Chapter 500: What Does That have to Do with You?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Big Bro, have you thought of what genre your first film is going to be? Tan Mo asked, completely baffled by the fact that even when she didnt tell her family about what happened at school right away, she was able to walk away without getting scolded too much for it.

Not only was she lucky for that but also because Wei Zhiqian and Tan Jinqi were helping her as much as they could.

However, Tan Mo still changed the topic as fast as she could to divert her parents attention to her oldest brothers newest project.

Just as she had expected, after asking that question, everyone s.h.i.+fted their attention to Tan Jinqi.

The oldest among the siblings understood what his little sister was scheming and gave her a look before answering, At first, I thought of doing a historical film. After thorough consideration, I realized that might be a problem as Director Hou and Director Liu are the pioneers of the success of the historical genre. Everyone also knows that Im Director Hous student and the a.s.sistant director to Director Liu when we worked on the Legend of Wei and Jin. Even until now, the Legend of Wei and Jin is still the most-watched drama of all time and still tops the weekly charts.

Of course, Director Lius directing ability was a huge part of the dramas success, but another part of the success was also because of Tan Mos scriptwriting ability. The script for the Legend of Wei and Jin was one of the best of its kind.

Because of that, people began to have the urge to beat that success. A lot of historical dramas and films came out after that, but all of those ended up in failure.

Yet, it didnt mitigate the fact that because of the Legend of Wei and Jin, the historical genre in the filming industry was over-saturated.

Every filming company had either filmed one or was still in the process of producing either a historical drama or film.

The only problem was that these films and dramas couldnt even come close to the Legend of Wei and Jin. Most companies just wanted to take this chance to make some extra money.

Either these films had a bad quality or the script was boring. Some even lacked both when compared to the Legend of Wei and Jin.

This situation led to the Legend of Wei and Jin still being crowned as the best.

Because of how bad the other films and dramas of the historical genre are now, a lot of distributing companies are refusing to purchase any of their distributing rights. Theres no point in filming one if theres no one willing to buy it. Well, of course, we could go the online streaming route, but the cost for filming a historical film is too much for streaming online to cover. Theres just no way someone would sponsor such a film. It would even be hard to find someone willing to act in it, Tan Jinqi explained. Because of this, the market for the historical genre is in complete chaos. Not to mention that theres also the fact that people will compare my work to the Legend of Wei and Jin since Im Director Hous disciple and the a.s.sistant director of the drama. People even consider me sort of a disciple of Director Liu too. If I really went and create a historical film, any mistake would make people consider it a bad product. It would be a bad thing for the whole team. I still think I should choose a genre thats more stable for my first film. Even if I cant beat the Legend of Wei and Jins record, I would still want a good result. At least, I wouldnt make a joke out of myself. Im going with the stable route here.

Tan Mo nodded as she could tell her brother had thought things through. So, judging from what you said, you wont be going for the historical genre, right? she asked.

Tan Jinqi nodded.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Tan Mo said. Even though the scripts will be written by the same person, people would still compare the two of them if you chose the historical route. Lets say your film is as good as Director Hous drama, people and critiques would still think that the Legend of Wei and Jin is better.

Youre right. Even if Director Liu directs another historical drama, it would get the same result as the Legend of Wei and Jin. Thats because the Legend of Wei and Jin is the first of its kind, Wei Zhiqian agreed and turned to look at Tan Mo.

Since the script was written by the lady sitting next to him, he was proud of her.

Without the help of Tan Mos amazing script, even Director Hous directing ability would not be able to produce such a perfect work.

The rest of the Tan family could only look at Wei Zhiqian speechlessly, having the same thought in their heads.

The script is written by our Momo. What the heck are you looking proud for? This literally has nothing to do with you!

Another problem with the success of the Legend of Wei and Jin is that peoples expectation for Director Lius next work will be higher, Wei Zhiqian said as he turned to Tan Jinqi. Im pretty sure that Director Liu is feeling the pressure now. Even if he could not produce a better piece than the Legend of Wei and Jin, it has to at least be on the same level. Otherwise, people would think that his skill is dropping, and the Legend of Wei and Jin would be the best work for him. This is also why Director Liu agreed to a.s.sist Jinqi in his first film. This is so that he could get another script from Momo. He still needs Momo to at least help keep the plot up to standard. As a famous director, he mustve seen a lot of scripts and know that no one can best Momo in terms of scriptwriting.

But, Big Bro, if you arent going to do a historical film, what do you plan to do? And whos going to write the script? Tan Jinsheng asked. Even though he wasnt well-versed in the film industry, he still mingled in the entertainment industry as Liu Shengtais disciple and knew a little of the filming scene.

As for Tan Wenci, he had learned almost everything he could about the industry when he invested in the Legend of Wei and Jin.

Jinshengs right. This is your first time directing a film. It would be hard for you to find a good script, the father agreed.

Hiring a famous scriptwriter would be expensive, even though it wouldnt be a problem for the Tan family.

Well, the father added, at least you dont have to worry about the film studios. If they need more funding, well give them all the money they need.

What Tan Wenci meant to say was that Tan Jinqi did not need to worry if the studio agreed with his idea or not.

Whoever funded the film had the final say, and it would make them look bad if they interrupt Tan Jinqi too much.

But Dad, we shouldnt only rely on you for the fund, Tan Jinqi said with a smile. Theres no company thats willing to fully fund a film themselves. The risk is too high. Not only that but there are still a lot of processes after we finish filming the film. It needs to be reviewed, ranked, and advertised. Its better to leave it to companies that are good at it.

In the end, the Tan family wasnt well-versed enough in the film industry. It wouldnt be a problem for them to fund a project, but the management part of it had too many rules that they still did not know.

Youre right. The father sighed. I can see other problems before the filming process starts too. Getting a good script is one of them. Its most likely impossible for you to hire a famous scriptwriter. If you want to find a good script from the non-famous one, it would be very time-consuming. Its not even clear if you would find one or not. Lets say youre lucky and find one, but by then, it might be too late, and the plot might be outdated.

So, do you have an idea of what genre are you going to do? Tan Jinsheng asked.

I have a few ideas.. Thats why I want to discuss it with Momo, Tan Jinqi replied.