Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 320 - 323: The Most Artistic Time-Travel
Chapter 320: Chapter 323: The Most Artistic Time-Travel
"Emmy Awards, ’Anomalies’?"
Woody Allen set down the phone and glanced toward the bestselling author’s villa not far from his residence.
Although he had become famous for making comedies that turned small bets into big wins and had eventually become a renowned director who almost served as a jury member for several major American film and television awards,
deep down, Woody Allen always harbored a literary dream, which was the main reason he had recently started transitioning to making drama films.
"’Anomalies’ is clearly a comedy film, just like ’Friends,’ using simple content to directly please the audience, isn’t that good?"
He picked up the remote control and watched the recording for a while longer, "Why insist on using writers and art as gimmicks to try to win an Emmy?"
Woody Allen pondered for a moment and approached his wine cabinet, selecting a bottle of red wine.
Then, he muttered to himself, "The protagonists are all crowd-pleasers who time travel, and the writer who comes up with this kind of story can even be called ’the second Hemingway’!"
At that moment, Wang Jian had just seen off another group of visitors.
If previously he was slightly shunned by others because of his "Technology Elite" status,
then the recent series of events had fully made him one of their own in this community.
"Drinking the finest red wine and eating the most expensive food, yet looking down on money and businessmen?"
Wang Jian handed the caviar to the maid and whispered, "These people really are pretentious."
"Sir, Mr. Woody Allen is here for a visit," the Latino maid whispered.
"Oh," Wang Jian replied and stood up, beginning to think about the representative works of this visitor.
For artists who considered themselves above the mundane, praising their work was far more effective than complimenting the person.
Especially since this renowned director’s private life was utterly chaotic.
"How do you feel about your marriage to your stepdaughter?" No matter the tone, this question sounded more like sarcasm.
"Mr. Allen," Wang Jian accepted the red wine, "your new film ’Everyone Says I Love You’ is quite splendid."
"The themes of love and marriage, spirituality and materialism explored in it are also very profound."
"Thank you," Woody Allen smiled and sat on the sofa, guided by the host.
"Mr. Wang’s several works have also been highly rated by readers."
He shrugged, "The brilliant ideas in ’Arcane,’ ’Anomalies,’ and other works have even been compared to Mr. Mark Twain."
"However," Woody Allen paused, organizing his words, "why does Mr. Wang’s work so favor time travel?"
"Of course, to enhance the readers’ immersion and make them more willing to spend money," Wang Jian raised his glass and muttered to himself.
"Don’t you think that this kind of appearance of the protagonist is too ostentatious, a desecration of art and a compromise to commerce?"
The director continued, "Just like ’Back to the Future,’ filled with absurdity and ridicule."
"Earning money by desecrating art?" Hearing this, Wang Jian considered whether he should go to some so-called "art exhibitions" and buy some cheap works,
to throw them all into the fireplace afterward, as fuel to burn.
Of course, he definitely couldn’t say this out loud.
The label of "artist" was the main lure for attracting mid to lower-tier writers to write on his website.
In a way, it was also an important "amulet" for protecting his interests now.
Wang Jian paused and slowly said, "This is just a writing technique, and whether the content has artistic attributes shouldn’t necessarily be related."
"Of course there is!" Woody Allen stared at Wang Jian, "In ’The Old Man and the Sea,’ ’Gone with the Wind,’ and even all the classics, isn’t there a single protagonist who appears through time travel?"
"So, time travel is inevitably a commercial writing method that deviates directly from the artistic purpose?"
After mentally completing the other’s thought, Wang Jian also raised his head, "Have I offended this famous director in any way? Why does this statement seem so accusatory?"
But regardless, he had to maintain his splendid facade.
Woody Allen was held in high esteem in the eyes of the petty-bourgeois middle class.
Wang Jian thought about the past statements of the renowned director: his love for the ’Golden Age’ of Paris, his admiration for Hemingway.
