Latest update October 21st, 2015 12:41 PM
China’s Top Screenwriter Zhou Zhiyong Looks Forward to Working with Hollywood
Some day, we are going to write films with Hollywood companies. I cannot see why not.
Bio: Zhou Zhiyong became well-known for writing AMERICAN DREAMS IN CHINA, CRAZY RACER and CRAZY STONE. Zhou is now working on his third directorial feature. Shi Fen Qing Lang, a script workshop he founded in 2010, is unique in training new screenwriters.
The problems with the China market
Fifteen years ago, film professionals would chat about Kurosawa and Tarkovskij, but now, more are talking about GDP, IPO and stocks.
The Chinese film industry is short of producers: capable project managers to find proper screenwriters, suitable actors and competitive directors to arrange the production and distribution. Currently, it is all mixed up.
On training new screenwriters
Every Sunday, I’d run a screenwriters’ workshop called Qing Lang Private School. Established screenwriters come to talk about their professional practice and this really attracts young talented writers. This interactive community gathers the like-minded. So there is no threshold in my company – as long as you can write scripts, you could stay and claim your fame and fortune.
We have already signed about 50 screenwriters, but still no enough. It takes time to nurture a screenwriter – we help them distill their best imagination within three or four years, during which we offer them financial security; satisfy their hunger for fame and help maintain their respect towards story-telling.
Sometimes I think us Chinese is a bit cruel towards aging: for example, once a girl turns 25, people would say she is old. And she might no longer lead an exciting life and stop being curious about the future. I invite all the writers I work with to dream big and stay curious.
This is the way we cooperate: if you are good at writing romance, I will offer you a sum of development fee and you choose your work partners among the 50 writers within the company. They might not be so familiar with romance like you do, so you become a project manager and responsible for their writings. After that, there are 5 stages of questioning by different parties. Finally, there is an internal review by 400 people from different backgrounds. Conversely, if I am good at writing crime stories while you don’t, then you need to practice writing crime with me. I require my writers to bear conflicts in mind – you cannot refuse writing what you are not so good at, because you need to be a professional screenwriter.
New plans
Observing people, reading and getting on the road were on my priority list before I was twenty. Reading alone only generates vicarious feelings, so I keep on walking the earth. Even today, I think about the ultimate questions like who I am, what I am doing and where I am going.
In 2016, my business partner and I are going to South Korea to study filmmaking. The Koreans have been successful in blending American style with Hong Kong elements, and they are quite systematic in production. They are so good at filmmaking that there is no comparison between the top 10 Chinese films made within three years and the top 10 Korean films made within half a year.
Some day, we are going to write films with Hollywood companies. I cannot see why not.
On being a director
Many people advice me not to direct films. They think if I flunk, no one will ask me to write scripts any more. But it will be absurd if I stop directing films just because of their concerns. I remember similar discouraging voices before I completed my first film script. It is important for me to learn directing via doing it.
I am about to direct my third film and I am better in screenwriting than before, thanks to my directing experience. If I continue making films and there are investors who have faith in me as a director, then I can be a much better screenwriter than I am today, because I can help the director and the actors with more perspectives. I am not afraid of failure. If I fall down, I would stand up on my own.
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