Tom White talked about HP's development strategy and his appreciation for Lu Yanhe, which made Lu Yanhe quickly realize one thing: he was a very talkative person. After chatting with Tom White for another half an hour, Lu Yanhe slowly figured out why he came. It turned out that he was attracted by "Friends" and wanted to adapt it into an American TV series. Lu Yanhe was stunned. "Mr. White, although I am the screenwriter of Friends, the copyright of Friends is not in my hands. If you want to buy Friends, it's useless to come to me. The copyright is in the hands of Beijing TV, the TV station that broadcasts it." Lu Yanhe explained. Tom White said: "I know, in fact, I also know that Maxine has bought the adaptation rights to Friends." Lu Yanhe looked at him in confusion, "Then what do you mean by the copyright of Friends?" HP has no way to adapt "Friends". Tom White said, "We want to work with you and ask you to write another script like Friends." "Ok?"
Lu Yanhe didn't expect that Tom White came to him for this purpose. Lu Yanhe really didn't dare to agree to such a cooperation invitation easily. "Mr. White, I have several scripts on hand and I don't have time to take on new ones for the time being. Besides, I'm not good at writing scripts in English," said Lu Yanhe. Tom White said, "I know you are a very popular star in China and a new screenwriter who has received much attention. However, as you can see, Friends is so well written and filmed, but because you Chinese TV series don't have any distribution channels, it is only a big hit in China. Now that it's on Maxine, it hasn't had the same influence as it has in China. You must know the reason for this, which is that you don't have a global platform that can be seen by audiences around the world, nor do you have channels for global promotion." Lu Yanhe frowned when he heard Tom White say this. Because he knew what Tom White said was right. Indeed, at present, these domestic video platforms have not yet formed a certain user scale even in other Asian countries and regions, let alone the global scope. Without global channels, no matter how popular a work may be, it will not be seen. Lu Yanhe said: "Mr. White, you are right about this point. I admit it, but it is not enough to impress me." Tom White said: "Doesn't the goal of making a show that audiences all over the world like? Move you?" "No, this goal moved me, but I have already written a script about the same subject, Friends. If you ask me to write another script about the same subject, I will definitely not be able to write a better one than Friends." Lu Yanhe said, "So I said this does not move me." Tom White sighed with some regret and said: "There is definitely room for further development of this story." "But the characters are gone. The six protagonists have already written the types of characters I want to write about the most in this subject. If I continue, I can only write characters that are very similar to them. Not only do I think they are similar, but the audience may also think so." Tom White heard this and said, "So you don't plan to write sitcoms with urban backgrounds anymore?" "Not in the short term." Lu Yanhe said bluntly. Tom White sighed regretfully. "Okay." Although they failed to reach a preliminary agreement on cooperation, Tom White did not change his attitude towards Lu Yanhe, nor did he get up and leave. Instead, he continued to chat with him. "In recent years, I have been paying attention to the film and television market in mainland China. The magnitude and speed of its changes are rare in the world," said Tom White. "Compared with Hollywood movies, our streaming media has never been able to gain access." Lu Yanhe: "Any country must have its own areas to defend, especially in this era, where unexpected contradictions and conflicts are occurring in almost every field. Just like several platforms in our country, after they became popular in the United States, they were also banned by your government and judicial system with some high-sounding reasons." Tom White nodded. "I don't mean to accuse or criticize you. I know that very well. But facing such a huge market as the Chinese mainland, it's like we have seen a gold mine but cannot participate in the mining. You can definitely understand this feeling."
Lu Yanhe laughed. Tom White's directness and honesty made Lu Yanhe feel more favorable towards him at this moment. "Of course I understand. We also hope to let the whole world see Chinese films and TV series." Lu Yanhe said, "In fact, Mr. White——" "Just call me Tom," said Tom White. Although she looked a dozen years older than him, that was the habit of foreigners. Lu Yanhe knew this after watching so many movies and TV series. "Okay, Tom." Lu Yanhe laughed. "Although we can't work together on a show like Friends, we may be able to find other projects to work on together." Tom White looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise, "Hmm? Do you have any other good stories?" "I have indeed written several stories that are being filmed or have been completed, including the movie Rouge directed by Wang Zhong and the road comedy Lost on Journey starring Jia Long. In addition, there are two TV series that will be filmed soon, one is Squid Game, which is very similar to The 17th Floor, and the other is our costume sitcom My Own Swordsman. These stories may not be suitable for adaptation into English series, but they should be popular in Asian countries and regions." Lu Yanhe said, "These projects have not yet discussed distribution outside of mainland China. If HP attaches importance to the Asian market and wants to get good works, maybe you can take a look at these." Tom White showed a look of incredible surprise. "You've written so many scripts? If I remember correctly, you only started being a screenwriter two years ago." Lu Yanhe took out his panacea and answered. "I only started to try to be a screenwriter two years ago because of Friends, but I actually tried to write my own scripts a long time ago. The story of Lost on Journey was written by me when I was in my third year of high school." The shock on Tom White's face faded a little, but he was still surprised. "I've heard of Jia Long. He's a very famous comedy movie star in China." Tom White said, "It seems that I really need to take a closer look at the projects you mentioned." Lu Yanhe kept smiling. "Of course, you won't be disappointed, Tom, I think we really have the potential to have a good collaboration," he said. Chinese-language film and television dramas have always been influential in Asia, unlike in Europe and the United States, where they have almost no voice except from big directors. HP just happened to find Lu Yanhe. Lu Yanhe was not shy and directly introduced his projects to Tom White. If HP could really cooperate with these projects, it would be a good thing. One more channel means more choices. - There is more to come today, so I will just keep it short for now. (End of this chapter)