
But what truly moved Ren Pingsheng was that nothing bad had happened yet.
In 2014, a large number of online dramas were launched in one go.
Many works, in an attempt to grab attention, contain a large amount of bloody, violent, and sexually suggestive content, and even glorify crime and promote extramarital affairs, which has had a negative impact on social morality.
Parents' complaints continued, social controversy continued to escalate, and the concurrent internet cleanup campaign brought public pressure from the industry's chaos directly to the top leadership.
Against this backdrop, the State Administration of Taxation issued an urgent document, clearly stating that tomb raiding is an illegal activity and that feng shui and metaphysics are classified as feudal superstition.
From then on, the censorship of tomb raiding-themed content changed from having red lines but some flexibility to zero tolerance.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has fully resumed its review of full scripts on this subject. Regardless of where you register, all scripts must be submitted to the State Administration for final review, while local bureaus retain only the right to conduct preliminary reviews.
The review period has been extended from one or two months to more than six months, and three or five rounds of revisions are the norm.
The difference between the two is not a matter of "loosening" and "tightening," but rather a fundamental difference between "allowing to do" and "not allowing to do."
Therefore, it is not difficult to discover.
From July 2010 to mid-2014, China's film censorship system experienced a period of relaxation in both procedures and standards.
During this period, as long as you don't glorify crime, don't teach the audience how to rob tombs, and don't encourage imitation, tomb robbing can be presented positively.
As long as you don't promote superstition and don't make the audience actually believe in feng shui, supernatural elements can exist under the guise of "artistic expression".
Zombies, traps, ancient corpses, and even rice dumplings can all be filmed.
Blood can be seen, bones can be exposed, metaphysics can be explained, and feng shui can be used.
Once this window is closed, it will never be opened again.
"Mr. Zhou," Ren Pingsheng repeated, "do you still hold the film and television adaptation rights to 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles'?"
Upon hearing "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles," Zhou Hongli's expression became subtle once again, exactly the same as when he mentioned "Scarlet Heart" earlier.
"Uh... Director Ren... The situation with 'The Lost Tomb' is rather special," he pushed up his glasses, "its copyright was taken back by Nanpai Sanshu a long time ago, and I heard that he just sold the film adaptation rights to an American company."
Ren Pingsheng cursed inwardly.
Yes, Nanpai Sanshu was indeed fooled by a shell company in Hollywood. He sold the copyright and fought a long international lawsuit. It wasn't until several years later that he got the copyright back and then sold it to H&R Century Pictures.
Seeing Ren Pingsheng's disappointed expression, Zhou Hongli quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Although 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles' is gone, 'Ghost Blows Out the Light'..."
The copyright is still in our hands, but..."
Ghost Blows Out the Light?
Ren Pingsheng's heart skipped a beat.
This is the founding father of the tomb raiding genre of novels!
The narrative structure of the entire series is more suitable for single-film adaptations. Each book is an independent adventure story with a clear beginning, development, climax, and resolution, unlike "The Lost Tomb" which has intertwined plot lines and endless plot holes.
"But what?"
Ren Pingsheng suppressed his overwhelming joy and asked.
"However, 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' is one of the most important IPs we are evaluating internally. The company has high expectations for it and hopes to use it to prove the commercial value of adapting online literature into film and television..."
Zhou Hongli paused for a moment, seemingly considering his words.
"Furthermore, the rights to the first four films have already been sold to others, so currently only the last four films are available for sale. If Director Ren is truly interested, we can sell you the film and television adaptation rights to the last four films. However, the price... may be 5 million, and the licensing period is only 500 years."
5 million, 500 years.
Seeing that Ren Pingsheng remained silent, Zhou Hongli also felt a little uneasy and quickly tried to find a solution.
"Of course, if Director Ren can promise to start filming within 1-2 years, the price can be negotiated further."
It's no wonder he was nervous.
It's important to know that in 2010, when the adaptation of online novel IPs into film and television was still unproven, the film and television adaptation rights for the vast majority of works were only worth around 100,000 yuan.
But "Ghost Blows Out the Light" actually sold 5 million copies, and that was only half a book, published over 500 years.
This is absolutely an astronomical price.
But Ren Pingsheng knew something that Zhou Hongli didn't.
Next year, Wanda Pictures will acquire the adaptation rights to the last four installments of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" from Shanda for 14 million yuan.
The film "Mojin: The Lost Legend," adapted from the latter four stories, ultimately grossed 16.8 billion yuan at the box office.
Buying a ticket to a 1.6 billion yuan box office for five million yuan is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.
The problem now is, after the copyright is purchased...
How is he going to make this movie, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars?
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