A day after Li Caiyi accepted the invitation to write the script, her manager told her that she would be meeting the investors and the Director. She was nervous but excited regardless.
She had taken her time to learn scriptwriting in the meantime, and it wasn't easy, as expected. The theme would be revealed today, so Li Caiyi couldn't wait to find out what kind of movie this would be.
At 1 o'clock sharp, she arrived in front of the Tianyue Entertainment building. Chen Ruolan should be working around that time; she was considering visiting her on a shooting set after her meeting.
Li Caiyi was led into an empty meeting room after telling the receptionist her identity. It didn't take 15 minutes before two men entered the room. One wore a neat and clean suit, while the other seemed 'unkempt' with how he wore an unbuttoned shirt, showing the plain t-shirt under it, with jeans and a pair of sneakers.
It felt like Li Caiyi could tell immediately which one was the Director. She smiled before greeting him professionally, "Director Shen, it's an honor to finally meet you in person. I'm an aspiring writer, Li Caiyi. I have watched and enjoyed almost all of your works so far. 'The Moon in the Summer Night' is my favorite among them."
Director Shen studied her before replying curtly, "Yeah. Nice to meet you too."
After that, he walked past her and sat on one of the chairs. Li Caiyi had often heard about his problematic attitude from Chen Ruolan, so she wasn't surprised or offended. Instead, he turned to the other person while maintaining her business smile.
"Good afternoon, Sir. My name is Li Caiyi, and I will be in charge of script writing this time. Pleased to meet you."
"Good afternoon, Miss Li. I'm here to accompany Director Shen, but I don't know much about the film. I look forward to working together with you. Ah, my name is Ma Heng."
This person must be one of the investors. He seemed to want to appear low profile, so Li Caiyi didn't press the issue. "Yes. I'll try my best."
They sat down with Ma Heng beside Director Shen and Li Caiyi across from them. "Can you explain what kind of movie you will make this time?"
Director Shen leaned his body forward. "Before that, are you really the writer of the book 'The Lost Memories'?"
The Lost Memories are her second book. Her first book did a good job, but Li Caiyi's name wasn't well known before her second book. She wrote it after overcoming writer's block, which was one of her best works.
"Yes, that's right." Li Caiyi replied calmly.
"Hm, I didn't expect the writer to be so young, but whatever. The theme of my next movie will be 'the second chance'. The idea of the book The Lost Memories intrigued me. However, I want something more historical, based on a similar plot. I have sent some films and videos for you to research beforehand. Have you received it?"
"Yes. I have received and studied it closely."
"Regarding that, I want to make some adjustments, especially about the ending. The Lost Memories ended on a happy note. After regaining her memories, the female lead finally found her purpose in life besides her beloved. I'm not too fond of the ending because you played it too safe. None of those self-fulfillment endings should happen with my movie. It's either do or die. We will go 100% from the beginning to the end."
Director Shen's gaze was sharp as he looked at Li Caiyi, but she didn't bat an eye under the pressure and calmly took a note. "Understood. So I need to add more drama and make the ending as realistic as possible. Preferably more impactful than just happily ever after, isn't that right?"
Based on her knowledge, although Director Shen already had several masterpieces in his belt, he was a person who was hard to please regarding script writing. The fact that he suddenly chose her and not his usual scriptwriter probably meant that he saw some potential in her, or he reluctantly had to choose her due to various unexplainable reasons.
Li Caiyi glanced at Ma Heng, who had been silently watching their exchange from the beginning, and felt doubt rise inside her.
"And I wanted you to be one of the judges during the audition. As the scriptwriter, you'll know more about the depth of the character needed to pull out the act."
"Yes?" Li Caiyi was taken aback for the first time.
She hadn't heard anything like this from her manager before. Wasn't Director Shen supposed to be very strict in selecting the actor and actress? Why did he suddenly ask her to participate in the judging?
"Is that a yes or no?" Director Shen asked impatiently, seemingly in a foul mood.
"No. I was just surprised since usually only the Director, senior actors, or investors would be in charge of judging. But I understand Director Shen's intention. I haven't tried casting actors or actresses before, but I'll try my best."
"Good. Then I'll send the materials and details to your manager later. This meeting is over."
Director Shen stood up from his seat and left the room before Li Caiyi could bid him goodbye. He clearly didn't want to waste more time with her, and she could understand why Chen Ruolan declared she disliked Director Shen as a person.
"I'm very sorry about Director Shen. He is a bit eccentric, but you'll know once you start working with him that he is the best at making movies. He will be a great ally for you, so please be patient with him."
"Mr. Ma, you are too kind. Thank you for worrying about me, but I didn't feel offended and only grateful for this opportunity."
Ma Heng smiled in approval. "You seem to be a steadfast and diligent woman, so I'm sure you can answer Director Shen's expectations. I have high hope for you too."
"Yes. Thank you for the thought!"
"Then be careful on your way home. I'll have to excuse myself first."
After Ma Heng left the room, Li Caiyi threw herself back onto the chair and groaned. "It's only the first meeting, but Director Shen is more difficult to deal with than I thought. I think he doesn't like me very much, so I have to do a good job this time."
Li Caiyi jotted down several things on her organizer and planned to discuss them with Shao Jingfei soon. Then she noticed the mark on her calendar.
It would be Shao Junfei's birthday soon, and since she was invited to the party, she had to prepare for it too.
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