Chapter 146: Personally Handling It

Popularity brings troubles—that was probably best how Zhang Tan felt at the moment.

The Legend of the Condor Heroes had propelled him to a massive surge in popularity. Although he was merely a writer, he attracted far more attention than an ordinary minor celebrity.

Furthermore, his age of seventeen made for prime sensationalist material. Prodigies were something the general public naturally loved to consume. People adored stories of youthful success, and the media naturally clung tightly to such a narrative.

When Han Jingming had debuted, the airwaves were likewise filled with hype. Today he was a youthful genius, tomorrow reading books was deemed useless, and the day after his titles sold in the millions, creating an uproar known nationwide.

At present, there was also Guo Han. When his first novel came out with a print run of ten thousand copies, he was immediately touted as one of the Three Swordsmen of post-eighties literature. Earlier this year, Guo Han released his second book, Hallucination, followed closely by Left Hand Beer, Right Hand Roast Duck and How Many Petals Fall in Dreams, sparking yet another wave of heated controversy.

Han Jingming and Guo Han were born in 1982 and 1983 respectively, both already in their early twenties and no longer children. In contrast, Zhang Tan—dubbed one of the Three Swordsmen alongside them—was born in 1986, making him even younger, yet his achievements thus far appeared vastly superior.

Not only had his novel been published in both simplified and traditional Chinese editions, claiming the top spot on domestic and international bestseller lists, but he had also broken new ground by having his work adapted into a television series.

With praise came criticism; with fans came detractors.

As he basked in the spotlight, he inevitably became a tall tree that catches the wind, arousing the dissatisfaction of many.

Perhaps many prominent figures had paid no attention at all to the friction between the screenwriters and Zhang Tan during the drafting of The Legend of the Condor Heroes script. However, when reporters interviewed them and subtly guided the conversation, various biases naturally formed, prompting them to voice opinions.

Moreover, prompting these celebrities to attack Liu Changshan and the other two obscure screenwriters could hardly compare to steering them toward attacking Zhang Tan, the focal point of public attention, which made for a much juicier news story. Besides, the three screenwriters—Liu Changshan and his colleagues—were veterans in the screenwriting circle, having accumulated a considerable network of connections over the years.

All of this culminated in the current situation where Zhang Tan found himself the target of public criticism.

They were simply bullying Zhang Tan for being a naive rookie with no established roots in the industry.

"It seems it's time to build my own team. Without a team to help handle all sorts of messy distractions and trivialities, stepping into the ring to wrestle with others myself is just too tacky. It ruins both my standing and my dignity!"

A flash of such a thought crossed his mind, and the next second, Zhang Tan faced the camera with a smile: "I humbly accept the criticisms of my seniors. I will correct my faults if I have them, and strive to do better if I don't."

"However, I would still like to clarify here that I harbor no disrespect whatsoever for the work of screenwriters, nor for story creation. On the contrary, I care about the adaptation of The Legend of the Condor Heroes more than anyone else. Because this is my novel, and I am the one who most desires to see it perfectly presented on screen. This is not only a matter of responsibility to myself, but also to the readers who support me."

"The screenwriter Liu Changshan stated that as a writer meddling in screenwriting work, I pose a grave danger to the industry. I would only say that many outstanding writers are themselves exceptional screenwriters—whether it's the three-dimensional film and television dramas he mentions, or two-dimensional novels, the core of both is the story itself; only the storytelling medium differs slightly."

"We know Haiyan, and we know Wang Shuo; they are both renowned writers who became celebrated screenwriters. I am a junior walking in their footsteps, yet I dare not belittle myself. I believe that given my understanding of my own novel, I can provide beneficial directions for its adaptation. Am I not right?"

"Furthermore, as I have said before, when I signed with Zhang the Bearded's studio, it was explicitly stipulated that the adaptation must restore the novel to the greatest possible extent and respect the original work—that was the primary direction. Now, as the original author of this novel, offering a few of my own opinions to the screenwriters has somehow turned into recklessly meddling in the script. What kind of logic is that?"

