Hard Candy Is About to Be Released

Since I lack the culture, a single "holy shit" covers everything!

This is Got Talent we're talking about!

America's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent, China's Got Talent... not to mention anything else, just selling the copyrights alone would be enough to fatten up a company—no, to generate hundreds of millions of dollars!

The damn system either plays dead and does nothing, or when it finally acts, it's earth-shattering!

That's right, Victor had watched Got Talent in his past life. As someone half-involved in the entertainment industry, he knew the selection criteria and the show's flow, but that wasn't enough for him to produce Got Talent on his own. However, things were different now. The great system had helped him solve that.

I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying!

Hundreds of millions of dollars in wealth!

Logically speaking, given Victor's money-grubbing personality, he should have immediately called his private lawyer, Zhang Wei, to rush and register the global copyrights for Got Talent.

But this time, Victor wasn't in a hurry to make that call.

"Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of my transmigration, and also the day my original body's mother passed away!"

Strictly speaking, Victor was an orphan in his past life and had long been used to living alone. The concept of a "mother" was extremely foreign to him, even somewhat repulsive. But today, after returning home alone and settling down, he suddenly felt empty.

He couldn't muster any energy at all!

Damn it, I'm a man without feelings, how did I become so sentimental?! Victor was startled.

The next day.

Victor, who had woken up early, finished washing up and drove to Adriana Lima's place.

"Honey, why did you come to pick me up so early today?"

Seeing Victor, Adriana Lima walked straight up and gave him a bear hug. She felt a bit strange; in all the days she had spent with Victor, she had never seen him come over this early.

"Lima, we aren't going shopping today. Come with me to a place," Victor said.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Lima felt increasingly strange. She knew that Victor usually dressed very casually, but today he was wearing a neat black suit, groomed meticulously.

Along the way, Victor didn't speak.

The cemetery.

"Mom, may you rest in peace in heaven forever!"

Victor drew a cross in front of the grave and offered a bouquet of fresh flowers.

"Ma'am, may you rest in peace."

Only at this moment did Lima realize why Victor was so serious today, and she immediately comforted him, "Victor, I'll be here for you from now on!"

You'll be here for me?!

"Pfft~!" What should have been a very heartwarming scene suddenly made Victor laugh.

The death of his mother hadn't actually had much of an impact on Victor. And don't call him cold-blooded; it was just that Victor didn't know how to express maternal love.

Friends, I've never experienced it~!

Therefore, there was nothing to say. Well, at least that's what Victor thought.

The sun rose as usual.

It was a new day.

Hard Candy, Wrong Turn, and Juno were all in the preparation phase. Now, the post-production for Hard Candy was nearing completion, with the final film imminent; Wrong Turn had just wrapped filming; only Juno was still having a difficult birth.

"What?"

"Richard Linklater hasn't finalized the script for Juno yet?!"

Victor looked at CEO Victor in confusion.

"Yes, boss," Victor replied.

For a moment, Victor became increasingly curious. Although the Richard Linklater in his memory had high standards for scripts and wasn't the type of "quick-draw" director who shot a movie in a month, he definitely wasn't a procrastinator like Wong Kar-wai. Why was he so slow this time?

Immediately, Victor and Victor walked out of the office and entered the company's screenwriting department.

The scene that met their eyes was Richard Linklater, the Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival, excitedly explaining something to a group of screenwriters.

"Guys, the script still needs changes!"

"That's right, the script for Juno is great. I admit that and agree with it, but it still has flaws."

"What? You're asking me where the flaws are?!"

"Oh~, my god! I'm the director, you guys are the professional screenwriters!"

"Fine, I'll say it, okay?"

"After my long deliberation, besides the flaws in the daily dialogue, the original script for Juno lacks a grasp of the pulse of the era, and most importantly, it lacks warmth."

"What kind of warmth? Of course, it's the extreme psychological conflict of the underage protagonist during her pregnancy, and the meticulous care her family gives her. The laughter, scolding, playfulness, anger, and arguments between the lines—the ultimate goal of all of that is to enhance the warm elements of the entire film!"

The pulse of the era?

Warmth?

"I understand."

While the other screenwriters didn't have much of a reaction, Zucker felt a stir in his heart.

The script for Juno was written by Zucker, and he had seen the finished film in his past life. However, seeing it was just seeing it; how could Zucker possibly remember every line of dialogue between the pages?

At the same time, this film was released in its original timeline in 2007, but it was only 1996 now. One must know that films from different eras reflect different characteristics of their time; forcing a direct copy would lead to cultural dissonance, creating significant difficulties for the audience to engage with the film.

For example, the movie Shaolin Temple was a classic in the 80s, a hit film loved by audiences, but if you were to copy it exactly for 2020, would young audiences like it?

The answer is no!

Take another example: if you were to copy the Hollywood blockbuster The Avengers and release it in the 80s, would it become a hit? The answer is yes! Because its extreme special effects would be thrilling, how could it not have high box office returns? However, the high technology displayed in the film would be extremely foreign to 80s audiences, causing great difficulty in their viewing experience.

Therefore, the pulse of the era is extremely important.

Especially for a film like Juno, which reflects the issue of underage, unwed pregnancy, the requirements for capturing the characteristics of the era are very high!

In 2007, underage, unwed pregnancy was a topic, a hot spot, and indeed the pulse of the era.

However, placed in 1996, in a cinema market still dominated by audiences who had not yet experienced the internet explosion, would they be able to accept this situation of an underage, unwed pregnancy?

Some would, but there certainly wouldn't be many!

It might even face boycotts from some, especially families with children.

Without topics and hot spots, without the support of a large youth demographic, how can one generate high box office returns?

Zucker thought to himself: As for the warmth displayed in the film? Sorry, I was an orphan in my past life, and I didn't fully memorize all the plot points of the film, so how could I possibly write good heartwarming scenes?!

For a moment, Zucker sighed repeatedly in his heart.

A famous director is a famous director; they are truly not simple.

The 1.2 million dollar salary was certainly not given in vain!

In the time that followed, Zucker chatted enthusiastically with director Richard Linklater for a few moments before leaving with Victor.

Upon re-entering CEO Victor's office, before they could even start discussing work, they were interrupted.

Martha had come in!

"Mr. Jones, uh... the boss is here too? Perfect, that saves me from having to notify you separately."

"What is it, Martha?" Zucker asked.

Martha said: "It's like this, boss. I just confirmed with several theater chains, and they are leaning toward having our film Hard Candy released on July 19th. I came over to ask for your decision."

<> First update delivered.