So, he slowly began, "What if it’s about a screenwriter tired of his current life, aspiring to engage in pure literary work, time traveling to Paris around the 1920s?"
Hearing this, Woody Allen’s eyes lit up.
He thought about himself through the set character of the protagonist.
But after a moment, the great director shook his head, "This only changes the story environment, it’s still unrelated to art." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"No, no, no," Wang Jian shook his head, having already begun to build the "novel outline" in his mind.
What is the important delight of time travel literature?
Isn’t it the interaction with famous people and even the possibility to change the future?
"Paris in the 1920s was teeming with artists," he said, raising his glass as he recalled history.
"Dalí, Picasso, Fitzgerald..."
"And Hemingway!" Woody Allen unconsciously picked up his glass too.
"Yes!" Wang Jian smiled and continued making up the story, "Afterward, for various reasons, the protagonist ended up attending salons with these celebrated artists."
But... how would the delight of this story be truly expressed?
At this moment, Wang Jian also fell into a creative mood.
"It would be best if it were like ’Back to the Future,’ traveling through time. Let the protagonist see the changed history himself by going back and forth."
"And take a jab at those who appear to love art but actually just want to show off their uniqueness."
Woody Allen was not in the mood to continue discussing time travel and started fleshing out the story’s background.
"Ah!" Wang Jian nodded, remembering "True Lies," "Then give our protagonist a girlfriend who’s madly in love with another pseudo-artist."
"The protagonist receives guidance from several great authors and changes the potential tragedies these artists might face?"
Woody Allen, with a vacant look in his eyes, mulled over, "With encouragement from these renowned artists, the protagonist realizes his own flaws."
"After returning to the modern day, the girlfriend thinks the other artist will be successful, not the mysterious protagonist!" Wang Jian casually remarked, "So, she suggests breaking up."
Damn, this is still just showing off and slapping faces, isn’t it!
"But..." Woody Allen paused, "it still seems like something is missing."
Wang Jian thought about it, and it indeed was so.
This way of depiction was just a plain exciting article without elevating the theme.
"Adriana, a mutual lover of Hemingway, Picasso, and others." Woody Allen picked up a pen and wrote down the name on a piece of paper.
"Famous painter..." Wang Jian nodded, "also madly in love with the great painter Gauguin."
"Then let this lady fall in love with the protagonist and travel together to Gauguin’s era."
"Ah." Woody Allen nodded, "Let this female painter tell Gauguin he is the real artist and Picasso is just crap."
"Let Gauguin say that the art of this era is all rubbish!" Wang Jian nodded and immediately chimed in.
"He really wants to go back to the Renaissance to see the elegance of Da Vinci and Michelangelo!"
"Wang," Woody Allen quickly stood up, somewhat embarrassedly spoke, "can you give me the rights to this story? I will pay you the highest screenplay payment."
"Uh... payment?" Wang Jian was stunned for a moment, "Sorry, I’ve been quite busy recently, it’s unlikely I could perfect this screenplay."
"No!" Woody Allen quickly shook his head, "The framework is already perfect, it just needs more details."
"Regardless, this story was initiated by you, so it must get your authorization."
After seeing Wang Jian unconcernedly nod, Woody Allen could hardly contain his excitement.
"Sorry, I need to go now, my lawyer will be in touch with your lawyer later."
After saying farewell to Wang Jian, he hurriedly headed to his villa.
"So it turns out that time-travel and literature really don’t have any conflicts!" Woody Allen slightly curled his lips.
"In this light, it’s not impossible for ’Anomalies,’ thanks to Wang Jian as the author, to win an Emmy Award."
Meanwhile, Wang Jian thought about the grand director’s departure scene and shook his head smiling.
"The reason why exciting stories can be called cliché is that fundamentally, everyone likes the same formula."
He picked up the remote control and pressed it lightly.
Immediately, a sound came from the television, "The Senate will vote tomorrow on the proposal to ’restrict online literature.’"
"According to the White House spokesperson, the president and his wife have extended an invitation to the renowned author Wang Jian."
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