novellhall Chapter 359 A Clichéd Old Trick
Chapter 359 A Clichéd Old Trick
Chapter 358 A Clichéd Old Trick
Rob is very efficient.
Within three days, a scheduling coordination plan was finalized with CBS and the producers of "2 Broke Girls".
All of Chen Xun's scenes were concentrated into two filming periods.
One week each time!
They completely avoided scheduling the filming of "Spider-Man" and even sent over the first draft of the script in a package.
Late at night in Los Angeles, Chen Xun was holed up in his apartment study, opening the script for the first six episodes of season six sent by the writing team.
The warm yellow light from the table lamp fell on the screen. He flipped through the pages, his brows furrowing more and more, until finally he slammed the tablet face down on the table.
As expected.
Although the production company begged him to come back, the screenwriting team's thinking was still stuck in the dead end of the past.
The role written for Han Lee is simply to return to his identity as a restaurant owner, continue to be teased by Max and Caroline about his height and stinginess, occasionally throw out a feng shui joke or two, and serve as a tool to drive the humor in each episode.
The core storyline remains the same endless loop that has been played out for five seasons.
Max and Caroline fail in their business venture once again; their cake shop goes out of business, and they return to working at a restaurant. They stumble upon a new business opportunity and are excited to try again, but unsurprisingly, they mess things up again due to various mishaps, ending up back where they started.
The episode is still packed with jokes, with no shortage of dirty jokes and sarcastic remarks, but once you peel back the layers, the inside is completely empty.
The characters show no growth whatsoever, the story lacks any long-term development, and viewers can guess the ending just by watching the beginning. Even the jokes feel perfunctory and formulaic.
Chen Xun picked up the tablet again and flipped to the scripts from the first three seasons in which he had been deeply involved.
In comparison, it's even more disheartening.
Back then, he put in all his effort to transform a stereotypical Asian comedian into a flesh-and-blood, witty, and soulful Han Lee.
This also allowed the drama to break free from the simple framework of two down-on-their-luck girls bickering, with the ensemble scenes in the restaurant becoming the biggest highlight.
But after he left, the series not only lost Han-Lee as its core anchor, but also became too lazy to put much effort into the most basic narrative, completely falling into the loop trap that sitcoms hate the most.
No wonder the ratings kept falling, and even CBS considered canceling the show.
The audience's patience is limited!
Nobody wants to see the two main characters stuck in the same place, forever stuck at the bottom, repeating failures, with no hope of growth whatsoever.
Although this is the reality in America.
The power of the kill line should not be underestimated.
But Chen Xun's return this time is not just to make a cameo appearance in a few episodes, capitalize on nostalgia, and generate buzz before leaving.
Han Lee was the first role that cemented his place in Hollywood.
"2 Broke Girls" is where his dream began.
He not only wanted to bring the character back with dignity, but also to pull the show out of the dead end from the brink of collapse, giving the audience who had followed it for six seasons a truly satisfying conclusion.
The next morning, Chen Xun called Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs and arranged to meet at a long-established brunch spot near Warner Bros. Studios.
This restaurant was a place they often came to dine together after filming the first three seasons.
When he arrived, Kate and Beth were already seated by the window.
Kate still had her signature dark curly hair and bright red lipstick. When she saw him come in, she immediately smiled and waved.
Beth, still with her blonde hair, smiled gently as she stood up and gave him a hug.
"Long time no see, Chen Xun."
After Beth sat down, she smiled and poured him a cup of coffee.
"We're all old acquaintances, why are you still pulling this stunt?"
Chen Xun smiled and sat down, taking the coffee: "You two, you must have had a tough two years of filming, right?"
One sentence directly touched on their innermost feelings.
Kate took a big gulp of her coffee, rolled her eyes, and said wearily, "It's more than just tiring, I'm about to throw up. You've read the new script, haven't you? I could recite those lines with my eyes closed. This season is another story of failed startups, working odd jobs, and starting another business. I can already guess what Caroline's next line will be: 'We're going to get rich!' and then they'll go broke in the next episode."
"That's really too perfunctory."
Beth sighed helplessly, her face full of disappointment: "It seems the writers have given up on long-term stories and are only thinking about writing jokes for single episodes. Caroline has been down on her luck for six years now; she should have grown up by now!"
"But the script still made her make the same mistakes in a loud and boisterous way, always staying in the same place. When I was acting, I felt that the character was very empty."
"And without you, the scenes in the restaurant really feel disjointed."
Kate added, "Before, the three of us would banter back and forth at the bar and at the table, with both laughs and heartwarming moments. Now it's just me and Beth bickering, and the Oleg and Sophie jokes are being used over and over again. Even we ourselves find it boring, let alone the audience."
The two of them talked back and forth, expressing their dissatisfaction with the script and their frustration with the stagnation of their roles.
They were actresses who had been with the characters for six years, and their feelings for Max and Caroline were no less than Chen Xun's feelings for Han Li.
Seeing their characters trapped in a loop, they were more anxious than anyone else, yet powerless to change the writing team's ingrained ideas.
Chen Xun listened quietly, and only after they finished speaking did he put down his coffee cup and say with a firm tone, "So this time I came back not only to play Han Li, but also to rewrite this lousy script."
