Chapter 174 What is a Fantasy Novel?
The third day of the exchange group’s itinerary was Disney.
Disney is the top animation company in Hollywood, with a large number of animation characters. It is the most successful company in the world in the commercial operation of animation characters. In addition to Disneyland, they also have the strongest legal company.
It is said that when staying in a hotel, if you put a Mickey Mouse doll by the bed, you can prevent being recorded by a pinhole camera. Because Disney's legal department can find out the culprit behind the scene and sue them to bankruptcy.
It is not known whether this rumor is true or not, but it also indirectly shows that Disney’s legal department is very strong.
Liu Hongmin cared a lot about this cultural exchange. He talked a lot with Disney employees, especially about the business operations.
The Disney employees didn't want to say too much and just wanted to fool around. However, Liu Hongmin's questions were very tricky, and the Disney employees hesitated but had to answer, so they accidentally said the wrong thing.
After Liu Hongmin left, the employee kept wiping his cold sweat and hurriedly reported to his superiors.
Liu Hongmin joined the exchange group, which was communicating with screenwriters at Disney.
"When it comes to fantasy novels, we have to mention Tolkien. Tolkien is the master of modern fantasy novels. His "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion" are all classic epic works. He is also a linguist. In order to write good novels, he invented more than a dozen languages..."
Everyone in the exchange group looked at each other in bewilderment. Not to mention Tolkien, they didn't even know much about the category of fantasy novels.
In their view, entertainment novels are all low-quality works, and no matter how well they are written, there is nothing to brag about.
It's just like when they evaluate Liu Hongmin, they won't mention "Young Justice Bao" at all, but only mention "Lies" and "Duds Get Water".
If Liu Hongmin continued to write fantasy novels, he would have been criticized by them. But the person on the other side was a foreigner, so they couldn't say anything and just wanted to laugh it off.
Liu Hongmin also noticed the embarrassment of the exchange group, so he walked over.
“The Lord of the Rings is indeed an excellent work, showing us a wonderful Middle-earth world. It also tells us a truth, that is, people should live in peace and unite together to defeat powerful enemies. Even if the opponent is the devil Sauron, it is the same.”
The screenwriter looked at Liu Hongmin happily. Finally, someone could pick up his conversation. He was a fan of Tolkien and highly praised his books.
"I didn't expect that there are people in China who have watched The Lord of the Rings. It's so true."
He walked up to Liu Hongmin and happily put his arm around Liu Hongmin's shoulders. "I wonder if there are any good fantasy novels in China. Can you recommend one or two to me?"
Everyone in the exchange group looked at each other in bewilderment. Where are the fantasy works in China?
Liu Hongmin's eyes turned, "There are indeed a few books, but I'm afraid you can't understand them."
"How is that possible!" the screenwriter said in disbelief, "There is no fantasy novel that Stephen can't understand."
Everyone in the exchange group looked at each other, wondering what Liu Hongmin was up to.
Liu Hongmin: "The book I recommend to you is called Journey to the West. In my opinion, it is better than The Lord of the Rings."
“No, no, no—” Stephen shook his head quickly, “There is no better fantasy novel in the world than The Lord of the Rings.”
Liu Hongmin did not argue, "You should wait until you finish watching Journey to the West before making this evaluation! Otherwise, your evaluation is completely subjective, isn't it?"
Stephen nodded, "You are right, but I still stick to my point of view." Everyone in the exchange group laughed silently. Liu Hongmin was really mean to let a foreigner watch "Journey to the West".
However, everyone couldn't help laughing when they thought of the scene where Stephen scratched his ears and cheeks while watching "Journey to the West".
Stephen was very honest and actually found an English version of Journey to the West. This was a translated version from many years ago, with limited translation skills, and certain words were replaced with existing English words. Stephen was confused and bewildered.
"What are these? That Liu is lying to me."
Stephen was very angry. When he heard that the exchange group was going to visit Random House, he rushed over immediately.
"Liu! You liar, you actually deceived me."
The members of the exchange group are communicating with the staff of Random House. They are discussing these foreign masterpieces, such as "One Hundred Years of Solitude", "The Old Man and the Sea", "The Metamorphosis" and so on. During the special period, these masterpieces were banned from publication. After the reform and opening up, they were gradually resumed, so domestic cultural workers have great enthusiasm for these masterpieces.
Liu Hongmin did not join the discussion. He just asked Richard to take him to see the sales of all the works.
Books are a long-term business. As time goes by, the sales of books will gradually increase. Liu Hongmin's books are of many types, suitable for different audiences. There are no strict restrictions between different groups. They will also read other types of books because of their love for Liu Hongmin. However, this requires time to ferment.
As soon as I came out of Richard's office, Stephen came over.
"Sir, please watch your words!" Richard stopped Stephen to prevent him from offending Liu Hongmin.
Stephen held up the book in his hand and shouted to Liu Hongmin: “Liu, you deceived me.”
Liu Hongmin walked over and took the book from him, "Stephen, don't tell me that this is what you are reading."
"What...what's wrong? What's wrong with it?" Stephen asked puzzled.
Liu Hongmin smiled and said: "You should read the Chinese version. No translation can bring out the essence of Journey to the West."
"I don't understand Chinese. How can I read the Chinese version of Journey to the West?" Stephen said dissatisfiedly.
"Then learn it!" Liu Hongmin said, "I believe that with your intelligence and talent, you will definitely be able to learn it."
Stephen put his hand on his forehead, "Liu, don't lie to me. You are just trying to evade me. Don't you have fantasy novels in your country?"
Seeing that he was not giving up, Liu Hongmin also became a little angry. "Fantasy novels are novels based on the magical world, which is a unique world background setting in the Western world. Journey to the West is also a unique fantasy novel in my country, which is equivalent to your fantasy novels. I recommended it to you because I wanted you to appreciate the culture of different countries. Not only did you not appreciate it, but you also slandered it. Is this your way of hospitality?"
Stephen: "Liu, it's useless for you to say anything. There are no fantasy novels in your country."
Everyone in the exchange group was also disdainful. What the hell is a fantasy novel?
In the crowd, the two writers who said that the air in the United States is fresh looked at each other, stood up and said, "What's so great about fantasy novels? Even if it's written now, Liu Hongmin can write a novel better than The Lord of the Rings."
Everyone immediately turned around and stared at them.
Stephen immediately said: "You really don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is, Liu, I look forward to your novel.
(End of this chapter)