Zhang Tan was certainly not of a temperament to lower his head and act submissively. When cultured people spoke, their words carried hidden daggers: "And I can put it this way: turning an engaging story into a script is something many people can accomplish. But wanting to write an engaging story in the first place is not something just anyone can do."

"Truly excellent screenwriters inevitably respect the story and the person who wrote it, and only then unleash their own inspiration to transform the story into a script—rather than taking it for granted that they should exclude the storyteller and arrogantly alter things at will. If you don't even communicate with the person who wrote the story, how could you possibly know what the story was written for?"

"...I have said everything I wanted to say. For the remainder of the time, I must beg everyone not to ask me any more questions. I have already delayed my book signing event for a long time, and my readers are still waiting for me."

Having said this, guided by the staff of the Bowang Bookstore, Zhang Tan walked inside.

...

After signing the very last book, night had already fallen early.

He had already shared a meal with the bookstore owner at noon, so that evening Zhang Tan declined the owner's renewed invitation to dinner. Taking Li Yan with him, he headed out to the streets of Guangzhou to sample local snacks, treating it as a sightseeing trip to relax his mind.

They ate while chatting.

"Sister Li, I've been thinking about something."

Li Yan asked, "What is it?"

Zhang Tan said musingly, "I want to set up a studio. You've seen the recent uproar—I somehow became a target for people to shell. This is bad, very bad."

Li Yan nodded. "That is indeed true. Just like in novels, Jianghu is treacherous, and the macro environment of society is no different. Now that you've just entered the scene and are already facing suppression from others, you're bound to encounter more of this in the future. You aren't a celebrity, but you're practically the same. You truly need to build a team and hire more hands to assist you in operating your career and fame."

Zhang Tan nodded, then shook his head. "It's not really about operating myself the way stars look for teams, but rather about cutting myself off from the business side of things. Do you understand, Sister Li?"

Li Yan looked surprised. "I'm a bit confused."

"I mean, I will hand over the copyright of my novels to the studio to manage. From now on, adaptations into television series, films, comics, games, and the like will all be handled by the studio. This includes media interviews, press releases, and external publicity, so that I won't have to show my face at all. Sooner or later, I'll be directing films myself, and those copyrights can also be managed by the studio."

Zhang Tan's idea was similar to the approach taken by Jin Yong in his past life—setting up his own company to manage the copyrights of his works, telling people to talk to his company if they had business, rather than coming to him.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Li Yan smiled and said, "Mmm, that's a good method. Cutting yourself out of the loop keeps you relatively aloof and grants you peace of mind. You are a writer; you should maintain this serene environment so you can concentrate on creation. After all, your works are the foundation of all commercial operations."

"Then I'll have to trouble you to put more thought into this, Sister Li. Hurry up and help me set up the studio. I hope the studio can be up and running before this whole incident blows over."

Li Yan had been grinding away in the publishing industry for years and had recently made contact with the film and television circles, her morale running high. Without hesitation, she said, "Give me a month. I'll register and establish the company first. For now, the number of works you hold copyrights to is still small, so there isn't an overwhelming amount of work to do. We can slowly flesh out the studio's internal systems after it's established."

After chatting about the studio for a while, the conversation soon drifted back to the original topic.

Li Yan asked, "Regarding this recent matter, the reaction from Zhang the Bearded's studio has been rather mild. They might want to let the media hype it up for a while longer. Now that things have blown up, utilizing it for publicity is understandable. However, what are your plans regarding Liu Changshan and those few individuals?"

Munching on a roll of rice noodle rolls, Zhang Tan said unceremoniously, "Liu Changshan has been picking a fight again and again. If I don't put them in their place, I'll really be inflating their egos. Damn it, they're biting like rabid dogs! Contact Zhang the Bearded's studio and demand a replacement for the screenwriters. Trashy screenwriters like them don't deserve to adapt my novel."

