Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 114 Planning for Stranger Things

The afterglow of "The Silent Truth" hadn't faded yet when Luo Jinnian sat down at his desk and opened a new document.

What he's going to copy this time is more "dangerous" than all the previous projects combined—Stranger Things.

The danger lies both in the scope of the subject matter and in its sheer size.

The first season of this show had a budget of six million US dollars per episode, which was a movie-level budget at the time.

It requires extensive special effects, complex art direction and set design, a group of child actors capable of carrying the show, and an accurate recreation of 1980s American small-town culture. These elements were an advantage for Netflix in its previous life, but for Luo Jinnian, they become a huge question mark: How many domestic teams can produce that kind of quality? How many child actors can portray that kind of feeling? How many local viewers can understand the sentiment of "1980s American drama nostalgia"?

But he still decided to do it. Because he knew how popular the show would be, that it would become a global cultural icon.

The children riding bicycles through a small American town in the 1980s, the girl with superpowers from the laboratory, the monster that turned the world upside down, and the string of twinkling Christmas lights—these elements will become a collective memory for a generation a few years from now.

Luo Jinnian wanted to present these things in this dimension where he did not exist.

He spent three nights writing the script outline for the first season's ten episodes.

Six main characters: four boys and one girl, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Eleven, who escaped from the laboratory.

Three main storylines run in parallel.

One main storyline is Will's disappearance and everyone's searching for him; another subplot is the secrets of the laboratory, the unspeakable experiments and the cracks that have been opened; and yet another is Sheriff Hopper's investigation and Will's mother Joyce's relentless pursuit of her son.

The three storylines converge in the final episode, forming a complete closed loop.

He finished writing the complete script for the first episode and sent it to Director Qin.

Director Qin replied quickly: "It has a grand scope, but it's more difficult to film than 'The Hidden Corner' and 'The Silent Truth' combined. Are you sure domestic audiences will accept this?"

Luo Jinnian replied: "Please trust the audience's aesthetic sense. The core of good things is universal. Although this drama takes place in a small town in a foreign country, the trust between friends, the fear of losing family members, and the courage to face the unknown are things that transcend national boundaries."

Director Qin didn't press further, and simply replied, "Then I'll look at the script first."

He quickly realized that casting was a major problem.

At the heart of the show is a group of eleven- or twelve-year-old kids. Mike is the protagonist, steady, determined, and a leader; Dustin is the smart one, with crooked teeth, a slight lisp, and a penchant for explaining everything with encyclopedias; Lucas is a cautious black guy, wary of the unfamiliar; Will is shy, and his disappearance sparks the entire season's search, his presence felt throughout; Eleven is the most crucial one, an escaped subject from an experiment, she has a shaved head, is taciturn, and expresses emotions only through her eyes and facial expressions.

Luo Jinnian already had a preliminary choice in mind—Gu Yanxi would play Eleven. Although she had previously played the precocious little girl Pu Pu, Eleven and Pu Pu were completely different characters.

Eleven is quiet, repressed, and full of fear and curiosity about the outside world. Her performance requires more restraint and introversion than Pu Pu's.

He tentatively sent Gu Yanxi a message: "There's a new role, would you like to give it a try?" Gu Yanxi replied with one word: "Say it." Luo Jinnian sent over the description of the role of Eleven, and after reading it, Gu Yanxi sent a question mark: "Shave head?" Luo Jinnian said: "Yes."

Gu Yanxi was silent for a moment, then replied, "Let me think about it for one night."

For the other children, Luo Jinnian planned to have the casting director search nationwide. His requirements were clear: not "experienced" actors, but "talented" ones.

The scenario is another big problem.

The story of Stranger Things takes place in Hawkins, a typical American Midwestern town—a main street, a school gymnasium, a forest, and an underground laboratory. While these things can be replaced in reality, finding a real-life setting that simultaneously evokes an 80s nostalgia and a slightly eerie atmosphere is not easy.

Luo Jinnian visited an abandoned factory area near Chongqing, where several old red-brick buildings and a forgotten industrial remnant stood. He felt that the laboratory scene could be set there. The main street of Hawkins could be built on an old street in an old county town, where some architectural styles from the 1970s and 80s are still preserved.

He added a note to the proposal: "If cross-oceanic filming is required, prioritize finding suitable domestic locations. Only consider overseas locations if suitable ones cannot be found."

Cost is the biggest obstacle.

The budget for the first season of this show was dozens of times that of "Saw," with special effects and set design taking up the majority of the budget. Early Spring Culture's current cash flow can support the first two seasons, but if they want to film the first season all at once, the money in the accounts, plus the revenue sharing from "The Hidden Corner" and "The Silent Truth," is still a bit short. Luo Jinnian did the math three times, and each time it was just a little short.

"Financing." He wrote those two words in his notebook.

Since its inception, Early Spring Culture has always operated on its own funds. Luo Jinnian dislikes taking other people's money because doing so means taking orders from them. However, the Stranger Things project is too large to navigate on its own. He needs to bring in external capital while simultaneously securing firm control.

He entrusted the financing plan to Director Qin and Meng Zhaoming for negotiation. Director Qin had extensive connections in the industry, and Meng Zhaoming had resources in the publishing and capital circles. The two of them working together were more suitable than him negotiating on his own. He drew a red line in the plan: "A maximum of five percent of the shares will be given up, and decision-making power must remain in the hands of Early Spring Culture."

After sending out the proposal, Luo Jinnian closed his laptop, leaned back in his chair, and looked out at the night view.

Stranger Things is his biggest project to date, bigger than The Hidden Corner and The Long Season, bigger than Seven and Saw combined.

It was so big that he was a little unsure of what to do, so big that he felt like he had jumped into deep water before he even learned to swim, but the boat was already built, the oars were already in motion, and the water was already up to his ankles.

All he can do now is ensure the ship sails steadily out of the port.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Gu Yanxi: "I'll do it. I've discussed the bald look with my mom, and it's okay."

Luo Jinnian looked at the message and a slight smile curved his lips. He typed three words, then deleted them, and typed one more: "Okay."

Then he turned off the light and sat in the dark for a while.

The last scene of the first season of Stranger Things: Eleven looks back at Mike in the snow, then turns and walks into the darkness.

That shot, if filmed well, could become a classic.

If the shot isn't taken well, it will become a regret.

He must produce a high-quality drama.