Kate and Beth were stunned for a moment, then exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with surprise: "Rewrite the script? You mean...?"
"Yes, completely change it."
Chen Xun nodded and laid out his thoughts: "We need to break this vicious cycle! The audience has been watching for six years, not to see them fail forever or struggle to make ends meet, but to see them grow and actually make a good life for themselves."
"The entrepreneurial storyline can no longer serve as a source of laughs in a single episode. It needs to be planned in the long term. Even if it's slow, there must be progress. We can no longer pull off the same old trick of starting a business in one episode and going bankrupt in the next."
"The core of this show can no longer be the two-person storyline of Max and Caroline. Why were the first three seasons so good? Because the restaurant was a whole. Han Lee is not a background character, not a tool for you to criticize. He is the owner of this restaurant, a friend of the two of you, and even a person who can support you in critical moments. I want to change the core of the two-person storyline to the iron triangle of Max, Caroline, and Han Lee."
Kate's eyes lit up instantly, and she leaned forward: "This is so cool! I always felt that Han Lee shouldn't just be a boss who gets roasted. In the first three seasons, when Han Lee occasionally helped us out, the audience responded really well, but the writers threw that all away later."
"Most importantly, I want to add something different to this story and break out of the dead end of these trivialities in American sitcoms."
Chen Xun smiled and continued, "The character of Han Li inherently carries Chinese business thinking and life logic. He used to be in charge of this small restaurant, but later he can lead Max and Caroline to break out of the small circle of Brooklyn."
He gave several very specific examples that were very practical and not just castles in the air: "For example, your cake business is always stuck in retail in restaurants, and you are always worried about the cost of raw materials and store rent. Han Li can connect you with local Chinese bakeries to cooperate with and produce cakes using Chinese supply chain thinking, reduce costs, do online delivery, and even talk to Chinese supermarkets about stocking your cakes, instead of always sticking to a small cake display case in the restaurant."
"Take this restaurant for example. It only ever sells the same few American-style casual meals, and its business is barely thriving. Han Li can transform the restaurant by adding Chinese-style casual meals, tea snacks, and late-night snacks to attract Chinese customers and international students from Brooklyn, so that the restaurant can actually make money instead of always struggling to break even and constantly urging you to pay rent."
"There's also character development. Han Li isn't always a dry-humored feng shui master. He can have his own storyline, such as his immigration experience, the story of his father running a restaurant, why he's sticking with this small restaurant, and even his business ambitions. It's not about being stingy, but about spending every penny wisely."
After she finished speaking, Kate and Beth were stunned, their eyes growing brighter and brighter.
They had been acting in the script for six years, and no one had ever imagined that it could be changed like this.
The screenwriter is forever trapped in the sarcastic daily life of two down-on-their-luck girls, trapped in the fixed template of American sitcoms.
Chen Xun's idea directly broadened the scope of the entire story.
This not only solidified Han Lee's character but also provided a completely new direction for Max and Caroline's growth.
"Chen Xun, you're amazing!"
Kate slammed her hand on the table, her face beaming with excitement: "If I were a viewer, I'd absolutely love watching this! People used to say Han Lee was the restaurant owner, but he was practically invisible. Now, he's become the big boss who's making money for us!"
"I'm already looking forward to the new script!"
Beth was equally excited: "Caroline has always wanted to return to high society, but she's never found the right path. Han Lee's approach completely opened a new door for her, and the character came to life instantly!"
"If you two think it's feasible, then things will be much easier."
Chen Xun smiled and breathed a sigh of relief: "I have a meeting with the producer and head screenwriter this afternoon. If you two are free, you can come along. Once the three of us lead actors reach an agreement, it will be easier for them to move things forward."
"Go! We have to go!"
Kate nodded immediately: "I've been wanting to have a word with the screenwriter about this lousy script for a while now. With you here, we feel much more confident."
In the afternoon, the meeting room of the production studio for "2 Broke Girls" in Warner Bros.' office building was packed with people.
The head writer, the core writing team, the executive producer, and the CBS series director were all there.
All eyes were on Chen Xun, who was in the main seat.
Six years ago, he was just a new actor who had just landed a supporting role. If he wanted to change the script, he would have to talk to the producer and screenwriter for several days and argue his case to preserve the core of the character.
But things are different now.
He is a Golden Globe-winning actor, the male lead of a top Marvel superhero, and the person who can decide the fate of this show.
His agreement to return has already delighted CBS and the production company, not to mention his deep involvement in the scriptwriting process.
The meeting began.
The head screenwriter first exchanged a few polite words, saying some welcoming remarks for Chen Xun's return, and then said that he could adjust Han Li's scenes according to Chen Xun's schedule, adding some coin tricks and feng shui references that the audience would like.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Xun shook his head and got straight to the point.
He recounted the core ideas he had discussed with Kate and Beth that morning.
From the cyclical deadlock of the series, to the stagnation of character growth, to the reconstruction of the trio, and the integration of Chinese business thinking.
The logic is clear, and every sentence hits the nail on the head regarding the current pain points of this drama.
The meeting room fell silent as the screenwriters exchanged hesitant glances.