Li Yan nodded. "It is indeed time to exert some pressure on Zhang the Bearded's studio. I'll get in touch with them as soon as possible."

And so.

The outside world remained busy hyping up the screenwriter controversy.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tan was quietly preparing his own studio and had submitted a demand to Zhang the Bearded's studio to replace the screenwriters. The production crew, who had originally harbored a mentality of riding the hype wave, could no longer sit still.

Yu Min called to express that the production crew would act as a mediator, inviting everyone to sit down for a meal to patch things up: "It's better to resolve grievances than to keep building them. Isn't that right, Assistant Li?"

"This is no longer a minor friction; it's a fundamental conflict. I think everyone knows how important a script is to a production. I assume you wouldn't want everyone writing the script while harboring bitter resentment either. While there's still time, it's not too late to replace the screenwriters."

Yu Min hesitated for a moment. "How about this then? I'll have Liu Changshan and the others come and apologize. That should show some sincerity, right?"

Li Yan sought instructions from Zhang Tan.

Zhang Tan was ultimately not a person filled with deep malice and decided to take a step back, soon having Li Yan give her reply: "My boss, Zhang Tan, is not a petty person. As long as Liu Changshan and the other three issue a public apology in the media, this matter will be put to rest, and everyone can continue cooperating."

Yu Min immediately went to find Liu Changshan, hoping they would apologize to Zhang Tan.

In the teahouse where they met, Liu Changshan slammed his hand on the table: "What? You want me to apologize to a little brat? Old Yu, there's no need to discuss this any further. I'm not writing The Legend of the Condor Heroes anymore; go find whoever you want to write it. If Zhang Tan wants to replace me, fine, let him write it himself. There are only a few people in the circle skilled at adapting martial arts, and I know them all. Let's see who can help you out."

Yu Min slammed the table as well: "What on earth do you mean by this, Liu Changshan? Leaving aside the fact that Zhang Tan inherently holds script approval rights, you were the ones who leaked the matter to the newspapers first. Now that Zhang Tan has taken a step back, why can't you do the same?"

Liu Changshan stiffened his neck. "I don't mean anything in particular. In the current situation, saying too many useless words is pointless anyway. It's either him or me. Apologizing is out of the question. There is only one scenario where I will continue writing: the script matters are left entirely to us screenwriters, and that little brat stays as far away as possible."

"Must you take it to such extremes?"

"If you insist on seeing it that way, you aren't wrong."

Yu Min glanced at Liu Changshan and the others, said nothing more, and hurried back to report to Zhang the Bearded.

Inside the office.

Zhang the Bearded furrowed his brows deeply: "Motherfucker... If Liu Changshan and his crew quit, I'm afraid none of the well-known screenwriters in the industry will readily take over. What a mess this has turned into. We shouldn't have focused solely on the hype in the beginning; failing to properly communicate with both sides has left us in a situation with no way out."

Yu Min sighed. "Now one of the two sides definitely has to back down, and we have to handle it as early as possible. We can't wait until all the actors are in place and still have no script in sight."

The Legend of the Condor Heroes boasted an external investment of fifty million, which was heavily exaggerated, but a scale of tens of millions was real enough. No omissions could be afforded when it came to the script.

Pondering for a moment, Zhang the Bearded said, "Give Zhang Tan a call... Ask him if he can take a step back, and clearly analyze the pros and cons for him. If Liu Changshan and the others leave, other screenwriters will find it very difficult to take over the mess of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Now is not the time for a battle of egos; if the script for The Legend of the Condor Heroes isn't written well, everyone loses."

...

"Liu Changshan and his gang are trying to threaten me by refusing to write?"

Two days later, back at his hometown in Gangji Town, Hefei, Zhang Tan learned of the news and said dismissively, "Then I'll just write it myself!" (To be continued.)